Fidelity - SF6 (6 page)

"Mmmm-hmmm."

"More than once?"

"Mmmm-hmmm."

"Why didn’t you ask me to?"

Pausing to take in a breath, Ryan considered her answer for a moment. "Umm, I guess because I thought you’d do it if I asked you to–even if it didn’t appeal to you. I don’t like to press you to do things you’re not ready for, Honey."

After a few seconds, Jamie traced a finger all over Ryan’s face, trying to memorize the strong planes that merged to create her stunning beauty. "I appreciate how you try to look out for me, but I give you permission to ask for anything that you want from now on."

"Um...I hate to tell you this, Honey, but we’re almost out of new frontiers. There is only so much territory to cover.

Tracing a bead of sweat that was creeping down her partner’s side, Jamie asked the question that she had been pondering. "Have you wanted to do… that…to me?"

"Do what?" Ryan drawled, being intentionally obtuse.

Long months of study gave Jamie a clue that she was being toyed with, and she slapped her lightly, asking, "I think you know what I meant, Tiger. Have you wanted to touch me…there?"

Ryan gave her a lazy, sexy grin, as her blue eyes narrowed dangerously. "Mmmm-hmmm," she growled. "Several times."

Her partner leaned over until they were nose to nose and said, "Ain’t gonna happen, Babe."

"Okay," Ryan said, giving in immediately. "But don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it."

"Honey," Jamie said hesitantly, not sure if Ryan was being serious or not, "don’t you think we can find ways to keep the already explored territory exciting?"

Realizing that her teasing had gone too far, Ryan wrapped her in her arms and insisted, "Baby, if you touched me in the same way every day I could maintain my excitement for years. You are a pure turn-on no matter how you make love to me. I am perfectly satisfied with the settled territory. I just have a fleeting desire every once in a while to touch you in a way that I enjoy. But I understand completely if you’re not comfortable with it." She reached up and trailed her fingers over Jamie’s cheek. "I have absolutely no complaints, Babe. I couldn’t hope for a hotter lover."

"You’re not so bad yourself," she said in her most sultry voice. "Wanna show me?"

"I thought you’d never ask," Ryan grinned, flipping her giggling partner onto her back.

She spent a solid hour teasing, taunting, caressing and loving every inch of Jamie’s burning body. Her head was buried in between strong thighs as she used her mouth to bring her to yet another orgasm, but as the strong pulsing began to signal the impending climax, her watch began to bleat its insistent alarm. Luckily, Jamie was too far gone to have the sound interrupt her concentration, and the contractions began to throb against Ryan’s mouth as she shook with her final release of the night, calling out weakly as she collapsed from exhaustion.

Knowing that their schedule did not allow much room to delay, Ryan regretfully pulled away from her lover’s limp grasp, slid out of bed, and stumbled into the shower. She turned on the water, letting it run until it was the temperature that Jamie preferred, then padded back into the bedroom to begin the difficult job of actually getting her weak partner to her feet. She finally had to carry her into the steaming water, letting the warm spray wash over them until she believed that her lover was strong enough to stand. Jamie was actually better at leaning than she was at standing at the moment, so Ryan allowed her to embrace the wall with her arms splayed out while she gently removed the significant evidence of their passion. It took several minutes to remove the copious lubrication, but she was finally satisfied with her efforts. She washed herself in the same manner while Jamie leaned against the wall, cleaning all of the natural and artificial moisture from all of her hidden folds, smiling to herself as she recalled the pleasurable sensations she had so recently experienced.

Turning off the water, she dried Jamie briskly, which concurrently helped to revive her. While Jamie dried her hair Ryan picked out an outfit for her, choosing a simple cream and light green print jersey dress. She wanted her to be comfortable on the long flight, and she reasoned that the unstructured dress would give her a lot of room to move. Since she assumed that the plane might be cold, she added a mint green cardigan sweater to protect her delicate skin from the chilled air. Next she chose some cream colored sandals that were simple enough to match the style of the dress, but substantial enough to allow her to run through the terminal if need be.

Jamie was pleased with her selections, and she smiled her approval as she stepped into the salmon-colored satin panties her partner had chosen. Ryan came around behind her to fasten the matching bra, bending to kiss her shoulders reverently as she did so. As the blonde started to put on her dress, she heard a sharp intake of breath and turned to see Ryan standing in the middle of the room, tears running down her cheeks.

Jamie nearly dove for her, and they held each other and rocked slowly until she absolutely had to leave. Neither spoke, there being nothing they could say to make their parting any easier.

When the emotion eased, Ryan slipped on some chinos and a bright blue oversized cotton blouse, crisply ironed, as usual. She laced up her Topsiders and picked up Jamie’s nylon suitcase as they slowly made their way up the stairs, holding hands to maintain contact as long as possible.

Martin was in his room, but the door was open and the light was on, so Ryan poked her head in. "We’re leaving, Da," she said, her voice still a little hoarse from emotion.

Putting his book down, he came out into the living room to kiss Jamie goodbye. "We’ll miss you, Sweetheart," he said as he hugged her. "I don’t know how I’ll keep her happy," he said with a smile towards his daughter as he pulled away.

"Take care of her for me, Martin," she said as a tear started to escape. She stood on her tiptoes and gave him another kiss as she took Ryan’s hand, and they made a dash for the car. Traffic was light, and for a change there were no off-hours highway projects on 101. After parking in the short-term section of the lot, they rode the long people mover through the airport, both still uncharacteristically silent. They were nearly at the terminal when Jamie pulled her lover into the boarding area for another airline. She reached into her bag and took a small purple object out, lifted the tail of Ryan’s shirt and clipped the little gift to her waistband.

"A pager?" Ryan asked in confusion.

"No, it’s a phone like mine, but I got you a cute little neoprene cover for it. I want you to wear it when I’m gone, and since you’re sweating most of the time I thought I should get you a waterproof cover," she said with a grin as she tweaked her nose, some of her humor returning.

"I don’t really need a phone," Ryan protested. "And it’s just another bill to pay every month, Honey."

"This will make me feel better, Baby. I’ll rest easier knowing I can get you quickly if I need you."

"Okay," Ryan said indulgently with a little smile. "Anything to make you feel better."

Jamie wrapped her arms around her neck and kissed her tenderly. Ryan held onto her tightly, fearing that she might leave a bruise, but completely unable to relax her grip. The kiss deepened until Ryan knew they must be attracting attention, but she felt powerless to stop. Jamie finally pulled away, resting her forehead against Ryan’s as they both closed their eyes and fought the temptation to begin again. She picked up her head and lifted her fingers to gently trace her lover’s cheekbone. "I love you so much, Ryan. You’re the most precious gift I’ve ever been given. Please take care of yourself while I’m gone."

"I promise," she vowed as tears welled in her eyes. "But you have to do the same for me."

"I will," she said as she hugged her fiercely. "We’d better go. Mother will be waiting."

They walked along the wide corridor and reached the gate just a few minutes after their desired arrival time. Catherine was sitting in a chair reading a clothbound book as they approached, and she looked up and smiled when she caught sight of them. Jamie leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek, and Ryan did the same when Catherine turned to her. "Just in time," she said brightly as boarding for the flight was announced.

Jamie took her bag from Ryan when they went to stand in line, and Ryan felt a sense of loss just from that simple act. They tried to make small talk while they waited, but neither had the heart for it, so a long silence settled over them. When the gate attendant had checked their tickets, Jamie stepped out of line and stood on her toes to give her lover one last kiss. Holding her chin in her fingers, she lightly brushed her lips against Ryan’s as her eyelids fluttered closed and she softly murmured, "I love you."

"I love you too, Jamie," she whispered, and immediately bit her bottom lip to keep from crying. Moving away from her lover, Ryan caught Catherine’s sympathetic gaze, and shyly waved to her. The older woman gave her a fond smile and returned her wave, then made her way onto the ramp. Jamie turned quickly and followed her mother, not turning around for another glance.

Ryan stood in the waiting area, unable to will her feet to move. Maybe, if she hurried, she could still get a ticket, could get Jamie off of the plane, could… An insistent burr penetrated her sense of loss and loneliness. She looked around in consternation before she realized that it was coming from her waistband, from…Jamie!

She hurriedly unclipped the tiny phone from her waist and fumbled it out of the cover. "H’lo," she said breathlessly, having been afraid that her lover would give up before she was able to establish the connection.

"Hi," came the loving voice of the other half of her heart. There was a hesitation. "I told you I wanted to be able to get you quickly if I needed you. Well, it’s been less than five minutes and I already need you, Baby."

Ryan drew a deep breath. This wasn’t going to be easy for either one of them, but she’d be damned if she’d make it any harder for the woman she loved more than her life. "I know, Love. I miss you, too." A touch of the cocky Ryan confidence returned to her voice as she teased, "But a wealthy admirer of mine gave me a little toy to play with that will make it easy for me to keep in constant touch with you, if you know what I mean."

Jamie could just imagine the eyebrow waggle that accompanied that statement and her mind flashed to their discussion about phone sex. Sitting next to her mother, as she was, she flushed slightly then smiled. "Wealthy admirer, huh? She’d better not let me catch her giving you gifts or I’ll kick her butt."

A full-fledged grin crossed Ryan’s face. "Careful," she drawled, "you might just find that she would like having her butt….kicked."

The blush deepened and Jamie crossed her legs, thinking of the evening’s activities. She cleared her throat and glanced at her mother, who was assiduously perusing her way through the flight magazine. She self-consciously lowered her voice. "Ain’t gonna happen, Babe," she said, repeating her earlier declaration.

"Uh-huh," Ryan smirked. "It’s gonna be a week, Love. A verrry long week. Filled with hours and hours of only phone sex. Speaking of which, I love those sexy panties you’re wearing. Know what I’d like to do…" She broke off and smiled at the barely audible moan issuing from the tiny receiver.

Jamie half-turned in her seat and lowered her voice almost to a whisper. "Ryan, behave yourself," Jamie scolded. "My mother is sitting right here!"

"Well, she’s gonna have to find her own phone pal, Baby."

"Eeeuuugh. Ryan!"

"Okay, okay," Ryan laughed. She was feeling a lot better. "Thanks for calling me, Love. And thanks for thinking of this way for us to keep in touch while we’re apart. I love you, Jamie."

"Love you, too. And if things get too bad, I’ll just get on the next plane and come home."

"To Santa Cruz," Ryan corrected.

"Absolutely. To Santa Cruz," Jamie agreed with a smile in her voice. "I’ll be the first volleyball groupie."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"And you’ll call me every day?"

"Several times," Jamie assured her.

Ryan’s voice took on a deeper, seductive timbre. "And we can really try out phone sex? You know what they say about the phone–‘It’s the next best thing to being there.’"

"Honey, if it will make you feel better, we can leave the line connected all night long and sleep together. At least I’d be able to hear you breathing."

Ryan chuckled. "I think that’s how the phone sex starts…" She could hear the muffled announcements crackling out of the loudspeakers in the plane.

"Ryan, I’ve got to go now. Time to shut down the cell phones. I’ll call you when I get there, okay?"

"Okay, Babe." There was a brief pause before Ryan added, "Uh, Jamie…"

"Yes?"

The response was sultry and sexy and full of promise. "Be sure it’s from your room…and that you’re alone."

Jamie laughed. "That’s my girl."

"And don’t you forget it," Ryan threatened with a growl.

"No chance, Babe. Gotta go, I love you."

"Love you, too," Ryan answered, then heard the dial tone following the disconnect.

She took a deep breath and replaced the phone on her waistband, somehow drawing comfort from its presence there, as if it was a direct link to Jamie.