A Real Mentor Pt.08

Luisa

The faint hum of the engines provided the soundtrack for Luisa as she leaned back in the wide leather seat, her bare feet nestling into the soft wool of the blanket the flight attendant had given her.

It wasn't her first time flying business class, but it was her first time doing it long haul and Luisa had settled into it as if she belonged there. She turned her head slightly and watched Amy beside her, bathed in the soft overhead light, reading something on her tablet, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Luisa's stomach fluttered as there was a small jolt, a one off, nothing major, just a little turbulence. But, Luisa thought, it had been there before, every time she thought about Amy.

For a moment she just studied her. Amy's brown hair was tied back loosely, as it often was when she wanted to look casual but somehow ended up stunning anyway. She was dressed down in yoga leggings and a hoodie, but there was an elegance and comfortable self-possession about her even like that... legs folded under her, eyes focused, occasionally chewing on her lower lip as she read.

Luisa's fingers itched to reach out, to trace that jawline, to kiss those lips. God, she was in love. Stupidly, breathlessly in love.

And it scared the hell out of her.

Amy glanced over then, as if sensing the attention. Their eyes met, and the smile Amy gave her was soft, warm... intimate. The smile of someone who loved her too.

"You're staring," Amy said, sliding one earbud out. Her voice was quiet, for Luisa alone.

"You're beautiful," Luisa replied, smiling back.

Amy's smile widened just a little to almost a grin. "Careful," she teased, "flattery makes me dangerous."

Luisa laughed quietly, trying not to draw attention. Their flight was nearly empty, a mid-week flight from LA to London, and there were only six other passengers in the business class cabin, all of whom seemed to be asleep. The lights were dimmed and, if they were sensible, Amy and Luisa should be getting some sleep too.

They'd got a pair of seats next to each other, designed for couples travelling together, and with the divider down they were as good as sat in one giant seat, a perfect arrangement for them.

Amy reached out under the blanket between them and squeezed Luisa's knee, and Luisa's heart jumped. Amy just seemed to be able to do that to her, there was something almost intoxicating about her.

They'd been inseparable for three weeks in LA. Days spent over the weekends swimming, hiking, laughing at nothing. Nights spent out and then tangled together, mouths, hands, bodies hungry and sated, and hungry again. The only thing that had come between them was work, Amy needing to go to her office most days, Luisa doing a couple of photoshoots where she'd had to stay away for a few nights.

They'd told each other that they were in love, and they meant it. At least Luisa knew that she did... she loved Amy like she'd never loved anyone before.

But there was an undercurrent. Something unspoken. Something about this not being real life, a worry for Luisa that she was Amy's holiday fling, her rebound from splitting with her boyfriend, one of several alongside this person Sarah that she knew Amy had been seeing but rarely talked about and God knew who else.

Except Luisa wanted it to be real, with every fibre of her being.

Amy squeezed her knee again. "You're thinking too much," she said softly. "I can tell."

"You're not thinking enough," Luisa shot back, teasing.

Amy raised an eyebrow. "Am I not?"

And there was the game again, the little power play between them, the one Luisa lost willingly every time. Suspension of reality one day at a time, avoiding a conversation of what would make them real, a true relationship.

Ok, thought Luisa, time to play the game.

"Come here," Luisa said quietly.

Amy's brow furrowed, but she leaned closer, their heads nearly touching.

"What?" Amy whispered, smiling but wary.

"The lavatory," Luisa whispered back, feeling wicked and reckless and loving it. "The big one at the front. Five minutes."

Amy's smile took on a hungry edge. "You're serious?"

Luisa shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "Unless you've lost your nerve."

"I never had any nerve," Amy whispered with a quick kiss on Luisa's cheek, but she was already unfastening her seatbelt. "You're the reckless one."

Luisa sat there a moment longer after Amy left, letting the tension build. She knew how to make an entrance. After three minutes by her watch, no four, to make Amy wait she rose, stretching casually as if she were going for a walk. No one paid her any attention as she strolled toward the front of the cabin.

The door opened almost instantly when she knocked, and Amy pulled her in by the front of her hoodie. The door clicked shut behind them and Amy locked it.

Luisa pushed Amy back against the wall, her hands already sliding under Amy's hoodie, cold fingers meeting hot skin. Amy's breath caught.

"You're trouble," Amy said quietly, grabbing Luisa's hips.

"It takes two," Luisa said, and kissed her.

It was messy, desperate. Luisa didn't care. Her hands found Amy's breasts, pushing her bra up, her fingers teasing her nipples until she felt Amy moan into her mouth. Amy's own hands had found Luisa's ass and were squeezing hard.

"This was your idea," Amy whispered against her ear. "You'd better not half finish it."

Luisa laughed. "Shut up."

And then she was on her knees, Amy's yoga leggings and underwear tugged down just enough.

They were quick, but not quiet. As she got close, Luisa took hold of Amy's hand and held it against Amy's mouth, Amy moaning hard into it as her orgasm rolled through her, Amy's other hand holding on to Luisa's head, almost pulling her into Amy.

After a few moments, Amy helped her up and wiped Luisa's mouth clean of her wetness before kissing her slowly and passionately. "You're amazing," Amy said quietly.

Luisa's heart skipped, stuttered, then raced. "I know," Luisa replied, and she kissed her again before she could say anything more.

When they finally left the bathroom, they surprised one of the flight attendants who was passing, who flashed them a knowing grin before going back to her work.

They settled back in their seats, half reclined, cuddled up to each other as far as the seatbelts would allow, but after a few minutes got a surprise... the same flight attendant leaning over them.

Worried they were in trouble, Luisa relaxed when the flight attendant set down two glasses of champagne.

"Oh, we didn't order these," said Amy.

"You didn't need to," replied the flight attendant with a wink. "But I figured you'd want them."

Luisa felt herself blushing, and her and Amy sat there giggling, enjoying their surprise drinks, more in love with each other at that moment than ever.

Several hours later Luisa lay awake, the lights still dim, everyone else in the cabin asleep. Looking to her side she could see Amy deep asleep herself, her chest rising and falling slowly.

As she so often did when she couldn't sleep, she let her mind wander... and right then the only thing she could think about was Amy, and what their future held.

She loved Amy, without a doubt, and she could tell that when Amy told her she loved her too that she meant it. But... there were so many obstacles, so many things that could get in the way.

Distance, first of all. They lived 5,000 miles apart and while so far they'd made it work to see each other, Amy visiting LA twice so far as part of her work and now Luisa flying back to London with her to stay for a few days enroute to a modelling job in Italy, Luisa was enough of a realist to know that at some point the good luck with travel would stop and one or both of them would have a hard decision to make. Possibly a very hard, life changing decision.

But then, possibly more significant, was other people. Important other people in each of their lives. When they'd first met Amy was in a long term relationship with her then boyfriend James while also in a more transactional, secret relationship with a senior partner at her work, Sarah. If she was being brutal about it, Luisa had started seeing Amy in secret when Amy was already having an affair with someone else... not exactly a recipe for a long and healthy relationship built on an easy foundation of trust when put like that, particularly at long distance.

When they'd parted at the airport for Amy to fly back home that first time she could see Amy wavering, on the verge of her saying thank you for my holiday fling, this was nice, but I won't see you again. What else was she going to do when she had a long term boyfriend back home, not to mention Sarah?

Luisa, almost in desperation, had acted pre-emptively before Amy could go down that path, suggesting an open relationship between them, anything to keep that door open. It was presented by Luisa as a practical accommodation but in reality reflected her desperation to do anything not to lose Amy, not so soon after Luisa had found her.

Amy had seemed relieved, grateful for the permission to keep her relationships without having to make painful choices. But what Luisa had carefully omitted from all their subsequent conversations was that the openness wasn't just for Amy's benefit... it was for her own too.

What would Amy think if she knew the whole truth? That Luisa's love life had been carefully compartmentalised for the last eight years, inextricably interwoven with her professional existence since her modelling career had taken off at the age of 18. The question circled again and again in Luisa's mind as she watched Amy sleeping peacefully next to her.

One name stood out above all others... Alethea, the one constant in Luisa's ever changing career taking her from a callow 18 year old model on her first big shoot in Tulum through to the experienced, 26 year old fashion professional that was lying there next to Amy, trying to get some sleep.

Alethea... Luisa's Greek goddess, and her kryptonite.

Just days before first meeting Amy, Luisa had been in Miami with Alethea on a shoot. For two nights, they had fallen into their familiar pattern, the magnetic pull between them as powerful as it had been in Tulum eight years before. It was always like this with Alethea... inevitable, electric, beyond her power to resist.

They never planned these encounters, they simply occurred whenever their paths crossed on shoots, an unspoken certainty as reliable as gravity. It could be next week or next year before they found themselves in the same city again, but Luisa knew with absolute certainty that when they did, she would end up in Alethea's bed.

How could Amy possibly comprehend this when Luisa herself struggled to define it? That Alethea wasn't simply an ex or an occasional lover, not really a friend either, but a constant, maybe a colleague who just understood Luisa was the closest way to describe her, who had been in and out of her life for eight years. That their encounters weren't planned but inevitable, a gravitational pull Luisa had never been able to resist and, honestly, had never wanted to. That between encounters there was nothing, it was as if Alethea disappeared, only to reappear whenever they were next booked together for work.

Luisa was terrified to tell Amy about Alethea, worried that it would scare Amy away, but at the same time knew that she must, if not immediately then certainly before she next worked with Alethea and the inevitable happened again. Alethea was kind of Luisa's version of Amy's Sarah, a significant other person in her life even though the timescales and involvement were very different.

And Alethea was just one compartment among many. How could she explain the strategic calculations that had occasionally led her to powerful industry figures, usually men, whose favour could accelerate her career? That she had approached these encounters and even quasi-relationships with a clear eyed assessment of the potential benefits, maintaining her agency while using every asset available to her? That while such situations had become less frequent as her own industry standing grew, she knew deep down that they could and would happen again?

Perhaps worst of all, how could Luisa admit that Amy was her first personal relationship in eight years? That every relationship she had formed since leaving behind her home city of Aguascalientes and her high school boyfriend as an inexperienced 18 year old had been, in some way, entangled with and in the service of furthering her career?

The self-admission felt humiliating that she, at twenty six, had no idea how to navigate a relationship untethered from professional advantage, that she was terrified of her inadequacy in something where most people had been gaining experience since adolescence.

When, not even two weeks before, Luisa had told Amy that she loved her, and Amy had told her the same, it should have been a moment for Luisa of pure joy... the first person in her life that she could honestly say, hand on heart, that she was truly in love with.

Instead, it had triggered a cascade of anxiety in Luisa. Amy was choosing her, had finished with her boyfriend James, was creating space in her life where Luisa would be central rather than peripheral.

The implicit expectation terrified her... not because she didn't want it, but because she wanted it too much, wanted it with an intensity that threatened the careful control she had kept over her compartmentalised existence.

Just at that moment, Amy's fingers curled around Luisa's under the blanket as she turned in her sleep, warm and sure, and Luisa squeezed back. Luisa was acutely aware of the emotion that swelled within her at Amy's touch, at her vulnerability.

This was what frightened her most about sharing the truth... not the potential judgment, but the possibility that complete honesty might shatter something precious before it had fully formed.

Yet the alternative, offering Amy only the carefully edited version of herself, felt increasingly impossible. Not just because the logistics would become more challenging as their lives became more and more entwined, but because Luisa found herself wanting, with unprecedented intensity, to be known completely by this woman who had somehow slipped past all her defences.

Perhaps tomorrow in London, or the next day, or when she stopped back in London after Italy to see Amy again, she would find the courage to begin dismantling the walls between her separate selves, to open up to Amy and to hope that she understood.

But that was for another time. Because right then, that touch, the feel of the woman she loved, that was enough.

More than enough, it was everything.

Amy

Amy looked up at the house and tried, in the gathering dark, the rain threatening to fall again, to hide her slight grimace. It wasn't that she wasn't looking forward to moving into her best friend Naomi's house share, not really, but after the long flight from LA what she would have ideally liked was to be back at her old flat, the one she'd lived in for years, with all her things, with privacy, everything set up just as she liked it.

She'd have loved to show it to Luisa, watch the expression on Luisa's face as she admired some of the furniture, or the décor, or anything. She'd have loved that.

But they weren't there, they were here. Part of her deal with James after she'd split up with him getting on nearly a month before was that he'd stay in the flat, at least for the six months where they were nominally in a trial separation... in reality it was over between them, Amy knew that even if James might not.

She turned to Luisa and gave her hand a little squeeze. "We're here," she said with a smile that she suspected betrayed her thoughts.

The taxi driver put the last of their bags on the pavement and left. Amy could see some lights on in the house visible through the large sash windows.

"You ready to meet one of my best friends?" asked Amy.

Luisa smiled reassuringly. "Better... I'm excited to."

Amy smiled back and stepped up, about to ring the doorbell, when the front door opened on its own, a voice called out, "Amy!" and she found herself enveloped in a big hug.

Luisa stood patiently, and Naomi said, "And you must be Luisa," before wrapping her up in a big hug too. "It's so nice to meet you, I've heard so much about you!"

Stood just behind her, Amy was smiling happily. "As you might have guessed, this is Naomi. Naomi, meet Luisa." She paused and laughed. "Though I think I'm a little late to say that."

As they stood there a few heavy drops of rain started to fall. "Come on, let's get inside," said Naomi, picking up Luisa's bag and ushering both her and Amy into the hall.

A few minutes later Amy and Luisa were alone again in Amy's new room. Looking around it was nicer than Amy had expected, at the back of the house on the top floor, its own small shower room off to one side, a large double bed, a couple of comfy chairs, a wardrobe and chest of drawers. There were three lamps placed around the room which gave a nice glow, and with the warmth from the radiator it felt cosy, particularly with the noise of the rain against the sash window at one end. Naomi had bought pillows and a duvet with covers for the bed, enough to get on with, but the room still felt like it needed Amy's possessions to really feel like home.

"Home sweet home," said Amy, with a smile. "Are you ok? You seem quiet."

Luisa smiled back and walked over to Amy, putting her arms around her. "More than ok, I'm so happy to see your life. Even if you've just moved in here. It's just London... it's all so different to what I'm used to. A lot to take in."

Amy put her arms around Luisa too and kissed her. "That makes perfect sense. I love you so, so, so much. Thank you for coming back here with me."

"I love you too... there's nowhere else I'd rather be." She kissed Amy again, and they held each other tightly, both tired as much as anything from the travel.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door and Naomi came in with two mugs of tea, handing one to each of them.

"This'll sort you out," she said with a kind smile. "Luisa, I didn't know how you take your tea so I went with milk and no sugar, just like Amy and I take it. I hope that's ok?"

Luisa smiled gratefully. "To be honest, I've never had tea before. So that sounds perfect. Thank you."

She took a sip while both Amy and Naomi watched her. "Mmm... that's perfect," she said. Amy could tell that she was lying, but felt her love for Luisa swell at her lying about it to be so kind to Naomi, who had a beaming smile on her face.

They'd landed on the Thursday, and Amy and Luisa were kind to themselves for the next 36 hours, taking it easy to get through their jet lag and not venturing far from exploring Amy's new neighbourhood, albeit a neighbourhood that she'd lived in a few years before prior to her moving in with James. There was none of the urgency to connect with each other that there had been when Amy had arrived in LA, this really feeling like a continuation of their adventure together, so they could just relax in each other's company with Amy safe in the knowledge that she wasn't expected back in the office until Monday.

Amy could tell that Luisa loved it. Every single minute. Everything was so new to her, so different to either LA or back in Mexico. Even wrapping up in her newly bought coat and scarf for an early morning walk together around Clapham Common, stopping for coffee on the way, her excitement was palpable... for Amy it made her yearn for Luisa to live in London, but she didn't say anything out loud.

On the Friday night Naomi had organised a welcome to the house dinner out nearby for Amy with her new housemates, two other women besides Naomi and one man. All were good company, were friendly, and had no problem whatsoever that Luisa had tagged along, in fact two of the housemates brought their partners along too. Amy had felt a little nervous turning up at her new house share with a girlfriend alongside her, but everyone was so welcoming that there was nothing for her to worry about really.

It was a good night, and at the end of it, as Amy and Luisa settled into bed together, cuddled up close, naked, skin against skin, having made love to each other slowly, unhurriedly, Amy felt safe falling asleep with the quiet noises coming from the other occupants of the house around her. With Luisa by her side, it all felt just so right.

All of that was good, because Saturday, at least during the day, promised to be at best upsetting and at worst fairly horrendous. She was going back to her old flat to pick up her possessions and it would be understatement to say anything other than she was dreading it...

Luisa

Saturday dawned bright and sunny, almost unseasonably warm outside.

Early, too early in Luisa's opinion, Amy was up, showered and dressed. Luisa stirred sleepily at the sound of Amy coming back upstairs and into her room, muttering her thanks as Amy set a cup of tea down by the side of the bed. Much as she hated to admit it, Luisa was starting to understand why the British drank so much tea... she didn't think she'd ever like it later in the day, but as a pick-me-up first thing in the morning it hit the spot. Not as much like a slap in the face as coffee, but still with enough to it to make you feel almost human again.

Amy sat down on the bed on top of the covers next to her, and Luisa felt Amy's hand lightly stroke her naked shoulder. "You're going to be ok today?" she asked.

Luisa smiled and looked up at Amy. "I think I'll cope," she joked. "But I wish you'd let me help you... I want to help you today."

Amy smiled back. "I know you do, and I appreciate it. But I can't take you with me."

It was the day when Amy was going to her old flat, the one she still jointly owned with James, to pick up some of her belongings. Luisa wanted to help, felt a need to help too.

Pouting, understanding why but still wanting to push Amy, Luisa said, "Why not?"

Amy laughed, knowing it was a game. "You know why not. Because its'..."

"... complicated." Luisa laughed back as she finished Amy's sentence. "I know. I get it." She laughed, but inside it was part of her frustration about their relationship being real, about her concerns about what their relationship really was, about what open really meant and the parts of it she needed to talk to Amy about. Every time she tried to push Amy to open up and talk about anything like that she got back 'It's complicated...'. It was a running joke with them, but with an edge that Luisa didn't think that Amy realised was there.

It was particularly resonant for Luisa that day because she knew from her own experience before leaving Mexico and splitting with her then boyfriend that days like that Saturday were hard, and could trigger all sorts of things. It was hard enough seeing an ex again not long after you'd split up, and she could only imagine how much harder that could be to go back to the place that you lived in together, where all the memories were, and what emotions that might bring up. She trusted Amy, of course, but who hasn't been tempted by an ex at some point or another? The history between them, the relatively short time since they broke up, it made Luisa worry.

So that morning, underneath it all, Luisa felt worried. She didn't know what to do, in fact worried that if she said anything it might put ideas in Amy's head, but she was worried because she wanted Amy for herself, she didn't know what she'd do if Amy chose someone else. What Luisa wanted to say was that this open relationship, whatever open really meant, wherever it went in the future, could it please not include James? But she knew better than that, knew that if she said it then it would sound like she didn't trust Amy, that she thought Amy would get back together with him or do something with him, and that would be worse than saying nothing at all.

Instead, Luisa simply said, "I love you. I know today could be tough for you." Amy took a deep breath and nodded, revealing more to Luisa about Amy's true emotions, how Amy must be semi-dreading it herself, than any words. "If there's anything I can do, anything at all, now or later I'm here for you, ok?"

"I love you too and thank you." Amy leaned down to kiss Luisa on the forehead, then continued, "I'll meet you in the pub later this afternoon, ok? Naomi said she'd look after you." Amy paused. "Don't believe everything she tells you about me."

As Amy headed to the door, Luisa pulled the covers back, the cool of the spring morning air a shock, and lay on her side, her legs just right to show off her figure. Her naked figure.

"Wait," she said, and Amy turned. She saw Amy raise her eyebrows and a grin cross her face. "This is all yours later... all of it. I love you."

"I love you too," replied Amy, and with a blown kiss and one last lingering look at Luisa lying in her bed she closed the door behind her, the sound of her footsteps fading as she went down the stairs.

Luisa rolled on to her back, pulling the covers back over her to keep herself warm, and took a deep breath. Yes, it was a hard day for Amy, and yes Luisa was worried, but there was precisely nothing that she could do about it that wouldn't make it worse... so, as so often in her life, Luisa resolved to make the most of her day regardless.

Naomi couldn't have been more welcoming to Luisa that day, almost as if in less than 48 hours she'd already accepted that Luisa was going to be a big part of Amy's life, and therefore a big part of Naomi's life, and therefore they were definitely going to be good friends.

Luisa had taken an instant liking to her with her warm and kind welcome on the Thursday, and her opinion of Naomi had only gone upwards from there. She could see why she was one of Amy's best friends, and why their friendship had lasted for more than ten years. Naomi was a lot like Amy in many ways, similar build, similar height, similar job, similar education, even similar hairstyle, but where they differed was that Naomi seemed to have a way of seeing through the pretences that people had, to cut right through it, but with that insight she didn't judge. On the Friday night she'd been telling Luisa, in front of Amy, about how in denial Amy had been for years about being into women, but it wasn't said as judgmental or anything like that, just kindly, like Amy was her friend and just had to work it out for herself even though they all knew.

In short, Luisa could tell that Naomi was a great friend to Amy.

Mid-morning Naomi suggested going out for a run and took Luisa out for a brisk 8K run around the area, fitting in a bit of sightseeing while they ran.

Then, after they'd got back, showered and changed, she insisted on buying Luisa lunch at a favourite pub nearby, not taking no for an answer when she insisted on paying.

By mid-afternoon, the sunny weather holding and the temperature nudging 20C, balmy she was told by Naomi for spring in London, they were sat out in a beer garden of a pub just off Clapham High Street, a picnic table between them, Amy's other best friend Lara having joined them too. They were in the sun but despite that Luisa needed to keep her coat on, unused as she was to the cooler climate, while Naomi was wearing just a short sleeved top having discarded her own coat to get some sun on her arms. Lara was somewhere in the middle.

They'd had a couple of drinks already, wine so far, but Naomi had insisted for this round that Luisa have a pint. Luisa had never been much of a beer drinker and when she did, she'd have a bottle, and having taken a sip of her pint was slightly wondering how she could avoid finishing the whole thing without seeming rude.

After a brief lull in conversation, Luisa said, "So... you've both known Amy for years?"

Naomi nodded. "Yes. Since the first day at uni in fact." She paused and smiled. "We've been thick as thieves ever since."

"Thick as... thieves?" asked Luisa, unfamiliar with the term.

"I guess like we've always been doing things together, getting into adventures, we did a lot of sport together, that sort of thing."

Luisa nodded her understanding. She took another sip of her drink, then asked, "Tell me then, what do I need to know about Amy? I don't mean her secrets or stories about her when she was younger... she should be the one to tell me all that. I mean, describe the Amy you know so well to me."

"Ooohhh...," said Lara, laughing. "That's a great question! Let me think for a second." She took a drink of her own pint.

"It can be anything," said Luisa.

"Ok. Where to start... she's calm, doesn't worry about things too much. A sort of self-confidence but not the arrogant kind. It's not like she does stupid things, but she doesn't overthink what she's doing either. Does that make sense?"

Luisa laughed. "Yes, definitely. She teases me for overthinking."

Naomi grinned knowingly and took over from Lara. "She's friendly... I think she can make friends with absolutely anyone. And open, she reveals her vulnerability and that encourages you to reveal yours." Luisa nodded her agreement. "She's positive, always sees the optimistic interpretation of something rather than dwelling on what might go wrong."

"That sounds like the person who persuaded me to fly over here!" replied Luisa.

"Good... that's the real her you're seeing." Naomi paused. "One thing to watch out for, to be careful around, is that she is sometimes slower to see the obvious than others. It's almost like her positivity and her confidence mean that she needs time to think big things through, if you know what I mean?"

"I think so..."

"Like, her being into women is a great example. We knew. We all knew, right back at university. We'd have drinking games and she'd always be the one who ended up having to kiss other women. She slept with my best friend from school when she came to visit. She slept with our team captain and went back for more. It was so obvious. But not to her."

Luisa smiled. "I guess she needs time to process."

"Exactly. That's exactly it. But it happens for everything, you just need to be patient, not push her."

Sitting silent for a few moments, Luisa toyed with whether to confide her concerns in the two of them. She decided not, not just yet, worried that she'd talk to Amy about it, but she asked tangentially. "We've been talking, me and Amy, about how our relationship works. Long distance and everything."

"Ok..." replied Lara.

"And... don't tell her I said this, but she's reluctant to engage, wants to talk about it another time, tells me it's complicated." She paused and looked at them both. "That sounds like what you were just telling me, doesn't it?"

Naomi smiled. "It really does. Think of it from her perspective. A few months ago, she was settled down with her long term boyfriend, probably heading towards marriage, a house in the suburbs, kids at some point, all that jazz. Her next twenty or thirty years were obvious. And now that's all changed. I think for the better, she's so happy now. But that's a hell of a lot of uncertainty and a hell of a lot to process. Give her time and she will, but don't try to force it. Not unless you have to."

Luisa felt herself blush slightly, and said quietly, "I've fallen so hard for her. I'm scared that she might change her mind. When she's thought about it, I mean."

"If it's not obvious to you yet, it's obvious to me." Naomi took Luisa's hand in hers and leant towards her for emphasis, looking her in the eye. "Amy is head over heels in love with you. I've never seen her like this, not even close. And I've seen her in love before, trust me. This is different, special." She paused, searching for the right words. "The way she looks at you when you're not by her side..." Naomi shook her head and smiled. "Everything else can be solved, trust me. Distance, her not wanting to open up, all of that... it can all be solved. And she's worth it. She really is. And there's no way she's changing her mind."

Luisa nodded in agreement, not quite trusting herself to speak in reply to such a heartfelt endorsement of her and Amy. In the end, she just found herself nodding again.

Naomi took her hand away and then Lara indicated Luisa's pint. "Not going down too well?"

"It's a bit more than I'd normally drink. Of beer I mean. Anything else would be good."

"What time is it?"

"3pm."

Lara stood up and grinned. "Amy bringing you over's a special occasion, so I reckon that's not too early for a cocktail. Come on, I know a good place nearby, she can meet us there."

Amy

Amy sat on the edge of her bed in the house share, staring at the wall without really seeing it. The room felt foreign around her... Naomi had done her best to make it welcoming, but Amy's boxes that she'd come back with that day were stacked in the corner, her life still in transition. The afternoon light was just beginning to fade, casting shadows across the floor.

She knew that she needed to go and meet up with Luisa, but she couldn't bring herself to move, not quite yet. Luckily, all the messages she'd been receiving from them showed that they were having a great time and getting along like a house on fire. Amy was pleased, not just for Luisa but also because she needed some space, just a little, to process her day.

She still wasn't quite sure how she'd answer if anyone asked her how the day had been, she supposed that weird might be the best single word answer, but it was more nuanced than that.

It had started so innocently. She'd arrived at the flat determined to be efficient... in and out with her belongings, minimal interaction. When James had appeared, she'd felt an initial flare of irritation. He wasn't supposed to be there. That had been their agreement.

"I thought you weren't going to be here," she'd said, her voice tight.

He'd looked different somehow. Not physically, still the burly rugby player, but somehow more fragile than she remembered. "I know," he'd replied. "I just... I couldn't let you take everything without saying goodbye properly."

She remembered how his voice had caught on the word "goodbye," how he'd looked at her with such naked longing that she'd had to glance away. They'd been together for years. She had loved him, still felt a great deal of affection for him. Not in the way she loved Luisa, not with that all-consuming fire, but with a steady warmth that had been real, whatever else it wasn't. As much friends as lovers towards the end.

"Let me help you with those," he'd said, reaching for a box.

Their hands had brushed, and she'd felt nothing... no spark, no desire. Just the familiar comfort of someone whose body she knew as well as her own. But his reaction had been different. He'd inhaled sharply, his fingers lingering against hers.

"James," she'd said quietly. "We need to keep this simple."

"Is it?" he'd asked. "Simple?"

No, it wasn't simple. Nothing about leaving your long term partner because you've realised you're a lesbian, or at least bisexual, is simple, she realised, nothing about watching him try to hide his pain as you pack up your shared life is simple.

She'd seen it then, the depth of his hurt, the loneliness. The way he moved around what had been their home like a ghost. He'd made tea and brought it to her, his hands shaking slightly as he set the mug down.

"Are you happy?" he'd asked abruptly. "With her?"

The question had caught her off guard. She didn't know if he was asking about Luisa or Sarah, or both. "Yes," she'd answered honestly without specifying who. "I am."

He'd nodded, absorbing the blow. "Good. That's good. I want you to be happy, Amy. I always did."

And that was what had broken her. His generosity in the face of his own pain. The unfairness of it all, that she got to move on to something that felt right while he was left behind to make sense of why their relationship had failed.

She hadn't planned what happened next. Hadn't even thought it was possible. But when he'd looked at her with those eyes full of questions she couldn't answer, she'd reached for him instead.

"Amy," he'd said, pulling back slightly. "You don't have to..."

"I know," she'd replied. "I know I don't have to."

She'd been completely present for all of it. No alcohol to blur the edges, no pretending he was someone else. She'd been achingly conscious that this was James, that she was choosing to give him this final connection, this closure that he needed more than she did. Her body had responded to his familiar touch, to the patterns they'd established over years, but her mind had remained clear.

It hadn't been about desire, not really. It had been about kindness. About giving him a goodbye that honoured what they'd meant to each other. About not leaving another wound that would never heal properly.

The first kiss had been tentative, exploratory... nothing like their usual kisses but something new, a deliberate acknowledgment of their shared history. She'd expected to feel nothing, or perhaps revulsion, but instead found herself responding with a curious detachment. Her body remembered his, knew how to move against him, while her mind kept a strange, analytical distance.

As they'd moved to the bedroom, their old bedroom, Amy had been struck by how different everything felt. The sheets had been changed, the room rearranged subtly, but the ghost of their life together lingered in every corner.

When he'd begun to undress her, she'd felt a moment of hesitation. Not because she didn't want to go through with it, but because she'd realised how fundamentally different this experience would be for each of them. For James, this was one last moment of connection with the woman he loved. For Amy, it was a gift freely given but not driven by desire.

She'd been gentle with him, attentive in a way that came from deep familiarity. She knew his body as well as she knew her own... where he was sensitive, what movements would please him most. She'd traced familiar paths with her hands, deliberately recreating the patterns they'd established over years together, taking him in her mouth like she'd done a thousand times before, doing things with her tongue that she knew he liked.

Throughout, she'd maintained a peculiar dual awareness, physically present and responsive, emotionally detached yet compassionate. Her body reacted to his touch with muscle memory rather than genuine arousal, going through motions that once held meaning but now felt like echoes from another life.

"Amy," he'd whispered against her neck, his voice breaking slightly, and she'd held him closer, allowing him this moment of vulnerability.

She'd known exactly what to do to please him, had guided their encounter with the expertise of someone who'd shared his bed for years. But even as her body responded, her mind had still been clear, almost clinical. She'd been conscious throughout of the fundamental truth: this was goodbye, not reconnection.

When his breathing had quickened, when she'd felt the familiar tension in his body signalling he was close, she'd whispered encouragement, her words deliberate and kind. She'd wanted him to feel desired in that moment, wanted to give him that final gift even if it wasn't entirely authentic.

And then she'd surprised herself, climaxing with him, the sight and sound of him tipping over the edge pushing her over the edge too... thinking back, she realised that a psychologist would have had a field day with that reaction but she didn't really care, knowing that he'd have felt greater pleasure from knowing that she'd felt pleasure too.

Afterward, as they'd lain next to each other in their old bed, next to each other but definitely not together, she'd felt a strange sense of peace settle over her. Not satisfaction, not pleasure, but something adjacent to it... the quiet certainty that she'd done something necessary, something that would help heal wounds she'd created.

But then it was done, and she'd felt strangely detached as she got dressed again a few minutes later, barely another word said between them after that until she left with her belongings.

So... weird.

Amy took a deep breath. Luisa didn't need to know about this, that was for certain. It was a part of Amy's life that was separate and was ending. Had ended, she corrected herself. What had happened that afternoon felt like it was final, for both of them. Like James had needed that final moment of intimacy between them, a form of closure. As, maybe, had Amy.

Standing up Amy started the shower running in her ensuite. Above all else she wanted to wash, to remove any trace of what had happened, and she wanted to get changed.

And then what she really needed was a drink. Preferably many.

An hour later she found Luisa and the other two at a cocktail bar on Clapham High Street, about five minutes' walk from her new place. She may have had her worries about going back to being in a house share, but great pubs and bars practically on her doorstep were decent compensation.

When Amy got to the bar she looked around to find them, and what she saw made her heart sing. Luisa was deep into some anecdote at their table, and Amy's two best friends were in fits of laughter, clearly genuinely enjoying their time with Luisa. She couldn't have hoped for a better introduction between three of the people in her life that she cared about the most.

And then, as she walked over, Luisa turned her way and the grin when they made eye contact made her heart skip a beat, a grin that Amy returned with interest, both of them with eyes for no one else.

Luisa stood, slightly unsteady on her feet after what Naomi had told her over texts had been a good few hours in various pubs and bars already, and gave Amy a long hug, and Amy, to her embarrassment, found herself sobbing into Luisa's shoulder. Luisa could tell, and just held Amy tight while she gathered herself.

"Are you ok?" asked Luisa after a couple of minutes.

Amy wiped her eyes, the worst of it having passed, and replied, "It's done, that's all I can say really. A weird day." She paused and laughed through her tears. "You're a good hugger."

"You want to talk about it?"

"No, thank you but it's ok."

"I'm here for you, just know that. If you do need to talk."

Amy smiled back, unsure quite what the emotion inside her was... she felt guilty, a little, but only a little. What had happened had been necessary, had felt like something she owed to James, and she wasn't going to let that impact on Luisa in any way whatsoever.

Naomi and Lara were sympathetic too, but as she sat down Amy moved the subject on. "I don't know about anyone else, but I really, really, REALLY need a drink after that day." She looked around. "Is it table service?"

"No, bar," replied Lara.

"I'll go," said Luisa. "It's definitely my turn."

Soon the four of them were into the swing of it fully, drink following drink following drink. When Naomi and Lara started to spill the beans on some of Amy's misadventures when she was younger, when the talk got to tales of Halloween zombie hockey players and her strange knack for somehow always losing the drinking games where the forfeit was to kiss another woman, Amy felt her embarrassment rising but also felt so happy to have Luisa there, to have Luisa finding out more about Amy's past from people who knew her better than she knew herself.

Luisa

Around 9pm Luisa and Amy made their excuses. Naomi and Lara were heading on to meet some friends in another bar but they left them to it, not wanting to write off their whole Sunday.

As they walked arm-in-arm down the quiet residential streets back to Amy's place, they were quiet to start with, both lost in their thoughts but in a comfortable, relaxed way.

Eventually Luisa asked, "Was today ok? I mean with getting your things." She said it nonchalantly, not wanting to push Amy if she didn't want to be pushed but glad of the chance to ask when they were alone.

"Honestly?" Luisa nodded and Amy continued. "It was harder than I thought. Much harder." She paused, searching for the right words, then said quietly, "James turned up. He wasn't supposed to, but he did."

Luisa felt her heart rate surge, felt a knot in her stomach, the irrational, paranoid fear that she'd had threatening to surface.

"You don't need to tell me about it if you don't want to," replied Luisa. "But if you do, I'll always be happy to listen."

Amy stopped walking and turned to face Luisa, putting her hands on Luisa's hips. She smiled, and Luisa thought that Amy looked more beautiful in that moment than at any time before... she looked vulnerable, a look she didn't often have.

"I know you want to talk about things, about my day today, about our relationship and how it works, about... other people we each might have in our lives that are... I guess, important to each of us." Amy paused, checking that Luisa had got what she meant by important other people. "And I want to too, I really do, I'm just not ready. Not quite yet."

Luisa smiled. "That's ok... because it's complicated?"

Amy smiled back. "Exactly... it's complicated. A lot has happened in the last month or so." She looked at Luisa. "You're staying with me for a little while when you're finished in Italy, right?" Luisa nodded. "Good. Let's talk then. Maybe we go for a couple of nights away rather than here? Somewhere in the countryside where we can go for long walks and just talk. No distractions."

"I'd like that." Luisa smiled suggestively. "Just talk? Nothing else?"

Amy laughed. "Ok, talk and also that. But nothing else!"

Luisa stepped towards Amy, murmuring, "Thank you..." and then she kissed her, and their arms wrapped around each other, stood there in a quiet residential street, nobody else around. A kiss that got more passionate, more heated.

"I think we'd better take this indoors..." whispered Amy, taking Luisa's hand and leading her in the direction of the house.

A few minutes later, waiting for Amy to come upstairs with the glasses of water she was fetching for them, Luisa was skimming through the final call sheet for the Amalfi photoshoot on her phone when a name leapt out at her, making her breath catch. Alethea. Listed right alongside Luisa's in the models section.

"Everything okay?" Amy asked, walking in and noticing Luisa's expression.

Luisa hesitated just a second too long. "Fine," she said, forcing a smile. "Just some last minute changes to the shoot schedule."

Amy nodded and went back to her book, but Luisa sat staring at the name on her screen. Alethea. She'd last seen her a few days before she first met Amy, and hadn't expected to see her again so soon, not when she did so much of her work in the US. It was a surprise. She hadn't prepared for this. Hadn't even considered the possibility.

The familiar flutter returned to her stomach, a reaction as automatic as breathing whenever she thought about seeing Alethea again. Luisa closed the email quickly, as if that could somehow erase the reality of what was coming, and looked over at Amy with a mixture of affection and guilt she couldn't quite explain.

She hadn't thought that it would happen so soon, and she knew that she should tell Amy. It wouldn't feel right not to, not with the likelihood of what could happen. Open relationship or not, it would feel wrong not to say something at least.

"You're sure you're ok?" Amy asked again.

Luisa forced herself back into the moment and smiled. "Definitely."

She didn't want to spoil the mood, wanted to make the most of this night with Amy... mentioning Alethea could kill that mood so Luisa kept quiet, resolving to bring it up over the next few days.

And the last thing that Amy needed was Luisa laying her other woman, her version of Amy's Sarah, on her after the day that she'd had. Luisa could tell that Amy needed her that night, could feel it with every instinct she owned.

After all, there was plenty of time until they parted on Wednesday morning for Luisa to fly to Italy, she would have ample opportunity to tell her about Alethea. Plenty of time.

Not much later, not much later at all, Luisa was lying on Amy's bed looking up at the ceiling, although that description probably didn't do it justice.

As they'd got to the front door Amy had whispered to Luisa, "I've been thinking about you pulling back the covers when I was leaving the house this morning all day. Literally all day." She'd paused and Luisa could see that her cheeks were flushed. "And what I want to do to you..."

Luisa had just smiled and kissed her, slowly, teasingly, pulling back when Amy tried to kiss her harder, then replied, "You're the one with the keys..."

They were upstairs quickly, just pausing to say hello to two of Amy's new housemates sat in the living room watching a movie, and then Amy had really given Luisa no choice...

So yes, Luisa was lying there looking at the ceiling. She was still wearing her coat and her top and bra, everything on her top half. But from the waist down Amy had stripped her completely naked in no time at all, and was kneeling on the floor, Luisa's legs wide apart, Amy's face buried between them, her tongue doing things to Luisa that no one else ever had been able to do.

Luisa felt a tremor roll through her, too soon she thought, but then remembered Amy's ability to keep on taking her back to the heights and relaxed, safe in the knowledge of that she was in expert hands.

Amy didn't disappoint, using her fingers alongside her tongue, teasing and touching Luisa, until quickly she felt a first orgasm building, building, building and then she was cumming, moaning, hands clutching at the sheets, back arching as Amy pushed her over the edge wonderfully, keeping up just the right amount of pressure and pace as she came down again to prolong the orgasm, until Luisa was too sensitive and had to push her head away.

Amy lifted her head, grinning, and said quietly, "I cannot tell you how much I've wanted to do that to you all day, my beautiful Mexican lover."

Luisa smiled even as a last tremor ran through her, lifting her head and holding out her hand. "Come up here and kiss me my even more beautiful English lover," she said, thrilling at the feel of Amy's body against hers, still fully clothed, the slightly rough texture of the denim of Amy's jeans pushed between Luisa's naked legs, right against her centre as she wrapped her legs around Amy and pulled her in, kissing her hard.

After a few minutes, Luisa said simply, "I love you so much. So very much."

Amy pushed herself up to look down at Luisa, a smile on her face as she Luisa pushed away a few strands of Amy's hair that had come loose. "I love you too. Thank you for putting up with my friends tonight. They can get... chatty when drunk."

Luisa laughed. "Nothing to say thank you for, they're great fun. And I know some things about you now..."

"Well, that is true... I hope it hasn't put you off?"

"Well, it might I guess," Luisa teased, then she looked down. "It doesn't look like it though from where I'm lying."

"No, it doesn't..." Amy continued smiling down at Luisa, and Luisa could tell that she wanted to say something.

"What is it?" asked Luisa.

Amy took a deep breath. "There's... something else I've wanted to do all day."

"Ok...?"

"I don't want you to think I'm weird, do you promise you won't?"

"Well, it kind of depends," replied Luisa with a laugh. "But I'm game for anything really. Well, almost... but try me."

"Ok... here it goes. For the next few hours can you be..." Amy paused nervously. "Well, can you be in charge?" Luisa raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "Tell me what to do and I obey?"

Luisa felt a little thrill run through her. She'd experimented with Amy quite a bit taking turns at being restrained and had really enjoyed it and this sounded like an evolution of that, a slightly more shifted roleplay in one direction. She was certainly keen on that sort of experimentation.

"I'd like that, on one condition."

"What's that?" replied Amy.

"That you return the favour sometime soon. I'd like that too."

"Deal. Absolutely," replied Amy, and Luisa could see the excitement in her eyes.

Amy kissed her again and then Luisa said, "Is there anything you particularly want me to do?"

"Tease me... make it slow," replied Amy who had clearly been thinking about it a lot that day. "Quality not quantity, if you understand what I mean?"

Luisa nodded. "First, then, stand up over there facing the bed." She pointed to a spot on the floor.

Amy smiled and did as she was told, standing up, her hands by her side.

"Now, put your hands behind your back and stand still while I get undressed."

Amy put her hands behind her back, her eyes watching Luisa as she took off her coat, her top, and her bra, leaving her naked save for a necklace she was wearing.

"Well done. Now you strip for me. Start with your belt and throw it over here..."

Without hesitation Amy started to remove her clothes, taking off each item when Luisa told her to and putting them where she wished. Soon she was stood there naked, and Luisa could see from the way she was breathing, from her erect nipples, from how moist she was between her legs, that Amy was incredibly aroused. As, she reflected, was Luisa... having Amy under her control was a massive turn on.

"Are you ok?" asked Luisa.

"More than," replied Amy with an excited smile.

"Good." Luisa looked around the room, trying to work out just how to give Amy what she so clearly needed. The bed had a wooden frame, foot and head board with robust bars on them... perfect for some fun, she thought. And of course, although she'd not told Amy, she'd brought a couple of their toys that they'd bought in LA in her suitcase. The night had a lot of potential.

Picking up a blanket from the bed, Luisa folded it a few times to make a thick, soft pad. She laid that at the foot of the bed and said to Amy, "Come and kneel on here, with your back to the bed."

With a quizzical, excited look Amy walked over and kneeled, resting her ass on her heels.

"Legs apart a little," said Luisa and Amy parted her legs, not wide apart but with an 18 inch gap between her knees.

"Like this?" asked Amy.

"Perfect."

Luisa went over to Amy's drawers, and searched through them until she found what she needed... two soft scarfs, not quite silk but gentle on the skin nonetheless.

She let Amy wait for a minute or two while Luisa arranged things, building the anticipation, then she said, "Put your arms out wide, resting your wrists on the bed frame."

Amy smiled, understanding what was about to happen, and rested her wrists on the frame. With the way the bed was built and where she was kneeling, she was in a T-shape.

Luisa stood in front of her, making sure that Amy got a good, long look at her body, then slowly tied a scarf around one wrist, testing her tie to make sure that it wasn't too tight but also that Amy's wrist was restrained. She then did the same with the other wrist.

Amy looked from wrist to wrist, her face flushed, her eyes bright, clearly revelling in being helpless now, at Luisa's mercy.

For her part, Luisa kneeled down next to Amy and smiled, and Amy smiled back. "I love you," they both said at the same time and started giggling, before Luisa started to gently, slowly trail her fingers across Amy's naked body, starting with her arms, bound tight to the bed, and moving along to touch her shoulders, her back, her chest, her neck, her face, her legs... everywhere, except, for now, the one place that Amy wanted to be touched more than anything, obvious to Luisa from the way that she was already shifting her hips towards Luisa's hands when they went near her inner thighs.

They made eye contact the whole time that Luisa did that, occasionally leaning in to kiss Amy softly on the lips before pulling back, invariably leaving Amy's head trying to follow, desperate for more. All Luisa did though was smile, and whisper to Amy to be patient, drawing sighs of both pleasure and frustration from her.

Finally, after a long spell of teasing with her fingers and her lips, Luisa slowly, ever so slowly, ran her hand down Amy's front, right from her neck, all the way down until she brushed Amy's trimmed pubic hair, stroking gently through it and further, touching Amy where she really wanted. As Luisa's fingers finally touched her where she needed to be touched Amy let out a long shuddering moan, her eyes closing before she opened them again, looking at Luisa with a look of outright lust.

Luisa took her time though, only gently stroking and playing with Amy, all while her other hand roamed her body and her lips alternated between kissing Amy's body and Amy's lips.

"Please... touch me harder," Amy whispered.

"It's nowhere near time," replied Luisa, whispering in Amy's ear before she resumed nibbling her earlobe, something that she knew that Amy loved.

After a long time of touching Amy, Luisa could tell that she was building close to a crescendo, the tell-tale little spasms, the gasps, the way that Amy shifted, the way that Amy's wrists pulled against her restraints and her back started to arch, but it was too soon, much too soon, so Luisa stopped, pulling her hand away.

"Don't stop," pleaded Amy. "I... you can't stop... please..."

Luisa kissed her on the lips again, a deep kiss that Amy returned with interest, tongues pressed against each other, then Luisa whispered, "Remember, quality over quantity."

Amy let out a little frustrated grunt but then kissed Luisa back harder, clearly not too annoyed at the delay.

For the next few minutes, Luisa restricted herself to stroking the rest of Amy's body again, looking into her eyes, and the look of pure lust on Amy's face was the sexiest thing that Luisa thought she'd ever seen... it was a sight to behold.

"Time to change position," whispered Luisa, untying both of Amy's arms. "Do you need a moment to rest them?"

Amy nodded, and Luisa let her sit there for a few moments, before saying, "Put your arms above your head, crossed." Amy did as she was told, and Luisa reached for Amy's belt that she'd been wearing earlier, a thin leather belt, and used it to tie her wrists together, wrapping it horizontally then vertically, testing it was tight, before attaching the end of the bed to the bedframe below, so that Amy's arms were raised above her head but she couldn't move, not from that kneeling position.

"Is that ok?" she asked. Amy nodded. "Good... I've got a surprise for you."

Luisa could see Amy watching her as she walked over to her suitcase, and as she sorted through her clothes down to the depths she pulled out the vibrator that they'd bought together in LA.

"You brought it?" Amy asked in surprise.

"Not just that..." teased Luisa. "You'll have to wait and see. Now... this is where it gets good."

"Gets good?" laughed Amy. "This is perfect already."

Luisa smiled as she kneeled down again and gave Amy a playful kiss. "Do you still want me to tease you?"

Amy nodded, though her cheeks were even more flushed and her breathing even more shallow than before, her nearly orgasm a few minutes before clearly still lurking in the background. Luisa turned the vibrator on, choosing a setting that they'd both enjoyed when they'd used it together in LA, a slow, rhythmic pulsing that was never enough to take you all the way but plenty of fun to get you close.

She looked at Amy's face as Amy closed her eyes, her wrists slightly straining against her restraints, when the vibrator went between her legs. "I know which setting you chose..." whispered Amy as she let out a long exhalation. "... oh God, so good."

Luisa leaned in to kiss Amy again, and Amy kissed her back hungrily, all while the steady, rhythmic vibrations did their work, building Amy up back towards her peak. After a few minutes Luisa increased the intensity, shifting to a pattern that was almost guaranteed to make you orgasm, but then when it started to have its effect she took it away, giving Amy time to slip back from her peak, before starting it all again, the slow, steady rhythm followed by the intense pattern a few minutes later.

She put Amy through that cycle four or five times, Luisa lost count of exactly how many, but enough that Amy had started to really beg, saying "Please... please let me..." and "I need you to not stop..." and, at one point, "I beg you please let me cum...", but each time Luisa teasingly ignored it, smiling at Amy's wide eyes and breathless moans, stroking her when she felt the tremors rolling through her, and kissing her deeply.

After that final cycle, Amy needed her release, Luisa could tell. She untied the belt, then said to Amy, "You can lie on the bed."

Amy nodded and, standing with Luisa's help, her legs shaky having nearly orgasmed so many times, she almost collapsed down on to the bed, lying with her head on the pillows.

Luisa smiled down at her and, picking up the two scarfs again, she tied each of Amy's wrists to opposite corners of the bedframe so that her arms were wide apart and, again, bound tight.

"Are you ok?" she asked Amy again, and Amy nodded, a look of even greater desire than earlier on her face.

"Time for another surprise then." She walked over to her suitcase and reached into it, looking for Amy's reaction as this time she pulled out the strap-on and harness that they'd bought together in LA, the larger of the two... Luisa knew that Amy preferred it and, after a couple of weeks of experimentation, Luisa had realised that she did too. There was something about a fake cock that was bigger than any man you'd ever been with, one controlled by another woman who knew to be careful and gentle with it, that Luisa simply found better.

Slipping the harness on under Amy's watchful eye, Luisa put it in place. On the inside of the harness was a bullet vibrator and Luisa switched it on, keen to get her own pleasure from this too, not that what she was doing to Amy was anything other than entirely pleasurable in the first place.

Once it was on she stood there for a few moments, enjoying the look that Amy was giving her and the pleasant sensation from the vibrator, then she climbed onto the bed, kneeling up between Amy's legs.

"Would you like me to use this?" Luisa asked sweetly, pretending that Amy really had any choice at that point.

"Please..." whispered Amy. "Please do."

Luisa grinned and lay down, using her hand to guide the strap-on to Amy's entrance, already soaking wet and ready for anything, and then slowly slid it in, inch by inch, watching Amy's reaction. She saw Amy flinch slightly at one point, saw her hands clench at the bed and her body strain, and watched as she muttered, "Oh fuck... oh fuck... sweet Jesus... oh fuck" as she filled her until Luisa was completely inside her.

She smiled down at Amy who looked back up at Luisa with a look of intense concentration, and they kissed, slowly, sensually, and then ever so slowly Luisa slid her hips back, pulling most of the way out, and then slowly back in to Amy, drawing a low, shuddering moan.

Luisa soon settled into a rhythm, one of slow, full thrusts, and Amy was making all sorts of noises in response, noises that she'd never heard Amy make before, and could see everything tensing. Amy's legs were wrapped around Luisa, her heels almost pulling Luisa into her with each thrust and then finally, magically, Amy came... and came, and came, and came. The effect of the teasing and the orgasm denial had compounded, and her orgasm seemed to Luisa to crest slowly, but then keep on building and building, never ending, and Amy cried out, tried to keep quite but couldn't, and cried out again and again. Her whole body was tensing and untensing, her arms straining against their binds.

The sheer eroticism of seeing Amy come so utterly undone like that, so overwhelmingly consumed by wave after wave of pleasure, pushed Luisa over the edge herself, at least that combined with the bullet vibrator, and when she came she kept thrusting even as she shuddered, kissing Amy, their lips meeting, then parting with another wave, then meeting again messily, sloppily.

When, finally, Amy's orgasm passed she lay there stunned under Luisa, and Luisa stayed still herself, the strap-on still inside Amy, neither of them moving except for Luisa planting little kisses all over Amy's cheeks and neck.

At some point, Amy started to kiss her back, and that was when Luisa slid out and, kneeling next to Amy, grinned. Amy smiled back, an exhausted smile, and Luisa said, "Was that you meant?"

Amy started laughing. "Nobody." She paused to catch her breath. "I mean nobody has ever, ever made me feel like that." She paused again. "Ever. Oh my God." She seemed to be searching for words. "That was... I think I might have seen angels it was so good."

Luisa started to untie her wrists, and when she'd done that she lay down next to Amy who'd wrapped her arms around Luisa, her hands gently stroking her while Luisa's hands touched Amy gently too.

They shared a slow, lazy kiss, nothing too passionate but all the more caring for it, and then Amy said, "Thank you. I needed that."

"Any time," replied Luisa, smiling again.

"No, but I mean it. I really did." Amy paused. "Today was so difficult."

"James?" whispered Luisa, thrilled that Amy was opening up just a little.

"Yes..." replied Amy quietly. "And... all I could think, all I wanted, to make my world right was you, to have you give me all of your attention like you just did." She paused. "I mean, five cocktails earlier helped, don't get me wrong." They both grinned when she said that. "But I needed that, more than I've ever needed anything."

"Seriously, any time," replied Luisa.

Amy laughed quietly. "You've set the bar very high for when it's your turn sometime soon..."

Amy

Wednesday came much too soon, and with it the day of Luisa's departure to Italy, or more specifically the Amalfi Coast for her photoshoot.

Amy had been back at work since Monday, realising that she needed to save her annual leave for when she wanted to see Luisa, and it had been full on. On both days she'd left Luisa sleeping in her bed, a cup of tea next to the bed in case she wanted it (Luisa claimed to be developing a taste for it but Amy reckoned she was just being polite...), avoiding the temptation to climb back in next to her beautiful naked form, then thrown herself into work for the morning before breaking for lunch where Luisa would come to meet her near her office.

The afternoons were even more full on, particularly as the LA team came in late in the day and the calls started with the major project she'd been working on there, but she forced herself to be done by 7pm in time to spend the evening with Luisa.

Sarah, her ex-mentor but something else different now, the other major player certainly in Amy's romantic attentions, had been out of the office for those two days which was probably a blessing. Amy knew that at some point she'd have to reconcile her blossoming relationship with Luisa with the more physical relationship she still had with Sarah, but she figured that having them bump into each other on a random Tuesday lunchtime outside the office wasn't the way to do it.

The problem was that Sarah had been badgering her since probably a week before she flew back from LA to get a date in the calendar for the two of them to meet up, and Amy knew what that meant. What it always meant.

It meant sex. Lots of it and varied. And, based on the way their relationship had evolved over the last month, it meant Sarah submitting to Amy, completely and utterly. It hadn't started like that, far from it. Sarah was an extremely dominant lover, and to start with their roles had been the other way around.

It was Sarah that had, quite literally, made Amy turn openly into a lesbian, first behind closed doors with their deal where Amy submitted to Sarah in return for Sarah helping her career, and then out in the open once James had walked in on the two of them one Saturday afternoon when he had been supposed to be out playing rugby.

Sarah had seen something though, early on, when Amy had dominated her almost by mistake, thinking that what Sarah did with her mentees was a two way game, and it had triggered something slow burning inside Sarah so that, eventually, she'd asked, almost begged, Amy to reverse their roles.

Amy liked that, feeling like she was giving Sarah something that she needed and couldn't get elsewhere, but she worried that it made her unique, something that Sarah couldn't and wouldn't let go of. Sarah's other women were all very, very submissive to her, making Amy a first among equals. It was also their secret, Sarah terrified of the consequences of the others finding out that she secretly liked to submit.

That would be a problem, as the only reason that Amy was able to go to LA and see Luisa alongside her work was that Sarah was running the project she was on, and Sarah controlled the purse strings.

It's not like there was any overt threat, or even covert threat, from Sarah, any attempt to coerce Amy to keep doing what they had been doing in return for Amy being able to go to LA. But... it would be naive in the extreme for Amy to just assume that ending it with Sarah wouldn't have consequences.

So... life was complicated. The woman she loved, Luisa, she could only see as much as she needed to if she kept the woman she worked with, Sarah, happy. Amy didn't really want her and Luisa's relationship to be open, she wanted Luisa all for herself and Amy wanted to focus all of her own feelings on Luisa, but in order to do that she had to sleep with Sarah. At the very least Amy had managed to move her relationship with Sarah away from a mentor / mentee interaction, towards something more romantic, but that presented its own problems. An open relationship was the only way, at least for now.

That Wednesday night her and Sarah were meeting, their first time seeing each other in several weeks, and Amy really wasn't sure whether she was excited or dreading it... maybe, she realised, it was a bit of both.

That Wednesday morning, around 7am, Amy brought Luisa her usual cup of tea in bed but, unlike the two days before, she paused. Luisa was under the covers, naked as they both slept when together, and she looked so, so beautiful and so peaceful. Amy felt her love for Luisa so acutely, all the more so because she wouldn't see her again until Sunday when Luisa was coming back through the UK for a few more nights on her way back to LA.

She sat down on the bed and checked her phone, almost by instinct, but then Luisa stirred and looked up sleepily at Amy and she set the phone down on the bed, reaching a hand to push Luisa's hair back from her face.

"Buenas dias," Amy said quietly, smiling.

Luisa smiled back. "We'll work on your pronunciation... good morning."

"I made you tea. You don't have to drink it!"

Luisa sat herself up, making the effort Amy could tell because they were parting soon, giving Amy a little glimpse of her glorious body before she wrapped the duvet around her, up to her armpits.

"Genuinely, I'm starting to like it." She laughed. "Not much, but I think it's good in the mornings. It's gentler than coffee."

"We'll make an Englishwoman of you yet..." teased Amy.

They looked at each other while Luisa took a sip.

"I'm going to get in the shower now, I need to get to work," continued Amy after a pause. "Do you need anything from the bathroom?"

"No, I'm good." Luisa looked at Amy with a look that Amy had grown to know over recent weeks. "Do you have to go in the shower right now?"

Amy felt her heart beat a little faster. The beautiful woman she loved, sat up naked in her bed, asking if she really needed that shower... it was tempting, very tempting.

"I'd love nothing more than to get back into bed with you..." Amy let her dressing gown fall away, nothing underneath. She climbed on to the bed, straddling Luisa's lap. "But I really have to get to work." She took Luisa's cup of tea, set it to one side, then with both hands holding Luisa's head she kissed her, slowly, deeply, passionately. When she pulled back it was with her glint in her eye. "Will this keep you going though?"

Luisa grinned and narrowed her eyes. "Until Sunday..."

Luisa

Luisa stirred at the sound of Amy putting her morning cup of tea down next to the bed. It was only the third day of that tradition, but she hoped it became one that lasted. As she dozed, she felt Amy's hand stroke her cheek, pushing back some hair that had fallen loose during the night. The memory nagged at her, vaguely, that there was something she needed to tell Amy about before she left for Italy, but she couldn't think what right then.

"Buenas dias," Amy said quietly, smiling.

Luisa smiled back. "We'll work on your pronunciation... good morning."

"I made you tea. You don't have to drink it!"

Luisa forced herself to sit up, reminding herself that she was leaving for Amalfi later that morning, and as she did, she pulled the duvet up to her armpits for warmth. She liked London but the cold was taking some getting used to. Although maybe, she thought, the answer to that was to not sleep naked with Amy, and she didn't want to do that any time soon.

"Genuinely, I'm starting to like it." She laughed. "Not much, but I think it's good in the mornings. It's gentler than coffee."

"We'll make an Englishwoman of you yet..." teased Amy.

They looked at each other while Luisa took a sip, and as the last remnants of sleep fell away she remembered, the thing that she needed to tell Amy about. Alethea. She felt her heart rate surge, a jolt of adrenaline in fear that this might not go perfectly, but she knew she needed to say something. It just wouldn't feel right to fly to Italy, knowing that Alethea would be there, knowing their history, without being open with Amy about it. She'd been putting it off for days, never finding the right moment, too scared of breaking what they had, and this morning was the last chance.

Luisa opened her mouth to speak, took a breath, but then Amy got there first. "I'm going to get in the shower now, I need to get to work. Do you need anything from the bathroom?"

"No, I'm good." Luisa looked at Amy, stood in her short dressing gown, knowing that that fabulous body was beneath the thin layer of fabric. Wanting her so much. But she needed to tell her about Alethea, so maybe Amy could delay for a few minutes. "Do you have to go in the shower right now?"

"I'd love nothing more than to get back into bed with you..." Amy misunderstood, let her dressing gown fall away, nothing underneath. She climbed on to the bed, straddling Luisa's lap. "But I really have to get to work." She took Luisa's cup of tea, set it to one side, then with both hands holding Luisa's head she kissed her, slowly, deeply, passionately. When she pulled back it was with her glint in her eye. "Will this keep you going though?"

Luisa grinned and narrowed her eyes, not wanting to spoil the mood. "Until Sunday..."

Amy gave her one more quick kiss, then climbed off and went in the bathroom. Luisa stayed sitting there, planning to talk to Amy about Alethea while she got dressed instead, looking out at the sky through the gap in the curtains, sipping her tea as it cooled down. She really, genuinely was starting to like it.

Thinking about what she needed to do to actually make it on her plane to Italy later, her mind was drifting when she saw her phone screen light up with a message. She reached over to where it was sat on the bed instinctively, and saw two messages pop up in quick succession:

Sarah: I can't wait to see you tonight, it's been too long xx

Sarah: I haven't worn anything on my wrists for a month. Saving them for you xx

Luisa realised instantly that it was Amy's phone and not hers, dropped the phone back onto the bed like it was too hot to touch, and then she sat back. The sound of the shower running, Amy singing something quietly and relatively tunelessly, came from the bathroom door. Apart from that there was silence.

Luisa didn't know what to think. She wished she could unsee those messages, scrub them from her memory, because there was no ambiguity there, none whatsoever... without a doubt Amy had plans with Sarah later, and plans that didn't end with a glass of wine and a friendly wave goodbye. Plans that Amy had not mentioned once.

Her heart was racing, and she felt sick, to think of Amy with Sarah. A wave of jealousy rolled through her. She wanted Amy for herself, all for herself, she didn't want to share her.

The irony wasn't lost on her. If Amy knew about Alethea, about what inevitably happened every time they worked together, would Amy feel this same sick jealousy? Probably. But that was different, Luisa told herself. What she had with Alethea was an arrangement without emotional strings, a tradition that belonged to another world. Amy and Sarah seemed to have something else more involved.

The temptation was to pick up Amy's phone and read through the other messages, to see what Amy had said previously, to see how their dialogue was, but Luisa knew that that was a truly terrible idea. Open that door and only bad things came out.

So instead, she sat there and, when Amy came out of the shower and started to get dressed, parading her beautiful naked body in front of Luisa, Luisa watched and teased, pretending that there was nothing wrong. Not even sure if there was really something wrong, so much as something that she needed to think through. But those messages, suddenly they made Luisa delay telling Amy about Alethea. Because if Amy was seeing Sarah that very same night and wasn't telling Luisa anything about it, then there didn't seem the same obligation for Luisa to tell Amy about Alethea either.

When it came for time to Amy to go to work, Luisa climbed out of bed and despite the cool morning air she walked up to Amy naked, wrapped her arms around her, kissed her passionately goodbye, revelled in the feel of Amy's hands against her naked skin. She loved Amy. A couple of messages didn't change that. They just maybe changed the dynamic a little.

Or maybe just her understanding of the dynamic, and what that could mean over the next few days while they were apart.

Luisa liked London, really liked it quite a lot, but why did trying to get anywhere have to be so hard?

She'd decided to use public transport to get to the airport for her flight, a different one this time, somewhere called Gatwick rather than the one she'd arrived at. When she'd asked Naomi in the living room the day before she'd laughingly explained that London had probably five airports that claimed to be London, but some of those were tenuous at best though Gatwick was definitely a proper one.

Luisa had figured that getting the Tube was easiest, but then she realised that the Tube didn't go to Gatwick so before she knew it she was on a convoluted journey involving changing Tube line to get to Victoria station where she could get a train down to Gatwick. She firmly resolved that when she came back on Sunday, she'd get a taxi straight to Amy's house, it would be expensive but save a lot of time.

Sat on the train down to Gatwick, looking out of the window as it rolled through the suburbs of London, Luisa thought. She needed to think, she really did, because despite Amy's teasing that was how she processed things, how she made good decisions.

Luisa thought about Amy. She'd allowed herself to hope over the last few intense weeks that their relationship was moving a little from open to closed almost by default, the time they spent together so special, them both so in love.

Those messages from Sarah told Luisa that that had been wishful thinking. She wasn't mad at Amy, not at all, from what little she knew Luisa understood that Amy's dynamic with Sarah was complicated and that there was something there that Amy didn't feel she could walk away from. It was far from ideal, but she understood.

What those messages did though was clarify for Luisa the dynamic between her and Amy, and what their open relationship meant. It sounded stupid, but open meant open. They were both free to sleep with other people if they wished.

That clarity brought the next few days into sharp focus. When she'd seen that Alethea was going to be there in Amalfi it had triggered an automatic reaction in her the way it always had, the excitement that came from knowing that this shoot would be more interesting than usual. She always got a thrill anticipating seeing Alethea, and Alethea had never let her down.

But... Luisa had quickly tempered that, put it to one side. She was with Amy now, and while an infrequent night with Alethea in some far flung location had seemed fine before, even when she had been seeing someone back at home, it somehow felt different when she had Amy. She realised, with a rueful shake of her head, that there is where not having had a serious relationship for nearly eight years left you... no instinct for what to do, having to rely instead on solving these problems as they came up.

With the message from Sarah to Amy that she'd seen and the implications of it, it wasn't like that changed Luisa's mind, it wasn't like she suddenly decided that yes, actually, she'd see if Alethea and her could also have some fun. But... it certainly removed the principal reason to say no, because it was very clear to Luisa as she watched the London suburbs turn to green countryside that her and Amy's relationship was very definitely still an open one.

And with Alethea, she'd never once been able to say no so far anyway, reason or not...

Amy

That evening, Amy was sat in one of Sarah's favourite wine bars, only a couple of minutes' walk from Sarah's flat. Sarah had messaged Amy throughout the day and her intentions that evening were clear... explicitly clear judging by some of the content. It was no accident that her apartment was close at hand.

It was busy but not too busy, a good kind of crowded. Amy had ordered a bottle of wine while she waited for Sarah to arrive, one of Sarah's favourites, not cheap but safe in the knowledge that Sarah as a senior partner at their firm would be honour bound to pay for it. The first few sips that Amy had taken had certainly taken the edge of the day, a day that had felt just a little off.

She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but when Amy had got out of her shower that morning and got dressed it had seemed strained between her and Luisa. As if their impending time apart, even if only for four nights, had suddenly hit them both.

It wasn't much, not at all, they'd still been tactile with each other, shared a long, lingering kiss goodbye, Luisa stood naked, still warm from the bed, Amy in her work dress, heels and blazer... if nothing else the memory of Luisa's soft lips and her smooth skin would see Amy through the next few days.

But there was something lurking, some tension. Maybe, Amy thought, it was nerves on Luisa's part, her first photo shoot in Europe and presumably working with some people she'd never worked with before. Whatever it was it was fine though, she could hardly tell Luisa not to overthink and then overthink herself. She'd see how things were on Sunday and take it from there.

Sarah came in through the door and threaded her way through to the table. Amy stood to greet her and they shared a friendly hug, a peck on the cheek, and Sarah looked at her and teased, "You've got a good tan... LA must have treated you well!"

Amy laughed. "I needed to do something on the weekends!" Luisa wasn't really a topic of conversation between them, not now. It had been to start with when Sarah had given Amy some relationship advice, back when they were in their unorthodox mentoring relationship, but not now... not now that her and Sarah were something else. Much as Amy would never get into the details of Sarah's domestic life in the West Country with her husband and children... not unless she wanted to share, which she did from time to time.

They sat down and Amy took a long look at Sarah, then said, "You look great. Have you done something with your hair?" Sarah did look great, north of 35 but south of 40 she was a good few years older than Amy but didn't look it. She had the sort of face that grew more beautiful with age, a great figure despite having two kids thanks to an intense exercise regime, and a hairstyle that had moved with the times, not falling into the trap that catches so many people out where they keep a hairstyle right through their adult life.

Sarah beamed at the compliment. "I've had it cut a bit shorter and gone for a bit lighter colour. You like?"

"I do... it's more blonde, isn't it?"

"Yeah. And with the length I can play around with it a bit, go for a bit messier style at weekends."

"It suits you." Despite herself, despite Luisa, Amy felt that part of herself that couldn't help but be attracted to Sarah start to come to life. She'd almost forgotten during her LA trip about Sarah's easy charisma, how she made you want to impress her, to please her. At that moment it was coming flooding right back.

"So, you were off for a few days?" asked Amy.

"Yes." Sarah took a sip of her wine. "There was a school play last night so I figured I'd take the opportunity to spend a bit more time at home..." The conversation soon went from there, talking about things going on in their lives, gossiping about work, some talk about LA although never about Luisa, all the usual conversation of two people who knew each other well and found each other's company easy.

A couple of hours later the bottle of wine was finished, both women somewhat less than sober, and they'd long before got quite flirty with each other as they often did.

As she waited for the bill to come, Sarah looked at Amy and said, "I've made an... improvement I guess is the word, to my flat." She paused and gave Amy a look heavily laid with meaning. "I'd like to show you it."

Amy sat looking at her, a little smile on her face. Finally, Amy replied, "You didn't say Amy."

She saw Sarah inhale sharply, saw her sit up straighter, saw her cheeks flush slightly. That was their game, the game that Amy played with Sarah's submission... every sentence had to end in Amy, or else there were consequences.

They hadn't discussed that evening what was going to happen or not happen, hadn't gone near that subject, but Amy had just decided for them both.

Sarah took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry, Amy. It won't happen again."

"It had better not." The whole dynamic between them had changed suddenly, from two women who liked each other on a date to a hierarchy. Amy hadn't been sure if she would actually do anything with Sarah that night but seeing her again, feeling that undeniable attraction, knowing that she needed to play this game to make it work with seeing Luisa, and without a doubt having drunk half a bottle of wine, Amy wanted to. So did Sarah from the look of her.

It wasn't long until they were in Sarah's flat, but Amy took her time. Sarah tried to kiss her when they got through the door but Amy told her no, made her kneel on the rug in the sitting area of her open plan living room with her hands behind her back as punishment for being so presumptuous.

Sarah obeyed without question, clearly desperate to cede control to Amy. As Amy walked through to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water she asked, "What was this improvement you wanted to show me?"

From her kneeling position, Sarah said, "In the bedroom, Amy. On the ceiling. You can take a look."

Amy laughed. "I know I can take a look. You're not in a position to tell me what I can and can't do."

"Sorry Amy."

"For that, you're going to stand and take off your clothes. All of them. I'm going to have a look, and when I get back I want to see you kneeling again, but with your hands on your head."

"Yes, Amy."

Smiling to herself, thinking how much she actually quite enjoyed having Sarah, this senior person from work, this authority figure, do whatever she wanted, Amy went into the bedroom. She liked what she saw.

On the ceiling, between the foot of the bed and the door, a metal bar had been attached to the ceiling with some pretty robust looking metal clips. On the bed, laid out by Sarah presumably in anticipation of her evening, were some leather wrist cuffs, a spreader bar with cuffs already attached, several whips, a spanking paddle, and a large strap-on, her favourite one and the one that she'd used so expertly on Amy that first night together to draw her in to this world.

Walking back out to the living room, Amy said, "You have been busy."

Sarah was kneeling, facing to the side, and Amy could see her amazing figure so clearly. Her toned legs, bent, just the hint of her ass, her slim stomach, her chest with her nipples standing out hard and erect, and her hands resting on her head as she'd been told.

"Isn't it a bit obvious?" asked Amy.

"I can take it down quickly, Amy," she replied. "But I wanted to try it."

"You've tried it already?"

"Yes, Amy."

"Who with?

"Rebecca. And Camila. Separately, Amy."

"They tied you to it and whipped you? I thought that was my job."

"No, Amy, I tied them. They liked it."

"I'll bet they did." Amy paused. She was stood in front of Sarah by then, looking down at her. Despite her desire for Sarah, Amy realised that she didn't want anything for herself that evening, it didn't feel right with Luisa having left that morning. She was doing this for Sarah, because Sarah wanted something. Because she had an obligation to Sarah. "It's your lucky day. I'm going to make this all about your pleasure tonight. Entirely yours."

She saw that Sarah's neck and upper chest had gone red, her breathing rapid, and when she looked between her legs could see that Sarah was soaking wet already. With a little smile, she put her hand to Sarah's chin and lifted her head up, leaning closer herself. "Aren't you going to say thank you?"

"Thank you, Amy." Amy leaned in close, as if she was going to kiss Sarah, but then just as Sarah leaned towards her she pulled away, teasing her and teasing her some more as Sarah tried to kiss her again.

"Patience. Now, I'm going to get changed in your bathroom. And you're going to crawl on all fours into the bedroom. When you get there, you're going to wait, on all fours, at the foot of the bed. Then I'll decide what to do with you."

"Yes, Amy. Thank you, Amy."

Later, after Amy had kept Sarah on her hands and knees on her own bedroom floor, spanked her, teased her, and then fucked her with the strap-on until Sarah had cum hard and fast, begging Amy to stop, she made use of the home improvement.

Sarah was stood, naked, her wrists in leather cuffs attached to the ceiling bar, her ankles in the cuffs attached to the spreader bar, a blindfold over her eyes, as Amy circled her, teasing her, wearing one of Sarah's silk dressing gowns over her lingerie.

"I think you put this bar in the ceiling for me, didn't you?"

"No, Amy." A swish of the riding crop on to her bare ass and a little cry of both pleasure and pain.

"I think you did. I think you wanted me to be tied up there rather than you, didn't you?"

"I... maybe, Amy," she admitted. Another swish, this time on her stomach, another little cry.

"You did? That's naughty." A swish on her breast, just next to her nipple, and a louder cry of surprise. "You know that I tie you up, not the other way around..."

"Sorry, Amy." The riding crop landed on her ass, a little harder than elsewhere, and Sarah jerked in response, as much as she could within her restraints.

"You don't need to say sorry," said Amy, trailing the riding crop along her skin, down the outside of her leg and back up the inside before it came to rest right on her pubic hair, right at her centre. She saw Sarah tense in anticipation, but kept her waiting, just that little longer.

"Tell me what you'd do to me..." and Amy pulled the riding crop back then gave it the slightest flick at the top of her inner thigh, so very close but not quite where it would be most sensitive. Sarah let out another cry, her hands gripping the chains of her wrist restraints.

"I'd strip you naked... completely... and all my mentees would watch..."

"Would they now?" replied Amy, landing the riding crop again on Sarah's ass but at the same time sliding her fingers down across Sarah's waist and between her legs, touching her, feeling how aroused she was, how easily she could slide her finger inside. The sound that came from Sarah was guttural, like she was trying to cry out and moan in pleasure at the same time and somehow managed neither. It spoke to sheer, outright pleasure. "Go on."

For the next few minutes Sarah told Amy in stops and starts her fantasy about taking Amy, binding her in her restraints, humiliating her in front of Sarah's other mentees, those mentees taking turns on Amy. All of this she did while Amy toyed with her in real life, spanking and touching her, pushing her closer and closer, ever closer to an earth shattering orgasm. When she got close, Amy kissed her deeply as she came, on her lips, on her face, on her neck, and Sarah's orgasm was worth the build-up, her body tensing in her restraints, needing Amy to physically support her as her legs trembled and nearly gave way.

As she helped Sarah down, the thought going through her head again and again was how fun it would be to give Luisa what she'd just given to Sarah. Or, even better, for Luisa to give that to her.

And of how much she wished, deep down, that it was Luisa not Sarah that was stood in front of her at that exact moment. The thought of Luisa's beauty stood, restrained like that, there for Amy to pleasure as she saw fit... it made her go weak at the knees. She realised that she missed Luisa, missed her desperately, and it hadn't even been a day apart.

Later, not long after midnight, they lay together in Sarah's bed, both naked, pressed up together, kissing slowly and tenderly. Amy had learned from being on the receiving end that the aftercare was so, so important, and she didn't want to cut any corners. Sarah seemed to appreciate this, almost as if it was the highlight.

"Will you stay?" whispered Sarah between kisses.

Amy thought about it for a moment. It was tempting, but it didn't quite sit right. She had work in the morning, she'd just moved into her new place, and what sort of message would it send to her new housemates if Amy didn't come home the same night that they knew her girlfriend had gone away.

Strictly, yes, it was within the bounds of the open relationship that her and Luisa had, but her housemates didn't know that, not except for Naomi, and she didn't want them to think she was some kind of lesbian slut so soon after they'd welcomed her so kindly.

It also, she realised, didn't sit right with her when she thought about Luisa. There was an intimacy to spending the night together, sleeping together, trusting someone to be next to you while you slept, that didn't feel right to share. She loved waking up next to Luisa in the morning and realised that that was something she didn't want to give to anyone else. Not even Sarah.

"Thank you," she eventually replied. "But I'll get a taxi home in a minute." She smiled. "I don't live 10 minutes' walk away any more..."

Sarah had the good grace to blush, having been the other woman when James had caught them in bed together and knowing that that was a major part of why Amy had had to move.

"Ok, if you're sure?"

"Yes." She leaned over to kiss Sarah. "You'll be ok?"

"Always." She lay there watching Amy as she got dressed, and as she came back over to kiss Sarah goodbye she said, "See you at work?"

"Yes... see you at work. We've got a meeting tomorrow, haven't we?"

"I think so..."

Amy laughed. "Don't get any ideas. See you then."

As she left, she saw that she'd had a message from Luisa wishing her a good night's sleep. Without thinking about it twice she fired one back, wishing her a good day tomorrow and telling her how much she loved her.

Her bed was calling her... an empty bed, one she wished had Luisa in it, but one that was maybe just starting to feel like home.

Author's note: It's taken a while to publish part 8, but like London buses parts 9 and 10 will follow shortly. This sub-arc of the broader story is all written, setting the scene for Sarah to play a major role again from part 11 onwards.