Author's Note: Welcome back! Hope everyone is continuing to enjoy the story so far, and I always appreciate the nice reviews and comments. Before anything else, I have to thank my friend LaughLoveLive for his outstanding help on D.C. geography, which I greatly appreciate. I've been there several times, but he's the real expert.
Please see chapter 1 for my Standard Disclaimers!
This Is Our Life
by Jo P.
Chapter 10: Hold Me Dear
I wonder why
I feel so high though I am not above the sorrow
Heavy-hearted 'til you call my name
And it sounds like church bells
Or the whistle of a train on a summer evening
I want to meet you barefoot, barely breathing
--Sophie B. Hawkins; "As I Lay Me Down"
The sound of Hannah Montana's "The Best Of Both Worlds" coming from her cell phone stirred Lilly Truscott from her deep sleep. She sleepily reached for the phone, being careful not to move the warm, strong arm she felt wrapped around her chest. As she blindly found the phone and turned off its alarm, she realized exactly where the hand attached to her wife's arm was. And what it had just begun doing.
"Mmm, be careful Miles," Lilly said softly. Miley's fingers were gently rubbing her left breast through her pajama top, and her body was beginning to react to the gentle arousal. "We're not at home, remember." She rolled over and put her own right hand on her wife's chest, finding her own target as she undid a button and slipped her own hand underneath Miley's top. "We should really get into the shower to do this," she whispered.
Miley's fingers stopped tickling Lilly's nipple as she sucked in a quick breath, triggered by Lilly's own attentions to Miley. "Yeah, you're right, hon," Miley whispered. She gave Lilly a quick kiss, followed by a slightly longer and deeper one before she gently pulled Lilly's hand out of her pajama top. "Dirty girl," she said with a flirtatious grin.
"And you love it," Lilly replied, her own grin just as flirty.
"Yep, I sure do." Miley eased the covers back and stood up, stealing a glance at their roommates, still soundly asleep. She helped Lilly stand and then they quietly walked to the bathroom, trying hard not to giggle as they padded their way across the hotel room. As they stepped onto the cool tile and Lilly shut the door, Miley turned on the bathtub, feeling the water until it was the right temperature, then she lifted the plunger and shifted the stream of water to the shower head. She stood and smiled as she felt Lilly's fingers finish undoing the buttons on her pajama top. "You itchin' for somethin', Lil?" she said over her left shoulder.
Soft kisses on the right side of her neck answered Miley's question. "Yeah," Lilly said with a low voice. "You." She pulled Miley's pajama top off, tossing it to the floor atop her own discarded pajamas. As she reached down and pulled Miley's bottoms and panties off, she let them drop to the floor as she gripped Miley's perfect stomach. "I love you so much, Miles," she whispered.
Miley's hands drifted down to Lilly's hip, feeling only warm skin instead of silky fabric. "You already naked?" Miley asked, surprise in her voice.
"Uh huh," Lilly mumbled as she rubbed Miley's belly.
Miley made a noise somewhere between a squeak and a squeal as she rubbed her fingertips over Lilly's hips and then her butt. "Get in the shower with me," she said, her voice dropping to its lowest, sexiest timbre of its own accord.
Lilly actually growled softly as the two young women stepped into the shower together, not releasing her lover from her grip. "You turn me on so much when you talk to me in that voice, Miley," she said as they felt the warm spray hit their bodies. They turned so that Miley's front was closest to the water, then Lilly's right hand began to drift downward.
"Oh yeah," Miley breathed out as she felt Lilly shift her grip. "Go ahead, Lil, please."
Hearing her wife plead for her touch wiped any thought of taking it slow from Lilly's mind. She shifted her left arm to hold Miley just underneath her breasts and then slipped her right hand down where Miley needed it, then she gently slid her middle finger inside her best friend. Miley sucked in a breath and stood on her tiptoes as Lilly began to make love to her, finally rocking back onto her heels and leaning back into Lilly as she closed her eyes and smiled. "I love you, Miley," Lilly whispered again and again, "I love you. I love you so much." Finally Lilly felt Miley's grip shift as her short fingernails dug into Lilly's hips, signaling how close she was to her orgasm. Lilly licked Miley's left earlobe and slid a second finger in, curling her fingers just right to caress Miley how she liked it best. Immediately Miley grunted and shivered, her breath hissing in, pausing, and then back out between her clenched teeth as her entire body shook once, twice, then a third time as Lilly held her securely. As she felt Miley's muscles slacken, Lilly tenderly withdrew her fingers and shifted her right hand and arm to grip Miley across her abdomen, continuing to hold her firmly as her wife slowly came back to reality. Lilly was careful to keep her right hand out of the water's spray, because she wasn't through driving Miley crazy just yet. She smiled as she thought a few seconds ahead.
"You screwed my eyes back in my head with that one, lover," Miley said as she recovered from the powerful orgasm. She patted Lilly's left arm and turned as she felt Lilly's grip loosen. "Your turn," Miley said as she looked into Lilly's blue eyes, brimming with desire. As Miley watched, she saw Lilly bring her right hand up in front of their faces, wiggling her fingers to show Miley the glistening wetness on them. "Yeah, you did good, Lil," Miley said with a grin, but her voice faded as she watched Lilly smile and slip each finger into her mouth, one at a time, as she sucked every bit of Miley off of them. Miley felt her mouth water suddenly at Lilly's silent declaration of how much she loved every part of Miley, and without even thinking Miley fell to her knees and pushed Lilly backwards slightly. "Down here," she managed to get out as her eyes fixed on her target; as Lilly obligingly laid down, Miley slid back until she was below the water's spray, out of its path. She handed Lilly a washcloth to cover her face against the water's spray and then grabbed Lilly's legs and not so gently pulled her lover closer to her, not stopping until Lilly's head and chest were under the water's spray and her pelvis was out of it. Once she had her wife where she wanted her, Miley reached under Lilly and tried to lift her butt off the tub. Lilly knew what Miley was doing, and she braced her legs and lifted herself off the porcelain to give Miley full access to anything she wanted. She turned her head to keep the spray off her chest from filling her nose and then she gripped anything she could with her hands, because she recognized the look she had seen in Miley's eyes. Her wife was about to rock her world.
Miley took a good look at the part of Lilly that only she was allowed to see, to smell, to taste and touch. Then she leaned forward and began to lick the young woman she had pledged her life to, gently at first but quickly becoming more firm and more aggressive. As she tasted Lilly she felt the rest of the world pull away, leaving only the two of them and the warm, steamy water above them as she hungrily made love to her wife. The roaring in her ears from her own arousal finally subsided to the point that she could hear Lilly's cries of pleasure as she twisted while in Miley's grip. Miley refused to let go, however, and she took Lilly deeper and deeper into her orgasms until finally she felt Lilly's fingers tangle themselves in Miley's hair and tug firmly. Miley knew what that signaled, and she immediately let Lilly go and crawled forward to lift Lilly up off the bathtub's floor. She pulled Lilly's twitching body into her lap as she sat, shielding her wife from the water's spray with her back as she held and rocked her, whispering her love for Lilly into her ear as she held her for one minute, then two. Finally Miley felt Lilly's arms wrap around her body, and she knew her best friend was coming back down from ecstasy. She gently kissed Lilly on her forehead and was rewarded with a smile and then Lilly's eyes fluttering open.
"Hey," Lilly said softly.
"Hey," Miley replied, smiling as she considered how amazingly beautiful Lilly truly was, especially immediately after an orgasm.
"Love you," Lilly said as her eyes closed again, then slowly opened.
"Love you too." Miley couldn't help but smile as she looked down at the peace and joy reflected on Lilly's face.
As if reading her wife's mind, Lilly said, "I feel so safe when you're holding me, Miley." She snuggled in closer to Miley, gently placing a soft kiss on Miley's left breast as she did so. "So safe and so happy." She grinned more broadly, then she snickered and said, "I think the feeling's coming back below my waist."
Miley giggled herself at her wife's statement. "I sure as heck had fun makin' love to you, girlfriend, and you seemed to like it too."
"You could say that," Lilly said, her smile fixed on her face. "I love how your accent gets stronger when you're turned on. I think it's sexy."
Miley felt her heart skip a beat at Lilly's words. "I don't think either of us could handle any more right now, Lilly Bear."
Lilly laughed, then she said, "I think you're right." She leaned her head back, catching some of the water's spray around Miley. "Whoo," she said softly as she took in several deep breaths. She then shifted in Miley's lap, sitting up slightly. "Thank you," she said as she placed several kisses on Miley's lips between each word, "for making such hot, sexy, wonderful love to me." She smiled and hugged Miley tightly, then she said, "We need to actually take a shower now, lover. Or we'll run out all the hot water."
The two of them slowly stood, each holding to other until they were sure of their balance. Miley then said, "Lilly, we're in a motel. We won't run out of hot water."
Lilly considered that. "Oh. Well, then, before they wake up."
Miley smiled as she handed Lilly her shampoo. "I'll buy that," she said as she leaned back to put her head under the water.
After ten minutes, they had washed their hair and their bodies and stepped out of the shower. They dried off and then slipped on their bras and panties, a soft blue today for each article of clothing. Lilly had brought each of them a robe, a pink Lola Luftnagle one for Miley and a yellow Hannah Montana one for Lilly; they put on their robes and opened the door to let some of the steam out. They began brushing out their hair, taking turns drying each other's hair until they were satisfied. They stepped out of the bathroom and saw that the television was on. Sarah was sitting on the bed watching a show about elephants while Cassie was fixing a pot of coffee using the small coffee machine on the room's table.
As Miley and Lilly came back into the main room, Sarah and Cassie watched them carefully. Miley and Lilly looked around as Lilly finally said, "Okay, what?"
Cassie walked by them and smiled as she gently patted first Miley, then Lilly on the head. "You two get loud when you're having sex," she said. As the two girls slightly blushed, she added, "And whichever one of you that was howling and screaming at the end? WOW. I'm impressed."
Now Miley and Lilly really blushed. "Sorry, we didn't mean to get so loud," Miley said as Lilly buried her face in Miley's chest laughing. Miley managed to get out, "Hey, we waited until we were in the shower," before she started laughing herself. Cassie and Sarah both joined them in laughter until all four of them were gasping for breath.
"Well," Cassie said, "at least you girls aren't going to be boring roommates."
By eight o'clock everyone was dressed and ready to go. Miley was wearing a soft gray t-shirt and blue jeans, while Lilly had on her favorite olive green half-sleeve shirt with dark brown cargo shorts. Both girls were wearing tennis shoes because they expected to do lots of walking; they each also took a light jacket just in case it was chilly this early in the morning.
On the schedule for today were trips to the Capitol Building, the Supreme Court and the National Archives. Lunch would be at the Supreme Court in the cafeteria inside the building, with plans for the students to eat outside if the weather permitted. Following the National Archives, the plan was to let the students have some time at the Shops at Crystal City beneath the hotel. Crystal City was an underground shopping and dining area similar to a shopping mall but extending beneath several city blocks. It housed its own Metro station for movement around the city and connected to several other business above it besides just the Marriott the students were staying in.
After taking the Metro to within walking distance of the Capitol, Miley and Lilly quickly got used to standing in line. Standing in line to get into the Capitol Building, standing in line for the tour, standing in line to walk to the Supreme Court, standing in line to get their food... The only break they got from standing in line was during the actual tours of the Capitol and the Supreme Court, when they instead followed their tour guide, an older woman in her fifties who carried around an open bright orange umbrella, which they were supposed to follow. She said it made it easier for larger groups to follow something like that instead of a particular person, but Lilly expressed her own opinion about the umbrella.
"It looks goofy," Lilly had said to Miley, getting a few snickers from others around them. "Maybe she's some serial killer, who collects umbrellas from poor high school students she murders. Who's to say she's not gonna pick one of us as her next victim?"
"You don't have an umbrella," Oliver helpfully said.
"Oh yeah," Lilly said, her face brightening considerably. Miley just rolled her eyes and followed her girlfriend along on the tour.
After lunch they were on their way to the National Archives when Miley's phone rang. She pulled it out and checked the number, then she answered it. "Hi Daddy!"
"Hey Miles, how are you and Lilly doin'?"
"We're doing great. Seeing all sorts of halfway interesting stuff."
"You could sound a bit more excited, Miles. You two are gettin' a chance to see history. This is a big trip, goin' to see how our government works."
"Well, it's been kinda dull so far. Not much going on in the Capitol or the Supreme Court today," Miley said honestly. "But we're on our way to see the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence right now, so that should be cool."
"Well, good. Oh, I got a call this mornin' about--"
Robbie Ray's sentence was interrupted as Lilly's head, resting on Miley's shoulder as she napped, tipped slightly as the bus took a turn. Miley nearly dropped her phone as she scrambled to catch Lilly's head before it fell forward, narrowly saving her wife from bonking her head on the seat back in front of them. "Sorry Daddy, I didn't hear that last bit," Miley said when she finally got her phone and Lilly's head under control. "Can you say it again?"
"I said that Rolling Stone magazine wants to put you and Lilly on the cover in two weeks."
Miley's mouth fell open. "That is SO COOL!" she said happily. "Lilly'll be tickled to hear that, she loves that magazine."
"They're gonna shoot the cover with you two next week once you get back, but they want to do a telephone interview that they can run in the next issue before the special one with you two comes out."
Miley nodded her head happily as she said, "Sure! When do they want to do it?"
There was a pause before Robbie Ray's voice came back. "They need to do it tonight or tomorrow night to beat the deadline. You think you can do it?"
Miley thought for a minute. "Yeah, I think we can do it," she said finally. "It'll be tricky, but I think we can manage."
"Alrighty, then I'll call 'em back up and get a time and a number for you to call tonight. Sound good?"
"Sounds good, Daddy. Shoot for tomorrow night if you can. Love you."
"Love you two too. And I already told 'em it'd probably be tomorrow night."
"Oh, and tell Mamaw and everybody that Lilly and I said hi and that we love them too!"
"I'll do that, darlin'. Be careful up there, you hear?"
"We will, Daddy. Just call me back later, okay?"
"You got it, bud. Bye."
"Bye," Miley said as she clicked off the phone. Lilly began to stir beside her.
"Whazzup, Miles?" Lilly mumbled.
"I'll tell you later, hon," Miley said casually. "Not the kind of thing we can talk about here."
Lilly raised an eyebrow as she looked at Miley. It was all Miley could do not to laugh at the move that Lilly had learned from her, because she did it very well. After a few seconds, Lilly said, "Now you've got me intrigued."
"Good, that'll make it so much better when you really find out," Miley said, well aware that Lilly would eventually attempt to get the information out of her. At that statement Lilly slightly shrugged her shoulders and snuggled in closer to Miley, resting her head again on her best friend's shoulder.
"Mr. Corelli!" called out a voice a few seats back on the other side of the aisle. "Please make my lesbian classmates stop their disgusting PDAs on the bus!"
Lilly's eyes shot open and she sat up so fast that she nearly cracked heads with Miley. She looked back and saw Janelle Gertz smiling innocently at her; as Lilly looked, Janelle subtly gave her an obscene gesture. However, before Lilly could reply, the voice of Gina Giles, her soccer teammate, piped up from further back in the bus. "Excuse me, Jan, but not all the lesbians on this bus are actively engaging in PDAs, just the married ones. How about finding something else to look at if you don't like seeing them hold each other."
Janelle spun in her seat. "Stay out of this, Giles! I've got plenty of hateful comments for you and your little girlfriend after I'm done with the Dyke Queens."
"You're done with it now, Janelle!" yelled Mr. Corelli from the front of the bus. He stood and made his way back through the bus, being careful to hang onto the seats while the bus was still moving. He coughed twice, then he looked at Miley and Lilly and softly said, "Sit up ladies, please." He then turned to look at Janelle and said, "Ms. Gertz, if you continue to make comments like your previous ones to either Miley, Lilly, Gina or Jamie, then I'll put your tail on a Greyhound bus back to Malibu. You should get there in about three or four days." The bus fell totally silent as the students tried to decide whether he would truly follow up on his threat.
After long moments Janelle said, "Sorry Mr. Corelli." She wasn't entirely sure he had what it took to back up his threat, but there was a real possibility he might; she couldn't take that chance.
As the bus came to a stop and Mr. Corelli returned to the front, conversation resumed at a lower volume. The students quickly filed off the bus and got in line to enter the building. As Miley and Lilly walked through the building, they surprised themselves at how much they enjoyed this particular building. It had been interesting to see the Capitol Building and the Supreme Court, but they didn't get to actually see any business being conducted, just the architecture, statues and locations. But here they could see the true documents they had read about, the Constitution of the United States, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Emancipation Proclamation, the 19th Constitutional Amendment that gave women the right to vote, the Louisiana Purchase.
Miley got a chill when she saw the Declaration of Independence, lying peacefully underneath its protective case. She didn't turn to look at Lilly, but she felt Lilly come up beside her and slip her hand into her own. Miley squeezed her friend's hand as the two of them looked at the document, yellowed with age but still quite readable. "It's over two hundred years old," Miley said.
"Yeah," Lilly said with awe in her own voice. "And you can still read it. This is what started our country, Miley."
Miley nodded. Her eyes were blurring with tears, which surprised her completely.
"What's wrong, honey?" Lilly asked as she saw Miley tearing up.
Miley wiped her eyes. "I was always raised to love this country. Not necessarily the people running it or some of the things we did, but what America stood for. You know, acceptance of others, forgiveness, freedom to live your own life without other people telling you what you and can't do. And now seeing this, with my own eyes..."
"It really sinks in, that a group of people sat down and had the courage to write this out and then fight for what we have today, right?"
Miley nodded. Lilly had gotten exactly what she was feeling, and she should have known she would. Miley turned and hugged Lilly tightly. She didn't need to kiss her right now, just to hold her and be held in return. After long moments, Miley stepped back. "Thanks," she said to Lilly, a slight smile on her face.
"Anytime, Miles," Lilly said, smiling in return. They linked hands and walked further around the rotunda, pausing to take in each document on display. When they reached the U.S. Constitution, they looked at it, then the Bill of Rights. Lilly spoke up and said, "Maybe one day we'll be looking at another amendment to the Constitution here."
Miley's head lifted up. Now it was her turn to understand exactly what Lilly was thinking, and she smiled. "Say, one that lets people like us get married legally in this country?"
Lilly smiled back broadly. "That is exactly what I'm talking about, girlfriend," she said slowly and carefully. "One day."
"One day," Miley echoed, although no doubt existed in her mind as to the validity of their marriage. No matter what the laws of America said, God had put her and Lilly together and no one, no law, and no event would ever separate them.
Lilly turned to look at Miley, her face serious. "Miley, I think you already know that our marriage goes deeper than just words or a license. Whether it's legal to get married here or not, the two of us were put together a long time ago, and no one on earth can go against that."
Miley laughed as she hugged Lilly. "I was just thinking the same thing, girlfriend. 'What God has put together, let no man pull apart,' right?"
"Right. Or no woman." Lilly's smile was radiant. Once again that mysterious connection between them had shown just how powerful it truly was. While she tried not to think about death, being surrounded by all this history made it difficult not to estimate the weight of the years. Unbidden, Lilly's thoughts drifted to the future, a future that she hoped would be many years and many children and grandchildren away. She felt her eyes sting as she fought back the tears, which she knew Miley would feel through that same connection she was contemplating at that very moment.
"What is it, Lilly?" Miley said, concerned at the gnawing sensation deep in her stomach.
"I need to go outside, Miley, to get some air."
Miley turned and helped Lilly leave the line and make their way directly to the door. She saw Ms. Hughes look at the two of them, so Miley quickly waved her off, trying to convey that things were okay even though she wasn't exactly sure they were. As they got outside, Miley led Lilly to one of the corners to the side of the entrance. She helped Lilly sit down in the cool shadows, where the crush of people didn't exist. "What's wrong Lilly Bear?" Miley asked, her voice obviously full of concern.
"It's dumb," Lilly sniffed, her gaze fixed down on the stone floor they were sitting on.
"Hey," Miley said as she lifted Lilly's chin up so they were looking into each other's eyes. "It's not dumb if it's got you upset, okay?"
Lilly nodded. "It's silly, I guess." When Miley didn't say anything, Lilly continued. "I was thinking about, you know, how we can tell when each other is upset or scared or something."
"Or when we're happy," Miley added. "That's one of the best feelings ever, when I can feel how happy you are with things."
Lilly smiled and nodded again. "Yeah, that rocks, Miles." Then her mood turned somber again. "But in there, I was just thinking--" She stopped abruptly, and Miley could feel her hesitation to voice what she was afraid of, as if not saying it would spare Miley what Lilly was feeling at that moment.
"Lilly?" Miley asked. "You know that whether you tell me or not, I can feel how upset what you're thinking has you. So go ahead and tell me, sweetheart. Tell me so you can let it go and we can talk it over and get past it, okay?"
Now when Lilly looked back up, her eyes were reddened from tears. "I was thinking that a long time from now, like, fifty or sixty or seventy years, after we've had our children and we have tons of grandkids..." She swallowed, and the anticipation was driving Miley mad. "I was thinking that eventually one of us is going to die, Miley."
"Yeah," Miley said carefully. "That's part of life, Lilly, but--"
Lilly abruptly cut Miley off with a torrent of words. "But Miley, if I die first, I'm afraid that those feelings, this connection between us, that losing that could kill you! And that means I'LL kill you when I die, and I couldn't handle that, knowing I had hurt you that badly! And if you die first, then I'll--"
Now it was Miley's turn to interrupt, and her gentle voice was nevertheless firm. "We've already talked about this, Lilly. I know you're not gonna leave me if you die first, just like I won't leave you. I'd just wait around until it was time for you to join me. And I'd expect you to be there for our family."
"But Miley! If our kids are all grown up, and we've gotten to spoil our grandchildren and be there for them, then it would be time to go." Lilly looked down again. "Is it wrong if I wanted to be with you if you died first?"
Miley could feel how confused Lilly was about this and wondered when she had begun thinking about this. "Lilly..." She paused then said, "No, it's not wrong if you wanted to die to join me if I died first, 'cause I'd feel the same way if it happens the other way around. But it's not up to us to decide when our life is over. If you or I were to do something like that, it'd just hurt our family that we left behind, and neither of us could handle that."
"You're right," Lilly said as she sniffled a bit more and leaned into Miley. "But I don't think I'd last too long without you."
"I feel the same way, hon. And I bet that whichever one of us goes first that the other'll probably be catchin' up pretty soon." She kissed the top of Lilly's head. "And I know that if I go first, I'll be right there with you all the way, Lilly. And then when we can hold each other again, that'll be worth the time apart."
Lilly nodded. "Yeah, it sure will." She rubbed her eyes. "I'm really sorry, Miley."
"Why?" Miley asked honestly.
"Because I got to thinking thoughts like that when I should be enjoying being with you."
"You always do enjoy being with me, Lilly, just like I do you. But it's natural to try to plan ahead."
"It was just... You know, in there, surrounded by all that history, I was thinking to the future, at how we're gonna be remembered, and then I started thinking about how we share feelings..."
"And you thought about how much it would hurt when one of us died," Miley concluded. Now it really did make sense, how upset Lilly had become.
Lilly nodded. "That would tear my heart out, Miley, to know that I couldn't wake up with you holding me anymore." But then Lilly brightened up. "But what you're saying is that even if your body wouldn't be there beside me, you'd still be there with me."
"Yeah," Miley said, glancing down briefly. "I would. I'd be in the bed with you, holding you like always, Lilly. You just couldn't feel it."
"Maybe..." Lilly said as she looked deeply into Miley's eyes. "Maybe I still could."
"Let's not plan on trying it out any time soon, 'kay?" Miley smiled as Lilly laughed at her joke, happy she could steer Lilly off that darker train of thought. Every now and then one of them would get stuck thinking along somber subjects such as death and being apart, and that was when the other would cheer her back up.
"Deal," Lily said after she stopped laughing. "Thanks for getting my mind back on happier things, Miley."
"You're welcome, Lil." Miley hugged her best friend tightly, not letting her go until Oliver and Ashley tapped her on the shoulder and told them that it was time to get back on the bus.
When they returned to the hotel, the students were told that the evening was theirs to enjoy as long as no one left the hotel or the shops immediately adjoining the hotel. The students quickly broke up into smaller groups, with several returning to the floor where the rooms were, others going shopping and quite a few finding something to eat in one of the many restaurants available to them. Miley and Lilly took Sarah and joined up with Oliver and Ashley to explore the Shops of Crystal City. While there was a Metro station underneath the hotel, the students were prohibited from going that far. Still, there were dozens of shops and almost as many restaurants to choose from even with their limited range. Tonight the five of them agreed on Subway, which offered something for each of them. After dinner, they had just begun to look at shops when Lilly pulled Miley to the side.
"I want to go swimming, Miley," Lilly said as she lovingly held Miley's hips while they leaned against the wall which was firmly against Lilly's back. "It's supposed to be clear tonight, and the pool's heated."
Miley thought for a bit, but all she could visualize was Lilly in her new--
"I'll wear that brand new red bikini," Lilly said, sealing the deal.
"Deal," Miley said, trying to hide her smirk. She stepped back, tugging Lilly upright and along behind her as she ran back to the hotel.
"Miley! You don't have to rip my arm out of its socket!"
Fifteen minutes later the two of them were on the elevator down to the pool. Sarah was changing upstairs; she had chosen to accompany them to the pool while Oliver and Ashley shopped a bit longer. Ashley had seen a store selling sculptures and crystal objects that she had to examine in more depth, much to Oliver's regret. Miley and Lilly each had on oversized t-shirts that came down to their knees and flip-flops in accordance with the hotel's policy regarding guests and swimsuits. As they stepped off the elevator they spotted signs leading to the pool, following them to their destination. As they entered the pool area, they were struck by the loudness present, as the Plexiglas walls retained most of the noise created by the other students already present.
"Pretty loud," Lilly practically shouted at Miley as they looked for an empty, secure spot to drop their bag and towels that Miley had picked up as they entered the pool area.
"Yeah, but look there," Miley said, pointing to the wall.
As Lilly looked, she saw that there was an underwater opening connecting the indoor pool to the outdoor pool. "You wanting to go outside and swim?" she asked.
"I was thinkin' about it," Miley replied, a grin on her lips. "As long as the pool's heated, it shouldn't be too cold out there. At least for a bit."
Lilly smiled. "Sounds good to me, girlfriend." She started to take off her shirt when Miley stopped her.
"Wait a sec." Miley kicked off her flip-flops and took off her own shirt, smiling as she saw Lilly's face brighten. She didn't see the other students who were taking a good look at Miley's beauty and her long, lean figure.
"You're so beautiful, Miley," Lilly said earnestly as she took Miley's hands. "Can I take off my shirt now?"
Miley turned so that the light was ideal was watching her wife, then she said, "Okay." As Lilly slowly lifted the shirt off, stretching to show off her abdominal muscles and strong shoulders, she also stood on her tiptoes to accentuate her thighs and calves. As she tossed her shirt into their bag, she turned so Miley could see her perfectly.
"Wow," Miley said simply as a round of cheers, whistles and claps went up around the pool. Miley snickered as Lilly blushed from all the attention. She knew her wife was about to do something very unladylike to make up for all that attention.
Lilly spun around, spotting a large group of boys and a few girls in the deeper end of the pool. She got a running start and jumped right next to them, turning in midair to execute a perfect can opener and send a geyser of water slamming into them.
"That's my woman," Miley said to herself, pride in her voice as she hopped over to the pool and jumped in a bit more sedately.
No sooner had she gotten her head back above the surface than Lilly had swam over to her. "Did you see me soak them?" she said gleefully as the two of them treaded water.
"Yep," Miley said. "You got 'em good."
"Yeah, I did, didn't I?" Lilly swam to the wall, diving underwater and going through the partition to the outdoor pool.
Miley followed suit, breaking the surface of the water to a night that was warmer than she had been expecting. "Not too cold out here," she said as she reached Lilly, leaning against a corner of the pool in the shallow end.
"Are you kidding me?" Lilly said, only her head above the surface of the water. "It's freezing out here!"
Miley stood, feeling a chill in the air she hadn't appreciated. "Well, maybe it is cooler than I had thought." She sunk back down until just her head was above the water as well, drifting closer to Lilly until their bodies were nearly touching. "Want me to warm you up?"
Lilly swallowed. "Not nice to tease me like that, Miles," she said as her mouth became dry.
"Don't think of it as teasing, think of it as... consideration for future services."
"Future services, huh?" Lilly said with a playful smile.
"Uh hmm," Miley mumbled as she leaned her head forward until their lips were nearly touching. Abruptly she felt herself propelled backward as Lilly pushed off the wall and sent them both toward the inside pool.
"No time like the present," Lilly said with a grin. However, before they could dive to go back through the tunnel, they bumped into someone else.
Bubbles preceded the head of Cassie Hughes as she finally broke the water's surface, her short red hair stuck to her head. The look of her fiery hair made the green in her eyes sparkle as they reflected the light filling the pool. "I was just on my way out here to tell you two that we're making everyone stay inside. Too many chances to fool around out here in the dark."
Miley turned to look at the teacher as Lilly lightly held onto her shoulders, floating rather than pulling her girlfriend down. "Well, we're not comfortable fooling around where people can see us, anyway. We were actually heading back up to the room."
Cassie smiled. "Okay," she said. "Oh, and I think Sarah's talking with some other friends over there in the hot tub."
"Okay," Lilly said happily. "I think we're gonna hop in the shower and rinse off, then probably watch some TV and cuddle up for the evening."
"Remember to keep the door open," Cassie said seriously. "No closed doors until lights out."
"We remember, Ms. Hughes," Miley said. "What time is it now?"
"Close to nine. Pool closes in a few minutes, lights out at ten." She turned and dove underwater, swimming easily through the underwater passage ahead of the two young women.
Twenty minutes later Miley and Lilly had showered off, gotten on their pajamas and settled underneath the covers as they watched television with Gina and Jamie on the bed next to them. The two couples were snuggling on separate beds, Miley and Lilly under the covers and Gina and Jamie simply stretched out atop the bed as they flipped through the channels.
"I swear, G, you're as bad as a boy when you get that remote. Going from channel to channel as fast as you can," Jaime said.
"It's my ADHD," Gina countered, not looking at her girlfriend who was brushing her long jet black hair.
Jaime smacked her girlfriend on the back of the head with a pillow. "You do not have ADHD. That's just an excuse. Your mom herself told me you've never been tested or anything."
Gina rolled over to look up at her girlfriend. "It sounds good, though, doesn't it?"
"Oh look!" Jaime said loudly, pointing at the television. "It's Lindsey Lohan and her wife Samantha! Oooh, and you can see Lindsey's belly!" she added with a squeal at the end.
"Aww, Lindsey looks so cute pregnant!" Miley said dotingly.
"Yeah," Lilly added, "that glow she has is just adorable. What's this from, anyway?"
"One of those film festivals," Jaime said. "Being nominated for that Academy Award last year really put new life in her career."
Miley looked at the television screen as she said, "Amazing what staying off drugs and alcohol can do for you."
Lilly nudged her wife. "Amazing what being with someone you love can do for you," she added, a knowing gleam in her eye.
"Amen to that, girlfriend," Miley said, a smile on her face.
Sarah came around the corner, halting suddenly when she saw that both beds were occupied. "Sorry, didn't realize..."
"It's okay, Sarah," Lilly said. "Plenty of room for you." She patted the half of the bed that didn't have Miley and Lilly occupying it. As Sarah hesitated, Lilly looked closer. "Gina, Jamie, maybe we should call it a night. Lights out will be any minute."
"Oh yeah!" Jamie said as she scrambled to her feet, playfully pushing Gina back down on the bed as she did so. "Night!" she said hurriedly as she ran out of the room, Gina's legs pumping as she took off after her girlfriend.
Miley gave Lilly a quizzical look as their friends departed, but she didn't say anything aloud. Lilly wouldn't have run them off without good reason. At least a reason that made sense to Lilly. Lilly logic sometimes didn't translate well to others.
"Okay Sarah," Lilly said after a few seconds had passed. "You've been crying. What's up?"
Miley now looked closer, and even though Sarah turned her back to the two of them as she crossed the hotel room Miley could see the redness on her cheeks and a blotchiness on her neck. She had been crying.
"It's nothing much," Sarah said over her shoulder, but she sounded far from convincing.
"It's something that matters to you," Miley said, pausing before she added, "And we're your friends. We're not going to hurt you."
"That's what everybody says," Sarah said as she still refused to turn around, and the bitterness in her voice was very unlike the Sarah Miley and Lilly had known for years. After a long pause, she said, "Dani's been dodging me all night. I tried to get her alone to talk and see why she's been avoiding me, but she won't leave her volleyball friends. It's like she doesn't wa--" Another pause, then, "No, it's like she's ashamed of me."
"When's the last time you two talked?" Miley asked gently.
"Over a week ago," Sarah said, finally turning around as she fell onto her bed face-first. "And that was just on the phone."
No one said a word for long moments, then Lilly voiced what everyone was thinking. "You think she's having second thoughts about going with you?"
Sarah nodded. "Yeah. I do."
"There's only one way to know, and that's to ask," Miley said as she sat up. "But not tonight. You need to get some sleep, and anyway--" She was interrupted by Cassie Hughes walking into the room.
"Lights out, girls," Cassie said. "I'm changing and then getting everyone in our block in bed, then I'll be back."
"I get the bathroom first!" Lilly yelled, racing past her teacher and slamming the bathroom door behind her.
Cassie spun and stared at the closed door. "Dammit, I really needed.." The door opened and a bathrobe came flying out, landing neatly at her feet. "That'll do," she said with a smile as she picked up the white robe and put it on over her swimsuit. "Be back in a few," she said as she stepped back out into the hall.
In moments Lilly came back into the room, looking very relieved. As Sarah stood and walked to the bathroom, Lilly caught her and gently held her by the shoulders until Sarah met her gaze. "Sarah, don't be ashamed of who you are. The only power other people have over you is the power you give them."
Sarah was speechless for long seconds. Slowly a faint smile crept across her face. "Thanks, Lilly. And thank you, Miley," she added as she turned to look at Miley. "Good night."
"Good night," Miley said as Lilly released Sarah and crawled atop the bed, not stopping until she had grabbed her pillow and sprawled out across the bed. As Lilly made herself comfortable, Miley—who had wisely already used the bathroom earlier—reached over and gripped the sheet her wife was lying on. With a firm pull she slid Lilly closer to her, close enough to drape her left arm across her best friend and snuggle up behind her.
"Mmm, night Miles," Lilly said sleepily. "Love you."
Miley smiled as she closed her eyes as well. Sarah would turn off the light when she got out of the bathroom, or Cassie would when she returned. And if no one turned off the light, well, then it was going to stay on all night, because Miley Truscott was holding her one true love, and nothing was going to make her let go until the morning.
Author's Afterword: Another chapter that went on longer than I was expecting. Should I try harder to shorten the chapters so I can put new chapters up sooner? I know waiting nearly two weeks between chapters must be aggravating, and I'm sorry. Let me know if you have a preference for longer chapters and longer intervals versus shorter chapters and shorter intervals. The rest of our Washington arc continues next chapter, as the story once again is taking its own direction without much regard for what I had been planning. And what exactly is going on with Dani and Sarah, and how does Janelle play into it? Because she does, trust me. See you soon!
-- Jo --