Lamb And Wolf Ch 02

Seven days. Seven days had passed since Mary's drive home from Josie's suburban home. She thought about it: one hundred and sixty-eight hours since she had last heard her voice, seen her face, touched her body, or taken in her scent as they kissed. One hundred and sixty-eight hours since her last orgasm.

Mary could only wonder what she was doing at that moment, as she laid in her bed at lunchtime, passing the minutes by tossing a pillow at the ceiling or singing softly to herself. Mary smiled at the image vividly in her mind, Josie in a fancy blouse and pencil skirt, tapping down the isles of a grocery store, clean and sparkling the way Mary remembered her, and at lunchtime she probably ate salads with Tom, out of a pristine bowl, slender and manicured fingers gingerly around the stem of her silver fork.

The sexual thoughts came alive at night. The need for sleep and the need for relief polarized Mary, fed off the internal conflict, the excitement, the forbidden nature. Mary pulsed around herself, her body probed her mind for weakness, a tender spot that would buckle and give in, leave her thighs damp and trembling. As Mary thought about her nights, images of Josie flooded her days, too powerful to dam. The string that held her together grew taut, lost its tune, and strained under the pressure.

The day before Mary had been paid handsomely by an elderly couple unable to care for their garden. She did what she could for the yellowing lawn, and threw in a bed of flowers to distract the eyes. Planting fauna and digging were her favorite jobs, it washed her mind clean and cleansed her thoroughly through the bodily stresses. With the money she bought lingerie, laced and brilliantly white like Josie; the cups of the bra became Josie's adept hands, warm and loving, and the panties were her as well, pressing herself towards Mary's core with silken insistence. She would only wear them once she called, and not a moment before, or she feared they might consume her.

Mary rolled to her bedside to wash the clammy sweat off her skin, when her phone vibrated against the wood of the night stand. It jerked her back to life, into action. Picking up the phone, she saw the name that made her gather in her stomach, 'Josie'. Mary had imagined many conversations with her, but as the phone buzzed another reminder, her plans trickled away and dissipated in the nervous heat. She didn't know if she felt excitement or nervousness as she started the call, pressing the phone to her ear, Josie's voice came through, "Mary," she said softly, a delighted tone.

"Josie," she responded, "need me to come trim the lawn?" She wasn't sure why, but her teasing, cocky persona emerged whenever she knew Josie was around, tt was coaxed out.

There was a quick puff of air on the other line, like a small laugh. "You know damn well my lawn is perfect, and so are the hedges and everything else that's green here."

"I know that all too well, but even the lopsided bush I didn't get to finish?" Mary felt the smile spread her lips, it came as naturally as her words.

"I told Tom it's art and he bought it, even the dumb housewives I had over thought it was 'refreshing'."

"Give me their numbers; I'll put on a blindfold and give them some avant garde landscaping." The two women shared a laugh over the phone. Josie's bright, restrained laugh strummed in Mary's ears, she wanted to hear and see her laugh, in person.

"I'd kill to see that, but no. I don't want them anywhere near you, you're too good for them."

"I'll be happy to prevent a murder." They laughed again, and Mary got out of bed and started doing what she always did during a phone call, she paced around her apartment, through the kitchen, past the bathroom, through the living room and back into the kitchen.

"You didn't call to give me work, so I'm lost."

"I'll tell you the reason I called, but it can wait, if you have the time? You're not busy, are you?" Her voice stood out, it wasn't coy like what she had heard previously.

"No—no of course not. What's up?"

"I want to make some things clear with you. Last week was strange, and that wasn't really me. I wasn't lying about anything I said, but I acted like an idiot." Mary felt her heart drop with trepidation over the meaning behind her words. She sounded sincere.

"So, what does that mean?"

"It means I'm sorry, I want to apologize for basically dragging you into my home and screwing you like some dog in heat. Even if I barely know you I know you deserve better."

"Josie..." Mary said with a low voice, nonplussed. She stopped walking by the hallway and picked at a pebble she'd dragged inside under her boots, "I don't know what to say, this is like the last thing I expected to hear from you."

"Just goes to show the impression I had on you, but I promise you I'm not like that. I've felt like crap about it all week. And I saw you barely took any money at all and that tells me more than enough, Mary."

"It felt wrong to take even the 20, I wish I hadn't." Mary had the bill in her wallet, untouched as something held her back from using it.

"I'm sorry." Josie's voice was tense. Neither was sure what to say, there was a lull in their conversation but Mary heard her shallow breath in her ear. "I'd like to talk to you, maybe get to know you." She was tentative as if expecting the call to end; Mary resumed her walk.

"I'd like that."

Mary talked to Josie about her week and her clients: the old couples that would rather hire someone to do their job, the new homeowners that wanted consultation on their back yards, the lawn problems, the gardens, ponds and patios and as she talked she realized she enjoyed it, talking about her job and explaining why it drew her in; it reaffirmed her love of the profession to herself and Josie sounded as invested. "I never knew you did so much. I also realize I underestimated you." They shared a laugh that came freely, like old friends talking. Mary shared a story of a yellow lawn and an ant colony, and the client's refusal to hire anybody else. Mary heard Josie gasp, then laugh herself into a fit as the story progressed, ending with Mary not getting paid at all. As they were relaxing and the topics shifted, she noticed how different their conversation had become, they played coy games and teased in small portions, instead of hiding behind it as Mary came to realize they had been doing all along. She liked talking to Josie, everything came to her so easily, words formed without a thought and Josie shot back with something she immediately had to comment on.

"Okay, okay, you gotta tell me how your week's been now."

"Think you can handle it? There are a lot of intense and exciting beauty treatments and work hours." Josie's voice was filled with amusement.

"I sat down, I'm ready for a major bombshell here." She sat on the kitchen floor, eating the crust off a breadslice, saving the soft part for last.

"You can't believe how many of these things I go to with the other girls, and they drag on and on, kind of like me now." She jested, "It's easy to fit in with them, but I know for a fact they all talk shit about each other. That's the life right there."

"I'm not sure if you like it or not yet." Mary said and left the answer in the air.

"Scale of one to ten on the terrible scale, it's a 7 on the boring days and maybe a 4 the rest of the time. You get used to it and you look pretty pretty much all the time."

Mary stopped herself for a moment, trying to figure out how Josie would respond. "I'd like to see you without all that make-up and polish sometime."

"Oh, don't tempt me, I would take that offer so bad." She responded without hesitation.

"I was hoping you would." Something else painted their voices, a deliberate flirting free from coquettish flatter.

"Believe me, I will," Josie made a sound as if remembering something, "Oh, that's the whole reason I called too. Since it's a weekend tomorrow, I'd love to come over tonight. Maybe stay till Sunday?" Mary didn't understand the careful tone of the proposition, she became elated by it.

"Yes, you have to come over! What time?"

"I'll be over around seven, I'd like to spend time with you as it gets dark." Her voice was low, calm with her longing.

"I'd love that too," she said and went past the kitchen, glancing at the analogue clock on the wall, "speaking of time, it's two now."

"Oh my god, we've been talking for two hours." Josie said with rueful amusement. "I really liked talking to you, Mary. Haven't laughed that much in ages."

"Same, two hours just went by like that." Mary held her phone with both hands and leaned on her coffee table. "I can't wait to see you in person again."

"You'll have to," Josie's voice snaked its way into her brain, she shivered but the distortion was getting in her way, but the only voice she recalled with clarity was soaked in sexual tension. "I need to prepare for tonight, but I'll call again when I'm almost there."

"Wait, Josie—" She stood up and paced into her bedroom, "I want to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"I—I haven't... you know, since last week. I've been thinking of you a lot." She came down almost to a whisper, imagining herself putting her lips to Josie's ear. She heard Josie's breath abruptly seize, and there was a peculiar silence.

"Mary, I think you have me in a spell. It's taking me all my will not to rush over there right now." Josie husked, "I've been saving myself too, it's one of the hardest things I've ever done," she paused before she added, "and she wettest."

"Waiting for you is gonna be impossible." Mary breathed.

"Try. I promise you the wait is only going to make it better." She said, and hung up.

Mary wobbled into the bathroom in elation. She spun and giggled and turned the knob to the shower, and listened to the spray hit the tiles like morning static. She made sure to shower early, wash the morning off her body as she sang sugary love songs that bounced off the walls. Not bothering to restrict the images forming from vagueness, she squirmed as they flooded her. Josie's lips would come down on her neck, and she would take in Mary's scent and hold her close. A tightness formed in her chest as she closed her eyes, and a spectral Josie pressed against her, melting into her, starting volcanic eruptions where her fingers traveled. Mary ached to have Josie close, to look at her and hear her voice by her ear. She had to stop to save herself, instead leaving wet footprints on the floor as she went for the vacuum.

Mary passed the time preparing. She tossed old clothes in the laundry, cleared out dishes, dusted off furniture, changed sheets and even polished the windows until the hour reached three. But she couldn't settle, four hours was too long and Mary could do anything other than relax. She decided to check up on the cars below and the empty apartment to make sure they were unchanged still; when she saw boxes in the window her hands went to her mouth, and a profound sense that her live was rapidly moving forward manifested. Mary had to see what they were for, the idea of someone moving in seemed abstract to her then, about as likely as working for NASA. She slipped on a t-shirt with faded print and battered jeans and sneakers and headed across the street. She had never been inside the opposite building. Mary enjoyed imagining it as an different world to hers, even though it was just a mirrored version of her own building. She stood in front of the apartment door on the third floor, a door like the one she used to have; a thin, dark thing in due need of replacement. Mary shuddered to think of the lock and how easy it would be to break it, but she stopped when she heard someone inside.

Knocking twice, the handle turned after a moment and a thin crack in the door revealed the face of the occupant inside: she was a young woman, possibly Mary's age and her face was marked with unsure suspicion. Mary smiled at the change in her life, resolute to welcome her with all the joy that whirled chaotically inside her. "Hey, I'm Mary, I live in the building opposite yours!" She reached out her hand, "I saw boxes from the window and thought you were moving in," the woman opened the door slowly, looked up and down the hallway, then shook her hand.

"I just moved in, yeah. I'm Annerley but Anne or Annie is easier to say." Having opened the doorway, Mary got a good look at Annerley. She had naturally olive skin and curly, brown hair framing her face, shining with sweat and tensed into a frown.

"If you'd like I'll help you move in, must be tough in this heat, and in that sweatshirt."

"I'm trying to lose some weight, don't think I'm weird." Anne's frown eased up and she wiped her brow on her sleeve. "The movers got all the furniture here this morning, it's just the boxes that need unpacking so you won't have to sweat with me."

Mary was gestured inside, and came across an apartment not unlike her own; but lacking all personality that little personal items brought. "You know, this apartment has been empty even since I moved here three years ago. How did you get it?" The question burned in her mind, just what had caused one of her constants, and its sudden demise?

"I'm really sorry, I can't tell you. I'll just say I was going to move in here sooner or later." Her curiosity almost made her forget Josie as she sat herself on a chair in the middle of the designated living room, cutting open a box full of trinkets to line the walls.

"I don't mind, you're friendlier than a lot of people here just letting me in. But still," she paused for dramatic effect, drawing Anne's attention away from the kitchenware, "I'm surprised someone would move into a neighborhood monitored by the government." She grinned, keeping her gaze steady and playful.

"Government agents?" Anne shot back, "must've been in the fine print."

"I've been here long enough to know, come here," Mary moved to the window, one floor lower than her own apartment, but a perfect view of the street. "See that red SUV? That's the FBI, and the crappy-looking Chevy spies for the NSA. The black sedan there in front, that's the CIA picking up the slack."

"I better not be hacking into databases around here then," Anne said, amused, "what about that old pickup?"

"Oh, that's just mine," they laughed and Anne came closer to the window.

"You're brave, parking so close to secret agents."

"I fight the system in my own way."

They kept the conversation going sporadically from room to room, punctuated by Mary asking where she would like a frame or a clock. Mary learned more about Anne through her belongings than their talks, her family photos were lavish ordeals, suits, dresses and courtesy smiles. The man and woman that seemed to be her parents looked rich, but judging by her second-hand furniture, fancy clothes may be all they spend their money on. Mary could tell she liked to dress warm, and instead of classical, which she imagined all upper-crust loved, she had CD's by Bowie and plenty of 80's metal, including several bands she had never heard of. A picture of Annerley began to take shape; the rich girl rebelling against doting parents wanting her to follow their lifestyle. "Is the rent good? Where do you work?" Mary tested.

"Rent is great, and I'm studying." She heard from the bathroom.

"Not even part time? What about the debt?" Mary said and examined the back of a jewel case; Pleasure to Kill. She had to stop herself from laughing.

"I'm not worried, I don't spend a lot and I'll have time working after my degree." Anne came out of the bathroom with a folded box squeezed under her arm. "You know that band?"

Mary put the case down in a neat pile along with the other records. "Never heard of them. It's metal, right?"

"Wanna listen? That one is is seriously heavy." Mary liked Anne's smile, it looked genuine with interest and appreciation.

Looking at her phone at the buzzing prompt, she remembered the alarm she set for 4:30. "Sorry, I've got some plans for tonight and I gotta prepare. I can come over next week."

Anne let only a hint of dejection show, dropping her shoulders and sweeping her eyes from Mary to the pile of CD's. "Alright, that's cool. Can I call you?"

Anne saw Mary to the door, and then exchanged numbers, Mary also gave the number to a locksmith; she had never heard of a break-in and she would keep it that way.

So a potentially rich college student named Annerley was one of the pebbles in the rockfall Mary felt her life becoming. She didn't mind, she was kind enough, but any girl soon made Mary's attentions turn to Josie, only a few hours more until she would call. She skirted down the steps, cross the street then into her car. Her flat was tidy, but understocked. Mary was a meticulous eater, shopping exactly what she knew she'd use and little else, but in line with the gradual changes she wanted to stock up; she made a list on her phone filled with fruits, snacks, wine and all kinds of ingredients that she could see Josie eating. Mary thought back on the conversation they had had hours before, how happy and invulnerable she had felt, but standing in that store trying to pick out which brand chocolate she wanted, a certain tinge of nervousness drove her heart to speed. Just how much could happen over a weekend, and how much could their perceptions of each other be changed? Josie's husband was also a part of the picture. What had she told him? Where was he? Mary pondered her new title, 'Mistress'. She knew she would be responsible if they broke apart, their idyllic suburban lifestyle with their garden and spotless house, dinner parties and barbecues. Mary didn't care in the end, her feelings were the same since before they had begun their affair; stronger even. Mary was the victim, she had been approached by Josie—she was the very willing victim.

After a sweat carrying up four bags to the door, she rinsed herself off in the shower just in case and sat by the window, periodically looking at the time. 5:30, 5:35, 5:40. She checked the groceries, looked for dirt or dust on the floor and furniture, then put on some music and paced with the phone in her hand. An hour later, it urgently buzzed against her palm and everything stopped. She paused the music and picked up, straightening herself as some form of brace against her nerves.

"Hey, Mary." Josie's voice crackled.

"Josie. Are you coming over?"

"I'm almost there, I'm free all weekend now. I'm driving so I'll be quick, expect me in about 10."

Mary's heart raced. Ten more minutes, past and present ceased to exist. "I really missed you ever since you called."

"Me too, talking to you was amazing, but I have to hang up now."

"Wait, Josie." Mary suddenly felt like sharing some of her life. "Can you do me a favor?"

"If it's a detour, no way. I want to see you right now." She argued, determined.

"It's on the way, I promise. Park outside my building, there's a red SUV behind an old Chevrolet. Can you park your car behind that one?" Mary almost laughed. Some things had to remain the same.

"That is the second strangest favor I've ever heard, but definitely the easiest. I'll see you soon."

Mary sat glued to the living room window, looking over the street where she knew Josie's car would come from, then to Anne's now organized apartment. She had put a small plant on the window sill, and was still moving from room to room with boxes in various states of unpacking; Josie's car came with the setting sun, white and surrounded by orange light, trailed by its own shadow. Mary watched it slow down, then turn outside her building and get snug behind the SUV, and out stepped Josie. From what she could see she had a white blouse on and tight, matching pants, and under her arm she had a stylish shoulder bag. Josie went inside the building, and hurried up the last few steps as she saw Mary by the open door to her apartment. "It's so nice to hold you again, Mary." Josie sighed against Mary's neck as they locked into an embrace.