Annabelle settled easily into the car seat, moving the seat a touch forward as Simone was taller and more long legged than she was. She popped on her sun glasses and moved the car with such calm precision, her long dark hair fluttering and swirling in the wind. They were homeward bound after their separate adventures in the outside world. Annabelle drove the car in a smooth, relaxed fashion, enjoying the feel of being behind the wheel while Simone lay back and enjoyed the ride. It was extraordinary that as the old song said, the sun always shone in California and at least, this time of the year, it happened to be true. They retraced their steps and finally, Annabelle swung the car as far into the verge as was comfortable and she switched off the engine with a look that expected to be thanked. Simone did just that, with a full kiss on the other woman's lips and the way her hand slid round her shoulders in a gesture of combined affection and approval. The younger woman perkily got out the car with her large plastic shopping bag while Simone clutched her smaller bag with satisfaction.
"Your turn to show us what you bought,"Annabelle said mischievously when they got home. Simone produced the book,"Great Love Poems" and the lesbian novel a little nervously which the dark-haired woman pounced on with a glint of excitement in her eyes. She leafed through the books with enthusiasm for a little while before the Diva magazine caught her eye.
"I got the magazine for free,"Simone explained a little apologetically,"It's a British magazine someone left in the shop."
"Hey, that looks interesting," Annabelle said, looking at the title 'Fighting the System' and the front cover of two really attractive women. They were draped round each other in a verdant back garden setting under a partly clouded sky that shed some daylight. They looked as made for each other as did the photographs of Simone and Amanda years ago. They had the same look about them just as she and Simone will do once they get someone to photograph them. That was next on the list of 'must do's' in the younger woman's active mind.
"Get this, Simone. Helen Stewart was one a prison governor and Nikki Wade was a prisoner. This is her saying ''They are so stupidly reactionary that they made any halfway reasonable inmate want to kick off and act like rebellious schoolkids.' It's Helen saying here 'It wasn't allowed for me, a prison officer to fall in love with Nikki, an inmate when I was supposed to be her jailer. It was, I suppose, like a teacher falling in love with one of her students however mature she was in her emotional and intellectual make-up.' Don't you see, they're talking about us," Annabelle said excitedly, rattling her words out as fast as she could utter them.
"Annabelle," Simone said, slowly and clearly, wrapping her arms around the younger woman's shoulders and looking her in the eye."I agree with everything you're saying but I can see that you're torn between reading this article and getting on with our romantic evening. I haven't even seen what you've bought. The article won't disappear. What about reading it tomorrow in bed together? Don't get me wrong. It really does sound like our life."
A wide smile spread across Annabelle's face. She knew that this infinitely understanding woman knew just where her head was at. She had been in a state of pure childlike confusion wanting to do two things at the same time while knowing that she couldn't and, best of all, that Simone empathised with her. Acting like an excitable kid was perfectly all right. She was just very gently, sympathetically and lovingly working through her priorities so that she could indulge her enthusiasms in consecutive order. She moved right into Simone and gave her a long, soft,deep kiss.
"Mmm. That's better. I needed that,"Annabelle said with great satisfaction. It was then that she noticed that Simone was starting to fiddle with the top of her T-shirt for some unnaccountable reason. She'd not displayed that nervous habit for ages. It was then that the penny dropped and her thoughts dropped neatly into shape. It was her turn to speak out and no one else could do it than her.
"Er, there's something I wanted to say," Annabelle said, chewing the corner of her lip as she did when she was nervous."We both know it's my eighteenth birthday tomorrow."
Simone nodded her head and looked at her feet, unable to speak. Part of her reason for buying books that she was sure Annabelle would love was her sheer inability to afford the present she would have lavished on her lover. It part explained her edginess when she'd encountered Barry and Lauren and how this astute woman had delicately perceived that feeling and seen the other half of what was going on.
"Don't you see, you've already given me my best birthday present? All this time I've spent with you has made me feel real good about myself, better than I've felt for ages. The money my parents will give me, well what does that really mean? It's conscience money like your parents gave you this house except we've made something good to come out of it. Our romantic evening is part of the present only you're included in it,"Annabelle said, her voice and eyes at their most tender and appealing as she slipped her strong arms around Simone and held her. She felt the tension gradually ease from her lover's body and felt so happy for her.
"I want to do a little something together, sweetheart. I'll take you out for a meal tomorrow night. Nothing too fancy, just somewhere we can dress up and mellow out. Right?"
"Right," Simone said, hugging her lover and running her hands through her long dark hair.
"So now for my unpacking. Don't worry, I haven't gone mad. I promise."
With a flourish, Annabelle produced her selection of scented candles with calming balance, bath/shower gel relaxation, massage/body oils and Simone's eyes lit up at the sight of it.
"And this is specially for you,"Annabelle said with special effect as she brought forth passionata lingerie, a summery tropical cocktail of scarlet, orange and yellow sheer low rise shorty and a matching sheer low cup padded bra. Simone's eyes widened with delight as the vivid pastel colours of the lingerie beautifully toned with her suntanned good looks, blue eyes and her loose wavy fair hair that had recently caught the sun.
"And for me, I figured this went with my dark colours," the younger woman pronounced proudly as she produced like a magician did a rabbit out of a hat. A hot cocoa coloured knit shorts, vest and a thong and a bra in striking gold leaf pattern on pale ivory did wonders for Simone's overheated imagination. It made her lover metamorphasise into an exotic princess.
"And last but not least, something to toast our future with," she declaimed, producing a bottle of champagne and a pack of champagne flutes. Simone was dumbfounded. One glance and she could see aspects of her lover she had not suspected before, that genius to combine taste with a latent ability to make their money go a long, long way.
"Are you happy with what I've done?" Annabelle said in a slightly agitated fashion."I didn't want to be a cheapskate or get carried away and run us into the ground. It was real hard, you know. I nearly bought us a romantic CD but we'd got Tori Amos and that's good enough."
Simone's outstretched arms and luminous smile was sufficient answer to the rush of words which betrayed how really nervous Annabelle was. As they embraced, the younger woman once again blessed her lover's capacity for infinite understanding.
"You feel relaxed these days. It's great being around you," Annabelle murmured into Simone's neck, loving the feel of her soft arms around her.
"So where do we begin? I'm not used to lounging around being scantily dressed," the fair-haired woman said softly as they sat down together, one of her coy smiles illuminating her face. It displayed an enchanting mixture of shyness and pleasure at another experience being lazily extended towards her. Annabelle maintained a smiling silence as the other woman ran her fingers briefly through strands of her hair as she deliberated further in her unhurried fashion in that inimitably musical voice of hers
.
"I've never done it before, sweetheart but I've done such a lot recently I've never done before. You've made me feel so good about myself. Come on, let's get changed."
A golden smile spread across the dark-haired woman's face as Simone responded so well to her risky idea. She could picture the colour schemes so well in the shop and it was only as they set off back home that she started wondering if Simone would share her vision. Up till now, she'd run with every idea that had been laid on her so she should trust her intuition- and her loving instincts. They lazily took their time in showering together and
their skin felt fresh and beautifully perfumed as they emerged with a nice glowing feel about them and they got changed into their outfits
"This fits so perfectly. How did you get it so right?"exclaimed Simone, awestruck by the way her outfit clung to her figure so snugly. She was looking in the mirror just as Annabelle turned around, her costume complete. The sight of her loveliness caught her breath."How do you look so right?"
Annabelle's only answer was to smile sweetly as she took Simone's hand. It crossed the mind of the fair haired woman that her lover knew every inch of her body by now
"OK, so the answer's kind of obvious but it's still sweet of you to know," Simone said softly in the candlelight as they went back into the living room. No previous male partners had displayed such thoughtfulness to her.
Annabelle placed the scented candles in strategic places in the small functional holders she'd also bought. She fiddled in her bag for her cigarette lighter and carefully lit the candles before finally turning the electric lights off. Immediately, the dimness of the illumination cast flickering mystic shadows around them and a tender haze wove their way round their feelings. The magic was accentuated as Simone stuck on a Tori Amos CD which moulded into this rich meal for the senses and they were immediately transported into a different, wonderful world.
A very faint draught made the pointed candle flames dance and flicker in some mystical way. In the meantime, Annabelle reached for the champagne bottle and her skilful fingers and thumbs finally eased open the cork which popped out with a loud sound and ricocheted off the ceiling. She caught the liquid in a handy jug flute as it spurted out of the bottle and neatly poured out two flutes full of their celebration drink.
"What shall we celebrate?" Simone said perkily as she held her glass daintily in her hand lying back on the settee.
"How far we've come and our future together," Annabelle replied instantly. The very same question had swirled around in the younger woman's mind and the words jumped out in her imagination. They felt right.
"That's it," Simone exclaimed. A swirling sensation in this dream-state encapsulated the moment when she'd shook the hand of this new student, who had acted like a wary animal. She had been wearing her denim jacket, Buddhist prayer beads, short skirt and boots, smoking her first cigarette, her case at her side together with her terrible reputation. In this strange speeded up time warp, she'd metamorphasised into this sensitive, caring woman who was anyone's equal and whose gorgeous smile and twinkling eyes made her the woman of dreams she'd spent the past year getting over denying. Everything had become clear in her mind and she eagerly echoed the toast, clinking glasses together and drinking the sparking liquid. The knowledge of how hard won this moment in their lives made the champagne taste really good to her.
"We don't need to get loaded if we don't want to. It's not the point," Annabelle said softly, her grey eyes glowing magically in the half-light."I wanted just a little something extra to celebrate. Tomorrow we'll be legal and no one can hassle us."
"You really are eighteen tomorrow? I can't believe it," Simone said in such a wide eyed fashion that she drew soft affectionate laughter and her arm being affectionately stroked in response. Simone looked so gorgeous in the flickering candle light which etched her finely chiselled features and blue eyes that the dark-haired woman caught her breath, hardly believing her luck that they'd come so far together. The warmth and scented atmosphere made for
"I really want to rub this body oil into you and make you feel good," Annabelle said in her most beguiling tones. It was obvious that this ingenious woman had worked out a whole host of ideas for this evening and Simone felt perfectly happy and secure just going with the flow. Whatever was happening in this romantic evening was going to be all right. She got off the settee and lay on the carpet with a delicious feeling of anticipation. Sure enough, she felt her lover's gentle yet firm hands rub lotion into her body and she sighed with pleasure at the feel of the lotion being worked into her skin. This was the life, she thought and she longed to do the same for her lover.
As the evening unfolded, Simone was conscious of a buzz of sexual desire running through her while the woman at the centre of her urges smiled sweetly and displayed her physical charms to be admired. She thought to herself that two women could play that game and teasing her hair while she inclined her champagne glass and flirted outrageously. Neither women drank to any great extent as they were both intoxicated by the sensuous atmosphere they'd created around themselves. This was paradise.
"So how do you feel on your first romantic evening out? I mean the first of many," Annabelle said, slightly drawling her response as she lay wrapped around her lover. She felt slightly stoned when she thought about it though they'd not consumed anything chemical and their drinking had been quite moderate. She'd had lotion rubbed into her by Simone who'd obviously picked up very quickly on her technique and she was highly conscious of delicious urges within herself. The same Tori Amos CD was being sent round the electric circuits a second time which felt quite right as such music was capable of endless repetition as the CD gradually revealed its endless nuances.
"You mean, you've taken us out of ourselves?"came Simone's sharp riposte. A slow smile spread across Annabelle's face as she loved Simone's ability to tune in effortlessly into her thoughts.
"We've travelled a million miles together from here to eternity," came the reply as she felt those long slim fingers run through her long dark hair and the way Simone looked down on her with such loving compassion. She loved the feel of being cosseted like this.
"Aren't all those candles going to burn out in a bit?"Simone asked hazily as she focussed her eyesight in the gathering gloom. Little rivulets of molten wax were flowing down the sides of the holders and the candle flames were burning down low and flickering badly.
"I really don't want the electric lights back on. Another night but not now. I suppose we might as well go to bed,"Annabelle replied in her most seductive manner.
Five minutes later as Annabelle lay on her back upon their double bed, she felt as if she were sprawled out upon a vast plain. Somehow she and Simone had disrobed and she knew that her lover was going to come to her out of the pitch darkness and, sure enough, light kisses were planted on her lips and she felt her wrists were lightly grasped.
"And I know and you know, I'm all over you now," sang Simone lightly and sensually as she lay down on her lover and started to gently caress her lover with a light hearted laugh as her lips sought out Annabelle's. The younger woman could feel that her lover's body and soul was on fire for her after these hours of unconsummated sexual desire which had been amplified by the whole ambiance of the evening and she realised that this was what she'd meant when she'd written that line when she'd been shut up in the school dormitory, so near but so far from her would be lover whose separate room down the corridor was so wrong. It was a prayer as to what they might find together in their lives that was being realised tonight so triumphantly. Annabelle couldn't speak while her lover's tongue was deep inside her mouth but she felt her heart was flying free to run wild with her. This evening was even more special than most were and it felt like heaven to be so expertly and lovingly made love to.