Chapter 19

The break room at the Canyon house was a very different kind of room than had been provided in Pennsylvania. Instead of commercial quality tables and chairs, the furniture was more appropriate for a home. The tables were made of polished wood with chairs that had leather seats. There were a couple of comfortable sofas at the far end that faced a large screen television that was showing the broadcast of a news channel. There were a few massage chairs that were perfect for relieving stress.

The room was empty except for Juanita and Amanda. They were seated on the couch drinking coffee and eating pastries that Peter had made that morning. Juanita gently held Amanda's hand in hers. She stroked the palm with her other hand while she said, "It is just one night."

"I don't like blind dates," Amanda said. She never could understand how it was that Amanda could excite her just by holding her hand. She might not have understood it, but she had come to enjoy it a lot.

Juanita laughed and said, "You'll be the only one blind on this date."

Amanda laughed at the old joke. She said, "You know what I mean."

"Yes I do," Juanita replied.

Amanda said, "I don't know. I just don't feel comfortable dating."

"You'll like him. He's from my home town," Juanita said. Although she continued to hold Amanda's hand, she stopped stroking it.

"Don't stop," Amanda said licking her lips.

"Don't stop what?" Juanita asked in a sultry hot voice.

"Whatever it is you are doing to my hand," Amanda said. She had no idea why it felt so good.

Resuming her stroking of the blind woman's hand, Juanita said, "Les Rodriguez is a very nice young man. He really knows how to treat a woman right. You'll feel like a queen by the end of the evening."

"I don't know," Amanda said. She nearly jumped when Juanita started running a hand from her palm to inside her elbow with feather light caresses. It sent chills of pleasure running up and down her spine.

"He was my first young man," Juanita said. She slipped her mouth over one of Amanda's fingers.

Not wanting to interrupt what was obviously a private conversation, Lucy stood outside the door of the break room watching the two women talking. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could see the effect that Juanita's attention was having on Amanda. The blind woman actually shivered when Juanita sucked on her finger.

"Your first?" Amanda asked surprised by that little piece of information.

Juanita eased off the finger while returning to stroke the inside of the other woman's arm. Smiling, she said, "He is as good in bed as William."

Amanda shivered and, with a low moan, said, "Okay. I'll go."

"I thought you would," Juanita said with a smile. She looked down at Amanda's chest and saw the twin bullets tenting her shirt.

Amanda said, "I better get back to my office before I leave a wet spot here."

"Are you sure?" Juanita said.

"Yes," Amanda answered.

"Be ready for the date at six," Juanita said.

"Okay," Amanda said rising from the sofa. She unfolded her cane and maneuvered through the room with ease.

Seeing Amanda leaving, Lucy walked into the break room. Before she had a chance to say hello to Amanda, the blind woman said, "Hello, Lucy."

"Hello, Amanda," Lucy answered wondering how the other woman knew it was her.

As if reading her mind, Amanda said, "I like how you smell like the desert. You're the only one who uses an Aloe Vera shampoo."

"William likes how it makes my hair smell," Lucy said.

"It smells nice," Amanda said.

"Thank you," Lucy said watching the blind woman leave the room.

Lucy went over to Juanita. The young woman looked up at her and asked, "Do you need me to do something for you?"

"I'd just like to talk with you for a minute or two," Lucy answered. She had four hours of free time while Dan was out making arrangements for computers and the programmers were purchasing the development tools they would need to complete the program.

Relaxing a little, Juanita said, "Have a seat."

Looking around, Lucy licked her lips nervously before she said, "Maybe we could talk somewhere else?"

"Is there a problem?" Juanita asked with concern.

"It is kind of personal," Lucy said.

"Okay," Juanita said and followed Lucy from the break room. She was surprised when Lucy led her past the conference room and to the elevator. Getting in, she was surprised again when Lucy pushed the button for the lowest floor rather than the upper floor. While the elevator headed downwards, she said, "It must really be personal if we're going to your private floor."

"It is," Lucy answered. When the elevator stopped, Lucy led Juanita to the open living room where they would have the full view of the canyon. She went to an area where a handful of chairs were isolated from the rest of the room by living plants. There was a real sense of privacy while having a fantastic view.

Awestruck by her surroundings, Juanita said, "This is beautiful."

"It is my favorite spot in the house. I come here when I need to relax or think," Lucy said.

Juanita said, "I can see why."

"Have a seat," Lucy said gesturing to one of the chairs. She took the chair next to it.

"Thank you," Juanita said taking a seat.

Lucy sat down in the chair next to Juanita's. Deciding to get straight to the matter, she said, "The other night I watched William make love to Barbara and Sandra."

"Ah," Juanita said having already known that. It was impossible to keep something like that a secret in that household. She leaned forward and patted Lucy's hand. She said, "There's no need to be jealous of them. Everyone knows that William loves you and would never do anything to hurt you."

"That's not the problem," Lucy said.

"Oh?" Juanita said.

"I watched how he was able to make all of us feel like we were the center of his universe," Lucy said.

"He's good at that," Juanita said from experience.

"Yes, he is," Lucy agreed. She sighed and said, "The only one I can make feel that way is William."

"Is that a problem?" Juanita asked.

"I felt like I should have joined in, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it," Lucy said looking out the window.

"I can understand that, you aren't interested in women," Juanita said.

"It wasn't that. I could have joined in without ever touching either woman," Lucy said. She had this sense that the dynamics of the session would have really changed if she had entered the action. It would have become two sets of people with William, Sandra and Barbara forming one set and her and William forming the other set.

"True," Juanita said.

"I don't know how to explain it," Lucy said feeling frustrated.

Juanita said, "You still have a lot to learn about love."

"That's what Ed said," Lucy replied.

"I noticed you watching Amanda and me earlier."

Lucy said, "I didn't want to interrupt."

Juanita held out her hand and said, "Take my hand and try to give me a little pleasure."

Lucy took the other woman's hand and just held it. Looking at the young Hispanic woman, she wondered what she was feeling. She was also worried about how it would look if someone were to see them.

"What are you thinking about?" Juanita asked.

"Nothing," Lucy answered.

Juanita smiled and asked, "You are thinking about what others would think if they were watching us."

"Yes," Lucy replied licking her lips nervously. She wondered how Juanita knew that.

"If you were holding William's hand, your thoughts would be completely different," Juanita said.

"Yes," Lucy said.

Juanita turned the hand holding around so that she was holding Lucy's hand. She caressed it softly. In a soft voice, she said, "I've seen you and William reading books together on the sofa at your house in Pennsylvania. You would hold hands while reading. Although you were reading, it was easy to see that each of you were totally aware of the other. Neither one of you were worried that you looked foolish."

"True," Lucy answered staring at her hand. It was amazing, but Juanita had the same touch as William.

"That's part of love. Enjoying the moment with the person without fear of looking foolish and fully aware of what the other person feels," Juanita said. She ran a hand over Lucy's wrist.

"Oh," Lucy said thinking that she should be doing something for Juanita in return.

Juanita said, "It is also about being able to accept the pleasure without feeling like some sort of debt has been acquired."

"Oh," Lucy said realizing that Juanita had read her mind once again.

Juanita said, "You are a Carter woman in every way, but one. You have an infinite capacity for love, but you still hold back from giving yourself physically to others who love you. The one exception is William. You need to learn to love others with total abandon."

"You're right," Lucy said.

"I find it one of the more fascinating aspects of your character. You give others your emotional love. We all feel how you feel about us. You give us your love, but you fail to follow up with the physical gestures that confirm it. There is always just that little barrier there," Juanita said.

"You're right," Lucy said.

Juanita smiled and said, "Take my hand."

It was during the hottest part of the day. The heat produced mirages that made the desert floor look like it was in constant motion. The pair of men sat on the side of the butte looking out across the desert. Others might have found the view dead and lifeless, but to William and Dale it was spell binding. Dale said, "You have been quiet this trip."

"There is a lot on my mind," William said. They had been riding for three days and only now was the desert having a calming effect on William.