"Believe me, Darlene, I love children too, and my only reason for coming here today was just to talk to someone sympathetic…"
Moving with a sublime ease and grace, Darlene leaned forward and slipped her arms around Linda. "Sweet Stuff, you are so pretty. And I'll bet you haven't any idea how it excites me to make love to a girl who's given birth, to feel a beautiful woman's body that has achieved something mine can never do. My God, honey, it's like I'm holdin' all my dreams in my arms at once!"
For Linda, this was another surprise. Or had she secretly expected to hear these personal declarations… even hoped for it? It was the first time the two women had touched when there were no men present to give them their heterosexual of approval. Without Brad and Johnny taking part, these desires took the form of isolated acts and thus seemed far more unnatural and perverse. Their behavior would now be termed exclusively homosexual, whereas in a group they could always claim they were just being hot for whoever got their men hot, whether the origin of this stimulus be male or female.
But like this? No, there was too much divorcement from all social reality, too much danger… and too great a commitment involved. However, as Linda started to pull away she saw Darlene's winsome face move, in closer to hers, then felt the girl's soft warm lips caressing her own… light, fluttery dabs that took all the fear away, and by so doing, released Linda's most needful responses until she found herself giving into the gentle instinct, letting the kiss build to a sweetly full-mouthed completion… as once more the power of nearness and immediacy took all the worry out of making love…
Darlene moved back, her eyes luminous as she grinned. "Little Mommy… little fountain of babies!" She patted Linda's still-flat abdomen. "How many will this make?"
"Oh my God!.. four!" gasped Linda, her worries quickly returning.
"Oooh darling', ain't that grand!" Darlene was delighted. "Do you have any pictures of your kids? You know, small snapshots you carry in your billfold?"
Linda dug in her purse and yanked out her miniature wallet-sized gallery. Then watched the idyllic expression on Darlene's face as she carefully viewed each picture, asking questions, full of enthusiasm and interest. "Oh Linda, they are so gorgeous! You think maybe I could see 'em some time?"
Linda stiffened in her seat. Had that question been as innocent as it sounded, or was there a subtly veiled threat hidden in those words? How could she explain this vivid-looking topless dancer suddenly visiting her in Hillsborough?
Darlene was watching her with a quiet smile, and when she spoke her tone was more subdued, almost polite. "Maybe some morning you could drive Janice and Larry to Golden Gate Park and I could meet you there."
Linda gave her a look of deep gratitude. "Yes, that would be easy to manage. And I know they'd enjoy it too." However, Linda could not shake the thought that this girl might one day appear at her home, unexpectedly. And now she considered the possibility of blackmail, wondering if she'd been imprudent to confess the truth about her pregnancy. What in the world would she do if Darlene threatened to tell the facts to everyone who mattered? David, her parents, her friends. She'd have to meet all her demands to prevent this, probably supporting her and Johnny for the rest of their lives…
"What's your problem now, Sweet-Stuff?" Darlene inquired coolly. "Have you told me everything?" Then, with a chuckle, "Or is that what you're afraid of, that you've told me too much?"
"No, Darlene… I… I was thinking of Brad. I'd never want him to know about this baby… that it was his, I mean. He's the one I'm afraid of. Because he would talk, you know, let it slip out some day, and… well, it would be a mess…"
Darlene took a thoughtful sip of her coffee, then gazed down at her hands for a moment. "I'd never tell him, Linda…" slowly gazing upwards until her eyes met Linda's. "I don't spill the beans to anybody, and baby, you won't have to do me no favors to keep me quiet…" then her face broke into a flashing smile, "except maybe to let me see those sweet kids of yours…"
Linda met her gaze and held it; then fully returned her smile, at once ashamed of her suspicions. This girl was so wonderfully warm and perceptive, how could she have been so stodgy or trite to think her capable of extortion? "You're a very sweet person, Darlene," she said, taking the girl's hand, "and I hope with all my heart that you'll have children of your own some day. But… well, my only problem now is that my husband will surely know this baby isn't his the moment he lays eyes on it…"
"Oh shoot, girl, not if you lie real good and keep lyin' 'til your dyin' day!"
Linda chuckled at this flare of vehemence. "But their coloring is so completely opposite. Brad's so Latin and dark, but David's very blond, and so am I…"
Darlene burst into a wild seizure of laughter. "Oh honey, this is a little too much, you comin' to me with a color-problem, but wait a minute here… let me think. Why can't you just tell him it's an accident of nature? Sure, happens every day. Dig up some statistics and case-histories and have them ready for him. Most happily married guys believe what they want to believe anyway, unless they've got some real evidence to the contrary. Your husband doesn't have any idea you've been cattin' around, does he?"
"Well… he's been rather quiet and withdrawn lately, but no… I'm sure he doesn't suspect anything that's happened to me, for David's an adorably trusting soul. It's simply that Brad's his very best friend, so I'm sure he'll see the resemblance…"
Without the least warning, Darlene reached over and pulled Linda in her arms, giving her a fierce and passionate kiss on the mouth. "Now honey, you just shut that tasty mouth of yours, because you are a worry-wart, and what I mean is you have got to think positive. Tell me one thing, Linda: you want to have this baby?"
A bit flustered by this onslaught, Linda tried to gather her wits. "Well… Let's say I wouldn't do anything not to have it."
"Then by God, girl, you have it!.. and to hell with what anyone thinks! Whatever comes to his mind, a guy like your David would keep it to himself, just to preserve your home and your solid way of life."
"Right," said Linda, wondering how the girl could be so uncannily accurate about a man she'd never met. "David is like that. See no evil, do no evil…" The way she, Linda, had been, only two months ago. Before her birth?
Linda now gave a start as Darlene's hand crept slowly up her thigh. She gripped Darlene's hand and held it still. "Please no… not here!"
"Where would you suggest, honey, Union Square?"
"No, Darlene… I'm sorry. It just doesn't feel right, like this, I mean…"
"You're not afraid of waking Johnny, are you? He sleeps like a rock."
"But that's just it," said Linda, still clutching the girl's hand on her thigh. "I'd probably feel better if he were awake and… and watching us…"
With a knowing grin, Darlene leaned forward and softly brushed her lips against Linda's, then glanced down at her watch. "Tell you what, hon. Johnny's alarm goes off at twelve-thirty, which is exactly ten minutes from now. So why don't we let him wake up the way nature intended? Know what I mean? Let him Walk in here and find us beautifully involved and naked on this couch."
Linda drew in her breath, at once terribly frightened and excited by this idea. "But how can we be sure of his reaction, Darlene? I mean… if it's so unexpected, something he hadn't planned?"
"Darlin', that boy is at his horniest when he wakes up, so believe me, whatever he does, we will get the full benefit."
"Oh no, we'd better not…"
"Honey, we've now got nine minutes rehearsal time before big Johnnie comes marchin' in here and sees us in action." Darlene rose and slipped out of her robe, and Linda's mouth fell open as she gazed up at this girl's svelte and magnificent body… a dancer's body, disciplined and lithe of limb and hip, but with breasts like marble globes, full and tan and pink-crested. Linda's eyes now gazing downward to the black bushy patch that softly shielded the furry sweet-scented crease between Darlene's thighs, and Linda saw the beckoning there, saw the vulnerable dew… her throat going parched and dry, her tongue moving out over her lips as she licked, but shook her head. "No, Darlene, I know what you want, and I can't. I admit I love it when you do it… but I could never… bring myself… oh… never…" Still staring there.