Slupton – Glad you liked it! I'm honoured to be part of a ritual!
Tara walked in through the apartment door, happy and humming, and immediately went over to Willow to pull her into a hug.
Willow had been tense but did relax as Tara's arms went around her.
"How'd you know I needed that?"
"Uh oh," Tara replied, pulling back a tad to look at Willow's face, "Interview not go well?"
Willow had spent a few weeks sending out résumés, to very little bites. She'd been unsure what to go for but eventually decided to play the numbers game and apply to anywhere that required little experience.
Finally a call centre had emailed to offer an interview time and Willow had spent the entire intervening week preparing answers, memorising her résumé and watching YouTube videos to teach her good posture and demeanour. She'd even asked Tara to do mock-interviews with her. She had been cheery and hopeful with her effort that morning.
Now, however, she was slouched and sullen.
"Remember on your birthday I, um, redistributed some flowers from that old lady?"
Tara winced on the spot.
"Oh no," she said, rubbing Willow's upper arms, "She was the interviewer?"
"She was the district manager," Willow replied with a bark of a laugh, "So you can scratch that entire corporation off the 'potential employer' list.
"Honey," Tara soothed in a comforting tone.
Willow shrugged one shoulder, eyes on the floor.
"Anyway, I didn't know what you wanted to do this evening, so I haven't started making dinner yet. I should've asked this morning but I was so nervous. Didn't want to throw just anything in the oven considering what day it is."
"Good," Tara replied, making Willow look up in surprise, "You've always blown our anniversaries out of the water. Let me take charge this year."
In truth, Willow had been so focused on the interview she'd forgotten about their anniversary until the night previous when her phone buzzed with a reminder featuring a heart emoji. She felt just awful about it and even worse she couldn't organise anything on such short notice with little money.
"Okay," she agreed, grateful for the out and hopeful she'd do better the next year.
She'd set a reminder for a week early, that was for sure.
Tara knew nothing of the slip in Willow's mind, and would have understood if she did. She was happy to play the role of cheerer-upper. She leaned in and kissed Willow squarely on the forehead.
"You're great at the grand romantic gestures, but with circumstances, financial and otherwise, I'm thinking a super relaxed evening."
Willow exhaled a slow breath.
"I could sure use a super relaxed evening."
"Let me get changed. I'll be right back," Tara replied, pecking Willow's lips before heading off for the bedroom and calling back, "And you look perfect as you are."
"Oh, yeah, I couldn't look better," Willow quipped, just wearing comfy purple jeans and a white blouse but not feeling like pulling herself into something dressier.
Tara cocked her head back around the door.
"Well you could," she said, eyeing Willow up and down with a sultry smile before throwing her a wink, "But let's save that for the end of the night."
Willow cracked a smile; Tara could always make her feel better. She decided she better make some effort and went into the bathroom to put on a little make up and brush her hair through.
She went back to the couch and waited for Tara patiently while playing on her phone. Tara was only a few minutes and returned wearing black slacks and a red shirt with her hair loosely tied up.
"You look pretty," Willow complimented tenderly, happy to see her in casual wear too, "Wait."
She went into the bedroom and returned with a gift wrapped in tissue. She'd had to make a quick dash to Tara's favourite thrift store to find a present earlier that day.
Tara unwrapped it and smiled. It was a large hair clip with a flower shape on top, purple and white rhinestones arranged as the petals and little sprouting leaves.
"It's vintage," Willow said, waiting to see if her gift was liked.
Tara stepped forward and embraced Willow warmly, then pulled back to slip it over the base of her ponytail.
"I love it. Thank you, sweetie."
Willow breathed a sigh of relief and affectionately fixed the clip. Tara went and got a present from her purse, a slightly larger one, about the size of a mug, wrapped more delicately than Willow's. Willow accepted it with a smile and opened it, revealing a tealight holder made from a tree branch.
She turned it around in her hands, the bark lightly scraping her skin.
"Oh. It's nice."
Tara could tell Willow was just being nice, but that was because she didn't know the hook yet.
"I carved it from a branch from our tree on campus."
Willow did a double-take.
"You…oh my god!" she said, turning it all around again with much more wonder, then gaped at Tara, "You stole a branch?"
Tara shrugged one shoulder mysteriously.
"I may have taken an early morning winter stroll one day…with my Swiss army knife in my pocket."
"You have a Swiss army knife?" Willow asked, bewildered.
"Becky gave me the joke one with the corkscrew and bottle opener for my 21st birthday, remember?" Tara reminded.
"Oh yeah," Willow recalled, shaking her head, "I can't believe this, it's awesome. I'll have a piece of that tree with me forever. Thank you. Really. Also imagining you stealing a branch at 6am is a gift in and of itself!"
She threw her arms around Tara and kissed her cheek.
"I love you," she whispered into her girlfriend's ear, only for the moment to be interrupted by a loud stomach grumble, "…and I haven't eaten all day."
She blushed but Tara just smiled.
"Is Chinese okay?"
Willow nodded.
"Are we ordering in?"
"I thought we could go to that food truck at the Fens since it's a nice evening," Tara suggested, "We should only need a light jacket and we might even survive some un-mittened hand-holding if you're feeling on the wild side."
"As long as you don't take me tree-thieving," Willow replied with a grin.
They found their light jackets, purses and headed out for the nearby parkland. It was a cool, but clear evening with just a very light breeze.
"Hey, don't worry about that interview," Tara said, putting her arm around Willow's shoulders, "You would have hated a call centre anyway."
"Wouldn't have hated the money," Willow replied morosely.
"Your gift didn't cost me a penny," Tara said astutely.
"And I love it," Willow replied, smiling, "You're right. I would have hated it. I even hate being on the customer end of them. There just seems to be so many people competing for basic entry-level jobs. I know it's a recession and all but…just didn't think it would be so hard."
She sighed and rested her head on Tara's shoulder.
"Anyway, that's enough of that. Relaxation officially starts now."
Tara took in a deep breath and Willow followed suit until they were synced and de-stressing. The food truck they were going to was a lone wolf in the parkland, so they had the room for tiny circular tables in front with some metal chairs.
They availed of a 'one appetizer; two mains' deal and opted to share some egg rolls, honey sesame chicken and Mongolian beef, with a can of soda each thrown in, all for $15.
They had a view of the waterfront and there were other people milling around, going for evening walks or taking a shortcut through.
"This is good food," Willow said, dipping an eggroll into the sweet chili sauce.
"Try this," Tara said, offering some sesame chicken on chopsticks.
Willow took it and wiped her mouth with the napkin.
"It's really good. I'm impressed, for a food truck."
"It always smells great when we pass by going for a walk," Tara replied, taking some fried rice from the communal bowl, "I'm glad to see it tastes as good."
They finished every bit on their paper plates and playfully fought over the last few bites before feeding them to each other. It was an easy clean-up, just throwing everything into the trash and thanking the cooks inside the truck as they passed.
The sun was starting to set quite beautifully over the water, so they went and stood at its edge to watch. Tara stood behind Willow and crossed her arms around her girlfriend's middle.
"Beautiful."
"I love how the colour changes over water," Willow replied, watching the reds and oranges blend over the horizon.
"No, you," Tara replied with a smile, "But the sunset is pretty too. Almost as good as at our tree."
"I'll think of it every time I light a candle. That's why you made it a candle holder, isn't it?" Willow asked, smiling wide at the thoughtfulness of it all, "Hey, you ever skip stones?"
"All I know is that they call it 'faire des ricochets' in France," Tara replied, lips curled slightly, "I think I've tried and plopped."
Willow found a flat rock and flicked it out onto the water, getting four skips. Tara watched their even hop along the water.
"It's soothing. I'm guess you know all the science behind it?"
"I won't bore you," Willow replied with a smile, "I used to make wishes on them when I was a kid."
"What did you wish for?" Tara asked, helping Willow find a smooth stone.
"An 'A', or a new microscope, or for my parents to come to the science fair," Willow replied, tossing another with just three jumps this time, "Once to get into BC but not get into MIT so that I wouldn't have to make excuses about why I didn't want to go. That one didn't work, had to disappoint the parentals myself."
Tara put her hand over Willow's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. Willow gave her the last stone.
"You try."
Tara tried to copy the motion Willow had used, and got one skip, but it was better than a plop. She smiled.
"I wished that a gorgeous woman would go share a milkshake with me."
Willow put her hands on her hips.
"You're not supposed to tell or it won't come true."
"Whoops," Tara replied, holding her hand out towards Willow, "Come with me anyway?"
Willow took the offered hand and Tara pulled her close. She gave her a smooch with her hands on Willow's hips. They were in their own little spot and not too worried about passers-by, so Willow offered a little tongue; just enough to entice them both for later.
Tara closed her eyes and savoured Willow's lips. When they finally parted, she pursed her lips to remember the warmth, then linked their fingers.
"Shake?"
Willow smiled seductively.
"We can start with a milkshake and end with a booty shake."
They walked a little further to the local ice-cream bar instead of stopping at the burger joint near their place, because the ice-cream bar had all kinds of wild and wonderful creations.
They debated their options and eventually decided to make up their own custom shake from the variety of flavours and toppings on offer. Tara went up to order and pay.
"Can I get a large chocolate chip and rocky road shake with M&Ms on bottom and marshmallows and salted peanuts on top, with whip," she said as she fished out her wallet, "Two straws, thanks."
She went and sat down with Willow and their giant shake was brought over with two straws in it and couple of spoons on the side. Willow leaned in to take a big sip and sat back with whipped cream on her nose.
Tara sat with her elbows on her table and her chin resting on her overlapping hands.
"You are so sexy."
"Only if I'm a mirr–" Willow started to respond, but caught the glimpse of white and wiped it off with a blush, "Anyway…"
"This is tasty," Tara said as she took her own sip, "Good call on the marshmallow peanut mix."
"Sweet and salty is the way to go," Willow replied, chewing one of each in her mouth.
She started to swallow the peanut, but at the same moment, Tara's foot began to trail against her shin. She choked for a moment but got it down with an extra sip of milkshake and minimal embarrassment.
She smiled coyly across at Tara and put a hand over hers. They used the close proximity of the shared milkshake to throw goo-goo eyes at each other and play a sneaky game of footsie.
When the shake was gone, Willow used the straw to suck the M&Ms at the bottom and they played a game of getting it into Tara's mouth before it fell off. Tara fed Willow the last few with a spoon and they shared a brief, cold kiss.
"Brrr," Willow giggled with a shiver, "Cold lips."
"Icy hot," Tara replied, then plucked a napkin out and wiped her mouth.
"Was my kiss that bad?" Willow asked with a mock-pout.
"No, but it did come with some extra ice-cream," Tara replied, reaching over to wipe Willow's mouth too.
Willow took the napkin and dabbed at herself, then scrunched it up and left it in the empty milkshake glass.
They walked back out into the night and towards home, but Tara stopped them outside Marshall's bar.
"End our night with a drink?"
Willow agreed and they walked inside and over to the bar.
"Usual?" Willow asked, taking her jacket off and holding it over her arm.
"I'll have a beer," Tara replied casually, "Wanna play pool?"
"Pool?" Willow asked, casting an eye over towards the unoccupied pool table, "We never play pool."
"Well we are being wild tonight," Tara replied with some good-natured ribbing.
Willow ordered their drinks, handed Tara her beer and brought her own over to the pool table. She hung hers and Tara's jacket on a nearby chair and retrieved the pool cues and the…
"What's this thing called?" she asked as she set the balls into its triangular shape.
"A rack," Tara replied, fixing the balls as Willow set them, "The 1 ball is at the apex, the 8 ball goes in the middle, and bottom corners need a solid and a stripe."
"Um, since when are you a pool shark?" Willow asked as she watched Tara arrange everything into its place.
Tara grinned and picked up her pool cue.
"They have a table at the homeless shelter. I play with some of the regulars sometimes."
Willow shook her head to herself.
"Three years and I'm still learning something new about you."
"Do you want to break?" Tara asked, then explained off Willow's look, "Hit the white ball to break up the rest of them."
Willow took a step back.
"You better do it."
Tara lined up her shot and took it. The number 11 sailed into the furthest corner and straight into pocket. She straightened up very matter-of-fact.
"Okay, so I'm playing stripes and you're playing solids," she said, pointing between the two for clarification, "Got it?"
"Sure," Willow replied, thankful the concept was at least simple, "There's more solids than stripes though."
"Either of us can shoot the black ball, but only as the last shot," Tara explained, "You get to keep shooting if you sink the ball; if you miss, it's next person's turn. If you sink the white the other person gets a free shot."
Willow nodded, understanding.
"So you get to go again now?"
"That's right," Tara replied, taking another shot where no ball landed, "Your turn."
Willow eyed the solids and tried to work out the physics of her best shot. She held the pool cue at all kinds of awkward angles until Tara came over, pressed into her from behind and reached over to show her how.
"Like this."
Willow decided she liked pool very much and grinned.
"Like this?" she asked, purposefully angling it upwards.
"Like…this," Tara repeated, pressing her hips into Willow's ass.
She covered Willow's hand, rubbing their fingers together and shot the ball with her, which didn't sink, but got close.
"You got it," Tara whispered in her ear, then went off to chalk her cue grinning.
Willow took a very long sip of her cold beer and was very grateful for it.
A few turns later, Tara was lining up her last shot and was being cocky about it. She sat on the edge of the table and held the cue behind her back.
"Ohh!" Willow spoke up, reading something off her phone, "It increase the tip's friction coefficient so that when it impacts the cue ball on a non-center hit, no miscue occurs."
Tara paused, an eyebrow cocked.
"What?"
"I didn't know what the blue chalky stuff did," Willow admitted sheepishly, then froze when she glanced up and saw what Tara was doing, "You're gonna make the shot like that?"
Tara smirked.
"Uh uh."
Willow swallowed and leaned in so only Tara could hear.
"If you do I'll be incredibly turned on."
Tara straightened her back and experimentally flexed the cue through her fingers. She hit the 8 ball and watched it hit off the edge of the table and gain just enough momentum to fly towards the pocket directly diagonally.
Willow was totally taken in by the coolness and grabbed a handful of Tara's shirt, quickly smoothing it out to avoid looks from others.
"I think we should go home…"
Tara tugged Willow's hand into her own and they walked as inconspicuously fast as they could the half block to their own building. Willow had to contend with another testing press of Tara's front against her back as she put the security code in the main door, but finally she was able to let them in so they could pound the stairs to their floor.
They were giggling letting themselves into the apartment and falling over each other to get in first. They headed straight for the bedroom but Willow doubled back for her present and put it on the nightstand. She lit it with a match, then flicked off the lightswitch so there was just it and the moonlight's glow.
Tara went to close the curtains but Willow stopped her.
"No, no," Willow said from the other side of the bed, "I love moonlit Tara."
Tara noticed she was in the moon's direct line. She turned back around in that spot and started to undress. She gave Willow a show, very slowly stripping until she was standing there completely nude.
Willow thought she might literally explode from her nerves standing on end, were such a thing possible.
"…I can't…words…"
Tara twirled her fingers in Willow's direction and she got the hint. She started yanking at her own clothes, stripping off and standing on the spot, breathless. Tara brazenly stared right between Willow's legs.
"I want that red pussy on my face."
Tara had taken charge of their anniversary, so it was only fitting to see Take Charge Tara appear in the bedroom. They both jumped onto the bed from opposite sides and met in the middle in a fiery kiss.
Tara cupped Willow's ass and pulled their hips together, squeezing one cheek as the other fondled Willow's breast. She fell onto her back and brought Willow with her, moaning into her mouth as the soft weight of her girlfriend's body pressed against her.
She teased her tongue against Willow's, hand sliding down the back of her hair to pull them closer. Tara's fingertips followed Willow's spine and finally curved back over her ass again, where she gave a little tug.
"Come up, come up."
Willow spent a minute dragging herself away from Tara's lips, continuously going back for 'one last' kiss. Finally, with little panting breaths, she lifted herself up over Tara's face.
Tara propped the second pillow behind her head and grabbed Willow's ass, kneading the skin there as she pulled her girlfriend down to meet her mouth. She offered a delicate but thorough tonguing to start.
Willow slowly grinded her body downwards, head tilted back so her moans floated towards the ceiling. She became unsteady when Tara's tongue began lapping at her opening and gripped one hand around the headboard. Her fingers curled between the slats and held her in position even as her thighs quivered and threatened to give out.
Tara's hands had migrated to Willow's thighs, nails lightly indenting her skin. She felt those tremors shake past her wrist and her own hips squirmed.
She opened her mouth and treated Willow's hot flesh with open-mouth kisses. Her lips and tongue touched everywhere, finding each crevice and claiming it as her own. A hand trawled for Willow's hip and her fingertips continuing pressing into the soft skin of Willow's stomach and up to her breast.
"Ughhhh," Willow moaned as Tara's fingers rolled her sensitive nipples, feeling just one big surge away from coming.
She felt herself starting to crest and reached, with the other hand still gripping the headboard, for Tara's arm, clutching it just below the elbow. Tara abandoned Willow's breast to clutch the same arm, so they were hanging onto each other as Willow orgasmed through a long moan.
Tara felt Willow go limp, so held her at the hips. She rested her head back into the pillows and took a breath. She was panting as much as Willow. It made her chuckle to herself.
Willow glanced down and dropped her head to take in some deep breaths. Her hand released the headboard.
She made a sticky shuffle down when she could finally bear to lift herself off Tara, though not without a pang between her legs. She slid down to lie on the bed, having to share the doubled-up pillows with Tara.
She started to shake out the hand that had gripped the headboard. They were still white and her fingers were marked with reddened patches of skin where the wood had dug in.
"They were in there so tight," she commented, wiggling her stiffened fingers.
Tara blew out slowly and pressed her hips into the mattress.
"You're killing me here, Will."
"Huh?" Willow asked, then realised what she'd said, "Oh…ohhh!"
She turned herself on her side and pulled Tara around to face her. She caressed Tara's side and knocked their hips together.
She turned her head in and kissed Tara's chin, tongue poking out delicately to lick where her excitement had left its mark. She kissed upwards, pressing her lips softly to the corner of Tara's mouth and then slipping her tongue inside.
Tara moaned and grabbed Willow's cheeks, kissing her as deeply as possible. Willow palmed Tara's side, then grabbed and threw her girlfriend's leg over her hip. She reached between them, dipped into Tara to wet her fingers, then found her clit and rubbed all four fingers back and forth.
Tara fell onto her back, pulling Willow on top again, still holding her face and kissing her passionately. Her knee pressed into Willow's ass, while her hips lifted to get even more friction.
Willow found her hips moving in sync with Tara's, so decided to put them to good use. She used their strength to add momentum as she entered Tara and began to thrust in and out.
Tara's palms fell down Willow's back and her nails scratched back up. She felt Willow's moan vibrate passed her lips, making her inner muscles clench her girlfriend's fingers.
Willow curled her fingers in response, finding Tara's spot and tap-tap-tapping it in the way that drove her wild. Tara grabbed fistfuls of the skin on Willow's back, which she released as the orgasm washed over her; her neck and back arching instead.
Willow changed to slow drags in and out, then stilled and rested where she was. She kissed Tara's lips until she came 'round again, then nuzzled their noses together.
"I like Tara-led anniversaries."
Tara lazily lifted her hands to cup Willow's ears and dragged them down to hold her face.
"I just like anniversaries. We should have lots of them."
Willow rested her forehead against Tara's and nodded.
"Lots and lots and lots and lots and lots…"