Book 01: A Match Made Ch. 01

"Tell lovely Laura who I am, pet." Volcano; I turned several shades of embarrassed.

"Kara is my miss, Laura." Lovely Laura?

"What can I get you to drink?" I would have done the same thing, Laura. She didn't comment on my raspy voice though. I had the biggest lime margarita they served. We both watched Laura's very attractive caboose as she left.

"Little sister?"

"Lovely Laura?"

"I saw you lookin' at her ass when she walked away that time." It's nice; really good legs too! "What are you going to order?" We just sat down.

"I've never been here before. I have no idea." The appetizers were interesting. Even though it was seasoned, marinated and served in a special cocktail sauce, I am so not having catfish. I was married to a bottom feeder. Okay, that was cruel. "The combo appetizer looks interesting. Plus there's no catfish on it."

"I saw that. Okay; sometimes a combo thing can be enough for dinner, especially as fast as we're going through the chips and salsa." Oh yeah, I better slow down with that.

Lovely Laura brought our drinks. I noticed she bent a little lower to give Kara an eyeful of her mouthfuls. Get that one?

"You can tell Rachel to ask for George, George Harrison." I laughed. "He's the manager. When she comes in, have her use my name. They give us cash for referrals." Fair enough.

"Thank you, dear. I better write all that down. Oh, I see you're doing it." She better not give this kid her phone number! Kara wrote down what Laura said on the back of a business card and stuck it and the pen back in her purse. "We'd like your combo appetizer, Laura." She wrote it down under the watchful eye of my soon to be dead honey. "My daughter was glad that catfish wasn't included." Brown eyes glanced from one to the other of us.

"You mean your miss don't you?" No tip for you!! Kara turned her head to hide the smile; her shoulders shook. Miss proud of herself flounced away to place our order.

"You gotta give her some credit, baby. That was pretty funny." Glad you thought so.

"Yeah?" You nodded. "We'll see how funny she thinks it is when I stiff her." You sat back in her chair and stared.

"You so will not!" Wanna bet? I smiled sweetly. Blue eyes rolled gorgeously. Yum. I crossed my legs for about the thousandth time. Because I could.

"We'll see." I took another sip of my drink, a healthy one this time, through the straw. Ice may help my throat, but not crushed ice. The cold feels good. The pacifier feels better.

"It's delicious isn't it?" Which?

"Mm hmm." They both are; so is she. Kara, that is. Okay, fine, miss smarty panties is too. Well, cute anyway. We will not be discovering if she's delicious! Blue eyes danced with laughter. Fifty shades of red is me!

"Watching you talk to yourself should be an Olympic sport. I'd be shoe-in for a gold medal." Hysterical isn't she?

"What was I thinking?" God, why do I do this to myself? I was about to get zinged.

"I've been trying to figure that out. Best guess is you were thinking about a threesome." God strike me dead. "Oh my god, you really were! That is just too funny, baby!" I would have died happy this afternoon from that orgasm. Now I wanted to die of embarrassment. How does she do that!! "You're trying to come up with something clever to say to deny it. Don't waste your time; your blush and your eyes gave you away." I know.

"What are we doing tonight?" Clever banter by Lissy Stone! Kara laughed.

"You do favor red, Lissy; proved that earlier this afternoon." Come on brain ... something, anything!!

"You sat up and begged rather nicely in the car, lover. How much longer could you have held out?" We'll get back to that in a moment. Our appetizer was delivered.

"Ladies, are your drinks okay?" Laura asked after she'd set the platter between the two of us. I looked at Kara, who shook her head. When she finished setting the plates in front of us, Laura smiled – at Kara, and left. My lover is truly beautiful and she's not in her mid fifties.

Taking my hand, she said, "I love you." I know. I nodded, not wanting to meet her eyes. "Please don't do that, baby. She's cute, but you're who I go home with, and that's not going to change." For now. That's not fair, Lissy.

"I know, lover. My insecurities about my age aren't your problem. They're mine." I smiled. "She is cute." You kissed me. Yummy! I took a chicken quesadilla, stuck it between her lips and we nibbled on it until our lips met. Corny, but we both laughed as we did it. Being in love means you can do silly stuff like that.

The Mexican sausage quesadilla was tasty; spicy too! I had to take a gulp of my drink. I dipped a chip in the guacamole. "Oh, that's very good!" Blondie nodded.

"I just finished a chip; you beat me to it. You're absolutely right."

Laura came back a few minutes later, asking if we were ready for fresh drinks. We ordered a combination plate to split. I asked if we could swap the skirt steak for a beef taco. Laura thought that would be okay. We sent her on her way.

"I really want to see that movie with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson."

"You like Owen Wilson?" I shook my head.

"He's a goof, but it looks funny. I like what looks like the premise. They're both too old to be interns. It looks funny. It's out sometime this month." I had a thought. "Are we going to Navy Pier tonight?" Kara, who was taking a sip, stopped and thought for a minute.

"I hadn't even thought about it. I kind of assumed I'd stay at your place again." Her index finger traced lightly over the back of my hand. "You want to stay at my place tonight?" She looked at me. "We could go to the house and get some of your things." That little idea had been floating around during the day. 'What's good for the goose' came to mind.

"I'd like that!" That was sealed with a kiss. Dinner was good. I paid; Kara left the tip. We do that sort of thing. We said our goodbyes to Miss Laura, headed to the car, and drove home.

**June 6th**

Bette was all summery the following Thursday. Elegant and understated, a shell-colored skirt and jacket and white, v-neck blouse with a ruffled collar looked cool and fabulous. After the usual hellos and other pleasantries, Bette opened the session with, "Last week we ended up talking about Memorial Day and a bit of a disturbance with your daughter in law."

That's my shrink, helping me get right back in the saddle. Oh my god, Kara, that text this morning!! I squirmed. Get to it, Lissy.

"I think I mentioned that Jenna had followed Andi into the house." Bette nodded. "From the look on Jenna's face when she returned, the conversation hadn't been very pleasant." I had a lot to talk about and needed to manage my time well. "I decided to speak to my son, face to face, while I could. Generally, the conversation focused on the baby, Dylan. I reminded to JR that children are very impressionable. Mom usually has more influence on them, and he wasn't doing anyone any favors by letting Andi run her mouth about her feelings.

"Was it uncomfortable getting between your son and his wife? How did he respond to your comments?" Ugh!

"He wasn't happy with Andi; he knew her comments were out of line. He tried to deflect things by asking about Rachel and June, asking how I felt about it all." Bette was watching me carefully, nodding now and then. There was no hiding from this one. "My son is an adult, married with a family. There's no way to know how Dylan would have felt about me, let alone our daughter. But he would never have allowed someone to speak as harshly to and about his children as Andi did." I don't want to talk about this anymore. "He told me he'd talk to his wife; I believe him. Time will tell if she tones down her act." I'm not convinced one little bit anything could or would change her attitudes.

"And Jenna; did you get a chance to speak to her?" I nodded.

"Yup; she was more surprised about me than about her sister." An eyebrow was raised. "Yeah, I wondered too, so I asked her about it. She didn't feel that there'd been any hints that had been missed. Then again, there's a ten year gap between them. She'd been off to college and then on her own as Rach was growing up." A nod. "Rach dated in high school, had plenty of friends of both sexes and all the usual ups and downs kids have as teenagers." God it's awful! "There was a time when it was just the two of us, save for when her father was home." I said that awkwardly. "I admit that I was surprised. But June really is lovely and it's quite clear the two of them are a couple. We had a chance to spend time with them last Saturday." I explained about them coming home while Kara and I were still in bed. I left out the part about us being very busy!

"Was that awkward having them interrupt your intimacy?" Kitty tingled remembering. I'm positive I blushed.

"Actually, it was pretty funny. I had asked June to tell us a little about herself. Some of it was emotional. Rachel kissed her, then, realizing what she'd done, looked like I'd caught her in the cookie jar." Nicely done Lissy! "Trying to make her feel better, I kissed Kara. She got up and straddled my lap without breaking the kiss." Bette smiled. "I heard the other two whispering, giggling. I peeked over Kara's shoulder; they'd done the same thing she had." More smiling. "It was pretty funny; Mom kissing her girlfriend and her youngest kissing hers." Should I ... ah hell. "It seems June had asked Rach to bring some of her clothes to her apartment." Eyes widened a little. "I know! She's too cute though; she asked if it was okay." I'd managed to do all this without my eyes leaking.

"Was it?" I nodded.

"Yes it was ... is. Pretty hard for me to tell her no when Kara had brought some of hers the night before." No shock and awe here. "I have no clue how they'll turn out." Us either. "Well ... or how Kara and I will turn out." A nod. "Oh! She didn't bring much and had packed them in her Barbie overnight bag." Bette chuckled. "She's had the thing forever." I'm forgetting something about Memorial Day. "We went out to dinner Saturday. The server was very young and very cute. She made eyes at Kara." Bette knew that I struggled with the age thing. "It was okay though. 'Lovely Laura' was a good sport about my teasing." She smiled. "We had a few moments of angst but both got over it quickly." I smiled. "We went home after, packed a few of my clothes – business and fun – and spent the rest of the weekend together."

I finally remembered what I'd forgotten. "About Andi ... the thing that angered me was that she resisted letting me hold her son. Bette's eyes widened. "I know! Jenna wasn't happy; Kara was furious. I think I burned a hole in my son with my eyes; he finally brought my grandson to me." I smiled proudly. "He's adorable. Five months old today! He's discovered her hands and fingers." I pictured a fat little face and drool, arms and legs flailing. Dylan, not Kara.

Bette roused me from my stupor. "It goes by quickly doesn't it?" I took a deep breath.

"Impossibly so; it seems to go more quickly with age." We looked at each other, both of us nodding. That outfit really looks great on her. "I kinda like my life right now, Bette. It's not all smooth sailing but I'm content." I have no idea how old this woman is. Why do I even care?

"I'm happy for you, Lissy. You do seem to have turned some sort of corner. There are still things we'll want to talk about, but I've sensed a calmness about you recently." Yup, I agree, except for Andi. We'll see about that. "This is a good time for us to stop today." She stood. Normally, we shake hands as we say goodbye. I have no idea why but I gave Bette a quick hug. She was shocked; so was I. I fumbled with what to say. Geezuz Lissy!

"I'm mortified, Bette. I'm so sorry. I took note of your wonderful outfit but I think you dress very well all the time." There was no hint of anger on her face. She raised a hand to stop me.

"I appreciate the compliments about my clothes, Lissy. I know you didn't mean anything by your embrace. It's not that uncommon for patients to feel close to their therapists. You share a good deal of personal information, emotion, and more. I know you're in love with Kara. We'll call this what it is - a faux pas, and move on."

I was beyond angry with myself. On more than one occasion my self talk centered on Bette – her hair, her clothes, and other things. I haven't written about them all. I was meeting Kara soon. I wanted to cancel, but that would raise more questions that just ... goddammit! I have no idea how old she is. There are degrees, licenses and other things a professional would want a client to see. A simple desk held no clues about who she is. Why am I bringing that up again? I walked briskly, mostly keeping my eyes on the sidewalk. I smiled. I couldn't have done that Saturday.

Any anger and angst melted when my honey smiled. Her kiss was hungry and warm. I'm such an ass. She loves me; I love her. What on earth was I thinking?

"You seem troubled, baby; tough session today?" Her hand rested on mine. I drank her in with my eyes. So beautiful! I haven't been this happy in a long time. I felt it coming before they watered. Goddammit, crying is a recipe for disaster. "Let me order a glass of wine for you." I shook my head. "No; want to try something else?" I squeezed her hand as the tears fell. She wants to take care of me and I hugged my therapist. "Lissy, what is it baby?"

"I hugged Bette." I didn't want to say it and I couldn't stop the words from coming out of my mouth.

"Yeah, so?" I looked at her. She shrugged. "Who cares? Why are you upset? I don't understand. Was there something else in the session that upset you?" She's not upset. I'm confused. I'm boiling over with regret and anger and she shrugged. "I'm going to order that wine for you." She signaled the server and ordered a glass of chardonnay. She looked at me, smiled, and kissed me again. "My Lissy." I shivered. "You've got so much on your plate. Your Rachel comes out, you meet her girlfriend. She tells you she's close to moving in with June." My eyes snapped up on that one. "Oh please, don't even! It's a foregone conclusion." She winked. "They just beat us to it." Her eyes sparkled as she pinched my cheek. "Look at my baby! She's so cute; I could just pinch those cheeks." She's mimicking what I did to Dylan.

I laughed. "You're not upset?"

"Hell no! Women hug each other all the time. She's a professional. The two of you shake hands." She smiled. "You don't know much about her do you?" I shook my head. "I thought so." She shrugged. "One of my ex's was in therapy. Drop dead gorgeous and fucked up beyond repair." She smiled. "I hated to kick her to the curb ... but the drama, oh god!"

"How long ago was this?" I was curious for some idiotic reason. She laughed that gorgeous laugh.

"Lana? Oh, she was ... mm, two, three relationships ago I think." She smiled brightly. A girl could fall in love with that smile. "She was hardly the only one I dated who was a mess." I, um, did! Fall in love that is. "I seem to attract them." Really?? My wine came. I took a healthy sip. She smiled again, picked up my hand, kissed it, and held it to her cheek. Wet! Blue eyes bore into me. "You were a breath of fresh air, lover." Huh? Me? "You were totally normal compared to ..." She shrugged. I feel much better about myself now!! "You're my first cougar, baby." Bitch!

"I'm quite honored." First?

Her voice liquid heat, Kara said, "You do things to me, and let me do things to you, no woman my age ... or younger, has ever done." Gawd! Kitty wept. "That text you sent me this afternoon ... 'kitty is on high alert;' dear god." I blushed. "'My kitty told me she wants to kiss your kitty.'" Where's a sinkhole when you need one? Kara moved her chair closer. There's danger here, Cherie!! "The things I did to mine ..." She licked my palm; I quaked. "You're my appetizer, my dinner, AND my dessert." I'm not sure what the noise was that came up from my throat and out of my mouth. Grey eyes scalded me. "I have a feeling we're both going to call in dead tomorrow." HELP, I've flooded and ... I nodded, smiling.

We got to her condo about seven that Thursday. We never left, never wore a stitch of clothing, barely ate ... food. Take out? Most definitely! It was paid for by credit card, including tip. "Leave it!" screamed through the door. All weekend. That wasn't the only screaming though! Hee hee.

I heard a cell phone ring. Madonna's 'Crazy for You' – my Rachel. Each of my kids had a ring tone of a favorite song of mine. I'm fifty six but I don't live in a cave. "Hi honey."

"Mom, you're not home." I, uh, blushed. "Say hi to Kara okay." My eyes flicked to my blonde; we kissed. "I wanted to know if it was okay for us ... um, June and me ... to stay overnight. In my room of course." My eyes flicked to a smiling Kara, who was listening. She nodded, naturally. How do I tell my daughter not to do what I'm doing?

"Honey, Kara and I grocery shopped last weekend." She giggled; kitty wept. Kara ... never mind! "You should be able to ... um, there should be enough to ... um, there's plenty of food." My purple skirted little girl couldn't stop laughing. Neither could my blonde ... oh god, she's attached herself to Sally. "Please say hi to June, Rach. We'll ... um, I'll be home some time ..." she bit a nipple ... "tomorrow." I kissed her hungrily, noisily. My daughter heard us and laughed.

"Mom, it seems I've interrupted. I'm sorry. June says hi ... quit it! She's listening too." Lots of giggling. "I ... we ... have to go. Stop that! Mom, she ... um, I better go. I love you. Bye! June, it's my ..." The call ended.

Kara shoved me to my back and drenched me in sweet, sloppy kisses. All three of my girls love how she loves them. I know this; we talk! There are other pieces parts that send reports. She headed to the bathroom, leaving me breathless. The Weather Channel has their Doppler radar. I have my own instant 'early warning system' that alerts every goddamn bit of me to every ... oh god, blondie is coming out of the bathroom with that look in her eye. I have to go ... or cum. Yeah ... talk later!

It's not really all about sex with Kara. I had that thought as we kissed in the cab Monday morning. It dropped her off at work and headed east to do the same for me. How on earth does fifty six go into thirty eight? My laugh startled the cab driver. Yeah, very well, if the weekend was any indication! And it's not. Really! Did I mention I'm deliciously sore?

I changed my mind, which I'm allowed to do, and had the cab drop me at a Dunkin Donuts. I bought a large black and a donut. I like their coffee, plus there were crisp, cool winds off the lake this morning. Walking a couple of blocks does a girl some good. There were a few who noticed the spring in my step and the circles under my eyes that makeup couldn't hide as I sipped and smiled my way through the lobby, to the elevator, and to another thrilling Monday.

It took me less than ten seconds, thinking about us this weekend, in the ladies this morning. I moaned, at lunch, when she sent me a text. I need to call JR about his wife. How far am I willing to push this? A pretty, plus size brunette took my order. I watched her walk away. I still can't believe that woman loves me, let alone loves me like she does. You know who shivered; we both did. Another text: 'I'm crazy for you!' That's my phone thing for Rach! Ms. Insatiable sent another text. 'If you stay late, could we pretend I'm part of the cleaning crew?' Kitty approved of that message!