Great…just great. We need a back entrance to this place, since Mia seems to tend towards exhibitionism!
She took another quick look, nodding her approval at her friend's technique.
Whoa! You're doing great for a beginner, Jordan. Go get her, buddy!
She had to walk right past them, since she was not going to give up her breakfast just to save them some embarrassment. As she passed by she ran her hand over both heads, giving each a little pat just to let them know she was there. Jordan pulled away, yelping a little as Mia's tenacious grip nearly ripped the hair from her head. "Shit! Is it that late already?" She rolled away from Mia, putting her feet on the floor and scrubbing her hands over her face. Turning to Mia, her brow furrowed, she asked, "How did it get to be so late?"
"It's actually early," Ryan reminded her, "and if I'm not mistaken, you have an early class. You gonna skip?" she asked over her shoulder as she went into the kitchen to get something to eat.
"Shit!" She got to her feet and shook like a wet dog, the sensations that had erupted from kissing Mia so passionately still pulsing through her body. Looking down at a rather limp-looking woman she said, "I have to make this class." She tugged at the hem of the tee she wore and quirked her mouth into a shy grin. "Need your shirt back?"
"Not until you wash it," Mia smiled. She got to her feet and wrapped Jordan in a gentle hug. "That way I can be sure you'll come back."
Ryan came back out into the living room, looked at Jordan and asked, "Shall I wait for you?"
"I'm ready," she said. "Can we stop and get me a gallon of coffee on the way?"
"Yeah," Ryan smiled. "I'll even buy if you'll shake a leg." She went out to the porch to put her blades on and give the pair a moment alone.
Jordan smiled down at Mia and fluffed her hair gently with her fingertips. "I've messed your hair up," she teased.
Mia reached up and did the same to her friend, smiling at her as she loosened a large tangle that her frantic clutching had created in the smooth blonde tresses. "You can't tell much with mine, but yours could use a good combing."
Ryan rapped sharply on the door, and Jordan leaned down for what was becoming her signature goodbye kiss. She once again touched Mia's chin with her fingertips, leaned over and gazed into her eyes until Mia felt her knees grow weak. Then, when the smaller woman was about to grab Jordan and kiss her until her eyes crossed, the taller woman allowed her eyes to flutter closed as she leaned in even closer, took in a deep breath and brushed her lips against Mia's with the barest hint of pressure. "Bye," she said softly, her lips so close that Mia could feel the moisture from her warm breath.
"Bye," Mia sighed in return, wishing that she could wrestle the blonde to the floor and ravish her without mercy.
Then she was gone, leaving Mia to collapse onto the love seat and bang her fists against the cushion in frustration.
"Anyone I know?" Jamie asked from the top of the stairs.
"Ryan," she grumbled, giving the cushion another sharp blow. "She picks the worst damn times to show up!"
"Huh? What are you talking about, and for that matter, what are you doing up?"
"I was really making progress with Jordan," she sighed, dropping her head to the cushion as she stared vacantly at the ceiling. "For the first time it felt like she was the aggressor…know what I mean?"
"Uhh…yeah. I'm familiar with aggression," Jamie said, thinking that Ryan could teach a graduate level course in how to be dominant sexually.
"Well, we'd only been kissing a couple of minutes-as usual-when Ryan comes down and takes Jordan away! That's three times in a row! Why does she have to have Jordan with her all of the time? She's mine!"
"Uh…Mia," Jamie said. "Jordan couldn't pull Ryan away from me if she didn't want her to. Are you sure this is Ryan's fault?"
She gave the cushion another punch and admitted, "No. It's Jordan. I don't know what's wrong, James. I've never had to work this hard to even get a kiss! She seems to have no interest in going any further, and I've gotta tell you, that's not what I'm used to!"
"I should think not!" Jamie laughed. "You have a reputation to uphold!"
"Funny," Mia said, not even a flicker of a smile crossing her face. "She's just so shy! I gave her a T-shirt last night, and she went into the bathroom to put it on!"
"Mia," Jamie said seriously. "Jordan's not shy. Jesus, she's practically a nudist!"
"You've seen her naked?"
"Oh, yeah," she admitted. Waggling her eyebrows she added, "It was worth a paid admission, to tell you the truth. She's got a body to die for!"
"Great! Everybody but me gets to see her naked!" Looking at Jamie curiously she reminded her, "She even wore a suit in the sauna the other night."
"Not the next day," Jamie informed her. "We worked out, and she was stripping on her way down to the sauna. I swear she was stark naked by the time we got there. She seems really unconcerned with nudity, Mia."
"With you! Not with me! What in the hell is going on here, Jamie? Does she like me or not?"
"She acts like she likes you," Jamie said. "Ryan said she invited herself for dinner, and it was obvious that it was just so she could see you."
"Then why doesn't she call me? She hasn't invited me to a game or for a cup of coffee or anything. Do you think she's ashamed to be seen with me?"
"No! You're adorable, Mia, anybody would be proud to be seen with you. How can you even say that?"
Mia looked a little embarrassed and said, "This is really getting to me, James. My equilibrium is screwed up."
Jamie sat down next to her and patted her leg. "I wish I could help more, but if Ryan knows anything, she won't tell. I guess you just have to wait and see what happens."
"Great. Just great," Mia sulked, giving the poor loveseat one more jab.
They had been trying to find an open date to spend an evening with Brendan and Maggie, and Ryan hurried home on Tuesday, thinking that they'd be rushed to have everything ready by the time her brother arrived.
To her surprise, Jamie nearly had dinner ready when Ryan entered, and the taller woman gave a brief thought to how difficult it would be to have a social life if she lived alone, given the demands that volleyball put on her. She truly loved being able to entertain and build a family life, and she knew that she would not be doing either if not for the dedicated efforts of her partner.
"I love being in love with you," she said in greeting when she wrapped her arms around her lover, who was stirring a delicious-smelling concoction on the stove.
"Well, that's a nice greeting," Jamie decided, turning her head to kiss the only surface she could reach-the hollow between Ryan's collar bones. "What made you say it?"
"Oh, I don't know," Ryan said, sticking her finger in the pan and taking a taste. "Mmm…delicious." She went over and sat down on a stool near the counter. "There's a difference between loving you and loving how it feels to love you. I was just thinking about the latter."
"I'm glad that both are true. Now run upstairs and put on some real clothes, and then set the table, will you?"
"Yep. Boy, I know I'm an adult when I have to put on real clothes for my brother," she mumbled to herself as she left the kitchen.
The foursome was sitting around the dining table, waiting for their entrees to digest a bit before they could even think of dessert. Brendan was more voluble than Jamie had ever heard him, chattering away continuously-mostly boasting about some particularly cute trait that Maggie possessed. Ryan was a little more quiet than usual, mostly because her brother was filling up the room for a change. She had been observing Maggie at every opportunity, and Jamie could tell that her partner approved of the woman. When Ryan was relaxed with someone, she wasn't usually interested in directing the conversation-she was content to participate only when she had something meaningful to say, and that's exactly how she acted tonight.
"So Brendan says you're from a large Irish Catholic family also," Jamie commented. "Was it hard for you to leave them?"
"Yes," she said thoughtfully. "In a way it was devastating for me, Jamie, but there must be a little independent streak in me from way back. I had been groomed to attend Notre Dame from the time I was in diapers. My father and two of his brothers went there, as well as one of my older brothers and a sister. But when the time came, I shocked them all by choosing Georgetown." She laughed gently and related, "You would have thought I had chosen Brigham Young! They couldn't get over it! But I wanted to make my own way…I didn't want to be just another Reardon trooping past the golden dome."
Ryan chuckled and commented, "You and Jamie have something in common. Her family laid the cornerstone at Stanford, but she's a big ol' Golden Bear."
Jamie patted her hand and said, "It's not quite that bad, Honey, but it's close. One of my ancestors was in the Pioneer Class, as they call it. The class of '01…1901, that is."
"Wow, that must have caused some raised eyebrows," Maggie said.
"A little more was raised than a few eyebrows," Jamie agreed, recalling her first real argument with her father. "My father was livid, but in reality, it's my mom who should have been upset. It's her family that carries the tradition. My Dad was the first in his family to attend."
"Hmm…why doesn't that surprise me?" Ryan said dryly, getting a playful scowl from her partner.
"Problems with the in-laws, Ryan?" Maggie asked.
"On and off," the taller woman replied. "I think things will calm down over time. We've only been together officially since June. Jamie's dad's just going through a period of adjustment."
"Is he upset with you or…?"
Jamie piped up, "It's mostly the fact that Ryan's a woman, Maggie, even though he won't admit that's the real issue. I didn't know that I was gay until we fell in love."
"Ooooh…that must be an adjustment. One of my best friends from high school came out to me just this year," she commented. "I'm sure it's easier to do when you're young."
"Ask Ryan," Brendan teased. "She was checking out the other little girl babies in the nursery at the hospital."
"Not true, Bren," his little sister insisted. "I was in kindergarten before I even kissed a girl."
"You kissed a girl in kindergarten!" Jamie laughed. "You've never told me that."
"I've tried to forget her," Ryan said, looking like she was about to cry. "She went through the whole class…one by one. I was just a notch on her Cabbage Patch Kids pencil case."
Jamie reached over and grasped Ryan's hand, giving it a squeeze. "If she could see you now, she'd kick herself. She could have called dibs!"
Mia had foraged dinner for herself, not returning home until Brendan and Maggie had already left. Ryan was on kitchen detail since Jamie had cooked, and Jamie was in the library preparing for a quiz she was having the next day.
"Hey, Ryan," the curly-haired woman said as she flopped down on a kitchen chair. "How'd your dinner go?"
"It went well," she said. "I like my brother's new girlfriend. Did you get fed?"
"Yeah. I met some friends for a salad. Ryan, can I ask you something?"
"Sure. What's up?"
"Do you think Jordan likes me?"
The tall brunette scratched her head for a moment, appearing to give the matter considerable thought. "Well, she doesn't French kiss me or Jamie, and I've never seen her slip the tongue to any of our teammates, so I'd say there's a good chance that she likes you."
"You know what I mean," Mia said, narrowing her eyes. "Do you think she likes me enough to date me?"
Ryan tossed her dishtowel over her shoulder and took a seat next to her friend. "I don't like to talk about my friends behind their backs, Mia. I don't feel comfortable telling you things Jordan has said to me. Do you understand that?"
"Yeah, I guess I do, but I'm really frustrated, Ryan." She sat up a little straighter in her chair and said, "How about this? Would you tell me if she didn't like me? Like if she told you that she thought I was okay to fool around with, but not good enough to date?"
"Mia, I wouldn't hang around with her if she said things like that! Jordan's a very honorable woman." She sighed, trying to think of a way to give Mia some information without betraying Jordan's confidences. "Let me tell you this. This is my own observation, not something Jordan has told me. She seems to have a persona that doesn't really match with who she is. Do you know what I mean?"
"Mmm…kinda."
"She gives off the appearance of being very much in control and very aloof, right?"
"Right. But she's not really like that when you get to know her," Mia insisted.
"Right. I know," Ryan agreed. "I think she's like that in other areas of her life, too. She comes across as being apathetic over whether she sees you or not, but she's not really like that. I think she's just very, very cautious. Very much afraid of being hurt."
"Oh!" Mia said brightly. "So she's just going slow because she's shy and kinda afraid?"
"Something like that," Ryan agreed, knowing there was a lot more to Jordan than shyness, but thinking that was a good hint for Mia.