Itchen

Business Sense

Chapter 4 - Kitchen

At around one in the morning, we woke up entangled in each other's arms. By the time we were both fully awake we'd been kissing for several minutes. Jenna woozily claimed I'd woken her, but I distinctly remember the feeling of her lips on mine being the first sensation I had. Needless to say, we didn't get back to sleep before making love again. I could still move afterward, so I asked her if she wanted me to grab her shirt, but she said she had enjoyed the feel of my skin against hers and was happy to snuggle naked.

The next time I woke was just before the alarm I'd set, so I made breakfast and coffee. Jenna was as hard to wake as any of the other times she'd slept over. Harder, perhaps, but this time I could amuse myself by peeling back the blankets and watching the rise and fall of her gorgeous breasts. When she finally opened her eyes, I'd been using a finger to tap the side of a breast and watch it quiver.

"What are you doing?" she croaked.

Chuckling, I explained. "Proving to myself that my beautiful girlfriend is real," I said. "There's coffee, and breakfast is ready. Do you want to come through, or shall I bring you breakfast in bed?"

"I'll come through," she said. "Let me take a couple of sips of coffee."

When she stumbled into the kitchen, she'd tossed on her sleep shirt. She gave me a curious look. "Did we..."

"Did we wake up making love?" I finished for her. "Yes, we did."

"That's a relief," she said. "I was afraid it was a particularly vivid wet dream. As much as I couldn't get enough of you last night, I don't think I'd want all my dreams to be about you, too. I'm going to be daydreaming about you today anyway."

That gave me a warm thrill. "Yeah, I think I might have that problem. Can I see you tonight?"

"My place?" she suggested. "We'll scandalize the cats."

~~~~~

Jenna took a shower before she left. While she was dressing, I took her another coffee. That was a mistake, because I soon had her undressed and back in bed.

When we finally released each other, she still had time to stop by her house and feed the cats, but without much leeway, and, she said, barely able to walk after her last orgasm. I wished her luck carrying merchandise around, then took a nap before I had to get ready for work.

~~~~~

The day felt like a dream. Two days ago I'd been obsessing about my unattainable crush. Now I was obsessing about seeing her again tonight.

Shelby stopped by my office to check on the status of the bar. It was a quiet day, and there'd been little to do other than coordinate installation of two more beer taps later in the week, so I'd been working on a project which was close enough to being ready that I could present it, so I asked her to stay, then turned my external monitor around for her to see. She moved her chair closer to my desk.

"I have a proposal and a request," I said. "The request depends on what you think to the proposal, so I'll go through that, first."

"Okay," she said, looking at me curiously. "You seem to be very upbeat today. Is something going on?"

Shaking my head in the negative, I said, "Everything's fine."

My phone chimed. I glanced at it to see

Jenna: "Paralysis wore off by the time I got home. No problem carrying manure 🤔. Looking forward to tonight. ❤️"

I was smiling when I set my phone down.

"You got laid!" Shelby accused. "That's why you're bouncing around farting rainbows and unicorns!"

"I hope I'm not farting

anything

," I said, though I couldn't help the heat travelling to my face. "This office is too small for that."

"You did!" Shelby's dark face split with her smile. "You have a girlfriend! Roxy says she's hot. I wish I'd been here to meet her."

Oh, shit.

I'd forgotten that Shelby knew nothing about the weekend's events. My face felt cold now. "Yeah. I, uh, have a hot new girlfriend. It's, uh, Jenna."

Shelby's smile became a look of confusion, as if she was trying to figure out whether there could be two Jennas. After a moment, she said, "

Our

Jenna?"

"Uh, yeah," I confirmed. "Is that... going to be a problem?"

"Roxy said you were dating a hot Black girl," she said, still puzzled.

"I was," I said. "Well, I almost was. That's Cade. She's really nice, but I couldn't, because, well, me and Jenna..."

"You and Jenna." She gave me a hard look. "How long has that been going on?"

"Technically, since yesterday," I said. "But really, since... well, I kissed her before Halloween. When we went to the faire. Since then."

"But Jenna's straight," Shelby insisted.

"No one's more surprised than me to find that she's not," I said, "unless it's Jenna herself. She figured it out a couple of weeks ago, and we just admitted what was going on yesterday."

"Hmm," Shelby mused. "Well, we always talk about her as my little sister, but clearly she's not. She's a full-grown adult woman."

"She's that, alright." It slipped out without conscious thought. "Oh, shit. Sorry! Sorry, pretend you didn't hear that."

Shelby looked askance at me. But then she shook her head in apparent amusement. "If I have to put together another breakup party for her, I'm going to have to kill you. You know that, right?"

And even though I knew she didn't mean it literally, I accepted the warning for what it was.

"So, about your proposal..."

The switch back to our original topic didn't register instantly. Why was Shelby talking about me proposing to Jenna? We'd been together one day. Though that wasn't to say it couldn't happen.

"Oh, right. My proposal. We're closed Monday and Thursday. Why don't we offer private party packages for one or both days? Exclusive use of the place. We'd require bar staff, of course, but they can be voluntary and paid overtime." I opened the spreadsheet I'd prepared. "Say, two-fifty per hour, minimum two hours. That seems comparable to other bars, and we have entertainment that they don't. I broke it down for different cost schedules. That would barely break even, but that's not including alcohol sales. Make the party size a minimum of ten. Then this column would be the expected sales profit, and this one the profit overall."

Shelby squinted at the numbers. "You have another column here for restaurant sales?"

"Thursday's a slow day. Give the party a twenty-percent discount on a meal, one day only. The idea being they spend three or four hours throwing axes and then conveniently they can get a discount to eat together. When you own the restaurant, too, keeping the group on the premises brings in better revenue. Bar sales wouldn't be discounted, of course."

"Would you be aiming this at weddings, and the kinds of parties you already have scheduled?"

"Maybe," I said. "There's a large bridal party that wanted a Thursday evening, since it wouldn't be shared with anyone, but generally I think Thursdays suck for wedding planners. It might be worth working with the city tourism planning group as a destination for tour groups. I'm thinking private organizations that want to host members-only events. Churches. Community groups. And last night at Gabby's I realized it might be ideal for gay and lesbian groups. I should have thought of that earlier, but this morning my Google results tell me that axe-throwing is almost a stereotypical lesbian activity."

"Church groups and lesbians," Shelby mused. "Not at the same time, I take it."

I laughed. "That would be a bad idea. But I should call Kate to get her input about lesbian groups."

Shelby raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to tell Jenna you're calling the girl who wants your body?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't dare not to," I said, "though Jenna knows I have no interest in Kate."

"I'm going to think about this. It seems like a lot of effort to open the bar on a closed day, but it might be worthwhile. And we'd only be opening privately, scheduled in advance, so we could plan around it. I wouldn't want to do it before the restaurant is moved, so it would be, umm, March, at the earliest. Maybe not for a couple of months after. Can you send me the spreadsheet?"

"Sure," I said. "I'll need to decline the bridal party that originated the suggestion, but the timing was never going to work for them."

"What's the second idea? The request, you said?"

I turned the display back around. I'd made my pitch. "Like I said, we were at Gabby's yesterday. I was talking to my friends Kayla and Anita, who are getting married in July. Everyone's arriving on Friday, the third full week of the month. If we're going to do private parties, I'd like to offer the bar to them on Thursday, specifically as an informal venue for anyone who wants to arrive early. I wouldn't want to charge them. If we need to pay the party fee you can take it out of my commission."

"I don't pay you commission," Shelby growled.

"Exactly," I said. "If we'd be starting the events around that time frame, you could consider it a dry run. If not, well, bar profits should prevent the day from going into the red. It could help get the word out to lesbian groups, if that's a viable market. But really, I just want to party with my friends."

Shelby grunted. "That's fair. Even if I don't go ahead with the concept, I think we could open for them. You've earned some consideration." Then she glared at me. "But if you dump my little sister before then, I'm locking the doors. To your office, too, probably."

"Yessir, Shelby," I said.

~~~~~

Me: "What time? Should I bring food and wine?"

Jenna: "8:30, no, and yes if you want."

~~~~~

The kitchen was a disaster. I think I could have cooked for a party and made less of a mess. But Jenna didn't cook, and for her to go to so much effort made me happy. She'd made chickpea avocado tacos, which collapsed under their own weight when I tried to eat them, but which tasted good.

There was a bowl of chicken, shredded from the store-bought rotisserie chicken that was part of the mess on the kitchen counter, to supplement her own tacos, but she decided she didn't need it, and would save it for another meal.

"I hope you're not one of the people who can't eat cilantro," she said. "I didn't think about that before adding it."

"I love it," I said. "And I'm thrilled that you went to all this effort for me."

"It's only fair," she said, her cheeks coloring.

"I

am

going to help you clean up," I said. "You've obviously worked hard." Then, "Daisy!" I yelled. The grey cat had sneaked up onto the counter and was nosing the chicken. Her tail fluffed instantly and she was out of the room in a flash. A second later we heard a crash from the other side of the house.

"Sorry," I said. "I don't know what she hit."

Jenna chuckled. "You saved the chicken. And you don't even eat it."

The kitchen didn't take as long to clear around as I'd expected. I arranged everything into the fridge, which wasn't hard since there was little in there. At least after I'd tossed the three saved containers that were best left unopened.

Jenna hadn't thrown away cans and plastic after using their contents, and she'd left used mixing bowls on the counter, which was why the result was so untidy. If you don't cook much, it's easy not to realize how much of a difference keeping up with your trash makes. We might have to have that conversation one day, but for now I was just delighted that she'd cooked for me.

We took our wine to the living room. Daisy was eyeing me suspiciously from a corner, her tail still fluffed. Scaring her hadn't improved my chances of her accepting me. Poppy was beneath the TV, curled up around a toy mouse.

"We could log into your Netflix account," Jenna suggested.

"I'll do that," I said, "but let's find something for you. You've been suffering my choices on every visit. You should choose. But may I look around your house first? This is a nice looking place."

Jenna smiled. "Thanks. It's small, but it has a good sized yard. Bring your wine and follow me."

The house was less than a thousand square feet. For a single woman, it was perfect. The den was large and comfortable. As the only room in that section of the house, it had windows on three sides, with a wood burning stove and wide-screen TV on the fourth wall. A large couch faced the TV. I felt the air close to the stove, but it wasn't lit. Jenna said she didn't use it normally, but it was really nice to have when the weather was cold.

The house had two bedrooms and a sun room. Jenna showed me the sun room first. It was empty, unheated, and the door to the outside was dark. She outlined the plant display she intended to build there.

The shared bathroom was nothing special, just a bathtub, toilet and single washbasin, a shower head over the tub. It was painted a drab off-white. Jenna had plans to brighten it, but it would always be small.

The guest bedroom held a full-size bed. The pale blue walls made it seem cold and uninviting, but changing the color scheme was also part of Jenna's plans. The priority wasn't high, since it was quite functional for guests.

Finally, the master bedroom was surprisingly large and looked very comfortable, housing a queen-size bed with a ruffled cherry comforter and frilled white pillows. "I expect you'll see a little more of this room later," Jenna said, "unless you want to sleep in the guest room."

"Umm... no," I answered. "Unless you're sleeping in the guest room, too."

The couch in the living room was as soft as it looked. Jenna brought a blanket to drape over us.

"What about this one?" she asked. "Sandra Bullock in the jungle in a shiny purple dress. What's not to like?"

"I could picture you in that outfit," I said. "That neckline is almost as low as the blue dinner outfit. And the torn skirt would be very you. Yeah, let's do that."

We snuggled together to watch the movie. I told Jenna about my conversation with Shelby and her shock at learning we were dating.

"It probably would have been a good idea to warn her, wouldn't it?" she said.

"Yeah, but she'd still have been shocked," I said. "Less than a week ago I went on a date with Cade. You and I both know why that didn't work out, and why you're

not

a rebound, but it's going to look suspicious to anyone else. We're just going to have to allay Shelby's fears by not breaking up," I said. "I'm sorry, but there it is."

"Might be tough," Jenna said.

"Also, if we do break up, Shelby's going to kill me. Literally her words."

"We can't have that," she said. "I guess we're just going to have to find a way to make it work, whatever the personal costs."

Sandra Bullock's torn skirt turned out to be pants. No matter, they'd still suit Jenna, torn or not.

"Also, I need to talk to Kate and Kayla about plans for private parties. I told Shelby you'd be cool with me working with Kate. She doesn't know about my history with Kayla, or she might not have been more suspicious of her than Kate."

"You want to have a private party with Kayla?" Jenna asked, her eyes narrowed.

"I want to

host

a private party

for

Kayla," I said. "Not the same thing at all."

The movie seemed a little mindless. My recent ventures into non-"cartoon" viewing hadn't been great. I didn't want to say that in case Jenna started to think of me as a movie snob, but when she gave me a wry shrug as the credits rolled. I grinned.

But even a mindless movie is an excuse to sit with your girlfriend without having to do anything but be comfortable together. Jenna was becoming a familiar presence in my life.

~~~~~

The master bedroom had its own compact bathroom. The shower was a good size, even if the rest of the room was a little cramped. I took a shower, changing into my PJs before returning to the bedroom. But while Jenna took her own shower, I took them back off, stuffing them into my bag, then covering myself with the bedclothes, to surprise Jenna.

The joke was on me, though. When she emerged from the bathroom, holding a towel closed around her, she took hold of the comforter and sheet and stripped the bed in one motion, leaving me naked on the sheet.

Her eyes widened in surprise, then she grinned. "I see what

you

have in mind."

"Seems you had the same idea," I said, looking pointedly at the sheet in her hand.

The amusement in her eyes became muted. "I want to do to you what you did to me yesterday. I might need a little guidance."

"You want to go down on me?" I asked, shivering with anticipation when she nodded. She looked a little apprehensive. "Yeah, I can be your guinea pig for that."

I beckoned her onto the bed. She slithered close, still holding the towel. "If you're looking to me for guidance, the first order of business would be to let me peel off your towel," I said. "That would jump start the process of getting me wet for you."

The instruction was meant to be an ironic comment, since she wouldn't be a stranger to the need to let intimacy build. But then - was that really true? Her previous experiences didn't seem to have been particularly fulfilling. Had her male partners understood how exciting and how crucial foreplay was to a woman? Had her solo play shown her that it was better to let her body begin to ache with need before seeking release?

We'd had one night together, and it had been magical, but would Jenna know why it had worked so well, or would she need to learn how to let lust be her guru but not her master? That had never been a problem with my one night stands at Gabby's, since the women I'd been with were familiar with maximizing their own and their partners' pleasure. I doubted any of Jenna's boyfriends had the skill and desire of Gabby's girls.

Was it possible that if one of them had given her what she wanted, she'd still be with him, and wouldn't have realized she was queer? That was a horrible thought. I shivered.

"Is everything okay?" Jenna asked.

"Mmh, yeah," I said. "Just thinking how good it is that you're in my life."

When I reached for the towel, Jenna gripped it more tightly. "What if I don't want to take it off?" she teased.

"Then I'd have to find a way to persuade you," I replied, shifting against her and pulling her close. I kissed her as I ran my hand down her side. I tried to tug the towel open, but she held fast.

Trailing my fingers over her ribs, I kissed her again. She responded playfully.

Finding a likely spot on her ribs, I dug my fingers in to tickle her. She jerked, her eyes widening, and I used the distraction to break her hold on the towel, pulling it down far enough to work my hand inside, finding her breast and squeezing as I parted my lips against hers, my tongue finding hers.

She groaned before breaking the kiss. "Unfair," she said.

Jenna's nipple hardened to my touch. I toyed with it for a time, then ran my fingers down over her belly until I found the soft, moist hair beneath. "Looks like it's working for you," I murmured. Then I pushed the towel back over her hips, letting her bare skin touch mine. "I'll let you into a secret. It's working for me, too."

"I'm sure it is," she said, her tone sharp with desire. Then she let the towel fall open as she wrapped her arms around me. Her breasts caressed mine as we kissed.

Jenna lowered a hand to my sex, checking the results for herself. She pressed the tip of her finger into me and stroked lightly. Grinning, she said, "Oh yeah, it is."

My excitement grew as she touched me. We kissed again, the intensity of her response matching mine. She panted softly as our lips parted. Lying down, I held my arms out to her. She moved onto me and we kissed again, her fingers moving back to explore my sex.

"What you're doing feels really good," I whispered.