Brenda visits Natalie Part 2
Natalie's viewpoint
I was so glad that Brenda had come to see me; I really thought she and Sharon had a great opportunity to make each other happy. Besides, they would make a beautiful couple, both lovely, striking women who did very difficult jobs better than most, being together would make them both much happier.
We strolled out of LAPD headquarters building and I steered her towards a coffee shop that Ana and I had used when we wanted to catch up during the day in some privacy. I led Brenda into a rear booth where we were not easily seen from the street and got her to sit down.
Ordering a hot chocolate for her and a coffee for me, we settled back and I gave her a moment to relax. The next discussion was probably going to be a bit confronting to her, even though I would try and cloak it in humour, but I wanted her to be prepared for what she was going to be doing.
Finally she looked up at me with a quizzical expression, so I leapt in.
"So, have you decided to embrace your inner lesbian or are you still making up your mind?" She blushed beautifully.
"Ah, well, the latter, I think"
"Brenda, you're a beautiful woman, so is Sharon, you could do a lot worse" Her mouth twisted.
"I have" I smiled reassuringly.
"We all have Brenda. Now you have the chance to shop the other side of the street and see if it's better" I shrugged. "Not that I'm an objective observer by any means, I can't see myself ever going back to a guy after being with Ana"
"Why? Did you have bad experiences with guys before?"
"No, some of them were great, some were less so, but that happens in everything. Brenda, I was once a happy little girl, being chased by the guys, picking the ones I wanted; now I'm a one-woman woman. Even if I didn't have Ana I'd not go back to guys, Ana has completely ruined me" I smiled at her, testing the waters on how open she really was to what she was contemplating with my next statement.
"If I was somehow single and we were having this discussion, I'd be seriously looking to steal you away from Sharon and get you between the sheets myself" She looked shocked.
"What? Me?" I nodded.
"Yes you. You're very attractive, you look great in a suit and I'd bet you'd look even better in nothing at all, but that's not the reason I'd want you" She was blushing now, which was a good sign, she hadn't got offended.
"Then what is?"
"I find your accent to be very, very sexy, I'm sure you could make a nice living as a phone sex operator with that voice dripping down a phone, hell, I'd pay money to hear you talk dirty" She smiled shyly at my words.
"I don't think I'd be any good at that Natalie" I winked at her.
"I'm not so sure Brenda; give me a call if you want to practice" If anything she blushed even deeper. I decided to have a little mercy.
"Seriously Brenda, that's not the sexiest part of you. While the exterior is very nice I'd want you for your brain, you're very smart and I find intelligence to be the sexiest thing about a person. Mind you it helps if the brains are wrapped in a nice package, which it most definitely is in your case" Brenda looked down at the table, toying with a napkin.
"Thank you, you're being very nice" I snorted.
"Bullshit Brenda, I'm not being very nice, I'm being very honest" She looked up in surprise. "I see the looks you get as you walk down the corridor, how you swing those hips of yours, stalking into a room or dominating a meeting, the calculated tossing of the hair and the charm you switch on when you need it, you know exactly what you have to work with and in your own way you're as much a seductress as I am"
"Well… I just try and make the most of what I have, trying to make it in a very male-dominated environment"
"Exactly, look Brenda; I don't begrudge you making everything you have work for you. I'm blessed with good looks and I work it hard to make sure I get what I want here at work. I've seen you watching me in the Thursday morning meetings. No doubt you've noticed I sit with different people each week"
"Yes, I had noticed that, Sharon and I both did" I smiled.
"See, you're both smart, you two will be a very good fit. Anyway, I do that because I have very little real power in the LAPD, nothing like you and Sharon for example. What I do have is my looks and charm, which I work the hell out of" I smiled as our drinks arrived.
"That's why I went to see Air Support Division. I got the invitation from Captain Oats and was happy to follow up, mind you while the invitation came from him, I did appreciate the chance to learn about what they do, same with Commander Washington from Traffic. They both invited me after the first meeting and I was happy to accept" I paused to take a sip from the coffee.
"It means I get a chance to make them more friendly and receptive to me, to build up allies in case I ever need them. And one day I will; that ass Taylor keeps pushing and sooner or later we are going to have to have it out. When that happens, I want as many people backing me as I can" I shrugged. "It's not just the looks and charm thing, I also work damned hard to service as many requests for help as I can, so that people remember me for more than tits and ass, they also remember that I helped them when they needed it, something that Taylor didn't"
"You know you can always count on Sharon and me for support Natalie" I smiled.
"Thank you Brenda, I appreciate that, but if push comes to shove, I don't want it coming down to my friends, I want to make it very clear to everyone that I have the support of the majority of the senior officers and departments in the LAPD"
"Do you think Taylor will push it that far?"
"Probably, I don't care either way, the balls in his court. If he does, well, I'm ready for it. If he really wants to make it a fight I'll have his badge and his job" I shrugged. "I've seen it coming from day one, so I've been working towards dealing with him, whatever it takes" Brenda looked shocked.
"How could you have his job? Taylor's got friends in the union, he's safe as houses"
"He's also made a lot of enemies, many of whom would only need a good reason to help see him gone. Anyway, this is supposed to be about you, well you and Sharon" She nodded slowly, obviously uncertain about Taylor but willing to let it drop.
"What I'm saying is that I'm also aware that you're a beautiful woman who's well and truly capable of using your looks to get what you want as well. It's an essential female skill in a male-dominated workplace and you do it very well." Brenda just looked at me. I tried another tack.
"Brenda, you're obviously willing to contemplate an intimate relationship with Sharon Raydor or we wouldn't be having this conversation, correct"
"Well, yes, I s'pose I am"
"There's no suppose about it Brenda, you've chatted to other people about it, so you must be contemplating it. What attracts you to her" She sighed, then took another sip of her hot chocolate, obviously stalling. I just waited for her to continue.
"Well, she's smart and strong, she's caring, she's been a good friend, I trust her and I care for her"
"That's a good start Brenda. I take it you had never contemplated a relationship with a woman before Sharon?" She looked at me, her eyes wide.
"Oh heavens no, I'd never really thought about it, until I was forced into it because I realised Sharon was interested"
"Why were you willing to open yourself up to it then, if you'd never contemplated it before?"
"I'd never really been approached by a woman, so the option had never been there before" She paused, staring gently at me with a contemplative look. "I suppose seeing you and Ana and Jane and Maura together, seeing you all happy, made it a less scary proposition" Brenda looked down at the table for a moment.
"I guess I was lonely and the thought of not being alone made it seem attractive as well"
"It's not a bad reason Brenda, loneliness is hard, for everyone. We weren't made to be alone"
"I have been alone Natalie, for the last year, but for a long time before that I suppose. I wasn't really honest with myself. I want to be with someone who understands who I am, that what I do is who I am. Not being something I'm not" I nodded.
"So what do you want from Sharon?" She looked past me for a moment.
"I want to be happy, to care for her and to have Sharon care for me, to make her happy and to have someone to… I don't know"
"Love? Do you love Sharon?" Brenda looked down into her cup.
"I don't know. I like her, care for her, she's a good friend, but I'm not sure I love her"
"Ok, I can handle that, it's been a quick step from being friends to contemplating sleeping together" I smiled to take the sting out of what I was going to say next.
"My personal thought is that it's likely to happen, once you stop being Chief Johnson and Commander Raydor who are friends at work and start being Brenda and Sharon who fuck each other most nights. Sex is great for building close bonds" She blushed a little at my choice of words.
"When you put it like that…"
"Hey, a lot of great relationships have started with a lot less, look at most pick up joints on any Saturday night" I grinned at her. "At least you and Sharon knew and liked each other before you start sleeping together, so you're both well ahead of the game"
"Well we haven't got there yet"
"You will, sooner than you think"
"What makes you say that"? I held up my right hand and counted the answers off on each finger.
"One, you're already receptive to the idea. Two, you already have a strong relationship with Sharon. Three, you're both alone and life together will be a lot easier on you both, burdens shared are burdens halved after all' Brenda nodded slowly.
"Four, you're both attractive and intelligent women and have an attraction to one another" I smiled at her.
"And fifth and finally, given both of you have been celibate for over a year in your case and probably longer in Sharon's, once the sex starts, neither of you will want to stop" Brenda looked at me for a moment then grinned at me.
"There is that"
"Look Brenda, you must be contemplating it, that's why we're here now, having this discussion, so you should stop kidding yourself. You are seriously considering allowing yourself to be drawn into a relationship with Sharon" She looked at me for a moment finally sighing.
"Yes I am" I laughed.
"God Brenda, don't look at it like it's a bad thing. I think you're very lucky" She looked at me with an annoyed expression.
"Why? Why are you so sure it's a good thing?"
"Because of the good things it will bring" I took a sip at my coffee before continuing, laying out what she could look forward to having.
"Things like waking up, feeling Sharon spooned up against you, her arm across your body holding you tight to her, her breath warm on your neck, listening to the rain outside as you drift off back to sleep, secure in the knowledge that she will be there for you" Brenda's head canted to one side for a moment, listening to me. I took it as a good sign and ploughed on.
"Sitting out on the deck at Maura's place, together as a couple, arms around each other, feeling the sun on your back, warming you as you relax, your head on her shoulder and her head resting on yours" I smiled, as the first ghost of a small soft smile appeared on Brenda's face.
"Out at dinner with good food and better wine, sitting close, touching and teasing, laughing at the jokes, happy to be together and enjoying the night with each other and your friends" Seeing the smile grow I continued.
"Sitting together, side by side, watching the sun go down at the end of a long summers day, each holding a glass of wine and Sharon's fingers entwined with yours, not having to say anything because just sharing the moment makes it special"
"After a bad day, sitting on the floor, nursing a glass of merlot, while strong fingers massage the stress out of your neck and shoulders, relaxing into Sharon's touch as she kisses the top of your head" Brenda smiled at me.
"You're very good at this Natalie" I smiled 'damn right I am'.
"It's what I do"
"You make it sound lovely" I mentally took a deep breath, as I decided to jump in.
"It can be more than that" Brenda frowned at me.
"What do you mean?"
"It could be the other side of it. Feeling her teeth on your neck, her tongue on your clit, her fingers deep inside you, your hot sweating bodies sliding over one another across cool sheets as you have sex, her hands in your hair as you kiss her, taste her, finger her, eat her and fuck her" Brenda's eyes flew wide and her mouth fell open, before she frantically looked around.
"My god Natalie, keep your voice down!" she whispered. I smiled gently at her discomfort.
"Like I said Brenda, any embarrassment is yours. Hell, I'm actually quite jealous of you and Sharon" She frowned at me for a moment, before sitting back.
"Oh for heaven's sake, why would you be jealous, you have Anastasia? She's beautiful"
"Brenda, you're actually incredibly lucky to have Sharon as your first, just as Sharon is very, very lucky to be your teacher. You both have so much to learn about each other, together, hell I'd love to be there to watch it" She smirked.
"I can assure you that you won't be, if it happens"
"Brenda, can you honestly sit there and tell me that you're not looking forward to it, not even a little" Brenda sat there, fidgeting, for a good 30 seconds, before shaking her head at me.
"It's going to be fun Brenda, learning what turns each other on, exactly how to make Sharon scream your name, what she needs to do to leave you a trembling, shattered mess after your third orgasm in a row, the exploration, the discovery is so much fun together" Brenda was silent for a few seconds.
"Natalie, I'm worried, well actually I'm scared. This… thing with Sharon is moving so fast, I'm not sure where it's leading" I smiled softly at her, as I laid my hand on hers.
"I could say it's going to end in the pair of you naked in bed, incredibly glad you ended up there, but that's not where you are right now" I took a breath, given where this was going.
"Honestly Brenda, your life wasn't exactly wonderful before Sharon decided to flirt with you. You fit the classic description of a miserable workaholic, all your friends are your colleagues and you go home each night to a cold house and an empty bed. That's not the definition of a healthy, fulfilling life" I held my hand up as she went to speak.
"Hear me out Brenda. If Sharon hadn't taken the incredibly brave decision to try and pursue a relationship with you, instead of sitting here with me, discussing sex positions and techniques and the contents of a lesbian's tool box, you'd be sitting there talking about cases and office politics and bemoaning your lack of a love life" She sat there looking at me.
"Now tell me which of those alternatives is the one you really want?"
Brenda sat there for more than a minute, twisting her glass round and round on its saucer, staring into the dregs at the bottom, before sighing softly. Still I waited; I had the time to outwait her, until she finally looked up. Seeing me looking at her, she looked down again and fidgeted a bit more before nodding slowly.
"If I'm going to be completely honest, you're right, being with Sharon is a much better alternative than where my life was going" I smiled as she peered up at me.
"Brenda, if you don't try, you won't find out if you're right for each other, although that's actually one of the least of my worries about you"
"The least of your worries, what do you mean?
"I personally think you and Sharon will be a sensational pair. To be honest, I really think neither of you'll ever need to look for someone else again, because I'm pretty sure that you'll both be everything you need in a relationship" Brenda shook her head,
"How can you be so sure Natalie, you don't really know either Sharon or I" I smiled to myself, even someone as smart as Brenda underestimates me, she should know better.
"More than you might think actually, I have my sources. What I've seen make me believe you're both wonderful people, who deserve a break. I believe you can make each other happy, at the end of the day that's all any of us are looking for" She frowned.
"You said that's the least of my worries, why?"
"I'm afraid that you're going to have some more difficult obstacles to climb before you're really happy. Getting over the awkwardness of sleeping with a work colleague, tempering your natural desire to be affectionate with the need to be discrete, particularly if you don't want to be out at work, dealing with the comments behind your back, the nasty insinuations and outright crassness of some people, it's not all plain sailing"
"How did you deal with it?"
"Once we decided to be open, well we made it quite clear we were together, that we didn't care who said what and that if they persisted, well the pair of us together could make someone's life very unpleasant if we had to"
"Did it work?"
"We got one particularly homophobic lieutenant reassigned to cataloguing evidence in records after Ana filed a harassment complaint and I made sure that local media heard about it and jumped on the case, the Seattle PD had no real choice but to act publically. Everyone else backed off after that"
"I see, well I'd hope that we wouldn't see too much of that here"
"You will see some of it; on the other hand you're the LAPDs two most senior female officers, Sharon Raydor is feared throughout the force and you have a reputation for doing whatever it takes to close a case, that's a pretty scary combination. The only people who are really likely to make an issue of it are people who don't fear your rank"
"You're talking Taylor and Pope" I nodded; Brenda was really quick on the uptake, but that was only to be expected.
"Pope has a past history with you Brenda, he'll take you and Sharon in a relationship personally, but he'll get over it, it's not like he has any choice. Taylor on the other hand simply hates you. I don't know the full story, but he'll take any chance he can to hurt you and Sharon" Brenda nodded.
"He was slated to be promoted over all of us, with Will Pope to be transferred to a subordinate position, by the previous Chief. He was a bit obvious about his satisfaction and how he would settle old scores after his promotion. When Pope ended up as Chief instead, he didn't take it well" I nodded, I'd heard as much on the LAPD's gossip channels.
"Why you though Brenda?"
"I was pretty sure he was feeding information to a lawyer named Goldman, who was trying to get me convicted of misconduct and thrown off the force or sent to jail. Someone in the squad was feeding info to Goldman and between us Sharon and I had managed to work out it was likely Taylor" Sighing, Brenda continued.
"He wanted to head Major Crimes as it's seen as more prestigious than Robbery Homicide and if I was forced out, he was the most likely person to take over" Brenda shook her head.
"Instead we think Goldman was killed by a hit man in retaliation for getting messed up in a major crime bosses affairs. That led to the mobsters arrest by the FBI for arranging a murder and got him sent away for life. Goldman was found dead two weeks later" She looked up at me, smiling.
"I went to Pope and demanded Taylor be moved out of Major Crimes, so he was sent to take over Robbery Homicide as Commander De Francesco was retiring. He didn't take it well" I nodded, thinking it over.
"Brenda, if you decide to come out, Taylor will try and use it against you. Personally, I think he'll fail, you're both smarter than him, but that's a decision you'll have to make together, after all you and Sharon will have a relationship to protect" She sighed again.
"You're awful sure that I'm going to end up in a relationship with Sharon" I laughed.
"Of course you are Brenda, don't tell me you haven't thought about what it's going to be like"
"I suppose. I'm probably wrong; I don't have any real idea of what it's like"
"Brenda, it's doing whatever makes you both happy" I paused for a moment. "You've been married so you know what it's like with a guy. Well a woman can give you everything a man can and much more, because women are more emotionally aware, we need the emotional as much as the physical" I smiled for a moment, thinking back to Ana and making love to her slowly and softly.
"With Anastasia, we often we spend more time talking and holding and feeling than we do actually having sex" Brenda must have had an idea of what I was thinking of. Her voice was soft.
"You're very lucky Natalie" I nodded.
"I know I am. I wonder sometimes how I got to be so blessed. I love an incredible, beautiful woman with all my heart, and she feels the same about me. It wasn't how I saw my life going when I was young, but I'm so fortunate, I wouldn't change anything" She nodded slowly, a wistful look on her face.
"You are lucky"
"You are too Brenda, you have the same thing waiting for you. Sharon will be there to give you emotional comfort and support if you need it, if you want soft, loving sex, then a woman's intimate knowledge of female anatomy will make it pretty special as well" She looked at the table, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"You make it sound wonderful"
"It can be Brenda, especially with two beautiful, intelligent women who want to please each other. On the other hand, if you need it hard and raw, well a woman can do it all night long. Hell, when Ana and I get into the mood, well neither of us gets any sleep and we're both pretty sore the following day" I grinned, might as well throw a little more petrol on the fire.
"I might suggest that your first night with Sharon be a Friday or Saturday, that way you can recover a bit before dragging your sore and sorry asses in on Monday morning" Brenda laughed, a delightfully happy sound. 'Mission accomplished'
"You are awful" I grinned.
"I try" Brenda looked around before leaning in conspiratorially.
"So tell me Natalie, honestly, what are the things I need to know about making Sharon happy"
"Loving her will do that Brenda, but if you really need to know, I'm sure that there are any number of things that'll have you screaming her name or her screaming yours" She leaned further in and looked at me squarely.
"Well, I'm waiting"
"Brenda, you seriously want some sex advice from me?"
"Well, you're the expert sitting here and you're the one who's been trying to embarrass me, so yes, I do"
"Oh well ok" Where do I start?
"And I want to hear all bout that lesbian tool kit you were talking about earlier" I smiled, this was going to be fun.
"This might take a while, you want another hot chocolate?" She sat back with a satisfied smile on her face.
"Yes please"
