Thank you to "FY" who suggested that the perfect song for Myka and Helena would be Ellie Goulding's 'Love Me Like You Do'

Play it while you read what I hope is an enjoyable chapter.

Perfect Strangers

It had been a long day for Irene up in Boston. When she finally turned on her cell phone, it continued to beep for several minutes as Helena's missed calls, voicemails, and texts finally got through. She decided she'd save the voicemails until she was alone. Helena always started out politely on them asking Irene to return her call. The second included the statement – 'perhaps I didn't make myself clear', the third expressed serious doubts about a language barrier and so on. Irene typically returned Helena's calls immediately because things only escalated as the Brit's patience plummeted. She looked at her phone and saw five voicemail messages and wondered how far on the scale of impatience had Helena gotten? She usually gauged it on how many times the Brit said bloody and bollocks.

Irene was relieved there were no calls from her neighbor whom she was determined to visit upon her return and apologize – even though she wasn't exactly sure for what - yet. It wasn't hard for her to imagine that Helena stormed over there and coerced him into giving her information.

"She's doing very well, Mrs. Frederic," the nurse said to Irene. "We're going to discharge her today. Will there be someone staying with her?"

Irene drew a deep breath and smiled. "I will," she said, knowing that it would be the last thing Mary wanted.

"Don't be ridiculous!" was the woman's first reaction. "I'm not a child. I made out fine on my own all these years," she reminded her sister. "I have my classes to get back to and research. People depend on me," she said as if Irene was a care-free spirit with no obligations.

"I will at least get you settled at home," Irene said, hoping to take this one ….long…..step at a time.

"You always were stubborn," Mary commented, looking away, but not fighting it anymore.

"What is your research on?" Irene asked, trying to change the subject as she straightened out the sheets and blanket on Mary's bed.

"I have a group of graduate students working on a theory I have about HG Wells," Mary said in a lighter tone.

"You don't say," Irene said, smoothing out the sheet until Mary put her hand on hers to stop.

"Do you even remember what I do?" Mary said, her acidic tone flowing again.

"You are a tenured Professor at Harvard," Irene said, and her pride in that fact did nothing to soothe her sister.

"And?" Mary asked because she had a long bio.

"My sister?" Irene said, because she was used to dealing with people who had a sense of humor.

"Be serious, Irene. I am the leading authority on the Father of Science Fiction. I am quoted in almost any academic paper or work done on HG Wells. People seek me out to help them," Mary announced and the irony wasn't lost on Irene. The fact that the academic world rarely crossed paths with the business world meant that Helena had never heard of Mary. Yet.

"My boss …. Is a Wells," Irene said proudly.

"Yes, I've read about her. Heads up a biomedical firm or something. Apparently, the writing gene was lost to the ages," Mary said unimpressed.

"The genius seems to have strengthened over the years," Irene said, smiling.

"Is that a fact?" Mary scoffed, annoyed that her sibling would try to make a connection between them. After breakfast, she started to get tired and fell back to sleep.

More than once Irene picked up her phone to text Helena while Mary slept. If the next round of blood tests showed the levels were good, her sister could be released. The only thing Irene texted though was to say things were okay. The less Helena knew about Mary, the better she thought.

Pete was bent over in his seat, his elbows spread out of the table and his head resting on his hands as he stared at the pile of plastics wheels, spiral tubes, ladders, fences, bridges, and strings. He was happy that Helena was so involved, and not at all surprised that she was in control.

"I don't see it," he finally confessed as Helena checked to make sure her dress was waiting for her.

"That's because you're looking with your eyes," Helena said matter-of-factly.

Pete listened and closed his eyes and squinted to see if something can through. "Still nothing," he reported.

"No, Mr. Lattimer, you're not seeing with your mind, with your vision of what could be," Helena instructed.

"I'm pretty sure they want you to build a bridge, or house or something," Pete said picking up pieces that would fit.

"Don't listen to them, Mr. Lattimer," Helena said passionately, as she sat next to him and took his hands. "Think about what you need, what someone would need. See it in your mind's eye and then look at the objects on the table and build it."

Helena made it sound so simple that Pete was tempted to try it. "I'm not very good…," - he was about to cast his own dispersions.

"Stop!" Helena said, in a firm, but affectionate tone. "Do not doubt yourself. You're very bright and you can do this."

Pete stared at his boss and took in those words. When a genius tells you that you're bright, it's a big deal. "Okay," Pete said and returned with renewed vigor to the pile on the table. "Let's try this," he said as he started to pull connectors and wheels out of the mound and put them together.

"What shall I do?" asked his boss and he handed her some items and told her what he wanted.

Helena was at her best when she inspired. After all, it had become the very foundation on which her entire empire stood. An hour later, as they were working in tandem, Helena realized it was time for her to go.

"I'll get ready," Pete said, ready to leave his creation there, but Helena wouldn't hear of it.

"No, Mr. Lattimer, do not let anything interrupt that creative flow when it happens. You must make the most of it, as it can be fleeting. I can find my way to the event," Helena assured him.

"Are you sure, Boss?" Pete said, torn between duty and his construction.

"I wouldn't hear of it," Helena confirmed as she started to leave to get dressed.

"Thanks," Pete said and returned to his work.

"You're an underutilized treasure, Mr. Lattimer," Helena said sincerely.

Pete wasn't entirely sure when Helena meant by that, but he liked the sound of it. And the fact that they spent time together - building something.

"Hey, Boss. We're all getting together for pizza on Friday. Maybe you and Myka can come?" Pete asked.

"It would be our pleasure," Helena said back.

Helena went into the adjoining apartment and put her Marchesa cream colored dress with black lace overlay that adorned the sides of the dress. The pattern then capped the shoulders, reaching across and down the front of the dress. Helena loved any clothing whose design invited Myka to outline it with her finger.

Uptown at the Townhouse, Myka was slipping into her Ralph Lauren two-tone black and white sleeveless dress with rhinestone collar. She rushed to the mirror, brushed her long locks, and swept them up into a bun. Small strands of curls crowned her face. She applied some red lipstick, the kind she was sure Helena could see from the other side of the room, and went outside to get a cab. She texted Helena – "I can't wait to see you."

Helena responded with what she couldn't wait to do and the phone nearly dropped out of Myka's hand.

"Fight fair," she managed to type back.

"I've done enough good deeds for one day," Helena responded with the devil emoticon.

The problem for the couple at events like this was that there were a lot of people who knew them. People would inquire where the other was or drag them in the direction of their mate, thinking they were being helpful.

Myka entered through a side entrance, knowing that people would be expecting Helena to come through the front. This would give her time to set up a distance between them. Myka had to answer several times that she and Helena had traveled separately, until she was finally able to pull herself away from anyone she knew.

Helena wasn't as fortunate. The press was at the front and wanted to take pictures. Then the Mayor grabbed her as soon as she came in. Usually this bothered Helena, but tonight it gave her a chance to be with someone as she scoped out the place, looking for her Stranger. As she sipped on champagne and answered the Mayor's questions, she scanned the room.

It was easy for Myka to tell where her wife was – she simply followed the crowd. She moved in closer, acting very nonchalant. She had to be careful not to get too close or people would naturally wonder why they weren't together.

"There you are!" came a very familiar voice, yet startled Myka.

"Bridget!" Myka said, happy to see her friend, but not wanting to be thrown off. "What are you doing here?"

"Please! Ever since Sarah opened her own studio, she's the darling of New York's in crowd. I don't think I've been home one night this whole month!" Bridget complained, grabbing two glasses of champagne and handing one to Myka. "Here's to being arm candy," she kidded. "Speaking of which, where is yours?" Bridget turned and glanced around the room and found Helena. "There she is," she said, pulling Myka, but Myka didn't budge.

"No," Myka said into her glass.

Bridget looked over at Helena and then back at Myka. She had been with them enough times to know they were like opposite ends of magnets with an attraction so strong, it could push people out of the way. "What?" her friend asked obviously confused. "You two not being together is against the laws of nature, I'm sure of it."

Myka smiled, her eyes cast down, color coming to her cheeks.

"Oh my God, you're up to something!" Bridget declared.

"Nooo," Myka said, pulling her chin down and smiling broader.

"Bering, you suck at lying. We established this early in our friendship. Now, tell me what's going on or I'll be forced to tell Donald Trump over there that you're interested in investing in Atlantic City," the investment banker threatened.

"Fine, fine. We're …..(inaudible)," Myka said, the flute glass between her lips.

"What? You're playing… a gay?" Bridget misheard. "How can you…."

"A game," Myka said more clearly and Bridget grabbed a cloth napkin from a waiter before she spit out the champagne. "Oh my God, you're so funny! What kind of game?" Bridget asked, up for any game, anywhere, any time.

Telling Bridget anything wasn't just letting the cat out of the bag, it was giving the town crier a megaphone to announce it. "It's nothing," Myka tried and could feel her cheeks getting warmer.

"You two have come such a long way! No more just behind closed doors, but out in public! Good cop, bad cop? CEO and secretary? Oh my God, Myka. Student and teacher? Lessons in love conducted after school," Bridget swooned and was lost in her own thoughts. Myka knew that if she didn't give her friend something, she'd continue until she guessed.

"We don't know each other," Myka said, looking away.

"Pardon?" Bridget said, her face expressing how unoriginal it was.

Now Myka was biting her lip and trying to say enough, but not too much. "We…come to a function and pretend…we don't know each other….," she said in a low voice, her raised eyebrows hoping to communicate the fun in doing this.

"So you're …strangers…like strangers …..in the night. Dooby dooby doo…," Bridget said, singing Frank Sinatra's song.

"I think I hear Sarah calling you," Myka said, thinking her friend was too distracting now.

"Okay, okay, I don't want to interrupt your….. game," Bridget said and attempted to walk away, but couldn't go before asking – "Strangers, eh? As in you're cheating on your spouses?"

"What? No!" Myka whispered adamantly. "We're just …..not us."

"Isn't this hard in a room filled with people who know you?" Bridget asked, because her idea of a game was more role oriented. Stranger was too vague for her.

"Yes, that's the challenge," Myka uttered, putting her hand over her mouth to hide her words.

"Myka, challenge should be doing it under this cocktail table while people stand here eating and drone on about life – while screams of passion emanate from behind the tablecloth," Bridget said thinking she really needed to have a long talk with her friend. One look at Myka though told Bridget she wasn't being helpful. "Okay, okay, I'll run interference," she promised and when someone came close to announce Helena was on the other side of the room, Bridget pulled them away into a conversation.

Myka gulped down her champagne, trying to get herself back on track. She smoothed out her dress and shook her shoulders, getting ready. She and Helena understood the challenge to be who gave in first.

At that very moment, the sea of people between her and Helena opened, long enough for them to make eye contact. 'How is it that I can miss her so badly and it's only been hours?' Myka wondered as they made their first visual exchange.

"Let the game begin," Helena said in a low voice and the Mayor corrected her.

"Well, I guess you could use games, but we're thinking more of an open forum where the kids could meet and interact with the Captains of Industry," the Mayor said of his new educational initiative.

Myka made her first move. She slowly raised her hand to the back of her head and pulled out the pins that were holding her long locks in a bun. It was something that Helena loved – watching the long curls cascade down her shoulders as she gently shook her head.

"Look at you, making the first bold move," Helena said not realizing she said that out loud. Her whole body language was changing as she tuned out the world and locked on to the delectable creature in her gaze. She stared intently at Myka to get her attention. When Helena wanted someone to look at her, they looked.

"Well, that's very generous of you, Helena. The whole initiative was thought up by my team. Now the idea is you would visit some of the high schools. Not all of them of course. We could divide them up among the other CEO's who agree to participate," the Mayor explained - happy that Helena was so agreeable. "Of course, we'll need some help getting the others to listen."

"Come to me," Helena said in a guttural voice and the Mayor thought she was whispering.

"Really? Wow, Helena I can't tell you what a relief that is. Many of the top people will only take my calls if I can say you're behind this project," the Mayor beamed. He really had anticipated that Helena would give him a hard time about her participation.

Myka felt Helena's stare across the room and looked up and smiled. 'I don't know her. I don't know her,' Myka repeated in her head trying to get into the right mindset. It was very hard because from the first time she met Helena, even though it wasn't under the most pleasant of circumstances, she was awe struck by how beautiful Helena was. Myka bit her lip and tried not to let her excitement show as she executed her next move. She took a deep breath, dipped her finger in the champagne, and lifted it up to her mouth.

"Now it could take some time to set this up. We don't have the manpower to whip this project out," the Mayor lamented.

"Oh God, I don't think I can wait," Helena said as hers eyes widened at the action and she gasped when Myka slowly inserted the finger in her mouth and then slowly withdrew it.

"Helena, your enthusiasm is overwhelming," the man continued to misinterpret. "The bottom line is that there's not that much money," the Mayor said, thinking Helena had gasped at the budget for his proposed program.

"Damn," Helena said, because this was going to be harder than she thought. "This is going to be harder than I thought."

"Tell me about it," the Mayor said, draining his champagne glass. "You could of course make a donation…."

"Oh, God," Helena squealed as she took another sip of sparkling wine.

Myka was almost bursting with laughter at how well she thought she was doing. Someone came over to say hello and Myka greeted them exuberantly – all for her Stranger's benefit.

"I can do this," Helena assured herself and the Mayor couldn't have been more pleased. With Helena's backing, the program would take off immediately.

"Now, I'm going to announce this to the press later because your endorsement will get the other CEO's on board, if that's okay?" he asked his longtime friend.

"I'm going to be very good at this," Helena said, putting down her glass and getting ready to move closer.

"Well, that's why I chose you," the Mayor said and thanked Helena for her unconditional support. Helena had no idea she was about to become the face of Manhattan's newest educational initiative.

Both woman started to move through the crowds and both said – 'yes, I see her now' to the dozen or so people who wanted to help. Myka walked to the crudité table and nonchalantly took a tiny plate as she perused over the food selection. Helena may have been trying to sneak up on Myka, but her Chanel No. 5 announced her first. God, how that perfume turned Myka on!

Bridget had been talking to someone when she caught Myka's actions. "Get me a bottle of champagne and some paper," Bridget yelled to a waiter when she saw the two women finally near one another. She grabbed Sarah's hand and pulled her upstairs to sit at a small cocktail table.

"What are we doing?" Sarah asked, grateful to be alone with her girlfriend.

"We're going to watch," Bridget said, taking a pen out of her tiny purse.

"What's the paper for?" the dress designer inquired.

"I have a feeling we might want to take notes," Bridget said. She may have doubted the creativeness of her friends' game, but she knew nothing could match their passion at playing it.

"Why do we have to sit up here?" Sarah wondered.

"I'm fair. I burn easily," Bridget said, whispering in her lover's ear.

Helena approached the table. "I'm sorry," Helena said, "Would you mind if I reached over here?" She stood in front of Myka now, and leaned in over her to take a plate, her breast grazing Myka's arm. "That's…a lovely dress," Myka said, forgetting for a minute because she had never seen it on Helena and loved the design.

"This?" Helena said, running her hand over her side down to her hip. "Something I threw on."

Myka realized the closeness to Helena was making it harder to stay in character. "English?" Myka asked because Helena was really laying on her accent, if that was even possible.

"Yes, I'm here on holiday," Helena said and Myka began to suspect that Helena was better at this game and wondered why. "I do like your City."

"Oh, it's not mine, but thanks," Myka said, taking some celery sticks and putting them on her plate. She was going to have to think fast – if she could think at all.

"Visiting?" Helena asked and both women kept their voices low so as not to raise suspicions.

"Business," Myka said, slowly putting the celery to her mouth.

"Business," Helena said instead of asking because her eyes were fixated on the lips that were engulfing the vegetable.

"Berings is ahead, I'm sure of it," Bridget shared as she observed the couple from afar.

"What do you do?" Myka asked, biting into the celery hard and watching Helena's mouth open just a little. She might have even heard her groan.

"Bonus points, Bering!" Bridget said, proud to call Myka her friend.

Before Helena could answer the question, Myka struck again. "Do I have something here?" Myka asked, indicating her lip. "I feel like there's something there?" she said, probing the inner corner of her lips with her protruding tongue. The action made Helena shiver and she slowly put her hand up and wiped the imaginary piece of food away.

"Oh, she's good," Bridget said with pride.

"Oh, thanks," Myka said coyly and Helena started to melt. "What did you say you do?"

Helena swallowed hard. She had just touched one of her favorite places on Myka's body. "I'm a…. sculptor," Helena said, shaking her head to get back into the game. She couldn't possibly give in this early, could she? "You know, I use my hands. I take clay and mold it into…. anything," she said slowly and demonstrated by running her hands over an imaginary object. Myka stopped chewing and she gulped when Helena explained: "I come by it naturally. I have very long fingers, don't you think?" she asked as she extended them to show Myka.

"Oh, oh. Bering losing her focus. Well, I mean who could blame her with that move by Wells?" Bridget said, sounding more like a sports commentator.

"What do you do?" Helena asked and it took Myka a few seconds to hear the question. She was too busy looking at Helena's fingers wagging in front of her.

"Me?" Myka asked, clearing her throat. "I'm a lawyer," she said without thinking and then cringed because she wasn't being original.

"Lawyer? Do you ever get tired of using your tongue all day?" Helena asked innocently, jutting hers out slightly. Myka's pupils dilated. She was about to become putty in the sculptor's hands.

'No!' Myka said to herself. Helena would never let her hear the end of it if she made it too easy.

"Oh geez," Bridget said to Sarah. " Myka's going down and I don't mean that in a good way. Come on, Bering. Tell me you have something up your sleeve."

"Do you come here often?" Myka asked without thinking.

"Every time I'm here," her gifted linguistic Stranger said.

"Oh," Myka laughed because she should have known better than to give Helena that line.

"Be careful, Myka!" Bridget said softly because she knew Helena was making a move.

Then Helena went in for the kill. "Look, let's stop making small talk, shall we? I saw the way you looked at me when I came over here. It's obvious that you're interested. Now, we can waste more time talking with our mouths…..," Helena said in a sing song voice as her finger ran just beneath the collar on Myka's dress. "….. or you can let me take you home and make you the happiest woman on the planet," Helena said in a breathy tone and moved her hand to Myka's hip, resting it at her waist.

"If you brought your nerve, Bering, now would be a good time to use it," her coach said nervously. Then Bridget watched from between her fingers over her eyes as Myka played her ace card.

"Or….," Myka said, leaning over closer, and whispering in Helena's ear – "…I could go up those stairs slowly and you can watch me."

"I was thinking more contact sport than spectator sport, darling," Helena laughed as she took a glass of champagne that was on the table and sipped it.

"And I was thinking more -you proving you're good enough to make the team," Myka said because she understood that coyness was good, challenging Helena was better.

"So I'm just supposed to watch you walk away?" Helena asked intrigued.

"Well, you see," Myka said in a guttural tone. "You'll want to watch me because….. I'm not wearing anything under this dress."

That caught Helena's attention because it was very rare for Myka to be that bold in public. Now Helena stood there, with the glass close to her lips, her mouth agape.

"And fortunately for you," Myka continued, "I'm in a really naughty mood." Myka understood that to stand a chance in this game with Helena, she had to use some of Helena's favorite words.

With that, Myka walked away swaying her hips just a little, through the crowd. Helena watched as Myka went up the first step and turned to look back at her with such smoldering eyes that Helena went to place her glass on the tray, but did it with such force, she caused the contents to crash onto the floor. Helena jumped and momentarily lost sight of Myka and when she looked up, she was gone.

"You blinked. Not looking good for you," Myka's text taunted.

Helena's head twisted back and forth as she tried to find Myka, but she was nowhere to be found. "I'll find you," Helena texted back, the chase adding the right amount of excitement.

"And it's Bering in overtime for the win! And the crowd goes wild! " Bridget all but screamed and imitated the sound of a crowd. "Oh, they are amazing, aren't they?" Bridget said as she watched Myka disappear behind a large door to the exhibition rooms with Helena hastily coming up the stairs.

Perhaps it was the stuffiness of the event, or the champagne that flowed, but Bridget was feeling especially emotional.

"Are you okay, hon?" Sarah asked when she saw her girlfriend's eyes fill up.

"I'm just so damn proud of her," Bridget said of her friend who really had learned to let go and enjoy herself.

Helena was a few steps behind Myka and saw the door close behind her. She had the unfair advantage. She knew this building very well, having spent many hours here when she first arrived in New York. There wasn't a room Myka could get into that Helena didn't know. The door closed on the noise of the party behind her and Helena stood in the darkened hallway, cool air doing little to reduce her temperature. She let her eyes adjust to the dimness, and listened. She heard Myka's soft laugh down the hallway.

Helena kicked off her high heels and tiptoed down the foyer. The pleasure of teasing Myka mixed with her missing had made her body ache to be near her. Helena accessed the App on her phone that Claudia had installed, shutting the cameras off in the room where she heard Myka. This really was going to be a private viewing.

Helena walked into the large room and found Myka standing motionless in front of the exhibition entitled Passion in Sculpture. All around her were marble figures depicting the very desire and craving her body was feeling.

"Aren't they beautiful?" Myka asked, lost in the breathtaking examples of yearning.

"I think you could make them weep," Helena said softly as she came up behind her wife and embraced her.

Myka turned to face Helena, the spotlights shining down on her ivory skin, her smile, and those inviting lips. It was too much for Myka and she couldn't keep the charade up any longer. She stopped holding back the feelings and grabbed Helena's jaw and pulled her in to kiss her so passionately that Helena became lightheaded.

"Oh," Helena gasped when her wife released her lips.

The combination of being inspired by the great works of art that dotted the room that night and feeling so enraptured with the beauty that was her lover, made Myka feel overcome with emotion. Her movements told Helena that Myka was on fire – and the game was done.

Myka had let go of Helena long enough to find a space in the wall she could push Helena against as she slowly pulled Helena's dress up over her hips. "God, I love you so much," Myka said as hand traced the lace on Helena's thong to her sweet core. Helena braced herself against the cool marble wall, afraid her legs would give out any minute. But Myka was holding Helena in her arm as she increased the circular motion with her fingers. She covered Helena's mouth as every muscle in Helena constricted - the tension increasing rapidly until Myka deftly brought her wife over the edge into tremors of pure delight.

Myka pushed back and leaned up against the wall next to Helena as gasps and moans filled the air. "I'm glad I found you," Helena panted.

"I wasn't very good at this game," Myka confessed, thinking her nerdiness allowed her to be distracted by the great works of art.

Helena turned to face her wife. "I didn't mean tonight," she smiled and leaned in to kiss Myka.

Fires renewed as the couple explored each other's bodies. Helena pulled Myka gently to one of the visitor's benches and laid her down. Helena slowly ran her hand up Myka's leg to her thigh and stopped. A smile grew wide across Helena's face.

"You weren't kidding?" she asked Myka, pleasantly surprised at feeling nothing but bare skin.

"I told you, Helena," Myka said, pulling Helena closer. "Naughty."

Helena's eyes grew wide as she caressed Myka, slowly teasing her flesh until moments later, Myka begged for release, which Helena – finally granted as Myka screamed her decline into ecstasy.

"Yeah, you don't want to go in there," Bridget said to a well-dressed couple who approached the same door her friends had gone through.

"But we want to see the Passion exhibition," the woman explained since it was listed on the agenda for the attendees.

"Trust me, you couldn't take the heat," Bridget said, the champagne loosening her tongue.

"What?" the man asked indignantly.

"Trust me, sir. If you want to stand a chance with your wife ever again, you do not want to go in there," Bridget warned and the couple walked away.

See what Helena's and Myka's dresses look like on Pinterest at ManhattaniteNYC on the Board "What They Wore"