Joy Argento - Carrie and Hope (16 page)

Hips rose to meet lips and tongue. The two women’s bodies became one and moved in unison. Carrie’s hands slipped under Hope’s butt when Hope’s hips rose up. Carrie held tight and pulled Hope in closer to her face and held her there as her tongue continued to do its work.

Hope’s moaning increased as she neared her peak. She held tight onto Carrie’s head as she felt herself go over the edge of the wave. Carrie increased the movements from her tongue momentarily and then stilled her mouth but maintained the pressure until she felt Hope begin to relax and the fingers in her hair let loose.

Carrie eased her body up Hope’s body until she was on top of her and they were face to face. Hope’s eyes looked heavy as she opened them to peer at Carrie.

Carrie had an ear-to-ear grin on her face. “Well, I checked it out and I think you were right. I think touching my body made you wet.
Very wet.”

Hope’s breathing was beginning to return to normal. “Yeah, that’s kind of what I thought was happening. Thanks for checking it out. Would you like me to check you out to see if anything similar happens?”

Carrie raised her eyes to the ceiling. “Hmm, that might be a good idea. I’ll touch you and you can see how my body reacts.” She brought her eyes back to Hope’s and began to move her fingers down Hope’s body again. Hope grabbed her hand, stopping its progress.

“Um, I don’t think I can take any more touching at the moment. At least not there.”

Carrie’s hand began moving back up Hope’s body. Her fingers wrapped around the firm flesh of one breast. Her thumb raked over the nipple.
“How about if I just touch you here then?”

“Yes, I think that will work just fine.”

Hope’s mouth found Carrie’s, as her fingers moved down Carrie’s body. Sure enough when her fingers weaved through the tangle of blond hair between Carrie’s thighs she found a pool of moisture. “It seems that the same thing happens to you, baby.” Hope whispered. “The more I check to see how wet you are, the wetter you get.” Hope moved around for better positioning and continued to check in various ways until Carrie bucked her hips and a small scream escaped her mouth.

Later, the two friends, now lovers, lay wrapped in each other’s arms. Hope couldn’t believe the wonderful sensation that she felt just from holding Carrie’s naked body next to her own.

“Hope?” Carrie asked.

“Yes, honey”

“What ever happened to Maria…after you left her?”

“I did the worse thing I could have done. I got up in the morning and I left without a word. Maria had no idea where I had taken off to. I waited hours before I returned, I knew she would be gone by the time I got back to the room and she was. I boxed up anything in the room that belonged to her. She practically lived with me so there was a lot of stuff. I put the box outside of her door and left for three days. I transferred out of the classes that we shared. I eliminated all traces of her from my life.”

“She didn’t try to get in touch with you? She just let you go?” Carrie asked.

“She tried, but I never responded to her phone calls or letters. I left school after a few weeks and never saw her again.”

“I wouldn’t have been able to handle that. If you left this morning and wouldn’t let me even talk to you I think I would go crazy.

“I’m not going anywhere, Carrie.” She kissed her lightly on the mouth.

“Have you ever thought about trying to find her?
To explain.”

“You have to understand that I pushed it so far back in the closet that it couldn’t breathe, let alone get out. I tried not to think about it at all. I know I was unfair to her. I know I broke her heart. I don’t think she would want me finding her now.”

“Don’t you have any desire to find her and explain why you ran?
 
Are you afraid that you would still have feelings for her?

“No, it’s not that. I just feel like such a jerk for letting it happen. How do you make someone understand an unspeakable fear? It took me over nineteen years to face it and to be able to tell you about it, Carrie.”

“I think those are the things you need to tell her. You need to tell her how you felt and that it wasn’t her fault. She deserves that Hope.”

“You’re probably right. I do owe her that much. I’m not sure how I would even go about finding her. Is it all right if I don’t think about that now?
 
I just want to think about you, about us.”

“Yes, that is a great thing to think about,” Carrie said, “Want to make me breakfast while you’re thinking?” Carrie grinned at Hope.

“I thought you were the great cook in this family.”

“Oh, I like that…
family
,” Carrie said.

“Okay, I guess I can make my family breakfast. Do you want Cheerios or Rice
Krispies
?” Hope began to slip out of bed. She stopped and turned back to Carrie. “You go take a shower and wash some of my loving off of you and I’ll make breakfast.” She kissed Carrie on the cheek.

“How come you aren’t taking a shower with me,” Carrie whined.

“One of us has to make breakfast, and I love you enough to keep your juices with me all day.”

“What did you just say?” Carrie asked.

‘I said I was keeping your juices with me.” Hope repeated. “But don’t worry, I’ll wash my hands,” she smirked.

“No, no, no.
The other part, the ‘I love you enough’ part.”

“Oh, that part,” Hope said as little embarrassed. “Well the truth of the matter is that I love you. You might as well know it now.

“That’s a big step, telling someone that you love them. You don’t get to take those words back”

“I wasn’t planning on taking them back.”

“Then I don’t want mine back either.” Carrie said firmly.

“
Your
what?” Hope said, looking a little confused.

"The part where I tell you that I love you and have for a while now.
I was just afraid to tell you. I thought you would go running”

“And I almost did. I’m sorry about that.”

“I know, and I am so glad you came back.” Carrie sat up in the bed and swung her feet over the side. “Are you sure you won’t take a shower with me?” she asked Hope. She went around the other side of the bed and pulled Hope up and into a hug.

“I’ll think about it,” Hope said. Carrie pulled her closer and kissed her with more passion.
“All right.
I thought about it. I’ll take a shower with you.”
 

Carrie led the way to the bathroom pulling Hope by the hand. It was a long while before they started breakfast.

Chapter 17

It had been a week since they had become lovers. Hope had never been happier in her life. They had spent several nights together at one house or the other. This morning they were waking up in Hope’s bed.

“
Mmm
, morning,” Carrie said as she nuzzled into Hope’s neck.

Hope wrapped her arms around the other woman.
“Morning, honey.”
Hope savored the feeling of Carrie’s naked body pressed against her and Carrie’s hand gently stroking her back.

“What would you like to do today?
Anything special?”
Carrie asked.

“Hmm, well, after you make mad passionate love to me, I think we should read the Sunday paper, and see if there are any good sales. I’m thinking Christmas presents here. Or maybe we can take in a movie if any of them look good.”

“I was thinking that I would slip out for a little while later today and visit Gram.”

“Would you like me to go with you?” Hope asked her.

“I appreciate that, but no. If Gram was herself, up and awake and all, then, yes, I would love for you to meet her. I know she would love you. But I would rather have you know my grandmother from my stories and memories and not by the old lady sleeping in the bed. Does that make sense? Do you understand why I say that?” Carrie looked into Hopes amber brown eyes.

“That’s fine, baby. I just wanted to be there to support you, but I understand.” Hope kissed Carrie’s nose.

“I love you,
ya
know.”

“I kind of figured that you did. And I’m very glad, because I would hate to think that I was in love alone.” Hope pulled Carrie into a kiss and rolled on top of her, their lips in constant contact and motion.

A light knock on the bedroom door startled the two women. They looked up just as Derrick knocked again and walked in
with out
waiting for an answer. His eyes opened wide and his jaw went slack.

“Holy shit!
Holy fucking shit!” He backed out of the room before the words were even out of his mouth.

“Derrick,” his mother called after him. “Derrick, go downstairs. I’ll be down in a minute.”

“I’m assuming that was Derrick.” Carrie said looking up at Hope who was still on top of her.

“Yeah, and he’s home for vacation a day early.”
 
Hope rolled off Carrie and sat on the side of the bed, reaching for her robe on the foot of the bed. “What am I going to tell him?”

“I know I’m not a mother, but I think you should tell him the truth. I’m going to get dressed and leave the two of you alone.” Carrie gathered her clothes from where they had landed in haste the night before, and began to put them on. She went into the bathroom to finish getting ready. Hope was dressed by the time Carrie emerged.

“At least let me introduce you. I don’t want it to look like you are sneaking out. We have nothing to be ashamed of here.” She hesitated. “I’m just not sure what words to use to explain this.”

Carrie gave Hope a quick squeeze. “It will come to you, honey. It will be fine. Let’s go do this.” She took Hope’s hand and led her out of the room and downstairs. They dropped hands as they approached the bottom steps.

Derrick was sitting on the couch, tapping his foot rapidly on the floor with his sneaker. He looked up as the two women approached.

“Derrick this is my friend, Carrie.” Hope inwardly cringed at the word friend. The word wasn’t nearly accurate enough. “Carrie, this is my son Derrick.”

“Nice to meet you, Derrick.”
Carrie held out her hand.

“Whatever,” Derrick said, ignoring the offered hand.

“Derrick,” his mother let her annoyance show.

Hope picked Carrie’s coat up from the overstuffed chair where she had tossed it the evening before and handed it to her. She was glad that the only piece of clothing that had been left around was the coat. There were nights when the living room floor was strewn with clothes that were discarded by Carrie and Hope in their rush to get to the bedroom.

“Call me later,” Carrie she said to Hope. Hope only nodded. Carrie went out the front door, closing it behind her.

Hope sat down across from her son. “I think we need to talk about what’s happening here
. ”
Hope’s voice was quiet and gentle.

“I think I can figure that one out,” Derrick said, his words filled with rancor.

“Derrick, listen to me, please. Let me explain.” She waited for his response, but he only shook his head and rolled his eyes.

 
She ignored it and went on. “I met Carrie a few of months ago and we became friends. We spent a lot of time together. We had dinners together and went to the movies and she even taught me to bowl. We didn’t plan it and we didn’t expect it but we fell in love.”

Derrick made a noise of disgust in the back of his throat.

“We fell in love.” Hope repeated a little louder.

Derrick stood up. “How could you be in love with her Mom? You’re not a lesbian. And since when do you hang out with lesbians?”

“Stop Derrick.
I love her and she loves me. So if that makes us lesbians, then I guess that’s what we are.”

“But you can’t be a lesbian.” Derrick sat down suddenly on the couch and rocked back and forth as if in pain. “Because if you’re a lesbian, then everything you had with Dad was a lie.” Derrick was shaking with emotion. He looked at his mother. “A big fat lie.”

Hope stood up. “No. I had
you
with father and
you
are not a lie. We were a family. I can’t explain it because I’m not sure I understand it myself, but I want to be with Carrie. She makes me happy.”

“But you were married to Dad for a long time. He’s a man and now you want to be with a woman? What happened to the rules?”

“What rules? There are no rules in this. There are no rules in love.” Hope ran her hand through her dark hair that was still ruffled from sleeping. “Derrick, I would really like you to understand this and accept it.”

“I don’t want to accept this. I don’t want you to do this. You were in Dad’s bed with her. He’s been dead less than a year and you were in Dad’s bed.” He spit the words out at his mother.

“He was sick for three years. Three years.” She said a little louder than she intended. “It’s not his bed, Derrick. It’s
my
bed. I have a right to have whoever I want in that bed. I think I put my life on hold long enough. I have a right to live and a right to love someone.”

“I can’t take this right now. This is just too much at once. I
gotta
go.”

Hope stepped in front of her son to keep him from leaving. “Where are you going?”

He hesitated as he decided whether to answer her on not. Finally he said.
“Starbucks.
I’m meeting Erin there in a little while.”

“Are you coming back here?” Hope needed to know.

“I don’t know. I just need time, Mom. You just kind of dumped this all on me at once,
ya
know, and it sucks. It just sucks.” Derrick stepped around his mother and headed for the door without another word.

Hope stared after him. This wasn’t the way she intended to tell Derrick about Carrie. She sank down into the chair and shook her head. She knew she needed to give him time. She reached for the phone and called Carrie.

*****
  

It was nighttime before Derrick came back home. Hope was sitting in a chair in the living room trying to concentrate on reading a book when he came in, followed by Erin.

“Hi,” Hope said, looking up from her book.

“Hi,” Erin said to her. She bumped her shoulder into Derrick.