Thursday, December 31st, 1953
10:35 p.m.

"Did you want to go out?" Therese asked as she meandered her way around Carol's nude outstretched form. "There's still plenty of time." Therese's goal was to reach her lips sometime before the new year. The issue was that there were too many other distracting features along the way to Carol's lips that simply plead for attention. Numerous features that required urgent assistance please from either her mouth or her fingertips. Stretched in front of the fireplace, wrapped in blankets, Carol and Therese were immersed in one another. Nothing else needed to exist outside of their muted apartment walls and chilled bottle of Champagne.

For starters, it was the area behind her knee that, when her right leg was raised to rest on Therese's shoulder, bent directly by the left side of Therese's cheek as she knelt. Therese found it impossible to ignore the ticklish area, and couldn't resist peppering the spot with a multitude of kisses. Right underneath Carol's knee, Therese spent her time kissing and grazing the space with her tongue. Carol almost couldn't determine if she should be laughing from the kisses to the exceptionally ticklish part of her anatomy or if she should be heavily sighing from the intense stimulation.

Second, there was the inside of her thighs. Each thigh demanded its own unique touch and attention. The right thigh, for example, was best left to the gentle ministrations of her mouth. Quick, darting kisses along Carol's inner thigh. Lengthy, lingering licks from her knee to just below her curls. Those licks made her moan. And those moans reverberated throughout the living room.

On the other hand, her left thigh clamored for nips of Therese's teeth, intermittent with kisses to break up the dull pain of the bites. Always the right thigh for biting, never the left. There was something so wonderful about the little marks Therese would leave on the inside of her thigh, little marks that would not appear for a couple days, and when they did, they would be bright purple from the steady nibbling. Then days later while in the shower or getting changed, Carol would look down and see Therese's enduring bite marks, and then smile at the memory of how they got there.

Third was the curve of her hip; the angle at which it tilted down and joined her waist. Sometimes when they lounged around in bed, Therese would rest her head there, and daydream, or read. From that position, Therese could feel every inhale and exhale of Carol's breath. There was a peacefulness in feeling every breath go in and out. The curve of Carol's hip was where Therese would stop for a break while coursing kisses around her body.

Easily Therese's favorite, fourth, was her lower stomach. With every touch, it fluttered. She could take her finger, and turn it over to press her fingernail against the skin to trace from side to side. The muscles beneath her skin would ripple and shake at the slightest contact.

There were also those few pink lines on her lower stomach. Small lines that to Carol were a persistent, pleasant reminder of Rindy. She loved their significance. Harge had never cared for them, and liked to make that fact known. He made her feel so ashamed, it was simpler on those rare occasions that they did sleep together, the lights were always off. Even Abby had only ever seen her in shadows; Abby never seen the places Therese had.

Therese couldn't understand why she was drawn to those lines. Perhaps because they were a sign of nurture and love, definitely not something for Carol to be ashamed of. The first time Therese had seen and caressed them, Carol didn't understand why she was doing that and swiftly shied away from her touch. After some calming reassurances, Carol moved her hand and blanket away, allowing Therese to fully see her. For once, Carol felt entirely pleased with her body once she saw the unabashed need in Therese's eyes.

Therese loved them because Carol did, and she adored kissing and cherishing the faint stripes as she worshiped her way around Carol's body.

Fifth, there were her breasts. Exquisite breasts that begged for Therese's mouth. Therese loved when Carol hovered over her and she would dip down far enough so she could take a nipple into her awaiting mouth. The tip of her tongue would circle round and round until she could no longer stand it, and Therese would have to make sure her hands were being put to good use elsewhere on her body.

If Carol was straddling her, Therese could also reach a free hand between them to press her fingers gently inside as she licked her breasts. Or bit. Therese was surprised by all the places Carol loved to be bitten. She made a point though that after every bite, she soothed the spot with her tongue for twice as long as she had bitten down. The concoction of pleasure and pain drove Carol to moan and writhe in Therese's arms each time.

Sometimes, all Carol had to do was lean over her and Therese would instinctively press a cheek to the side of Carol's breast and turn her head to and fro as means of caressing her. It would happen at the oddest moments, not necessarily when they were in bed; Therese took comfort in the sensation and Carol liked the rush she received from that embrace. There would be the tiniest gasp escape her lips as Therese swept against them, grasping Carol's hips or backside to steady her.

Sixth was Carol's neck. When laying on her back with her head angled so her chin rested upon her shoulder, Carol would expose the length of her neck, always her right side, with eyes closed. Waiting. Waiting for Therese to surprise her with her mouth. The sensations and sounds Therese could elicit with the tip of her tongue could leave a girl speechless.

Occasionally, and Carol's favorite, was not the licking or biting of her neck, but the sweetness of Therese nuzzling her with her nose. She'd nuzzle the entire area, dragging her nose up and down the expanse of neck while emitting warm breath on her skin. Carol always associated the nuzzling with Therese: it was uniquely her. Thanks to their height difference, occasionally when Therese would reach in for a kiss, her nose would graze her neck and her warm breath would raise all the tiny hairs in anticipation of her mouth making direct contact. Every part of her body would flutter. It was one of the sweetest and most sexually alluring things Therese could ever do.

Seventh was something about the way Carol's knees parted when she laid on her back, and how her legs so readily opened before Therese. She would crawl back down her and kiss or lick every possible inch of skin in the vicinity before even thinking about approaching Carol's center with her mouth. Therese promised the anticipation of her tongue with every sensitive gesture making Carol's hips move to catch any ounce of friction to alleviate the want. She would practically beg for her tongue by finally pushing Therese's head more firmly between her thighs, catching her fingers in her hair and tracing her fingertips around her head. By the time Therese could even get her mouth on her, Carol would be so swollen, so lubricious, and so ready.

Ever since the visit, they had been enjoying an abundance of pineapple and cherries left over from the baked ham. All that delicious, naturally ripened fruit left Carol in particular with an exceptionally delicate, sweet flavor, practically coaxing Therese to lick up every last bit for the past week. Not that she didn't normally do that, but this had indeed become a very special treat. Therese made a mental note for the summer months to keep a constant supply of fruits in the house because it was simply too delectable to describe.

Therese informed Carol exactly how delicious she was; however, Carol, always doubting herself, never believed a word. It wasn't until Therese insisted, telling her to sample for herself, that Carol had an idea of why Therese could spend what felt like hours satisfying her. All week, after every one of their fireplace sessions where Therese would bury herself between Carol's legs, she would eagerly pull Therese to her face after she climaxed to savor the blend of her essence and Therese's lips.

Now, finally kissing her, Therese looked pleased with a flushed and panting Carol beneath her on the rug.

"You didn't answer me, Carol." Therese started again. "Did you still want to go out?"

"Not particularly," Carol stammered just as Therese's nose swiped from throat to jaw line, kissing just beneath her ear, "No, no definitely not."

The grandfather clock in the entryway chimed.

"Happy New Year."

"Happy Anniversary, Therese."