Chapter 10

We had the rest of the week off, so I hadn't bothered to set an alarm. I slowly came awake to tingling nipples; someone was gently nursing my left breast. I threaded my fingers through her curls and sighed.

"Mmmm. That feels good."

She stopped sucking and raised her head.

I whined. "Why'd you stop?"

She gave a throaty laugh. "Can't talk with my mouth full."

I closed my eyes. "Hummph. So you say."

"What do you want for breakfast?"

"I was having it until some meanie stopped serving," I said.

Connie rolled out of bed and walked toward the bathroom. "It tastes good, but it doesn't have very many calories. I'm starving."

I stood at the sink and brushed my hair while I waited my turn on the pot. Connie came up behind me and patted my ass.

"What was that for?" I asked.

"When you see something cute you pet it, right?"

"Riiiiiight," I laughed.

I was caught unawares when she spun me around and hoisted me by the armpits onto the sink top, moving between my legs and wrapping them around her. I got a nice slow kiss, a warm hug, then another kiss.

She moved her head back an inch or two and looked at me. Her dark green eyes sparkled with as yet unshed tears. She leaned forward again, nibbled my earlobe and kissed my neck. I grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back so I could see her face.

"What's wrong, honey? Did I do something?"

She shook her head, slowly. "No. I love you, that's all."

"I love you too," I said.

The words seemed to calm her, and she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

After one more slow kiss, she said, "I'm hungry. Let's eat."

I used the pot, washed my hands and went downstairs to cook.

I wore my pajamas to cook; bacon grease splattering on bare boobs hurts, and the bottoms prevented my leaky pussy from staining the chair. Connie had been rather active behind me as I worked the stove.

We were having our third cup of coffee when she said, "You feel like braving the crowds and going Christmas shopping?"

"No, I don't think so," I said. "It's nuts out there, especially at the bigger stores."

"What do you want to do today?" she asked.

"Be with you," I said.

She finished her cup and put it on the table. "Then let's go back to bed."

We went upstairs hand-in-hand, teasing each other. The pajamas came off and we flopped on the bed. Legs intertwined, kisses were shared, there was a little grab ass and fondling going on—you know, the usual stuff. After an orgasm apiece, we snuggled under the covers.

Connie smoothed a strand of my hair away from my ear and said, "I'm so fortunate to have you. I love you."

In my mind, Connie had been acting a little strangely since the night before. Patting me on the ass, nursing on me in the morning, the constant declarations of love, and especially the tears; all of it was out of the ordinary for her. She did some of those things at other times, of course, but this morning she was acting particularly clingy and needy. I didn't mind, but I wanted to know if something was wrong.

"There's something you want to say, isn't there?" I asked.

She nodded.

I hugged her. "You know you can tell me anything, don't you?" she nodded again and I said, "Just tell me."

She put her cheek on my chest and gazed at me. " You're beautiful, inside and out. You don't judge people; you accept them for what they are."

"I try to," I said. "I don't always succeed, but I try."

"I was afraid last night. After we made love."

"Of what?"

"I was afraid you wouldn't love me anymore."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted you to use the cock on me."

"I did that because you wanted it. If it made you happy, what's wrong with that?"

She snuggled a little closer and her voice became a whisper. "There are some who think it's wrong. It's like... like a gender reversal; a girl fucking a boy. Did you do it for me, or did you do it because you wanted to?"

"I did it for you, silly. If it made you happy—and if I remember anything at all about last night, it did—then that makes me happy too."

"You don't think I'm any less a lesbian because I need a cock in me sometimes? The thought doesn't disgust you?"

"Of course not!" I said. I cuddled her tight and continued, "I'll be honest. I much prefer you fucking me senseless; you know I'm a bit... submissive, you could say. I could never take a cock that size, but if you enjoy it, I'd be more than happy to oblige. I'll even stick it in your ass if you want."

"Eeuuw, no thanks!" she said, giggling.

"I'd draw the line if the thing were real," I said, "but it's not. Last night was different; I got to see a part of you I don't often see, and I learned you can squirt. It's not good or bad, just different. I enjoyed watching you come; the look on your face was priceless."

She kissed my forehead and squeezed me a little bit. "I only do that with a cock. I come really hard."

"I know," I laughed.

"That doesn't make my orgasms with you any less pleasurable, though. It's like you said; it's different."

I rolled over and got on top of her, framing her face in my hands. I kissed her nose and her cheeks, her temples, her eyes, and finally her chin and mouth. I tried for gentle, but passion got the best of me eventually.

I broke away, breathless, and said, "You are my love. I'll be your man, your woman, or anything in between." I tapped her chest with my finger. "Know in your heart that I love you. Now, and always."

I had to roll to my side and hold her as she cried.

Monday morning bright and early, we let ourselves into the dungeon and got to work. We had spent the weekend in bed, except for meals and potty breaks, and I was fairly sure Connie had her confidence back. Self-doubt can cripple a person. I wanted Connie whole.

Sarah called and informed us she'd been placed with a foster family by the name of Prentice. She was excited about having her own room and a new family. She confided in a conspiratorial tone that having a new sister was great too. I got the adults' names from her and wrote her phone number in my notebook. She was living less than two miles from her former home, which meant she hadn't had to change schools; it was an added factor for her happiness. After a very pleasant twenty minutes, she thanked Connie and me for being there for her, and hung up.

I gave Lois the names of Sarah's foster folks and asked her to see what she could find.

Monday night we swam in the pool and fooled around in the shower. The rest of the week, we delivered two kids to a shelter and took four back home, almost boringly routine.

Friday morning, Lois dropped a folder on my desk and said, "That's what we have on the Prentices." I nodded my thanks and began to read.

The pictures included in the report showed a sandy-haired male with a receding hairline, and an attractive, slightly plump brunette. Their ages were 34 and 31 respectively, and they had no children of their own. Since registering as foster parents four years previously, they had cared for nine children for varying lengths of time. The other foster child currently in their care was Donna Sorensen, aged thirteen, who had been with them about a year.

David, the husband, was a self-employed carpenter, and Malva, the wife, was working part-time as a sales clerk. Their house was a three-bedroom doublewide in a modular-only community just off Airport Road, and their income had averaged $51,000.00 a year over the last four years. They were making payments on one of their two vehicles, a Ford pickup truck.

Seen as a whole, everything looked normal. I don't know why, but something didn't feel quite right. I returned the folder to Lois and asked her to keep looking.

We got our Christmas shopping done by December 14^th. I bought Connie a diamond-studded locket and a perfume I knew she liked; we were giving Jake toy trucks and clothes. I bought Travis and Katherine a gift certificate for a romantic dinner, with free baby-sitting included. Dad and Ryan were receiving bottles of after-shave, and Mom was getting a bottle of her favorite perfume. If I couldn't give it to her in person, I was sure Dad would be good for delivery.

The wintertime snow and cold in North Dakota make for some interesting crimes. Meth labs are popular on old, abandoned farmsteads during the summer, but almost impossible to use for that purpose in the winter. Rental units mysteriously explode without warning, and cars and vans sometimes just disappear in a blinding flash. The injuries to innocents and miscreants alike are sometimes fatal.

They've cracked down on drunken driving; they call it D.U.I., "Driving Under the Influence". The mandatory 30-day jail sentence for the third offense kept us busy.

Murders are not common, but there are a few. Then there's "domestic assault", where people beat each other up for some reason. The guys always say they didn't mean it, but a lot of the faces are familiar.

Later in the same week, Connie and I were sitting at the kitchen table after supper. It was snowing, and the temperature outdoors was about 20° F. A white Christmas was certain.

Connie looked at me with a mischievous grin and asked, "How would you like to surprise the hell out of your mother?"

"How?"

"Let's have Christmas dinner for the family here. If you'll do the turkey and dressing, I can do the rest of it. I make a mean batch of candied sweet potatoes."

I thought about it for a minute. Would my mother think she was having her daughter's relationship shoved in her face, or would she welcome the opportunity to resolve our differences of opinion? Either way, we would know for sure what she thought.