No Other Silly Girl Need Apply

By Gun Brooke

Part Seven

"I'm going to Skype with the girls," Miranda said after we stepped into the foyer. "Why don't you join us?"

I immediately suffered from an acute onset of nerves. "Uhm. Nah. I shouldn't barge in on your special time with them."

"But they're worried about you." Miranda's eyes narrowed. "They texted me twice today asking how you're doing."

I just stared at her in disbelief. "What? You told them? They know I'm staying here and why?"

Miranda actually blushed. "I did tell them you were having a procedure done and needed some assistance as your friends were unavailable. I didn't go into detail and I certainly haven't told them about…us."

I was still appalled, but the word 'us' from Miranda's lips mellowed my temper. "Okay. Well, we should be honest with them, I suppose. They're smart kids and they know you well. I think they'd see if you were trying to cover something up."

"And they really like you. According to Caroline, you're the only assistant I've ever had that never 'ratted them out' or held a grudge."

I smiled. "Ah. They're kids and I get a feeling they are a bit jealous of everyone they have to share you with. Even a lowly assistant."

Miranda's forehead furrowed, a sure warning sign. "Do not berate yourself like that. Not even as a joke. You're my equal in every sense that counts."

I could tell this was non-negotiable, so I nodded. "All right. So, why don't you talk to them and just call me toward the end and I'll come say hello?"

"Acceptable." Miranda tapped her lower lip, which made me want to kiss her silly. "Why don't you order us some dinner from that place I like?"

"Smith & Wollensky?"

"Yes. That's what I said, didn't I?" Miranda smirked and walked into her study. She left the door open, which made me feel even better as I pulled out my cell phone and dialed the restaurant. Normally they didn't deliver, but the name Priestly made a lot of people say 'how high' way before I asked them to jump, so within twenty minutes, they would deliver two steaks with several side dishes. When I started fetching lunch for Miranda, she had only eaten steak with some herbs sprinkled on it, but I had gently coaxed her into having more vegetables. At first, she had glared at me, but her favorite restaurants of course made delicious little starter dishes with different vegetables and soon Miranda expected more than just meat on her plate.

I had just taken a quick shower and changed into my favorite sweats when Miranda called from her office.

"I'm here." I poked my head in and she waved me over to sit next to her on the couch. She had her laptop on her knee and was smiling broadly at her girls.

"Here's Andrea." She twisted the laptop and moved closer, her thigh pressing tightly against mine.

"Hello guys," I said and looked at slightly more disheveled twins. "You guys been to the beach today?"

"Yes, and then at the pool all evening." Cassidy tilted her head, Miranda-style. "You look different. Are that shirt from your university?"

"It sure is. I like to just be comfortable after a day in high heels." I winked at them. "It's like my Runway uniform, you know. Just like when you wear the Dalton uniform. Don't you love getting out of that when you get home?"

"Yeah." Caroline glanced at her mother. "Yes. So, you feel like you're at home at the townhouse?" She pursed her lips, but she didn't look displeased.

My heart skipped. "Yes, kind of." I tried to stay honest without revealing anything. "It's nice of your mother to let me stay here."

"Why did you have to have surgery?" Caroline frowned. "Are you ill?" The last words were said with a catch in her voice, which astounded me.

"I'm not ill," I said firmly. "The doc removed a birthmark that was bothering me. I have some stitches that pinch me and itch like crazy sometimes, but other than that, I'm doing fine. Honest."

The girls looked mollified. "How long are you staying? Will you be there when we come home on Sunday?" Caroline asked.

I looked at Miranda, feeling this was not up to me to answer. She nodded and then shocked the hell out of me by putting her right arm around my shoulders. "Andrea is staying long enough for you to spend time together, Bobbsey. I really enjoy having her here."

"Wow." Caroline bumped her sister's shoulder. "See. I win. Cough it up."

"Yeah, yeah." Cassidy made a face and then a ten dollar bill changed hands.

"What are you girls doing?" Miranda looked at them under raised eyebrows.

"I made a bet with Cassidy that you're in love with Andy." Caroline looked casual, but still giggled as her sister pinched her. "And I was right."

"Caroline!" Miranda was now pink for the second time in one evening. "First of all, making bets regarding money is not what I raised you to do. And making a bet regarding your own mother's feelings is…is just wrong."

Caroline pouted. "But I was right."

"That may be," Miranda said and her voice sank to the level that made clackers and copy editors fled through the windows no matter which floor they were on. "It is still wrong and I expect you to not only give your sister her money back, but an apology to both Andrea and me."

Caroline slumped her shoulder and handed the money back. "I'm sorry," she muttered.

"Apology accepted." Miranda mellowed. "Now, let's not end this on such a somber note. As Andrea is here when you get back, I thought we would do something special. Unless you think you're too tired when you get back." She looked seriously at the girls, but her eyes glittered.

"What? What? We won't be tired." Cassidy sat up straight and even the chastised Caroline looked intrigued.

I was always amazed that such privileged children, because they were, could still be so honestly excited about a great many things.

"I have tickets to an outdoor concert with One Direction."

The microphone on the girls' computer couldn't handle their squealing, it only made a static noise, but the way they girls hugged each other and bounced, was indicative of how well that piece of news had been received.

"You're going to a One Direction concert?" I stared at Miranda. "You realize it's going to be a mob of teenage girls stampeding and screaming throughout the whole event?"

Miranda smiled angelically. "That's why the girls will be in a VIP section up front with some of their friends and you and I will be in a special area where we can be quite comfortable in lounge chairs, being catered to, and, retain our hearing."

"Mom, you're the best!" Cassidy said once they stopped squealing. "Who can we bring?"

"Two friends each. I would suggest you return the Craig-Lauritz' hospitality by including their daughters."

"Of course, you don't have to tell us that. Mindy and Sabina are our best friends."

"Excellent."

The doorbell rang. "Our dinner is here, Miranda." I blew the girls a kiss before I realized what I was doing. "Night, night, girls. See you on Sunday."

"Night, Andy." The girls spoke in chorus and then Cassidy blew a kiss back. Caroline giggled and made a kissy-face. I shook my head, but had to smile as I stood to go get the door.

"You're being ridiculous, girls," Miranda said tenderly. "Love you, Bobbseys. Good night."

"Night, Mom."

xxxXXXxxx

I stood at the top of the stairs, looking from the door leading to Miranda's bedroom to the guest room and back again. It was probably ridiculous, but I didn't know where to go. Miranda had shown me the guest room that first night, clearly stating this was my room while I stayed at the house. Then she had stayed there with me and I had stayed with her in her bedroom after that. Now, when I went to bed before her, it felt presumptuous to assume I had the right to invade her personal space without her there. Then again, what if I hurt her feelings by removing myself to the guestroom. I remembered her saying that was what her ex-husbands used to do when they were angry.

Grabbing the proverbial bull by the horns, I did what my heart wanted, and yes, of course, my body too, and walked into Miranda's bedroom. And there I just stared at the bed, my eyes watering. On the made up bed, which was turned down on both sides for the night, lay my worn and torn sleep shirt. I removed my sweats and underwear and donned the knee-long t-shirt. It was so worn, it was see-through in places. I wondered if Miranda would find it deplorable or sexy. Something told me, a little bit of both.

I brushed my teeth as I had already showered and then crawled into bed. I was so tired after the emotional turmoil and my mother's words spun in my head as I tried to get comfortable. Tossing and turning, I eventually fell asleep, hugging Miranda's pillow, my face buried into it.

I jerked awake, not sure what had awoken me. The room was almost dark, only a nightlight was on by the window. I was gasping for air and I wondered if I'd had a nightmare.

"Andrea?" Miranda came into the room from the bathroom. "Did I wake you? I didn't mean to, but I dropped a bottle in the sink."

"It's all right." Relieved to see her. I lay down again, placing the pillow I've hugged back on her side of the bed. "What time is it?"

"One-thirty." She looked sullen. "There was a lot wrong with the Book. I think you would have done a better job with the texts than these bozos. I will have you edit them when we get into work tomorrow."

This made me wide awake. "What? I'm going to edit something for Runway?"

"Yes. It's high time we took advantage of your skill sets. You were editor-in-chief of your college paper, right?"

"Yes. Yes, I was." I was flabbergasted. "But, I'm your assistant—"

"Don't you want this?" Miranda pinched her lips.

Whoa. Damage control. "Are you kidding? I'm psyched! Just so stunned. I didn't see this coming." I smiled carefully. "This is amazing. Now I'm nervous though. What if you think I suck?"

Miranda relaxed and rolled her eyes. "If you 'suck' I will be very disappointed."

I pressed a hand over my mouth to not squeal like the girls did just hours earlier. "This is freaking awesome." I kicked my feet excitedly under the covers and removed my hand again. "What kind of text is it? Is it a feature piece or some informative text or—"

Chuckling now, Miranda placed two fingertips against my lips. "You will find out tomorrow. Now it's really time for bed. Try to go back to sleep."

I don't know what came over me, but the excitement paired with her gentle touch and the glitter in her eyes, clearly made me go crazy. I parted my lips and ran the tip of my tongue across her fingertips.

Miranda gasped and froze. I knew no matter what that I had to follow through. I gently held on to her hand and painted a trail with my tongue across her palm to the inside of her wrist. There, I pressed my lips to her pulse point, feeling it race against me.

"Andrea…" Miranda slipped further into the bed and then into my arms. I hugged her close and kissed her forehead, her temples, and then her mouth. Oh, those kisses were so different from the rough ones that first time and the urgent ones last night. Slow, exploring, languid, like we had all the time in the world. How could I ever doubt how much this woman, how much Miranda wanted me? Miranda. She held me so gently, like I was made of glass, and ran her tongue inside my lips, played with my tongue, tugged carefully at my lower lip with her teeth. For being able to deliver such scathing words, she could turn and be so…so loving.

Suddenly, Caroline's voice echoed in my head. "…that you're in love with Andy…" I would never ask Miranda about her response to Caroline. "…that may well be…" If Miranda, by any chance of a miracle, loved me, she would tell me when she was ready. Not because her rascal daughters forced the issue.

I still was so giddy about the whole thing; I reacted once again without thinking and rolled Miranda onto her back, ending up on top of her. I kissed her, firmer now, more deliberate and my hands began to roam. It dawn on me that I had actually touched her intimately, even if it was on the outside of her clothes, but I hadn't seen, or touched, her breasts properly. Talk about going about it in the 'wrong' order.

Miranda was wearing a nightgown with spaghetti straps. Convenient, I thought as I nuzzled her neck. Miranda moaned and pushed her fingers into my hair.

"Andrea," she breathed. "You set me on fire. How can this be?"

I sure as hell didn't know and I refused to analyze it now. I pushed the spaghetti strap off her shoulders one by one with my nose and mouth. Resting on my elbows, I scooted down just a little, tugging at the nightgown with my teeth.

"Andrea!"

"Shh." I kissed a line from her neck down between her collarbones and to her sternum. Then I had to see. I lifted my head and gazed down at the pale orbs, visible enough in the muted light. Dark pink tips begged for my attention and I closed my lips around her right nipple, sucked it into my mouth as far as it would go. Velvety, puckered and hard as little pebble, it was delicious. I used my tongue and massaged, sucked, even chewed very gently and clearly this had the desired effect as Miranda whimpered my name over and over, mixing it with 'oh' and 'yes' and 'oh, please, please.'

I felt sorry for her left breast and kissed my way over to it. Giving it the same attention made Miranda part her legs and wrap them around me. Doing so pushed my long sleep shirt up over my hips and the cool air against my naked bottom reminded me I was going commando.

Torn between being so horny I could take Miranda right then and there, and being alarmed by the risk of shocking the daylights out of Miranda by being virtually naked—again, I let go of her nipple.

"Andrea?" She looked up at me, dazed by arousal and tugging at my long hair. "D-don't stop…"

"You sure?" I was trembling now. If she moved her legs just a little bit, she would realize I was not wearing any panties. Right then, she shifted and grinded her hips against me, and that made me realize, neither was she. I just couldn't resist. Certain that she would tell me if I overstepped any boundaries, or at least that's what I counted on, I let my left arm carry my weight so I wouldn't crush her and slipped the other down between us. I tugged at her nightgown and pulled upward. My own shirt followed suit and now I could tell she felt how intimate this embrace had become.

"So hot," Miranda whispered. "So smooth."

I kept my hand between us and wiggled it further down. I reached the sparse and trimmed hair at the junction of her legs and combed through it with my fingertips.

"Ah…" Miranda rolled her hips. "It burns."

I pushed back and sat up between her legs, effectively parting her legs more. Gazing down, I couldn't really see any details, but that was all right. I figured she kind of looked like I did, and knowing what I liked when it came to being fondled, I thought, hell, she'll tell me if I do it wrong. This is Miranda, after all.

The thought that I was allowed to see this part of her, and by that I didn't mean the naked Miranda, even if that was pretty fucking amazing, but this vulnerable, trusting part…with her sprawled before me. Having faith in me to not take advantage of hurt her, in any way.

"May I?" I asked. I had to ask. There could be no misunderstandings. That would kill me.

"Oh, yes. Please. Andrea…" To my astonishment, Miranda held on to her knees and put herself on display for me. "Only you, Andrea. Only you."

That was as close to a declaration of love as I could think of without uttering the exact words. I ran my hands down her satin smooth thighs and then massaged her center with my thumbs, not entering at all at first. She was so wet, her labia parted on their own as they became even more swollen. I was surprised at the sudden urge to bury my mouth into all that moisture and taste her. Did she want that? Did she expect it? No, I didn't think Miranda had any expectations whatsoever. She merely trusted me with her body and it was up to me to live up this trust.

I scooted down further and kissed a trail from her belly button down across the tuft of hair. Her legs trembled and she let go of her knees, let them fall to the side.

"You—you don't have to…" she managed, her voice unsteady.

"But I want to. No, I need to. I need you." I used my thumbs again and parted her labia gently. "Just tell me if I do something you don't like, okay."

"Hm."

I blew carefully at the hot wetness before me. Then I flattened my tongue against her, just below her clit, as I figured it was too much of a shock to touch that first of all. Miranda wailed and dug her heels into the bed. I let my tongue massage the sensitive flesh in small circles, down around her opening, over her perineum, up again, cautiously nearing her clit. When I finally reached it, I covered it with my mouth and sucked the engorged, protruding ridge of nerves.

Miranda cried out my name and arched, her body convulsing and her clitoris actually pulsated so hard it pulled back completely for a moment before it reappeared outside its little hood.

"Andrea, Andrea…oh, God…God…" Clawing for me, Miranda pulled me up along her and clung to me. She kissed me, clearly not bothered in the least by the fact she had to taste herself on my lips.

I was shaking so badly now from arousal, from having felt her orgasm reverberate against me, I pressed my hips against her hipbone, rocking and rubbing.

"You're horny, darling," Miranda whispered, her words sending more arrows of pleasure through me. She was still out of breath and shaking, but that didn't stop her from moving her hips against me. "You devoured me."

"Yes," I sobbed and hid my face against her neck.

"You rolled me over and took my breasts, sucked and chewed on me. Just like that."

"I did, I did."

"And then you wanted more." Miranda gripped my hips and held me close to her as her hips danced against me. "You wanted to taste me."

"Yes, I did. That's…that's what I wanted." I wanted more now too. I shifted, trying to find an angle where she could rub against my clit that ached so much now, it hurt.

"And now you're in a bad way. So horny. So hot for me. Aren't you?" Miranda murmured in my ear and then shifted out of reach.

I nearly wailed from sheer frustration and disappointment. "Miranda!"

"Tell me what you need, Andrea," she purred. She was recuperating quicker than I thought she would.

"You. Your touch. Your hands. Your lips. Anything as long as it's you." I kissed her again. "You, Miranda."

"By all means." Suddenly one of her hands was between my legs, two fingers inside me and her thumb against my clit. "This is how I touch myself when I'm desperate enough." Miranda spoke calmly, as if explaining this during normal conversation, but her hand was moving with such passion and the contradiction made me tremble. "I've mostly used sex or masturbation as a stress relief, but you have another effect on me. You turn me on just by being in the same room, and I find myself looking at you with such hunger. I'm over fifty and never in my life have I hungered for another person, man or woman, until I met you. Your full lips, your full breasts, your soulful eyes…I hunger for all of it. For how you care…for your courage…

She rolled me on my back and shifted her caress a bit, clearly getting better access this way. I just closed my eyes and felt the orgasm I was striving for come closer and closer. Then I realized I wanted to watch her too, so I opened my eyes again.

She was on top of me, just like I had before, resting on her elbow and taking me, taking me, with the other. I only had to see the predatory gleam in her eyes, paired with the most heartbreaking tenderness to come so hard, I nearly blacked out. I cried out her name and then mainly whimpered over and over as the aftershocks tore through me.

Carefully removing her hand, Miranda hugged me close and pulled the duvet and bed sheets up around us. She smoothed down my shirt and placed me on her shoulder. I couldn't feel the nightgown anywhere and assumed she must have pulled it off or merely lost it in the bed somewhere. I didn't really care. I was in her arms, exhausted, sated—for now—and happier than I'd ever been.

"Thank you," I murmured.

"Likewise," she said quietly.

"You're so beautiful. Amazing."

She flinched, just a little, but enough for me to notice. "I'm glad you think so." Her non-committal tone showed she didn't quite believe me, but I was confident I would convince her about how I saw her with time.

"Mm. Good night, Miranda." I wanted to say I loved her, but if she couldn't fathom how beautiful I found her, saying 'I love you' could make her recoil. I just had to say something, though. "You're in my heart." I hoped she wouldn't find that sappy.

Miranda pressed her lips against my temple. "As are you, in mine, Andrea. Now sleep."

"Yes, Miranda." I smiled so broadly in the darkness, it hurt my cheeks. And then I slept.

TBC