Chapter 10

I decided I didn't want to deal with knowing what the boxes contained just then, and Nollie helped me store them in the room with her old clothes.

We sprawled on our big bed and played, and I felt at ease. Our lovemaking was soft and tender, the kind where you know what your lover is going to do next. Her nipples were puffy, and I knew our periods were coming fairly soon.

School was decent; the teachers knew the end of the year was coming and relaxed. We attended the graduation ceremonies for the outgoing seniors on June 3rd, and clapped and whistled when Eddie got his diploma. We got to meet his parents and siblings at the reception afterwards, and had a good time.

I thought Myron looked a lot like Sean; gangly and awkward, but a boy in the serious process of becoming a man. Elizabeth looked like her mother; a pale, very thin girl of twelve, she had chubby cheeks and a nice smile. Eddie's father, nicknamed Big Eddie, looked like Lee Iacocca, and shook hands very manfully, even with us girls. Ethel, the mother, kept waving her hanky at something only she saw.

When school let out for the year, we drove around town honking the horn and yelling at pedestrians. Our smelly Gym clothes and sneakers were in the trunk of the car. We saw Eddie coming toward us in his blue Chevy convertible, and I leaned out the window and screamed as he passed by. Even with the extra traffic, we made it from one side of town to the other in less than ten minutes.

We stopped at Scotty's Drive-In, a local teen hangout, and shot the breeze with our classmates and friends. We got home about five o'clock, and dragged all our junk out of the car and into the house.

Over supper, Emily asked me, "Your birthday is the 15th of June, right?"

I said, "Yes."

She replied, "Don't plan on going anywhere that day. I have a special surprise for both of you."

Surprises from her were always the good kind, and we readily agreed. The back yard at Nollie's -our - house was too small to have a pool, but it did have a high fence with no really close neighbors. Nollie loaned me a suit, and we went outside and sunned a few times. Summer hadn't really arrived just yet; sometimes the breeze carried a bit of chill. It was fun being lazy and not getting up in the mornings.

Three days before my birthday, we were in the shower washing each other, and I noticed all of Nollie's toe rings except the one that matched mine were gone. I still wore my two, except when I had to wear heels.

As we dried off, I asked her, "What happened to your rings?"

She wrapped her towel around her head and said, "I've been thinking."

"Oh, Shit!" I giggled. "That's dangerous!"

"No it's not," she said, "because I've been thinking about you and me."

My heart stopped beating for a second, and resumed with a faster, harder tempo.

I gripped the towel bar so she wouldn't see me shaking, and asked, "What about us?"

She pulled the towel from my hands, took me in her arms and kissed me, softly and gently. Our breasts came together, and she pushed my head to her shoulder.

"I've been wearing Patti's ring all the time I've been seeing you," she said, "and I decided it wasn't fair to you. You're the one I love. Patti was a wonderful part of my past, but she's gone now. And I don't care anymore what people think. I want people to judge me by how I treat them, not by some advertisement that I'm a lesbian."

"I understand," I replied.

"Being judged by your sexual preference alone is pretty silly, isn't it?" she asked. I murmured a noise and she continued, "We can be doctors, nurses, pilots, farmers, or anything we want. Who we have sex with should be our business."

"I agree," I said.

"And sex should be very private, too," she said. "I share my body and my love with you and you alone. I think that's the way it was meant to be for us."

She'd read my mind and captured my thoughts like she'd captured my heart - fully and completely.

Her hand moved to my belly and played with the top of my fur, teasing and tickling. My breath came faster, and she smiled. She hooked a fingertip in my slit and pushed down a tiny bit, putting a little pressure on the hood of my clit. I opened my mouth and kissed her hard as I spread my legs.

I broke away long enough to say," I want you so much!"

She leaned to kiss me and closed her eyes while her hand went to work. It didn't take very long; it never did when she used a finger on each side of my clit. My nipples got hard, and I tensed and shuddered with it, panting with each cramp. My legs were trembling too, and I was standing on my tiptoes. It began to fade, and I leaned against her.

She held me very close and rubbed my back as I came down, shivering with the tiny aftershocks. Some were intense, and they came without warning. I inhaled her scent and felt I was where I belonged.

I took a step back and said," I love you."

"I love you too," she giggled, "now go wash your pussy. Somebody got it all gooey again! Jeez, you kids!"

I tried to snap my towel at her butt as she ran from the room laughing. I'd get even with her that night, in bed. After I dried off, I pulled the toe ring off my fourth toe and put it on her dresser.

I woke up the morning of my 17th birthday all alone in bed. I smelled something cooking, but I couldn't identify what it was. I hadn't wanted a party; there was no pool and I didn't feel like sharing Nollie's company with anyone else anyway. I liked Belinda and Shelly and a few other girls, but I loved Nollie. We'd gotten very close in the months we'd known each other. She'd helped me get over my mother's death, and had been there for me through countless other problems, big and small.

I got up and peed, and put on a pair of terry-cloth shorts. Kitty was still a bit sticky from the night before, and I didn't want a mess on the kitchen chairs. I walked down the hall and turned the corner, and saw Nollie near the stove.

She saw me about the same time and said, "Good morning, Birthday girl."

God, that husky voice gave me chills every time I heard it!

"Mornin', love," I answered. I went to her side and kissed her cheek, then her soft lips.

"I'm baking you a cake," she said, twirling a dirty spoon in the air.

"Chocolate?" I asked.

"Of course!" she replied, "Is there any other kind?

I saw a several wrapped packages on the couch in the living room and asked, "What are those, presents?"

She followed me into the living room licking her fingers, and said, "Only one is from me. The rest are part of Mom's surprise, and she told me to leave them alone." She picked up a big one and told me, "Here. You can have this one."

The package was wrapped in brown paper, and measured about twelve inches square and six inches thick. It felt soft, like clothes, and I untied the string. I cried out when I saw it was an ivory caftan like hers, but embroidered in a different pattern.

She said, "Hurry up! Try it on!"

I put my arms through the sleeves and started buttoning buttons. Nollie knelt at my feet and started buttoning as well. It was lined with silk, and felt slick and sensual against my skin.

"This thing feels like sex," I laughed.

"That's why I bought it, " she smiled.

Emily's surprise turned out to be clothes. Sexy, slinky, female clothes. The packages held several skirts with lace and two sheath dresses, one in black and the other tan. There were other skirts and dresses in different styles and colors, and some of the skirts had matching tops. I got too many pairs of stockings to count, and several garter belts in various colors and fabrics. There were heels and flats and sandals. There were also some very nice panties and bras. I modeled everything for her and Nollie, right there in the living room. I have to admit that wearing a garter belt and stockings was the sexiest thing I'd ever felt. Me! Plain old Sarah from Eldridge, Minnesota!

She had me choose one of the outfits, and we all went to dinner at Giorgio's in Fargo. The food was spectacular, the service likewise, and on the ride home I was as happy as I'd ever been.

I kicked off my heels as we came through the door, and Nollie made a dash for the bathroom. I saw Emily headed for her room, no doubt to use her toilet. I had my dress half-unzipped and was waiting my turn, crossing my legs against the pressure in my bladder.

We collected in the hallway after everyone had had a chance to pee, and Nollie said, "Mom. Wait a minute, will you?"

Emily halted where she was and smiled. There was only the night light in the kitchen; we'd been in too much of a hurry for anything else. The atmosphere in the room was something I couldn't define, perhaps a cross between love and lust, but definitely erotic. Emily and Nollie talked quietly for two or three minutes, and I saw Emily go to her room and return at the end of their chat. They walked up to me and stood closely; in fact Emily laid her hand on my arm.

Nollie was in her "consider" mode. She always thought things through before she spoke, and I could almost hear her mind whirling.

She was about to speak when I said, "Emily? Nollie? I want to thank you both for a wonderful Birthday. The presents, the food, but most of all for sharing it with me."

Nollie blushed, and Emily said, "It was our pleasure."

Nollie cleared her throat and said, "My turn!"

I felt embarrassed for interrupting Nollie, but Emily just smiled. Nollie had that fidgety look on her face she always got when she asked an important question.

Nollie looked at me and asked, "Will you marry me?"

I shrieked, "What!"

"Oh, I know it wouldn't be legal. But if you could marry me, would you?"

"Yeeeeeeessssssss!" I cried. Nollie hugged me, and was hugged in return. I think we both were crying; it was hard to tell.

Emily said, "It sure would be nice to have another daughter."

I said, "Oh, MOM!"

We went to our room and began taking off our dressy clothes.

I was down to just my panties when Nollie said, "Here." and handed me a ring.

I looked at it closely and knew it was old and very valuable. A row of four diamonds in an ornate setting, it looked fancy and old-fashioned at the same time. My heart began hammering very hard.

"For me?" I squeaked. God, it was getting harder and harder to talk!

"It was my grandmother's," Nollie said. "Mom gave it to me when I told her I was going to ask you to marry me."

I stared at it and Nollie took it out of my hand. She took my left hand in hers and slipped the ring on the proper finger. It fit perfectly.

"I don't have anything for you!" I protested.

Nollie wrapped me in her arms and said, "It doesn't matter. As long as that's on your finger, I'll know you're mine."

Later, as we lay sweaty and sated in our bed, I told her, "Always. Always."

A few days later Nollie came home with a flyer advertising a women's softball league. Several local businesses were going to sponsor the teams, and there would be games each Saturday throughout the summer. The final weekend of play, there would be a round-robin tournament which would determine the champions. The next morning, we drove to the old township softball field and signed up. That afternoon, we got a phone call.

I picked up the phone and said, "Hello?"

A woman's voice said, "May I speak to Sarah or Nora, please?"

"This is Sarah, and Nora's right here," I replied.

"Good!", she said. "I'm Diane Baker. You can call me Dee Dee. My husband Robert and I own the Baker Insurance Company here in town, and we'd like to have you guys on our team."

"Well, neither of us have played very much," I said, "but it sounds like fun."

Dee Dee said, "It a whole lot of fun! Bob and I are trying to get some younger people on our team, and you two sound perfect."

"So what do we do?" I asked.

Nollie had her ear pressed close to mine and heard Dee Dee say, "Come down to the office today, and we'll get your uniform sizes and stuff, and tell you how it's gonna work."

The parking lot behind their office on Main Street was packed with cars, and about fifteen women and girls were lined up in front of a card table. I saw Belinda and Shelly, one of the Cheevers sisters, and a couple of other faces that were familiar. We filled out a form with sizes and addresses and so on, and Dee Dee gathered us around her.