Five Years and Four Days

Preface

Part four of four. More good stuff. Probably need to read parts one, two, and three first to get the gist of all this.

FIVE YEARS AND FOUR DAYS - DAY FOUR (and FIVE)

-

- MORNING

—

JESS

The phone woke me up. I blinked and looked at the clock -- it was just about 10 in the morning. I shifted my legs as they felt a little sore, prompting me to fully remember everything that happened the night before. I turned a little and saw Alex's sleeping form. I knew I was grinning like an idiot.

"Hello?" I said quietly as I picked up the phone.

"Why are you still at home instead of sitting here with me and Julia for brunch?" Cathy's voice came booming through the handset.

"Oh shit. I overslept -- sorry." My eye wandered over to the still sleeping Alex.

"You better have a good reason for standing us up, Jess." Cathy paused, waiting for me to offer an acceptable explanation. I heard Julia in the background urging her to find out what's going on.

"Alex stayed over," I finally said.

"Oh. My. God." Cathy exclaimed, "Tell me everything. EVERYTHING, Jessica Wainwright."

I gently lifted the covers off Alex, deeply enjoying the sight of her naked body.

"She stayed over. We were up rather late, uh, catching up," I said, still smiling with the memory.

"She's still there, isn't she?" Cathy asked.

"Uh-huh," I conceded.

"Ok -- well, Jules and I will finish up here. Why don't you guys putter over to our place later today? Jules's sister and nephews will be popping by to drop some stuff off, but do come round, Julia is DYING to meet Alex. "

"All right. No promises. I'll shoot you a text if we head over. Talk later." I hung up.

I slid deeper under the covers, snuggled into the crook of her arm and pulled the covers back over us. I placed my knee on her thigh and I felt an immediate spark of desire when she shifted her hip slightly. No one has ever been able to turn me on like this. In the past, if such a night had happened, it would have taken a lot of masterful foreplay to get me humming again. But Alex wasn't even awake and I was ready to jump on her.

"Jess..." she muttered.

"Hm?" I leaned in closer.

"Yes, I would," Alex said, her eyes still closed.

"Would what, darling?" I asked.

I stopped, realising I just called her 'darling'. It had just popped out of my mouth.

I also realised that Alex wasn't awake and was talking in her sleep.

Alex's hand moved towards her crotch as I watched, and I felt more and more aroused as I realised what -- or who -- she must be dreaming about. I moved my knee higher and pressed it against her. Alex's eyes opened and took a moment to focus on me.

"Good dream?" I asked slyly.

"Uh..." Alex was still waking up, but she caught up quickly, "oh my god, what did I do?"

I tried to suppress my glee, "I think you were dreaming about me -- you said my name and you started moving you hand, um, lower..."

She turned away from me and buried her face in the pillow. "OH no-no-no-no-no! This CAN NOT be happening." She yelled.

"I thought it was pretty hot." I said in her ear. "Do you... um, have dreams like that often?"

Alex nodded, still face down in the pillow.

"And what is it that we are doing in those dreams?" I lightly ran my fingers up and down her back.

Alex looked up, red in the face, "Not much, honestly. It's usually us hanging out and then I get up the courage to touch you or something and then, uh, things happen."

I laughed, "Come kiss me, you nut!"

Alex flipped over to claim my mouth with hers.

I reached down and dipped my finger into her, feeling the results of her dream that I interrupted. I was so turned on that I plunged my fingers deep inside her, feeling her warm wetness taking me in. Alex sighed and immediately pushed her fingers into me. We were a tangle of arms and legs as our fingers went to work; Alex kissed me again, nipping my lips and sucking softly. I moaned into her mouth as our tongues touched. The kiss became more urgent as we each started to come. I felt her thumb on my clit and I reciprocated with my thumb, both of us rubbing and pushing faster until release blasted through our cores.

"Good morning, gorgeous," I sighed.

"This is so much better than the dream," Alex was still blushing.

I laughed, "How is it that I've only just figured out that you are this amazing?"

"I've been waiting for you to notice me," she replied, "I never thought you would... so maybe we can do more of the kissing and stuff," Alex's hand started wandering down my stomach.

"You are worse than a guy with your one track mind!" I teased.

"What else do you want to do?" Alex asked, tracing small circles on my thigh.

"Well, since you asked, we do have an invitation to go over to Cathy's later today if you want."

Alex's eyes widened, "Oh no, she knows. How much does she know?"

"Cathy called this morning -- I missed our brunch date, and she pretty much guessed what happened."

"So... what exactly happened?" Alex asked, "Are we a 'thing'?"

I brushed her lips with mine, "I want us to be, yes."

Alex raised two fists into the air, "YES! YES! YES!"

I laughed, "You are a nut, you know that, right?"

"Are you okay with this?" Alex asked, wrapping her arms around me. "I mean, not like you have to parade around with a rainbow flag, but generally speaking you know, okay being with me... two women... that kind of stuff..."

"More than okay, Alex. The rest we can figure out, okay? I promise."

Alex nodded. "If we are going over to Cathy's, I'll need to go back to the hotel to pick up some clean clothes. And we should probably shower..." She grinned.

"Take my car," I said, "I would offer for you to shower with me, but I don't think we'd get out of the house if that happened. I'll get cleaned up here and you can come back to pick me up before we go round to Cathy's."

ALEX

It was all so surreal. I was driving Jess's car, wearing clothes that smelled like her, and would more than likely be spending the rest of the weekend with her before my flight back to the States. It was odd to be passing through the world where everything seemed to be the same, but so much was different. My reality now included the ability to kiss Jess Wainwright. I felt drunk with joy.

Grateful that I still had passing familiarity with the roads after five years away, I navigated back to the hotel, where I quickly ate something, showered and packed up. I thought I might as well have my stuff with me in case I didn't return. I peeled off the bandage on my shoulder and laughed to myself as I saw the tremendous set of teeth marks that Jess branded me with.

I was nervous about how this was all going to work out, but there was a part of me that felt completely confident in what was happening. Even if Jess were to throw this in my face, I thought to myself, this weekend would still be worth it.

Going through the lobby, I made sure everything was in order in case I didn't return to check out on Sunday, and headed back to the car.

I bought some flowers for Jess -- I'd take the risk that it was a step too far, but I figured I could always crawl back to the hotel in shame. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I felt so excited during the drive back to Jess's house. I didn't want to get too much ahead of myself, but last night blasted my world wide open, and I would do anything to have whatever this thing was with Jess continue to grow.

I decided to leave my suitcase in the car, just in case it was too presumptuous. I grabbed the flowers and rang the bell. "It's open!" Jess's voice yelled. I opened the door, walked in, and my heart stopped.

Jess was wearing the shirt I had left in her closet. My visual cortex almost shut down with over-stimulation. She looked so sexy in my shirt; the sleeves were rolled up and she left enough buttons open that I was able to see her cleavage and the beginning of the slopes of her breasts. The shirt was tucked into a pair of jeans that showed off her body just enough to make me not be able to look away. I couldn't help but read EVERYTHING into it.

"I, uh, got you these," I somehow managed to say, offering her the flowers "You look amazing, uh, sexy, I mean. You found my shirt. Which you can wear for as long as you'd like."

"You are adorable when you get flustered, do you know that?"

She gave me a quick kiss on the lips -- as if she'd done it a hundred times before -- and disappeared into the kitchen with the flowers. I was rooted to the spot, still recovering, having lost all ability to respond.

"Cathy's been burning a hole in my phone with all her texts," Jess said as she returned, "She will have a conniption if we don't show up soon."

I nodded, still rendered speechless by her beauty.

"Alex, you are staring," she smiled.

I shrugged, "Making up for years of having to do it surreptitiously."

Jess squeezed my hand and led me out to the car, "I'm not complaining, handsome."

"Is that your suitcase in the back?" She asked, looking in the rearview mirror as we pulled out onto the road.

"Yeah -- I thought I'd bring it in case I didn't need to go back to the hotel." I replied, my eyes frequently straying to the open neck of her shirt.

"Good thinking, Sherlock," she said, noticing my glances and smiled. She patted my thigh and left her hand there. "You really are enjoying the view, aren't you, Alex?"

I put my hand on hers and sighed contentedly, "very much so!"

"Oh, Cathy mentioned there might be a few little ones at their house. Julia's sister and her children are supposed to make a quick visit today."

I nodded, not really caring if the Prime Minister showed up.

--

AFTERNOON

--

JESS

I parked behind Cathy's blue VW in front of the house and headed to the gate that led to their back garden. Alex followed closely behind, sneaking in a gentle nip to my ear as I threw the gate open. I loved seeing the effect I had on Alex, and I loved how she was making no effort to hide her attraction to me. If I didn't have Cathy pinging me with texts to go round to her place, I doubt we would have left the house.

I heard the kids before I saw them: a blur of blonde hair and short legs making a bee line for us. Cathy was sitting on the patio and waved us in with a massive grin on her face.

"We were wondering if you would show up or if you'd continue to be distracted with you, er, 'catching up'," she said with a wicked twinkle in her eye. "Make yourself at home. Jules will be out in a moment."

One of the boys ran into Alex at full force while trying to keep ahead of his brother, who was brandishing a water gun. He stared up at her with alarm, but Alex didn't miss a beat, "UGH," she shouted as she feigned pain, "you got me... ahhhhh!"

By the time Julia and her sister emerged from inside the house, Alex was in the thick of it with the boys, taking a shot right in the stomach as the brothers screamed with delight. She collapsed dramatically as the boys ran over, giggling joyously while continuing to pelt her with water. I had both hands on my mouth as I watched, finding Alex's play both horrifying and alluring all at once.

"NATHAN! COLIN!" Julia's sister shouted, "No shooting water at people! That's the rule!" The boys scrambled away and Alex stood up, gasping for air, "It's fine, it's just water," she said with a drop-dead gorgeous grin.

That, combined with the half wet t-shirt, set off a silent quake of desire between my legs.

"I'm so sorry," the mother said, "they should know better. I'm Chris, Julia's sister... and mother to the hell spawn who just soaked you," she reached out her hand.

"Alexandra," Alex said laughing, shaking her hand.

"And I'm Julia," Julia interjected, "lovely to meet you. Cathy has told me so much about you. Before anything else though, come on in and let's get you a dry shirt." Alex followed her into the house.

Chris shouted good-bye to her sister, blew a kiss at Cathy, and went off to herd the two boys into their car.

The moment Cathy heard Chris's car start, she turned to me hissing, "Quickly, before Jules and Alex come back. Tell me everything."

I laughed. "Well, as you know, I gave her the big signal -- I chased her down in her hotel and we kissed. Then we met up at my place last night, started talking, and then one thing led to another."

Cathy squealed, "Wow. So how was it?"

"It was good, Cathy. So, so much better than good, actually. I didn't expect it to be that good." I started blushing.

Cathy was beaming at me.

I shook my head, "I don't know where this is going -- it all happened so quickly. I mean, you know my relationship history. And I don't just jump into bed with people... but I kind of jumped on her. And it didn't feel like a whim... but, um, we haven't really done much talking this morning." I blushed again.

Cathy smiled, "No, you haven't had it easy with relationships. But I've also not seen you glow like this because of someone. Just make sure she knows how you feel -- she's been pining for you for years, you have some catching up to do."

I looked at Cathy, "Of all people... I never thought Alex... I mean, I didn't think it could come to this, so I'd just been treating her like any other former student. But how I feel now is something quite else."

Cathy nodded, "There's something that makes you guys click. And you're right, it's an all-girls boarding school, people have crushes all the time that never lead to anything, so she probably had no idea as to the full force of what she was feeling. But from where I stood, the way you looked at each other on Wednesday, it was clear those feelings were not fleeting -- for either of you."

"I might be very different from what she imagines me to be. So this might all come to nought." I reminded her.

"No, I don't think so. There's a history here. I saw you guys together when she was at school. You never crossed the line -- let there be no mistake -- but there was a connection there. You guys are in this -- whatever it is -- together, and it's not just all in her head."

"After last night, it'll be hard for anyone to think it was just in her head. But Cathy, it's not her head I'm worried about. It's mine."

ALEX

Julia led me down the main hallway into what appeared to be a guest bedroom. She went to a chest of drawers and pulled open a drawer. She dug through and came up with a random collection of polo shirts and t-shirts.

"These have been left here over the years when people visited -- one of these ought to fit."

I sorted through them and picked a navy blue polo. "Thanks," I said, "This should work." I handed the remainder back to her.

She headed out of the room, "Super. Come back out once you are done."

I peeled off my wet t-shirt, and was about to grab the polo shirt when she poked her head back in, "What do you want to drink -- oh, sorry -- you were quicker than I thought you would be."

"No harm done," I smiled, "just us girls." I reached for the dry shirt.

"What happened to your shoulder?" She gasped. "That looks painful!"

"Ah. Um. Small accident." I stammered as she came closer to take a look.

"These are teeth marks!" She exclaimed.

Her eyes eventually widened in understanding, "Oh. Ohhhhh! I see. Oh heavens, Alex. Sorry."

I quickly put on the dry shirt. Julia started shaking with laughter, "looks like you guys had a good time last night... Cathy is going to die when she sees this."

I blushed, but Julia put an arm around me as we walked out and squeezed, shaking her head with amusement.

Cathy and Jess were deep in conversation when we returned to the patio. Cathy looked up, her eyes darting between me and Julia. "Jules, why do you look like a cat that ate a canary?"

Julia made a motion of zipping up her lip, "No comment." She turned to me and said, "Drink?"

I nodded as I sat down next to Jess, "Iced water would be great. Thank you so much."

Cathy narrowed her eyes at me, and when I shook my head, she turned to Jess: "What is this little inside joke between Alex and Julia?"

Jess shook her head and shrugged. Undeterred, Cathy leapt up to find Julia and Jess looked back at me, "What?"

I pointed to my shoulder, "Julia popped back into the room when I had my shirt off and saw the bite mark."

Jess hid her face in her hands.

"I didn't say anything and Julia pretty much guessed. Sorry Jess."

"LET ME SEE IT!" Cathy came bounding back.

Jess buried her head in my chest. "Fine, you can show her," Jess mumbled into my shirt.

I hooked my finger under the collar and pulled the opening over towards my shoulder.

"Holy mother of bite marks! Bloody hell, Jessica Wainwright, you must be part werewolf or something. Alex, we can lend you some lacrosse goalie pads for future, um, nocturnal activities." Cathy's mouth was twitching as she said this.

"Don't mind her," Julia said when she returned with my water, "she bit me on the leg once. And it wasn't even during sex. She was losing an argument and decided that a bite would redeem her failure to make a valid point." Cathy stuck out her tongue at Julia as I laughed.

I felt instantly comfortable with our hosts, and although Jess was still blushing, she did laugh along with the rest of us. I leaned back on the settee and Jess tucked herself into my side.

The four of us fell into an easy conversation, and time passed easily.

"Stay for supper, you two. Jess, it's the least you can do after missing brunch this morning," Cathy said as the clock ticked towards 7pm.

"What do you think, darling?" Jess asked. I nodded, wondering if Jess realised she'd call me 'darling'.

CATHY

Julia shooed me into the kitchen. I stood by the door trying to get a peek at Alex and Jess, who had followed us inside and were now sitting on the living room couch.

"Stop spying on them and help me with the food," she admonished.

"They are just talking -- I'm not invading their privacy or anything. It's just good to see them together." I left my perch by the door and started on the veggies.

"I didn't know Jess had it in her, honestly." Julia said, "I mean, she's talked about random trysts with women, but I never thought it was her thing."

"Alex is her only thing, darling." I replied, "She just didn't know it back then, and how could she? She was a teacher, Alex was 18. It was unthinkable. The effect they had on each other the other day was instantaneous -- they couldn't keep their eyes off one another. Also helps that Alex grew three inches and put on a couple pounds of muscle."

"Is someone feeling a little insecure about not having abs of steel?" Jules teased, coming over to give my bum a thwack.

"Oh, excuse me, but weren't you the one who accidentally-maybe-on-purpose caught Alex in a state of undress this afternoon? Good eye candy was it?" I feigned distress.

"Too butch for me. I like my women soft and strong, and none better than the one I have at home." Julia gave me a quick reassuring peck on the cheek. "The lean muscle mass thing works for some people, but I think it looks too skinny."

"Hmph," I grunted, "Well, it seems to be working for Jess. I reminded her that given their history, this has been bubbling under the surface for a while, with Alex being a little more aware of it than Jess was."

"I think it's sweet that Alex has held a torch for Jess, but Cath, watching them today, it does not look one-sided... What was that?" Julia looked up. We'd both heard a loud crash.

I poked my head around the kitchen door. "That, my dear, is the consequence of two women snogging like teenagers on our couch. They may have broken our clock."

Julia giggled and waved her wooden spoon like a conductor's baton, "Well, let's hurry up and finish making supper then. They can bugger off back to Jess's place before we have to put in ear plugs and lock them in the guest room."