Chapter 11
Pete slammed off to work early the next day, as furious as though Gwen had done something wrong instead of him.
Gwen felt paralyzed, she was so confused and upset. They had been married such a short time. Was Pete disappointed in her, that he had turned to another woman so soon? Or were all men like this, promiscuous at the least excuse?
She wished she had someone to talk to, someone to consult, someone older and wiser who could give her the right answers. But she shuddered at the idea of writing to her parents how horrified they would be! She didn't know anyone from her former life who would not be shocked at what had happened.
She was still sitting over her coffee when the doorbell rang. Isobel was there, bright-eyed and gay so early in the morning.
"Hi, darling. I thought I'd stop by and see if you wanted to go to the grocery store." The blonde woman came in and shut the door.
Gwen eyed her warily. She was wiser now. She knew Isobel didn't have groceries on her mind. Somehow it didn't matter much what Isobel's intentions were. Here was someone in whom Gwen could confide.
"Come and have some coffee," Gwen invited. She led the way back to the kitchen.
Isobel followed. She was wearing blue shorts and a loose blue-checked blouse that made her look like a teenager. But across the kitchen table, Gwen noticed her blue eyes, with rings under them, dark even through layers of makeup. Isobel lived a life few teenagers would even have imagined.
"Wasn't Saturday fun?" asked Isobel brightly. "I knew you would enjoy the boys, once you got started."
Gwen looked down at her cup. "I was sick the next day," she confessed.
"Too much liquor. You're not used to it. Tell Floyd to cut down on your drinks. He will. You don't enjoy yourself as much if you blank out."
Gwen traced rings on the table with her fingers. Isobel watched her with wise alertness.
"More problems? Karen?" she asked.
Gwen nodded. "They they stayed overnight in town," she said over a lump in her throat. "Pete phoned, and said he had a big insurance deal on. Then the next evening he brought Karen home."
"That might have been coincidence. He might have picked her up in town and given her a ride home."
Gwen shook her head. "He didn't even bother to make up a story when he realized I had seen her. He just admitted it! No reason. He he loves her, I guess."
"Nobody loves Karen," Isobel told her firmly. "Women hate her. Men are mad for her. But nobody loves her. Pete's going through a phase. Ride it out. He'll recover, I promise."
Gwen wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "He never lied to me before."
"You mean, you never caught him before." Isobel shrugged. "Men! When they get itchy, they'll be, cheat, steal; the nicest of guys will. They get mad for a dame, and they'll go wild till they get her. Then it's over. Believe me, honey. It's over."
"He's crazy about her."
"Sure he is. But she's easy to make. He'll make her plenty then the affair will be over. I've seen it happen. Easy come, easy go at least with men."
"But I don't know what to do!" Gwen wailed. "I thought it would just be the parties. It was bad enough, letting Pete make love to women at parties. But to sneak off, and lie about it, and spend the night with her-"
Isobel shook her blonde head. "That's a man for you. That's why I don't have illusions about men. I know them too well. Now women they can be different."
"Karen isn't," Gwen said.
Isobel smiled at her, and patted her hand. Gwen flinched, startled.
"I'm talking about women who love each other," said Isobel gently. Her blue eyes shone. "A woman's love is different. She-likes to comfort another woman, instead of making more trouble for her. She isn't so jealous and upset. She takes what there is, and doesn't whine for what she can't have. A woman's love can be very nice, Gwen, honey."
The invitation was open, and it was tempting. Gwen hesitated, feeling warm, uncomfortable yet willing to fall in with Isobel's plans.
"You should take your fun where you find it." Isobel squeezed her hand with gentle, small fingers. "Men do. Why shouldn't women? Women are free to do what they want to."
"Are we? Really?" asked Gwen somberly. She didn't pull her hand away. Isobel's touch was reassuring after the sting of Pete's betrayal. "Are women really free? We're the homemakers, we have the children."
"Oh, darling, that's old-fashioned!" Isobel laughed out loud. "That's not true any more! A woman can be anything she really wants to be! Career-girl, fun-girl, wife, mistress, anything and every thing!"
Gwen thought, "But I want to be a good wife and mother, a homemaker, not a fun-girl. Is that impossible with Pete?"
Isobel caressed Gwen's arm and wrist with skilled fingertips. A thrill started up Gwen's spine. "Have fun," Isobel urged. "All the fun you want. Don thought you were marvelous. You know it? I could have told him that. Women are much more themselves with other women. I knew you would be sweet and soft and generous."
"Pete doesn't seem to think so!" The bitter words burst out. Gwen's eyes filled with tears.
Isobel jumped up and came around the table to her. "Now, honey! Now, kitten! Don't be upset!" She bent over Gwen and cooed lovingly to her. Her small clever hands patted Gwen's hair and neck and shoulders, then slid down to the firm mounds of Gwen's breasts. She drew Gwen back to lean against her as she kissed her cheeks. "Forget about him!" she urged in Gwen's ear. "Have some fun. Relax. You'll be a bundle of nerves if you don't look out."
"I can't help worrying!" Gwen sobbed. But Isobel's touch was soothing. She submitted gratefully to the older girl's caresses.
"Let's go upstairs," Isobel murmured. "I've been longing for this. Let's us have some fun.
Women are so much better for each other than a man can be. Come on, honey."
Gwen was uneasy about giving in once more. But her bruised spirits craved comfort, and Isobel seemed to understand exactly how she felt. The two girls went upstairs to the bedroom.
Isobel helped Gwen undress. "We'll just take off this," she cooed, as to a child, lifting the hem of the loose dress. "And then we'll take off this," lifting the slip off Gwen's head. The small hands patted and caressed deftly as the garments were removed. "Now this tight old thing that hides your pretty breasts--" She unfastened the brassiere, and her eager fingers rubbed over the pert breasts.
"Oh, that feels good," Gwen exclaimed as the hands cupped and squeezed.
Isobel smiled, and leaned forward. Her red mouth took a nipple and held firmly. She pulled at it, like a child suckling. The breast began to swell and burgeon with delight.
Gwen caught at Isobel's shoulders to steady herself. The smaller girl pushed her back to the bed, and the two fell down on the soft yielding surface. There was silence in the room except for the quickened breathing as the girls became more excited.
Isobel half lay on Gwen, her mouth pressed to Gwen's rich breasts. Gwen lay back lazily, flat on her back, her arms behind her head, receiving the homage of Isobel's kisses. The small clever hands were caressing her. Gwen sponged all doubts from her mind, and accepted the comforting caresses. After all, Pete took his fun. Why shouldn't she?
Isobel's hands went teasingly under the elastic band of the panties. Gwen wore no stockings, and her sandals had fallen off. Her feet slid on the smooth sheet as Isobel's fingers explored inside her pants. A daring finger searched, found, teased the hard button of Gwen's sex.
"Oh ah-" Gwen's knees jerked and folded involuntarily at the touch. Isobel played on that knob, till Gwen began to feel melted and loose and soft. Her eyes closed dreamily.
The hand was withdrawn. Isobel sat up and the bed springs creaked. Gwen opened her eyes, disappointed, to find Isobel undressing. She watched curiously as the lovely blonde girl unfastened the blue shut and flung it away. The blue shorts followed. The sandals were kicked off. Then a blue brassiere was taken off, and blooming pear-shaped breasts were revealed.
Gwen reached up and touched the wide pink tip of a breast. Isobel trembled, and smiled down lovingly at Gwen.
"Just a minute, darling," she breathed. Two jerks and a yank disposed of the brief blue panties. Then the smaller girl knelt up on the bed beside Gwen and showed herself proudly.
She had a right to be proud, thought Gwen, as she gazed at Isobel. The girl was perfectly shaped. The curly blonde head was set on a graceful neck, rising from silky white shoulders. Below were rounded pears of breasts, capped with deep pink nipples the size of half dollars. The waist curved in, dotted with a small round navel. Below, a curve of belly melted into rounded thighs, the center of attraction a delicious triangle of blonde curls hiding the mystery of her sex.
Gwen could not restrain herself. The girl looked so soft and silky, so kissable, that she reached out for her.
Isobel still knelt beside her. Gwen flung herself at the blonde doll. She pressed kisses passionately on the rounded breasts and bit the nipples with nibbling lips till the pink buttons rose to buds. Gwen kissed lower, to the rounded belly, then to the curves of the thighs. She pushed Isobel down, and the older girl sighed with delight as she stretched out.
"Oh, love me," said Isobel. "Love me good, honey!"
"I will I will-" Gwen breathed.
All her new knowledge sprang to use as she worked over the silken body of the willing partner. She teased the soft flesh of the thighs with her lips. Her hands gently parted the columns of the girl's legs, and awkwardly she searched with her fingers. She was rewarded with a treasure of wet silk, ensconced in pink and white velvet. Her lips kissed eagerly, her hands played, till Isobel began to thresh about on the bed and utter little cries of pleasure.
Gwen watched her face curiously in between kisses and caresses. This was how a man felt when he brought a woman to climax. She delayed, slowed down, then speeded up, and watched Isobel as the girl's face screwed up in an agony of delight. Spasms shot through the girl, and her legs jerked. Her breathing was harsh and rasping.
Then she lay quiet, face dreamy, eyes closed, her arms above her head. Gwen lay down beside her, and waited. Isobel recovered, and turned to her, clasping her in her arms.
"Oh, that was delicious, lover," she whispered. "I'll show you how much I appreciated that. Come here, darling."
Gwen crept into Isobel's arms. The girl played with her body, caressed her, then settled on her and kissed her till Gwen began to feel the delightful heat and voluptuous softening of her thighs.
When Isobel knew Gwen was ready, she said, "Now, I'll show you something else. This is the way we can both be happy at once."
Gwen was startled as Isobel showed her the classic lesbian posture. It seemed strange for a while. But her body was demanding satisfaction. She shut off doubts into a closed portion of her mind, and abandoned herself to the teachings of her mistress.
The bed springs began to creak, softly, then louder, with more violence. The bed rocked with their eager motions as each girl strove to bring the other up to the perfect moment.
The creaking assumed a rhythmic regularity.
Gwen, with closed eyes, kissed, caressed, stroked frantically, lost in a maze of silken moisture. Her own body was being titillated and sweetly tormented, until her feet jerked and began an erotic dance on the bed.
Arms, legs, breasts, thighs, all were in frantic movement at the last. They strove to come closer, closer, in ever-increasing delight, until Gwen cried out, then Isobel answered her. In a tangle of limbs they reached the climax together, and shot up into a heaven of ecstatic sensation. Spasms of involuntary muscular reactions jerked through them, slowly calming, slowly dying to leave them exhausted and motionless.
Isobel squirmed on the bed till she could take Gwen in her arms once more. Breast to breast, thighs clinging, they lay together for a long time as the hot July sunlight shone on their wet, weary bodies.