chapter 48

Izzy pinned Lillian’shands above her head.

“Is this okay?”

It was more than okay.

“I want to do everything for you.”

Lillian was exquisitely aware of the pulse between her legs as Izzy kissed down her neck, at the hollow of her throat, then released her hands and lingered a long time on her breasts.

“Like this?” Izzy sucked gently. “Or like this?” She pinched Lillian’s nipple with her lips.

“Both.” Lillian arched toward her.

“I want to learn everything about you,” Izzy said, her tone both sultry and friendly. She was Blue Lenox seducing Lillian, and adorable Izzy Wells making plans.

“Like this? Or harder?” Izzy asked.

Lillian couldn’t stop smiling.

“A little harder.”

A slight zing of pain as Izzy bit gently on her nipple made her hips buck. The sensation cascaded over her chest and between her legs.

“You wrecked me from the first time I saw you.” Izzy kissed Lillian’s stomach. “So beautiful. I saw you at the bar. I couldn’t stop looking at you.”

Then Izzy pressed her breast against Lillian’s vulva, rocking slowly up and down. Lillian gasped. It was like being touched by the most beautiful cloud. Erotic and achingly insufficient.

“I loved how you were sexy in a Comic-Con sweatshirt.” Lillian’s words came out on separate exhales as her body tightened and relaxed and tightened as Izzy teased her with her gorgeous body.

“So you weren’t disappointed that I wasn’t really Blue Lenox?” Izzy rested her cheek on Lillian’s belly.

The answer was important even though her tone was teasing. Lillian could tell. She moved from where Izzy had pinned her hands and stroked Izzy’s hair.

“Sweetie, I never liked you because you were Blue Lenox. I liked you because you knew it was an act. You knew it was sexy and over-the-top, and you always had this little smile that said, Are you falling for it? That first night you said your friends called you Blue, I wanted to know your real name.”

She’d wanted to comfort Izzy when the shadow passed behind her eyes as she’d given Lillian her stage name.

“Thank you,” Izzy said. “I have a present for you when we’re done here.”

Then Izzy’s lips were on her clit for one long delicious pull before she moved to Lillian’s opening and teased her there until Lillian tightened her hand in Izzy’s hair and let herself enjoy the luscious, undignified, utterly distracted pleasure of begging. And Izzy gave her everything she asked for and more.

When Lillian had recovered, she rolled Izzy on her back and explored her body slowly, asking her questions as she touched every inch of her until Izzy gasped, “Yes. Any of it. All of it. Just now.” As soon as Izzy stopped gasping, Lillian pulled Izzy into her arms, holding her tight.

“No one’s ever asked me that many questions.” It sounded like Izzy teared up a little as she said it, but mostly she sounded delighted. “God, that was good.”

Several hours later, they were finally somewhat dressed. They sat at the kitchen table with mugs of coffee. Izzy set her phone on the table and opened an app.

“This is just a prototype.” She looked down. “And it’s yours. I don’t want to steal your idea, but I want you to see what’s possible.” She didn’t let go of the phone. “It’s really rough. You need a professional animator for this. It’s way beyond my skill set.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a present.” Slowly, Izzy handed Lillian the phone.

The screen showed a dancer in fifth position and a drop-down menu. Lillian touched the menu to reveal a list of poses and moves. She touched demi-plié, and the figure performed the motion.

“The movements are really jerky,” Izzy said.

A button at the bottom read company. It shifted the screen to a map with numbered circles and a plus sign, which added another circle when she touched it.

“These are the dancers.” When she held one of the circles, the screen switched back to the dancer in fifth position. “It’s the choreography app.”

She looked up. Izzy looked proud and shy, lightly tapping the binary code tattoo on her chest in an unconscious gesture.

“It’s amazing.” It was. The choreographer could animate each dancer and then put them all together on the stage. “It’s exactly what I was thinking of. When did you start this?”

“After we lost.”

“You’ve only been working on it for a few days?”

Izzy shrugged, beaming with pride.

“And you started it after you left. I thought you didn’t want to… be with me.”

Izzy looked up. “I always wanted to be with you. I wanted to be with you since we woke up at the coast. Maybe since the first minute I saw you. I made this so I could show you how much I cared about you, and whatever you want to do with dance, we can make it work. We can make us work. I don’t want you to give up what you love. I just want to be a part of it.”

“I said yes to the fellowship, but I’m going to call them and tell them I don’t want it.”

It’d be a hard call to make. A door closing.

“Do you want to do it?”

“It’d be fun,” Lillian said honestly. “It’d be a chance to inspire new dancers, and maybe do it without being as tough as my mom was. I’d do a faculty showcase, but I wouldn’t have to train for a running show. I could dance without wrecking my body. Dance isn’t forever. I’ll age out soon, no matter what I want to do. I think I might like to teach.”

“This would be a way to find out.”

“I don’t want to do long distance, even for six months. I’m tired of putting my heart last. I love you. I don’t want to sleep alone. I don’t want to text you instead of kiss you. I hope I’m not too much of a lesbian stereotype. I want a life with you. With scones.”

Maybe she should clarify that they didn’t have to move in together tomorrow. She didn’t have a U-Haul packed and ready to go. They didn’t have to go that fast. Izzy held out her hands and clasped Lillian’s.

“Yes,” she said emphatically. “Please be a lesbian stereotype. Ask me to go to Paris with you.”