Act 4
Erin, the Truehearted
It had been over a month since Elizabeth last saw Erin and life felt empty without her. They frequently spoke to each other over the phone and using video conferencing, but it was not the same. Lizzie would touch the computer screen longing to feel Erin’s warmth, but it was ineffective. Nothing but an illusion. Many a times after such calls Lizzie would lock herself up in her bedroom and cry. She then thought it best to bury herself in her work and dedicate herself to her family. Unfortunately, Erin was never far from her mind.
Erin’s face showed up on the computer screen. “Hi sweetie.”
“Hi.” Lizzie sounded more sullen than usual.
“Are you alright?” Erin was concerned as Lizzie was usually the chirpy one.
“I can’t do this anymore.” She crossed her arms on the desk and placed her forehead on her arms. Warm tears streamed down her face.
“You are the one who can always do anything. Remember?” Erin reminded her of all the marvellous things Lizzie had done for her a couple of months ago. “You can charter planes, build hospitals, you can do anything you want to. The Atlantic Ocean can’t keep us apart.”
“Yet, here we are, on video. You are miles away. I am miles away from you. This is ridiculous.” She looked at Erin. “This entire situation is ridiculous.”
“So what do you want to do?” Erin tried to digest Lizzie’s words. She had tried finding a job in London, but it had been harder than she had expected.
“Can I come and stay with you for a few weeks?” Lizzie pleaded with the screen.
Erin was taken by surprise. That was one thing she had never expected. She looked around the basement where she kept her computers and toys. “My place is a bit of a dump at the moment.”
“It is okay, I am sure it isn’t that bad. I just need to see you, talk to you in person. I need to touch and caress you.” Lizzie looked searchingly at Erin; her heart pounding in her neck.
“It kinda is, but if you give me a few days to sort the place out.” Erin felt an apprehension mingled with excitement rise within her. “It should be fine. Not as awesome as your place, but it will be tidy… I hope”
After the call, Erin looked around her and sighed. It was going to be a few stressful days trying to sort out her place. Lizzie’s place was spotless, but then, she had many servants to care for her each and every need. Erin lived with her husband, who was responsible for the house chores and all things house and food related. She liked it like that and wouldn’t have it any other way.
She went to the kitchen where her husband was preparing lunch. She gave him a loving peck on the cheek and wondered how to break the news. She took the loose blond strand of hair from his face and tucked it behind his ears. “I have news.”
He looked at her waiting for her to carry on the sentence.
“It is about Lizzie.” She looked out the window before she carried on. “She wants to stay here for a short while.”
“That sounds like fun. Do you think we need to scrub down the house?” He looked around the small messy kitchen.
“Yup, I think we do. If you had seen her house, you wouldn’t even have thought twice about asking me such silly question.” She stuck her tongue out at him.
“Are you okay with this?” Erin knew he was, but at the same time had expected him to be jealous. Despite having an open relationship, none of them had ever taken advantage of the agreement until Erin met Lizzie.
“Of course,” He hugged Erin. “She makes you happy.”
“Yeah, I guess she does.” She looked into the pot to see what Adam was cooking. The scent of spiced tomatoes and meat balls rose to meet her and she felt her stomach growl. Lizzie would certainly not die of starvation if Adam was responsible for the cooking.
The next few days were hectic. Erin and Adam made sure the house was cleaned from top to bottom. The spare room, which was currently being used to store all things possible, was cleared and made to look as homey and welcoming as possible. The fridge and pantry were stocked up. Erin and Adam rested on the sofa and admired their handiwork; never had the house ever looked so clean. Lizzie would arrive in a couple of hours.
“Shower time. See you soon.” Erin peeled herself off the sofa and dragged herself up the stairs. She let the water run until it reached the ideal temperature and slowly removed her clothing. The warm water caressed her naked body and she felt her muscles relax. As her hands rubbed her body, she felt the unwanted hair on her legs and between her legs and realised her shower was going to take longer than expected.
Erin ran her hands down her legs and private areas to ensure she had not missed a single hair. Satisfied, she left the shower and dried herself. She looked at the bathroom shelf and reached for her unscented moisturiser and deodorant. She then selected her favourite perfume, a blend of fresh scents which reminder her of the mountains and being at peace with the world. From the bathroom, she could see the clock on her bedside table and it told her Lizzie would arrive in thirty minutes.
Erin already knew what she was going to wear and by the time she was ready, the doorbell rang. Unable to contain her excitement, she ran downstairs and threw opened the front door. Lizzie stood there with a holdall in her right hand and on her left was a large suitcase. On her left shoulder, a maroon leather handbag with beige details. Her outfit was simple and elegant, she wore her favourite beige trousers and red knit jumper. A thick brown coat covered it all, but had been left unbuttoned lending her a roguish charm.
Erin wanted to hug Lizzie, but instead helped her with her suitcase and guided her to the lounge, away from the cold weather. Lizzie walked through the hallway to the lounge and stood by the entrance looking around her. A warm glow emanated from the gas fireplace. A brown leather three seater sofa was placed beneath the window and a matching two seater was placed diagonal to it. Two other armchairs were in the room and the carpet was light coloured making the room look bigger than it was. Lizzie broke out of her reverie at the sound of Erin’s voice.
“You must be exhausted. Take a seat. Shall I get you something to eat? Perhaps something to drink?” Erin gave Lizzie’s hand a light touch.
Lizzie turned to face Erin and gave the tall redhead a tight hug. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“So have I.” Erin took in the scent of the brunette’s hair. It smelt like sunshine and beaches.
Adam stood in the kitchen and allowed the girls to greet each other. He prepared a candlelight dinner for the two girls. He made sure the wine was at the right temperature, lighted the candles and switched the kitchen light off. The kitchen looked warm and romantic. He then made his way upstairs and got ready for his evening out with friends. It was a good arrangement and he would then crash on some sofa for the night. He still was not sure how he felt about Erin having met someone even though it was part of their arrangement. He would have more time to get to know Lizzie the following day.
***
Erin noticed when Adam sneaked by to go upstairs and knew dinner was ready. She took Lizzie by the hand and walked her through to the kitchen where the table was set.
“Adam prepared all this for us?” Lizzie raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Her husband had allowed her time to sort her situation with Erin as he had said it was preferable to having her walking around the house like a wraith.
“Yup, he can be sweet like that.” Erin smiled fondly at the thought of her husband preparing a romantic dinner for her and her girlfriend.
“Men can be strange. It makes me wonder if they have any second thought in their minds.” A wry smile displayed on Lizzie’s lips which soon became a wide grin. “Aspen? You live in the Aspen? Do you know how many times I came here to ski?”
“I could have bumped into you many times before, but probably never noticed. I see what you mean.” Erin picked the bottle of wine from the table and showed it to Lizzie. “Wine?”
“Yes please.” She looked outside and watched the snow fall thickly on the ground. “Ski season has started.”
“Yes it has. It is at moments like this I wish I owned a lodge.” Erin sat down and asked Lizzie to take a seat.
“It must be nice living out here beneath the mountains.” She raised her glass to Erin. “You would probably give me a run for my money on the slopes.”
Erin’s laughter filled the room. “Highly unlikely.” In a confidential tone, she added that she did not ski.
“Not ski? But you live in Aspen. How can you not ski?” Lizzie could not conceal her look of disbelief.
“Well, I grew up in a big family with lots of siblings. If my parents allowed one kid to do anything, it would usually cost him about seven times the amount to include us all. So as you can see, things could add up very quickly.” She said with a shrug of her shoulders. “As I got older, I lost interest and now I don’t think I would be able to ski at all.”
“It is probably better like that.” Lizzie winked. “I was in a bad ski accident last year and injured my knee. I am not allowed to ski anymore.”
Erin served Lizzie and herself and they ate in silence for a few minutes. Lizzie was impressed with Adam’s cooking and said so. As she ate she smiled and frowned at various thoughts not sharing them with Erin. Some concerned her best friend whom she often had gone skiing with in either France or Switzerland. Although they had almost kissed once, they never took it further and thought it best to remain friends. The accident Lizzie had been in had happened after an argument with Helena, her best friend. She had stormed out of the cabin and decided to tackle one of the steeper and more uneven slopes. Helena chased her down the slope and instead of keeping her eyes on the path Lizzie glanced back and barely missed a boulder. She brushed the memory away and looked mischievous when she voiced her last thought.
“You know, I came here often enough that it made it worthwhile to own a cabin.”
Erin looked up from her plate and smiled. “You own a cabin? In Aspen?”
“Yes. Yes I do.” She pointed outside the window towards the mountains. “Somewhere up there. Isolated, but not too isolated as to make it dangerous.” She looked thoughtful for a minute. “It is quite easy to get to. We just need some supplies.”
“We would be out of Adam’s way.” Completed Lizzie’s thought process.
“And we would be by ourselves.” Lizzie raised her wine glass to her lips. This was no way to sort out the problem she had her relationship with Erin. She was aware that she was once again trying to sweep the redhead off her feet and treat her like a princess. She placed an elbow on the table, rested her chin on her hands, and stared lovingly at Erin.
“Stop that.” Erin frowned at Lizzie.
“Stop what?” Her voice muffled from being partially covered by her hand.
“That. You are staring.” Erin picked up her napkin from her lap and placed it impatiently on the table.
“Am I?” She stood up and kneeled before Erin. “No I am not.” She hugged Erin’s knees and kissed the black trousers.
Lizzie felt a sadness come over her and did not move. Erin combed Lizzie’s hair with her fingers and they sat like that for a moment until the brunette stood up and started to clear the table.
“You don’t have to do that. Just go sit down in the living room and I’ll sort this out.” Erin took the plates off Lizzie’s hands and placed them in the dishwasher.
“No. I ate, I help clean. You are already putting up with me here, invading your house.” Lizzie carried on clearing the table.
“Well, if you really don’t mind. Knock yourself out!” Erin sat down exhausted. She realised she had been up all day helping Adam clean the house and they had also skipped lunch. Added to that, was the emotional toll of the last few days waiting for Lizzie to arrive.
Erin watched as Lizzie quickly cleared the table and washed a few dishes. She pointed out their places in the cupboard and when it was done, she made them tea.
“Sorry, I just feel exhausted. It has been a long day.” Erin led the way to the living room.
“I can imagine. As I recall, you told me you were a slob, but the place looks really nice and tidy.” Lizzie looked around the room and appreciated the trouble her friends had gone through.
“You must also be quite tired. It was a long journey to get here.” Erin remembered her manners and asked Lizzie about her journey.
“Don’t worry. It was a comfortable enough journey.” Lizzie said dismissively and not wanting to go into details about the advantages of being able to travel first class. She sat sideways on the sofa and beckoned to Erin.
The redhead made herself comfortable and reclined against Lizzie’s chest. The brunette massaged Erin’s tired shoulders and neck every so often kissing the top of her head and inhaling the scent of her hair. When she was done, she wrapped her arms around Erin and they both fell asleep in that position.
It was still dark when Lizzie woke up startled and tried to take in her bearings. Her left arm had fallen asleep and she realise it was trapped in between the sofa and Erin’s head. She then heard movement in the kitchen and looked at her watch. It was already eight in the morning. She shifted her arm carefully and tried not to wake up Erin, although she knew from past experience that the redhead would most probably wake up.
Erin shifted her weight and stretched her arms. She felt the soft body beneath her and remembered she had fallen asleep on Lizzie. She gently shifter her weight not to hurt Lizzie and turned around to face the brunette. She smiled and kissed her on her cheek.
“You are still here?” Erin said in the dark. Her voice expressed surprise and relief.
“Where else would I be?” Lizzie smiled and with her free hand gently moved Erin’s hair from her face.
“You could have turned into pixie dust?” She frowned. “You could have been a figment of my imagination?” With this she pinched Lizzie.
“Hey! Ouch, that hurts.” She pinched Erin back.
What started as light pinching, ended up in tickling and the girls tumbled ungraciously off the sofa.
“Hey, everything alright in here?” Adam walked into the living room and turned the light on. He appreciated the view that greeted him, but quickly pushed away the thought of seeing both girls naked in bed. “Anyone for breakfast?”
“Yes.” Erin turned to face Lizzie. “I want her for breakfast.”
Lizzie tried not to blush at her girlfriend’s comment and wondered about Adam’s reaction. That he should be alright with his wife’s open affair was strange and she did not know how to deal with it. She stood up and straightened her clothes and hair out in a quick gesture.
“I do.” She walked towards Adam. “I am sorry you had to see this.” She pointed at the sofa. “I didn’t mean. I did, but…”
Adam gave her a hug. “It’s okay. We have an agreement.” He let her go and winked. “No need to be embarrassed.”
“I know about the agreement, but still, how about out of sigh out of mind?” The puzzled expression on her face made Adam laugh.
“No, I prefer to know about it. I think it is better than behind my back and then me being the last to know.”
“And vice-versa.” Erin stood up and joined Lizzie and Adam.
“I thought you told me that neither of you had ever acted in accordance to the agreement.” The statement was directed to both Erin and Adam.
“We made the agreement about 3 years ago and you are right. Erin never did anything. I might have had a couple of one night stands, but that was about it as well.” Adam looked at Lizzie, but avoided holding her hand.
“So neither of you ever went through anything like this?” Lizzie’s hand pointed at herself and then at Erin.
Adam and Erin looked at each other, then at Lizzie and shook their heads. However, neither seemed too disturbed by the implications of Lizzie’s question. Many thoughts crossed her mind at that moment and they all pointed in one direction – that this had been a fun ride, but that she had to get off before Erin shattered her heart. It was inevitable given the tight bond between Adam and Erin. They had an agreement because they trusted each other and knew that no matter what happened, they would take care of each other till death did them apart.
“Is it okay for me to go take a shower?”
“Sure, I’ll show you where everything is.” Adam guided her upstairs. “I have also put all your things in your room.”
Once at the top of the stairs Adam took a right turn and showed her the bedroom she was to stay in. All her bags were at the foot of the bed and on her bed was a cream coloured set of towels. Adam showed her the bathroom and let her have some privacy.
Lizzie sat on the edge of the bed and took in a deep breath and willed herself to calm down. She was at the verge of a panic attack and couldn’t bring herself to stop it. There came a knock on the door and Erin walked in. On seeing the state of her girlfriend she ran towards her and kneeled before her. She took Lizzie’s face in her hands and asked her if she was alright.
“What are we doing?” She shook her head and didn’t look Erin in the eyes. “I need a shower.”
Lizzie got up, quickly looked through her suitcase and found her wash bag and a change of clothes. Still avoiding eye contact with Erin, she reached for the towels and made her way to the bathroom. Once inside, she locked the door and took another deep breath. Complicated. This is getting way out of hand and very complicated. She turned the shower on and placed her hand in the stream. The water was cold. She looked at herself in the mirror and shook her head. Silly fool. Steam came out of the shower and Lizzie quickly stripped and tested the water again before going in. She scrubbed herself furiously trying to feel something other than anger and washed her hair. Once out Lizzie had come to a decision.
Erin felt the cold air when Lizzie slammed the front door shut. All she heard was the word “…think.” She though of going after her short brunette, but she thought it best to let her cool down by herself.
“What happened?” Adam heard the door and had come to see what had happened.
“I don’t know.” Erin frowned at the door.
Lizzie inhaled the cold air and already felt much better. She looked up and down at the familiar streets of Aspen and decided to buy some supplies to take to the cabin. The local market would have most of what she needed and she quickly filled up a trolley. Once that was out of the way, it was easy to organise a cab to take her up to the cabin and she spent the remainder of the day making it homely. Despite her attempts to keep herself busy and her mind off Erin, she still could not come to a decision regarding their situation. She knew she would have to go back to the house as she had left her luggage there. While trying to make up her mind regarding her luggage, there came a soft knock on the door. She made it to the door in two steps and stood facing Erin.
“How did you find me?” She sounded more annoyed than she had meant to.
“Small town. All I had to do was ask around.” She pointed at Lizzie’s luggage. “Can I come in?”
Lizzie answered with a curt nod and allowed the redhead to bring in her things. She also brought in an additional lack suitcase.
“What is that?” Lizzie said pointing at the suitcase.
“My things. If you don’t mind.” She looked embarrassed. “I thought that us being in the same house as Adam might have made things a bit weird.”
“It wasn’t just that. It is a series of things. It is everything. We both have our separate lives. Families. It is just the wrong time to.” Lizzie didn’t continue.
“Fall in love?” Erin completed the sentence and watched Lizzie collapse onto the leather sofa and nod.
The brunette had always appeared to be in control of her emotions, but Erin knew better. Although it was the first time that she saw Lizzie battling so intensely to the extent of running and hiding. Erin would normally let a person in such conditions have some room to breathe, but she could not bring herself to leave Lizzie. She inched towards the sofa and sat beside the girl. As there was no resistance, she attempted to put her arms around her shoulder and embraced her. Lizzie tilted her head towards Erin and rested it on her shoulder. Erin hugged her tighter and felt the small girl shake in her embrace and let out a small sob. Her chest tightened and she understood how Lizzie felt. They didn’t have to exchange words to understand each other. It was that simple.
They lost track of time and it was dark by the time Lizzie felt less hormonal. She became aware of Erin’s warm body against her and felt her heart fill with love. Trying not to move much, she slowly turned to face the redhead and kissed her gently on the lips. Erin, who had been awake, returned the kiss and still embracing Lizzie, lifted her up and took her to the bedroom. Lizzie felt the world met away as she and Erin became one moving body, searching, experiencing, hungry for each other. The small brunette straddled her partner and for a few seconds all she could do was stare searchingly into her eyes. She traced the other girl’s chest and the contour of her breasts with her fingertips lightly teasing her nipples. She then lowered herself upon her and kissed her passionately not wanting to ever let go.
Erin hugged her firmly around the waist letting the kiss linger until their lips parted and started to explore each other’s bodies. Lizzie fondled Erin’s full round breasts teasing the nipples with her tongue. She enjoyed watching the redhead gasp in pleasure and placed her fingers between her legs finding her wet juicy spot. Her fingers slid easily over the wet mound and glided over her bean making her beg for more. When Lizzie was done teasing Erin, she explored her with her tongue drinking in the redhead’s juices. Should anyone have been passing by the cabin at that moment, they would have heard loud moans of ecstasy. Erin reached towards Lizzie’s wet pussy and explored the girl with her fingers, stretching and inserting as far as she could. As she did so, Lizzie arched her back in delight and let out a long moan.
Once the girls were done, they flopped into each other’s arms and carried on kissing. Lizzie placed her hand on Erin’s chest and felt the soothing beat of her heart. Everything was going to be alright.
