"Can I help you with the dishes?" Eva asked, rising from the table later, after the meal. Natalie set down the empty bowl and wineglass she had been holding. She took Eva's hands lovingly and looked at them as she raised them to her lips. As she caressed them, she noticed how smooth and soft they were. She's never done a lick of real work in her life, Natalie thought -- then immediately chided herself for the petty thought. Eva couldn't help the circumstances of her birth...
She leaned forward and kissed Eva lightly, but lingeringly. "You're sweet to offer, hon," she said. "But no -- you're my guest...go on, relax -- stay awhile."
Eva smiled and went into the front room as Natalie picked up dishes and carried them into the kitchen.
As she finished washing and drying the last of the dishes, she heard the sound of a record playing on the Victrola -- a familiar piano introduction, followed by herself singing:
"Now that we're together --
Now that it's me and you --
There's nothing we can't weather --
It's true..."
Holding the plate she was drying, she walked out of the kitchen and into the front room to find Eva standing over the Victrola, listening.
"Do you like it?" Natalie asked.
She saw Eva reach up to her face. She appeared to be wiping away a tear. "It's wonderful," she said. "Can I -- have a copy?"
Natalie set the plate down on the table and walked over to Eva, slipping her arms around her waist from behind. "There isn't any," she said. "That's a one-off."
"Oh..." said Eva.
"You can have that one, though," Natalie said.
Eva turned. "Really?"
Natalie nodded. "I did that especially for you," she said. She giggled. "I was going to wrap it up and give it to you tonight or tomorrow morning -- but you found it."
"Oh, Natalie," Eva sighed. As the record continued playing, Eva placed a hand on Natalie's shoulder. They began to dance, slowly.
The recording came to an end. Eva and Natalie continued swaying, gazing into each other's eyes... their faces moved closer...their lips met...
A few minutes later, Natalie was sitting on the divan, Eva lying across her lap, face up. They were kissing more passionately and intensely than they ever had before, practically devouring each other's faces. Eva reached for Natalie's breast and began squeezing gently. Natalie gasped; again, they kissed ravenously, thrusting their tongues deep into one another's mouths, sucking and gnawing eagerly.
Eva then hitched up her dress and placed Natalie's hand along her thigh, moving it higher...
"Nattie...darling," Eva gasped between kisses, "let's take off our clothes."
Natalie stopped. She looked at Eva. "Right here? Now?"
Eva smiled and nodded. "Unless you have your own room..."
Natalie nodded. "Upstairs...but..."
Again, Eva kissed Natalie's mouth. "I want you so much, Natalie...I want to give myself to you...completely..."
Natalie began trembling. Part of her wanted it...but part of it terrified her. As far as she knew, the last time she had been naked with someone else was as a baby when her mother Emmaline or Cordelia were changing her diapers.
"I love you," Eva whispered, brushing her lips against Natalie's, teasing with her tongue. "Let's get undressed...let's make love..."
Slowly, Eva stood up and reached for Natalie's hand...Natalie took it, gently.
Together, the two young women walked to the staircase and started up...
