| Status | inprogress |
| Tags | f/f, d/s, incest |
| Warnings | incest |
Ann's always loved mornings, ever since she was a child. There's a sense of the entire world waiting for something new, of the upcoming day curled like a flower bud waiting to bloom, that has always filled her with peace and a gentle sense of hope for the future. As she sits, sipping from her travel mug and watching the sun rising across the lake gradually waking downtown Yellowknife around her, she smiles at nothing in particular and reaches to dig her phone out of her purse.
A text from her dad is waiting: "Good luck with your first day," and then a heart emoji. Her heart warms, and she taps out a reply: "Thanks! How's life?" She stares fondly at the message for a couple of seconds, but when no immediate reply is forthcoming she slides her phone back into her bag and resumes enjoying the sunrise.
Behind her, the campus of Dawson University sits on a high bluff looking out over Great Slave Lake and most of the rest of downtown Yellowknife. It's a small handful of smart brick buildings, built in two close rings around a central grassy space in a way that makes Ann think of the structures huddling together for warmth. Ann lives a fifteen minute walk away, down a long gently sloping hill. In the early morning as she made coffee she could see the campus out the window of her kitchen, sunlight glinting off glass and steel in the distance.
She checks her watch; half an hour until her first class. She's picked the earliest class schedule available, which apparently isn't a particularly popular choice. There are a few other students visible, hunching in their coats against the early autumn chill, but in general the whole campus is quiet and calm. Ann smiles down at her travel mug, takes another sip of coffee, and goes to find the Math Department building.
It doesn't take long to find her classroom, and since she's the first to arrive she has her pick of seats. She grabs a desk, shrugging out of her coat, and hears her phone vibrate from inside her bag. When she digs it out, a text from her mom is showing: "Good luck, sweetheart." Ann smiles, other hand reaching for her neck to lightly touch her collar while she writes back: "Thanks Mom. I'll let you know how it goes." She tacks on a heart emoji, sends it, and busies herself digging out her notebook and pens.
Gradually, her classmates trickle into the room. Ann gives everyone a polite smile, but all of them head straight for the back rows, leaving her alone in the front. She frowns and rearranges her writing supplies on her desk to keep her hands busy. Making friends has never been one of her strengths, and she wasn't particularly expecting the math department to be filled with social butterflies, but it'd be really nice to know at least one person in Yellowknife other than her mom. Back home she used to have at least a few people she could call friends, and while there are a lot of things she doesn't miss about Ottawa, at least she -
"Hi!"
She looks up just in time to see another student dropping his backpack at the desk next to her. He flashes her a warm grin and gives a little wave with one hand, then pulls his hat off, revealing a shock of short-cropped dark blonde hair which obviously hasn't seen a comb in at least a couple of days. He shrugs out of his coat and hangs it over the back of his own chair, then picks up his own cup of coffee, takes a swig, and sighs gratefully.
"Hey," Ann says, trying to figure out how someone who lives in Yellowknife is so tanned. Perhaps he's a recent transplant as well.
"I'm glad there's at least one other front row person here," he says. "I'd feel weird if it was just me."
Ann smiles. "It might just be you and me, I think. Everyone else is, um -" she gestures towards the back of the classroom, where all the other students are at best semi-conscious.
"Oh well," he says. "Nice to meet you, fellow morning person. I'm Jay."
"Ann," Ann replies. "Nice to meet you as well. Are you in math too?"
Jay shakes his head. "Electrical engineering, but we have a bunch of math requirements. You're a math major?"
"Yes, first year." There's a pause, and Ann isn't sure what to say, so she asks: "Where are you from?"
Jay grins. "About four hours' drive... that way," and he points towards the back wall of the classroom. "My parents are like... weird homesteader hippie types, so I grew up in the middle of nowhere. I mean, really the middle of nowhere. The nearest place that even has a name on the map is an hour away."
"Oh wow," Ann replies. "I'm from Ottawa."
"Why'd you come up to Yellowknife? I feel like usually people are trying to leave."
"My, um, my mom, mostly. She's a nurse, and she got offered a job up here as I was about to start applying, so I applied here too and I got in. We moved up here together."
"So you're living with your mom?"
Ann nods, blushing slightly. There's a lot she isn't sure how to say about that, so she settles on: "I know it's weird."
Jay shrugs. "Eh, whatever. I bet it beats the dorms."
"Probably. I get my own bedroom, at least, and I don't have to share a shower with a bunch of strangers."
Jay puts on a thoughtful expression, grin playing across his lips. "That sounds pretty good, actually. Are you and your mom looking for a roommate?"
Ann giggles. "All our bedrooms are spoken for, I'm afraid."
"Ah, well," Jay says, with an exaggerated sigh. "The dorms it is, then."
They lapse into a comfortable quiet as a few more students trickle in. Ann isn't quite sure how many to expect for the first day of an early morning introductory math class, but the classroom isn't even a quarter full yet, so presumably most people are going to arrive closer to the start time. A third student, a woman named Li, takes the other desk next to Ann. She opens her laptop, sets it on the desk in front of her, then sits with her fists clenching in her lap. Ann tries to make conversation with her, but after the third single-word answer she gets, she abandons the effort and goes back to chatting with Jay.
A slender, mousy-looking woman, with huge thin-rimmed glasses framing her face, creeps into the classroom as though she's not sure she should be there. She looks from front to back, biting her lower lip, and Jay raises a hand at her.
"Cool kids are at the front," he says without preamble, and gestures at the pair of desks behind him and Ann.
The woman blushes and lowers her head, then hurries towards Ann and takes the desk immediately behind her. Ann gives her a smile she hopes is encouraging. She and Jay both introduce themselves.
"I'm Beth," the woman says, pulling a tablet out of her own backpack and setting it on her desk. Beneath her coat she's wearing what looks to be a hand-made sweater; when Ann asks about it, Beth blushes again - rather prettily, Ann thinks - and explains that her grandmother made it for her. Beth turns out to have been born and raised in Yellowknife itself, so she too is living with her family instead of in the dorms, out in what could maybe be called a suburb if Yellowknife were ten times bigger.
Just as Ann is thinking about making another attempt to talk to Li, their professor, a graying, serious-looking man carrying a briefcase and a coffee cup of his own, sweeps into the room. He sets his briefcase down, unpacks his laptop onto the desk at the front of the classroom, then surveys the room. Ann is struck immediately by how neat and well-kept he looks; it seems like his shoes might even be shined.
"Good morning, class. I'm Professor Stewart and this is Introduction to Discrete Math. If that doesn't sound right, now's the time to leave. Don't worry, you won't hurt my feelings," he says, cracking a small smile. "I realize that this is an early morning session and probably most of you would rather be in bed," - he gives a pointed look at the students semi-dozing in the back rows - ", but I promise you will get out of this class what you put into it. Although it is an introductory class, and you may assume it will be easy, it is in fact the foundation of much of what you'll need to know for your majors, so do try to pay attention."
The room lapses into silence, and he surveys the assembled students again. Ann does her best to look eager and attentive. From the corner of her eye, she can see that Li has somehow already taken nearly a paragraph of notes on her laptop. The silence stretches out slightly, and then the professor nods at the classroom.
"Alright, then. Let's get into it."
Ann finishes climbing the stairs to the apartment and lets herself in. She pulls her shoes off, puts them neatly by the door, then heads to her bedroom. She sets her backpack down by her little desk, then bends to pull her panties down and tosses them into her laundry hamper, leaving herself bare beneath her skirt. Her room is still tidy from the morning, her bed neatly made, so she sits down on the edge of her bed for a moment to think about what to do next.
She has about ninety minutes before her mom gets home. Dinner will probably take half of that to prepare, and she doesn't have any real homework to do yet, so she decides to give the apartment a quick once-over. She likes when her mom gets home to a clean and inviting house after a long shift. She unloads the dishwasher, gives the kitchen table a wipe, then carefully re-folds both of the blankets sprawled across the living room couch into neat rectangles. She re-fluffs the pillows as well, adjusts their position just so, then stands back to admire her work. Perfect. A stray coffee mug - probably Mom's from this morning - comes back to the kitchen with her, where she hand-washes it and puts it away.
Her mom's bedroom, the larger of the two in their apartment, has large west-facing windows and late afternoon sunlight is playing warmly across the hardwood floor. There's an earthy, spicy scent lingering in the air; Ann sniffs a couple of times, then flushes red when she realizes she's smelling her mom's musk. She glances around the room, making sure things are tidy, and feels her cheeks color still further when she notices one of her mom's vibrators - the small purple one, her favorite - resting on one of the bedside tables. Ann swallows, mouth suddenly dry, and presses her thighs together unconsciously. It's been several days since she was last allowed an orgasm, and the imagined view of her mom in ecstasy, toy buzzing away between her folds, sends a rush of heat between her legs. She squeezes her hands into fists for a moment to control herself, then picks the vibrator up carefully, washes it in the bathroom, and plugs it into its charger inside the nightstand drawer. Perhaps tonight, she thinks to herself, as her hands go through the motions of straightening the bedsheets.
For dinner, Ann decides after searching through the fridge to make a pasta dish. Once she has it simmering, she sits down at the kitchen table with her notebook to think, trying her hardest to ignore the slick feeling at the junction of her thighs in the hopes that it'll go away on its own. Her mom ought to be home in a few minutes, right around when the pasta should be cooked through, and Ann allows herself a small glow of pride at having gotten the timing pretty much spot-on. She's just mixing the pasta into the simmering sauce when the front door of the apartment opens.
"Welcome home, Mom," she calls. Her mom doesn't say anything, but a few moments later she comes into the kitchen, and rewards Ann with a warm smile when she notices the aroma of dinner.
"Hi, sweetheart," her mom says, setting her purse down on the kitchen counter. She comes up behind Ann and wraps her arms around her daughter's waist. Ann sighs, contented, and presses back against the warmth of her mom's body. Her mom peeks over her shoulder, then murmurs "looks delicious". She lingers, holding Ann lightly around the waist, while Ann mixes and stirs. All of her attention, all the feeling in her body, feels like it's concentrated on the points her mom's skin is touching her own. Her mom's grip around her waist tightens just slightly, and Ann feels a hand slip beneath the waistband of her skirt, down the dip where thigh meets hip, and come to ever-so-lightly cup between her legs. Ann exhales sharply as a single one of her mother's fingertips strokes gently back and forth.
"Good girl," her mom purrs, and Ann gasps. Nothing seems to set her body alight quite like those two words. Her mom dips just the barest tip of one finger inside her, just enough for Ann to notice, then withdraws her hand and holds it up, showing off the glistening wetness coating her fingers in the golden evening light. "Impatient for me to get home?"
Ann nods jerkily. "I. Um. Y-yes, Mom."
Her mom brings her fingers to Ann's lips, presses softly; obedient, Ann takes them into her mouth and sucks gently, tasting her own arousal lingering there. After a few seconds her mom pulls them free, then trails those same fingertips, now moist with a mixture of Ann's arousal and her saliva, across her jaw and down to her neck to hook around her collar.
"Good," her mom says, with a light tug on the slender strip of leather that makes Ann weak at the knees. She slips her arm from around her daughter's waist, then takes a step away from her. "Let's eat, sweetheart. I want to hear about your first day - and then we can cuddle up and watch a movie together."
"Yes, Mom," Ann says, blushing a deep red and trying not to think too hard about cuddling, because if she does she'll lose the ability to make conversation. She spoons out two bowls of lightly sauced pasta and carries them both over to the table. She fetches a glass of wine for her mom as well, and water for herself, before taking her own seat.
"Good work," her mom says, giving Ann a pleased smile. Ann looks down at her lap, slightly ashamed of how much the compliment pleases her, but she's always loved making her mom happy or proud of her. "No," her mom continues, as though oblivious to Ann's embarassment. "I really mean it, hon. I know you've been working hard at your kitchen skills and building your confidence. It really shows."
Ann swallows, mouth feeling dry again. "Thanks," she murmurs, still staring at her lap. Her mom just has this way of saying... things like that, things that are heartfelt and true and somehow hit Ann right at the core of her being and make her feel like she's somehow more than she actually is. She lifts her gaze at least long enough to flash her mom a shy smile, then picks up her own fork to start eating.
After dinner's finished, Ann cleans the dishes while her mom relaxes, and they chat back and forth about their days and the goings-on of life. It feels easy, comfortable, familial, and Ann finds herself smiling down at her dishtowel, grinning at the stacks of bowls in the cupboard. She offers her mom a refill on her wine glass, which her mom politely declines, then makes two fresh mugs of tea to bring with her when she joins her mom on the couch. Her mom pulls her close, tugging Ann into her lap, then lays a blanket around her daughter and strokes her hair affectionately.
"I love you, Ann," her mom says, kissing her temple gently.
Ann squirms slightly, burying her face in the crook of her mom's neck. "I love you too," she murmurs.
"Silly rom-com tonight, I think," her mom remarks. Ann nods, briefly torn between her desire to stay right where she is and an impulse to go fetch her leash from her bedroom, but ultimately comfort wins out and she settles into her mom's lap. Her mom taps on her phone, dimming the lights, and draws Ann closer to herself with another soft kiss as the first few notes of the movie's opening score start to play.
The second session of Introduction to Discrete Math confirms something Ann had been worrying about: this will not be an easy class. The three sixty-minute blocks per week are supposed to be a whirlwind tour of the entire field, which means there's going to be a breathtaking amount of material that could possibly appear on exams, and she knows she's going to have to work hard to stay on top of it. Looking around the room as she packs up, she can tell that she's far from alone in the realization.
"What do you guys have next?", Jay says, while stuffing his spiral notebook into his backpack. Ann can already see a mass of crumpled paper inside. She carefully puts her own notebook away in its proper place in her bag, then shoulders it.
"Creative writing," replies Beth. Ann looks up at her. "Oh, me too!", she says, relieved. She's been worrying about that class, since creative writing isn't really her strong suit. Her mom encouraged her pretty firmly to sign up for it, so she did, but as the first meeting of the seminar has been approaching she's been struggling with an increasing feeling of dread. Having someone else she knows in the class, even if it's just someone to commiserate with or share drafts with, is a weight off her shoulders. She's glad it's Beth, too, who seems nice and kind, even if she is very quiet.
Li, staring at her phone, says: "Organic chem, again." Jay raises a hand. "Organic chem! High five!" Li looks blankly at him for a second and he, enthusiasm undampened, waves his hand slightly. "High five?"
Li gives him a small smile, then presses her hand momentarily against his. "I guess so." Her voice has a pleasing husky quality to it that doesn't quite fit her delicate appearance, and Ann finds herself wishing Li was more talkative.
"Sheesh," Jay says. "Are you more of a fist bump girl, or what?"
Li blushes slightly, turning her face away, and wraps a hand around the long, dark bundle of her hair, which she wears in a neat ponytail. "I'm not really a... touchy kind of person, Jay. Sorry."
He raises both his hands, palms out. "Hey, no worries. It's your, you know - I mean, you don't - you know. No problem. Anyway, wanna walk over together?"
Li picks up her own backpack, which is so large that to Ann it looks more like she's planning to go camping overnight. She shoulders it with no apparent difficulty, then nods. "Sure."
Ann and Beth start the walk to Creative Writing in companionable silence, crossing the grassy area at the center of campus on their way to the Humanities building. It's a warm day and bright, a pleasant change from the usual bleak autumn mornings, and Ann savors the feeling of the sun on her face. They have a full half an hour before the seminar stars, so they stop at a bench beneath a tall tree and sit, boots brushing through a carpet of fallen pine needles. Beth raises her pale face to the sunlight and shuts her eyes. Ann watches Beth relax, tension gradually ebbing from her shoulders, and feels a flutter of something unfamiliar in her stomach. Beth really is pretty, she thinks, in a way that is somehow magnified by how plain and, well, dorky her fashion sense is.
"Lucky us," Beth murmurs, eyes still shut.
"Oh?"
Beth gives a small shrug, turning to look at Ann. "I... I guess I'm just happy to be here. At Dawson, I mean."
Ann nods. "Me too. I like Yellowknife so far."
Beth giggles. "Wait until you get through your first winter, then see if you still like it."
"I don't mind cold too much so I hope I'll survive. You've lived here your whole life, right? Any advice?"
"I recommend having a grandma that constantly knits you warm clothes," Beth says, with a shy smile.
Ann laughs. "I'll get on that, I guess." She peeks at her watch, then stands and offers Beth a hand up from the bench. "Come on, we'd better keep moving."
The Creative Writing seminar meets around a large round table, and she and Beth take seats next to each other. The grad student running the seminar is a bubbly, effusive blonde woman who reminds Ann strongly of a girl who bullied her relentlessly in high school. The resemblance is so striking that Ann feels sweat beading on the back of her neck when the TA first comes in. Beth, apparently sensing her discomfort, taps Ann gently on the arm and raises an eyebrow. Ann shakes her head, and Beth gives her a look of concern but says nothing. The TA turns out to be extremely warm and friendly, and Ann finds herself relaxing as the seminar begins.
Two hours and nearly a dozen pages of handwritten notes later, Ann has a very cramped writing hand and infinitely more knowledge about the theory and practice of creative writing than she did previously. The seminar apparently won't be like this every time - instead, each week they'll be doing a short writing assignment, then discussing the results as a group. The idea of having to share her writing with the dozen other students in the group is daunting, but her mom wants her to get more comfortable writing, so she will.
She has an hour and a half before her next class, so she invites Beth to eat lunch together. She and Beth wander for a little bit until they find a picnic table tucked away behind the Fine Arts building in a small garden. Ann opens her lunchbox, and smiles when she sees a sticky note adhering to the inside of the lid.
"What's that?", Beth says, gesturing at the note. She has what looks like a PB&J, wrapped in cling film and slightly squashed from being in her backpack. Ann holds the note up to her, and Beth reads it aloud. "Good luck sweetheart. Remember, dessert last. Mom. And then there's a little heart."
Ann nods, sticking the note back to the inside of her lunchbox. "Yeah."
Beth goes quiet, chewing her sandwich. Ann has a sandwich of her own, some chopped vegetables, and a pudding cup. Her mom makes a point of packing Ann's lunches despite how busy she always is, although she doesn't usually leave cute little notes inside them. A warm feeling settles in her chest, and she looks back down at the note, reading over it again as she eats. Beth's phone buzzes a few times in quick succession, and she digs it out of her bag and sets it on the table, frowning.
"Everything okay?"
"Sort of," Beth says. "My sister and my mom are fighting. She texted me about it."
"Oh," Ann says. "Does that happen a lot?"
Beth shrugs. "My mom's... not that easy to get along with. Usually when I'm around it's not too bad, but when I'm not - yeah."
Ann sets the remaining half of her sandwich down and leans over to give Beth a gentle hug. "Sorry," she says. "That must be hard."
Beth sighs. "It's okay. I just... I get worried about them."
"I can imagine," Ann replies. She lets go of Beth and looks down at her lunchbox. "Would a pudding cup help at all?"
Beth gives her a small smile. "I don't want to take your dessert away."
"We'll share," Ann says, grinning.
Beth laughs, a gentle musical sound. "Alright, halvsies - but remember, dessert last!"
Ann breaks into a fit of giggles as well. "I know. Trust me, my mom is really nice, but she's one of those people where what she says goes, you know? If the note says dessert last, then dessert goes last."
Beth looks away, and Ann can see the gentle shine of moisture gathering in her eyes. "Yeah," she murmurs. "Dessert last."
Ann covers one of Beth's hands with one of her own and squeezes gently. "Hey," she says, then waits, leaving space for Beth to speak.
Beth's quiet for a little while, then says, "it's nothing." Ann very much doubts that, but she doesn't want to be too pushy; instead, she silently pushes her lunchbox closer to Beth, offering her some of the vegetables. By the time they've made it to the pudding, Beth's spirits seem to have lifted again, and they giggle together, chatting about classes and passing a single shared spoon back and forth.
After her last class on Friday afternoon, Ann walks home with a smile on her face. She's now met all of her professors and TAs and she at least sort of likes all of them, and there's a couple of people in every single class that she's at least swapped names with. Plus, there's the group from her Discrete Math class; Jay semi-bullied her, Beth and Li into getting into a group text together, and she's finding that she really likes all three of them. Li's quiet face-to-face but over text she has an amazing sense of humor, and Jay's just one of those guys who seems to make it his life mission to make everyone else feel good about themselves. Beth doesn't post much in there, but she texts Ann individually pretty regularly. Nothing too important, really, just the little events of her life. Ann likes it. She wouldn't admit this to anyone else, but sometimes she just opens her texts with Beth and looks at the old messages, even though they're the most ordinary stuff ever - good mornings, what they're both having for dinner, that sort of thing. It feels warm and close and... Ann finds her phone in her hand again without any conscious memory of pulling it out. She smiles at herself, puts it away, and treks up the stairs to her apartment.
When she steps inside, her mom calls to her from the living room. Ann drops her backpack, takes off her shoes and puts them away neatly, then obeys the summons. Her mom's on the couch, feet up on the coffee table, dressed in the loose jeans and blouse she normally wears on her days off. She smiles at Ann, then gestures towards the floor with one hand. Ann nods and comes to kneel next to the couch. She settles on her pillow and glances up at her mom, who is watching her with a fond expression on her face. Ann blushes and averts her eyes. While her mom's never actually ordered her not to, Ann generally doesn't either look at her or speak to her while kneeling unless she's told to.
Her mom lays a hand on her head and gently runs her fingers through Ann's hair. "Good girl," she murmurs, and Ann smiles down at her own folded legs. Her mom, too, seems to just understand that Ann stays quiet when she kneels, just like she understands so much else about her daughter, so she goes on without waiting for a reply. "How would you feel about doing a date night tonight?"
Ann nods immediately. She loves spending time with her mom, of course, but date nights are special. Also, as her body is busily reminding her, it's been nearly two weeks since she was last allowed to come and she's starting to get wet just thinking about what might happen after dinner. She fervently hopes her mom's in the same mood she is, because Ann only ever gets to come under her supervision. She bites her lower lip, thinking about how to be as enticing as she can.
"Good," her mom says, nails trailing lightly across Ann's scalp and sending shivers of enjoyment through her. "I got us a table at the Green Roof in an hour, so we'd better start getting ready." She stands up and offers Ann a hand, which her daughter takes. Her mom leads her by the hand to her bedroom, then through to her own ensuite bathroom. Ann quickly strips her clothes off and leaves them in a neat pile on the bathroom floor. Her mom watches her, eyes warm and dark, then nods approvingly. She turns the shower on, then undresses rather more slowly. Ann averts her eyes, face heating; while her mom is beautiful and shapely and Ann finds her incredibly attractive, it always feels wrong somehow to just ogle her outright.
Her mom takes her by the hand and pulls her into the shower. Ann takes her usual position, with her back pressed against the wall of the shower and her hands clasped behind her head. Her mom takes her by the collar and tugs her gently under the stream of hot water, then presses her back into her position while she works some soap into a lather in her hands.
"God, Ann," her mom breathes. "You're gorgeous." She takes her furiously blushing daughter's breasts in her hands and gently works the soap into her skin. Ann squirms, heat rising between her legs, but after a few short seconds her mom's hands glide onwards. She carefully washes every inch of Ann's skin, leaving her pussy for last; Ann nearly passes out when her mother abruptly pushes her up against the shower wall with a hand on her throat and works her soapy fingers between her aching, almost painfully sensitive folds.
Her mom smirks at her. "There we go," she says, withdrawing her hand and leaving Ann gasping with need. "All clean." She rinses her hands beneath the water, then turns the shower off and gestures for Ann to step out. She towels her girl dry, then orders her to go get dressed.
Ann's head feels fuzzy, like everything's muted or somehow distant. It's... nice. Cozy. It makes her feel like everything's going to be alright, forever, and she doesn't have to worry about anything ever but making her mom happy. She semi-stumbles her way into her bedroom, goosebumps forming on her skin now that she's no longer under the hot water, and pulls her cupboard open. She feels like she's floating, or maybe underwater, and all she wants in the whole world, right now, is for her mom to touch her more.
She pulls a dress from the back of her cupboard - an old-fashioned apron dress that she picked up at a thrift store a few months ago, back in Ottawa. It's a light cream color, and also not warm enough for autumn in Yellowknife, so she pairs it with a black base layer. It's very proper and she thinks it makes her look a bit like a medieval peasant, but last time she wore it her mom practically tore it off her in the living room, and that... well, that sounds lovely just now.
She pulls her hair up into a neat bun, applies just a hint of makeup, and assesses herself in the vanity mirror. She looks alright, she thinks. She's never felt like she's anything special in the looks department, but clearly her mom sees something that she doesn't. She gives herself a little smile, picks up her handbag, and heads for the front door.
She almost makes it there, before her mom grabs her from behind and pushes her into the wall in the front hallway. With one hand on the back of Ann's neck, fingers curled around her collar, she leans close to Ann, pressing her into the drywall, and growls in her ear: "Good choice, hon."
Ann squirms. "Th - thanks," she breathes, focused entirely on the way her mom's other hand is sliding up the inside of her left thigh. Her mom's hand climbs higher, higher, higher, until she's almost touching right where Ann wants her to touch so very badly, and then she digs her nails into Ann's thigh for just a second, making her squeak in surprise and pain, then withdraws her hand and lets go of Ann's collar.
"Let's go," her mom says, and turns to pull on her wedge heels. She's wearing a body-hugging dress, slit up both sides to expose her calves, and Ann finds herself involuntarily imagining pushing that dress up, right here and now, and getting on her knees, and her mom grabbing her collar and pulling her in really close and...
She shakes herself free of the fantasy, and turns to pull on her flats.
It's a short drive to the Green Roof, then Ann's mom leads her inside. She orders for Ann, then makes casual conversation, asking about school and Ann's new friends and everything else, and the entire time one of her feet is gently caressing Ann's calves under the table and it's all she can do not to moan aloud. Her mom has a hot, possessive gleam in her eyes, dark and passionate, and she decides that they'll skip dessert tonight and head straight home.
Just inside the front door of their apartment, her mom backs Ann against the wall once again and kisses her forcefully, tongue pressing inside Ann's mouth. She moans, pressing her hips against her mom's body in response, and her mom breaks the kiss. "You seem ready for me, sweetheart." Ann nods desperately, cheeks flaming, and her mom grins at her, showing her teeth. "Well, then. My bedroom."
Ann doesn't need to be told twice; she hurries into the bedroom and stands, hands folded behind her, waiting for instructions. Her mom follows her in, then looks her daughter over approvingly. "Strip," she says, then turns to open the toybox. A few moments later, she loops a length of dark fabric across Ann's eyes and pulls it tight. Ann shivers, but obediently finishes undressing, then stands with her hands behind her back again.
She hears her mom's feet on the carpet, feels her nearness; the loss of her sight seems to heighten all her other senses. Her mom's breath tickles her ear, and then she breathes: "Good. Normally I'd want to take my time with this part, but I think my girl's very needy right now. Is that so?"
Ann nods fervently; her desire has been building and building for days on end, and she can think of nothing other than her mother's touch. She hears her mom chuckle, then feels rough rope on the skin of her wrists. Her mom quickly and firmly binds her wrists, then grabs Ann by one of her upper arms and tugs her for a couple of stumbling steps toward the bed. She pushes Ann onto her back, and for an endless handful of seconds Ann lays there, helpless in the darkness and panting with need, before she feels the weight of her mom climbing onto the mattress. She spreads her legs like she knows she's supposed to, naked and exposed and available. She shivers, a hint of fear trickling into the ocean of desire she's floating in, but it's a good fear, a pleasant fear, a fear that comes from being completely and utterly in her mother's power.
Then, at last, what she's been waiting for: she feels a slick, firm pressure at her entrance. Her mom leans over her, hipbones grazing the insides of Ann's thighs, and then there's a firm hand on her collar, holding her in place, while her mom slowly, steadily, inexorably drives her strapon into her. Ann shudders, whimpering with need, and her mom places a gentle kiss on Ann's throat just below the strip of leather just as she fills her daughter completely.
"Just for tonight," her mom murmurs, "you can come whenever you want to, sweetheart. A special treat, to celebrate your first week of school. Do you think you can do that for me?"
Ann moans softly. Her whole being is focused on her pussy, on how amazing it feels to be tied and held down and filled, and she's wetter than she's ever been in her entire life just now and already so, so painfully close. Just a little bit more, she thinks, just a little...
Her mom nips at her throat with her teeth, starting to slowly thrust into and out of her girl, and her other hand finds its way to Ann's desperate, throbbing clit. She circles it with two fingers, pressing, and Ann wails, hips coming up to meet her mom even more fully, body begging to be filled.
"That's it," her mom murmurs, voice husky and edged with lust. "That's my girl. Come for me."
Ann obeys.
The next time Ann is aware of the world around her, she's curled up in her mom's bed, nestled comfortably against her. Her pussy aches delightfully, and she can still taste her mom lingering in her mouth. Her wrists are a bit sore from the rope, and she'll probably have some marks tomorrow morning, but she likes having that kind of mark and she doesn't have class anyway so that's just fine with her. She presses her butt back against her mom and feels the soft arms around her tighten slightly. Her mom's half-asleep, but she murmurs: "I love you, Ann."
Ann smiles in the dark. "I love you too, mom," she whispers, then lets herself drift gently towards a deep and restful sleep.
The following Friday morning, Professor Stewart gives the class their first quiz. Ann struggles her way through it, and manages to at least give a plausible answer to eight of the ten questions, but as she works her way through the reality quickly sinks in that she's going to need some help to survive this class. After the quizzes have been collected, Ann glances around the room, and the looks on her classmates' faces confirm that they're thinking the same thing as she is. The rest of the class goes by in unusually subdued silence, with just the sound of Professor Stewart's calm, measured voice and the scratching of his chalk on the board.
As they're packing up to leave, Jay gives voice to what everyone seems to be feeling: "So. Uh. Study group?"
"Yes please," Beth murmurs. "That was very difficult." Her voice sounds rough, strained, and when Ann looks at her a little more closely she can see dark smudges under both of her friend's reddened eyes. Ann shoots Beth her most sympathetic look, but she doesn't want to say anything in front of everyone else.
"Me too," Ann adds. Li stays silent, putting her things neatly back in their places in her backpack. Ann looks over at her, trying to catch her eye, and sees the glistening beginnings of tears.
"Hey, Li?", she says, voice low. Li still doesn't say anything, so Ann touches her on the shoulder, only for the other woman to flinch away from her.
"I'll come," Li says, voice thick.
Ann sticks both her hands in the pockets of her skirt to help herself resist the impulse to touch. "Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine," Li mutters. "I have to go." She hauls her oversized pack onto her shoulders, then almost runs out of the room, head down.
"Jeez," Jay says, staring at the classroom door after her. He exhales sharply, then digs his phone from his pocket and starts texting.
"Well," Ann says. "Hey, Beth, do you want to work on creative writing together later today? Just sit together and both write, I mean."
Beth gives her a shy smile. "Sure. I'll meet you at the library after my chemistry lab wraps up."
"Oh, um, I was thinking we could do it at my house, if you want? You can stay for dinner after, too."
Beth seems surprised and doesn't say anything at first. "We - we can meet at the library if you want," Ann says, feeling awkward. "I just thought that it'd be... nice, I guess."
"No," Beth says, "it's okay. I just wasn't - sorry. I don't usually have much luck studying at home. We can study at your apartment, though."
Ann beams at her. "Meet you outside the student center, then. We'll walk over together."
The rest of her classes almost fly by, and Ann finds herself surprisingly nervous on her way to the student center. Beth is already waiting there, pacing back and forth with her arms wrapped around her body against the cold; Ann didn't realize until just now that Beth's just in a well-worn light jacket. Fortunately it's a short walk home, and they lapse into a quiet conversation about their respective short story ideas. The current assignment is to write a story which reveals something true about themselves, and Beth's idea, which is about what it's like leading a flock of geese in flight, sounds fascinating.
She leads the way up the stairs to her apartment, then ushers Beth in. "Hi Mom," she calls. "I'm home with Beth!"
Ann's mom comes out of the kitchen, wearing her favorite apron - the one with the little family of muffins with happy faces on it - over her usual home wear of jeans and a blouse. She embraces Ann, getting a dusting of flour all over her, then turns to Beth. "You must be Beth?"
"Yes, um - Ann's mom?"
Her mom laughs. "Lisa Lewis, but Ann's friends usually just call me Miss Lewis. Would you like a hug as well?"
Beth hesitates then nods, and Ann's mom sweeps her up in a warm hug. Beth tenses, then after a second she relaxes. Ann's mom doesn't let go, but instead shoots a silent look at Ann, who comes up behind Beth to embrace her as well.
"Welcome to our home, Beth," Ann's mom says. She holds the hug for another few seconds, then lets go. "Dinner will be ready in an hour and a half or so. You two go study until then. The kitchen table's free."
Ann excuses herself and ducks into her bedroom so she can take off her panties - that rule doesn't say anything about guests, after all - then emerges to find Beth already sitting at the kitchen table. Her mom is at the counter cooking, with soft classical music playing as she works, and Ann settles down next to Beth and opens her writing notebook. She and Beth talk through their stories together, making notes as they go, and by the time dinner's ready Ann has a solid outline of all the key points she wants to hit and a few passages she wants to build her piece around.
Dinner is a lasagna and mixed roasted vegetables, and it's utterly delicious. Beth eats all of it, and shyly accepts when Ann's mom offers her seconds, which seems to please her deeply. Her mom tells Ann to clear the plates and start on the dishes, then sits back in her chair and studies Beth, who blushes under her attention.
"Good study session?"
Beth nods. "I have the bones of my story now. Thank you for, um, inviting me over, and for dinner."
"Of course," her mom says, finishing the last of her glass of wine. "You're always welcome here, Beth."
"I appreciate it," Beth says quietly. "I have a hard time studying at home usually, and the library is... okay, but not that comfortable, and you have to leave if you want a snack."
"What makes studying at home hard?"
"Oh," Beth says. "Um. It's not a big deal, really, but it can get pretty loud, and I have to share my room with my sister, so it's hard to find quiet space to actually focus. Plus, I usually have to help take care of my brothers and my younger sister, so there's always things that need to be done other than schoolwork."
Her mom gives Beth a concerned, sympathetic look. "Your parents don't take care of all that?"
Beth flushes. "Well, there are five of us, so it's a lot, and my mom and dad have... their own things going on too, and money's always pretty tight, especially since my dad lost his job, so I - yeah." She sniffles, starting to tear up, and Ann's mom reaches across the table for her hand. Beth takes it and squeezes so tightly her knuckles whiten.
"I see," her mom says, softly. "That's so much for any one person to carry, Beth, and that's not even including your studies." She squeezes Beth's hand back, studying her face. "Have you been getting enough sleep?"
Beth gives a small shake of the head, eyes downcast. "My parents usually stay up pretty late, and my sister does too, so not - not really."
"Well," Ann's mom says. "Would you like to stay over here tonight? Get a little bit of peace and quiet?"
"Oh, um," Beth says. "Thank you, Miss Lewis, but I don't want to impose, and I'm needed at home."
Ann's mom frowns. "You won't be imposing, Beth, I promise, and I think your family can get by without you for one evening. I'd like it if you stayed over."
Beth's voice is small, shaky. "Are - are you sure?"
"Yes," her mom says, firmly. "We only have the two beds, but you can have Ann's bed and Ann can have the couch, or she can dig out a sleeping bag. Ann, is that okay, sweetheart?"
"Yes, Mom," Ann says. What she'd actually prefer is to share her mom's bed, but she doesn't know how she'd explain that to Beth, so the couch or the floor it is. Her mom leads Beth out of the kitchen and Ann finishes shelving the rest of the dishes and wiping the counters down, then goes to find her friend standing over her desk, wearing an enormously oversized t-shirt and a pair of pyjama pants. Ann slips into the room behind her and pulls the door shut.
"Hey," she says, quietly. Beth whirls around, face red, and Ann spots her journal lying on her desk. It's still shut, but - oh God, lying underneath it is her list of rules. She can't believe she left it out; Beth must have seen it already. Beth refuses to meet her gaze, but silently gets into the bed and pulls the covers up over herself.
The tension in the room is painfully thick. Unsure what else to do, Ann lays a mattress pad and sleeping bag down, then turns away from Beth to change into pyjamas of her own. She turns the lights off, still silent, and curls up inside her sleeping bag, mortified.
It's Beth that breaks the horrible silence first. "Sorry," she says. "I wasn't trying to snoop. I just... um. I was looking around, and I. Um. I saw your... list. I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to, I just." She lapses into silence again, then a few seconds later, she says, in a much smaller voice: "Please don't hate me."
There's something so raw and afraid there that it makes Ann's heart ache. She swallows her own nerves, and says: "It's - it's okay. I shouldn't have left it out."
Beth doesn't say anything for a while, but Ann hears her breathing gradually evening out. Eventually she says, "are they... real? When I saw them I thought it was a fantasy thing, but then I saw the one about wearing your collar and I always see you wearing one and I just - is that actually what you do?"
Ann's extremely glad Beth can't see her face, because she's close to dying of embarassment even sheltered by the darkness. She really doesn't want to tell the truth, but she even more doesn't want to lie to Beth. Eventually, she settles on: "Yes, they're real."
She hears the rustling of sheets as Beth moves in the bed, turning to face her. Ann's eyes are starting to adjust to the darkness, and she can make her friend out as a dim shape on the edge of the bed, looking down at her.
"Wow," Beth says. "I just - wow."
Ann winces. "I know it's really weird," she says, shame lancing through her.
"No," Beth says. "It's not that. It's... do you like it?"
"More than anything," Ann says, quiet but confident.
There's a tense pause, then Beth says, so quietly that it's barely even a whisper: "I think I want that."
Ann sits up in her sleeping bag. "You think you want what?"
Another tense pause; Ann can almost viscerally feel Beth's embarassment. "Th-that," she says, eventually. "The... the rules. And the other things."
Ann reaches out in the dark, fingertips finding one of Beth's forearms, and takes her friend's hand in her own. She squeezes Beth's hand, a silent gesture of support and acceptance, then lays back down in her sleeping bag, feeling the awful nauseating tension ebbing away.
"How did you meet your... your person? Your, um, owner."
Ann freezes. She can't have this conversation with Beth right now, especially without her mom's permission. She stays silent for a few seconds, then says "it's complicated. Can we talk about it another time?"
"Sure," Beth replies. "I guess it's not really my business, anyway." She falls silent again, and this time it feels comfortable, companionable. Ann rolls onto her back and stares up at the ceiling, and she hears Beth yawn from her bed. "Goodnight, Ann," her friend says, and Ann wishes her goodnight in return before both of them drift off to sleep.
Ann has definitely slept in worse places than her own bedroom floor. When she awakens, the first glimmers of pre-dawn sunlight are spilling through the window and the scent of coffee is already in the air. She smiles, stretches, and sits up, well-rested and ready to face the day. She can hear the quiet sounds of her mom bustling around the kitchen - the beep of the oven starting, the scrape of a whisk against a bowl. Beth is still sleeping soundly in Ann's bed, so Ann gets to her feet silently and pads into the kitchen in her pyjamas.
"Morning, sweetheart," her mom says. She sets her whisk down to hug Ann warmly, then draws back just enough to lay a soft kiss on her daughter's forehead. "You look so cute like that," she remarks, and Ann blushes. She's glad her mom finds the just-woke-up, still-wearing-pyjamas, didn't-even-brush-her-hair look appealing. Her mom touches her fingertips to Ann's jaw, then trails them lightly down the side of her throat, lighting on her collar; Ann stills, and her mom leans closer to whisper "my beautiful girl". Ann squeaks, embarassed, and her mom gives her a final affectionate squeeze, then lets go and turns to pour a cup of coffee. She hands it to Ann, who takes it gratefully.
"Did you sleep okay?"
Ann nods. "The floor's not so bad, really."
Her mom laughs quietly. "I wasn't sure whether you'd actually stay on the floor or not. Your bed's big enough for two, after all."
Ann flushes at the thought. "I... I wouldn't without asking you first, mom."
"Hmm," her mom says. "I suppose we've never actually talked about that before. Well, you certainly have my permission to share a bed with Beth if you'd both like that. Anything else you want to do, though - ask me first."
Ann looks down into her cup of coffee, peering into the dark liquid like a fortune-teller looking for insight. "I don't, um. I don't know if Beth wants to... do anything else. With me."
There's a pause, just the sounds of her mom rolling out dough and of shared contemplation, and then her mom says, "let's talk about it after Beth leaves."
"Yes, mom," Ann replies.
Eventually, Beth emerges from Ann's bedroom, padding barefoot into the kitchen, tentative like she's not sure she's quite allowed. She's almost swallowed up by the oversized t-shirt she's wearing, and Ann realizes for the first time just how skinny Beth is. She beckons her over to the table and gestures to the chair opposite her.
"Good morning, Beth," her mom says, from the counter. "Did you sleep well?"
Beth nods. "Oh yes. I don't think I've slept that well in a long time. Thank you so much for letting me stay. Ann, your bed's so comfortable. Now I feel even worse for making you sleep on the floor, though."
Ann giggles. "It's fine. We used to go camping a lot, so I've slept all kinds of places. I don't mind the floor, and you seemed like you could really use the rest."
Ann's mom sets a mug of coffee in front of Beth, who accepts it gratefully. "I... think I really did. I feel like a whole new person."
"Well," Ann's mom says, as she slides a bake tray into the oven. "I meant it when I said you're always welcome over here. I'm sure Ann won't mind sharing her room, and I bet her bed would sleep two if you're both comfortable with that."
Beth doesn't say anything, and when Ann looks over at her she's blushing a deep red. "We - we could do that," she says, after a short pause. "I don't want to kick you out of your own bed."
"It's fine, Beth, really - not that I'm saying no to sharing, but you don't have to share for my sake. I don't mind sleeping in a sleeping bag."
Beth looks even more embarassed somehow, so Ann takes one of her hands and squeezes it. "We'll sort it out next time."
"Thanks," Beth says in a small voice. Behind her, Ann hears one of the burners on the stove igniting, then hears a sizzle. A few minutes later, pancakes start appearing on the table; Beth asks for seconds again, which Ann's mom is only too happy to provide. The oven beeps, and her mom pulls a tray of steaming biscuits out and sets them aside to cool. Ann feels a surge of affection for her mom, so she gets up, walks up behind her, and hugs her from behind, arms around her waist.
"Thanks for making breakfast," she says.
"No problem, sweetheart," her mom replies. "I like seeing my girls well-fed."
The phrase "my girls" settles in Ann's chest, filling her with warmth. She gives her mom another squeeze then turns just in time to catch a strange expression on Beth's face - a mix of sadness and longing. The instant Ann turns and sees her looking, Beth averts her eyes, staring down at her own lap. Ann doesn't want to embarass Beth by asking about it in front of her mom, so she silently clears their plates and sets them down neatly by the sink for herself to wash later.
"I better go," Beth says, getting up from the table.
"Okay," her mom replies. "You're certainly welcome to stay longer if you want to, though."
Beth gives her a brittle smile. "I appreciate it, Miss Lewis, really, but I should get home. I'll go change and gather my things."
"Do you need a ride home?"
Beth shakes her head. "My car's parked on campus."
"Alright," her mom says. "Go get dressed, then. I'm sending you home with some of these, too," she continues, gesturing at the tray of cooling biscuits.
A few minutes later, once Beth's gone, Ann and her mom sit down at the kitchen table together, both slowly working their way through their second cups of coffee for the day. Ann's mom gives her a fond look, filled with warmth, and Ann responds with a shy smile.
"Thanks for letting her stay, mom," Ann says.
"Of course, sweetheart. She seemed like she needed a little break from her home life. I meant it when I said she's welcome here any time."
Ann looks down at the wood surface of the table, running a fingertip along a grain in the wood. "I think I like her, mom," she admits.
Her mom doesn't reply, so Ann looks up at her. She's surprised to see her mom looking contemplative. Eventually, her mom says: "I thought you might. Do you want to - to date her?"
"Can I?"
Ann's mom doesn't say anything, and Ann is shocked to see tears welling in the corners of her eyes. "Ann," she says, voice rough. "I want you to - to have all the happiness in the world, so - so yes. You can."
Ann frowns, gets up from her seat, and comes to kneel next to her mom. She settles onto her knees and looks up at her, both hands reaching for her mom's and squeezing them tight. "Mom?"
Her mom looks down at her, eyes moist. "Ann, I... I love you, and I love what we have, but I've always known that eventually you'd want something - something normal, with someone your age. Something you don't have to - to be ashamed of," she finishes, her voice trailing off into a whisper. There's a depth of pain there, of loss, that drives Ann off her knees and into her mother's lap. Her mom wraps her arms around her and Ann burrows as close as she can to her.
"Mom, I'm - I wouldn't. I belong to you, remember?" She takes one of her mother's hands and gently tugs it to her own collar, to the physical symbol of what they share. "I love you, mom, and I'm not ashamed of you, and I never want to give up what we have. Not for anything. Ever."
Her mom squeezes her, so tightly Ann can't fully draw a breath, then kisses Ann on the temple. "Ann," she says. "You're so special, but I can't let you give up a chance for happiness for - for me. I know you're mine, but if not being mine was the path for you to find love, I'd let you go in a heartbeat."
Ann shakes her head, her own emotions rising. The idea sickens her, makes her dizzy. "Please don't - don't say that. I don't want that."
Her mom sniffles. "I won't, sweetheart. Not unless you want me to. But - what about Beth, then?"
"I don't know."
Her mom strokes her hair softly. "My poor girl. Well. I think maybe you should... talk to Beth about it."
Ann looks up at her mom, shocked. "You mean I should tell her about - about us?"
Her mom kisses her forehead, lips warm and soft. "I think that if you want to try to make things work with Beth, then you owe her the truth, especially if you also want to continue our... relationship while you do. I'll - I'll permit you to tell her about us, in as much detail as you want, Ann."
Ann can feel her heart beating faster just thinking about it. She loves her mom deeply, and she meant what she said about not being ashamed earlier, but still, she's never breathed a word of their relationship to another soul. It's so weird that she can't imagine anyone else would ever understand just how much it means to her, and she doesn't want anyone to think badly of her mom. She especially doesn't want Beth to, she realizes, and fear curdles in her belly.
"I'll think about it," she manages. Her mom laces her fingers through her hair and pushes her head gently downward, and Ann lets out a deep breath, exhaling some of her tension with it. She sits in comfortable silence for a bit, then says: "Mom, if I have to pick between you and anyone else, I'll always pick you. You know that, right?"
Her mom squeezes her close again, as though trying to meld Ann's body into her own. "Same, sweetheart," she replies. "I just want you to be happy."
"I am," Ann says. "I can't imagine not being with you, mom. I'll... think more about telling Beth, but no matter how that goes, if she wants to date, she'll have to accept that - that you and I will be together, too."
Her mom doesn't say anything to that, and perhaps there are no words for her feelings; instead, she just holds her girl close and kisses her and kisses her and kisses her until everything else starts to fade away.
Li's dorm room is even less nice than Ann expected. The walls are bare cinderblock, just painted over in an ugly yellow color, and there's a single mean little window facing northward that lets in very little light. It's in Burke House, Dawson's oldest dorm building, and one of the only two on campus that is still single-gender, which definitely compliments the 1970s-style institutional ambience. There are very few personal touches to be seen, either - Li's clothes are all neatly put away, her desk is nearly bare except for her laptop and a handful of textbooks, and the single narrow bed is crisply made and spotless. Ann feels like she's stepping into an airport hotel room rather than someone's home.
Li herself contrasts powerfully with the bland neutrality of her dorm room. Ann's used to seeing her in a hoodie and loosely-fitted jeans in class, practically the university student's uniform, but today Li's wearing a pink skirt that reaches down to just below her knees and a cream-colored blouse. The more feminine style fits her strikingly well, and Ann busies herself digging out her school supplies partly so that she won't stare at her friend.
Jay arrives a couple of minutes later. He steps through the open doorway and stops abruptly when he spots Li. "Woah."
Li blushes, a hint of red decorating sharp cheekbones. "Hi," she replies.
He sets his book bag down on the floor by Li's desk. "New look?"
"I felt like being a bit more feminine today."
It's Jay's turn to blush, which he hides by focusing on finding a notebook in his disaster area of a backpack. "It looks good on you," he says.
"Thanks," Li says, pointedly not looking at him. Awkward tension hangs in the air, thankfully broken a minute later by Beth arriving. There's only so much space in the room, so while Jay and Li both have their stuff spread out on the floor, Ann's sitting at one end of Li's bed. Beth looks indecisive for a moment, then sits down on the bed by Ann, a few inches away from her. Ann can feel the other girl's near proximity to her as a gentle pull in her chest, and she pointedly moves a bit closer to Beth, then gives her a questioning look. Beth gives her a shy little smile, so Ann moves closer still until they're sitting cross-legged next to each other with their knees just lightly touching. Ann puts a hand on one of Beth's knees and rubs the fabric of her threadbare tights gently with her thumb, and Beth looks away, blush coloring her cheeks.
"So," Jay says from the floor, thankfully oblivious. "We need to work through the odd-numbered exercises from chapter 2, then there's a couple of other problems on the course website I think. I guess we better start by walking through the material together first though. Who wants to start?"
"I can," Li says, folding her legs beneath her as she gets comfortable. "So, first off we had..."
After a couple of hours, they aren't quite done with the entire homework assignment but they've certainly made far more progress than Ann would've on her own. Jay decrees a snack break, then surprised everyone by pulling a bag of chips and a couple of packs of candy out of his backpack to share with everyone. "So," he says in between mouthfuls of gummy worms, "what are you all doing for thanksgiving?"
Beth's grandparents apparently have a big thanksgiving celebration every year, which she's already looking forward to a lot. Ann, of course, is spending thanksgiving with her mom. Jay's going to be driving back home for it, spending it with his parents and the rest of their community (he calls it a commune, and Ann can't tell if that's a joke or not). When it's Li's turn, she stays silent until Jay prompts her again, then says "I'm just staying here."
"Aw," Jay says. "You're not going home?"
She shakes her head. "I'd rather not see my family any more than I have to," she says, bitterness edging her tone.
Jay scoots closer to her until he can offer her a hand; she looks down at it for a second, then takes it in her own. "I'm sure you'd be welcome at ours, if you want," he says. Li looks up at him as if trying to read his face; there's nothing but sincerity and compassion there.
"Or ours," Beth adds.
"Or ours," Ann echoes.
Li looks like she's about to cry. She curls into herself, pulling her legs up against her chest, and presses her forehead into her knees. Jay moves a little closer so he can put an arm around her shoulders, and Li begins to sob softly. Ann and Beth exchange a look, then slide off the bed onto the floor to join them. Gradually, Li stills, then raises her head, sniffling, tears still drying on her cheeks.
"Sorry," she mutters.
Jay, arm still around her shoulders, squeezes her. "It's okay," he says.
"I -", Li starts, then cuts herself off. She takes a deep breath in, screws her eyes shut, and says: "I need to tell you guys something. About me."
She lapses into a tense silence, as though gathering her courage, and Ann reaches for her and lays a hand on her shoulder. "Whatever it is, Li," she says, "we're not going to judge you or anything." Whatever secret Li's holding in, Ann is sure, it can't be as large as her own. She glances sideways at Beth, wondering how she's going to find the courage to bring it up with her.
"I'm not a girl," Li says. There is a profound pause.
"Oh," Jay says.
"What do you mean?", Beth asks.
Li shakes her (?) head. "I mean I'm a - a boy."
Jay says, slowly, quietly: "You're a... do you mean you're trans, Li?"
"No," Li snaps. She stands up, shaking her friends off. "I mean I'm a stupid little boy playing dress up, Jay. I wish I could be a girl, so much that sometimes it makes me want to die, but I'm not. I can't be." She backs away, climbing onto her bed and pressing herself into the corner of her cell-like dorm room, looking thoroughly miserable.
Ann squeezes Beth's hand again, then climbs onto the bed next to Li, as close to her as she can get without touching her or crowding her. "Li, you're... I mean, wishing you were a girl and dressing like a girl and using a girl's name seems like you are a girl. What makes you say you're not?"
"All of it feels fake," Li whispers, bitter and resigned.
Jay moves to kneel by the side of the bed, looking up at Li. "You're a girl to all of us, Li, just as much as Ann and Beth are."
Li sniffles again. "I wish I felt like it, I guess."
Cautiously, Ann reaches for Li, and pulls the other woman into a gentle hug. "I hope you will someday," she says.
"Well," Li says. "Now you know my - what's wrong with me."
"Is that why you don't want to go home for thanksgiving?", Jay asks.
Li nods. "My parents... they can't know about this. I'd have to - to go back to being a boy if I went home."
"Well," Jay says. "In that case, you're definitely extra invited to thanksgiving at my place. I'm pretty sure my parents will be cool about it, and if they're not we'll turn right back around and drive back here."
In a tiny voice, infinitely vulnerable, Li says: "really?". Ann's heart aches for her.
"Yeah," Jay says firmly. "I mean, I'm like ninety-nine percent sure it won't be a thing, but if it is, we're out of there right away. Seriously. Although," he continues, "I don't think they'll know unless you tell them, on account of, you know."
Li looks up at him. "On account of what?"
He blushes slightly. "Li, you're... I don't know how to say this the right way, but I don't see how anyone could ever look at you and think you're anything other than a girl. I mean, you're - you're really beautiful."
Li swallows. "No, I'm not."
"Jay's right," Ann says quietly. Beth nods her agreement as well.
Li looks overwhelmed, like she's on the verge of crying again. "Thanks," she mutters. "I'm just... it's a lot. I've never told anyone else before."
Ann squeezes Li gently, feeling a bit of the taut energy in the other woman's body starting to ebb. "Thank you for trusting us," she says. A comfortable silence falls over the four of them. Ann holds onto Li, and Beth comes to sit right next to the still-kneeling Jay, leaning against his side; he puts an arm around her shoulders, and Ann feels a spark of affection for both of them settle in her chest.
Eventually, Jay breaks the silence. "So you're coming to thanksgiving at my place, right?"
"Jay," Ann says, smiling. "We're having a moment here."
"I know," Jay says, with a grin. "I just can only handle so many feelings at once without saying something, you know?"
"We've noticed," Beth murmurs.
"Okay, well," Jay replies, with mock defensiveness. "There's so much feminine energy in here that someone has to balance it out by being emotionally immature, and I don't see any of you stepping up."
Ann and Beth both break into giggles, and a few moments later Li joins in. "I don't know what we'd do without you," Ann says.
Jay shudders. "It doesn't bear thinking about. Anyway, ladies, who wants to get back to the problem set?"
"We'd better," Li says, sounding steadier. "And Jay - I'll go to your family's thanksgiving, if that's okay."
His smile lights the room.
Beth quite likes Professor Marsh. He's a portly, bright-eyed man with a greying full beard who's always quick with a smile. He can't seem to stop making incredibly corny jokes, either, despite the consistent groans from the class. He reminds her very strongly of her grandfather, which sends a pang of loss through her, and she makes a mental note to visit her grandma some time soon. Professor Marsh finishes scrawling an illegible formula across the whiteboard, turns to the class, tosses the whiteboard marker high in the air, and fails to catch it as it falls.
"Any questions?", he says, while ducking to grab the fallen marker.
It's four minutes to the end of class, late in Friday afternoon, and Beth is having to cudgel her brain into staying focused on the material. She's had butterflies in her stomach all afternoon, and her nerves have been gradually tightening as the end of classes for the week approaches. After intro physics finishes, she's going to have a stay over at Ann's overnight again, which... she guesses it's a sleepover, even though that sounds embarassingly juvenile. Ann invited her over again while they were eating lunch together yesterday. Beth would've been a bit ashamed to accept even though she very badly wanted to, if Ann hadn't also mentioned that her mom very much wanted her to visit again. Beth learned something important about herself then, which was that she doesn't like the idea of disappointing Miss Lewis at all.
Silence answers Professor Marsh's question, so he dismisses the class. Beth packs her things quickly and leaves, bidding farewells to the couple of other students she knows. She walks over to the student center with her heart in her throat, thoughts circling fruitlessly. She likes Ann - she really likes Ann - and the thought of spending a lot more time with her makes her feel warm and happy. Ann's a great friend, and she's so kind and caring and affectionate that being around her makes Beth feel like she's floating in a warm bath.
That's all pretty simple, though. What's bothering her currently is how she feels about Ann's mother. Miss Lewis is just as kind and caring as Ann is, and she seems to have simply decided to treat Beth as if she was her own daughter. At lunch yesterday, Ann's lunchbox had two pudding cups for dessert instead of just one, and the second had a little note on it simply reading "For Beth", and Beth has been thinking about that off and on since. It makes her heart feel like it's too full, somehow. It's a small thing but she can't remember the last time either of her own parents did something that made her feel that way.
On top of that, there's... the other thoughts. She doesn't like admitting to them, even in the privacy of her own head, but there's something about Miss Lewis that seems to have lodged itself in her mind. It's a way of speaking she has, or a presence, or something like that which just fascinates Beth endlessly, and she finds herself replaying the tiniest interactions over and over, feeling a strange and forbidden thrill as she does. The last time she was at Ann's house, she remembers, Miss Lewis was always around them both, guiding and directing and giving these little casual touches that raise goosebumps on Beth's skin even as memories. Last night, as she was trying to get to sleep, she found herself reliving one particular thing that she can't stop thinking about. She was sitting at the kitchen table, she remembers, and Ann was doing dishes, and Miss Lewis was sitting across from her, relaxed, comfortable, exuding a kind of poise and confidence that Beth didn't even know could exist until that very moment. Her best friend's mom had asked her how their writing session had gone, and when Beth had said (shyly) that she'd finished her story and was fairly happy with it, Miss Lewis had given her this... look, and then she'd said simply "good girl", and the way those two words sounded coming from her is still flitting around inside Beth's ribcage like a captive butterfly.
So yes, Beth is nervous to be spending another night at Ann's apartment. Having a crush on Ann is one thing; Beth's never had a real crush before, even as a teenager, and she had always sort of assumed she just hadn't met the right boy yet. She's not too terribly surprised to find that in fact she hadn't met the right girl yet. Of course, she doesn't know if Ann feels the same way, and she doesn't want to bring it up and maybe ruin things, so she'll just have to try not to be weird about it. On top of that, there's the strange electrified way that Miss Lewis makes her feel, like she just wants to do anything at all to make the older woman happy with her. She's never felt that way about anyone else before and isn't sure what it means, except that it's exciting and hot and bright in her chest.
Ann's waiting for her on one of the benches outside the student center, looking relaxed and at ease. She looks extremely put together - Ann always does, Beth thinks - in calf-length boots, a dark crimson skirt that falls past her knees (worn over tights, since this is Yellowknife) and a fitted long-sleeved shirt beneath a long coat. It hugs Ann's slender figure, and beneath the unzipped neck of her coat Beth can see the black leather collar Ann always wears. She's been thinking about that collar quite a bit over the past few days. When she first met Ann she assumed it was just a fashion accessory. She knows better now, and she can't stop imagining what it might be like if she, too, had a collar she wasn't allowed to take off. She feels a hot wash of shame as she remembers that last night, those thoughts were jumbled together with everything else swirling around in her mind and she actually imagined how it might feel if she had a collar given to her by Miss Lewis. She felt an intense wave of guilt as she imagined it, and an equally powerful pulse of sudden desire that made her wish intensely that she didn't share a room with her younger sister.
Beth has no plans to ever admit to that, though, nor to allow it to happen again. Fantasizing about her friend's mom is just so - she shakes herself, cutting off the thought. Ann spots her, grins broadly, and jogs over to pull Beth into a warm hug. Beth hugs her back, reminding herself to stay on her best behavior tonight, but her traitorous brain points out that Ann's collar is actually nearly touching her neck as they hug and that if she, Beth, had a collar of her own then they'd...
She wishes she could slap herself, but she can't, so she abruptly breaks the hug. Ann gives her a questioning look, a shade of hurt in her eyes, and Beth feels a fresh spark of shame. She's supposed to be not making things weird and she's already screwing that up. She shakes her head.
"Sorry," she says. "Just cold. Can we go?"
Ann looks relieved. "Sure," she says, and starts leading Beth on the short walk back to her home.
Ann's apartment smells like food - specifically, like roasting meat and potatoes in the oven. It's heavenly after coming in from the autumn cold. Ann's mom greets both her daughter and Beth in the entrance hallway with a warm hug, then says:
"Outside clothes off, girls. Go change into something cozy, then join me in the kitchen."
"Yes, Mom," says Ann. She leads Beth into her bedroom and lends her a set of pyjamas, then unceremoniously starts undressing. Blushing, Beth turns and changes; by the time she turns back, Ann is wearing an oversized t-shirt over loose sweatpants, and is redoing her hair into a loose bun. With her hair pulled up off her neck, her collar stands out even more, and Beth's mouth goes dry as the thought of kissing Ann just beneath that strip of leather comes unbidden to mind. She averts her eyes and shoves the thought away.
"Everything okay?"
Beth is doing an awful job of not making things weird. "Yeah," she says. "Just in my head."
Ann takes a couple of steps closer, picks up Beth's hand and squeezes it. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"We shouldn't keep your mom waiting," Beth deflects.
Ann gives her an appraising look, but just says, "alright."
When they get back into the kitchen, Miss Lewis tells them both to sit at the table. Beth takes her seat, and Miss Lewis comes over carrying a pair of plates. Beth spots a third plate of food waiting on the counter, and gets up to fetch it.
"Beth?"
It's Ann's mom. Beth stops. "Yes?"
"I believe I told you to sit."
Beth flushes. "Sorry, Miss Lewis," she squeaks, and drops back into her seat. "I wanted to help you carry."
Ann's mom smiles at her, setting one of the plates in front of her. "I appreciate that, young lady, but when I give an instruction I expect it to be obeyed. Do you understand?"
Beth clenches her fists in her lap, ashamed. "I do. I'm sorry."
Miss Lewis sets the other plate in front of Ann, then lays a hand on Beth's shoulder. "It's alright. I know you were trying to help."
Beth nods, still feeling like she's messed things up. Ann's mom squeezes her shoulder gently, then turns to fetch her own plate. When Beth glances up, Ann is giving her a look of sympathy and understanding.
Despite her mistake, Ann and her mom are just as warm as they always are, and Beth soon finds herself drawn into a conversation about the previous week of classes and homework, and about Miss Lewis' work as a nurse. Yellowknife's main hospital is apparently vastly understaffed, like all the others, and she's been working long shifts with few days off. Today's her first in a while, and when Ann's mom describes how excited she was to have the afternoon off to spend with "her girls", Beth's heart squeezes in an unfamiliar way.
After dinner, Miss Lewis announces that it's time for a movie. She makes herself comfortable on the couch, and Ann curls up next to her, pressed into her side. Miss Lewis puts an arm around her daughter's shoulders and Ann rests her head on her mom's shoulder with a contented sigh. Beth, feeling awkward, takes a spot at the end of the couch, as far away as she can get. She folds her hands in her lap and looks away.
"Beth?"
She glances over, and Miss Lewis pats a spot on the couch right next to her. "If you'd like to join us, you're very welcome."
Beth bites her lip, caught between two warring impulses. She can't let either Ann or Miss Lewis know about the thoughts she's been having, but... surely if she's invited, it's okay, isn't it?
Miss Lewis gives her a gentle smile. "Can't decide?"
Beth gives a tiny nod, embarassed at her own behavior.
"Come here, then."
Beth scoots a bit closer and sits, body rigid. Miss Lewis lays an arm around her shoulder and gently pulls her closer until Beth's thigh is pressed against hers. She leans in close until her lips are right by Beth's ear.
"Is that alright, Beth? You seem scared."
Beth swallows. "I'm - I'm fine, Miss Lewis."
"You don't seem fine, Beth. If you don't want to cuddle up with us, you're welcome to go back to your spot. I just thought you might want to be a bit closer."
Beth feels her cheeks heating. "Sorry. I do want to, I just don't, um. I don't get a lot of... affection, I guess."
There's a silent pause, and then Ann's mom says, "oh, honey. Come here." She pulls Beth in close, turns the girl's head gently to push it gently into the curve of her neck. Beth inhales her scent, a blend of vanilla and something earthy and enticing. She squeezes Beth and simply keeps holding her, and after a minute or so Beth feels herself gradually start to relax. Ann's mom gives her a final squeeze then loosens her grip.
"Feeling better?"
"Mhm," Beth says, nodding. "I'll stay."
Ann's mom smiles at her. "If you'd be more comfortable there, you can sit on the floor instead."
"The - the floor?"
"If you want. There's a pillow down there to sit on."
Beth draws in a shaky breath. It's weird, undeniably, but something about it is exciting, too. "I don't... I don't know."
Ann's mom strokes Beth's forearm lightly, then she says, softly but firmly: "Well, I do. On the floor, Beth."
"Y-yes, Miss Lewis," Beth says, fighting down a sudden rush of warmth. Her skin's hot, and she thinks she can feel her own pulse throbbing between her legs. God, what's wrong with her? How can she be feeling like this about her best friend's mom, of all people? She slips from the couch and sinks down onto the pillow - not cross-legged, but on her knees. It just feels correct, and as she settles into a comfortable pose, Miss Lewis lays a hand on the back of her neck. Beth stills immediately, feeling somehow safe and vulnerable at the same time.
"Comfy?"
Beth's words seem to be coming with rather more difficulty than usual, so she gives a jerky nod.
"Good," Miss Lewis purrs. "Ann, fetch your other pillow and join her."
"Yes, Mom," Ann murmurs. Beth hears her leave and return, and then Ann lays another identical pillow on the floor on the other side of Miss Lewis' legs. Ann folds herself onto the pillow, kneeling as well, and her mom lays her other hand on the back of her daughter's neck. Two of her fingers curl around Ann's collar, and Beth hears her friend whimper softly.
"Good girls," Miss Lewis says, voice edged with an unfamiliar harmonic. "It seems like both my hands are occupied, so Ann, please start the movie. If either of you need to get up for any reason, you'll ask my permission. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Mom," Ann says immediately.
"Beth? Is that clear?"
Beth swallows, anxious. "Y-yes, Miss Lewis. It's clear."
"Perfect," Ann's mom says. She scratches Beth's head affectionately, then lets go of both girls and sits back comfortably on the couch. Ann leans sideways against her mom's legs, and Beth mirrors her movement, relaxing against Miss Lewis. The position is surprisingly comfortable, and the feeling of kneeling by the older woman like this is intoxicating. Ann's mom periodically runs her fingertips through Beth's hair, or lightly plays her nails across her scalp, or lays a hand on the back of her neck, and each time it makes Beth shudder in pleasure and she finds herself sinking more and more into an unfamiliar bliss.
She couldn't possibly say what the movie was even about. By the time the credits roll, she's in a daze, every sense fully alive and all of them directed entirely at the older woman behind her. She's never felt this way before - never even imagined it was possible to feel this way - and when Miss Lewis shifts to stand up, breaking physical contact with her, she feels an abrupt and aching sense of loss.
Ann's mom stretches, then offers each of her girls a hand to get to their feet. Ann's eyes are glassy and unfocused, her lips slightly parted, her face flushed, and it seems like she doesn't feel any more like talking than Beth does. Miss Lewis pulls both of them into a warm hug. She lays a kiss on each girl's forehead, then says simply: "Bedtime, girls."
Ann is floating, utterly relaxed and comfortable, head empty except for the overpowering desire to please her mom. Her mom walks her and Beth to the bathroom and supervises while they brush their teeth, then takes them both into Ann's room. She orders Beth into bed, and once she's tucked in, gives Beth another soft kiss on the forehead.
"You sleep well, Beth," she says, and gets a soft, keening noise in response. She turns back to her daughter and strokes her jaw lightly. "Come with me, sweetheart. I need to discuss something with you."
"Yes, Mom," murmurs Ann. Her mom leads her back into the kitchen and sits her down at the table, then takes a seat across from her. Ann blinks a few times, trying to clear her head. Her mom gives her an encouraging smile.
"You're pretty far down, aren't you?"
Ann nods. Her mom can make her feel like this with just a few words or a touch, but not usually this deeply.
"Well," her mom says. "Beth is too, so I have a special thing I need you to do for me. I want you to cuddle up with her tonight in your bed, not on the floor, and I want you two to hold onto each other nice and tight, okay? If it seems like Beth's getting upset, or you need help, I want you to come find me right away, but I'd like a little bit of space for the rest of the night. Can you do that for me, sweetheart?"
Ann nods again. She can definitely do that.
"Good," her mom purrs. "Now off to bed with you, and make sure you bring some water for yourself and Beth. I'll see you in the morning."
Ann fills a reusable bottle and brings it back to her bedroom. Beth is curled up on her side in the bed, eyes half-closed, and slowly looks up when Ann enters. The light from the hallway spills in through the open doorway, across her friend's face, and Ann is struck again by how wonderful Beth is. She's not classically beautiful, exactly, but there's some harmony to her features that makes Ann wish she could paint just so she could preserve exactly how Beth looks in this moment. She sits down on the edge of the bed and lays a hand on Beth's shoulder.
"Mom says I should sleep with you tonight."
Beth's lips part slightly. "Okay," she breathes, in a tone that admits how much more than okay it is with her.
Ann pushes her bedroom door shut, climbs into bed, and gathers Beth into her arms. Neither of them is much in the mood for talking, but that's alright, because there's nothing that needs to be said. She holds Beth close, and Beth holds her in return, and both girls gradually fade into sleep.
When Ann wakes, she's happy to find Beth still curled up against her, just beginning to stir as well. She pulls Beth a little closer, strokes her hair softly, and simply enjoys how her friend looks in the early morning sunlight. Beth looks so relaxed and at ease that she almost seems like a different person, or like something that's been buried deep inside her beneath layers of exhaustion and stress is finally starting to show through. Ann wants to see that more. In fact, Ann wants to see that as often as she possibly can.
Beth gradually awakens as well, and Ann welcomes her back to the world with a kiss on the forehead. Beth blushes and presses her forehead against Ann's collarbone. Ann wants to ask how she slept, but the morning silence is lying heavy across both of them and she still doesn't feel much like speaking, so she silently disentangles herself from both her friend and the bedsheets. She stretches slowly, then takes Beth by the hand and leads her into the kitchen.
Her mom's sitting at the table with a steaming cup of coffee and her tablet in front of her. When they enter the kitchen, she looks up at them and her face breaks into a wide grin.
"Come sit, girls," she says, gesturing at the other chairs. Ann does so; Beth takes one of the other chairs, and Ann takes one of her hands and squeezes it warmly. Beth answers her by squeezing back, but her friend's expression is worried.
Her mom sits back. "I was thinking we'd go out for breakfast together this morning, but before we do that I want to talk to both of you about what happened last night, and about... how things are."
She takes another sip of her coffee. She looks calm and confident on the surface, but Ann knows her mom well enough to read the little signs of tension hidden in her posture; she can't remember the last time she saw her mom this nervous. She has a sudden impulse to slip out of her chair and onto her knees, to comfort her mom that way, but she's been ordered to sit so sit she will.
"Beth," her mom goes on. "Last night, I didn't really intend for things to unfold the way they did. I wanted to talk things through between the three of us first, but - well, the reasons don't matter that much, I suppose. I'll just say that I feel a kind of connection with you, and I followed where that connection led. Do you understand?"
Ann is watching Beth's face intently. A confused mix of emotions are on display: fear, anxiety, affection, and a kind of wistful longing that makes Ann's heart ache.
"I - I do, Miss Lewis," Beth says quietly. "I feel it as well."
"I know," her mom says. "Well. You've probably figured this out already, but Ann and I also have... that kind of connection. We have for a long time. Ann's collar is a symbol of it. She's my daughter, but she also belongs to me. Do you know what that means?"
Beth flushes. "I saw her list of rules. By accident," she adds hastily, when her mom's eyes widen.
Ann's mom smiles, and the subtle signs of her nervousness start fading away. "It means a lot more than just rules, but yes, those are a part of it. Anyway, I mention that because... because I like you, Beth, and because I know Ann likes you as well, and I want to try having that kind of connection with you. With both of you. Do you understand what I mean by that?"
Beth is silent for a long moment, then whispers: "You want... me to belong to you, as well?"
Ann's mom nods. "If that's what you want. If you don't, that's okay, we can still - well, we can sort things out, and if you want to be with Ann but not with me, I'll completely understand, but -"
Beth gets up, takes two quick steps closer, then sinks to her knees in front of Ann's mom in silent answer. Ann's heart leaps, a sudden rush of joy and wonder warming her from within.
Ann's mom strokes Beth's hair gently. "Oh, sweetheart," she says, tears shining in her eyes. "It's not quite that simple, but I appreciate that very much. I can't... I can't accept that from you, not right now. I need you to take some time and some space, to make sure this is really what you want. You have my blessing to date my daughter, no matter what, but if you want to belong to me as well, I need you to - to think it over for a few days, okay? Come stay over with us next Friday night, and we'll talk about it again then. Can you do that?"
Beth nods. "Yes, Miss Lewis."
Ann's mom leans over and presses her forehead to Beth's. "I just...", she says, a tender expression on her face. "I really don't want you to regret anything, Beth. I mean, I'm - I'm a lot older than you, for one thing, and I'm also your friend's mom. I'm so..." She sighs, staring down at her coffee, one hand still absently tangled in Beth's hair. "You know," she says, "when things first started with Ann, I felt just like this. I was so worried about hurting her, about things going wrong, and I - well, that's a story for another time, but I just... I couldn't live with myself if I hurt either of you. So. I want you to spend some time thinking this over on your own, that's all."
She lapses into silence, petting Beth affectionately, and takes another sip of her coffee. She sniffles, then wipes her face with a napkin, and gives Ann a small, tentative smile.
"Alright, girls. Go shower - Beth, you first - and get dressed, and then we're going out for breakfast. No hurry. I still have my coffee to finish."
Yellowknife, even downtown, isn't all that much of a city. After less than ten minutes of driving, things start to thin out noticeably, and before too long the world is reduced to a slender ribbon of road running through almost untouched wilderness. Her mom is driving, big sunglasses on against the bright morning sky, quietly singing along to a silly pop song. Ann glances over at her from time to time, heart warmed by how happy and relaxed she looks. Her mom's such a warm and joyful person that just being around her always makes Ann feel better too. She's never met anyone who enjoys life so much, and despite working long hours at a stressful job Ann never really sees her in a bad mood. It's impressive, and it makes Ann want to live like her mom does, assuming she can figure out how.
Her mom interrupts her own singing as the song starts to fade into an instrumental section. "You have your notebook, sweetheart?"
Ann pulls it out of her backpack and holds it up; her mom glances over and smiles. Ann lays the notebook in her own lap and runs her fingertips over the textured cover. It's decorated with a few different animal stickers, and across the front is written, in Ann's best handwriting, the title "YELLOWKNIFE PARKS". The notebook is the continuation of a tradition that Ann started years ago, as a young girl back in Ottawa; every time she visits a new park, she writes something about it in a special journal. Her original Ottawa park notebook filled up, as did her second one, so now she has three separate Ottawa notebooks at home, all filled with happy memories of places explored and time spent together.
Her Yellowknife notebook is empty so far, and her mom doesn't have work until the evening, so they're going on a short drive together to visit a little park she's read about among the seemingly endless array of lakes that surround the city. Ann made sure to bring her camera as well. Many of the pages of her Ottawa park books have photos she took, and though she's not much of a photographer, she loves looking back on them. There's this one photo she finds herself going back to look at from time to time. It's from the summer when she'd just turned fifteen, and she and her mom had decided to take a day trip to Montreal. The photo is of her mom, wearing a skirt and a tank top and not much else in the summer heat, working her way through an ice cream cone. She's looking into the camera, eyes shining, and she looks so perfectly in her element and at ease and just beautifully, wonderfully alive that Ann has still never seen anything like it. When she looks back on it, it's no surprise that her long-standing crush on her mom started to bloom into something much deeper.
The song winds down, and her mom lets out a happy sigh. She glances over, perhaps checking that Ann's still awake, then turns the radio way down.
"How're you feeling about things with Beth?"
Ann opens the blank notebook, flipping slowly through the empty pages, pen in one hand. She thinks like that for a little while, then eventually replies: "Mostly excited, and a bit nervous."
Her mom nods, eyes still on the road. "I'm kind of... I feel bad about last night. I wanted to talk through things with her - and with you - a lot more before anything happened."
"I think she had a great time," Ann says. "She was in such a good mood this morning."
"I guess," her mom says, then goes quiet for a little while. "I just really don't want to hurt her, you know? She's so special, and I just... I feel like I'm getting to show her something magical about herself for the first time, and I really want her to like it."
Ann reaches across the center console and lays a hand lightly on her mom's knee. "Mom, I can't imagine anyone better than you for Beth to have that with. I mean, I still remember our first time together, how careful and gentle and patient you were with me. I really can't imagine you hurting her."
Her mom drops one hand off the wheel to take Ann's and squeezes it affectionately. "There's also you, though, sweetheart. I don't want to screw things up between you and her. It seems like you really like each other."
Ann feels a gentle blush color her cheeks. "I hope so," she says. "But I - I think that both of us want you to be... there. As the three of us, I mean. I know that's what I want, anyway, and I bet Beth wants that too."
Her mom is quiet for a long while after that, then says: "I hope she does. I love you, and I - I already care quite a lot about Beth, I think. She deserves good things, and I really want to be able to give them to her."
"We'll talk about it," Ann says.
"Yeah," her mom replies. "Well. I'm on shift on Wednesday night, so if you want to invite Beth over to spend some time with just her, you have my permission."
Ann lightly squeezes her mom's leg, cheeks coloring further as she starts to consider what she and Beth might get up to on their own. "Thanks," she says. "I'll, um. I'll see if she wants to stay over."
Her mom shoots her a quick grin. "No sex with her yet, hon, if that's what you were thinking."
"Mom!"
"Trust me," her mom says. "It'll be better if you wait."
"You always make me wait," Ann says, pouting in mock irritation.
"And it's always better," her mom replies. "Isn't it?"
Ann presses her thighs together, abruptly overtaken by a memory of the most recent time her mom let her orgasm. "Y-yes Mom," she stammers.
Her mom's hand wanders over to Ann's legs, squeezes a thigh. "That's my girl," she says.
Beth feels like she's still dreaming. All through breakfast with Miss Lewis and with Ann, through the walk to her car and the hour-long drive home, everything has felt faintly unreal. It isn't until she starts gradually coming back to herself that she realizes what it was: she'd forgotten about her own life. All her normal cares and worries and responsibilities had simply faded from her mind and she'd temporarily forgotten them, and for the first time since she was about thirteen Beth had felt really, truly able to just be. Normally she hates Saturday mornings, because there's always so many chores that need to be done, but right now she just isn't bothered by that at all. Everything else seems unimportant, compared to the hot, bright feelings settling into her heart.
She's been thinking about Ann and her mother the entire time since they parted ways after breakfast. Ann, who is so sweet and kind and heart-stoppingly cute and affectionate and warm and so many other things that it just makes Beth want to doodle her name over and over in a notebook surrounded by little hearts. Ann, her best friend. Ann, her first crush, if you can even call what she feels a crush. It feels like more than that, something deeper and more profound.
And then there's Miss Lewis. Beth's feelings are swirling around her, a bewildering mess, and she's almost overcome by a mix of familial affection, longing, and something dark and almost primal that she can't put a name to. It's like sexual attraction, but more so, or with another dimension to it that Beth's never felt before. All she knows, really, is that she can't stop thinking about kneeling for Miss Lewis, and that her mouth goes dry and her pulse pounds in her throat when she thinks about what might come after the kneeling.
So that's... that. She's into both Ann and her mom, and she has not the faintest idea what to do about it. Until yesterday she would've simply kept her feelings to herself, but now - surely Miss Lewis knew the effect she was having on her last night, didn't she? And she kept on... doing what she was doing, giving orders and touching gently and being so very herself that Beth had felt sure she'd physically melt into a puddle at any moment. And then there's Ann, who seemed so content, so excited for her, who held her all night last night and who woke Beth this morning with a gentle kiss on the forehead and a smile so genuine and deep that it made Beth's heart ache.
So now, it seems that against all odds, and in total contradiction to all her previous experiences, there are not one but two amazing women who are interested in her. She has no idea how to choose between them, or even if she has to. Maybe she won't? Clearly, the right thing to do is simply to talk to Ann and her mom about it, although the idea of somehow starting that conversation makes Beth physically cringe.
She pulls into the driveway and heads inside, backpack hanging off one shoulder. The sight of the living room chases away the last remnants of the warm feeling she's been basking in since last night. There are a pair of pizza boxes sitting open on the coffee table, one with three slices of congealed pepperoni pizza still visible inside, and a quartet of soda cans. It looks like someone's knocked one of them over at some point, and there's a pool of mostly-dried grape soda on the vinyl flooring, which nobody has bothered to clean up. Beth rolls her eyes, sighs, and heads for her bedroom to drop off her stuff, change, and see if anyone else is awake yet.
Breakfast is always a challenge. Luckily, Beth finds a box of waffles in the back of the freezer which look like they're still good, and there's part of a bottle of table syrup in the fridge. She pushes the first pair of waffles into the toaster, then digs out the last box of cereal and gives it an experimental shake. There's at least a bowl worth left, which is good because Tim will hardly eat anything else.
She darts down the hallway, past her parents' closed bedroom door, and slips into the boys' room. Both of them are still asleep, so she shakes them awake. "Time to get up, guys," she says, bending down to scoop up some discarded clothing and toss it into their unused laundry hamper. "Come eat, then we'll get you both off to school."
The boys groan, and Jeff rolls over to face away from her. He's about to turn twelve and Beth can already tell he's going to be an extremely surly teenager. Tim, her youngest brother, sits up with an arm over his eyes, hair an absolute disaster, and yawns loudly.
"Already?"
Beth picks up a book that's fallen off the rickety nightstand by his bed and slots it back into the dusty bookshelves. "It'd be easier to get up if you didn't stay up so late reading, but yes, already. Come on, I'll get you some cereal."
With a couple more minutes of persuasion she manages to get Jeff out of bed as well, and soon both boys are dressed, seated at the kitchen table, and eating at least some food. She pours the last of the orange juice for Jeff, drops the carton into the overflowing recycle bin, then hurries off to wake Zoe.
Luckily her sister's already awake and dressed. She's lying on her bed, propped up on her elbows and writing in her journal. She has her headphones on, so Beth comes up to her and taps her on the shoulder. Zoe pulls the headphones down to her neck and looks up at Beth.
"Breakfast?", Beth says. "There's waffles, if you want."
"I'm good," Zoe says. Beth frowns, avoiding looking at her sister's increasingly prominent collarbones or the way her ribs press out against her skin, and instead crouches down to bring her face closer to Zoe's.
"You sure? You need your energy."
Zoe shoots a look at her. "Are you going to eat breakfast?"
Beth swallows. "There's... we need to do some shopping." What she means, of course, is that she needs to visit a food bank again, but it's embarassing, so she pretends, even though Zoe knows the truth perfectly well.
"Yeah," Zoe says. "Exactly. So you can eat the waffles, or we can save them for the boys tomorrow. I'm good."
Beth sighs. Her little sister's growing up just the way she did, and she fervently wishes she wasn't. She gently strokes the younger girl's shoulderblade. "Alright," she says softly. "I'll save them. I'm about to take the boys to school. Do you want a ride on my way into town afterwards?"
"Sure," Zoe says, turning back to her journal. She seems to be writing every waking minute these days. Beth hasn't looked in them, and Zoe's never said what she's writing, but there's a steadily growing pile of cheap cardboard-bound spiral notebooks, bought with some of Zoe's babysitting money. Beth pointedly doesn't peek over her shoulder, and instead goes to start getting herself ready.
Tonight's her first date with Ann, and she very much wants to make a good impression. She digs her favorite dress out of her closet, a trim navy blue mini dress, which she pulls on over her usual base layer of fraying tights and a long-sleeved top. She brushes some lint off her dress, then does her best with her hair.
"What do you think?", she says, turning to Zoe.
Her sister slips her headphones off again and rolls onto her side. "What do I think of what?"
Beth blushes. "My outfit."
Zoe gives her a puzzled look and closes her journal. "Your outfit? It looks normal." She pauses, then her eyes widen. "Wait a second. Do you have a date or something?"
Beth nods. "A - a girl from university."
"Oh," Zoe says. "Oh. Um, well. You look nice." She blushes too and looks back down at the cover of her notebook. "I hope you have a good time."
"Me too," Beth replies. She bites her lower lip. "Are you okay?"
Zoe shrugs. "It's fine, it's just like - I miss you when you're not home, I guess."
Beth swallows, feeling guilty. "Y... yeah, I know. I'm sorry."
"You don't need to be," her sister says, not looking at her. "You already do so much, Beth. You deserve a break from - from this."
Beth feels tears starting to prick in the corners of her eyes. "You know I don't like leaving you and the boys," she says.
Zoe swings her skinny legs off the bed and sits up, tugging on her own ponytail. "We'll be fine. You deserve a night off anyway. And," she adds after another few moments, "I think you look cute. She's going to love it."
Beth flushes. "I hope so."
"Okay, go left onto the Ingraham here, then it'll be like twenty or twenty-five minutes."
Ann grins. "I'm so excited."
"Me too," Beth replies, smiling back at her. Ann's car is a little cocoon of warmth and light against the freezing autumn night as they make their way along the Ingraham Trail east out of the city. The dark sky is completely cloudless, and Beth's hoping that for their first date she'll be able to show Ann the aurora. It's a little early in the season, but the forecast for tonight is pretty good, so with a little bit of luck they'll be able to see something. In the back seat are a couple of camp chairs, a stack of neatly folded blankets, and a pair of thermoses of hot tea - all the ingredients of a comfortable evening outdoors.
Ann was her usual bubbly, talkative self all through the simple dinner they shared at her apartment, but now that she's driving she's a lot quieter, focusing mostly on the road rather than chatting. She drives with a kind of calm, deliberate competence that Beth finds immensely comforting, and she feels some of the anxious tension she's come to associate with being a passenger in cars starting to fade away. She sits back in the passenger seat, a wave of deep exhaustion washing over her, and lets out a long, shuddering sigh as her eyes flutter closed.
"Hey," Ann says, eyes still on the road. "You okay?"
Beth nods. "More than okay. Just getting to relax for the first time today."
She feels Ann's hand on her thigh. "First time in a little longer than that, I think," she murmurs.
Beth lets out another long breath. "Since last Friday, really."
"Yeah," Ann says, and Beth swears she can hear the smile that goes with it. "That was lovely."
"Your mom really has a way about her. She - oh," Beth says, as her phone vibrates twice in quick succession. When she digs it out, it's a pair of texts from her younger sister. The first is a blurry cell-phone photo of two plates of what look like chicken nuggets and carrots on the kitchen table with a caption reading "dinner for the boys". The second is simply "good luck tonight".
Beth writes back "thanks zee", then puts her phone back into her pocket. "Sorry," she says. "I'll turn my phone off."
"No," Ann says. "It's totally okay. Are your family getting by okay without you?"
"I hope so. I feel really bad not being there."
Ann frowns, risking a quick glance over at Beth. "I think you deserve some time to yourself now and then."
"I guess," Beth replies.
"Maybe your parents can do a little of the... you know, parenting."
Beth's knuckles whiten in her lap. "That'd be nice," she mutters.
"What's their deal, anyway? It seems like you take more care of your siblings than they do."
Beth turns her head away from Ann. "It's a long story," she says eventually. "My mom has some - some mental problems. She gets medication, but she doesn't always take it, so she has these stretches where she'll just lie in bed for days on end, or try to... to hurt herself. She's trying really hard, but - well, yeah. My dad's, um - he works sometimes, but I don't think he ever really... wanted to be a dad, you know? So he's out a lot, and if my mom's having a bad time, then it's pretty much just me or Zoe, and she's still a kid too, so..." she trails off, blinking tears away.
The car slows, and Ann pulls off the side of the road. Beth looks over at her.
"We're not there yet," she says.
"I know," Ann replies, putting the car into park. She leans over the center console towards Beth and pulls her into a hug. "I just wanted to do this."
Beth hugs her back, heart clenching. "Thanks," she whispers, feeling her own hot tears rolling down her cheeks.
Ann holds her for another minute, arms around Beth's shoulders, gently rubbing her back with one hand. Beth leans against her. Ann's so soft and warm, and holding her like this makes Beth feel like everything's somehow all going to be okay. Ann gives her a final affectionate squeeze and an affectionate smile, then turns back to driving.
Fifteen minutes later, they come to one of the small pullouts by the side of the Ingraham Trail. Ann parks the car and kills the engine, then turns to Beth. "So, now what?"
"Now we get comfortable and wait," Beth says, smiling. "We'll need our eyes to adjust to the darkness for a bit first. Here, let's get the chairs set up."
It's chilly outside, and so quiet Beth can almost hear her own heart beat. There's a very slight breeze, but otherwise the world around them is perfectly still. Ann sets up both the chairs next to each other, then places one of the bottles of hot tea on each of them and sits. Beth takes the other chair and drapes the blanket across both of their laps. The cold starts to seep into her bones, despite her brand new (well, brand new to her, anyway) winter coat, and she rubs her mitten-clad hands together for warmth. Ann leans closer to her and rests her head on Beth's shoulder.
"Wow, it's quiet," she says, voice hushed.
"And dark," Beth remarks, as they finish settling and Ann turns off her flashlight. The lights of Yellowknife are far out of sight behind them, so the only things keeping them from absolute darkness are the moon and stars. Beth puts an arm around Ann's shoulders and pulls her closer; Ann presses a gentle kiss against the side of Beth's neck, sending a small thrill through her.
"Thanks for taking me out here," Ann whispers.
"Of course," Beth says. "It's the coolest thing to do in Yellowknife, easily. Maybe the only cool thing to do here."
"I don't know," Ann says. "I'm liking it here so far."
Beth rubs her shoulder gently with a mitten-clad hand. "You are?"
"Yeah. It's a lot smaller than Ottawa, but it's... it's relaxed, easy to walk around, and the people are really friendly. Plus, you know, there's this girl I really like."
Beth blushes bright red in the dark. "Oh yeah?"
Ann turns to look up at Beth. Her face is a mere couple of inches away, starlight glinting in her eyes. "Yeah," she breathes, and leans closer, and then her lips are on Beth's, cool and soft and wonderful. Beth kisses her back, just for a second, then pulls back, searching Ann's face. Ann's eyes are wide, lips slightly parted, hair sticking out under the edge of her knitted hat, and she's so cute in this moment that Beth can't think of anything to do other than lean in to kiss her again.
"Wow," Ann murmurs. "I feel so... oh my God, is that it?" She raises a gloved hand, pointing up into the northern sky. Beth raises her eyes; far, far above, a bridge of blue-green light is glimmering across the sky.
"Yes," Beth says, taking the other woman's other hand in one of hers and squeezing it tightly, lips still tingling with the memory of Ann. "That's it."
Ann turns to her abruptly, wonder sparkling in her eyes, and presses a third kiss to Beth's lips. Beth thinks that she could probably keep kissing Ann forever. She wants to trap this moment and keep it inside her ribs so she never has to let go of it.
"Beth," she breathes. "Thank you so much. This is so wonderful."
Beth smiles. "I'm glad you like it."
"The aurora's pretty cool too," Ann says, with a grin. She kisses Beth again, slow and soft and delightful, then settles back in her own chair a bit, head resting on Beth's shoulder, to gaze up at the glory of the night sky.
Thanksgiving week arrives. Ann and her mother celebrate the holiday itself quietly. They make shepherd's pie, oven-roasted vegetables, and little pots of chocolate mousse together. Cooking with her mom is always pleasant, and as they work her mom takes every possible chance to touch or caress her, fingertips flitting across Ann's increasingly sensitive skin. Once the pie and veggies are in the oven, Ann's mom backs her against the kitchen counter, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips, and strokes her cheek with one hand while her other takes a loose hold of Ann's collar.
"Good work, sweetheart" she says, then gives her daughter a second, slower kiss, as though she's savoring the taste of her. Ann makes a small, needy noise, returning the kiss, but her mom breaks it off and turns away, going to check on the mousses setting in the fridge. Ann catches her breath, then follows her mom and wraps her arms around her waist from behind.
"I really like when you do that," she murmurs, squeezing her mom.
"When I do what?"
"When you... kiss me like that, and grab my collar. It feels good. It makes me feel so - so attractive to you."
Her mom places a hand on her own waist, over Ann's, and squeezes. "You are, Ann."
Ann kisses the back of her mom's neck. "Any good looks I have, I got from you."
Her mom laughs and shuts the fridge. "You're beautiful, hon. Never think otherwise."
Ann, blushing, presses her forehead against the back of her mom's shoulder. "Thanks," she mumbles.
"C'mon, kiddo," her mom says, gently pulling Ann's hands from her waist. "Let's get to cleaning. We can't cuddle until the kitchen's clean."
"Yes, Mom," Ann replies, and moves to the sink to start on the stack of cookware soaking there. Her mom begins loading the dishwasher next to her. Ann watches her from the corner of her eye, enjoying the easy grace with which she does even this mundane task.
"Hey, Mom?"
"Mm?"
"What about you? What do I do that makes you feel attractive?"
Her mom gives her an amused look. "Ann," she replies, "I pretty much always feel attractive around you." She slots a plate in, straightens, takes a quick step closer to Ann, and grabs her by the hair. Ann squeaks in surprise, eyes widening.
"All I have to do is something like this," her mom murmurs, fist tight and grip firm. Her eyes are dark, lit by an inner fire, and utterly captivating. Ann can't look away, wouldn't want to even if she could. Ann whimpers, and her mom leans close again, lips just barely brushing the side of Ann's throat. "You get this look," her mom tells her, "where your eyes glaze over and your cheeks get all flushed and I can just tell that you'd do anything for me, absolutely anything" - and God, she's right, Ann would - "and I can feel that right down to my bones, so. Yes, Ann, I feel attractive to you." She gradually releases her grip on her daughter's hair, then leaves one last lingering caress, fingertips down Ann's throat, before she turns back to her task.
The Dawson campus is practically deserted, since classes are cancelled for thanksgiving week. Beth's made the drive in, despite the mid-october snow, to meet up with the discrete math study group; Jay practically insisted they all meet up, despite the lack of any classwork, to try to get a bit ahead on all the material. Beth suspects that his real motive has more to do with the fact that they haven't seen each other in a week, but she has no complaint with that. Apart from thanksgiving with her grandparents, which was... okay..., she's spent the past few days with her family all day every day, and she can definitely use a break from them.
She's not the only one, either. Zoe practically begged her for a ride into town, asking Beth to drop her off at the public library. Beth hopes she'll be comfortable there until study group is over and she makes the drive back home. Knowing her sister, she'll find a quiet corner somewhere to curl up and write uninterrupted.
Beth parks and trudges through the snow to Li's dorm. Jay's already there, notes and papers sprawled out across the floor; Li's at her desk, shuffling a stack of index cards and looking thoughtful.
"Beth!" Jay gets up off the floor and pulls her into a hug, which she gladly returns. "How was your thanksgiving?"
"Alright," Beth says. "My dad, um, made a fool of himself at dinner, but other than that it was okay. Got to see my grandparents. How about you?"
"Oh," Jay says. "I had a pretty good time. Li, what did you think?"
To Beth's surprise, Li is blushing a little. "People were nice," she says, quietly.
Jay grins. "My mom made her help with the cooking, so, you know, gender affirmed."
Beth giggles. "The women do all the cooking?"
"Yeah," Jay says, with a bashful shrug. "It's old fashioned but it's just how we do stuff. Anyway, my mom got one look at her and she was just like, oh yes, another pair of hands for the kitchen."
"She offered to teach me how to sew," Li murmurs.
"They're all big on that kind of stuff. Um. Like, simple ways of living, old fashioned stuff, self sufficiency. She definitely liked you, though."
Li turns to look at him. "How can you tell?"
"Because she - oh, right, you weren't there. Anyway, when we were heading out, she told me I better bring you back the next time I visit too."
"Oh," Li says, simply.
"Yeah," Jay replies, cheeks reddening slightly. "I mean, no pressure, but you're, you know, invited back to our weird wilderness commune. I can't promise my mom won't try to show you how to butcher a goose or whatever, though."
Ann lets herself into the dorm room. "I heard weird wilderness commune?"
Jay laughs. "I was just telling Beth about our thanksgiving. How was yours?"
"Oh, lovely," Ann says. "Basically just hung out at home with my mom. We did a jigsaw puzzle together."
"Wow, real party animals," Jay replies with a grin. "Well, okay. We're all here so let's get into the material."
Beth sits on Li's bed, and Ann sits down close to her, curling up pressed against her side and unfolding her notebook in her lap. Beth lays a tiny kiss on Ann's cheek and is rewarded with a wide smile. She looks down at her - girlfriend? well, person she's been on two dates with, anyway - and notices the edge of what's unmistakeably a bite mark visible under the high collar of her turtleneck. Her eyes widen, and she looks abruptly back to her own notebook, face flushing red.
She... knows how things are between Ann and her mom. The last time she went over to their house, the two women kissed right in front of her, hot and passionate, and the sight had sent a surge of desire pulsing through Beth that reverberated through her body for the rest of the day. Ann's beautiful, and her mom is too, and seeing two beautiful women kissing is arousing, obviously, but there's more to it, too - much more. She and Ann have kissed, and even more than kissed a couple of times, but Miss Lewis doesn't seem to want to do anything more than lay these gentle, seemingly chaste touches on her skin that seem to set her body on fire.
Beth presses her thighs together against a sudden wash of need. She wants more than that, and from the way Miss Lewis' fingertips keep lingering on her bare throat time and again, the way her gaze lights on Beth's lips and breasts and hips, the heat Beth can feel smoldering in her eyes, she's sure the older woman wants more than that as well. She seems to be waiting for something, although she doesn't seem like a woman who's shy about taking what she wants. It's a puzzle that Beth hasn't been able to figure out that is gradually driving her insane, and if she doesn't -
Li's voice interrupts her thoughts. "Beth?"
She looks up to find everyone else staring at her. "Sorry," she says, blushing and straightening up a bit. "What was that?"
"Do you want to lead the discussion for chapter 4 section 2?"
"Oh, um, sure," Beth says, flipping through her notes. "Basically, the main theorem is..."
Beth enters the apartment building first, stamping the remaining snow off her boots, glasses fogging in the warmer air. Ann is right behind her, a fragile spiderweb of snowflakes scattered across her knitted hat and the escaping strands of her hair, frosting them with miniscule sparkles which are melting even as Ann brushes the dusting of snow off her own coat. Beth leans in close to kiss her, and Ann eagerly returns the kiss.
"Gosh, you're cute," Beth says with a smile. Ann's cheeks, still red from the chill winter air, get fractionally more so.
"Takes one to know one," she mumbles, letting Beth into the stairwell.
Beth has learned a lot of important things about herself over the past few weeks, and one of the most important is that she likes kissing Ann. She was shy about it at first, but Ann so obviously likes it - so obviously likes her - that she's been feeling more and more comfortable just kissing her girlfriend whenever and wherever she feels like it. Last Friday night, she'd kissed Ann while the two of them and her mom were all cuddled up on their living room couch together. Immediately after that, Miss Lewis had kissed Ann as well, her obvious passion matching Beth's own, and when she'd broken the kiss off the look she'd given Beth had been... well, she's thought about little else this entire week.
It's time, she tells herself. She's been waiting for some weeks now to see if Miss Lewis will take things further, and she's finally come to realize that the older woman is waiting for her, Beth, to be ready. She's going to have to - to use her words, to actually say how she feels and what she wants, and while she's quite confident that Miss Lewis feels similarly about her, she's finding that that doesn't make the prospect of starting the conversation any less nerve-wracking.
She imagines it going like this: hey, mother and owner of my best friend, how would you like to own me as well? I'm not nearly as pretty as she is and I don't really have anything to offer you, but would you like to date anyway?
Beth shudders. She'll figure it out eventually. She has to.
Ann lets them both into the apartment. It's neat and tidy, as usual, and has a profound kind of stillness to it that Beth never finds at home. Ann strips off her outer layer and hangs it up next to Beth's, then wanders into her own bedroom, with Beth trailing behind her. Ann pulls her tights off, then pulls her panties down her slender legs and tosses them into her laundry hamper. Beth swallows, abruptly conscious of the other girl's semi-nudity, and turns away from her.
Ann giggles. "You can look, Beth. It's okay. We're dating."
Beth half-turns back - enough to see Ann, anyway. "I know, I just - I don't know. It feels weird."
Ann pulls her tights back on, then comes to take Beth into a gentle hug. "Why does it feel weird?"
Beth's gaze flickers momentarily to Ann's collar while she's trying to think of something to say, which is apparently enough to give the answer away to Ann anyway. Ann pulls away from her, just enough to look Beth in the eye.
"You know I wouldn't be naked around you unless she was okay with it," she says.
"Yes, but I..."
"And," Ann says, interrupting Beth's train of thought. "I don't think she'd be okay me showing unless she was okay with you looking, too."
Beth blushes. Ann's understood her better than she understood herself, yet again, and cut through to the heart of what was bothering her. It's not that she was worried about whether Ann was disobeying her mom, but whether she, Beth, was. She doesn't know how Ann's mom wants Beth to treat her girl, what she wants them to do or not do together, what Miss Lewis wants to allow her.
Beth pulls Ann back into a hug. "Thanks," she murmurs. "I think I... need to have a big talk with your mom."
Ann holds her, her presence solid and comforting. "Oh?"
Beth nods. "About you and me - and about her and me."
Ann squeezes Beth affectionately. "What do you want to ask her about?"
"I... it's all tangled together. I want to be with her like - like you are, with a collar and everything, and I want to be with you and be your girlfriend, and I want -" she breaks off, squeezing her eyes momentarily shut to forestall tears "- want both of those things, but I don't know how you feel about it or how she feels about it, and I..."
She goes on, worries and fears spilling out of her, and Ann simply holds her, one hand gently rubbing Beth's back, just being present with her. Eventually, Beth's stream of consciousness stops, and she feels empty, wrung out like a sponge. She pulls away from Ann, turns away from her, but Ann simply gathers her into her arms again, pressing herself against Beth's back.
"Well," Ann says, voice steady. "I can tell you how I feel, and I can tell you what I think you should do."
"Please," Beth whispers. She's been wanting someone to tell her what to do for longer than she can remember.
"How I feel is... happy, Beth. Happy for you and me, happy for you and my mom, and happy for all three of us. I have something amazing with her, and if you want to have it too, I think you should. I want to - to be with both of you. I hope you know that. I don't mean I want to be with you and with her. I mean I want to be with both of you. And as for what you should do... I think all you have to do is tell her that you've thought about it and you want to be with both of us, too. We can talk through all the rest later - with the three of us, I mean."
Beth feels tears threatening again and blinks them away. She'd been assuming that... that even if Miss Lewis did accept her, that she would want things to be separate from Ann. She'd been trying to puzzle out, in her head, how they could fit three separate relationships into three busy lives and coming up short over and over. To build one relationship instead, with three people instead of two, it's - she hadn't really thought of it that way, but now that she has, she feels like maybe she can see a path through.
She turns herself in Ann's embrace so she can kiss her softly. "You're okay with... with sharing, me and her both?"
Ann puts a hand on the back of Beth's head and pulls her in closer. "I'm more than okay with it, Beth. I'm sure there will be a lot we have to work out, but sharing a person isn't like sharing a... a cake, or something. I think if I share you with my mom, both of us will end up with more Beth than either of us would have alone, and I think she'd say the same about you and me."
Beth sniffles. "I didn't think about it like that," she says.
Ann kisses her again. "Let's talk to my mom about it after dinner - together."
Ann's proud of that meal. She and Beth had baked lasagna together, and not only had they timed it almost exactly for when her mom had arrived home, but it had came out perfectly, with lovely layers of melted cheese on the inside and a nice crispy top. For her first attempt at making lasagna, she feels like it could hardly have gone better.
She and Beth finish clearing the dishes away while her mom relaxes at the table, finishing her glass of wine and telling them about her workday. After the kitchen is neat and tidy, her mom leads them into the living room to watch another movie together. This has been the shape of their nights together, recently - dinner, then a movie and cuddling on the couch, followed by her mom sending her and Beth to bed together while she sleeps on her own. It's lovely, it feels homely and intimate, but tonight Ann finds herself nervously anticipating something different.
Her mom settles comfortably on the couch, with Ann and Beth each on their pillows on the floor on either side of her. She pets both of them, her touch raising goosebumps on Ann's skin. When Beth turns to face her mom rather than the TV, Ann follows, looking up at her.
Her mom has a warm, contented smile, eyes shining. "My beautiful girls," she says, laying one soft hand on each of their throats.
Ann hear's Beth's breath hitch next to her, then sees the other girl straighten her back as she gathers her resolve. She screws her eyes shut, then speaks.
"Miss Lewis, I want to - to ask you something."
The older woman looks down at her, smile not moving an inch, like she's been expecting this for a while. "Yes, Beth?"
"Can I... can I be yours?"
Her mom's gaze flickers to Ann's face for the span of a heartbeat. Ann smiles at her, gives a tiny nod. Her mom looks back at Beth.
"What makes you want that, Beth?"
Beth tenses slightly. "This, Miss Lewis. The way you talk to me, the way you tell me what to do, the way you... touch me, all feels like it's - like it's exactly what I've always wanted, but I never knew it until I met you. When I see what you have with Ann, when I think about maybe having that myself... I don't think anything could make me happier."
Her mom slowly trails her hand up Beth's neck until it's resting on her jawbone, tip of her thumb resting lightly on Beth's bottom lip. There's a tense, silent moment; Ann holds her breath, waiting for her mother to speak.
"I will accept you," her mom says, eventually. "With one condition."
"Anything," Beth murmurs.
Her mom grins. "A dangerous word for a submissive, Beth. Anyway, my one condition is this: I want you and Ann to have room for your own relationship, too, so I'm going to insist that you two spend time together apart from me."
Ann doesn't want to speak unprompted while kneeling, but she does want to speak, so she turns her head and gently nuzzles her mom's calf. Her mom's hand moves from her throat, where it had been lingering lightly on her collar, to pet her head. "Yes, Ann?"
"Mom, I - Beth and I talked about it earlier. We don't want to have a... a separate relationship, and separate relationships with you. We want it to be all three of us, together. Can we do that?"
Her mom looks down at her, smile fading into an expression of curiosity. "I suppose we can try it," she says, after a thoughtful pause. "What does that mean for you?"
This question, at least, is easy for Ann to answer because she's been imagining it off and on almost since she met Beth.
"It means... both of us being your girls, mom, and making dinner together and reading together and watching movies together and maybe - maybe one day more? Together?"
Her mom shuts her eyes, some unnameable emotion passing over her face. Ann nuzzles against her knee again, and by her side Beth does the same. When her mom looks down at her again, her eyes are glistening with unshed tears.
"Ann," she says, "I don't think anything could make me happier than that. Beth? Do you want that?"
She looks over at Beth, who is looking up at her, gaze clear and steady. Beth nods, then bows her head. "More than anything," she says, quietly.
Her mom moves her other hand to the back of Beth's head and spends a quiet moment petting both her girls.
"Well," she says. "Beth, we'll talk - the three of us will talk - about rules and such later. For now, I think it's time for you to learn what being my submissive really entails."
Miss Lewis leads both her girls into Ann's bedroom. With a silent gesture, she sends Ann to her knees, hands folded in her lap, then turns to Beth.
"Clothes off," she says, flatly.
Beth swallows, suddenly nervous. This is it, she thinks. With shaking fingers, she undoes the first button of her cardigan, then the second, then the third. She shakes it off, lets it fall to the floor, then pulls her shirt over her head and drops it as well. She risks a shy glance up at Miss Lewis, who is watching her intently. She unzips her jeans and shimmies them down her legs, then piles them atop her other clothes and straightens to look at the older woman, trying not to think about how she probably looks in her frayed bra and old panties.
Miss Lewis steps closer to her, lays a hand on her shoulder, slowly trails it down her upper arm. "Scared?"
Beth nods jerkily. "I'm sorry."
Miss Lewis takes her chin gently in one hand, turns Beth to look at her. "You don't need to apologize for how you feel, Beth. It's normal to feel scared your first time, and even if it wasn't, it'd still be fine for you to feel that way. How you feel is how you feel."
Beth can't hold her gaze and looks away, feeling uncertain. Miss Lewis looks back at her kneeling daughter. "Ann, were you scared your first time?"
"Yes, Mom."
She turns back to look at Beth. "I'm going to give you a couple of ground rules, Beth, and I want you to pay close attention to them. I require you to follow these all the time, whatever we're doing or wherever we are. Do you understand?"
Beth nods, thoughts flashing back to the list of Ann's rules she found on her desk all those weeks ago.
"The most important one," Miss Lewis says, slowly and deliberately, "is that everything we do, we all consent to - and we keep consenting to it, as long as we're doing it. That means, Beth, that if you want to stop doing something, or you just want to take a break and talk about things, then that's what we do. Do you understand? Nothing will happen to you that you don't want."
"I... understand, Miss Lewis," Beth says, turning the idea over in her head. It's not at all what she expected, but it's - a relief to hear, she realizes, and she lets out a shaky breath as some of her tension bleeds away. She'd been sort of assuming that Miss Lewis would simply do with her what she wanted, and Beth was excited to find out what that was, but she didn't really think that her own desires would enter into it.
"To help me ensure that's happening," the older woman goes on, walking slowly around Beth, gaze roving her body as though appraising her. "I require you to tell me how you're feeling. In particular, if you ever want to stop, you will say the word 'red', and if you want to take a break and talk, you will say the word 'yellow'. If I ask you how you are doing, and you like what we are doing, you may use the word 'green' for that. Do you understand me?"
Beth nods, mouthing the words to herself. Red, yellow, green. Red, yellow, green. Red, yellow, green.
Miss Lewis walks over to her kneeling daughter, stands by her, and leans down to touch her cheek gently; Beth can't miss the little shiver that runs through Ann's body. "Sweetheart, I want you to help Beth understand how important this is. You don't have to tell her what happened, but - have you ever used 'red' with me before?"
Ann nods. "A few times."
"And what happened afterwards?"
Ann turns her head slightly to look up at her mom. "We stopped, and you cuddled me, and we - we talked. About what happened."
"Have I ever been even the slightest bit unhappy with you for using those words with me?"
Ann shakes her head. "I - no, Mom. You usually thank me for speaking up."
"Good girl," she says, ruffling Ann's hair before she straightens and returns to touching Beth, fingertips flitting across Beth's exposed back, just above her bra strap. "You see, Beth? This is the most important rule of our house, and the only one I insist applies at all times, even outside the home. If you want to stop, or you want a break, you do not have my permission to keep quiet about that. Good girls speak up. Do you think you can follow that rule for me?"
Beth swallows. "I'll - I'll try, Miss Lewis."
Miss Lewis slips a finger beneath Beth's bra strap. "Good. Get this and your panties off. I want to see all of you."
Beth blushes, lowering her head, but does as she's told. Her bra falls to the floor, then she steps out of her panties, leaving herself fully exposed to the older woman's searching gaze. She fights with the impulse to cover her most intimate parts and loses, only to have Miss Lewis grab her wrists, gently but firmly, and pull her arms back to her sides. Beth takes the unspoken instruction and does her best to stay still, trembling.
"Beautiful," Miss Lewis murmurs, eyes roving Beth's body with unconcealed desire. She looks over her shoulder her kneeling daughter, who's looking up at Beth, eyes wide. "Don't you think so, Ann?"
Ann nods fervently. "Very."
Beth blushes, embarassed to be studied so closely. She certainly doesn't feel like anything special; her breasts are too small, her hips too narrow, her hands too -
"Hey," says Miss Lewis, softly, interrupting her self-deprecating spiral. "Look at me, Beth."
Beth does.
"Whatever's worrying you - say it. Don't worry about whether it's the right thing to say, just say it."
Beth flushes. "I don't feel beautiful," she whispers.
Miss Lewis steps closer to her, gathers her new girl into her arms. "We'll work on changing that," she murmurs.
Beth doesn't know how to respond to that, so she settles on: "Yes, Miss Lewis."
The older woman strokes her hair, then lets go of her. She looks thoughtfully at Beth for a moment. "Ann," she says, "go run a bath."
The bathwater is just this side of too hot to be comfortable. Miss Lewis orders her into it, and Beth gradually sinks into the tub, skin flushing pink with the heat. She still feels too exposed, too laid-bare, especially with Ann and her mom both still clothed while she's naked, but it's a good kind of exposed - not comfortable, but kind of thrilling. Miss Lewis sends Ann to fetch a pillow and tells her to kneel by the side of the tub, then gathers a couple of bottles and a bar of soap. Beth offers her hands to take the soap, but Miss Lewis just shakes her head.
She starts working the soap between her hands, forming a thick lather. "You get comfortable," she says, as Ann returns and gets to her knees, smiling peacefully at Beth. "I'm going to be washing you, with Ann's help."
"Oh, um," Beth says. "You don't need to -"
"Quiet," Miss Lewis says flatly, and Beth shuts her mouth. "If you want me to stop, Beth, you know the words to use. Otherwise, I'm doing exactly what I want with you, and what I want is this." She lays both her hands on Beth's shoulders and starts massaging the lightly scented soap into her skin. Her fingers are strong, muscle and tendon moving beneath soft skin, and Beth feels her own body responding gradually to the touch. Deprived of her voice, Beth can do nothing but settle back into the bath, letting the unfamiliar sensation of having someone else touch her in this intimate, caring way wash slowly over her.
With a quiet order, Miss Lewis instructs Ann to take care of Beth's feet, and a few moments later another pair of hands, less strong but just as tender and loving, are rubbing her feet and gently caressing soap into the skin of her calves. Beth lets her head fall backwards, and a long, weary sigh escapes her body.
"That's it," Miss Lewis murmurs. "Just relax for me. That's exactly what I want."
Beth shivers, a small thing that has nothing to do with the bath, or even with the gentle hands on her.
Under Miss Lewis' instructions, Ann gathers more hot water, soaks Beth's hair, and starts working shampoo into it, all the way down to her scalp. It feels so good that Beth almost lets herself moan in pleasure. Miss Lewis herself is busy cleaning Beth's arms, then the sides of her ribcage, then... oh. The older woman gathers one of Beth's small breasts in each soap-slick hand, squeezing them so gently the pressure is just barely perceptible. Her thumbs flicker lightly across Beth's hardening nipples, drawing a surprised gasp from her, and her eyes fly open. Miss Lewis is watching her face intently, obviously enjoying what she sees; Ann is intent on her own task, but she wears a placid, contented smile.
Miss Lewis' hands circle around her breasts again, and she breathes the word "exquisite" into Beth's ear. There's something edging her tone that has the muscles of Beth's thighs tightening. Miss Lewis is paying too much attention to her new girl to miss something like that, and she leans a bit closer to nip at Beth's ear with her teeth.
"Enjoying bathtime, Beth?"
Beth nods immediately, still not sure if she's supposed to speak. Miss Lewis smiles at her, then returns to her slow, maddening process of soaping and washing every square inch of Beth's body. Ann finishes working the shampoo into Beth's hair, lets it sit, then rinses it out with more hot water and starts combing a conditioner in. Beth squirms, caught between relaxation and her growing arousal, until eventually her hair is clean and conditioned and every part of her has been soaped and scrubbed.
Every part of her except one, that is. Miss Lewis touches the insides of Beth's thighs lightly. "Open," she says. Beth flushes, but does as she's told, and is rewarded with the older woman's hands, impossibly tender, gently working soap into her most sensitive parts. She bites her lip, breath stuttering, and Miss Lewis casts a sideways look at her, apparently amused.
"Do you normally keep yourself smooth down here like this?"
Beth shakes her head. "I - I thought you'd like it, because... because it was in Ann's list of rules."
Miss Lewis smiles at her. "It is, and I do like it. Keep yourself this way for me in future."
"Yes, Miss Lewis," Beth says automatically. She'll have to find more time to herself in the shower, but she'll figure it out somehow. Pleasing Miss Lewis is worth any amount of effort or inconvenience she has to go to.
The older woman turns back to her task, and Beth feels Ann's hand slip across her chest, reaching for one of hers. Ann squeezes Beth's hand, a silent gesture of support and affection, and Beth squeezes back, focusing on keeping her legs open against the embarassed impulse to close them. Miss Lewis tends Beth's pussy even more slowly and lovingly than she had the rest of her, if such a thing were possible, until eventually she sets the washcloth aside and moves to kiss Beth, slowly and softly.
"You were so good for me, Beth," she murmurs. "How are you feeling?"
The strange detached feeling she's come to associate with Miss Lewis has fallen over her like a gossamer veil, and it takes Beth a few seconds to come up with any words to reply with. "G... good...," she says. "Um. Very... cared for."
Miss Lewis kisses her again. "You are. Ann," she says, looking up at her daughter. "Please fetch us a couple of towels. I think it's time we all went to bed."
Ann is drifting, peaceful and at ease, awash in how good the shared intimacy with Beth and her mom feels. Following her mom's gentle commands is the easiest thing in the world right now, and from the glassy-eyed look on Beth's face, she can tell her mom's other girl is sharing the feeling in full. Her mom directs her through toweling Beth off, then leads both girls into her own bedroom. Ann shivers, looking at her mom's bed with anticipation.
"Get undressed, Ann," her mom commands, while she guides Beth onto her bed. Ann does so, folding her base layers, bra, and socks in a neat pile on the floor, then kneels by the side of the bed. Beth is lying on her back, looking up at her mom with an expression of devoted adoration, and Ann's mom lightly caresses Beth's cheek, making her eyes widen.
"Beth," her mom says, softly. "Ann and I are going to make you feel good, now. Together. You remember what to say if you want to stop, or if you need a break?"
Beth gives a jerky nod, gaze flickering to Ann's face, but she looks frightened. Ann's mom crawls onto the bed, kneeling by Beth, and leans down to lay a soft kiss on her forehead. "What's worrying you?"
"It's my... my first time, Miss Lewis."
Her mom smiles. "Don't worry, sweetheart. All you have to do is obey me, and we'll make it feel so good for you. Can you do that?"
"Yes, Miss Lewis," Beth breathes.
"Good," she says. "Ann, bring me one of my pairs of cuffs - and in the bathroom vanity there's a pack of dental dams. Please grab those too."
"Yes, Mom," Ann says, scrambling to her feet. As she returns, she turns the pack of dental dams over in her hands. She and her mom don't normally use them - they've never needed to, since neither of them have ever been with anyone else since they... started things. She returns to her mother's side, settling on the bed next to Beth as directed, and allows herself a moment to simply admire her girlfriend.
Beth is beautiful. A bit skinny, maybe, but gorgeous all the same; there's a harmony to her body, like all the parts are perfectly fitted together, that fills Ann with an almost irresistible desire to touch her. She glances at her mom, who is intently focused on Beth at the moment. Her mom takes Beth's wrists, pulls the cuffs comfortably tight around them, then tugs them above her head, clipping them to one of the anchor points on her bedframe.
"There we go," her mom murmurs, voice husky. She's looking down at Beth with an expression mingling affection and desire. Beth looks nervous but determined, and Ann moves up the bed to take one of the other girl's cuffed hands in her own. Her mom gives her an approving look.
"You were scared your first time too, weren't you, sweetheart?"
Ann nods. "At first."
"Well," her mom says, looming over Beth, eyes fixed on her face. "Ann, why don't you start helping my girl feel good, and I'm going to stay right here and keep her company."
Ann swallows, feeling her own nerves for the first time. She's never been intimate with anyone other than her mom, doesn't have any idea what Beth might like or dislike - and she really, really wants Beth to enjoy her first time. She reaches for her mom, momentarily too overtaken by her worries to obey, and her mom looks up at her.
"Ann?"
"I... I'm not sure what to do, Mom. I've never... you know. With anyone else."
Her mom smiles. "Sweetheart, look at her," she instructs, and Ann does. Beth's eyes are vacant, her lips are parted, and her breaths are coming quick and shallow. Her cheeks are flushed a deep red and she looks utterly enraptured. Ann feels a pulse of heat between her legs as she drinks in how her girlfriend looks in this moment, exposed and aroused and needy and - and ready.
Her mom sees the understanding on her face and gives her a small nod. "I think that whatever you do, sweetheart, she'll love it - because it's you, and because it's us. Just do your best for me."
"Yes, Mom," Ann says, and crawls down the bed to position herself between Beth's legs. At a whispered command from her mom, Beth shyly spreads her thighs, revealing that she's already slick with her own arousal. Ann moves closer, savoring the faintly floral scent of Beth, then abruptly remembers and turns to fetch one of the dental dams. She desperately wishes she could taste her girlfriend, but her mom's intentions were very clear. Beth squeaks in surprise when Ann's tongue first touches her, reflexively trying to pull away, but Ann simply loops an arm over each of her thighs and holds her in place as she begins to gradually explore Beth's most intimate areas. One of her mom's hands comes to rest on the back of her head, gently stroking her hair, as her mom murmurs her approval to both of her girls. Beth jolts abruptly, and when Ann risks a glance upward she sees her mom rolling one of the other girl's nipples between two fingertips, a predatory grin on her face.
Before long, Beth is moaning with every breath, mumbling incoherently as Ann goes to work in earnest. She's always loved serving her mom with her mouth, and pleasuring Beth this way, while it's different, is no less enjoyable and no less hot. She squeezes her own thighs together, wishing she could touch herself, but she hasn't been given permission and she doesn't want to stop what she's doing to ask - not with the way she can feel Beth's hips rolling in time with her own movements, the way her voice is rising in pitch and urgency.
"Not tonight, sweet girl," she hears her mom say, in response to some question from Beth. Ann tries to raise her head to see what's going on, but her mom's hand on the back of her neck is firm, holding her in place.
"That's it," her mom murmurs. "You're both being so good for me. Do you like how that feels?" There's a small pause, and then her mom says: "Say it so Ann can hear it, sweet girl."
Beth's voice is urgent, breathy and tense: "That f-feels really good, Ann!"
"She's very talented," her mom says. "And so very eager to please, aren't you, sweetheart?"
Ann manages a tiny nod without stopping, tongue roving endlessly over Beth's tender folds. Beth is gasping for breath now, panting, and Ann can see the tendons on the insides of her thighs straining. Ann can feel her own arousal dripping down the insides of her thighs, her body alight with the need to be touched, and she's involuntarily siezed by a memory of the last time she served her mom this way, and of her mom, after Ann was finished serving her, simply shoving her facedown onto her bed and taking her, quickly and roughly and exactly the way she likes it. Ann moans, too, as the memory washes over her, and she feels her pussy clench - but right now, it's time to focus on Beth, and she forces her attention back to her girlfriend's shuddering form.
"She's so ready," her mom remarks. The hand that isn't buried in Ann's hair is wrapped firmly around Beth's throat, holding her down against the mattress, and Beth murmurs something inaudible. "Oh, yes," her mom replies. "You may."
A few seconds later, Beth's whole body tenses, lifting from the mattress, and Ann feels the soft folds under her tongue pulsing and clenching. Beth's orgasm seems to roll over Ann, too, crackling through her body like lightning, and she squirms with her own need - but, obedient to the hand in her hair, she doesn't stop. She gradually slows her pace, bringing Beth down exactly the way her mom likes when Ann serves her like this, and then her mom is tugging Ann up and away from Beth's pussy and towards the head of the bed.
Beth is lying on her back, hands now uncuffed from the bedframe but still cuffed together, eyes empty, still shuddering with the aftershocks of pleasure. Her mom grabs Ann by her collar and pulls her down alongside Beth, then rolls the incoherent girl onto her side and pulls her into a hug. Ann curls herself against Beth's back, exchanging a shy smile with her mom as they both hold her girlfriend, which her mom answers with a wolfish grin.
"Good work, sweetheart," her mom whispers, one arm coming to rest on Ann's collar. The other, folded against her own chest, is holding the chain linking Beth's cuffs. Ann whimpers, squirming with residual arousal, but her mom gives a tiny shake of the head - not right now. Ann lays a soft kiss on the back of Beth's neck, marveling at how pleasant the scent of her skin is right now, and Beth lets out a soft breath.
"Wow," she says, eventually.
"Mhm," her mom says, squeezing her girls to her. "You enjoyed that?"
Beth nods immediately, urgently. "Thank you, Miss Lewis," she says, and it sounds like a prayer.
"Of course. I wanted you to feel that way, so I made you feel it - although Ann did a lot of the work. Did you enjoy that, Ann?"
"Oh, yes," Ann says, pressing herself closer to Beth.
"That makes three of us," her mom replies. "And as for that other thing you asked, Beth... if you're going to belong to me, everything about you does, and that includes your virginity. I'll take it when I want to. If you aren't okay with that, you know the words to use."
Beth swallows. "N-no, Miss Lewis, that's - I understand."
"Good," her mom says, with a lazy smile. "Now, girls, I think it's time to get ready for bed. Go brush your teeth and wash up, then meet me back here. You're both sleeping with me tonight."