White Lies

They kissed, two pairs of ruby lips seamlessly merging into one sensual entity. The tongues resumed their duet. Their bodies were close, so close that each could feel the other's heart beat. So close that an intrinsic connection formed between the former lovers, two souls finding the rhythm that once made them whole.

They found, and yet they searched. Each tongue searched deep within the other's mouth. Searching for that completeness which transcends space and time. Searching for the love which none can hope to replicate. Searching for themselves in the other.

Sophie broke the kiss and looked to see two emeralds staring back at her. The angle of the light and residual moisture in Mackenzie's eye created an illusion of flecks of light dancing in a shimmering green pool.

Sophie's roving lips travelled to her soul mate's breast. Her tongue wrapped around a nipple, rubbing against the areola and spurring Kenzie to stratospheric levels of pleasure. Her fingers trailed lower until they were at the entrance to Mackenzie's pussy. With the pad of the index finger, she traced the labia majora, probing just inside to feel the fleshy wetness.

Kenzie groaned and bucked herself off the bed, letting the fingers push deeper into her. There were more fingers now - two or three, she did not know for sure. Sophie flicked her wrist over and over, letting three fingers rub against Kenzie. Mackenzie gently held Sophie's head, feeding more of her breast to her, almost nursing her.

Mackenzie moaned softly. Sophie's tongue went from one nipple to the other and back unpredictably. There was no warning when one nipple would be the target of her attentions. The dexterous tongue left the nipples and began licking all over the breasts themselves. Eddies of pleasure radiated through Kenzie's torso, her breasts heaving and falling with each breath she took.

Sophie's mouth went lower, kissing the smooth white skin. It felt so soft, so supple between her lips. Mackenzie closed her eyes, surrendering herself to the sensory wave which was about to overwhelm her. Her hands involuntarily went to Sophie's hair, entangling themselves among the gorgeous honey blonde strands. Sophie continued kissing devotedly, making each impression of her lip on the porcelain white skin with the utmost tenderness. The lips slowly worked their way down to what she had missed the most.

Kenzie parted her legs invitingly, exposing her luscious wetness. Sophie crawled between her legs and crouched, as if in deep worship. Her fingers sank deep into the fleshy crevices on either side of the shaven lips. Mackenzie moaned when she massaged her thighs. Looking past the juicy treasure displayed before her, Sophie kissed along the inner thighs, desperate for this encounter to last.

"Kenzie, thank you for this," Sophie said. "Thank you for letting me do this."

Unbeknownst to her, a little part of Mackenzie died with every passing moment. Here she was, letting her brother's girlfriend cheat on him. The very thought of it warped her heart. But she knew why she was doing it and earnestly hoped she could forgive herself when it was over.

Her recrimination was interrupted by Sophie running her tongue over her clit. Sophie placed her thumbs on either side of the clit, stretching the skin apart and making the nub protrude out ever so slightly. Mackenzie could feel her hot breath against her exposed wetness while Sophie breathed deeply, inhaling the the intoxicating scent of need.

Sophie locked her lips around Kenzie's clit, sucking on it. The tip of her tongue flicked it inside her mouth, making Kenzie writhe with pleasure. Sophie admirably kept her mouth steady on the clit. The clit swelled inside her mouth, responding to her. Her slender index finger plunged deep within the fleshy opening just underneath.

Now Sophie's tongue nestled against the length of Mackenzie's slit, her taste buds absorbing the sweet flavour emanating from within. Sophie retracted her tongue, then thrust it back inside. She curled it upwards, tasting every inch. Her fingers came down to the sides of the vagina, pulling it apart and licking inside the gape.

Kenzie felt her vision get blurry. Pleasure as she had once known cascaded through her in torrents, reaching every nerve ending inside her and lighting it up in a fiery blaze. Goose-flesh rippled across her, amplifying her sense of touch.

Two of Sophie's fingers entered her, feeling the walls close down around them. She hooked her fingers and rolled them in waves, making Kenzie's pelvis rock in sync. Her tongue continued its gentle ministrations on the clit and around it.

Mackenzie felt the familiar fade to black approaching. The blackness crept up on her from all sides. Sophie sensed the imminent explosion and positioned her lips in place. Her fingers brushed against the G spot one last time and Mackenzie screamed hysterically, letting all restraint loose.

Sophie watched hungrily as liquid satin flooded the lips splayed out in front of her. It gushed but did not squirt out at her, instead flowing out in a stream of ambrosia. Her tongue let it pool and then swallowed it into her mouth, savouring every drop.

A sheen of sweat was plastered all over Mackenzie. The world came back into focus from the psychedelic technicolour of her orgasm. Shapes floated in her field of vision and she felt weak from the sheer force of the climax.

Sophie clambered up her body once more, smiling for the first time in ages. Mackenzie held her in her arms and tasted her own juices off Sophie's tongue.

"This was to give you strength, Soph," she whispered. "Strength to be the girlfriend Martin deserves. Please do that."

Sophie nodded, the gloom in her face lifted by the act of making love.

The next date rolled around in a few days and for the first time, Sophie looked vibrant and eager. She hugged Martin and kissed him a number of times throughout the journey, through dinner and while they took a stroll.

When they returned to the fancy apartment, he was still in the clouds. Mackenzie greeted them with a wide smile.

"How goes the happy couple?"

"We're fine, Kenzie. I'll just go freshen up," said Sophie, going into the bathroom.

"What about you, Martin?"

"Well, I wanted to show you something," Martin said excitedly. "Now that Sophie's not here, look at this."

Martin eagerly took out a felt box from his pocket. He opened it to reveal a gold ring with three perfectly cut diamonds placed in a triangle, adorning a brilliant sapphire in the centre.

"I'm gonna propose on our next date," he said gleefully, oblivious to his sister's rising tension.

* *

November 2012

Sophie sat in her room, unsure of what to do next. All avenues seem to close around, leading her towards one path. That path was covered in broken glass and led down the aisle with the brother of the woman she loved.

She hated herself for being so weak. She and Martin were more alike than she liked to admit. Out of a misplaced sense of love, neither of them could not say no to Mackenzie. He was blind and unaware throughout, while she let herself be manipulated with her eyes wide open. That was probably worse.

The corrected wedding dress fit her perfectly. She sat all alone in her room in silent, terrifying anticipation. There was still a shoulder clasp which came loose, startling her. She reached up to put it back together, when she felt a soft hand over hers.

Sophie did not even turn around as Kenzie clasped her dress and lovingly patted her shoulder. Her eyes remained disenchanted and melancholy, studying the object of her affection in the mirror. She hated how even after all that she had done to her, Mackenzie remained the cynosure of her eyes. There was simply no denying the pathological weakness Sophie had for her.

"Hi."

"Go away," said Sophie, not even looking in her direction.

Kenzie sat down beside Sophie and placed a palm on the back of her neck. She knew how much Sophie liked that.

"Honey, I'm sorry about earlier."

"It's okay," said Sophie in her lifeless voice. "I don't want to talk to you any more."

Mackenzie felt a tearing agony within her. She looked at Sophie and could not help but feel a pang of sorrow at how she felt.

"It'll all work out for the best. Wait and see."

There was still no discernible response from the other side. Sophie remained coldly impassive, determined to deny Mackenzie the pleasure of convincing her why the wedding is a good idea again.

Mackenzie got up from her chair and walked to the door. Sophie's heart skipped a beat when she heard the latch click shut behind her. In the mirror, she saw the svelte form of Mackenzie walk up to her, her hips swaying with every step. Soon, two sets of slender fingers were placed on her shoulders. Kenzie massaged her gently, not saying anything.

Try as she might, Sophie found herself melting into the soothing touches. Mackenzie trailed her fingers along her shoulders and clavicles, massaging her gently. Her eyes looked down at the mass of blonde hair. One of her hands reached up and parted it.

"There was a time when I would have traded the world to be sitting beside you in a wedding dress," she whispered.

"What happened?"

"I don't know," said Mackenzie, her voice disembodied. "There was a battle between loves and the greater love won."

"Where did we go wrong?" Sophie asked.

"I don't know," Kenzie repeated. "I really don't."

"Is it too late?"

Mackenzie took a deep breath and spoke. "My parents hosted a fund raiser last week for some glorified neo-Nazis, all because they promised to start a movement outlawing homosexuality. Are these the people you want in your life? They will not stand by and let us be."

Sophie forced a weak smile thinking of the malice that Kenzie implied. Mackenzie's arms wrapped around her neck and face was right beside hers.

"Look at us," she said. "Two lovers born out of time. Time, attitudes, circumstances -- no one did like us."

Turning Sophie's head towards her, Kenzie kissed her. This kiss was longer than the forced one earlier. Her tongue rolled and stirred inside Sophie's mouth. Their soft lips clung on to each other, afraid to let go. Mackenzie made her head oblique to accommodate more of the foreign tongue inside her and push her tongue deeper into Sophie's mouth. Her hand held Sophie's cheek, her thumb making a slow circle along the pliable skin.

When they disengaged, Mackenzie saw that look of gratitude in Sophie's eyes which told her she had won the battle. The kiss had served its purpose. It had given Sophie enough strength to endure.

"Now go be the bride my brother deserves."

* *

May 2011

"No! This farce has gone far enough."

Mackenzie did not even know what to say. Her brother's decision to propose had left her with an insurmountable obstacle to deal with.

"Sophie, just think it over once," she implored, her tone reeking of futility.

"It should never have come to this," growled Sophie, defiantly. "It's all your fault."

"Yes it is," said Kenzie, tears brimming in her eyes. "It is entirely my fault. Blame me. Hurt me. Do what you want to me. But please don't hurt Martin."

"Don't turn this around on me. It's all on you," said Sophie, her voice betraying no emotion. "You hurt him."

Those three words had the effect of a rapier plunged straight into her heart. Her soul fractured, a heat-laden fissure running through her core. Mackenzie's heart was beating in overdrive, running out of options to convince Sophie to even consider the proposal.

Sophie spoke up again. "You have two choices, Mackenzie. Either you can tell him before the date and spare him the indignity of having his proposal rejected in public, or I can break his heart by saying NO to him myself."

She forced a smirk for good measure, seeing the perplexed expression on Mackenzie's face slowly change to the horrified realization of what she had put into motion. Sophie even allowed herself a small pleasurable sensation seeing the look of resignation slowly dawn on her face. Her head dropped and she stood rooted to the spot for a small eternity. When Kenzie raised her face again, it was barely recognizable. It had lost all signs of life and vitality and turned into a mask of hopeless dread.

And she only had herself to blame.

When she walked, it seemed like every step took a monumental amount of effort. Her legs somehow dragged Mackenzie's forlorn body into the bathroom. The door slammed shut.

Sophie celebrated a quiet vindication against Mackenzie. She needed this, to prove to herself that she was stronger than her desire for love. Love that had been vivisected with impunity by Mackenzie till it screamed in pain and bled.

"We will be together soon enough," was the singular thought running through Sophie's mind.

There was the sound of flushing from inside. Sophie waited for Kenzie to come through the door and finally admit defeat. Finally admit that this fake relationship was over. Her wait lengthened, stretching on longer than it should have.

Suddenly, there was a thud from within. The sound galvanized Sophie into action. She kicked the door open and stood, mortified at the sight before her. All her triumphant bravado from earlier went up in smoke seeing her roommate curled on the floor with an empty bottle of Ambien rolling beside her.

All was still, frozen in time. Sophie forgot to breathe, seeing the twitching form lying on the cold floor. Her eyes remained riveted to the closed eyes and the still lips of someone she used to know.

Mackenzie was asleep, finally at peace with herself.

The subsequent events were a blur. Sophie called up EMT's from St. Luke's Hospital who were barely five minutes away. They carried the limp form over to the hospital and began their desperate attempts at reviving Kenzie.

Sophie could not think. She could not feel. Her mind was shrouded in a numbing haze of conflict and guilt. Both those feelings were completely irrational and at odds with the haughty disdain she felt earlier.

The dim lights in the waiting room cast a long shadow against the wall. Sophie paced it nervously, unsure of everything she was sure of just a while back. This vicissitude had completely blindsided her.

A metaphorical aeon passed before a doctor came out and went to her.

"We have managed to pump the drugs out of her system. You can go talk to her now."

Her legs felt weak under her, struggling under the weight of indecision. Every step was laboured. The corridors dragged on painfully, bringing her closer to an encounter she would have sold her soul to avoid.

Sophie entered the ward, seeing Mackenzie supine on the bed, a dreamy look on her face. Her glassy eyes stared at the ceiling, looking at nothing in particular. Nervously, Sophie sat down beside her.

"Why did you save me?" whispered Mackenzie, her eyes not shifting from the ceiling.

There was no reply. Just an empty silence.

"Why did you save me?" she repeated. "You hate me, don't you? You should have let me die."

Words formed somewhere within Sophie but got lost in transit to her tongue. She opened her mouth, and nothing came out. The silence screamed for itself.

"You hate me and what I have put you through, right? Then why did you save me?"

There was still no coherent reply. Finally, Mackenzie turned her gaze towards her friend and asked in a steely tone.

"Answer me. Why the fuck did you save me?"

"Because..." Sophie started. "... I'm in love with you."

"Then you should have let me die. Dying is better than sitting beside Martin and wiping his tears after you turn down his proposal."

The sentence hung in the air like a spectre. Sophie shuddered inwardly.

"It's not fair that I force you to be engaged to someone you don't want to get engaged to, but it's not fair either that I have to live to see the aftermath of your date. I love him way too much to bear being the cause behind his hurt."

There was a deluge of thoughts in Sophie's mind. Her grand plan had spun out badly. She could not even bear to think of Mackenzie dead. No matter how much her mind wanted to hate her, her heart still loved her. This love was primal, elemental, passionate and simply too powerful to deny.

Sophie gulped. Kenzie continued in her monotone. "Just go away and let me die in peace."

There was complete silence in the room for a few minutes.

"I'll say yes."

Mackenzie dared not believe her ears. She turned her head to see Sophie biting her lip.

"I'll do it, Kenzie. I'll accept his proposal."

"You will?" was the incredulous reply, Mackenzie's mind still not having come to terms with it.

"Yes I will," Sophie said, nodding slowly. "I love you with all my heart and if it means that much to you, I will go through with it."

Even through all her medication, Kenzie smiled.

"Will you give me the strength to go through with it, Kenzie?"

"Of course I will. I will give you all the strength you need when I get better," said Mackenzie. "You won't tell anybody about this, will you?"

"No."

The doctor came in. Sophie took her leave, walking out with a heavier soul than she came in with. Mackenzie sat up gingerly while the doctor checked the parameters on the instruments hooked up to her.

"Did she believe you?" he asked.

"Yes. She believed me."

"I don't know why you did it," said the doctor, adjusting his glasses. "... taking a mild sedative and faking suicide."

"It's none of your business," she said, taking the useless IV drip out of her arm. "You'll have the money in your account by tomorrow."

The doctor left her, thinking about how his life had suddenly become easier with the fortuitous infusion of cash. He could finally get some breathing room to deal with his debts now. When the heiress Mackenzie Clark made the suggestion, he immediately agreed and sent an EMT team with very specific instructions to look urgent. They too would be getting their shares for their part in the charade.

Mackenzie recalled how she flushed the Ambien down the toilet, made the phone call and took the sedatives. Her plan worked perfectly, twisting Sophie's inherent weakness back against her. Now she would not say "no".

It was surprising how lucidly her mind worked putting the whole plan together. There she was a few hours ago, a bottle of Ambien in hand, ready to end what she had begun, when she realized that she was all that was holding this fragile illusion together. With her out of the picture, Martin's dream would collapse on itself, crushing him under the sheer weight.

"This is all for you, baby brother," she said to herself. "When I said I'd do anything for you, I meant it."

She also felt a pang of sorrow for Sophie and how she had been manipulated yet again.

"It's all for the best, Soph, you'll see. You'll eventually grow to love him."

This phony rationalization sustained her until she cuddled in the soft mattress and drifted off to sleep.

* *

November 2012

"Sophie Larson. I know how silly this sounds, but I knew this day would come the first time I lay eyes on you. It was this strange, subconscious longing that refused to let go. I loved you from that very moment.

"Your blue eyes, your sweet smile and those strands of honey blonde hair. They held an allure of their own. I lost myself in that sight. When I closed my eyes, I saw you, when I opened my eyes, I wanted to see you.

"I promise, Sophie, that I shall stand by your side through happiness and sorrow, sickness and health, and I will give you more love than any man has ever given his wife. Our love will be stuff of legend. Scribes will write about it and minstrels will sing it to the stars. It shall be embroidered into the night where all can gaze upon its perfection and feel blessed to be witness to it.

"As Dr Suess said, 'You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.' From the second I place this ring on your finger, I will never want to sleep again because the reality that you are finally my wife will be my waking dream."