Beginnings - SF2 by Susan X Meagher Page A

and walked over to the bed, flopping down on the surface as she spread her arms and legs wide. "Whenever you're ready," she offered, pulling her head up to make eye contact.
    "Get back over here, Goofball," Jamie laughed. "We're not done."
    "Boy, you sure do know how to take the fun out of an offer," Ryan joked. As she got up and settled herself on the loveseat once again she asked, "What else?"
    "I'm sure this isn't an open ended offer," Jamie said as she wiggled her eyebrows. "I mean, you wouldn't want to do this for a year would you?"
    "Aaaah, no," Ryan agreed immediately. "I'd be ready for the asylum."
    "So we need to make some progress on our end-date."
    "You mean our beginning date," Ryan corrected gently.
    "Precisely," Jamie agreed. "Tell me your thoughts."
    "I think I could muster some enthusiasm for just about any date you might pick," Ryan said thoughtfully, blue eyes twinkling. "How about you?"
    "Okay," Jamie said as she considered the request. "I guess I'm pretty close right now. I'm still nervous and all but I think you could help me through that. But I want to wait until we can make it special. I've promised myself that, Ryan, and I don't want to go back on that promise."
    "Tell me about that," Ryan urged as she draped her arm around her partner and pulled her close. "Tell me about your dreams."
    "Well, I have this…um…fantasy…about the first time we really make love," she blushed. "We're in a special place and we spend hours just touching and kissing and touching some more. I want to touch and kiss every little part of you, one inch at a time. That's what lovemaking feels like to me."
    "That's what it feels like to me too, Jamie. That's exactly it! And I agree that we need to wait until we have that special place."
    "It's more than just the place," she reminded her. "I need time too. Unstructured time, with no interruptions. I want you and your beautiful body to be the only thing on my mind," she insisted.
    "We can do this, Hon, I swear we will. But I think we've got to wait until finals are over, no matter what. If we don't I'm gonna see chemical formulas imprinted on your beautiful little body!"
    "Okay," Jamie chuckled. "We'll revisit the issue after finals."
    "Deal," Ryan said, extending her hand.
    Jamie shook it firmly, pronouncing, "We make a good team, Ms. O'Flaherty."
    "The best, Ms. Evans."
    "Bed?" Jamie asked with a smile as she got up she extended a hand to her partner. "I left a new toothbrush out for you."
    "Excellent. Be back in a minute."
    After Ryan spent her normal five minutes brushing and flossing every surface of her enamel she went back into the room, pleased to see Jamie in bed already. "Boy, you look good in a horizontal position," she said with a cute little grin. "What a wonderful sight to look forward to for the rest of my life."
    "I bet you say that to all the girls," she teased, blushing a little at the compliment.
    "Uh-uh, Jamie," Ryan said with a completely serious expression. "I've never told anyone that I wanted to see them every night for the rest of the month, much less my life. I don't tease about the commitment I'm making to you."
    "Oh, Honey, I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "I was just teasing but I'll be more careful in the future. I know you're sensitive about this."
    "It's okay," she said quickly. "I know you didn't mean anything by it."
    "Come here and let me apologize more convincingly," Jamie beckoned, jerking her head towards Ryan's side of the bed.
    Ryan hopped in and they fidgeted around for a minute trying to lay the ground rules for sleep. "How do you like to sleep?" Ryan inquired. "Side, back, tummy?"
    "I'm very versatile," she replied. "I can sleep just about any way I fall. But I tend to wake up most often on my side. How about you?"
    "When I sleep alone I curl up in the fetal position," she said with a laugh. "I take up about a quarter of my bed at home. But when I sleep with someone I'm usually on my back or side. I think the only time I've slept on my