She slowly turned back around in her seat once again and I could see a teardrop making its way down her cheek. She took a deep breath and met my confused gaze.
"Cat, you know I love ya dearly and I'm so happy for you -- I promise I really am. It's amazing, but despite the age difference it does seem as if you and Sara might have really found something special, maybe even a genuine love connection. And I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but I wish just once I could know what it's like to feel that way about someone and have that person actually return those feelings."
I was totally unprepared for that kind of disclosure. I had no idea that Ariana hadn't experienced similar feelings for at least one of the many guys she had dated over the years and it never even occurred to me that reciprocation might be an issue. I realized that I had been doing a rather bad job of holding up my end of our friendship.
I took a deep breath and tried to be the friend I was supposed to be. "What about Brad, you've been seeing him for two or three months now, is there no mutual love or tenderness there at all between you guys?"
The look in her eyes turned from sadness to one that was almost menacing. "Love, tenderness - huh! It's always about sex with him -- fucking, blowjobs, handjobs -- sex, sex, sex. Hell, it's been that way with every guy I've dated since Middle School. I'm really tired of it, but I just don't know what to do about it. Got any ideas, girlfriend?"
This was indeed a first for us. I had never asked Ariana for advice with a girl before and she had never asked me for any help with a guy. And in our parallel universe I think that seemed to be the natural order of things between us and it certainly made perfect sense. Now that seemed to be changing and I knew this could possibly be a real challenge for me. As I thought about her question I wondered whether our friendship might actually hang in the balance.
This time it was my turn to sit there and stare out the front windshield, as I considered her situation for several minutes. When I looked back into her eyes I saw something there I had not been prepared to see. It looked like hope, but then again, maybe desperation was probably a better description. Well anyway, here goes.
"Regardless of whether you're attracted to males or females or whether you're gay or straight, I think the challenges always seem to be the same. Keep the relationship growing, while also keeping it fresh and exciting, all within a climate of mutual respect."
Well, that was my long-awaited opening statement. I paused for an instant to see whether she'd roll her eyes or maybe even laugh at me, but she did neither one. She considered my comments for a moment and nodded thoughtfully. Then she looked up and waited patiently for me to continue, so I did.
When I finished nearly an hour later I think we both felt better. I don't think I told her anything she hadn't really thought about before, but she seemed to actually consider the advice I offered.
When Ariana finally dropped me off in front of my house it was nearly 6:30 p.m. and I was fairly certain I would probably face another uncomfortable interrogation at home. Except for two graduate classes my mother had in the afternoon, I knew that she had been home most of the day. With all that time on her hands I was sure she was probably busy thinking of some more questions to ask me that I probably wouldn't want to answer. I looked over at Sara's house and knew this decision was a no-brainer.
I headed up the walkway to the door, knocked twice and then just let myself in. I didn't give the matter a whole lot of thought until I was inside and realized that despite having her power on, the blinds were drawn shut and the house was relatively dark. Then I noticed that two candles were lit on the cocktail table in the living room and I walked towards them, calling Sara's name as I went.
"Hey baby, have a seat on the sofa, I'll be right out," Sara called from the direction of her bedroom.
Hearing Sara's voice immediately put a smile on my face, as I realized how much I had missed her all day. I headed to the sofa and dropped my backpack on the floor, kicked off my flip-flops, sat back into the over-sized cushions and then I put my bare --feet up on the cocktail table.
I started to get a chill with the air conditioner blowing down on me, which served as a casual reminder that I hadn't put any panties on after showering, so I crossed my legs, leaned my head back on the cushion and closed my eyes for an instant to decompress after the mentally-exhausting day I had.
I must have been more tired than I first thought, because moments later I drifted off. I didn't hear Sara enter the room, but then I seemed to realize that she was behind me massaging my neck and it felt incredibly relaxing.
I opened my eyes and smiled and then reached behind me without moving. She stopped massaging my neck and took my hand in hers and gently kissed it. Then I felt her take my index finger into her mouth and she slowly began to fellate it. I could feel the sensual slickness of her lipstick on my finger and I was suddenly wide awake. I felt goose bumps immediately invading my arms and legs.
As Sara slowly worked my finger in and out of her mouth, my breathing began to accelerate. I closed my eyes and felt her apply suctioning pressure to my finger. She'd gently release it and then she'd repeat that motion once again, gradually increasing the pressure of her suction each time. No one had ever done anything like that to me before, but I knew right away that I would make this a big part of my love-making repertoire in the future.
I instinctively took my left hand and found my happy place and I began to gently touch myself. I wasn't surprised to find that my lubrication was way ahead of me. I slowly inserted my wet finger inside my pussy and simulated the same motion down below that Sara was performing on my finger. A moment later we were in perfect sync and I knew I was already getting close.
Sometimes two people can be together forever and they're unable to anticipate each other's sexual needs, while other times such anticipation is second nature for even the newest couple. Thank God the latter applied to us. When I was close to cumming, though not quite there yet, Sara reached over my shoulder with her free hand and went straight under my shirt and found one of my erect nipples. She cradled it between her thumb and index finger and then began to squeeze it -- gently at first and then with increasing intensity.
Between Sara sucking on my finger, squeezing my nipple and me fingering myself, my orgasm suddenly arrived with a vengeance and ripped though my tired body with a near savage intensity that I hadn't experienced since Erin and I stopped our intimacy nearly a year ago. God - how I missed that wonderful feeling. During all the excitement I heard myself yell out, but I didn't even recognize the sound of my own voice.
"Oh my God, ahhh, my . . . God, Sara . . . I'm cumming!"
The sucking and the pinching suddenly became more passionate and I realized that I was matching Sara's intensity with my own. That realization seemed to trigger the second orgasm that was now washing through my body. I felt myself momentarily lose consciousness.
When I briefly opened my eyes sometime later the upper half of my body was now horizontal and my head was positioned on Sara's lap and she was gently running her fingers through my hair and humming. It suddenly occurred to me that if my life would never get any better than this I was totally fine with that. Then I seemed to drop off once again, reveling in a euphoric post-orgasmic bliss.
When I regained consciousness a second time I opened my eyes and I could see Sara's loving gaze and warm smile looking down at me. I instinctively returned her smile, but then I realized a fear that I had never experienced before. I felt that I actually may have been lucky enough to find my true soulmate and now I wondered whether I could hold onto her, or whether I would lose her like I did Erin. The thought sent a cold shiver through my body and I could immediately tell that Sara could actually feel it too.
"Are you okay baby, do you want a blanket?"
I'm usually not weepy, but I just couldn't help myself. I was about to respond and then the only audible sound I heard was crying and I realized that it was coming from me. It not only took me by surprise, I could tell it also surprised Sara. She moved off of the sofa and kneeled on the floor between my legs. I could tell she was both puzzled, as well as concerned.