* * *

“Did you try the spare ribs?” Ronnie asked, smacking her lips in satisfaction. “I tell you, there’s nothing like good Chinese take-out.”


“No, I haven’t tried them yet,” Rose replied quietly, her eyes never leaving her plate, the contents of which were being pushed around aimlessly by her fork.


“You should. The egg rolls are pretty good too. Not greasy at all.”


“Um hmm.” The broccoli and pork suffered more rearranging.


“Rose, is something wrong? You’ve been quiet ever since I got home.”


“Ronnie, can I ask you something?”


“Anything, you know that.”


“If you had never made that promise to your father…if nothing was standing in your way…would you want…” The blonde woman shook her head and looked up with fear and uncertainty in her eyes. “Would we be lovers?”


Ronnie stood up. “I think we’re done eating. Let’s go into the other room and talk. I’ll take care of the dishes later.”


“Yes, that would be better.” Rose agreed, pushing herself up on her good foot.“Ronnie? Would it be all right if we just went into the bedroom? I mean, we can always watch television in there, right?”


Warning bells and whistles went off in Ronnie’s head and she swallowed reflexively. “Uh…are you sure?” Considering the topic of discussion, she wasn’t entirely certain that lying on the bed together was a wise idea.


“Yes.” And with that word spoken aloud, Rose realized that yes, she really was sure…about everything.


Once inside the room, Rose leaned her crutches against the wall and patiently balanced herself on her good foot.


“You want to change first?” Ronnie asked while turning down the covers.


“No, we’re fine just the way we are.” Once the bedcovers were ready, she slipped between them and rolled onto her side to face the woman who had captured her heart. Ronnie started to join her. “Wait.” Rose reached over and turned on the lamp. “Would you shut off the light?” Soon the brightness was replaced by a warm, soft glow.


“So we’re in bed and you wanted to talk,” Ronnie offered when she was settled.


“So we are,” she agreed. Leaning up on one elbow, she looked down at endless blue eyes. “Are you going to answer my question? If you hadn’t made that promise to your father, would we be lovers?”


“I thought you weren’t sure…”


“Forget about that for a minute.” She reached out and ran her fingertip lightly down the older woman’s jawline. “If it were just you and me, nothing else.” Ronnie was still wearing her gray shirt and with three buttons undone, the vision was entirely too tempting. Rose moved her fingertip down the chiseled jaw to the long throat and beyond, stopping only when it encountered the lacy edge of a bra. She did note with some pleasure that the older woman’s breathing had increased.


“Rose, I love you. You know that.” Ronnie reached out and cupped her cheek. “If there were no obstacles, if it really was just you and me, yes. I would be very honored to be your lover.” She was rewarded with a quick kiss. The curious fingertips were driving her crazy but she could not find the strength to stop them.


“Ronnie…” The distracting digits slowly undid the next button on the gray shirt. “It’s just you and me. There are no obstacles.”


“Rose…” Her body responded immediately to her shirt being unbuttoned. Nipples hardened under the white bra and her whole body tingled with excitement. She opened her mouth to protest and found a warm, soft tongue pressing against hers. “Mmm.” Under the gentle insistence, Ronnie relaxed and let the young woman take control. Rose felt the surrender and eased up the pressure of her lips. Her free hand traveled of its own volition, gliding under the cotton shirt and against warm skin. In a move that shocked both of them, the wandering hand closed over the soft lace cup and squeezed gently. Ronnie gasped and her body leaned into the touch.


“You like that,” Rose observed, giving the firm mound another squeeze and enjoying the immediate reaction. Leaving her hand where it was, she lowered her head until her lips were against her lover’s ear. “Ronnie,” she said huskily. “I love you and I want to make love with you.” She accented her statement by suckling a willing earlobe, then working her way up to Ronnie’s mouth. Being careful not to hit the older woman’s shin, Rose slid her left leg between the longer ones.


“Rose…” She reached with every intention of stopping this before it went too far but instead of her body obeying her mind, her hand closed around Rose’s, encouraging further exploration. Ronnie was on fire and she struggled to find a reason to resist. “W-we shouldn’t.”


“Why?” The blonde woman pulled her hand out from under the cotton shirt and looked at her lover with all seriousness. “Tell me why we should keep denying this to ourselves?”


“I promised…” Fingers pressed against the full lips.


“No.” There was a quiet anger in Rose’s voice. “No Ronnie. You can promise many things but giving up your happiness forever is not one of them.” She gently traced one defined black eyebrow. “You can’t promise to give up my happiness, either.” Her eyes fluttered down to study full lips before traveling back up to become lost in endless pools of blue. Ronnie did not move, still struggling with her inner demons. Propped on her right elbow, Rose used her left hand to undo her blouse, gravity causing it to expose more and more flesh as each button was undone. She smiled at the intense look in Ronnie’s eyes. Once the rust colored shirt was hanging loose, Rose took the larger hand in her own and brought it to the area covered by beige silk. “Please, no, don’t fight it,” she whispered when she felt Ronnie’s resistance. She pressed her breast against the warm hand and groaned when she felt the tentative squeeze.


Rose’s limited experience had not prepared her for the jolt that Ronnie’s touch brought her. Another squeeze and she was sure she would simply die without her lover’s touch. She felt herself being pushed back onto the bed and did not resist. Long dark tresses tickled her face and the tongue seeking entrance to her mouth was quite insistent. “Yessmphf.”she thought to herself wistfully as she returned the kiss with equal gusto.


“I love you,” Ronnie breathed as the kiss finally ended. She was propped up on her elbow, her body half on top of the smaller woman. She felt Rose trying to tug the gray shirt out of the jeans.

“Wait.” Rolling up to her knees, she unbuttoned and unzipped her pants. She undid the last button on her shirt and slowly pulled the tails out. It now hung loosely on her body, open enough to show a glimpse of her bra beneath. With a slowness that was torture to the young woman’s nervous system, Ronnie slid the gray material off her shoulders, letting it pool on the bed behind her. “This too?” she asked, fingering the front catch of her bra.


“Please,” Rose begged. Her lover smiled at the urgency in her voice. A quick twist and the cups fell apart. The bra landed on top of the shirt and for several seconds neither woman spoke. Rose’s eyes were taking in the most beautiful sight she had ever seen and she said so with the look on her face. “Kiss me again.”


she thought to herself as her hands traveled over the bare skin of Ronnie’s back. She was acutely aware of the places where her shirt was open and their skin touched. They shared a series of lazy kisses until she felt a restless hand trying to push her shirt off. “Yes,” she agreed, trying to take it off while still lying on her back.


“Please…let me,” Ronnie begged. Rose nodded and let herself be pulled into a sitting position. Her shirt found itself tossed against the leather chair in Ronnie’s quest to get it out of her way. The beige bra ended up on the floor. She lowered herself back to the bed but her lover remained where she was. Hearts pounded and bodies pulsed as they stared openly at each other’s breasts. Where her own areola was a light pink, Ronnie’s was darker, almost brown. She looked down and was surprised to see her nipples standing out like little erasers, the skin around them still soft but starting to pucker.she mused as she looked back to see her lover’s nipples beginning to do the same thing.


“You…are…beautiful,” Ronnie whispered. She lowered herself down and slowly, far too slowly, bare skin touched bare skin. Both groaned softly and smiled in recognition of the mutual pleasure. Long fingers sank into golden hair while smaller ones wrapped around a muscled back. Their mouths played a game of give and take, tongues dancing back and forth as they floated in each other’s love.


“Oh…oh yes, that’s nice,” Rose gasped when she felt her lover’s mouth move down to her neck. She felt lips part and the soft tongue lick her skin. She moved her hands up to rest on the back of Ronnie’s head. “Yes…mmm, that feels so good.”


“Yesss.” Ronnie’s body was pressing against hers, betraying the older woman’s rising passion. Rose let her right hand drift down until she reached the waistband of the black jeans. Since they were still undone, there was plenty of room for her to slip inside. As she gripped the firm cheek, Ronnie whimpered against her skin and began sucking her neck in earnest. “Rose…”


“Yes Ronnie…that feels so good.” She squeezed harder and was rewarded with renewed squirming.


“You’re going to drive me crazy, you know that? I can’t concentrate when you do that,” she admitted as she shifted her ass away from Rose’s distracting caresses. She nudged the smaller legs apart with one of her own, settling so her lips were even with the young woman’s breasts. Long black hair formed a soft canopy that tickled as it moved over the fair skin. “I love you so much,” Ronnie said breathlessly as she reclaimed Rose’s lips for her own. Nostrils flared with ragged breaths as they kissed passionately.


“But…” Whatever Rose was going to say was lost when she felt a kiss on the underside of her breast. “Ooooh.” Ronnie answered with a muffled moan of her own and continued to lick and nibble her soft flesh. “Feels so good…”She felt warm breath on her nipple an instant before a wet tongue rolled over it. “Oh, Ronnie, yesss….”


Fumbling attempts with teenage boys had never prepared Rose for the sensation of being lovingly suckled. The pulling sensation was answered with a pulsing deep between her legs and her hips moved of their own volition, pressing hard against Ronnie. Her hands were buried deep in the dark hair and she was torn between holding Ronnie where she was or begging her to give the other one the same attention. Before she could decide, the loving tongue and lips released their treasure. “Oh, don’t stop…”


Ronnie chuckled and pressed her thigh against Rose’s center. “I’m not stopping.” Using her elbows to brace herself, she leaned down for a kiss. “I love you, Rose.”


“I love you.” As their mouths continued to give and take, Rose’s hands worked their way between their bodies and cupped two willing mounds of flesh. Ronnie’s moan vibrated through their lips and Rose answered with one of her own. Her fingers became more focused, moving in smaller circles until they were gently stroking the hardened tips.


“Oh Honey,” Ronnie gasped. “Y-you can’t…unggh…do that.” She rocked back out of reach and shook her head. “I told you I can’t concentrate when you do that.”


“It feels so nice.” Rose reached out only to have her hands stopped by larger, more powerful ones.


“Yes it does,” the older woman agreed. She kissed each knuckle, then the palms before releasing Rose’s hands.


“I want…”“I want…” She wrapped her arms around Ronnie’s torso and pulled herself up, ducking her head in time to bring her mouth to its goal.


“Oh God, Rose!”


Rose found her head held in place by Ronnie’s hands as she happily ran her tongue over the darkened areola.She heard as much as felt Ronnie’s increased breathing and smiled against the erect nipple before rubbing her lips back and forth against it. She gave in to the strong but gentle hands pushing her back onto the bed.