I appreciate everyone continuing this journey with me.
Trigger warning: discussion of a past abusive relationship.
***
The local area is known for its hard cider. Or, at least it should be. In addition to a very rich chess pie, Jo brought a cooler with plenty of bottled cider. There were at least eight different kinds that I could see without digging down into the chest. She said Elanna and I could keep any unopened bottles to enjoy later. But that evening, we were all feeling pretty loose.
“So, tell me about you and Michael. What happened when you first met?” Jo was curious, and I had never heard Elanna’s side of things.
I kept quiet, of course. I just listened to the girls as I grilled supper in the fireplace. The proverbial fly on the wall.
“Well, I was sitting on a bench, drawing, when this cute old guy sat down next to me. Salt-n-pepper hair, well dressed, a pleasant older dad bod. I tried to focus on the drawing, but he was a little distracting.”
“Good distracting?”
“Not at first. He seemed sad. I tried to give him a friendly smile, and then started drawing again.”
“Oh, how romantic,” Jo said sarcastically.
“Yeah, well after a while I caught him looking at me. Or maybe my drawing, I wasn’t sure. He sounded as awkward as I felt, but he said he liked the drawing so far. I kinda hoped that he was looking at me though.”
“Naughty girl.”
“Hush! Anyway, I finished up the drawing and signed it. Then he offered to buy it on the spot! When he asked how much I wanted for it, I panicked and said I only wanted ten.”
“What would it normally go for?”
“Maybe fifty. I’m much better at painting, so I don’t charge much for drawings. This one was pretty good though.”
“You let him have it for ten?”
“That’s the thing. We agreed on ten and he just handed me a fifty! I didn’t have enough change, and he said he didn’t care – he figured it was worth fifty anyway.”
“Pfft. What a jerk,” Jo smirked.
“Look, I didn’t want to take advantage of the situation. I didn’t want to take advantage of him. So I had a silly thought and went with it. I made him sit there, took the fifty, and bought some snacks at the little shop across the street.”
“Snacks. Okay. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”
“It was a chance to maybe talk to him a bit more. I was nervous. Leave me alone.”
“Sorry. So what happened next?”
“I set out the food, we picnicked in silence for a couple of minutes, and the only thing I came up with was showing him everything in my sketchbook.”
“How daring!”
Elanna was tiring of the jabs, so just ignored that one. “When I got to the one he bought, I took it out and wrote a little dedication on the back. But I kept it inside the sketchbook’s cover for safekeeping… and forgot about it.”
“Oops.”
“Yup. After the sketchbook, I still didn’t have much else to say, but I had photos of paintings on my phone. So I handed the phone to him and we talked a little about each painting.”
“You handed your phone to someone you just met? Are you kidding me?”
“Um, yeah. Probably not the best idea I’ve ever had. But it worked out. He, um… he saw a photo from my OnlyFans.”
“I’ll bet that was a surprise.”
“He just went dead silent. I thought he stopped breathing. Scared the shit out of me! When I realized what he saw, I freaked out.”
“Did you have to give him mouth-to-mouth?”
“Not funny. No, he was just frozen there. I took away my phone, apologizing like crazy. But then he said I was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.”
“And you didn’t run?”
“Well, neither did he… The thing is, I believed him. The guys at school would say shit like that just to get in someone’s pants. But Michael, he said it with such conviction.” A wide smile overtook Elanna’s face. “That was the exact moment I fell in love with him.”
“That’s so sweet! Then what?”
“I just sat there eating. What was I supposed to do, tell him?” She changed to a slightly mocking tone, “Hey sir, I know we only just met, but I soaked my panties when you called me beautiful, so can I get your number?”
The eyes of this fly on the wall were wide as saucers!
Jo took a moment before responding, “That would be pretty forward.”
“Yeah, I didn’t have a clue what to do. He finally had to go, but he suggested meeting back at the bench to watch the sunset. And I was just like, we’ll see. I didn’t get his number or anything!”
“Oh no.”
“Yeah. I was halfway home before I realized I still had his drawing inside my sketchbook!”
“Really? What are we going to do with you?”
“I needed to film some content for the fans, but I was so frustrated with myself. Plus I was really wound up. In the end, I decided to paint a very special painting. Acrylic on canvas, using my breasts.”
“We have very different ways of handling being horny.”
“It was performance art for the fans. But I wanted Michael to see the performance too, you know. Taking care of myself just had to wait.”
“I bet you nearly exploded waiting.”
“No kidding. bahis şirketleri I ran by the store to grab a folder for his drawing. Then I did a painting from start to finish. That took longer because I was filming and photographing myself the whole time. After painting, I had to clean up and wash off. And somehow I had to get to the park in time with his drawing, a thumb drive, and a card with my number on it so he can call me.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I didn’t know if he would even show up!” Elanna switched back to the mocking tone for a moment. “We’ll see.” Now she’s a bit exasperated, “as if a simple yes would have made me sound too desperate or something.”
“Be nice to yourself. I’m the only one allowed to talk trash about you tonight.”
Elanna smiled softly, then continued. “I got to the park a little later than I wanted, and he was there waiting for me! My heart skipped a beat when I realized he was there!”
“Who could pass up a chance to hang out with a cute thing like you?”
“So I handed him the drawing and the card.”
“Are you still using Angelo’s cards?”
“Yeah. He’s the only one that keeps my art in stock, so I like to send him whatever business I can. Anyway, Michael and I watched the sunset together. It was beautiful. Inspiring. We made a little small talk until the streetlights came on. I was nervous as heck, but then I would look at him sitting there so calmly, and that calmed me down.”
“Calm enough to get his number?”
“He texted me before we left, thank goodness. And I finally remembered to give him the thumb drive too.”
“Right, the thumb drive… what did you put on it?”
“My complete painting portfolio. Plus pictures and a video of my topless painting from that afternoon. Remember that one picture he nearly passed out looking at? That whole photo shoot was on there.” Elanna has a sly grin on her face.
“Were you trying to seduce him or kill him?”
“I guess it could have gone either way. But I have to tell you, the thought of him looking at naked pictures of me while I was masturbating thinking of him… it was so hot!”
I can see why guys aren’t usually allowed to hear girl-talk! This fly on the wall has eyes the size of dinner plates now! Speaking of, dinner is almost ready…
“I came on my dildo in the shower. That wasn’t enough so I came fingering myself in bed.”
“Are you sure you were in love and not just extremely horny?”
“A lot has happened since then. It’s love, without a doubt. But it’s a really good thing we started having sex. My fingers were cramping from so much rubbing.”
Jo snickered.
“I was laying in bed, enjoying the afterglow, and texted him. I didn’t even think about it being the middle of the night. It turned out he was masturbating too, and I interrupted.”
“How rude!”
“I made up for it. I sent him a nude selfie.”
“It’s only fair.”
“For sure. Of course, since I knew he was jacking off, I had to rub another one out.”
“Of course,” Jo chuckled.
“Ahem. Ladies, supper is ready.” As much as I enjoyed listening in, I was getting hungry.
“So, Michael. Did your hand start cramping from jacking off all the time?” Jo was surprisingly direct!
“Um, yeah. Eventually. At first, it wasn’t my hand that got sore…”
“I can’t imagine that fucking Elanna is much gentler. Is your dick permanently sore, or what?”
Elanna chimed in. “We’ve had to broaden our horizons so his dick can have time to recover. His tongue does quite a good job filling in. His fingers too.”
“Does that lead to blue balls?”
“Not as much as you might think,” I answered. “Elanna keeps my balls pretty empty, which seems to help. But perhaps we should find a different topic of conversation while we eat.” It’s probably not a great idea to set a plate of hot food in your lap when you’re sporting an erection.
Jo replied, “spoilsport.” She made sure to point out the tent in my trousers to Elanna.
***
The dinner conversation was still pretty personal, but much less orgasm-centric.
“Oh my god, Elanna! The perfect couple you idolized in school, they were Michael and Lisa?!”
“I was devastated when I realized. They were supposed to be living happily ever after like I always imagined. I didn’t recognize Michael because I had only ever seen him across the hall in school, and that was years ago.”
In time, it was my turn to be filled in on the girls’ past.
Elanna’s eyes were tearing up. “That bitch never missed an opportunity to harass me about it.” Elanna’s voice changed to emulate an older sorority sister’s voice. “Hey, how’s the grave robbing going? How was Bingo night, I mean date night? You should volunteer at the old folks’ home – you can have all the dick you’d ever want if you sneak in some Viagra.”
Jo leaned in and gave her a side-hug. “I was so glad when she graduated. There was just no reasoning with her.”
“Yeah. She was the worst, but she wasn’t the only one, you know? That’s why I started dating the asshole-who-shall-not-be-named. To shut everyone up.”
Jo took over. “So yeah. Elanna started bahis firmaları dating the asshole and somehow convinced herself that he was the one. But you could just tell that the happiness, when it was there, was fragile – it could be shattered in an instant. By the end, it seemed like he found Elanna to be an inconvenience. But he was still an overbearing piece of shit any time there was another male in the room with her.”
“And he would start acting so sweet sometimes. He would take me out to eat somewhere nice. He would give me flowers for no reason. Hide love notes in my art supplies. We’d fuck like rabbits for a few days. Then it would just stop.”
“We never figured out what his problem was. Maybe if I’d done better in Psychology I would know.”
“The asshole dumped me right before graduation. Literally. I was in my cap and gown and he was supposed to take me to the ceremony.”
“Elanna called, bawling. We were all already at the stadium, so we had plenty of sisters to save our seats. Three of us went back to get Elanna. We got her calmed down, fixed her makeup, and got her to the ceremony with about three minutes to spare.”
“The fucker ruined my graduation. I got through the ceremony without crying somehow. The sisters took my parents and me out for dinner afterward. Mom and Dad figured out something was wrong pretty quickly. The sisters did everything they could to make the best of the situation, and we appreciate that to no end. Looking at the pictures from that night, I see the love my sisters have for me. For my parents too. That’s what I carry with me.”
“That explains a lot.” I didn’t know how to respond to that, because damn.
“Hey, who’s up for pie? I could use a mood booster after that.” Jo saves the day again.
“I’ll serve,” Elanna offered.
While Elanna was puttering around the kitchen, Jo whispered to me. “Thank you for being better for her than I ever hoped. You saved my best friend.”
“Thank you for being sneaky and setting her up all the time.” We shared a smile.
***
“Can you tell us about you and Lisa?” Jo was the one asking, but I knew Elanna was just as curious.
My first love. It seems like a lifetime ago. “She was amazing. We latched onto each other during our freshman year of college. By the end of the year, when we weren’t in class or our dorms, we were hanging out together.”
I remembered so many good times. “We both went back to our homes that first summer and promised not to spend that much time apart again. Once the fall semester started, we were inseparable. You know how college is. Good times, bad times, all that stuff. We just stuck together through it all.
“The summer after sophomore year was the first time we went camping together. It was the summer of s’mores. We just couldn’t get enough of them. The camping trip went great until I fell into that poison ivy plant on the last day. She took such good care of me, and we managed to avoid spreading the rash to her.
“She earned her teaching certificate. She loved teaching. Loved the students. Well, most of the students at least.” I chuckled. “And we were in love. So when I moved off to grad school, she moved there too.
“We didn’t live together yet. She was working her butt off being a new teacher. I was working my butt off being a grad student. Those first few years, when we spent time together, we would usually just be in the same room working on our stuff separately. But we always made sure to eat together and just focus on the two of us. That’s what kept me sane, I think.
“I remember she cheered me on. I was ready to drop out of school so many times, but she encouraged me and always convinced me to hang in there just a bit longer.
“Toward the end of grad school, we finally moved in together. We were still insanely busy all the time, but we were used to it by then.
“We decided to get married a couple of weeks after my hooding ceremony. By then it almost seemed like a formality. But the timing made sense, you know. Finishing one chapter of our lives and starting another.”
I realized that Jo and Elanna were listening to me ramble on, paying close attention to the tale. A curious duo, to be sure. Or maybe they just like love stories.
“We moved to the only place that wanted to hire me. She got a job with the local school district, and then we were living the life we always imagined. Well, mostly. We wanted kids, and we tried for a few years. We reached a crossroads where we could either try fertilization treatment or we could just make peace with not having a baby.
“That was when I started having lunch with her at school. Just a couple of days a week at first. It helped us stay connected while we came to terms with not being parents. That and counseling.
“Eventually I started planning my teaching schedule around hers so we could always have lunch together. I guess it was sometime after that when an impressionable youngster first caught sight of us meeting up.” I gave Elanna a wink.
“She was the love of my life. I had no idea how I could live without her. Then there was the accident.” kaçak bahis siteleri Tears welled up. “I couldn’t live without her, and then I had to live without her.”
Jo interjected, “she sounds like a terrific woman. Tell me, what did she look like?”
Her diversion worked, and I was back to happy memories. “Oh, um. She was tall, about six feet. Green eyes. Short curly brown hair. Small breasts and a large butt.”
Jo looked over Elanna quickly and confusedly asked, “If Elanna’s your type, then Lisa wasn’t?”
“Ah, no. Lisa wasn’t my preferred body type, but that didn’t matter. A perfect body is a nice bonus, not a requirement.” I looked at Elanna. “It’s a very nice bonus.”
She blushed at the remark.
Jo pressed further. “Well, how does the sex compare?”
Elanna objected, “Jo!”
Jo backtracked. “Never mind, yeah. That’s a shitty thing to ask.” She took a moment to come up with a new line of questioning. “What’s one thing you’ve done with Elanna that you never did with Lisa?”
“Cunnilingus never appealed to Lisa. Though I have since discovered that I quite enjoy it.”
“What’s something you used to do with Lisa that you haven’t done with Elanna?”
“Pegging,” I said flatly. I was trying to shock Jo. I only realized it might also shock Elanna after I said it.
“Pegging?!” Jo was shocked, so mission accomplished. “As in, she wore a strap-on and pounded your ass, pegging?”
“That’s right.”
Elanna was a bit shaken. “You never wrote that on your lists. I thought you said you weren’t interested in butt stuff.”
Jo leaned over to Elanna and asked, “what lists?”
Elanna deferred, “I’ll tell you later.”
I formulated my response. “I said that when we were talking about me doing stuff to your butt. I’ve never been interested in fucking someone’s ass, yours included. However, being pegged by the woman I love is an enjoyable dynamic. She enjoyed the experience of penetrating me too.”
“She wouldn’t let you eat her pussy, but she fucked you in the ass? Bullshit.” Jo was right, it’s a strange combination.
“I can assure you, it’s the truth.”
“I guess I know what I’m getting Elanna for her bachelorette party. I’ll need both your sizes,” she smirked.
Was Jo being serious?
“I think you should keep your gift options open for now.” I wasn’t sure what kind of vibe I was getting from Elanna about all of this.
Jo sensed my concern and saw the look on Elanna’s face. “Elanna, sweetie. Are you okay?”
“No,” she responded simply.
Jo pulled Elanna into a hug. “I’m sorry. We’ve got you. We’ll take good care of you, sweetie. Just tell us what you need.”
Elanna started crying, still holding Jo. “We tried it once. I thought I was ready. He just rammed it in, and it hurt like hell, so I screamed and made him stop. I couldn’t stop crying and he just stood there yelling at me.”
I wondered if calling him the asshole-who-shall-not-be-named was too kind.
“It will be okay. He’s out of your life for good. Just cry it out. Get it all out of your system.” Maybe Jo would be a good counselor.
I collected dirty dishes and made sure we all had a cold cider in front of us. I patted Elanna on the back and leaned my head down for a gentle hug. “I love you, and I promise I will take much better care of you. Always.”
Jo was on the brink of tears too, still hugging Elanna. “And if you need us to break into the asshole’s house, steal all his shoes, and litter his floor with Legos, just give the word.”
Elanna gave a tearful chuckle.
“I’ll throw in some rusty old jacks too,” I offered. By the confused looks, I’ll just assume neither of them remembers that old game. “Or fishing hooks.” That earned the red-eyed smile I hoped for.
***
We kept to lighter conversation topics for the rest of the evening, thank goodness.
The local pie cartel was ramping up for the summer. Extra business at Mel’s Diner over the summer meant more pie sales. More pie sales meant more baking practice ahead of the county fair in the fall.
The local apple cider scene is quite impressive. It was still a couple of months before the next apple harvest, so the local connoisseurs were trying to sample as many batches from as many brewers as they could. In a few months, they’ll be debating the best recipes to try for the different apple varieties grown locally.
The grocery store is talking about expanding to better serve the campers from the park. But the talk always picks up at the start of summer and dies back down before fall. The seasonal increase in sales is never quite enough to get the owner to take the plunge.
Jo is thinking about asking Tommy out. They’re both unattached, and she’s taken a liking to him. He’s usually pretty busy, but he seems to bump into her a lot more than you might expect. Elanna and I agree that waiting around to see what happens is riskier than trying to make something happen. Besides, how could Tommy turn down a summer of love with Jo?
Someone finally looked at the time. Jo had to work the next morning, but she was too tipsy to drive home. Thankfully, she keeps a spare uniform in the car, in case of a big spill at work. We agreed that she would stay and sleep on the couch. I made sure to put a metal bucket of water by the fireplace so she could have a warm shower before she left.