What stunned me was how completely unflummoxed Bridget was through the whole ordeal, answering often demeaning questions with grace and poise. It probably helped that she faced gangs of hormonal teenagers on a daily basis, but still. Even through it all she gallantly offered to help clean up, and I think I could see my mom softening towards her at least a little bit. Or maybe it was just my imagination.
What wasn’t lost on me was the fact that if my situation had been known, Carl’s questionable, in their eyes, choice of girlfriend would have been completely forgotten.
The food, though, had been outstanding, and after assisting Bridget and Mom with cleaning up I retired into the living room where Carl and my dad were watching football. Dad was already in his recliner, nodding off under the effects of too much turkey. I sat next to Carl on the sofa and pulled a blanket from the back of the couch around me, wishing I had my warm girlfriend to lean against.
On the screen the Cowboys’ running back broke free for a long gain.
“Wow, nice run.” I was a little surprised I’d even said it out loud, but my Dad and brother both turned towards me like I’d mentioned my broker was E. F. Hutton.
Dad’s eyes narrowed. “Since when do you watch football?”
I shrugged. “My roommate, Michelle, she’s a big fan. She finally talked me into going to a few games with her.”
“Wow,” Carl shook his head, “She must be persuasive. Same girl you play doubles with, right?”
There was something in the tone of his voice that immediately put me on my guard, or maybe I was just being paranoid. “Yeah.”
“I’ve seen you guys play on YouTube. You’re good.”
Crap. If he’d seen us play, then he’d seen Mitch. It had been stunningly obvious what Mitch was to me the moment I’d met her. How long would it take watching on the computer for Carl to figure it out?
My dad, though, I could almost guarantee he had never watched me play. “This girl you’re rooming with is a Christian, right?”
I grimaced inside. We hadn’t really talked much about religion. Mitch certainly wasn’t a conservative evangelical, which is the only type my parents would have accepted as a Christian, but as far as I knew she wasn’t overtly hostile to the concept of God. “I think so. I mean, she’s a very moral person.”
Dad gave me a stern look, and I was afraid he was going to launch into a sermon about being unequally yoked, but the tryptophan from the turkey won over and he settled back into his easy chair with only a stern look. I counted my blessings and leaned back into the couch.
It wasn’t until much later that I really got a chance to talk to Carl. I’d slipped out onto the back porch with a glass of sweet tea. It was, unfortunately, too late in the year for fireflies, but the soft sounds of early evening were still calming.
“Hey, Sis.” Carl emerged from the back door, hand in hand with Bridget, and they sat on a bench nearby.
“Hey. Bridget, I’m so sorry that my parents are such, well, you pick a word.”
She held up her hand. “It’s okay. I’d been forewarned.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s not. Okay, I mean.” I sighed and looked into the kitchen through the window. “Is Mom still up?”
Carl shook his head. “She just went to bed, and Dad is asleep in his chair. So, mom says you’re not dating anyone. She’s very disappointed.”
“I bet.” I sipped my tea, slightly bemoaning the fact there was no alcohol of any kind to be had in my parents house. “I’m doing fine.”
“So, your roommate, I have watched you play, you know. Is she gay?”
My heart rate suddenly doubled, and I made myself breathe before I answered. “Yeah, she is. You can’t say anything.”
“I won’t.” He looked at his girlfriend, who nodded to him. “We, just, um, couldn’t help but hear, um, when she came into the room while we were talking.”
I felt a block of ice drop into my chest. They’d heard. My mind raced to come up with a believable story, but to be honest I’d been trying to invent one since the incident, without any success I might add.
I wished Mitch were here. She could have come up with something and charmed her way out of this situation. But I wasn’t Mitch. In fact, she was the anti-me, just like Tiwana had said.
“Cindy, it’s okay.” Carl shifted closer to me. “You can talk to me. You’re rooming with a lesbian.” He said it as a statement of fact, without judgment or distaste. I nodded.
“You and her, are you more than friends?”
I thought about her, my brave, gloriously outgoing girlfriend, who was never afraid to be herself to anyone. I think that’s what I loved about her most. Could I, one time, summon just a modicum of her courage?
I sucked my lips back between my teeth and stared at the wood of the deck for a second, tears stinging my eyes, a vision of Mitch’s bright blue eyes glinting with mischief in my mind as she smiled at me.
“Yeah, we are. A lot more. I, um, I love her.”
I felt my brother’s hand slide over mine, which were clasped together in my lap. I looked up. Carl’s eyes were shining with concern. Bridget’s hand was covering her mouth, her expression soft.
I looked at them both, desperation plain on my face. “You can’t tell Mom and Dad, please, oh god, please.” With that I broke down, tears falling from my eyes, a bone deep terror filling my soul.
“Cindy.” Carl’s voice was hurt, and he pulled me up into a hug, and I buried my face into his broad shoulder, sniffling as I tried to choke back my emotions. In a moment there was another, smaller hand rubbing my back. I looked at Bridget, who was standing nearby. I smiled at her, and she joined our embrace. I let my family hold me for a moment longer before we sat down, and I told them the story.
“So that’s it.” I looked back into the house. “They won’t accept it.”
Bridget put her hand on my knee. “When my brother came out, it shook my parents to their core. I mean, your parents may be conservative, but my dad was a Baptist minister. And he came around, even left his job and denomination rather than lose his son. It wasn’t easy, and I wasn’t always privy to everything that went on between them, but I know he lost a lot of so-called friends. But God was good, opened doors for him to be able to start his own free church, and it’s thriving. Anyone can change, and people can surprise you.”
Carl rubbed my back. “And you have me, no matter what. I promise.”
I tried to thank him, but I couldn’t get the words out. They started asking me questions about what Mitch was like, and we talked on the porch until after midnight. I felt loads better by the time I crawled into bed. I was having to share with my little sister, since Mom and Dad wouldn’t let Carl and Bridget share a room until wedding rings were exchanged by all parties. Luckily Charlotte doesn’t take up much room. I fell asleep listening to her gentle breathing, and dreaming of a day when my whole family would accept me as I am.
***
“So, how’d it go?”
“Mmm.” I whimpered miserably and nuzzled into Mitch’s shoulder.
“That bad, huh?”
“I got to meet Bridget, she’s great. But, god, I hated lying to my parents. And I was scared the whole time I was there. It was awful.”
Mitch kissed my forehead. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. You’re worth it. For now.”
She burrowed her hand into my side, making me squeal and jump. I’d caught a ride home with the same carpool as I had heading out, and Mitch had been waiting for me as soon as I’d entered our room.
That had been almost an hour ago, and now I was completely naked, floating in a post orgasmic haze, my body pressed against my lover’s as she held me under our comforter. I was also home.
“Just for now, huh?” She rolled me onto my back, and I struggled feebly as she pinned me down. “You’re going to pay for that.”
“I’m sorry.” I made my eyes as big as I could, biting my lip and trying to look as pathetic as possible.
“That’s right.” She pivoted off me so she could strip off her boxers, the only piece of clothing she was wearing, before straddling me again, knee walking up until her sex was right above my face. “No complaining. Get to it.”
I stifled a laugh, like I would ever complain about a chance to eat Mitch out. I wrapped my arms around her thighs and pulled her down to my salivating mouth and buried my tongue in her. I sighed as I let her flavor wash over me. It’d only been a few days, but damn.
Mitch’s fingers ran through my hair as she looked down. “Did you miss me?”
I stared up into her eyes. “Mm-hmm.”
“Ooh, I liked that. Can you do that again?”
I pulled her clit into my mouth and started to hum.
“Oh, damn, Cindy, that’s, oh sweetie that ‘s so good, oh, gee-ahh…” She started to grind herself against me, and I knew what I was doing was going over well. I decreased the intensity a little, wanting to drag it out some. I was having fun, too, after all. But eventually my desire to feel her come won out, and I pushed forward into the rhythm that I know would get the job done.
“Oh, yes, just like that, just, mm, a little, ooh, more, Cindy, wow.” Mitch’s spine arched, her head lolling back as my tongue swirled over her nub and her body began to pulse.
I held her to me, giving her every moment of stimulation I could before she finally pushed herself away. “Oh wait, no more, wow.” I was grinning like the Cheshire Cat as she slid down my body until she could cover my lips with hers. I opened my legs slightly so her thigh would rub against my sex while our tongues twirled together. She did the same, her wetness gliding over my skin as we moved together.
Her mouth moved to my neck, and I ran my nails down her back, making her moan into my skin. I rolled Mitch over, rising up on my knees and changing the angle so our labia were sliding over each other. I rocked back and forth, holding Mitch’s leg up to my body. Mitch was staring up at me, wide eyed, and I smiled down at her as we moved together. Slowly my pleasure built, and I began to moan and sigh, my eyes fluttering closed as my orgasm approached, and then it was on me as I spasmed against my lover.
When I caught my breath and opened my eyes, Mitch was just staring at me. “God, girl, that was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
If I could have blushed through my flushed cheeks I would have as I smiled down at her and rested my cheek against her leg. “Still think I’m sexy, huh?”
“Cindy, you don’t have any idea how beautiful you are to me.” Mitch’s voice was heavy with emotion, and her eyes, god, I didn’t think anyone would ever look at me like that. My heart broke in my chest, and I was just overwhelmed by how much I loved the woman touching me. I did the only thing that made sense, easing down on top of her until I was wrapped in her embrace, our lips locked in a passionate kiss. Slowly she turned me over, so I could feel her gentle weight on top of me, my legs wrapped around her. We went from kissing to snuggling and back over and over, reveling in our closeness and intimacy.
Finally we settled into our normal positions, me being the little spoon. “So, I told Carl and Bridget about us.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. Well, they heard you when you came back into the room last time, so they had questions.”
Mitch groaned and buried her face in my hair. “Damn, I’m sorry.”
“It was fine though, like the only bright spot of the whole weekend.”
“That’s good.” She stroked my arm. “See, maybe it won’t go as badly as you think.”
“I’m not worried about my sibs, Sweetie. But they did invite me down for a week after spring semester.” I kissed the inside of her wrist. “You could come with me.”
“An extra week on the beach with you? Deal.” She whispered in my ear, “If it means I get to see you in a bikini.”
I laughed. “You see me naked every day. I’m naked right now.”
“It is not the same thing. I can’t wait.”
“Really?” I turned in her arms, putting some sexy purr in my voice. “Well, luckily it’s still early. You don’t have to wait.”
There was laughter in Mitch’s voice. “Really? Round three?”
I ran a finger over her breastbone, pouting out my lower lip. “Unless you don’t want to.”
“Oh-ho-ho, girl.” Turns out she did want to. A lot.