Coalescence - SF3 Read online

  "So why not just go lesbian?"

  "I find men really hot. I like ‘em big, and strong, and powerful. And there’s nothing I like better than to have a guy show me how much I’m getting to him—they’re like compliant little pets. I gotta tell you, though--I might switch for a woman like Ryan. She is definitely a hottie. And boy, can she kiss!"

  "Hey, that reminds me," Jamie scowled. "Now I’m mad that you kissed her after finals. I thought you were just drunk!"

  "Oh, I was drunk," Mia laughed. "Just not too drunk to enjoy that sexy little mouth!"

  "You have no idea," Jamie sighed, her pique replaced by the delicious thought of Ryan’s lips. "God, Mia, when I wrap my arms around her to kiss her, my knees get so weak I’m afraid I’ll fall. She’s so strong, yet she holds me so tenderly, like she’s afraid I’ll break."

  "Sounds heavenly," Mia sighed, smiling sweetly.

  "It is, it really is. I know we are going to have fantastic sex together, Mia. I’ve never, ever been this turned on by anyone. She gets aroused so easily, it’s amazing, but she’s been so tender and patient with me—it’s just been wonderful."

  "Well, all I’m gonna say is, you’d better keep her busy, or I’m coming after her…and her brother!" she added with a defiant slap of her hand on the wide arm of her chair.

  They had lost track of the game even though Jamie kept her eyes on her partner throughout her talk with Mia. She was surprised to see Ryan come trotting over, covered in sweat and sand, looking for a bottle of water. "Did you win?" Jamie asked a little hesitantly.

  "Jeez, weren’t you keeping score?"

  "Um, we got kinda involved talking, and I lost track."

  "Um hmm," she replied, as she narrowed her eyes at the duo. "Let me guess what you were talking about." She put her hand up to her eyes as she closed them for a moment, pseudo-seeking psychic vibrations. "I’m gonna say...sex," she declared. As the blush on Jamie’s cheeks rose past her ears, Ryan leaned over to kiss her gently. "Don’t give away all my secrets, Love," she said, as she tweaked her nose and jogged back to her position.

  "Okay, this time we pay attention," Jamie said fervently as the second game began. They kept their focus for less than two minutes before they were analyzing Ryan again, comparing her to the other women in the game, and to the hundreds of women who passed by on the bike path--walking, skating and jogging. "You know, the only thing she doesn’t have is a really ripped stomach. It’s rock hard when you push on it, but there’s just a thin layer of fat that’s kind of cushioning. Still, I think I prefer it that way," Jamie mused. "If she was all hard, I don’t think I’d like sitting on her as much as I do."

  "Oooh, I bet it feels great to climb on top of her," Mia moaned.

  "I’m drawn to do that like a moth to a flame," Jamie admitted. "I start to kiss her, and within minutes I’m straddling her hips. It’s like you’re sitting on a panther. She’s all coiled energy and power, but she’s just purring like a little kitten."

  "Jamie, we’ve gotta stop this. I want your girlfriend as much as you do! Let’s talk about something else--anything else!" she begged.

  "Okay, you’re right. Let’s talk about your job."

  They tried to concentrate on Mia’s job, but the sweating, laboring bodies of the volleyball players drew them back into a discussion of what constituted the perfect body, and before long Jamie was waxing poetic over the gorgeous body of her partner.

  A grinning Ryan, towering over them and blocking the sun, interrupted them. "You weren’t watching, were you?" she demanded, her hands on her hips.

  "I had my eyes on your butt the whole time," Jamie replied honestly.

  "Me too!" Mia smiled, proud of her powers of concentration, until Jamie knocked the smile off of her face with a punch in the arm.

  Ryan just shook her head as she grabbed a bottle of water and ran back to play another game.

  They did a little better on the third game but they got sidetracked when Ryan kept turning around to point at Jamie, then at her own eyes, reminding her to pay attention.

  Jamie then started to regale Mia with the numerous ways that Ryan teased and played with her. They talked a lot about the ride and the little tricks that Ryan had used to get her up the hills. She talked about how thoughtful Ryan was, setting up camp every night, and went on and on about how wonderful it had been to hold her at night and wake up in her arms in the morning. She was just about to go into how cute she looked in her little bike outfits when Ryan towered over them again. "What’s the score, Jamie?" she demanded, eyes twinkling.

  "Um…a whole lot for you and very little for the other side?"

  Ryan tilted her head back and drank a bottle of water in one long gulp. Both women ogled the line of her throat and the play of her neck muscles. Oblivious to their admiration, discarding the empty, Ryan smacked her lips together, gazed at her partner and shrugged her shoulders. "That’s about right," she agreed with a wink, running back across the sand to finish the game.

  "Hey, speaking of scoring, tell me about all of the ex-lovers you met," Mia asked with a mischievous grin.

  "Got an hour?" Jamie replied dryly.

  "So what…she just showed up at the ride every year, grabbed a woman and threw her in the tent?"

  "No, I think she was a little more moderate than that…at least I hope she was," Jamie laughed. "Actually, it turns out that she trained for each ride with a different group of people. She usually hooked up with someone from the training group, and then slept with her during the ride."

  "So…what did they look like? Were they all gorgeous?"

  "Thanks." Jamie beamed a smile at her friend.

  "You know I think you’re gorgeous," Mia laughed. "Are you her usual type?"

  "I think her usual type is the double X chromosome," Jamie said with a smirk. "I have seen her with women from 20 to 50+, thin, chunky, tall, short, brown, black, and white. She claims that she’s more attracted to energy than looks, and I’d have to concur with that. But I’d also have to say that she didn’t always choose nice women."

  "Ooh, somebody gave you a hard time?"

  "Just a little," Jamie conceded. "One woman was kinda pissy at first, but she apologized later. Another one was a real bitch, though! She sought me out to give me a hard time because Ryan dumped her after the ride was over."

  "Did ya deck her?" Mia asked, always loving a good fight.

  "Yeah…that’s my style," Jamie agreed. "I loosened a couple of teeth and ripped out a handful of her hair." The smirk now firmly attached to her face belied her statement and, after a second, Jamie continued, "I told her not to dis my lover, and that was that."

  "Mmm, I liked the story better the first way," Mia decided.

  The imposing shadow of a sweaty, sand-covered woman interrupted the discussion. "Score?" Ryan asked.

  "Um...you won?" Jamie guessed.

  "That’s not a score, that’s an outcome," she said sternly.

  "I...I...I guess I wasn’t paying attention," Jamie admitted with a little downward glance.

  "Just for that, you have to go rent me a boogie board so I can cool off and get this sand out of my pants," Ryan said with a grimace, as she tried to shake some of the sand out of her tight suit.

  "I’ll rent two, we can go out beyond the breakers, and I’ll help you get that sand out," Jamie teased, as she got up to run over to the rental stand.

  Five minutes later they were frolicking in the cool water. Jamie had spent a decent amount of time in the ocean and she was fairly fearless. She was a good swimmer, and she really loved to hop on her boogie board and catch a good wave. Ryan was, of course, perfectly at ease on the ocean. They ranged farther and farther out until they were just beyond the waves, where they sat astride their boards and stared at each other lovingly for a long time. Jamie was perfectly content to just smile at Ryan and watch her sweet face, but they finally maneuvered their boards so they could kiss a bit without falling off. It was a struggle to remain upright, so they turned and rode the waves for a
while. After a good hour of play they ran back up to Mia, who was lying on the sand on a large towel. Jamie went to the bar and got them all drinks, along with a club sandwich for Ryan. Her partner had not asked for any food, but she knew that it would be devoured in moments. Ryan’s eyes grew wide as Jamie put the plate in front of her. "I love club sandwiches," she said with delight, as she dove in happily. "Thanks, Jamie."

  "I can’t ignore the most important person in my life all day," she said sincerely, as she gave her a little kiss. "You really kicked ass today, didn’t you, Tiger."

  "Yeah, we did pretty well," she admitted. "My partner was really good."

  "Um hmmm," she nodded. "I’m sure that was the reason."

  "She really was good," Ryan insisted.

  "I’m sure she was, Sweetheart," she agreed. After a beat Jamie asked, "Are there any more sports that you excel at?"

  "There might be a couple more that I’ve played a little bit," she said with a twinkle.

  "Do you want to tell me about them?"

  "Nope," Ryan said as she happily munched away on her sandwich. "I like to keep an air of mystery about myself. I don’t want you to get bored too fast."

  "I don’t think I could get bored with you in a million years," Jamie said as she gazed into her eyes with admiration.

  "I need to run down to the Venice boardwalk to pick up a couple of things," Ryan said when she finished her snack.

  "Yeah," Mia drawled lazily, clasping her unhooked top to her chest as she rolled over to tan the front of her body. "Two dollar sunglasses are pretty hard to come by."

  "No, wise-ass," Ryan scoffed, leaning forward to tie her friend’s string bikini. "I need to buy a T-shirt for a friend."

  "A T-shirt?" Jamie asked, in a cadence slightly slower than Mia had used. "Honey, who do you know that can’t get a T-shirt in San Francisco?"

  "It’s just a…thing…that I do when I travel," Ryan explained. "I’ll run down the bike path and be back before you know it."

  "Okay," Jamie said laconically. "We won’t move a muscle."

  Jumping to her feet, Ryan surveyed the listless roommates. "I think you can both easily accomplish that goal."

  Since they were now both lying on their backs, they jointly watched Ryan’s departing form. Jamie turned to catch Mia holding her head up to get a better look, and she warned her once again, "Off limits, Babe. She’s all mine."

  "I wouldn’t dream of it," Mia assured her. "Well, I might dream of it," she amended, "but I wouldn’t actually do it."

  "Thanks, Buddy," Jamie smirked, lying down and wriggling around to get comfortable in the sand. "I gotta admit, I’m starting to feel less nervous about tomorrow after talking to you."

  "Why are you nervous, Hon?"

  "I don’t know," Jamie mused. "I trust her, I love her, and she’s gentle and patient. It doesn’t make logical sense, but I’m…I guess that I’m afraid I’ll disappoint her. I mean, we’ve waited so long—I really feel like there’s a lot of pressure to make tomorrow perfect."

  "I can see that," Mia agreed. "You’ve just got to remember that you’re in this for the long haul, Babe. Tomorrow isn’t a one shot deal."

  "You’re right. I know I shouldn’t build it up bigger than it already is, but I want so badly to please her. She’s been with so many women—I worry that I’ll be a dud."

  "It’s not that hard, Jamie," Mia soothed. "Really. You just start at the top and work your way down. Stop when you get to something that interests you, hang out there for a while, and move on when something else grabs your attention. It’s no big deal!"

  "It’s that moving down part I’m worried about," Jamie admitted, getting to her biggest concern.

  "What? Oral sex?"

  Draping an arm over her eyes, Jamie muttered, "Yes, Mia, oral sex. It freaks me out to think that she’ll expect that."

  "Well, hell yes, she’ll expect that!" Mia laughed, her outburst falling well short of the reassurance that Jamie sought.

  "Now I feel better," came the mumbled reply from her friend.

  Mia sat up, crossing her legs and resting her elbows on her knees. "Jamie, it’s no big deal because I guarantee you’ll want to do that to her. Trust me on this, Babe. You’ll get involved, and it will just happen. You’ll be munching away before you know it, and I guarantee that you’ll wonder why you ever had any doubts."

  "God, I hope so," Jamie groaned. "Sex is so important to her…and it’s becoming important to me, too."

  "It’ll be fine, Babe. You’ll call me when you get back, and I guarantee that you’ll laugh about your nervousness."

  "Either that, or I’ll call you tomorrow night and beg you to come to Pebble Beach to be my standin."

  "Either way, Babe," Mia laughed. "You know I’m a giver."

  Forty-five minutes later, the sweaty shopper returned, amused to find her companions out cold. She tucked her purchases into her gym bag, kicked off her shoes and socks, and scampered across the hot sand for a refreshing dip in the 72-degree water.

  When she returned, she could not resist the impulse to straddle Jamie’s somnolent body, allowing the cold droplets of water to rain down on the shocked woman.

  "Yeow!" the blonde cried as she shot up into a sitting position. Only Ryan’s quick reflexes allowed her to jump back a foot to avoid having Jamie’s head do a number on her pubic bone. Shaking her head, the confused blonde asked, "Did you leave?"

  "Ahh, I’ve been gone for over an hour, Sleepy," Ryan informed her.

  "Oh, yeah," Jamie said, lazily scratching her head. "Did you shop?"

  "Yep. All done."

  "Lemme see." The tousled blond head looked around for a package but found none.

  "Ahh, okay," Ryan stalled. "I…uh…Ally and I have this…thing," she stumbled. "We…ah…"

  "This I gotta hear," Mia said, sitting up alertly.

  Now two sets of eyes focused on the uncharacteristically bashful brunette. "Oh, all right," Ryan said, grabbing the bag and handing it to Jamie.

  As the T-shirt fell out and was unfurled, brown and green eyes trailed from the fabric to Ryan and back again. "This is for…Ally?" Jamie finally said, as Mia got ready for the fireworks to begin.

  "Now, Jamie," Ryan soothed. "It’s a … joke between us. I told you that I was going to keep her as a friend, and…"

  "Sleeps well with others!?" Jamie finally uttered, her eyes focused on the writing on the shirt. "You’re giving your ex-lover a T-shirt, that you buy on our honeymoon, that says, ‘Sleeps well with others'?!"

  "Well, when you put it that way, it sounds kinda bad," Ryan admitted, shifting her weight nervously from foot to foot.

  Mia was utterly fascinated by this exchange. Her dancing brown eyes darted from one woman to the other, waiting for the next volley. Jamie spoiled her fun by taking a deep breath and neatly folding the shirt. "Whatever," she muttered, before placing it back in the bag.

  "No, no, no," Ryan said, sitting down on a portion of Jamie’s towel. "Not so fast there, Sport. Here’s how it is," she explained, ignoring Mia’s presence. "Ever since we’ve known each other, we always, and I do mean always, buy each other a T-shirt on every trip we take. The game is to make sure you get the one with the most sexual innuendo, or the most politically incorrect one, that you can find. I like Ally as a friend, Jamie, and I want to keep the friendship part of our relationship just like it used to be. Do you understand?" She lifted Jamie’s chin with her fingers and leaned over to place a gentle kiss on her lips. "Please try to understand, Honey. I don’t want to hurt your feelings."

  "Couldn’t you have gotten another one?" the smaller woman asked. "There had to be less…provocative ones."

  "Well, I could have bought the one that said, ‘FBI’ in big yellow letters."

  "That sounds better," Jamie said.

  "Yeah, but underneath it said, ‘Female Breast Inspector.’" Ryan chuckled. "Most of the rest of the suggestive ones had something to do with penises, and that just wouldn’t do," she added righteously.


  "Let’s go back to the boardwalk," Jamie offered, as she stood and extended a hand to her partner.

  "Really? Why?"

  "Because I want that ‘FBI’ shirt," she laughed. "And I’m starting with yours…tomorrow!"

  After the second shopping trip, they relaxed on the sand for a while. All too soon they had to pack up and head back to the apartment. A thorough shower for Ryan was first on the agenda, and Jamie was next on the list. By rushing a little, they were cleaned and dressed just in time to head out to LAX. Traffic was pretty slow and, since none of them knew the shortcuts, they had to stay on the freeway. They wanted to be there an hour early, but Mia dropped them off at the departure gate barely 45 minutes before their flight. She quickly kissed Ryan on the cheek, and gave Jamie a heartfelt hug, whispering, "I know you’ll be fine tomorrow, Honey. Have a great time, James, and call me when you get back."

  "I promise, Mia, and thanks for everything," she said as she kissed her. "You’re the best."

  "I hope, for your sake, that I lose that title tomorrow!" she laughed as she pinched her friend’s blushing cheek.

  An hour and 15 minutes later, they were in the air for the 50-minute flight to SFO. Martin had agreed to pick them up after Ryan had called earlier in the day. They were both excited about seeing the family again and Ryan jabbered throughout the trip about Caitlin, and Duffy, and how she’d missed them. "You are such a little love bug," Jamie said, giving her a kiss. "I just adore how much you love your family."

  "I do love my family," Ryan agreed. "And now that you’re part of it, my whole world is complete."

  "That definitely deserves a kiss." Jamie leaned in for a big, wet one.

  Martin picked them up at eight p.m. They headed home in his truck with Ryan talking nonstop about the ride, and how proud she was of Jamie, and how pleased she was that Jamie’s father had made a special trip to L.A. to see her. Martin hardly got a word in edgewise, but he happily let his daughter speak her mind.

  When they entered the house, Duffy leapt on Ryan and licked her from head to toe. She quickly got down on the floor with the squirming dog, as he joyfully began to lick her eyes and ears. She giggled like a child as the big dog lapped at her energetically. Both Martin and Jamie had to laugh at the spectacle the pair made. Ryan finally caught her breath and demanded that Jamie join her. The smaller woman rolled her eyes at Martin, but dutifully joined her partner for the tongue bath. Conor was out for the evening, but Martin had saved some dinner for the travelers. The three of them sat down at the dining room table as Ryan focused on her dinner, with Jamie taking up the slack in the conversation as she filled Martin in on the things Ryan hadn’t covered.