Cindy followed Juno out of the shower after turning it off, grabbed a towel and began drying the dripping, slender figure; which was not an easy task to accomplish when two lovers are clutching each other. She dried herself, as well. Finally, she snatched another dry towel, pressed her own naked body against Juno's bare back, and wrapped the towel around all of them like a blanket. (Cindy would read later that this was actually an EXCELLENT way to treat hypothermia.)
They stayed like that for a long, long time. Slowly, it dawned on Cindy that she was the only one in this strange threesome who was not crying like a baby, and she felt that, if the medical crisis was over, she should leave the two lovebirds alone. "Do you think you're going to be okay?" she asked tentatively. Not getting an answer, she said: "I think we should get her into your room, Bonnie. Strip and hold her against you for body heat and keep covered up. As soon as I help you get her there, I'll go get some cocoa or something. Lord knows how long she was out in the cold rain!"
"What the fuck did you think you were DOING?" Bonnie chided, starting to lead her lover toward the other wing of the mansion. Cindy, also wrapped in a towel, helped support the girl on the other side.
"I ... I ... had to see you!" Juno said in a weak voice, her teeth chattering. "I HAD to! I made the cabbie drop me off at the gate at the head of the driveway. But when I got closer, I started worrying that this was the wrong house. And then I started worrying that it was the RIGHT house! I mean, what was I supposed to do ... knock on the door and say: 'Pardon me, but does my white lesbian lover live here?'"
"Oh, for crying out loud!" Cindy barked. "You two deserve each other! You're both IDIOTS!"
And, as if things couldn't get any worse, one of the doors in front of them opened, and Stepmother was standing there, glaring at them. Juno, like a frightened little animal, turned toward Bonnie, threw her arms around her lover and buried her face into the side of her neck, shivering uncontrollably. Unfortunately, as she did so, the towel that was wrapped around her slid off, leaving them all completely nude.
"What in the world is going on out here?" the woman demanded.
"Um ... Mom ... I ... uh ...." Bonnie stammered.
Cindy detached herself from the other two and stepped forward, grasping her mistress's arm. "Stepmother, please. We're in the middle of a little crisis here, and it would be SO much better if you'd let us handle it right now. Bonnie can explain it all to you tomorrow ... please ...."
Slowly, slowly, a small smile spread across Stepmother's face. "At last ..." she muttered, "... at long last, a little light begins to dawn." But then her expression turned to one of worry, and she reached out and put a hand on Juno's shoulder. "Are you alright, my dear?"
Before anyone could answer, Cindy put her lips to her ear and whispered: "Stepmother, you REALLY should let Bonnie handle this herself."
The woman nodded. "Very well ... you're right, of course. I'll bid you goodnight, then." And she went back into her room and shut the door without further comment.
Cindy got the two girls settled in Bonnie's room, went and made hot chocolate, in hopes of getting some warm liquid into the shivering Juno (yet another proper treatment for hypothermia, she would find out later), then spent the next half hour mopping up the water that Juno had dripped from the front door all the way up the stairs to Cindy's bathroom (which, of course, was the way Bonnie had tracked them there and found them together). About two o'clock, she finally tumbled into bed, and she was asleep practically as soon as her head hit the pillow.
The next day, Cindy was restocking all the bathrooms on the upper floor when Bonnie and Juno found her. "Mom's given you the rest of the day off," Bonnie said, smiling. "The three of us are going shopping together. No ... don't try to argue! It's all arranged. Just drop everything right where it is and follow us!"
Their first stop was at a beauty salon, where all three had their hair done, then lunch, and then to the best dress shop in the mall, where each of them tried on half a dozen dresses each, commenting on each other's choices; and finally, they decided to wear their purchases out of the store, carrying their old clothes in shopping bags. Next stop: the shoe store, where Cindy found herself in a new pair of heels to match the dress. She had never done this type of shopping before, of course ... never had the money, the time or the inclination. But she had to admit that she was having the time of her life. This was the first opportunity she had had to get to know Juno, and she found the young woman bright, witty and a lot of fun to be with. Like Cindy, she had never been a part of this type of shopping spree before. And now, to top it all off, Bonnie took them both to the cosmetic counter in the mall's high-class department store and commanded a "makeover" from the sales representatives, making it more than worth their while by purchasing in excess of five hundred dollars worth of cosmetics.
During this last exercise in femininity, however, Bonnie started checking her wristwatch frequently, and wound up rushing things a little at the end. She drove home rapidly, and perhaps a little recklessly, pulling up in the driveway behind a now-familiar Mercedes sports car. "The Prince" was leaning nonchalantly on the trunk of the vehicle, watching them drive up.
"Hey, Bonnie. I thought we had a date," he said, smiling.
"I'm just using my womanly prerogative by being ever so fashionably late," she answered sweetly. "Raymond, I'd like you to meet my two best friends in the whole world." She turned and indicated them. "This is Juno, and THIS ..." (pause for effect) "is Cindy. Ladies, may I introduce you to Raymond, the erstwhile Prince of Carpets."
Cindy fidgeted while Juno shook hands, and then extended her own. His hand was warm and strong, and his eyes glittered as he swept them up and down her body, finally letting them rest on her own. "Do I know you?" he asked pleasantly.
"Cindy let you in yesterday evening," Bonnie said sweetly.
He nodded. "Please forgive me, Cindy. I don't know why, but I thought you were the maid."
"I ... I AM the maid," she answered, before Bonnie had a chance to explain.
And instead of being embarrassed, he threw back his head and laughed merrily. "Well," he said smoothly, "besides being the maid AND one of Bonnie's best friends, you're also distractingly pretty. Please pardon me for staring." He finally let go of her hand while she blushed and looked down self-consciously. "Okay, Bonnie," he said, turning to her, "ready to go?"
"No," Bonnie said smugly. "The truth of the matter is that I want to tell my two friends a little story. Do you mind?" He gave her a quizzical look and shrugged. "Ladies," Bonnie continued, "once upon a time, there was a prince. This prince, a brave, chivalrous fellow, attended a masked costume party, and there, he fell in love with a girl ... and, coincidentally, he fucked her silly ... not necessarily in that order. Unfortunately, at the height of this occurrence, he was: Number One, high as a kite because somebody had spiked his drink; and Number Two, unable to learn his new love's identity, because of her mask. He doesn't know what she LOOKS like, but the one thing he DOES know is what she FEELS like. He'll never forget how they 'fit' together. Later, he decided that he must pursue this girl ... he must find her at all cost. Eventually, he located one girl who he believed was there that night. He wined her and he dined her and he coaxed her into his bed; but alas, he did not 'fit' inside her the way he had with the woman of his dreams. Is he doomed, do you think, to fuck every girl in the city until he finally finds the one who will prove to be the lock to his key?"
Well, he was certainly blushing now. He sighed and straightened his shoulders. "Look, Bonnie," he said quietly, "I'm really sorry if I embarrassed you last night. I had no intention of ...."
"Don't be silly, Raymond," she said, grinning. "I had a GREAT time last night. I really did. And, I'm glad that you invited me out again. You're really sweet, no shit. But the truth of the matter is that Juno and I have something we need to do instead. So, I was wondering if you could do me a BIG favor. Would you mind taking Cindy out tonight, instead?"
