Sydney's Serenade

Disclaimer:

2. Violence: A family member dies.

3. Sexual content: UM yes…a hot love scene.

4. Special thanks: ummm not yet…just started on this one…I'll find someone who stands out later.

5. Language: Pretty clean at this point.

6. Songs: Used a Carly Simon song…When You Close Your Eyes. Also, used partial lyrics from Madonna's song Secret.

******

Justine chuckled. Arching an eyebrow at the wincing Sydney, she shook her head up and down.

"As a matter of fact,I do sing and I'm wondering why Casey never mentioned it?"

Sydney shook her head surprised. She pulled the car onto the busy boulevard full of criss-crossing pedestrians and started looking for a parking spot. With her peripheral vision she caught the raven-haired beauty watching her. She felt the butterfly feeling rapidly turning in her stomach, and mentally fanned her rising temp as she eyed her hot date. Her blush grew hotter on her cheeks, her green eyes widened, when she noticed Justine smiled a self-satisfied smirk before turning to look out the window at the passing pedestrians.

Sydney felt a warmth heating her body from within as she searched and found a spot to park the car near the building they were headed for. She exited the car quickly and practically jumped the hood in an attempt to open the car door for Justine. Justine rose out of the bucket seat with help from the hand Sydney offered. She gently squeezed their clasped hands together as they stood next to the car.

Sydney smiled down at the petite woman and turning her hand downward she intertwined her fingers with the hand she held. Justine looked upward and let her smile answer for her to the unspoken consent green eyes asked for. Sydney heaved heave a sighand motioned toward the club entrance. Justine nodded.

Checking her watch, Sydney realized they were running early. She didn't see a huge crowd so she thought they might even get a nice table. The Club Bamma boasted a live band every weekend and a fantastically large dance area with professional DJ's. Sydney had been there before with Casey a few times. Justine seemed to be comfortable with the club too, so Sydney assumed she had been there before also.

They made their way in past the cover charge where Sydney shoved a twenty up to pay for both of them and received 15 bucks back. She leaned over the desk to ask why the cover was so low and was told Justine was on the house. She looked at Justine and watched those blue eyes roll in irritation.

"I perform here sometimes. He just recognizes me from my band," she stated loudly over the interior bass beat they could both feel as they stood at the entrance. Sydney felt her own blondish eyebrows arching in surprise. She paused to motion Justine closer to talk. Justine neared her and tilted her head up near Sydney's face. Sydney almost forgot what she was about to say when she looked down at the exposed tan neckline being leaned her way. Not one to act very blatant with her sexual moves she felt her mouth dry up slightly as she leaned down and spoke into Justine's ear. With her fingers she brushed the dark hair back off the ear and her warm breath caressed the sensitive skin.

"I get to buy first round then." Sydney practically kissed Justine's ear. Her lips were brushed with the thick black hair as she spoke. Sydney would have stepped back to gain some distance if not for two very important details. One, Justine was standing pressed against Sydney's side and shivered slightly as Sydney spoke. Sydney may have been a babe in the woods when it came to understanding other women, but she did understand attractions. And two, she knew her own legs were too weak to move at that moment. She relished the heat she felt coming from the body leaning into her.

After a moment they naturally separated to begin moving into the nearby inner doors to the club. Sydney smiled when she noted Justine staying fairly close to her side. She recovered the smaller hand she had lost and received a slow smile from her date. Sydney swallowed the nerves and clasped the fingers in her own.

They entered the large arena and were bombarded with the pulsing bass of a techno version of a Madonna hit. Sydney walked in front of Justine as they wove their way over toward the huge bar. The crowds were out but nothing like they might have to endure in another hour.

Justine followed the taller woman and noticed the jeans she wore were very form fitting. By the time they reached a stopping point Justine had very skillfully managed to hook a finger of her free hand into one of the belt loops at Sydney's waist. She maintained an innocent face when Sydney looked back in surprise. They stood at the bar while Sydney managed to order their drinks.

Justine leaned into the taller woman as she slowly searched the room. Not finding their party, she motioned for Sydney, who now held the drinks, to follow her to a nearby table.

Sydney set the drinks down and scooted into one of the smaller booths surrounding the dance floor. They sipped their drinks and sat watching the early dancers. The floor was already filling up. The music was getting louder. A busy waitress stopped by to empty the ashtray on their table and ask if they needed anything. Justine motioned for another drink and Sydney ordered another of each. She figured they would probably be finished by the time the waitress returned.

Justine sat in the booth rocking with the solid beat of the music. Sydney mentally grimaced at that signal. She always felt so clumsy when she danced. So far the clumsy had been mostly absent with Justine. She didn't want to blow it by pointing it out on the dance floor.

Justine leaned in and pulled Sydney closer to talk to her above the music.

"Will you dance with me?"

Sydney nodded 'yes' before her senses could recover from the drowning sensation of leather mixed with the light scent of a perfume. Justine moved out the other side of the booth and held out her hand to Sydney. Sydney looked up into those pretty blue eyes and swallowed her protests.

They hit the dance floor just as the song changed. The Prince ballad Purple Rain began to play. Sydney almost backed away in fright. This song went on forever. She didn't want to end up looking foolish. Justine just tightened her grip on Sydney's wrist. She pulled her date around to face her and stepped in against that longer body and into those strong arms. Sydney felt Justine's smaller body melt into her and she couldn't help it. She melted right back.

The song ended too soon. Sydney opened her eyes back up when Justine began to step back. The song now playing was different. Sydney wondered what had happened. Justine smiled back at Sydney's dazed expression and nodded her head over to their table. Sydney followed the seductress back over and sat down beside her.

Within 15 minutes of their admiring each other they were attacked from behind by their mutual acquaintances. Casey launched herself onto Sydney's back with a loud "Boo!" Sydney nearly spilled her drink. She wondered just who the hell the red head was that had begun to play with Justine's hair so casually. Eyeballing the intruder, she managed not to frown too possessively when Casey smacked her in the arm.

"Am I good or what?" Casey rolled her eyes toward Justine's direction. Sydney watched Justine responding to her friend's conversation and turned back to Casey.

"Wow, Casey! I so hope she is into geek musicians!" Casey rolled her eyes at Sydney's remark and bopped her again in her other arm. Sydney winked and grinned at their antics. She suddenly felt a warm body lean against her. She turned to smile over at Justine and lightly grasped her hand under the table. Justine took a sec to squeeze back before introducing Amber, her band mate.

Sydney managed to shake a quick hand with Amber and was instantly trying to introduce Casey to Justine. Justine's slightly tense frame loosened considerably after the introduction. Sydney smiled warmly at her date. Justine smiled back with that little half smile.

The group became larger as the night moved on. More women were hitting the club and a lot of them knew Casey or one of the four members of the band. Justine groaned slightly into Sydney's ear at one point. Sydney smiled with questions in her eyes.

"I feel like I'm being chaperoned by my band members. They don't mean to but they seem to follow me all the time." Sydney winced in sympathy then turned to her date with an idea.

"Would you like to go somewhere else? Maybe just park and talk?" Sydney wondered if she had completely lost her mind by asking such a dork question. She almost panicked with excitement when Justine nodded OK.

They made their good byes and headed back out to the car. The dashboard read almost 1 a.m. when Sydney turned the engine over. She pulled out of the boulevard and turned toward the highway and headed toward the coastline. They traveled in silence until Justine turned on the radio to an easy listening station. Carly Simon sang out her lyrics into the interior of the car.

When you close your eyes…

Do you see…white laureli?

She's a dream.

She's not half as magic as she seems.

But, she's so much fun to be with.

When you close your eyes….

Do you see places that you've never seen?

Yet you've been there?

You've been walking on the edges of a dream,

And you're so much fun to be with.

Big surprise. You've been informed you're not asleep.

Hard as you try you will never really dream.

When you close your door with a sign do not disturb

Are you disturbed to find

That it's just as magic as it feels…

And you're so much fun to be with.

Justine sighed into the song and reached over to hold Sydney's hand resting on her thigh. Sydney treasured the warmth and held the other woman's hand gently in her own.

Sydney turned off at a coastal overlook and realized she may have made an error as she pondered the blanket of stars overhead and the pounding surf below. The ocean twinkled the reflection of the sky's elements on its surface as the murky depths below churned like her nervous stomach. She killed the engine and listened to the music of the night.

"This is perfect," Justine sighed again as she leaned back into her seat and turned slightly to look at Sydney. Sydney turned to face her companion.

What do I talk about? She looked into those clear blue eyes looking back at her. Justine leaned forward slightly to look past Sydney and notice the parking area was totally deserted. Sydney tensed slightly at the movement.

"Relax." Justine ran her fingers over the clasped hands they shared. "Why are you so nervous?" Justine's almost whispered question hummed into Sydney's senses. Justine reached over and swept a lock of Sydney's silky blonde hair back over her ear. "You're beautiful," she whispered as she leaned closer to kiss Sydney's jaw.

Sydney closed her eyes savoring the touch. "Look who's talking? Your so gorgeous," Sydney managed to say, shakily. The heat of Justine's breath against Sydney's skin, the scent of the leather jacket and the light perfume Justine wore drove Sydney into a fluttering ball of arousal. She didn't want to stop Justine as the smaller woman carefully reached up to tilt Sydney's mouth down to meet her own.

They kissed. A sudden moment of clarity struck them both as the sweet eruption of heat and passion passed between them. They shared an overwhelming sense of finally having the puzzle fit together. The connection had them both trembling. Sydney enveloped the feelings flowing through her as she found her heart pounding with increasing pleasure. Justine tilted her head and pressed her mouth more firmly into Sydney. The tip of her tongue caressed Sydney's lips. Sydney opened for the invader. Their tongues met in the deeper kiss as they began to explore each other.

Sydney raised her hand to run her fingers into the thick dark hair. She held the heavy length in her hand as they continued to kiss. One of them moaned softly. Justine's hand rose to Sydney's shoulder only to slide downward and lightly stroke the side of her breast. Sydney trembled. Justine's busy fingers stroked over the blouse into the fullness of Sydney's breast until they reached the tight nipple poking outward. Justine moaned into the kiss they still shared as she rubbed her thumb across the tip. Sydney felt her blood rush to her lower body and practically sagged into the smaller woman. Their kiss broke only to have Justine arch her neck with pleasure at the nibbling bites Sydney began making down her neck around to her throat.

Reaching over, Sydney pushed the leather jacket back off her shoulders. Justine helped by slipping her arms out of the sleeves. Sydney leaned in to kiss and lick the available skin as she felt Justine stroke her breast and lightly pinch her nipple. Sydney felt so aroused.

"Take off your blouse for me." Justine's sexy voice broke the shallow drawn breaths being panted in the confinement of the car as they touched and gave pleasure to each other.

Sydney leaned back and quickly stripped off her blouse over her head. She wore a lacy bra underneath that practically bragged its skimpy nature. Justine moaned at the sight, her eyes showing nothing but desire. "Do you like?" Sydney gave smirking grin. She felt a thrill of anticipation as Justine wiggled upward in her seat to balance on her knees and lifted up the arm divider between them. Sydney watched as her soon-to-be lover leaned down to suckle her nipple. She arched her back upward as she felt the heat envelop her through the silk of the bra. Justine pressed into Sydney as she flicked her tongue over and over the hardened tip. Sydney struggled to hold in the moans she so wanted to make. Justine sat up at one point and whispered with a quick flick of her tongue over Sydney's ear.

"I want to hear you. Please?" she begged, looking into the glazed green eyes with her blue. She leaned back down to the other breast to begin a repeat of her technique. Sydney could no longer hold back the moans. She held the thick black hair in her hands and whimpered at each flicker of motion from the magic tongue.

Justine somehow managed to loosen Sydney's jeans. The next moment Sydney was gasping as a small hand slid into her jeans and touched her wet heat. She bucked in surprise as the fingers danced into her wet lips and touched her clit. She gasped again and again as Justine moved the strokes in time with her flicking tongue. Sydney had nowhere to go but up as she cried out. She felt the eminent waves of her orgasm rising as the small woman urged her to come.

"Come for me, Sydney. Come in my hand!" She connected with Sydney as their eyes locked together. Sydney could only follow the command as her body reached its pinnacle of passion. She arched her hips upward as she came. The blue eyes above her closed to savor the passion they shared. Sydney closed her eyes as she grunted out the peak of pleasure and the following successive smaller waves the stroking fingers continued to draw from her body. Sydney opened her eyes to find the smaller woman resting across her chest. Their arms held each other in the aftermath and Sydney felt a moment of such flawless perfection that tears came to her eyes. She felt stupid as blue eyes stared into her with concern.

"Oh baby. I didn't hurt you, did I? I'm so sorry."

Sydney shook her head blinking rapidly. "No, you didn't hurt me. I was just enjoying the moment." Sydney clarified her embarrassing feelings as she tried to erase her momentary dreamscape from the reality of where they were. She watched Justine lean back down and rest her head against her breasts. Sydney stroked the black locks gently.

"Do you want me to…?" Sydney tried to voice her concern over her lover's satisfaction.

"No, Sydney. I'm wonderful. Thank you," Justine murmured, her blue eyes seemingly softer after their interaction. Sydney didn't know where to go from where they were, but she didn't want it to end. She held her lover in her arms right up until the headlights from another car pulled into the overlook.

Justine sat up and found Sydney's blouse for her and helped her get respectable. She grinned into Sydney's satisfied smile and winked. Sydney blushed scarlet. Justine just leaned over and kissed her cheek.

Starting up the engine, Sydney wondered where they were going from here. Her unvoiced question was two-fold at the least. "Where do we go from here?" Sydney asked, feeling the fluttering return. Justine looked over and gave her an intent look. She turned to look out the window and instructed Sydney to head back down the highway. Sydney didn't show the disappointment of the answer, but she felt her heart thump in response. Maybe she is just getting us back home? Her hopeful heart cried out. Sydney sort of guessed they were heading back toward the residence she had picked Justine up at. She coached herself to try asking if they could see each other soon. Before she could voice her plea Justine read her mind one more time.

"Can you come to my concert tomorrow night at The Pit?" Justine caressed the tense hand she had removed from the steering wheel and looked over at Sydney with adoring eyes.

Sydney wondered at this inborn ability Justine had and decided she was unsure if she truly liked it or not. She nodded her acceptance quickly though. She wanted to see Justine perform. Hell, she wanted to see Justine, period. The smaller woman's voice alone had been driving Sydney crazy. She wondered what it sounded like when she sang. I wonder what she looks like naked? Sydney blushed at her own delicious thoughts.

Sydney pulled up in front of Justine's house where the evening had started.She watched as Justine wrote the information for the show down on a napkin. She frowned at the thought of leaving Justine.

"It will be fine, Sydney. I wrote down my number and I want you to call me when you get home. Just so I know you got home safe, OK?" Her rich blue eyes softened their power as she leaned over and quickly ravaged Sydney's lips. Sydney was panting with renewed excitement when they separated. She didn't feel quite as bad as she noticed Justine's flushed features and rapid breathing.

"I'll see you tomorrow and call me when you get home tonight, OK?" She begged Sydney to remember to call. Sydney agreed and said goodnight, leaving only after she watched Justine enter her house.

She drove home in a sexual haze. Her body may have been satisfied, but her brain was on overload. The smell, the movements, the concept, Sydney shook herself at the realization she had practically let this woman do what she wanted. She also realized she enjoyed every moment. Looking down at the small napkin, she made sure she could read the number clearly. She almost wrecked the car as she neared her house.

Entering her house she made a beeline for her bedroom. She noted the time at 3:30 a.m. and almost choked on the Coke she had grabbed from the kitchen on the way upstairs. She stripped from the clothes she wore and quickly dove into bed. She grabbed the phone on her nightstand and dialed the number on the napkin.

"Hello," a soft voice answered.

Sydney smiled into her receiver. "I made it home. Are you going to sleep better now?"

Justine chuckled into her ear. "Yes I will." Sydney heard a puff of air and realized Justine had sighed into the phone.

"What is wrong?" Sydney asked, wondering if she had done something wrong in between leaving and getting home. She frowned with concern.

"I just don't understand this. I mean, I love it so far, but how come we have such a…," Justine searched for a word.

"Connection?" Sydney whispered into the darkness of her room.

"Yes! A connection. I've never felt anything like it," Justine commented quietly into the receiver.

"It's so strange," Sydney agreed.

"You'll come to my concert tomorrow? You'll be there?" Justine practically pleaded with Sydney. Sydney was nodding into the phone and answered just as quickly.

"I'll be there Justine. I promise," she whispered. They listened to each other breathe for a while then softly agreed to end the phone call.

"Sweet dreams!"

"You too!"

The next day, Sydney arranged to go to the concert. She spent all day practicing different ways to ask Justine on the next date. She looked at herself in the mirror of her bedroom and groaned with how stupid she thought she looked and sounded. Her little brother kept poking his head into the room and rolling his eyes at her.

She went down to the garage 3 times looking for a completely forgotten collection of cassette tapes for the car. She passed by the kitchen where her mother and Ms. Sandy, her mother's best friend, were busy trading recipes and gossiping about life. They eyed her concentrating frown very interestingly as she passed through each time.

She got dressed to go to the concert only after calling Casey to find out the details of Justine's music tastes. She practically bit off her little brother's head when he kept asking her to play with him. She was so nervous her mother told her to sit down and take a breather. She stared at her mother with panicked eyes and felt immensely better when her mom walked over and gave her a huge hug.

"It will be fine, Sydney," her mother remarked softly as she hugged her tight. The exact same thing spoken by the two women Sydney had in her life was an omen. Sydney felt some of the nervous tension leave her. She calmly double-checked for her ID and money, then told her mother she would be back late as she headed for the concert.

Arriving at the entrance to The Pit, a large dance hall type building, she paid the cover and wandered into the main hall. The Pit was perfectly named. It was an arena made for performing in. She wandered the downward sloping aisles and slowly moved toward the huge stage that was centered below. Four highly draped curtains formed a cube surrounding the base of the stage. A bevy of guards patrolled the bottom of the high set stage and Sydney looked on in wonder. She finally chose a seat somewhere in the middle as the mosh pits below were already moving with bouncing bodies grinding and bumping roughly against each other to the loud music pumped out of the huge speakers at each corner of the stage.

Sydney practically choked on the coke she had bought from a passing waitress when the band called Red Flash was announced. It was an all girl band that held captive at least one major fan. The lead singer, JT, came out onto the stage with a husky croon that made the entire audience melt. Sydney watched the figure below sing out into the crowd the Madonna hit, Secret.

Things haven't been the same since you came into my life.

You found a way to touch my soul.

I'm never ever, ever gonna let it go.

Happiness lies in your own hands.

It took me too long to understand.

How it could be, until you shared your Secret with me.

Something's coming over…

My baby's got a secret.

Sydney watched the audience eat it up. Justine's voice hypnotized the fans as her primal moves seduced when she rubbed her hand from her neck line down to her waist.She wore a skimpy wrap-around top and a faded pair of holey jeans. Her dark hair glistened with the hundreds of lights as they bombarded her with color. By the end of the song, she was sweating from the spotlight and her body was shining. Sydney could see the flexing arm muscles as Justine waved the microphone up into the motion of clapping. The audience took up the chant and enjoyed a bold RedFlash rendition of Sexy Nikki from Prince. Justine's band was given 3 encores before the main band for the evening began to tune up and take over the stage.

Sydney was in awe. She wanted to rush down to see Justine and tell her how much she enjoyed the concert, but she noticed the crowd down a level doing the same thing. She checked out the arena and decided to head over to the food pit area and order some bottled waters. The least she might do is try and share one with Justine when she saw her. She wondered how long that might be.

Standing in line she stood behind a group of girls around her age. They were gossiping rapidly.

"Yes, she sleeps with women. She's only 19. She is so hot!" Sydney smiled as she listened.

"I bet she scored last night. She always seems to sing better after she gets some. She's practically famous for that."

Sydney stepped out of the line with instant anger. What the hell were they talking about? She looked around at the crowd and scowled as she felt a little part of her tremble in fear. She wandered over to a nearby exit and looked around the huge floor one more time. She instantly saw one of the trailer doors opening. The main band was cranked up and most of the people were rocking to a Bruce Springsteen song. Sydney just knew it was Justine when she saw a woman run rapidly down the trailer steps. She began heading in the same direction as Justine when she saw a woman come out of the same trailer from behind her lover.

Sydney felt her heart break in two as she watched the strange brunette run up behind Justine and stop her by turning her in mid stride only to throw her arms around her and kiss her senseless. Sydney sobbed out a denial as she watched Justine's arms wrap around the woman in return and begin kissing her back.

As Sydney numbly continued walking toward her involved lover, she bumped into the fenced boundary patrolled by the arena police.

"I'm sorry miss; you can't go past the fence," a guard stated, breaking Sydney's gaze away from the kiss the two women shared.

She realized where she was and, turning back to the nearby passionately embracing couple, she numbly replied, "I don't want to go inside, thank you officer! I'm just fine right here."

She didn't really notice the raven-haired woman in the embrace stiffen with her remark. She barely noticed the two women had stopped kissing as she backed away. Right before she turned fully to make her devastated exit, her eyes caught the gaze of those blue eyes. The cloudy painful plea they showed fell into the blind hurt gaze of lifeless green eyes. Sydney turned and left.

She arrived home that night to the spinning lights of a cop car in her driveway. Ms. Sandy was crying in Mr. Charles' arms as Sammy clung to her leg. When Sammy saw Sydney get out of her car, he took off running in his cowboy and Indian pajamas and leapt into her arms. She caught him with years of practice.

"What's wrong there, partner?" Sydney tried to sooth his frightened seven-year-old features. She felt a shiver of fear strike her when Ms. Sandy came over to try and take Sammy back inside. He clung to Sydney too tightly. She motioned for Ms. Sandy to stop as she caught the sad gaze of Mr. Charles behind her. He motioned for her to come with him. Sydney nodded and crouched down to urge Sammy to stand on his own.

"Go with Ms. Sandy, Sammy. I'll be right there. I promise." She shivered as she suddenly remembered the last promise she'd made. That hadn't ended so well either. She watched her little bro grab Ms. Sandy's hand as they made their way back into the neighbor's house. She grew more frightened with each step she made toward the awaiting cops and her own porch. Mr. Charles wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders in support as the cops explained to her how her parents had been killed in a multi-car accident on the interstate.

The distant sound of one of the keyboards being cranked up brought Sydney out of the memory lane she had been taking. She felt the tears falling before she realized she was crying once again. So many tears, so many times she had remembered that evening. Not only the pain of losing her new love, but also the overwhelming pain of losing her parents to a violent fate. She couldn't help but cry as she remembered the warm hug her mother had given her that very same day. She cried for all the times after that fateful evening she had wanted to feel those arms wrapped around her again. Yes, she had thought of Justine over the years. The pain had lessened and the hurt had softened. Now, when she thought of Justine, she tried to remember the connection they had shared. She longed for that connection in her life. Justine had given Sydney a glimpse of something eternal. No matter what had occurred, Sydney had felt something deep in her soul. She had never felt that again with another. The closest bond she had formed after was the one she shared with her brother, but the age difference was very apparent between them. She wiped the tears away and sat listening to the muffled sounds of the lobby of her store.

She slowly got up and put the CD back in its thorn-covered case. She decided to listen to it at home. Her thoughts revolved around Justine and she couldn't help but wonder what kind of world she now lived in. That thought was quickly followed up by with whom she might be sharing her life. She checked her face in her compact mirror and tried to erase any strain that might be showing. With a trembling smile, she carried the CD back into the shop and put it in her purse.

Heading over to help a lone customer wandering around through the guitar section, she pushed it all aside and went back to work.

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