After the Party

[Guest]

Lon

When she calloed I was aroused from my dayfreaming, and when that melodious voice came thru the air, mty thoughts went right to the source.

I needed the bath- badly- and to be honest - i wanted Bes. When I was down here with her alone before the othrs got up, and she was so nice tio me and kissed me, I realized ho nice and how sweet she was in comparison with all the hell-raisers at the party last night, and resolved to pursue the possibilities.

With that New Years resolution, I was up and running quickly toward her, to find her near the top of the stair wearing a robe and a big smile.

She let me into her bedroom to see what men's clothing she coiuld offer me to get me out of the crummy party duds from last night. She stood by the bed in a robe, and all I wanted was to undress and undress her, and start the new year right.

I picked out a shirt ad pair of pants that looked as tho they wouild work, and she led me to the bathroom, still smelling of her and her powder and cologne, and I fell even more in love with the idea of just moving in.

In thanks I leaned over and kissed her cheek, and then looked into hetr eyes and saw a reflection of my feelings. I reaced for her and she stepped into my arms, and we kissed again, this time seriously. Again she apologized for last night and her refusal to accpt my New Year kiss, and we made up for it then, standing there in the bathroom.

Stepping back, I started to get out of the crummy clothes Id put on earlier. She just stood there, and watched , smiling until I reached the bare minimum, at which time she said she would see me in a few minutes, and kissed me lightly again and stepped out.

I took a quick shower and dried off with a nice big towel she had handed me, and then put on the shirt an d pants which fit rfeasonably well, and wearng no underwear under it, stepped back outside. There she was still wearing the smile as I took her hand and carrying my wad of clothes, went back in her bedrooim and tossed my stuff in a pile in the corner. I took her in my arms and kissed her again, telling her how happy I was to meet her this way, rubbing her back through the robe, and wanting to just untie it and let it fall to the floor. She looked at me and the look on her face told me she wanted the same thing

 

[Kandi]

Abbi

Jules sweetly warmed my coffee and offered me a seat. Still tired from little sleep it sounded like a fine idea, and he wanted to talk about something, tho I didn't catch just what. He had that cute British accent and looked to be mid-thirties. Whereas most of the guys at the party last night had been boys, he had the potential for being a man, cute blond mop, and intoxicating eyes, the color of the ocean off Bahia Honda. Hmmmm, should I speak, or let him get it off his chest first?

Never good at waiting I jumped right in, "So, Jules, I hope you ditched that bitch you were with last night. You can do much better than that, you know?" He seemed taken aback, and I hoped it wasn't my first major faux pax of the new year. Maybe that had been his beloved wife. Yikes! Me, and my damned big mouth. Muzzle it, girlie.

 

[bombast]

Jules

Abbi took the seat I offered, and without waiting a beat asked me: "So, Jules, I hope you ditched that bitch you were with last night. You can do much better than that, you know?"

This is what I love about America. No one ever hesitates to say what's on her mind. So, my date was a bitch? Hell, I knew that. She left the party -- and me -- well before midnight without so much as even a goodbye. Clearly Abbi and I agreed on this point.

"Well, she ditched me. but she needn't worry about me calling her again. I'm glad you noticed. I did have a good time, though. The music was good, the company was good, and I did get a good night's sleep. None of that pesky sex to keep me awake at night."

I looked at her, into her eyes. Her face seemed a little flushed, but the steam of the coffee cup she help close to her face may have ben the cause of that. But maybe not. What was she doing with Bes before?

I leaned close to her, conspiratorially: "You know, we may be stuck here all day, or longer. It is supposed to snow again. Have you ever made out in a snow storm -- your whole body freezes, but it seems warm because of the kissing."

I forgot what I had meant to ask her when I offered her the seat. Her question threw me off guard a bit. The best I could come up with was making out in the snow?

I straightened up, turned to face her, let my stockinged foot rest on her bare foot, rubbed it a bit, put my coffee down and sat still.

"I wasn't that into her, the girl who left, I mean. She was just a date because I didn't feel like coming here single. There is always so much pressure to have a good time on new year's eve, and I just wanted a bit of fun. I did have a wee bit of fun, but not the kind I had intended." There.

"What about you ... did you have a good time last night? Hook up with anyone? And what are your plans for the day? Care to talk a walk, or watch one of Bes's movies in the den -- it certainly loooks cozy in there."

 

[MissVictoria]

Bes

She met Lon's lips, his unshaven face prickly and grating against her own. Making a small helpless noise into the kiss, she clung loosely to the back of his shirt, Scott's shirt, with her hands.

"What am I doing?" Bes wondered. She didn't understand what she was suddenly feeling, and she backed away from the kiss, not stopping until she bumped softly against the wall, her eyes wide and searching.

"Lon... I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me, and I should have never... and you should have never and..." Bes spoke rapidly. "You are a dear, dear friend and I don't know why I just... or how... but I think maybe we should just forget it happened because I... and you... and...."

She realised she could flee now, but that they were standing in her room, and she would be forced to flee in her bathrobe, for an indetermite time leaving her clothes hostage as long as Lon stayed in the room.

"I'm sorry..." she repeated once more, stepping out the door, and walking down the hall, not certain where she was going, but needing to sort out what had just happened.

 

[Guest]

Abbi

Much to my relief, Jules seem to relax from my comments, as if he had been waiting for that validation. He leaned close, his breath stinking of cigarettes, "You know, we may be stuck here all day, or longer. It is supposed to snow again. Have you ever made out in a snow storm -- your whole body freezes, but it seems warm because of the kissing."

"What a line! Does that actually work? I guess it does, cause oddly enough I have. It was great. Of course, it all depends on the company we keep. You know that shit you're sucking into your lungs is gonna shorten your sex life by a decade or more, and it's a real turnoff to some. Have you tried giving it up? I have some friends who tried everything, and finally had success with yoga." God, there I go with the motormouth again. I really liked this guy, but what's he going to think when I start ratttling on like that? Altho his British reserve seem to be slipping a little.

He seemed, however, not to notice my rudeness, and as his thoughts lingered on the bitch, his foot started caressing mine. Nice, I thought, very nice. "I hate being expected to have a good time at these things. It's a recipe for disaster. I did ok, tho. I came with little expectation, so I had little disappointment. And today, I'm free and committed to relaxing. How long you been stateside?"

I began to wonder what had happened to Bes. She had disappeared without explanation quite a while ago. Well, she's a big girl -- I'll check on her in a bit if she doesn't surface. And there she was, stumbling down the stairs in her bathrobe, looking a little dazed. "Honey, you ok?"

 

[Kandi]

???

above, obviously me, after getting mysteriously logged out

 

[MissVictoria]

Bes

Bes looked up, like a deer caught in headlights. "Yes, just... fine."

It sounded as if she was testing the words.

She looked to the kitchen where she saw one friend who had said something entirely unexpected earlier. She glanced back up the stairs, where another friend had just kissed her.

"You guys have full run of the house, you know. Eat whatever. Use anything. I need a few moments alone... sorry to be such a rude hostess." she apologized.

With that, Bes bounded up the stairs, intent on the sanctity of the only place she could think of- the attic.

 

[hotforpolitics]

This is turning out to be quite interesting!!

Thanks to Bes, I have some fresh clothes and had a shower. Just as I was finishing the shower I heard Bes come up the stairs and head to the attic. When I went downstairs, both Lon and Abbi looked disappointed that Bes had retreated to her tower. Is she a damsel in distress??? Does she need to rescued, and if so, from whom??? I may be the fly on the wall watching this play out.

"Abbi, since you seem to know your way around the house, does Bes have any books around that might occupy me until the weather breaks??"

 

[bombast]

Jules

"...You know that shit you're sucking into your lungs is gonna shorten your sex life by a decade or more, and it's a real turnoff to some..." I really had to stop listening for a second. I don't even enjoy smoking anymore. And ... I must pop a mint. At least I wasn't smoking inside. I never foist my habit on others, but I still own it ... it is my habit.

Interesting that she didn't pull her foot away.

"I absolutely agree, darling, about the expectations. I no longer have any, and to be frank, if it weren't for the friends I had here, at this party, I would have stayed in. I clearly didn't come here with the chance of getting ... of, you know. Hooking up. I mean ...' I turned away a bit, I felt my cheeks get a bit rosy. I think only the Americans can pull this off. I cleared my throat.

"Oh, I've been here for a while. Living in New York mostly, but I did do some time in Los Angeles. Hated it. But this ... I love this part of the country ... the lack of cars, of stores, of humanity. Of course, I can't buy a New York Times around here and ..." Blah blah blah. I was boring even myself. Thank god Bes walked into the kitchen. She seemed a bit shaken, but not stirred.

Just as quickly as she came in, she left. She was followed by ... Doug, that's right Doug. He wanted something to read to pass the time. Maybe we'll watch some films in a bit.

"So, how do you know Bes," I asked Abbi. Relax mate, this isn't a life and death exam. I meet women all the time at work, at the restaurants and bars I go to. What was so special about this one? I don't know, but I felt it in my stomach.

I popped another mint in my mouth.

 

[Guest]

Abbi

Bes's reaction was not at all what I'd expected. Something was wrong -- I'd known her since we were six, and sometimes I knew what was going on before she did. The look she gave me was totally new territory, however, and I was clueless what was happening. She turned and headed back up the stairs, for 'a few moments alone'.

Doug came by looking for something to read, and Jules continued to weather the storm of my brashness without falling over. I liked him. I sandwiched his probing foot with my other and tried to say what I couldn't seem to form with my words. But my thoughts were consumed now with Bes. Had I hurt her with my playfulness? God, I hoped not.

"Doug, follow me, I'll show you what library she has. Excuse me just a moment, Jules. I won't be long." As I stood I kissed his temple and stroked the back of his neck. "In here."

I took Doug around to Bes's tiny office at the front of the house and pointed out her feeble collection of romance novels and travel guides. "You might find something here. Her video collection is more interesting. Excuse me a moment, please."

I slid up the stairs before anyone could notice and went looking for Bes. I peeked in her room, just cracking the door. There was Lon wearing -- one of Scott's shirts? Oh, my! He was obviously alone. Then it struck me, when distressed she goes up. As kids I could always find her up a tree. Me, too -- that's one of the reasons we had bonded so well. Here, on silent solemn nights I had often found her in the attic, sitting in the dark, contemplating one or another of life's twists. I crept up quietly.

She HAD said she needed solitude, and I was the last one that should be violating that, but I had to know she was ok. There she was, sitting quietly, startled at my intrusion. "Oh, I'm so sorry, sweetie. I'll leave. I just had to know that you were ok. You looked really worked up, and I was afraid it was my fooling around before." A tear welled up in my eye, grateful that she seemed fine. I turned to go back down.

 

[hotforpolitics]

Doug:

"You might find something here. Her video collection is much more interesting." As Abbi walked out of the room I scanned the book titles, finding little more than romannovels and travel guides. Abbi was right about the video collection, which was kept in a closed cabinet in the book case. The titles made it clear that Bes had a very open mind. I would normally have popped a tape into the VCR, but given that I knew no one and had already embarassed Bes, I decided I would wait and see if anyone else wanted to join me. For now I would look at a guide to Ireland, somewhere I had visited in the past and would be going again.

Abbi went upstairs after Bes. I wonder what is going on there. As I flipped through the book I heard footsteps coming back down the stairs. Was it Abbi?? Bes??? One of the guests who had not yet gotten up from the party the night before??

 

[bombast]

Jules

OOC: With apologies to all, I will not be able to post until Monday AM.

 

[MissVictoria]

"No..." said Bes, looking up with slightly teared eyes. "It wasn't that, it's just that..."

Abbi turned around, and Bes gave her her best impression of someone who was in control of her emotions and all of the issues in her life, smiling. "You can stay if you want. I shouldn't be holding myself up here when there is company anyhow..."

Abbi sat down next to her, and Bes wrapped her arms around the woman, snuggling down into her shoulder. "You always knew how to make me feel better anyhow, Ab."

Bes related the entire story to her friend... Lon's advances last night, her own lonliness, how she felt when she saw Lon in one of Scott's shirts, the kiss...

"Am I crazy, Abbi? Scott was a loser, and Lon... is my friend, and not my type. I don't even know what I'm doing anymore..."

 

[hotforpolitics]

As I findish Bes' book on Ireland it occurs to me that it has gotten very quiet in the house, and much too cold. The weather hasn't let up. I make my way outside to find some frewood and bring it back and start a nice warm fire. If I am here for the duration, I might as well be warm. Besides you never know who may stroll through.

 

[TheOlderGuy]

[No message]

 

[Kandi]

Abbi

Much to my relief, Bes wanted to talk, and as I sat beside her she wrapped her arms around me, and we were kids again talking about the boys.

"You can say that again, honey. Scott was a bigtime loser. He never deserved you. And Lon? Well, I know you're friends and all, but I'm pretty sure you can figure out where that dog died. You know, Bes, it's just like when we were first trying to figure out boys, and getting so confused. And I think part of the problem is that we're still hanging out with boys. They're soooooooo immature." Bes set a kiss on my temple, as if to acknowledge my point. Her arms were still wrapped around me, my right hand resting lightly on her waist, where her bare skin peeked out. She felt so warm and soft and yummy. We sat in silence for some time, simply enjoying each other's unconditional love.

"I really love you, Bes," I whispered in her ear. "I know you know that, but I mean . . . I mean . . . I . . . love you." I didn't know how else to say it. She looked up at me, puzzled. I kissed her gently on her lips, pulling ever so slightly on her upper lip with mine, laid her head back down on my shoulder, and we sat quietly together in the warm glow of friendship.

 

[MissVictoria]

Bes

Abbi's kiss startled Bes, shooting like electricity through her limbs. Then it was over, and she was left only with the aftereffects of her suprise, and an entire universe to contemplate. Her head was laying on Abbi's shoulder, and Bes held rigidly still, almost afraid to breathe.

She was so close... it would be so easy to...

But did she want it? Bes had always suspected that Abbi had the capacity to be attracted to women, but she had never seen it in herself.

Then what is this I am feeling?

Her head was adrift with memories of the years she had spent with Abbi, the close and intimate moments, moments where she should have suspected this before...

Shining above it all was one single fact, glistening with its newness. A sudden realisation.

"I love you too.." Bes whispered meekly.

 

[Mistress Jorja]

Lila

The winter sun, sitting low on the horizon, streamed through the window with a sickening excess of joviality, sending a shooting pain to my forehead as I blinked my eyes open. Turning over to look at the clock, I fell halfway out of the single bed, as I was used to the queen-sized one in my apartment.

Looking out the window, the snow had heavily blanketed everything in sight during the night, and I groaned audibly at the glare. What a way to start the new year!

Someone had been kind enough to strip me down to my unmentionables the night before, as my shoes sat neatly by the door and my sheer silver dress lay in a rumpled heap near the bedside table. Slipping back into the dress, I didn’t bother zipping the impossibly tight material up all the way, assuming Bes would be the only one left. Pulling my highlighted blonde hair, a platinum color that was barely natural, into a messy bun, I padded out of the bedroom, trying to smooth the wrinkles out of my dry-clean-only dress.

With the floorboards cold under my bare feet, I descended the stairs, stumbling into the kitchen. Coffee…coffee…I need coffee, I growled, more to myself than anyone else present, in a hoarse voice, the evidence of my screaming and boisterous partying the night before.

Jerking the cabinet door open as if it were the cause of all my troubles, I pulled out a mug and filled it from the coffee pot on the counter, tossing back three aspirin as well from the bottle that sat there. Obviously someone else had overindulged last night as well. With the boiling hot coffee raised to my lips, I turned to finally acknowledge the other’s presence.

 

[bombast]

Jules

Abbi had gone upstairs to check on Bes, a few others were wandering around, Doug was out getting firewood or something.

I sat alone in the kitchen, not really thinking about much.

I heard her before I saw her, and then I saw her and remembered. This was the woman who was irrepressibly radiant last night, and also very very drunk. I saw many guys hit on her, and she certainly enjoyed flirting, at least that's how it looked to me. I don't know if she came with someone, or whether she hooked up with someone here. I was finished with the party well before she was.

Lila. We had met a few times before, usually through Bes. I remember her with red hair, with blue-black hair, but not with the platinum. This was new. This was well, she's pretty striking this way. I don't remember flirting with her ever, but perhaps over one of Bes's dinners. Regardless.

And of course, she was completely oblivious to my presence. She stormed in the kitchen muttering something. She zeroed in on the coffee, tore open a cabinet door, grabbed a mug and poured. The noise was bothering me and I didn't have a hang over. It must have been killing her. She popped some aspirin, lifted the coffee to her lips to swallow them, and then turned.

"Hello, Lila." I said, in my best impersonation of Anthony Hopkins in "Silense of the Lambs."

"It looks like you had quite a night." And it did. Her hair was barely pinned up, her dress was wrinkled and halfway off. No stocking, so shoes. To me, she looked absolutely sexy. Gorgeous. "But I must say that you wake up better than most people go to sleep." I think that was a compliment. I certainly meant it as one.

Still silent, so I continued. "We seem to be snowed in here. Bes is upstairs, Abbi is here. Doug and Lon are about. Who knows who else is still here. Care to sit?"

 

[Mistress Jorja]

Lila

I had to pause for a moment to remember the handsome blonde’s name. He knew Bes somehow or another, and I always had gotten the feeling she was trying to set me up with him. Knowing faces was one things, but memorizing names was not my forte.

“Withnail…Withnail…John? no. Jacob? no. Josh? no. Wait, wait, wait…don’t tell me.”

Leaning back against the counter, I sipped at the coffee more carefully this time. It really was too hot to drink, and I had about scalded blisters on the back of my throat swallowing the aspirin.

His eyes were intriguing, a sea foam green that matched the Crayola crayon of the same name. A color most would have had to get contacts to achieve, but he was lucky enough to be born with.

“Jules. Jules Withnail. Now you know why I hate guessing games.”

Smiling at him, I set the coffee down next to the newspaper that lay open on the table. The same table, I feared, that I had been strutting my stuff on last night. Blushing slightly, I peered out the window, seeing again that we were indeed snowed in.

Pulling open the fridge, I blinked in pain as the light came on right in my eyes, blindly fumbling for the yogurt I knew was in there. Grabbing a spoon from the clean dishes on the drain board, I took the offered seat, wondering what Jules’s story was, and why there was no gold band on his left ring finger.

Pressing the palm of my hand against my forehead, I looked at the empty case of spiked cranberry lemonade that sat forlornly by the trashcan, grimacing at the sight.

“I am never gonna do this again. My New Years resolution is to stay home next December 31st, make fun of Dick Clark from the comfort of my loveseat, drink only water, and go to bed at a reasonable time.”

 

[Kandi]

Abbi

I looked again into Bes's sweet face. What was going on here? I didn't even know what I wanted to happen, all I knew was this rush of new feelings in every fiber of my being. "Bes, I don't know what to do. I don't know what you want -- shit, I don't even know what I want. I've never been with a woman before, but I can tell you one thing, sweetie, if we didn't have all this history, and if I weren't at risk of ruining the best friendship I've ever known, I'd do a lot more than kiss you right now."

Much to my surprise she didn't look shocked. But she didn't look any more ready than I was to jump into the fire. "Bes, maybe we should go back down and join the others before we do something we can't take back?"

 

[bombast]

Jules

"Yes that's me," I said. She remembered, and I felt a little flattered. She smiled a little bit, and the room got a little warmer.

"Come, sit down. Have a cigarette" -- I held out my pack to her. No one was in the kitchen, it wouldn't bother anyone else. -- "it looks like you need some TLC. God, I remember those nights that just kind of melted into the mornings, when what happened is a bit vague but the pain of the pleasure isn't. Is that what you're going through a bit?"

"I have to tell you though, the solution isn't in the staying home, or even in the not drinking. It's about spending the evening with someone worthwhile. I hate new year's eve. Amateur night, I used to call it. People did on this night what I used to do 365 days a year. But that was in the old days. Now it's just caffeine and nicotine for me, thanks, luv."

I'm babbling again. Damn. She was just standing there, looking at me, a little glint in her eyes, a bit ... mischevious, perhaps. Nervously, I brushed my hands through my hair.

"This may be out of sorts, a bit forward, but if you sit down with your back to me I may be able to help you out. Yes, it's the old massage trick ... come on, darling. Sit."

 

[Mistress Jorja]

Lila

“Caffeine and nicotine. Only two bad habits. Not too shabby…”

I grinned at Jules, taking the cigarette gratefully from him. Usually I didn’t smoke, but the way I was feeling today, I would definitely make an exception.

“A massage…hmm…if I didn’t know the context that was in, I’d chalk it up as another tasteless pickup line. But now that you mention it, a pair of firm masculine hands sounds absolutely enticing at the moment.”

Seating myself sideways on one of the straight back wooden chairs clustered around the matching kitchen table, I propped my feet up on another, tucking the tangled strands of my perm into the loosely piled bun. Sitting down I realized just how low my dress had been open, and the cold of the room raised goosebumps on my back.

Wrapping my hands around the coffee, I drummed my nails on the white ceramic, watching the snow drift lazily in the winter sunshine, and wondering what Bes, and the rest of the crew that Jules had mentioned, were up to.

 

[Guest]

Abbi

Bes was still lost deep in thought, and I realized that she probably still needed some time to sort things out alone. "Honey, I'm going to go down and make sure everything's ok with the rest. You take whatever time you need, I'll cover for you. But I'm gonna come looking for you if I don't see you smiling again soon. Need anything?"

She shook her head, and I kissed her forehead, squeezed her hand, and headed down the stairs. The second floor seemed deserted, and I sure wasn't going to start opening doors again just yet. I headed back to the kitchen and my ice cold coffee. By now I figured Jules would be ice cold as well. Men didn't take well to being left alone while we dealt with girl stuff. Oh, well.

Even before I got to the kitchen I could smell the stink of cigarette smoke. People are so thoughtless about their habits. As I entered the kitchen I saw that Lila had finally arisen from the nether corners of the night, and was being treated to a shoulder massage, coming apart at the neckline.

"Hey, Lila, good to see you survived all that fun last night. Do you feel as wicked as you look?" I winked. Lila and I didn't go back as far as Bes and I, but we had come to trust each other a good deal over the years. We could say just about anything and get away with it. "Jules, I sure hope you kept my coffee warm."

 

[Kandi]

Abbi

OOC: that was being being unlogged against my will