Authors: Layce Gardner,Saxon Bennett
Bubble Bath
Half
an hour later, Amy and Jordan were in the bathroom at Amy's house. Jordan was
naked, in the tub and up to her neck in bubbles. Amy was wrapped in a towel
and sitting on the edge of the tub with her back to Jordan. Amy was having
second thoughts about this bubble bath idea. Well, her body wasn’t having
second thoughts. Her body was rip-raring to go. Her brain was worried. Her
brain kept saying things like “What if she finds me unattractive? She’s seen
dozens of women naked, what if she thinks your butt is too big? What if she
thinks your boobs are too small? What if you start to make love to her and
you’re doing it all wrong?”
"Aren’t
you getting in?" Jordan asked.
"To
tell you the truth, I'm a little nervous," Amy said. "I've never
done this before."
"You've
never taken a bath?" Jordan teased.
"Not
with a naked lesbian," Amy said.
Jordan
laughed. "Put on your doctor personae. You see naked women all the time,
right?”
"I'm
not worried about looking at you. I'm scared about you looking at me."
"How
about if I promise not to look at you?"
"Can
I turn out the lights?"
"Okay.
If that's the only way you'll get in the tub with me."
Amy
crossed to the light switch and turned it off. The room plunged into
darkness. She shyly let her towel drop to the floor. She slipped into the
tub, facing Jordan and sighed with contentment as the hot water engulfed her.
"See?
Taking a bath with a naked lesbian isn’t all that scary, is it?"
“I
could get used to it,” Amy whispered.
Jordan
took Amy's ankles and stretched her legs out on top of hers. Amy rested the
back of her head against the tub and relaxed as Jordan rubbed her feet. She'd
never had anybody rub her feet before. It felt wonderful. Funny how Jordan
rubbing her foot felt more sexual than Chad putting his hands all over her
body. Did that mean she had always been a lesbian and didn’t know it? Did it
mean she was in love with Jordan? Or was it just lust? And why did she have to
ask so many questions all the time? Why couldn't she let go and feel? Just
feel
?
"What're
you thinking about?" Jordan asked.
"How
good it feels, you rubbing my foot," Amy answered.
"Just
wait until I get full use of both my hands."
Amy
slid down further into the tub. Jordan switched to rubbing the other foot.
"Can I ask you a personal question?" Amy asked.
"Sure."
"Have
you been a lesbian your whole life?"
"Not
yet."
Amy
laughed. “You know what I meant.”
Jordan
continued, "Yeah, pretty much. I tried to date a boy in high school but
it didn’t work out."
“Why,
what happened?”
“I
kept kissing his sister.”
Amy
laughed. "So me being naked and feeling like making love is all right
even if I haven’t been a lesbian before?”
“Oh,
it’s seriously all right. But I have to ask you a question,” Jordan said.
“Okay.”
Jordan
ran her hand up Amy’s thigh. Amy shuddered. Jordan said, “That crazy guy at
the restaurant. He was the one in the hospital room, right?”
“Yeah,”
Amy said, not liking where this was leading.
“He’s
not a homeless man, is he? He knew you.”
“Yes.
He knows me. His name is Chad Dorring. He’s a doctor at the hospital.” The
water suddenly felt very cold to Amy. She shivered, but this time not in a
good way.
“What
is he to you? Is he your boyfriend?”
“No,”
Amy protested. “He’s not.”
“Because,
if he is…” Jordan continued.
“He’s
not, I promise,” Amy said. “I don’t want to talk about him anymore, okay?”
There
was a lengthy pause then Jordan said, “All right. Now where were we?”
“Right
about here, I think.” Amy leaned in to kiss Jordan. She ended up with a
mouthful of bubbles and sputtered.
"What
was that?" Jordan asked.
"I
was trying to kiss you."
"Oh.
Well, you stuck your face in my armpit."
They
laughed. Jordan said, "You sure you don't want a little light? Just a
tiny bit?"
“I
know what.” Amy crawled out of the tub, saying, "Wait right here. I'll
go get some candles."
Jordan
heard the door click open and closed. She sank back into the warm water and
let her thoughts drift. Of course when she took the bridle off, her thoughts
roamed toward the physical. She imagined Amy by candlelight. Amy naked.
Amy's lips. Amy's lips kissing her. Amy's breasts. Amy's breasts sudsy and
wet. Amy's stomach. Amy's thighs.
The
door opened. “Cover up, I’m coming in.”
“What?”
Jordan squeaked.
The
woman’s voice said, "Sorry, but I can’t wait. I just have to pee real
quick. I’ll be in and out."
Jordan
held her breath and hoped this intruder was Amy’s roommate. Maybe if she kept
quiet she would hurry and pee and go away.
Jordan
heard shoes squeak across the bathroom floor, the sound of a zipper and then
somebody peeing in the toilet. "Sorry, Amy, but I had to go. I don't
want to interrupt your Zen bath or anything, but I thought I ought to warn you
about something."
This
peeing person thought she was Amy! Now Jordan was really at a loss. She didn't
know what to do. If she told whoever it was that she wasn't Amy, she would
have to explain what she was doing in the tub. And she didn't think Isabel, if
it were Isabel, would appreciate a stranger in her bathtub – especially when she
had her pants down around her ankles. So, she kept her mouth shut.
The
woman continued, "The word is that Chad is going to ask you to marry him.
Tonight. He's on his way over. He told Jeremy that he bought you a ring.
Jeremy tried to call you, but you’re not answering your phone, so he called me.
He said it was huge! The ring, I mean. Chad told Jeremy you were playing hard
to get. Said you were dating somebody else just to get him to man up and buy a
ring. So, he did. Can you believe it?"
No,
Jordan could not believe it. But it all made sense. It made sense in an icky
kind of way. Amy was playing her just to get this Chad guy.
The
toilet flushed. Which was a good thing because it covered the noise of
Jordan’s heart splintering into about a million fucking pieces.
There
was a timid tap at the door and Amy’s voice from the other side said, “Jordan?
I couldn’t find any candles. So get ready, here I come in the flesh and
nothing else. Let there be light!”
The
overhead light came on.
Amy
stood naked in the doorway with a hand on the light switch. Isabel’s pants
were around her ankles. Jordan was naked in the tub.
They
looked at each other.
Amy
said to Isabel, "What're you doing in here?"
Isabel
said, "Peeing. What're you doing naked? And if you’re over there who is
that in the bathtub?”
They
looked at Jordan.
Jordan
rose, grabbed a towel from the floor and wrapped it around herself. She found
her voice and said, “I’ll tell you who I am. I’m obviously the other woman.
The woman who doesn’t know when she’s being played for a fool.” She headed for
the door.
“Wait,”
Amy said, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around herself, too. “What’re you
talking about?”
“Game’s
over,” Jordan said. “I’m out of here.” She marched out of the bathroom.
Amy
stayed glued to the floor, unable to comprehend what just happened. She heard
the front door open and close. “What happened?” Amy said to Isabel. “I just
went to get candles. What happened?”
Isabel
grimaced. “I think I may have accidentally told her Chad was coming over to
propose to you.”
Jordan Runs
As
soon as she cleared the front door, Jordan sprinted around the side of the
house and into the backyard. She was wearing only a towel and wasn't eager for
the entire neighborhood to see her business. She cut through the backyard and
stumbled down the alley. Less of a chance for somebody to see her and call her
the cops. She could just see the headline now:
Children’s Author Wearing
Birthday Suit Runs from Lesbian Lover
. Or maybe it would be a headline
straight from Chad’s mouth:
Lezebel!
“Ouch!”
She was way too tender-footed to be running around barefoot. Why hadn't she
thought to grab her clothes? Or at least her shoes. She tucked the towel
tightly around herself and gritted her teeth against the stabs of gravel in her
feet.
"Jordan!"
That
was Amy’s voice. Oh well, let her yell. Let her scream her fool head off.
Jordan didn't care.
That
wasn't quite true. She did care. But she didn't want to care. So she was
going to pretend not to care in the hopes that eventually she really wouldn't
care. That had always worked every other time she had gotten her heart smashed,
stomped on and handed back to her.
"Jordan,
stop!"
Jordan
broke into a run. She ran as fast as she could, given the circumstances. She
ran until she couldn't hear Amy’s voice calling for her and the only thing in
her head was the sound of her own blood pumping hard between her ears.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t outrun her thoughts. They came at her full force
and would not be put off.
Was
that all she was to Amy? A way to make her boyfriend jealous? Jordan was her
girl-toy until Mister Man bucked up with a big old fat diamond ring, so he
could whisk Amy away to Happily Ever After Land. But why did Amy want to sleep
with her? She answered her own question – because straight girls do that
sometimes. Lord knows, Jordan had run into more than a few of those in her
dating days. There should be a rule: One should not experiment with another’s
heart. It should be printed on T-shirts and bumper stickers as a reminder.
Jordan
darted across a street without looking. A car’s headlights blinded her for an instant,
and just like the proverbial deer, she blinked and froze. The car screeched
its brakes and the driver laid on the horn. Jordan regained her senses and
leaped out of the way, but she was too late. The car slammed into her.
Jordan
rolled over the hood of the car. She landed on her feet, thank God; nothing
seemed broken. There was going to be a big bruise on her hip tomorrow and she
had stubbed her toe, but that appeared to be the extent of the damage.
Jordan
briefly wondered if she had tried to kill herself. Maybe her subconscious was
trying to put her smashed heart out of its misery.
The
car door opened. "Jordan, is that you?"
Jordan
spun around, expecting to see Amy, actually hoping that it was Amy so she could
give her a piece of her mind – so she could scream “Why did you do this thing
to my heart? I may be a lesbian but I still have feelings just like everyone
else. Can’t you see I love you?”
But
it wasn’t Amy after all.
"Petronella?"
Jordan said. "How did you find me?"
“I
did not find you, Jordan. I was simply driving my car and you found
me
.”
“Are
you stalking me?”
“I
would’ve thought after that paint episode you’d finally believe me. I am not
stalking nor have I ever stalked you. I am no Kinsey Milhone, but it would
appear that the crazy man in the hospital gown is a better stalking candidate
than I.”
Jordan
felt like an overloaded fuse box. But instead of a switch shutting off, sparks
flew everywhere and exploded. “I don’t care!” Jordan yelled. “You’re all the
same. You take and take and take, then throw me away! I was nothing to you
and I was nothing to her either!”
"Jordan,
calm down," Petronella said softly. "You are obviously upset. And
wet. And walking the streets with nothing but a towel to cover your
nakedness."
Jordan
wiped at her eyes. She hiccupped. "Yeah, well, tell me something I don’t
know."
Petronella
said, "Without footwear your feet will be cut and bruised."
"Again,
I'm aware of that.”
Petronella
walked around to the passenger side of her white Mercedes and opened the door.
She stood patiently like the footman who escorted Cinderella to the ball. When
Jordan didn't move, Petronella asked, "Would you care for a ride?"
Jordan
thought about it.
Petronella
waited for an answer.
Jordan
didn’t have to think too long. The decision was an easy one. It was over five
miles to her house and she didn't have a phone on her and she was mostly naked.
Jordan
shivered. "You'll take me straight home?" She was fearful that
Petronella would hog-tie her and read all her poetry for the second time in one
day. She didn’t think even Petronella was capable of that but who knew?
"Of
course,” Petronella said with a smile. "Where else would I take you? It
is not like you are dressed for an evening at the theatre." She laughed.
Jordan
nodded and climbed into the passenger seat. Petronella closed her door and
climbed behind the wheel. She turned on the heat, put the car in gear and
drove.
Jordan
peered through the dark interior of the car at Petronella's profile. Her every
feature was angular and harsh. It was like her face had been cut out of
cardstock with an Exacto knife. Had she really found her attractive once? Had
she really loved this woman? Or was she simply in love with the idea of
Petronella being in love with her? Was that how Amy felt about her – that she
loved the idea of having someone hang on her every word, kiss her soft lips,
and want to take her to bed? And why was she asking so many questions?
And
now Petronella was saving her despite being interrogated and paint-balled.
Whoever was in charge of the universe was certainly strange. Petronella pulled
her car into the driveway of Jordan's house. She put the car in park, but left
the engine running.
Jordan
reached for her door handle. "Thank you, Petronella. I owe you one.”
“Jordan?”
Petronella gripped the steering wheel with both hands and stared straight
ahead. She said, "You were wrong. You meant a lot to me. I loved you.
I did a lot of things wrong in our relationship. I know that now. But…” She
turned to look at Jordan. “I thought you should know that. That you were
loved.”
Jordan
couldn’t speak past the lump in her throat. She nodded. She opened the door
and got out. She leaned back inside and said. “Sorry for the paint thing. I
hope the dentist can whiten your teeth.”
Petronella
smiled. “Ha, that was one time I should’ve kept my mouth shut. Goodbye,
Jordan.”
Jordan
shut the door and watched as Petronella drove away. It crossed her mind that
Petronella had said goodbye and not good night. She traipsed across the lawn
and to the front door. She rang the bell.
Edison
opened the door and stared. “Oh my God, what happened to you?”
Edison’s
voice sounded so caring, so genuine, it was all Jordan needed to burst into
tears. Edison pulled her into the house and shut the door. She held her in
her arms while she sobbed.
After
a few moments, Jordan’s sobs quieted to whimpers.
“What
happened?” Edison asked as she patted her back and wiped away her tears.
“Everything
happened,” Jordan said. “Everything.”