Dead on Arrival, page 12
part #3 of Sapphic Sphere Series
Nat pulled the phone away from her face again, looked up towards the roof of the car, and let out a silent oath. “Yeah, okay, of course. I’ll be off around noon. Are you going to be home?”
“I’ll make sure that I’m available. I’m not working today anyway – those two fags that hired me don’t have me on the schedule until next week.”
Nat bunched her brows together – disliking her derogatory language – but chose not to address it. “Yeah? Alright, I’ll see you around then. Of course, you know, if there’s an emergency I could get held up.”
She heard Carrie let out an exasperated sigh, “I’ve figured out by now how your schedule works.”
“Oh good. Okay, I’ll see you then.”
“Yeah. Bye.”
The phone made a triple beeping sound indicating that the call had disconnected on the other side.
She didn’t even wait for me to say goodbye – she is fucking pissed.
Why the fuck does she think it’s Tori that chucked a rock through her window?
She’s just jealous of your connection with Tori. You just need to show her that she’s the most important thing in your life.
Nat’s day seemed to drag on, and when she finally got to Carrie’s magenta front door, she checked her watch – one PM. “Fuck, she’s not going to like me being this late.” Nat found herself rubbing at the scar on her cheek, she quickly pulled her hand away from the facial mark and rolled her neck, trying to remove some of the tension.
She knocked on the front door and Carrie opened it about three seconds later as if she were standing on the other side, just waiting. Nat smiled widely at her pouting girlfriend, “Hey baby, miss me bad?”
Carrie’s pouty expression changed into a coquettishly cute one, and she threw her arms around Nat, “Of course I did!” She nibbled on Nat’s neck for a moment, sending shivers up and down her spine.
Nat growled, “How badly did you miss me?”
Carrie backed up slowly, dragging a hand down Nat’s arm, and unbuttoning her shirt with the other. Nat’s heartrate picked up when Carrie sucked her lower lip in between her teeth, and then said, “Wanna come find out?” Carrie released her hand, and took two quick steps backwards into the main living area, “I mean, if you’re not too tired,” she cooed, fluttering her eyelashes.
Nat let out a single, “HA!” in response and pushed the door shut behind her without turning her attention from Carrie.
Maybe she’s calmed down…
Nat watched Carrie as she slowly pulled her button-down from her skin-tight jeans, exposing her barely contained breasts in their nearly see-through bra. Nat held her breath as she unbuttoned her jeans, and exposed naked skin – Carrie almost always opted out of wearing any kind of underwear. Nat hitched her head up a quarter of an inch, suggesting that Carrie remove more clothing.
Carrie bit her lower lip again, opened her pants up a little wider, and shimmied them partially down her hips – this time exposing herself completely. She raised an eyebrow at Nat and smiled, licking her lips and pulling her lower lip back into her mouth. She dipped her hand into her own jeans and began touching herself for a few seconds, pulling her hand out and showing Nat the wetness. “Are you just going to stand there and watch, or are you going to do something about this?”
Nat shook her head, as if coming out of a trance, and rushed at Carrie. Their bodies crashed together, Nat making quick work of the barely-there bra, and pushing Carrie’s pants off with a heated fervor that made Carrie laugh aloud as Nat took one of her nipples into her mouth.
“Fuck yes!” Carrie moaned as Nat gently laid her down onto the sofa, and pushed her hand up into her wetness. “Please, fuck me,” she whispered into Nat’s ear, causing Nat to growl and bite down on her shoulder while she began to stroke Carrie on the inside.
“Oh, baby – you feel so… ugh!” Nat groaned, and took Carrie’s mouth in a passionate kiss. While Nat explored Carrie’s mouth with her tongue, she stroked her center with greater intensity. She pushed her knee into the back of her hand, making her palm push hard against Carrie’s most sensitive spot, and continued to rock her fingers inside. She kissed Carrie’s neck, pulling the delicate skin into her mouth and sucking on it gently. She felt tension begin to grow in Carrie’s stomach, and her hips began pumping in a faster rhythm against the pressure from her hand.
Carrie’s breath caught several times, her body quivered, and then Nat’s fingers were rhythmically clenched by Carrie’s swollen, throbbing insides. A visceral groan escaped Carrie’s lips, she bit down on Nat’s neck a little too hard, causing her to wince in pain, and she let out a “Fuck!”
Carrie released her quickly. “Sorry baby,” she smiled wickedly, “You just turn me into a complete animal.”
Nat quickly pulled her fingers out of Carrie, and put one foot on the floor, pressing her knee into the sofa to hold herself upright. She wiped her hand thoughtlessly on the leg of her pants, swiped where Carrie had bitten her, and then held her hand out in front of her face – no blood.
But it was close.
“Jesus Carrie. I thought you drew blood,” Nat complained.
“Am I too much for you?” Carrie asked, putting one hand up over her head and cupping her own breast with the other.
Nat smiled crookedly and looked down at her, “No. But damn, woman. I can’t walk around looking like a horny teenager.” She chuckled then turned serious, “You bit me in a very sensitive area – it could’ve been a trip to the ER.
“Well, you spend a lot of time there anyway,” Carrie giggled.
Nat rolled her eyes and touched the skin on her neck again and joked, “So… that was good for you then?”
“With you, it’s always good,” Carrie murmured, pulling Nat down on top of her. “Why the hell are you wearing all of this clothing.
Nat shrugged, “I didn’t want to take the time to rip it off.”
Carrie nodded running her hand through Nat’s hair, “Mhmm. So, do you like being welcomed like that then?”
Nat toyed with one of Carrie’s nipples, “What do you think?”
Carrie pushed Nat up, “I need to use the bathroom,” she said in an emotionless voice.
Nat sat on the sofa, slightly confused, but decided she must really have had to go. She waited several minutes for Carrie to return, but when she didn’t, she walked down the hall towards her master. “Hey Carrie? You okay? Do you need anything?” Nat asked, feeling worried.
Not receiving a response, she pushed open the master bedroom’s door and walked into the mauve-walled room.
This woman has a thing for pink.
“Carrie?” she tapped on the door gently. “Everything okay in there?”
“What are you doing?” Nat jumped, startled that Carrie was behind her.
“Sorry baby, I just thought something was wrong.”
“Something is wrong,” Carrie nearly hissed. “Come with me,” she ordered, grabbed Nat by the wrist and brought her towards the back of the house. She opened the mudroom door and pointed at the glass bits scattered across the floor. “See this? See what your little friend did? Tori did this!”
Nat felt her expression go from a look of worry to an all-out grimace. “I’m sorry, why do you think that Tori did this? And why haven’t you cleaned this up? Or taped something over the window?”
“It’s your friend. It’s your mess,” Carrie said, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. “I KNOW she did this.”
“Fine, I’ll help you clean this up, but you’re going to have to come up with some sort of explanation. Also, we were just making love,” Nat saw Carrie roll her eyes at that, but chose to ignore it and continued, “And you’re suddenly all pissed? What’s going on?”
“Please. You just distracted me so we didn’t have to talk about this.”
“Carrie. Honey. Seriously? I did nothing of the sort! You’re the one that started stripping.”
Carrie’s stern face flickered and her eyes filled with tears, “I’m sorry. I’m just so upset over everything… and I’m a little hung over.”
Nat nodded and pulled her finger away from her scar. “Yeah. Okay. Let’s clean this up, and while we do, you tell me why you think that the sweetest person in the world might’ve thrown a rock through your back window.”
As Nat cleaned, Carrie talked. “Last night, I confronted Tori about her feelings for you.”
Nat dropped the broom she was using and turned towards Carrie, “YOU DID WHAT?”
Carrie’s eyes widened in fear, “I… I….” She straightened up, tilted her chin back in a haughty pose, and said, “That’s right. I told her that I knew about your little tryst on New Year’s. And that she better just back off. She’s too clingy with you – and you know it!”
Nat felt something burn inside her chest and she started breathing in short, angry breaths. “Why would you do that? I told you that the kiss meant nothing. She doesn’t have feelings for me. She’s not jealous. She’s just my best fucking friend,” Nat said using her pointer finger to emphasize the last three words.
“I’m telling you. You should’ve seen her face. She’s jealous! Jealous of what we have! She didn’t deny it! That’s practically an admission. Open your fucking eyes Nat – she’s got the hots for you… PERIOD!” Carrie yelled.
“This is ridiculous. She does not.”
“Then why the FUCK were you two dancing outside?” Carrie flung her hands up in the air and let them fall, slapping her hips.
Nat shook her head, “Jesus Carrie. Why don’t you check with me before you throw around ridiculous shit like that? I was trying to cheer her up. She was upset over Mandi – I just wanted to see her smile.”
Carrie tossed her hair back with another haughty look, “Well. I’m telling you it was her. Look, there’s even a fucking note on this.” She picked up the rock and slapped it into Nat’s hand.
Nat turned the rock over and into the rock the letters ‘FOAD’ were scratched in. “What the fuck does FOAD mean?”
“It means ‘Fuck Off And Die’. I know that it was her. I just know it!”
Nat leaned against the wall and pressed her palms into her eye sockets. “Today started badly, and it just seems to get more fucked up.” She quietly and unemotionally told Carrie about finding Em on the I-90.
“Fuck. Why didn’t you just lead with that when you took my call?” Carrie asked gently.
“You were pretty worked up, I didn’t want to burden you unnecessarily.”
Carrie walked over and put her arms around Nat. “I’m so sorry. This year hasn’t been very kind to you, what with your exes dropping like flies.”
Nat pulled her head back a little too violently and bashed it into the wall. “What do you mean?”
“Well, there was Penny, that Mandi-tramp, and now Em,” Carrie said, looking up at Nat seemingly confused.
“Mandi wasn’t an ex of mine – just a friend.”
“That’s not what she said,” Carrie said flatly.
Nat rolled her eyes and pulled Carrie’s arms from around her, “We didn’t date. We never hooked up. We were never a thing. She just always wanted us to be a thing. She liked having a little bit of everyone.”
Carrie shrugged and then embraced Nat again, laying her head against her chest. “I don’t want to be a total unfeeling jerk. I want to comfort you, but…” she paused and looked up at Nat with watery green eyes. “I’m a little scared. Your ex-girlfriends seem to be piling up,” she paused again and rubbed her face against Nat’s breast. “What if it IS Tori? What if I’m next?”
“What if what’s Tori?” Nat asked confused.
“You know. Serial killer style,” Carrie said, running her finger across her own throat.
Nat laughed, “You have an incredibly wild imagination. It’s just a coincidence. But again – it’s NOT Tori. She’s not a psychopath,” Nat barked the last bit. “Look, let’s clean up this mess, then I’ll go talk to Tori about this whole rock incident… and I guess I’ll tell her about Em.”
Carrie nodded, “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
Nat frowned, cleared her throat and said, “I called the hospital, she’s not gone. She’s still hanging in. I’ll probably see if I can visit her a little later.” Nat felt the pin pricks of tears, she looked up at the ceiling, clenched her teeth, and did her best to blink the emotions away.
There is no crying in this house.
Don’t Speak
- Nat -
Nat stood on Tori’s stoop, Carrie’s words still echoing in her ears. “Tori did this! She’s jealous! Jealous of us!” She shook her head, trying to rattle those thoughts loose.
No way does Tori have the hots for me. No way did she chuck that rock. No. Way.
She rang the buzzer, put both hands on either side of the door frame, and considered the conversation they were about to have. She swore under her breath and squeezed the wooden frame until the tips of her fingers felt like they were going to burst. She let out a breath she didn’t realize that she had been holding and loosened her grip on the wood. She heard Tori’s voice through the door, “Coming. Just a minute! I’ll be right there!” Nat stared at her feet, arms still braced on the door frame.
Nat heard the door open and she looked up, trying to look at ease. When Nat made eye contact, Tori’s smiling face contorted into one of worry. “Hey,” she nearly whispered. “You okay?” she asked, pulling her inside and into a hug, which she gladly accepted.
This isn’t weird. This is just a hug between friends.
She decided she was right, and squeezed Tori harder, burying her face into her hair. “Hey? What’s going on? Are you okay? Is Carrie okay?”
Nat nodded and squeezed her harder still as she felt herself begin to shudder.
No. Please. Don’t. There is no crying…
Nat started to sob into Tori’s hair and she felt Tori push the door shut with one of her feet. Then they just stood in the entryway – Nat buried her face into Tori’s neck and hair, Tori rubbed small, reassuring circles on her back. Neither woman spoke. Neither woman let go.
“I’m sorry,” Nat croaked after she had stopped shuddering.
“Psssh. Shaddap,” Tori ordered. “We don’t say sorry for crying here. This is a tear-friendly area.”
Nat chuckled into Tori’s curly mane. “I can’t believe your hair is down, again. This is like, four times in a row.”
“It’s just hair,” Tori replied.
Nat inhaled deeply and gently squeezed Tori.
She smells like happiness.
Nat loosened her grip on Tori and let her hands fall to her sides. She tried her best not to be weird about the crying, but knew she failed miserably. She wiped at her face and sniffled loudly, “How’s it going?”
Tori laughed a little and gave her a crooked smile, “It’s going. You maybe want a tissue?”
“Pshhh…” she was about to pretend she didn’t need one, and then decided on looking at the floor and saying, “Yeah.”
Tori grabbed her by the hand, led her into the living room, and snagged a tissue from its decorative container. “Here you go. Why don’t I just run upstairs and jump into something a little less formal and you can take a couple of minutes to collect yourself… or whatever,” she added when Nat raised her hand to argue.
Nat nodded and Tori disappeared up the stairs to her bedroom.
There is no fucking way that Tori – my Tori – threw a fucking rock through Carrie’s door.
No. Fucking. Way.
When Tori came back down, she was dressed in more casual looking clothing – figure-hugging jeans and a snuggly looking sweater. Nat pretended that she didn’t notice Tori’s breasts jiggle under the loose fabric of the sweater. She averted her eyes quickly, cleared her throat and asked, “Why were you all dressed up?”
Tori shrugged and said, “I was just meeting with a gallery owner – he’s pretty interested in showing my work. Had to impress him – hence the hair and the snazzy clothes. Think I wooed him?”
Nat rubbed the back of her neck, then rolled it, and flicked her eyes at Tori’s chest. “I dunno, I like how you look right now.” She smiled warmly and felt something in her chest twitch.
“This?” Tori asked in disbelief. “No way was I going to show up to that meeting looking like this!” She looked down at herself and shook her head, “No freaking way.”
Nat rolled her eyes, “Whatever. You’re gorgeous. Couldda shown up in a garbage bag and he would’ve been impressed.” Nat rolled her neck, felt something pop, and let out a sigh.
“Feel better?” Tori asked, making a pretend sickened face.
“Much.”
“Neanderthal.”
Nat grinned.
“So, did you see my car?” Tori ask, her hands on her hips.
“Uhh…” Nat said, realizing that she didn’t even remember driving to the house. She just remembered leaving Carrie’s and then standing in Tori’s doorway. “Sorry, I’ve got a lot going on – what happened?”
Tori walked over and opened the front door, tilting her head towards it. “C’mon. Let’s go check it out.”
As soon as Nat walked outside, she noticed Tori’s car was lacking windows; however, she was acutely aware that the glass was completely cleaned up.
“You see who did it?”
“We’ll get to that. Let’s go back inside and talk,” Tori suggested, looping her arm into Nat’s.
“Sounds good. Got anything to eat? I got off work hours ago and I’m famished.”
“I have leftovers – pizza. You down?”
“Have I EVER said no to pizza?”
Tori laughed, “Of course not – you’re Nat.”
“Exactly. Take me to the pizza,” Nat said, doing her best impression of a Neanderthal.
“Yes ma’am,” Tori replied, saluting.
Once Nat had downed two pieces, she wiped her mouth and hands, and then stared down at her empty plate. “Look, I’ve got something to tell you, and it’s not good.”
Tori put her second slice down on her plate, wiped her hands, took a drink, and said, “Okay. Hit me.”
