Loading...Author’s Note: Another girl/girl love story. Any similarities to one that came before it is intentional/based on what I like. If inclined, the songs referenced throughout are what I listened to while writing it and may help set the mood. The artists, though, bear no responsibility for the sappiness/silliness they inspired.
In the Beginning
Paige Jeffries walked cautiously to the barred door of the little storefront on the corner of Chelsea St and Yancy Lane. She’d been inside millions of times before, it was a daily occurrence after all. But today she worried about what might be on the other side of the door. She’d delayed coming down here as best she could. She’d gotten out of bed a few hours than earlier, a testament to her last night’s adventures at the local pub in addition to her reluctance to come to the shop, and had stopped for coffee at the giant chain coffee store at the corner of what had used to be her funky little bohemian neighbourhood. Now there were just a few independent places in what was a rapidly gentrifying area. There was the vintage second-hand clothes place, the little Mom and Pop Caribbean restaurant and there was Valkyries and Vixens.
Valkyries and Vixens was Paige’s place of business. She’d just gotten out of college, armed with an almost entirely useless degree in Modern Literature, when her Uncle Nigel had died. Paige hadn’t been close with her childless Uncle but she was the only child of his only sibling and so she assumed he’d left her the money by default. Rather than face the prospect of trying to use her education to earn a living, Paige had used the considerable sum to open up a store dedicated to her first real love; Comic Books.
Paige had always loved Comic Books. Even before she could read she loved the pictures and the excitement. When she could read she loved them even more. Her parents had always thought it bizarre but they’d indulged her. Her tastes had grown with her. She’d started with the comics her parents had bought her that were intended for little girls but she soon wanted to read the ones full of action and adventure she’d see the boys reading. The ones with the guys in spandex tights beating the colourful villains. Then it was on to the ones for young adults and regular adults that dealt with life and heartbreak and sexuality and history and anything else that could be written about. Paige never lost her taste for any of them.
They’d also been a large part of Paige discovering her sexuality. She’d never quite understood why she’d liked looking at The Invisible Woman and Supergirl so much when she was young, why doing the same for the muscular men had held very little appeal but she’d understood as soon as she’d gotten to high school. Paige had come out to her parents at 15.
So comics held a very special place in her heart. That was why she wanted to sell them. To introduce other kids to what had filled her often lonely, confused youth with so much wonder and excitement. More over, she didn’t want a real job and wanted to read comics all day. That was why she pulled the heavy door open and walked under the sign that read Valkyries and Vixens: A Feminist Comic Book Shop.
The store was mainly empty. Behind the glass display cases at the front was a slim young man with a stylish mess of black hair and bushy, mutton chop sideburns who was too engrossed with the pencil drawing he was doing on the thin art board he held on his lap to pretend to be keeping an eye on the two shoppers who were leafing through the stacks of books in the back. He was also too engrossed to look up at the door opening. Paige crept in, barely a few inches inside the door.
“Is she gone?” Paige asked the man doing the drawing.
“Who? You mean Shannon?” Damian asked, though still not looking up. Damian was Paige’s lone employee. He’d hung around the shop, from opening until closing, since the day it’d opened. When the business began doing well enough that Paige wanted someone to cover for her late nights and her desire for days off, she’d simply found it easier to hire the guy who was always there anyway. Paige couldn’t pay him well but she’d offered the apartment above the shop to him at a reduced rate and he’d begrudgingly accepted her generous offer of employment. Provided it didn’t interfere with his artistic pursuits, of course.
“I thought we agreed we weren’t using her name anymore.” Paige said, wincing at just the thought of her.
“Yes. Shannon, your ex-girlfriend, is gone. Shannon came by an hour earlier and got the box of her stuff you’d left. Shannon said to tell you that she was sorry and that she wishes you well.” Damian continued, carefully examining something he’d drawn before erasing it and starting again. “Shannon then Shannoned the Shannon Shannon.”
He paused for a second.
“Shannon,” he added.
“You’re an asshole, you know that?” Paige threw her canvas shoulder bag, covered in buttons proclaiming her love for various political causes, bands and miscellaneous other things, in front of the cash register.
“My mother taught me to tear the band-aid off all at once.” Damien explained.
Paige just exhaled. Shannon had dumped her for someone else two months ago and had moved back home. She’d only come into the city to get the last of her things. It was still so raw. They’d been together since her sophomore year at college. Shannon had been there when she’d opened the shop 5 years ago. Still, Shannon hadn’t much cared for the shop and so unlike Paige’s house, very little of the place reminded her of her girlfriend of 6 years. The rack of Action Figures at the front, the cards behind the counter and the new releases on the plexi-glass along the walls were all things that Shannon’s only connection to had been complaining about Paige dawdling in front of before closing.
“I got you a latte.” Paige motioned to the pair of coffees in the cardboard holder as she put them down in front of her doodling employee.
“Is it organically grown, fair trade beans?” Damian asked. He even reached out for his coffee while still drawing.
“No.” Paige shook her head as she reached for the other one and took a sip. It was good though, a rich dark roast.
“Good.” Damian said genuinely as he sipped his own. “It’s the tears of the exploited peasant farmers that makes it sweet.”
Paige rolled her eyes. She had an odd relationship with her employee. He was a particular, peculiar sort who often treated her as if she should be grateful that he agreed to work for her. He would complain bitterly if she ever put on music of her own over the store’s sound system or watched a movie on the small flat-screen opposite the register that he found overly commercial or insufficiently authentic to it’s source material. Paige, being the easy-going type, had largely stopped trying. She didn’t mind. She found she liked Damian’s tastes. The current song being played in particular struck her as being terrific.
“Good song.” She said
“Yes it is.”
“What is it, jerk?”
“It’s called Sodom, South Georgia and the artist is Iron and Wine.” Damian sighed “Learn these things.”
“Having a life keeps me busy.” Paige retorted as she opened a box under the counter that had apparently come in. A new set of a collectible card game. She idly wondered why Damian hadn’t unpacked anything that had come in. “Remind me again why I let you work here?”
“I’ve narrowed it down to three particularly good reasons.” Damian said, his pencil still flying furiously “The first is that you, despite your claim to actually love comics, hate being in the store before noon or later than six. I actually live here and don’t mind being downstairs and dealing with the assembled group of mouth-breathers we call our customers all day.”
Paige nodded. That was a fair point even if she didn’t share his contempt for their customers.
“The second reason is that despite your dubious claims to a social life, I’ve somehow inherited the shameful title of your BFF.”
Paige wanted to argue this but, well, it was true. She’d lost touch with most of her small group of friends from high-school and most of her college friends were too busy with actual careers or starting families to hang out. So most of her nights at the local pub were with Damian.
“The third, and this is the kicker, is that you’ve become addicted to the small, sad dose of local celebrity I’ve given you.”
Paige smiled. This was also true. Damian had, a few years back, started writing and drawing a little comic book that he’d xerox himself every month. It was about a caustic, cynical comic book store employee and the insanely cheerful, frequently clumsy Lesbian employer who filled his life with mischief and grief. It was titled The Mildly Interesting Adventures of Damo and PJ and, to Paige’s eternal surprise, had actually been a hit with customers. All 200 copies that Damian printed up sold out each month and even had people asking for second printings, a request Damian refused each time.
Paige hadn’t been thrilled with her portrayal at first, especially Damian’s tendency to remember and include every single one of their sillier post-pub or club adventures, but it had been a financial boon to both of them. Damian kept the profits the book had generated and Paige saw traffic increase in the store as fans came from all over the city hoping to get one of the few copies. A reporter from a local independent newspaper had even attempted to interview the two of them. Paige had responded enthusiastically, reveling in her little contribution to the community while Damian had bitterly complained about how the interviewer “didn’t get it”.
Paige chuckled at the memory but, as she let her eyes drift to the chair by the door, she’d felt a familiar wave of melancholy wash over her. That had been where she’d left the box for Shannon. It hadn’t been much, a few books and pieces of clothing, but it had been the last of Shannon’s presence in her life. As Paige looked at the now empty carpet, lightly marked by the weighted outline of where the box had been, she felt herself getting angry.
“I mean. How does that even work?” She asked to nobody in particular. “We were together for six years. We met at the Pride Parade for fucks sakes. How does she just up and dump me? And for a motherfucking guy?”
That had been the kicker. The person Paige had been dumped for had been Shannon’s high school boyfriend. A guy she’d heard Shannon complain about hundreds of times for being bad in bed, a jerk and more into himself than her. But then she’d gone back home for a few months and, upon her return, told Paige that one thing had led to another and that she was very sorry and that she hoped they could still be friends.
“Yeah, a friend that I kick in the cunt.” Paige grumbled the response she’d wished she’d said to Shannon to herself before turning back to Damian “I mean, do you know how that feels?”
“Being kicked in the cunt?” Damian asked “No, but I assume it hurts.”
“Being left like that,” Paige clarified
“You’re asking me if I know how it feels when your long-time lesbian lover leaves you to marry a man?”
Paige sighed.
“Well you’re in luck,” Damian said, “Because I in fact have several piercing insights into the subject. The very same thing happened to me when I was seven. You see, I was down at the quarry when…no, no. That was the time I lost my bike. Anything like that by chance?”
Paige shook her head and turned back to putting some things away. She heard the door open but didn’t look back to see who’d come in. Damian usually dealt with customers.
“Can I ask you for some advice?” The question was asked to Damian. Just the voice alone was gorgeous. Soft and refined and with an accent that Paige, who was not good at these things, could pinpoint no better than as hailing from the British Isles. Damian looked up from his drawing finally and gave the customer a patient smile.
“General or specific?” Damian sighed
“Pardon?” The feminine voice asked, confused.
“Like, do you want advice in general like how I think you shouldn’t wear heels with that outfit or were you asking for advice about a specific subject that you wanted my opinion on?”
Paige punched Damian’s leg as she stood up and finally saw the owner of the bewitching voice. If Paige thought the voice had been beautiful, the owner of it needed an entirely new set of adjectives invented for her. She had artful locks of long, hair just light enough to look seem blonde at points and just red enough to be seen as a red-head. She had eyes that reminded Paige of the blue-ish green waters of a lake her family had vacationed at once. Clear and bright and restless. Bee-stung lips that were the palest pink colour and immediately made Paige just want to reach across the counter and bite them. She was wearing a grey pantsuit that was stylish enough to show off a well curved, slender body and a pair of black heels that Paige thought made her look quite elegant in a day-to-day sense. Paige lost herself for a second looking at her before remembering that she was trying to save her from her idiot of an employee.
“You’re a strange fellow, aren’t you?” The customer smiled curiously, that voice still mysteriously unrecognizable to Paige’s ear. Paige interjected
“Never mind him. I just keep him out front for novelty purposes.” Paige smiled nervously. She felt self-conscious about herself. She wished she wasn’t wearing a tattered green T-Shirt with a popular super hero’s logo on it over a longer sleeved blue t-shirt that also had a super hero’s logo on it. Paige was gorgeous herself albeit in a less conventional sense. Shannon had often described Paige as “thick” and Damian drew her as a little, curvy ball of energy in the book with prominently bulging breasts and a large, rounded butt and short, powerful legs. Her hair remained what it had been since she’d been 16. A short bob of jet black hair with a single streak of pink at the front. Paige often thought she could stand to lose a pound or five but she’d certainly never had any complaints. She’d had to turn down dozens of offers a week from customers before Damian resorted to loudly groaning “Lesbian” when one of the men made their advance.
“What can I help you with?” Paige finally asked. The customer smiled sweetly at her.
“Well, thing is, my niece is coming to town in a few days and apparently she’s just mental for comic books.” Paige loved her voice. Educated and precise but lyrical and sweet. “I want to give her something to show her I’m the cool Aunt but I’m afraid I know nothing about them.”
“How old is she?” Paige asked, already thinking of a few things to recommend.
“She’s 14.”
“And how cool do you want to be?”
“Fifty dollars or so worth?” The customer laughed. Paige nodded.
“Right this way.”
Paige took the red-headed woman to the room in the back with the bagged and boarded back issues and into the little enclave with the hard and soft covered collected editions. She looked along the shelf until she got to the R’s and pulled out precisely what she was looking for. She handed it to the woman who looked it over for a second before smiling.
“That’s the one, is it?” She asked, still lost in a world she didn’t understand.
“It is,” Paige nodded enthusiastically. “A group of young kids find out their parents really are the evilest people in the world and set about trying to foil their plans. I wish I could have had it at 14.”
“Sounds fun,” The customer nodded, leafing through the book. “The art’s a spot different from the others, isn’t it?”
“You mean like how the girls all don’t have FF cup boobs and 18 inch waists, yeah?” Paige laughed. The customer smiled and extended a well-manicured hand.
“I’m Courtney, by the way,” She said. Paige shook it, cursing herself ever so slightly for her sparkling pink nail polish. She knew it was weird but even touching the woman’s hand felt amazing. Soft and strong and warm. Paige could feel herself flush.
“Paige.”
“So, Paige. You work here? Must be fun.”
“I own it, actually,” Paige said with some pride
“But you’re so young,” Courtney exclaimed, smiling. Paige smiled. She was 25 and looked the same age as Courtney more or less.
“Maybe, but my teachers always said I did had a precocious disposition towards running a struggling business,” Paige joked. This did bring a shy laugh from Courtney. A laugh that Paige found as attractive as the rest of her. The two shared an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds before smiling nervously.
“You should probably ring me up then.” Courtney said, holding up the book. Paige nodded. She had half a mind to give the gorgeous girl the book but, well, she was running a business ostensibly. Paige nodded and motioned back towards the register. Courtney turned and walked back and Paige followed.
“I’m not going to be awful and look at her butt. I’m not going to be awful and look at her butt” Paige thought to herself as she walked behind her. She was, however, awful and looked at Courtney’s butt. Paige thought it looked phenomenal. It was only a quick look, however, as the small shop didn’t allow for long trips and soon she was in front of the register, scanning the book’s barcode.
“You probably think this is crazy.” Courtney said as she let her eyes go all around the store before coming back to Paige “But you’ve just been so helpful I just feel obligated to ask you to dinner.”
Paige nearly dropped the scanner.
“You mean like a date?” Paige asked nervously. She hadn’t necessarily thought the girl was gay. In retrospect Paige thought they may have flirted a little but she had mistaken it for politeness. Paige also didn’t think she gave off any particular signs. Neither, Paige then thought, did Paige. But there had definitely been electricity felt on Paige’s part.
“If by a date you mean dinner and perhaps drinks with romantic intentions then, yes, a date.” Courtney smiled confidently. Paige was literally dumbstruck. She hadn’t dated anyone since Shannon. She hadn’t felt ready. Now she thought of so many different ways to say yes that they all seemed stuck in her mouth at once, fighting to get out.
“Abso-yes. Definitely.” Paige nodded enthusiastically. Courtney’s eyes lit up and she grinned as she heard the answer she’d been hoping for. She paid for her purchase via bank card.
“Do you know Binjara’s?” Courtney asked. Paige did. It was one of the better vegetarian Indian restaurants in town and only a few streets over.
“I do.”
“And does tomorrow work for you? At 8?” Courtney continued. Paige hesitated. It was a Friday night. She always spent her Friday nights with Damian at their local pub. True, they spent most nights there, but Fridays were special. They played the trivia game together. She looked over at Damian who remained drawing.
“I’ll survive somehow.” Damian said, almost telepathically. “You guessed that the Model-T was invented by Benjamin Franklin anyway.”
“Yes, tomorrow works.” Paige said, doing her absolute best to play it cool. Courtney smiled and winked and slung the plastic bag over her shoulder as she walked out. She turned back just as she left. “See you then.”
Paige nodded. She watched Courtney leave with a smile on her face and dirty thoughts in her head. She felt herself buzzing. She leaned against the counter and turned to her employee.
“God, Damian, you ever meet someone and just know..you know?”
“No.” Damian replied simply
“I mean, like the connection was so electric that she just must have known I was gay because of it and she asked and…”
“Yes. It certainly must have been the electricity between you that tipped her off.” Damon nodded, continuing to work “I mean, it’s not like you have both a rainbow Pride ’09 and a pink triangle button on the your bag.”
Paige looked at her bag, still sitting next to the cash register and with the two buttons Damian had described prominently visible.
“I mean, do you suppose we should pay her a visit Inspector Lestrade?” Damian kept at it “Maybe see if our good Mrs. Holmes can put her astounding deductive powers to work helping Scotland Yard solve the case of the missing Prussian Stickpin?”
“Shut up.” Paige said although there was no malice. She was thinking about her date and grinning broadly.
Chapter 2.
The rest of Thursday and then all of Friday seemed to drag on, Paige thought, like time had been slowed down by some awful, Paige-date-hating super villain. She thought all Friday about what she would wear and, when she decided that nothing suited, left the shop in Damian’s hands while she went to the Vintage shop down the block. She found a great, 60’s style black cocktail dress that Paige thought made her boobs really pop and left straight from shopping to get home and get ready. She kept pacing and angrily looking at the clock as it finally got to a point where she could leave her place. She only lived a few minutes from the shop so the walk to the restaurant was only a few minutes further. She got there at 7:45, 15 minutes before their agreed upon time, and smiled to see that Courtney had already gotten there ahead of her. The restaurant was a very casual place, catering to students mainly, and Courtney had dressed for that. A green sweater pulled down over a high collared white dress shirt and jeans. Paige felt somewhat out of place in her dress and heels. She found a great deal of relief when she saw Courtney see her and the smile that grew on her face.
“God, I think I may have overdressed.” Paige said sheepishly as she approached the small booth that Courtney had gotten. Courtney shook her head.
“Stop. I wouldn’t change you for anything. You are just absolutely lovely.” She said genuinely, her accent still having that musical lilt to it. Courtney couldn’t take her eyes off the beautiful, busty girl in front of her.
Paige felt herself blush.
“You look great too.”
“You’re dear for saying it.” Courtney shrugged “I only barely had time to get home from work to change.”
“Where do you work?” Paige asked, realizing she knew next to nothing about Courtney.
“The university. The publishers. Legal department.” Courtney said casually “Bunch of slave-drivers.”
“You’re a lawyer, but you’re so young.” Paige said, smiling.
“I think I used that line on you already.” Courtney chuckled as she looked at her menu “But I graduated school a bit early.”
“I have to ask, it’s been bugging me the last two days, where are you from?” Paige asked
“The accent you mean?” Courtney smiled “I’m from Scotland originally. Edinburgh.”
Paige smiled, although still somewhat confused. She’d seen Scottish comedians and Scottish movies and Courtney’s accent was far softer.
“You don’t sound it.” Paige smiled.
“Ach, well, I kin git a wee bit coarser if ye like lass.” Courtney said, now adopting a harsher tone that Paige did recognize a bit “But I’m afraid the Duncans of Edinburgh have always had a bit more o’ the posh in us than most.”
Paige laughed. So did Courtney.
“But I have something to ask you, that’s also kept me wondering for days.” Courtney said, returning to her normal accent, “What in the world is the difference between a Feminist Comic book shop and a regular one.”
“Oh it’s stupid and geeky.” Paige shook her head
“Wouldn’t ask if I didn’t want to know.”
“Well, I wanted to stress that it’s a female friendly environment. Where I’m not going to sell anything I feel is exploitative and skeezy. Like any comic book with a woman’s dead body stuffed in a refrigerator.”
“Ugh. They had one?” Courtney asked. Paige shook her head with similar disgust.
“Don’t get me started. So, anyways, my shop and my rules.” Paige said simply.
“Not that I disagree with your decision but isn’t that pale lad behind the counter just the type to accuse you of censorship or some such?”
Paige smiled. Damian had, in fact, first made that argument. Paige had laid down the law though.
“He is. But two problems there. One, he’s wrong. It’s not censorship for a private individual to decide what she will or won’t sell in her privately owned store. I’m not limiting anyone’s access to it. There are other shops. Two, I told him if he didn’t like it he was more than free to go get another job where he was paid to do nothing all day.”
Courtney just smiled.
“Well, like I said, I respect both your conviction and your cause.” Courtney nodded. At this point waitress came and the two of them worked it out. Aloo Gobi, Chana Masala and Spinach Paneer were favourites for both of them and so they’d ordered the three of them to share along with rice and naan. Paige had ordered a glass of Riesling and Courtney, expressing her thanks to Paige for ordering alcohol first, ordered a lager. The food came quickly and their meal were both tremendous. Paige hadn’t eaten much the last few days because of the butterflies in her stomach and Courtney had apparently skipped lunch and so they were both famished.
Their conversation, or as much of one as they could manage between mouthfuls, went equally well. Paige was an only child to two parents who had reacted largely well to her coming out at 15 whereas Courtney and her older brother had split time between their divorced parent’s places. When Courtney had come out to them at 19 her Father had reacted well while her mother, apparently somewhat religious, had been disapproving at first but had eventually come around. Paige loved science-fiction, stand-up comedy and punk rock whereas Courtney loved the classics, pop music and football. They then argued for a bit about whether it should be called football or soccer. It was declared a friendly draw.
Paige was positively sinking into her date and began to slow her eating, both from feeling full and knowing that when the food was gone the date would be coming to a close. Courtney apparently felt every bit as into it, or full, and began slowing down herself. Eventually they ran out of food completely and the bill had come. Paige reached for it but Courtney playfully slapped her hand away.
“Not on your life. This was my thanks for your help.” Courtney said as she put her credit card down on the table. Paige agreed but it felt wrong. The idea that she was on a date with this beautiful, engaging, smart and funny woman and didn’t have to pay for the privilege? It felt wrong.
“Then you’re going to have to let me pay you back with a drink.” Paige insisted, reaching across the table to let her fingers dance over Courtney’s. Courtney smiled.
“Well, if I must.” She said with a cheeky grin. “Maybe catch your boy at the pub you were talking about?”
Paige frowned. She’d been thinking of something slightly more intimate than Damian and his yapping about which previously cool movie director was now a monster on the scale of Stalin but she agreed.
“Can I go home and get on more comfortable shoes?” Paige asked, feeling her heels digging slightly into her ankles. “It’s on the way.”
“Of course.” Courtney nodded. “I saw an ice cream shop next door so why don’t be terrible and have some on our way?”
Paige nodded. She knew Dave’s Gourmet Ice Creams well and a cone of his famous blueberry ripple sounded like the near perfect cap to the delicious, engaging meal. Courtney extended her hand to Paige as they left the restaurant. Paige didn’t even think for a second before taking it and hers and walking from the restaurant hand in hand.
Chapter 3.
They continued their conversation as they walked home in the cool air. Paige had been disappointed by Dave’s being out of her favourite flavour but the new toasted marshmallow flavour they’d had was a fine replacement. She didn’t know how Dave actually made it taste as though the marshmallow had been roasted but, well, he did. Courtney had laughed when she’d seen that they had a Guinness flavoured ice cream and gotten her cone full of it. All on the walk to Paige’s place she’d darted little looks at Courtney. Walking side by side was nice but it meant she could no longer look at Courtney as she could when they were sitting across from each other. Every now and then, when she’d dart her eyes to appreciate the delicateness of Courtney’s features or the way the light brown ice cream dripped along her beautiful lips, Paige was pleasantly surprised to see Courtney’s eyes looking back. Both of them would quickly look away when that happened. They’d both finished their cones when they’d finally turned the corner onto the little, well lit street that Paige’s house was on and Courtney had walked her to her door.
“You should probably come in, I could be a second.” Paige smiled. Courtney, however, shook her head.
“I was thinking, and don’t dismiss this out of hand as being crazy, maybe we shouldn’t head back out.” Courtney said. She seemed nervous but, well, bold.
“Well, alright.” Paige sighed. Did Courtney want the night to end? Paige certainly didn’t.
“Now hear me out.” Courtney said “You’d said that there are three things that a relationship needed to work, right?”
Paige nodded. That had been a part of their conversation over dinner.
“You said, and I quote, that you needed attraction, well-matched personalities and sexual compatibility, right?” Courtney continued. Paige smiled, she could instantly hear what Courtney must be like as a lawyer. Paige nodded, looking deeply into those gorgeous blue-green eyes that were sparkling at her.
“Well,” Courtney continued “I propose that we’ve established two of the three. I think it’s safe to say that we’re both attracted to one another and if that meal was any indication then I think we’re going to get along famously. That really leaves the sexual compatibility, though it’s somewhat forward I know, I’ve always been an impatient sort and….”
“Oh sweet Jesus shut up.” Paige said as she grabbed Courtney’s sweater and pulled her tightly to her lips. She finally did what she’d wanted to do since the first second she’d seen the beautiful red head and hungrily kissed her soft, delicate lips. She felt Courtney kiss her back just as hungrily. Their tongues mixing, their saliva mingling. Courtney smelled like strawberries and her kiss tasted like curry, ice cream and beer. Paige loved curry, ice cream and beer. Paige moaned into Courtney’s mouth as she felt the girl’s hands on the back of her dress, tightly squeezing Paige’s butt in both hands. Paige’s hands were fumbling with her keys, desperately trying to get them into the lock. Paige cursed the man who’d invented doors as she stumbled, not breaking her kiss for a second before finally getting the door open and pulling Courtney inside. Paige tried to keep a cool head, she knew she’d have to actually be the guide here, but the kiss was so hot, the first real kiss she’d had in months, that she felt her head spinning. She bumped against the railing of the stairs, reminding her that her bedroom was actually upstairs, and actually had to fight for a little space. Courtney had pushed her against the railing and had her hand on the outside of Paige’s thighs now, pushing her dress up and lifting Paige’s leg. Paige pulled Courtney by the collar of her dress shirt, keeping the kiss intact as she backed up the stairs.
When they made the perilous journey to the top of the stairs, clothes became almost being torn off by their wearers. Paige undid her dress at the neck and let it fall to the floor, feeling relieved that she’d been optimistic enough to wear something sexy underneath. A lacy baby blue corset that pushed her already ample breasts up higher, giving her a river of cleavage that Courtney ran her tongue along as soon as it was visible.
“God,” Courtney exclaimed appreciatively, “I’ve wanted to do that all night.
Paige giggled as the two stumbled into the bedroom. Courtney yanked her own sweater over her head, pulling the dress shirt with it. Paige noted that her date had planned ahead on the possibility of states of undress and her own breasts were invitingly presented in a cutely patterned demi-bra. They were smaller than Paige’s but still full and perky and were instantly covered by Paige’s mouth, kissing as much of the soft flesh as she could before yanking the breasts out of their cups and beginning to encircle Courtney’s small pink nipples with her tongue as she sat down at the foot of her bed.
“Oh fucking hell.” Courtney moaned appreciatively as she felt Paige’s mouth and tongue swirling around the sensitive buds of her nipples and sucking them into into her mouth with such a delicious intensity. She clutched Paige’s head to her bosom and momentarily forgot her own burning desire to enjoy every inch of Paige’s body. Her hands undid her jeans and yanked them to the floor, stepping out of them as she kicked off her shoes. Paige’s hands went next, also pulling Courtney’s panties down around her ankles. When Courtney stepped back to get out of the tangle of clothes on the floor, Paige finally got a chance to admire Courtney’s naked form with some distance. She was gorgeous. Fit and toned and curved. She still looked beautifully shy and innocent even when naked from the waist down with her boobs hanging out of her bra.
Courtney practically jumped back into Paige’s arms, straddling her waist as the two kissed. The Scottish girl’s hands beginning to unlace the lingerie Paige had worn almost as if she’d rehearsed the act for hours and quickly tossing it aside. Paige’s very large but perfectly tear dropped shaped breasts fell free. Courtney’s hands helped themselves to as much of the soft, sensitive flesh as she could fit and she squeezed. Firmly but still gently and softly. It was like she just wanted to appreciate the gorgeous orbs filling her hands but squeeze them hard enough to make sure they weren’t some sort of fantastic illusion. Paige pulled her own panties down around her hips as best as she could with Courtney on her lap and finally succeeded, leaving the two women a naked, intertwined kissing tangle of limbs. Courtney pushed Paige onto her back and began kissing down from Paige’s neck to her chest.
“Mmmm, no” Paige moaned. “Want to do you first.”
“No chance, love.” Courtney playfully shot back. Paige knew it was crazy but just hearing Courtney call her “love”, even though she knew it was a casual term of endearment, was delightful.
“You paid for dinner.” Paige kept at it, her grip on Courtney’s hair keeping her from travelling down any further.
“So I should get to do what I want first.”
Paige seized the initiative. She rolled Courtney onto her back and, after some ministrations, turned her body around as she climbed on top of Courtney. A compromise that she’d forced on Courtney, maybe, but a compromise that seemed eagerly accepted. They shifted on the bed enough so that Paige could duck her head in between Courtney’s thighs while Courtney was able to do the same. Both girl’s seemed as eager as the other and there was barely a split second between each girl’s tongue beginning to lick at each others wetness. Paige loved the position. It was awkward eating pussy upside down after most of her practice doing it from the other way but the giving and receiving of such delicious pleasure could not have spoken more to her interests. Courtney was as wet as she’d ever seen a girl and Paige gave her the works. Her fingers using some of the excess wetness to rub and roll at Courtney’s clit while her tongue eagerly licked at every fold and line Courtney had. The ministrations bringing loud, eager moans from the beautiful red-head.
The only difficulty Paige was having, really, was the way that Courtney’s own well practised tongue was desperately working it’s way inside her. Courtney was less about her hands than Paige was but her tongue was long, relentless and, Paige thought as she squealed at a particularly phenomenal trick that Courtney was pulling off inside her, double-jointed. Both girls seemed in a race to get the other to cum first and neither one seemed inclined to pace themselves whatsoever. The closer that Paige got to feeling the warmth and wetness burst from Courtney’s efforts the more determined she was to get Courtney there first. Courtney had seemed unable to control her moans, which themselves were a pleasant sensation when her mouth was where it was, when Paige lightly sucked her clit into her mouth and worked her fingers inside Paige and did that again with renewed vigour and intensity. Courtney responded to the challenge by licking deeper, harder and faster.
Both girls exploded at the same time, flooding each others face with cum. Both girl’s paused for only the briefest of seconds to enjoy their orgasms, Paige thought hers definitely ranked among her top 1 of all time,before redoubling their efforts. The first round had been a draw and both seemed more determined than ever to win round two.
The two didn’t stop at just one though. Only their first together had occurred simultaneously but as they kept at each other with one or the other pausing to ride and buck and crest as another one washed over her it soon became apparent that it wasn’t a sprint but a marathon. Now it was going to be about who could give the other the most possible pleasure over the course of the night. Fingers and tongues got sore and Paige had to switch to her weaker left hand a few times as she kept up her pace but she was just so enraptured by making Courtney climax that she ignored whatever fatigue she felt. Her own orgasms were phenomenal, brilliant and beautiful and bubble gum and all that, but it was Courtney’s that drove her. Paige felt Courtney buck and moan three more times beneath her before, finally, she pulled her tongue from Paige and moaned a final time, gushing again, before asking for mercy.
“OK, ok, ok. Oh fuck, oh fuck, time out.” Courtney panted. Paige, being a bit of a brat, gave Paige’s sensitive clit one final roll around her tongue before rolling off. When she did it was like she felt the four orgasms of her own finally catch up to her. She felt like every little bit of pleasure she had inside her had been tortuously coaxed from her. She felt exhausted and satisfied and soaked and out of breath. Paige looked over at the clock. They’d been at it for almost 45 minutes. It’d felt like 5. Courtney, if anything, looked even more worn out and happy and dreamy. Paige twisted around again to embrace Courtney in her arms and, her face still fresh with her juices, kissed her lightly on the mouth. Courtney did her best to kiss back but she really just had to be a willing participant. Paige kept looking into Courtney’s face, even more gorgeous wrapped up in her bliss, and smiling.
“Damn.” Paige laughed “I was really hoping we’d have sexual chemistry.”
“Fuck me.” Courtney moaned deliciously, ignoring the joke.
“Again?”
“How are you even moving?” Courtney said, finally opening her gorgeous greenish-blue eyes. Paige marvelled at them. It was like they were constantly shifting between the two colours and finding new blends every time she looked at them.
Paige smiled and kissed Courtney on the cheek again. Courtney rolled over onto Paige and kissed her appreciatively. She looked around the bedroom after finally collapsing. The bedroom was covered in posters for comic book characters and bands and movies.
“Fuck me, you’re a bit of a dork, aren’t you?” Courtney said as she kissed Paige’s delicate nose.
“Just a bit.” Paige said, already feeling her strength recover for another go-round. She’d been saving up a lot these last few months.
Chapter 4.
The next day at the store, Paige had not been even remotely able to wipe the smile off her face. She actually hummed along to the music Damian was playing, something that annoyed him to practically no end, but she couldn’t even care about that. Her night with Courtney hadn’t ended until 3 in the morning. They’d retired to the shower and done stuff there and then again in bed and then sleep and then they’d woken up and done stuff in the morning. Courtney had actually had to leave on the Saturday morning to go into work. They’d kissed and exchanged numbers and then Paige had pulled Courtney back to bed and 45 short minutes later they’d left the bed for good. Paige had laid in bed for a while, replaying the night in her head for a while and thinking about Courtney before, eventually, getting out of bed and making it to the store at 1 in the afternoon. She couldn’t stop annoying him with her cheerfulness. She was actually singing along to a song that Damian was playing, not knowing the words at all but trying to remember what she’d heard so far, that he finally snapped.
“Good sex then?” Damian asked annoyedly.
“Whatever do you mean?” Paige said coyly, thinking back to a particular bit of the evening, with her perched on her bathroom sink with Courtney between her thighs after the shower.
“How cute is your boss they’ll ask me? Terribly, terribly cute, is how I’ll respond. And your fiendish plan will all come together.” Damian said, going back to drawing. Paige stood still for a second and looked back to Damian to finally answer his question.
“Oh my god Damey, it was the single greatest night of sex in my entire life.” She finally spilled, the words racing out of her “We got back to my place and we started kissing and tearing each others clothes off and neither of us knew who should do what first so I…”
“My sweet innocent ears, spare me your filthy deviant details.” Damian cut her off.
Damian’s sexuality had long been a bit of some puzzlement to Paige and everyone who knew him. Paige had never seen him with anyone or talk about anyone special despite many cute geeky girls who frequented the store asking Paige over hushed whispers near the front of the store if he was single. She always said she didn’t know. The bolder ones would always approach him and he would typically be as brusque with them as he was with anyone else. The cute, geeky boys who’d ask her the same question about Damian would get the same treatment. Either way he didn’t seem interested in hearing about anyone’s sex life. Certainly not Paige’s.
“Well, anyways, it was unbelievable.” Paige said, particularly enjoying the song that was playing now. “What’s this one?”
“Powerful Stuff. Sean Hayes.” Damian said wearily “Should I just give you my Ipod and start a new one?”
Paige felt her phone buzz against her jeans pocket. She pulled it out. It was a text message from Courtney.
“Hey Beautiful” it read. Paige whipped her own phone, it’s back marked up with little personal and phrases in white-out. She began typing back.
“Hey Red”
“Meeting. So boring. Want more U”
“Tonight?” Was Paige’s hopeful reply
“Too long. Starting to feel sick. Going home with terrible case of life-threatening flu. Come and tuck me in.”
Paige looked at the message for about 15 seconds. She thought back to last night and things that Courtney had done and had said they’d do later and….well, it wasn’t much of a decision.
“Be right there.” Was her hastily typed reply.
Paige put her phone back into her pocket and grabbed her bag from the counter.
“Close up tonight Damian.”
Damian looked over at the Star Wars clock on the wall. It read 2:12
“Yeah, you’ve put in a full day of work.” Damian said sarcastically as she left.
Chapter 5.
The beginning of Courtney and Paige’s relationship was fairly indicative of how it had gone for the first few months. They couldn’t seem to get enough of each other. Even if it weren’t for the fact that they couldn’t seem to be able to spend two minutes alone together without tearing off each others clothes and having mind blowing sessions of marathon sex, they actually did seem to really like each other underneath it all. Courtney, refined and serious Courtney, began hanging out at the shop after work and eagerly read every book that Paige recommended and seemed as engrossed as them as Paige was. She tried to learn every bit of Paige’s geeky obsession. As dedicated a student as Courtney was she could still understand what Paige meant when she asked if Courtney wanted to go downstairs into the storage room and see some special “back issues”. She was thoughtful and sweet and fun and Paige, even though she knew it was all horribly quick, could feel herself falling hard for girl. Sure there were still some doubts but it was as intense and exciting a start to a relationship as Paige had ever felt herself caught up in. Even for the bad times, such as this cold January night when Paige answered her door in her Batman pyjamas, her eyes red and her nose leaking.
“I wod to giss you” Paige choked out through her clogged up nose when she saw Courtney on her porch. Courtney had braved the elements, fought her way to their favourite Indian restaurant and had apparently bought every scrap they had of food in the place judging by the size of the bags she was now carrying.
“Yes, well, as enticing a proposition as that usually is darling I’m afraid I’m snowed under at work this week and can’t risk it.” Courtney smiled and held her cold hand up to Paige’s forehead “Good heavens, you’re just a mess aren’t you?”
“I’b fide” Paige said as she blew her nose on the sleeve of her pyjamas.
“Yes, just the picture of health.” Courtney smiled as she shook her head “Really making me want to tear those pyjamas off you too.”
“Really?” Paige said hopefully. The three days she’d had this cold were the longest that she and Courtney had gone without having sex. Even though she felt sick and gross she still missed hearing the way Courtney would moan when she came.
“Yes. I’d like to tear them off and throw them in the wash.”
“Oh.” Paige shrank a little before trying to sound cute as she whined “Bud they’re badban”
“Yes, they’re Batman pyjamas, which is adorably strange. But you just blew your nose on them, love.”
“Wash lader.” Paige said, grabbing one of the tins of food from Courtney and walking over to the couch in front of her TV that had become her bed/dining room/living room while she was sick. Courtney smiled and unzipped her coat, and joined her girlfriend beside her.
“Awwww, you brod be food.” Paige groaned appreciatively as she opened the tin, curling against Courtney on the couch.
“I did.” Courtney kissed Paige on the forehead before grabbing another smaller bag. “And I swung by the shop and brought you your new comics.”
“Dew Fables?” Paige said as she blew her nose again, this time with Kleenex. Courtney shook her head.
“I don’t know what that means. But Damian said it was your entire list.”
“Awwww, you’re the best.” Paige said as she looked through the bag and found that, yes, the new Fables was in there.
“And I swung by the video store on Damian’s recommendation and picked up the first season of something called Battlestar Galactica.” Courtney recounted. Paige brightened again. She’d desperately wanted to re-watch the show. She was so happy she didn’t even ask why Damian hadn’t just given Courtney the copy belonging to Paige that he’d borrowed.
“And you’re going to watch theb with be?” Paige asked hopefully. Courtney checked her watch. She did have a very early meeting. But she looked back at the sick girl whose rich chocolate eyes looked even more gorgeous behind the thick framed black glasses she only wore when she didn’t have the strength to put in her contacts and nodded. Paige kissed Courtney and said something that, while it was something that she’d known she’d felt for a while, hadn’t said. She hadn’t said it to anyone in a romantic sense other than Shannon. But she said it to Courtney.
“Di lub you.” Paige said, not caring how silly it sounded with her cold.
“Mmmm, di lub you too.” Courtney laughed as she returned the kiss and mocking the clogged up sound of Paige’s voice.
Chapter 6.
It was a blissfully warm April and Paige and Courtney had made plans to, rather than do any work on this particular Saturday, have a picnic in the nearby Cumberland Park. Paige had needed to stop by the store first to grab the phone she’d left there the previous day and she was currently looking hurriedly through the place for it. Courtney was standing near the register, picnic basket Paige had packed in hand, and looking at the various merchandise at the front of the store. A young, hip looking guy came into the store and began looking near the front of the store.
“What’s the song Damo?” Courtney asked mildly enjoying the upbeat tune piping through the shop.
“Mass Romantic by the New Pornographers.” Damian
“How come you never play music people have actually heard of?” Courtney asked “Like Justin Timberlake or Christina Aguilera.”
“I don’t like you.” Damian sighed, returning to his work. That tranquility was shattered by the young man who’d entered the store, being unable to find what he was looking for, approaching the counter with a question.
“Any copies left of The Mildly Interesting Adventures of Damo & PJ?” He asked hopefully
“Nope.” Damian said, hard at work on the next issue of it. He’d only printed up the new one last week and it was already sold out.
“Going to have any more?” He said, dejectedly
“Nope.” Damian said as though he’d heard the question dozens of times today.
“Dang. Well, I’ll check the stacks.” The boy said before heading back to look at the back issues.
This exchange had piqued Courtney’s interest. She knew who Damo and PJ were.
“What’s the Mildly something something of you two?” She asked, pointing at Damian and Paige, still looking behind the counter.
“The Mildly Interesting Adventures of Damo & PJ” Damian corrected her
“Yes, that’s the one.” Courtney nodded “What is it?”
“It’s nothing.” Paige said quickly. She’d feared this. That book was like a massive compendium of all of her most embarrassing, drunken mishaps in graphic form. She’d carefully shielded Courtney from the store on the days it was out. She didn’t mind anyone else knowing about it but Courtney, well, it was still a relatively new relationship.
Damian brightened a little at sensing her reluctance.
“Nothing? Why it’s only one of our top selling books!” Damian actually put his drawing down “About the hilarious adventures of two crazily familiar people.”
“What, it’s a comic about the two of you?” Courtney laughed “Who draws it?”
“Why, I do, of course. But the dialogue comes unedited from the mouth of one Paige Jeffries.” Damian was doing his best impression of an actually motivated retail employee “And it’s won wide acclaim and been named best locally produced comic in last year’s Best of the City poll.”
“Can I see it?”
“No!” Paige exclaimed before calming down. “Didn’t you hear him? No copies left. And we don’t keep back issues.”
“Well that’s for our idiot customers, PJ!” Damian was clearly delighting in the prospect of embarrassing Paige. “I just so happen to keep the complete run, all 26 issues, just behind the counter for my own reference while drawing.”
“Can I read those then?” Courtney was ignoring Paige’s protestations.
“Can you?” Damian exclaimed happily as he reached below him and picked up a small box, “I’m not only giving them to you, I’m going to carry them out to your car so that you’ll have something to read on your picnic.”
Courtney clapped excitedly as she followed behind him out of the store.
“They’re awful!” Paige called out after them, finding her phone and putting it in her pocket. But she could see it was too late to stop.
It was a short drive to the park and the two of them found a secluded, sunny hill with a picnic bench. It was so warm that both had taken off their jackets and, after Paige had served them the meal she’d made, they were lying on the warm grass on a blanket next to their picnic basket. Courtney was reading the stack of books Damian had given her and was, intermittently, bursting out laughing. Paige was doing her best to get Courtney’s attention off of the books by tracing her fingers around the stitched crest that was in the middle of the maroon soccer jersey stretched invitingly over Courtney’s firm, full breasts.
“What’s HMFC?” Paige asked, still trying to distract Courtney from her reading.
“Mmm?” Courtney asked, smiling before realizing the question. “Oh, Heart of Midlothian Football Club.”
That had not done the trick. Paige continued.
“What’s the Heart of Midlothian?” Paige was now more or less just groping Courtney. That too was not doing much to distract her.
“Mmmm, stop.” Courtney giggled “I think it was a jail.”
“And they named a soccer team after it?” Paige was trying to start an old argument. Courtney ignored that too
“Yes. They named a football club after it.” Courtney smiled “I never understood why but, still, Glorious, Glorious Hearts.”
Paige sighed. Courtney broke out in laughter.
“So you actually woke Damian up at 4 in the morning, completely pissed, and made him drive you for two hours so you could eat a donut with bacon bits on it you’d seen on the cooking channel that was being sold in another state?”
“In fairness to me…”
“And then you two waited outside for 3 hours until the shop actually opened and made the first batch.”
“I’d never had a bacon donut.” Paige sighed. It had not been her most dignified of nights.
Courtney laughed again. Paige knew why. Paige had hated the bacon donut, taken a bite and thrown the entire dozen she’d bought out the car window as they drove back home.
“You’re a complete and total loon, you know that?” Courtney said, putting down the book to kiss Paige on the cheek. “But I love you all the same.”
“Mmm, enough book time.” Paige said, yanking the book from Courtney’s hand and tossing it on the ground.
“Careful, Damian lent that to me.” Courtney whined.
“Don’t worry.” Paige said, kissing her harder. “He’ll be printing a lot more to cover for the pay cut he’s getting.”
“Mmmm.” Courtney kissed back “I like where this is going. Should we head home?”
“No time. Going to have to take you here.” Paige smiled wickedly.
“Can’t….” Courtney protested, albeit with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “What if someone were to happen by?”
“Then I’ll get arrested for indecent exposure.” Paige said, pulling her shirt over her head, to reveal her large breasts “For the sixth time.”
“Oh yes.” Courtney giggled “That was issue #5, wasn’t it?”
“No more comics.” Paige was tugging off Courtney’s jersey, the red-head’s naked breasts bouncing free. Paige began kissing at Courtney’s cheek, nipping at her earlobe, as her hands undid the clasp of her bra. Her own breasts bounced freely and she crushed them against Courtney’s as they fell to the ground, grinding against each other. Courtney was delighted. This was exactly the kind of thing she’d never, ever have done in a million years if she hadn’t met Paige. There was some small bit of her that was deeply, deeply thrilled by it. The spring air and sounds and smells still all around as the two passionately made out, rubbing against each other.
Paige’s hands went up and under Courtney’s skirt and began pulling down her panties. Courtney covered her mouth with her hand, embarrassed.
“God, I can’t believe you’re going down on me in public.” Courtney moaned
“I’m not.” Paige giggled as she began rubbing the wet, smooth lips of Courtney’s pussy with one hand while reaching for the picnic basket with the other.
“God, what else do you have in there.” Courtney moaned as she saw Paige root around inside, sight unseen, still rubbing and kissing her girlfriend.
“There’s a reason I stole this particular pic-a-nic basket.” Paige giggled as she retrieved the two things she’d wanted from the basket. It was a large strap-on dildo and a bottle of lube. Courtney just gasped. Courtney had never been fucked with a strap-on before. She’d never fucked a guy before.
“What is that?” Courtney sighed. It looked….nice. It was somewhat weird, dark black, with a flared head, and it was a very substantial size.
“This is what I’m going to fuck you with.” Paige said as she quickly stepped out of her pants.
“Really?” Courtney smiled “I mean, you know I’ve never…”
“You trust me?” Paige stepped into the harness, not waiting for the answer.
“Of course.” Courtney nodded looking at the odd thing bobbing from her girlfriend’s waist “But it’s pretty big.”
“That’s part of the fun. Now hold onto something tight and don’t stop until the ride stops.” Paige laughed as, again, she was on top of her girlfriend, kissing her and enjoying the sensation of their breasts pressing together, their nipples rubbing against each others. Courtney felt whatever apprehension she might have felt just drain from her as Paige’s gifted hands kept rubbing at wet lips of her cunt and brushing lightly against her clit.
Paige popped the cap on the bottle of lube and squeezed out a healthy dollop onto the head of the cock. A similar amount was squeezed onto Courtney’s sex. She was wet already but Paige wanted to make this as easy a passage as possible. Courtney groaned as she felt the cool liquid hit her and then be rubbed all around her. She was so close to cumming just from Paige’s fingers that she didn’t even think she needed the strap-on. She didn’t need it, maybe, but she wanted it.
“Fuck me, baby.” Courtney pleaded. Paige smiled. When Paige was growing up she’d always fantasized about a girl with a posh accent similar to the one that Courtney had. Pictured it belonging to a princess. It was still so unbelievably hot to hear that voice saying dirty things.
“Ask again.” Paige teased, wanting to hear more.
“Put your cock in me, please.” Courtney said, desperately meaning the words she’d never thought she’d say. That was enough for Paige. She positioned herself between Courtney’s legs and, while kissing her deeply, thrust inside. Courtney groaned at the intrusion. It was big, thick. Courtney had, at various points, had four fingers inside her and she thought that was feeling stretched and stuffed. This was more than that. Thicker and longer. It was a delicious sensation. Paige worked slowly, surely, letting Courtney get used to the size and sensation. Courtney found herself getting used to it very, very quickly.
“How’s that?” Paige asked gently
“Good.” Courtney admitted with a moan “So, so good.”
“Ready for more?”
Courtney didn’t have the words. She just nodded. So Paige went a little deeper. Paige had done this enough to know how to get herself off while fucking with a strap-on but that was not her focus. She began thrusting slowly, gently, keeping her eyes on Courtney’s enraptured face. Paige wanted to make sure every minute of it was pure pleasure for the woman she loved. Courtney gave no indication whatsoever that it wasn’t the case and so Paige went a little harder, a little deeper.
“Yes baby, yes.” Courtney moaned, looking up at Paige in amazement. Paige was making her feel just incredible. Fit to burst in more ways then one. Nobody had ever made Courtney feel the way Paige did. Paige kept at it, now thrusting hard enough that her large breasts were swaying heavily as she did. Courtney was thrusting back, her hands taking hold of Paige’s swaying tits and squeezing them, lightly rolling the nipples between her finger and thumb as she wrapped her legs around Paige’s waist.
“Fuck me, sweetness. Oh please, fuck me.” Courtney kept pleading. Paige kept providing. Keeping a hard, steady pace. Courtney almost felt her eyes rolling back in her head as the thick, relentless thrusting kept bringing huge waves of pleasure wash through her, one after the other and each seemingly bigger and spreading out further. Courtney’s hands went from Paige’s breasts down to her round butt, squeezing tightly and pulling her deeper inside with every thrust. Paige kept rubbing her own clit against the nub of the harness as she thrust inside. Paige was close herself. It wasn’t the greatest of sensations but combined with the visual of Courtney absolutely losing control, it would do.
Courtney felt herself completely lose control as that final wave formed, curling outward from deep inside her and making every inch of her body seize and grip and tighten as she screamed in orgasm. Her toes curling and her scream piercing the relative peaceful silence of the picnic area. The sight of Courtney cumming got Paige off as well, a smaller, but still very, very pleasant spasm of blissful release after her exertion.
“Fuck me sideways” Paige groaned as she stopped.
“Yes, we’ll have to try that too at some point” Courtney finally managed to get out.
“We should probably go.” Paige moaned as she kissed Courtney’s neck
“Need to get back to the shop?” Courtney asked, leaning back on the blanket.
“No. But I think the church group that just wandered by is probably going to call the police.” Paige said nervously. Courtney bolted upright. She’d gotten so lost in her fuck that she’d forgotten they were outside. Her eyes scanned the wooded grove for the group but only saw the exact same empty, secluded space they’d been in.
“You little brat.” Courtney said, slapping Paige’s shoulder.
“God you’re just entirely too easy” Paige laughed wildly
“If I didn’t love you….” Courtney started but just slapped Paige again.
Chapter 7.
It was the laziest of Sundays. Not a single customer in the store. Courtney was waiting around for Paige to be ready for their date, Damian was drawing and Paige was scribbling notes into an accounts ledger.
“How’s the new issue coming?” Courtney asked. Damian frowned and erased something before getting back to it.
“It’s coming I suppose.” Damian shrugged
“Because I have some good news for you.” Courtney continued, looking proud of herself.
“You’re planning on murdering Paige and then fleeing to Mexico so I can work in peace?” Damian kept looking down, furiously re-drawing whatever it was that he’d been unhappy with. “I applaud the spirit of it but at the end of the day it’d mean I’d be responsible for paying the bills and everything.”
“No.” Courtney had long learned to ignore the things Damian actually said. “But you know how I work for the University publisher?”
“If I did I’ve long since consigned that piece of trivia to a box in the dustiest attic of my brain.”
“Well, we had to work out this joint deal with this bigger publisher in town by the name of Harris and Sons. And they have a graphic novel division. So I showed them issue #24 of Damo and PJ, which I still love the best, and they’ve agreed to publish it wide scale” Courtney announced happily.
“They have?” Damo looked up from his drawing. Paige rolled her eyes.
“They have.” Courtney nodded.
“That’s funny because I have a great piece of news for you too Courtney.” Damian said excitedly “I spoke to this neighbourhood pimp by the name of Big Daddy Chocolate right? And he’s agreed to let you stand on the street corner for him and sell your self-respect and integrity too!”
Courtney just looked at him for a second, shaking her head sadly.
“Oooh, we’ll be just like sisters!” Damian said with a mock squeal. Paige leaned over and kicked him in the shins.
“Translated into human, baby, what Damian means to say is that while he thanks you for your caring about him and for your interest in his work, he’s had several offers to publish but he remains committed to keeping this an independent work because of his distrust of the artistic limitations involved in working for a major publisher as well as his deep love of eating Ramen noodles three meals a day.”
“Breakfast, lunch and dinner of champions.” Damian agreed before going back to drawing. Courtney looked at him with amazement.
“And some lucky girl hasn’t snapped him up. Boggles the mind it does.” Courtney said with a shake of her head before looking at her watch. “Movie starts in 20 minutes, angel.”
Paige nodded. She closed the books and walked to the back of the store to put them away. It was then that Paige began to hear the familiar chirping of her phone. She reached into her pocket but it was on the counter. Paige caught a lump in her throat.
Paige had been speaking to her ex, Shannon, for a few weeks now. It’d started off as just a few conversations in an attempt to stay in touch, maybe see if they could work the friend thing out. It had turned into both of them revealing that they were not terribly happy in their current relationships. Shannon had grown to re-discover what had annoyed her about her ex-boyfriend as well as missing being with another woman sexually. Paige, well, Paige was complicated.
She loved Courtney. Loved everything about her. But there was an unease that had settled in. A growing sense of dread that there was never going to be another new relationship in her life. That she was going to grow old and settle down with Courtney and never feel that rush of new sex or new discovery with someone else. It was like Paige couldn’t picture her life without Courtney in a way she’d never had with Shannon. Something that terrified her.
And so she’d flirted with Shannon a little. It had started off with reminiscing about things they’d done and then led to talking about things they’d still like to do. Nothing had happened, in Paige’s mind, but they’d had cyber sex. Sent some dirty text messages. It made Paige feel tremendously guilty but she was getting a little bit of the thrill from that very limited betrayal that she’d feared would be gone from her life forever. So when she saw Courtney pick up her phone, Paige felt almost as if her world was shattering. She desperately prayed that it was just some random call and not what she knew it most likely was. Shannon had gotten a new tattoo in a risque place and Paige had remarked that she wouldn’t mind seeing it. Paige just got back to the counter in time to see Courtney’s eyes fill up with tears and throw the phone at her. Courtney had grown up playing soccer, however, and her throw went wide, cracking into Damian’s ear.
“Fuck. I use that ear for hearing!” Damian exclaimed in pain as he clutched his head. Courtney just looked at Paige, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Why? Why? All you ever do is bitch about how awful she was.” Courtney finally got out. Paige felt, well, there were no words for it. Ashamed and embarrassed and regretful and like the worst woman in the world didn’t get the job done combined. Damian bent down to pick up the phone, looked at it a second, then dropped it again.
“I hate it when Mom and Dad fight.” He muttered before quicky making his way to the stair case that lead to his apartment.
It all came out. Courtney yelled and swore some more and demanded an explanation. Paige completely confessed to the whole thing. All of Paige’s insecurities and confusion and fear for the future. All of her feeling like this was the last relationship she’d ever be in and while it was a lovely thought on the surface it also terrified her.
“That’s what fucking adults do!” Courtney yelled, apparently not very satisfied with the explanation “They find someone who makes them happy and they stop fucking around.”
“I know, I know!” Paige said “But it’s scary. And I freaked and I did something stupid and I’m sorry.”
“You panicked? And did something secretly over the course of a few weeks? That’s not what panic is.” Courtney yelling before adding with incredulity “And with that fucking bitch”
“That ‘bitch’ used to be a big part of my life.” Paige shot back, feeling mildly protective of Shannon. “It’s hard to just turn off those feelings when they bubble back up again.”
“I can’t even fucking look at you right now.” Courtney said, shaking her head with a tear streaming down her face and throwing her purse over her shoulder. “I thought I was in a relationship with a grown-up, Bat-man pyjamas aside, but you sound like an absolute idiot.”
“Cor, for fuck’s sakes hold up a second…” Paige pleaded but Courtney kept storming towards the door, turning back to look angrily at Paige again.
“Don’t follow me.” She said harshly. “And lose my number for a while.”
“Cor…”
“And grow the fuck up!” Courtney yelled as she slammed the door shut, shaking the entire frame of the shop. She stood on the other side of the glass for a second and opened the door. Paige smiled a little, thinking she may want to talk some more but she just slammed the door again.
Chapter 8.
The next three weeks were brutal for Paige. She tried giving Courtney some space and did, in fact, lose her number for a while. But when she tried calling a few days later, after having cried for nearly two days straight, Courtney still wouldn’t take her calls. Not a week after that, either. She tried going to Courtney’s apartment but Courtney wouldn’t even come to the door. Paige sent flowers and chocolates. Courtney either didn’t get them or didn’t care. Eventually, Paige simply decided that if it could be fixed, it would be after more time. She left Courtney alone.
Paige kicked herself every day, all day, for the entirety of the three weeks. Her days used to be full with the woman she loved like nobody she’d ever loved before. Now it was her empty house and a few hours a day in her store. The only person she could even talk to about it was Damian and he was not the most sympathetic of ears. Not that Paige felt she deserved much sympathy. So she lamented at work and cried at home. She stopped the thing with Shannon the day after the incident at the store. Even as she did it Paige couldn’t believe she’d jeopardized her relationship with Courtney for more of crazy Shannon. Paige was alone and depressed and she felt she deserved to be. She was miserable every day, all day.
So it was no different on the Friday the 8th of June. It was her and Damian, him scribbling away and her standing glumly by the register listening to his music. She’d wigged out because she thought life with a gorgeous, funny, adventurous girlfriend would be all there was. Now she looked at what her life was like because of what she’d done, thought that might be the rest of her life, and the thought made her want to jump in front of a bus.
“What’s the song?” She said, glumly, falling back into her routine.
“The Weepies. Gotta Have You.”
“Because you’re trying to get me to slit my wrists?” Paige sighed
“Playlist is on random. I can put on Britney Spears if you like.” Damian said, his tone the same as it ever was.
Paige just sighed again. She went back to unpacking a few boxes when she heard the door open. She stood up and there, looking as tired and worn out as Paige knew she did, was Courtney. Wearing an oversized rugby shirt and jeans instead of her usual smart attire. She looked harshly at Paige but some of the anger in her eyes had definitely faded. Paige was just happy to see those eyes again. Courtney threw something at her. Paige flinched but it was only a bundle of papers.
“Ok, you wrote it. Now say it.” Courtney demanded, her soft Scottish accent sounding guarded but hopeful. Courtney picked up the papers and saw that, to her surprise, it was a copy of the Mildly Interesting Adventures of Damo & PJ #30. The one they’d only sold out of a few days ago. It detailed Damian’s entirely half-hearted effort to cheer Paige up with his theory about how the Star Wars prequels were a gigantic cry for help from George Lucas.
“Damian’s stupid theory?” Paige said, entirely confused. “I didn’t write it but he figures that Anakin Skywalker is a proxy for George Lucas. Anakin is supposed to be the Chosen One and George Lucas had to make these ridiculously anticipated movies that couldn’t possibly please people who’d waited 20 years. So just like Anakin buckled under the pressure of being the chosen one and not being able to save Natalie Portman, George Lucas buckled under the pressure of not being able to satisfy his fan base and they both turned evil and succumbed to the temptations of the dark side which represents overly commercial film-making.”
Courtney looked angrily at Paige.
“If you’re not even going to take this seriously I can leave for good.” Courtney said, throwing her hands up in frustration.
“No, no, don’t.” Paige pleaded and picked up the book. She began flipping through the pages. It was an entirely different book than the one they’d sold. It was Damo and PJ in the store with Paige crying big cartoon-y tears and wailing while Damo looked annoyed. Paige began reading it outloud.
“Dear Cor. I’m sorry I was such an unbelievable idiot. I don’t know why I have a tendency to sabotage my own happiness but I did it in the worst possible way here. I betrayed your trust and hurt the one person in the world who I’d never want to hurt. It was a childish reaction to pressures that I wasn’t ready to deal with but, now that I’ve seen the consequences of fucking things up with you I’ve gained some perspective and desperately want you to give me another chance to prove that I only ever want to be with you which I do with all of my heart. If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I’m terribly sad and lonely without the one person I love most in the world. You’re the smartest, funniest, sexiest girl I’ve ever met and you smell like strawberries. Please come back.”
Paige kept reading the entire way. Not stopping for a second and getting choked up as she read the words that she did, in fact, recognize as her own over the course of her month confiding in Damian. She turned to him for a second. He remained impassive, continuing to draw.
“I fucking hate second printings.” He said, already drawing Courtney in the doorway for the next issue. “Always lose the punch of the original.”
“You mean it?” Courtney asked, a tiny smile on her face.
“Totally.” Paige nodded.
“And you realize this doesn’t totally get you off the hook but it’s a step?”
“Yeah, yeah, absolutely.” Paige nodded enthusiastically.
“Then I could really use a bit of a kiss right now.” Courtney said, smiling her gorgeous smile at Paige for the first time in what felt like ages. Paige didn’t need to be told twice, practically jumping over the counter to grasp Courtney’s waist and lean in for a soft kiss. Courtney returned it for a second before the two embraced.
“God, I missed you much.” Paige said, tears streaming down her face as she kissed the back of Courtney’s head. It still smelled like strawberries.
“I missed you too, you dork.” Courtney said, also through tears.
“How’d you get this?” Paige said looking at the book again as she clutched Courtney’s head to her shoulder.
“Messengered to my office. It wasn’t from you?” Courtney said, sounding a little disturbed.
“I sent flowers and chocolates.”
“I know. I sent them back here.” Courtney nodded, her tears staining Paige’s shirt.
“You did?”
“The flowers are upstairs.” Damian interjected “The chocolates were a little chewy.”
“I don’t get it. It has your signature and everything.” Courtney said, blowing her nose on Paige’s shirt sleeve.
“I sign for things here all the time.” Damian offered. Paige had already figured it out. She’d have thanked Damian but she was too busy gripping onto Courtney as tightly as she could.
“So you?” Courtney continued
“I just draw the pictures. Everything PJ says is taken right from the source.”
“Damian…”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, the caustic cynic is actually revealed to be something of a romantic.” Damian said with annoyance “It’s bad enough being a cliche, there’s really no need for us all to dwell on it.”
“I think you should give Damian a raise.” Courtney said, kissing Paige’s neck. Paige kissed back, still lost for words. She was flipping through the book and came to a page that she hadn’t read before.
“Oh and Damo says something too. On the back cover.” Paige said, smiling as she read it herself.
“I didn’t read the back cover.” Courtney said
“He says you should say you’re sorry for hitting him with the phone and that he would like you to come back as well.” Paige read
“I’m sorry I hit you with the phone Damo.” Courtney laughed “And thank you.”
“Yeah, well,” Damian said, his pencil as busy as ever. “With you around she bothers me less.”
Paige and Courtney held each other for a few seconds, staring into each others eyes.
“Di lub you.” Courtney giggled through her tears.
“Di lub you too.” Paige said. She couldn’t stop crying or smiling or holding Courtney as tightly as she could to make sure that she was real.
“Ugh, I’d really stop that if I were you.” Damian advised, sounding thoroughly disgusted “My projectile vomiting will probably ruin the moment.”
“You’ll close up?” Paige said, looking back to him with tears in her eyes and a wide, thankful smile on her face. Damian did not look up to see it.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Go have your filthy, deviant make-up sex.”
Which, after walking out of Valkyries and Vixens hand in hand, is precisely what they did.
The End