Song interrupted

SONG INTERRUPTED

Part 3

The two women sat at the kitchen table nursing cups of coffee. Lydia was still in her robe; Regina was dressed in dark slacks and a cream long-sleeved shirt with French cuffs.

"What will you do today," the taller woman asked.

"Probably catch up on correspondence and work on the computer a little," Lydia replied. "Will you be home for dinner," she asked hopefully.

The women looked into each other's eyes as they spoke. The heat from the morning's passion was still palpable in the room.

"I can't, darling," Gina said. "I'll be as early as I can, but don't wait up for me."

Lydia smiled ruefully and nodded her head. "Of course," she said, rising and moving over to the sink to rinse out her cup.

Regina followed her. She set her own cup on the countertop and took Lydia‘s face between her hands, then placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "I love you, Lydia," Regina said. "Please don't forget that." She turned, crossed the room, and walked out the door.

"I love you, too," Lydia whispered to Gina's departing back.

*~*

"Stop!" the conductor shouted. "Do you people not get it? This must be played with more passion. Louder. Crescendo in this section, then Lento! Next, let the sounds of the tympani rise like hearts beating! Ba boom! Ba boom!

She moved over to the large piano center stage. "Listen," she said as she began to play. The notes rang out with mathematical precision throughout the theatre. Yet, as precise as they were, there was no mistaking the underlying passion in the concerto.

She rose from the piano bench and moved to the podium. Tap-tap. Tap-tap. Her baton cracked against the podium. "Now, again, from the beginning. We will be here all night, ladies and gentlemen, until we get it right!"

*~*

Saturday came all too quickly for Katherine. She rued the evening that lay ahead, but she blessed the day for being so close to Sunday when she knew she would be seeing Laurel again.

Katherine looked through her closet and selected a royal blue gown and opera cape. She chose a pair of shoes whose color matched the gown perfectly. The blue of the gown highlighted the intense blue of her eyes. She went to the wall safe and removed a sapphire and diamond necklace, bracelet, and matching earrings. Her short dark hair was brushed carefully back from her face. She dressed slowly. The silk of the gown molded her tall frame as though it were painted on. The high collar of the opera cape framed her face and called attention to its beautiful, strong features. When she was fully dressed, she looked at herself carefully in the full-length mirror. Satisfied with what she saw, she rang the doorman.

"Dominick, is the car here yet," she asked.

"Yes, Ms. Grant, I was just about to ring you," he replied.

Katherine took the elevator to the ground floor and nodded as Dominick held the door for her.

"If you don't mind my saying so, you look lovely tonight, Ms. Grant. I hope you have a wonderful evening," Dominick said as Katherine stepped into the car.

Katherine sat in the back seat of the limo thinking about the small blonde who had insinuated herself into her mind. She felt like a teenager waiting for her first date. Sunday would not come soon enough for Katherine. Now all she had to do is get through another boring evening listening to and writing about some new, young phenom in the concert world. The slowing of the limo snapped Katherine out of her reverie.

"Pick me up at 11:00," Katherine said to the driver as he held the car door for her.

"Yes, madam," he replied, touching his cap and nodding to her.

*~*

A crowd was milling outside The Peace Center. Tickets to the Vilensky concert had been sold out months in advance. Katherine by-passed the crowd and entered through the VIP entrance. The usher recognized her, and she sent him to pick up her ticket and backstage pass from the box office. He returned with the ticket and the pass, handed her a program, and escorted her to her box seat.

Katherine laid the program on the seat beside her and sat in the dark of the box waiting for the concert to begin. 'I don't have to read puffed up biographies to decide whether an artist is worth listening to,' she thought. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the back of the chair. She must have dozed momentarily. She awoke with a start as the din of clapping assaulted her ears.

The orchestra began playing, the curtains opened, the theatre was silent. The lights were dark. In the darkness, music began from the center of the stage washing over the audience in waves of emotion. There was such beauty in the music that it seemed as though the entire audience held its collective breath while it was played. The spotlight rose slowly and settled on the pianist.

Katherine looked down at the stage, at the figure of a small blonde, playing rapturously, eyes closed, lost in the glorious music that flowed from her fingertips. 'My, God, Laurel,' she thought in shocked surprise. She picked up the program and read - 'An Evening with Laurel Vilensky.'

Laurel played for two hours, captivating the audience. When she was through shouts of 'brava' and 'encore' filled the theatre as the crowd jumped to its feet. She stood and bowed, then returned to the piano bench for her final selection, a haunting melody full of passion and angst. The curtain closed, the lights went black, and it was over.

The lights rose and the audience began pouring out of the theatre. Katherine sat unmoving in her box. She decided against using her backstage pass. She didn't want to get caught up with the rest of the press. There would be time enough to see Laurel at the after-party. 'God, I hope she doesn't bow out of that,' Katherine thought as she picked up her cape and headed out to her waiting limo.

Katherine settled back in the limo and picked up the car phone to call the office. This would be one of the easiest pieces she ever had to write.

"God smiled on The Peace Center and its patrons this evening," she began to dictate, "when a new artist and composer of unparalleled talent let the music of the heavens flow through her fingertips."

*~*

Monesco's had been closed for the evening for the private after-party. The crowd at Monesco's was uncharacteristically quiet awaiting the young artist's arrival

Katherine sat at her usual corner table, away from the main crowd, and watched the door. The concert had been over for almost an hour and a half, but Laurel had not yet appeared. Katherine felt a catch in her heart and thought perhaps Laurel had decided to forego the after-party.

Suddenly there was thunderous applause as Laurel walked into the main room. She smiled and moved through the room as if she knew it was hers to command. She stopped at table after table accepting pats and handshakes and accolades.

Katherine watched Laurel move through the crowd until she was standing, back turned, in front of Katherine's table. Katherine held her breath, waiting for Laurel to turn to her.

"Laurel," she heard someone shout. "Come sit with us."

"In a minute," Laurel responded as she turned and held out her hand to the woman seated at the table. Katherine reached up and covered the small hand with both of hers.

"K.G.," Laurel gasped, "what are you doing here?"

"I just got through listening to an angel play," Katherine responded.

"The concert … was where you wanted to take me tonight?" Laurel said.

"Yes," smiled Katherine. "And I take it this is why you were too busy to see me tonight," she said delightedly.

The two women laughed at their private joke. Someone called out Laurel's name. "I have to go do some business," said Laurel, extracting her hand from Katherine‘s. "Will you wait for me?"

"Of course," Katherine said. "Have someone cancel your limo. My driver will take you home."

Laurel nodded smiling, then moved into the adoring crowd.

By two a.m. the crowd was thinning. Katherine went out to her limousine and watched for Laurel to exit the club. She had shown her driver Laurel's picture on the concert program and asked him to bring her to the car. She saw her driver speak to Laurel as she exited the restaurant. He escorted her back to the car and opened the back door, closing it behind Laurel as she stepped in to sit beside Katherine.

"God, that was so exciting," Laurel said. "I was so nervous."

"You have nothing to be nervous about," Katherine said. "You were extraordinary."

Laurel grinned widely at Katherine. "This was my first big concert. I’ve been preparing for this all my life. It’s nice to know I have at least one fan."

"Oh, you have more than one, of that I’m sure." Katherine smiled at her affectionately. "The morning edition of the papers ought to be out. Would you like to pick up a few?"

"Oh, K.G., can we, please," Laurel sang with almost childlike delight.

"Of course. Let's pick them up and go back to my place for a nightcap. Would that be all right?," Katherine asked.

"That would be wonderful," Laurel responded without hesitation.

Katherine had the driver stop at a vendor and pick up all the available morning editions. Katherine watched as Laurel happily read review after review. She had placed the New York Chronicle on the bottom of the pile hoping Laurel would not see it until after they were at her apartment. Laurel was just finishing the review in the Times-Examiner when the limo pulled up to the apartment building.

The driver came round and opened the back door. Laurel looked up then back at Katherine with a grim look on her face. "Did you change your mind," she asked hesitantly.

"Change my mind," Katherine replied with a confused look on her face.

"About going to your apartment," Laurel responded.

"We are going to my apartment," Katherine said. "I live here."

"I live here, too," Laurel laughed.

"In the penthouse?" Katherine asked.

"Yes," Laurel replied. "A friend loaned it to me while I was in town for the concert."

Katherine laughed heartily. "So you're the one who keeps me awake at night and wakes me up in the morning with that god-awful piano playing," she teased.

"Yup, that must be me," Laurel teased back.

*~*

The doorman smiled at the two beautiful women exiting the limousine. He tipped his hat and opened the door. "Ms. Vilensky. Ms. Grant."

'Grant,' Laurel thought. 'Her last name is Grant.'

The women entered the elevator and took it to Katherine's floor. Katherine let them into the apartment and started to take Laurel's coat but her arms were still full of newspapers.

"Here, let me take those," Katherine said, reaching for the newspapers. Laurel continued to hold them tightly.

"I won't steal them," Katherine laughed.

Laurel looked up as though she hadn't heard a word. "What? Oh, I'm sorry, I guess I was daydreaming," she said blushing. The two women walked into the living room, and Laurel put the papers on the coffee table.

Katherine removed her cape and helped Laurel slip off her coat. "I'll hang these up and be right back," Katherine said.

Laurel watched Katherine leave the room. Her dress clung to her well-toned body, and she moved across the floor with a sensual grace. Laurel caught her breath and acknowledged to herself the deep attraction she felt for this woman. The woman moving away from her was so different from the K.G. she had met at Cherries, yet she evoked an even deeper sexual attraction in Laurel.

"I think I'll shower and change into something more comfortable," Katherine called out. "Make yourself at home. I'll be right back."

Laurel slipped off her shoes and wandered around the large living room. It was tastefully decorated and had what appeared to be original art on the walls. The room was comfortable, yet functional, and Laurel wondered if K.G. had used a designer.

Laurel was lost in her reverie when Katherine reappeared. She had slipped into jeans that fit her like a glove and a cream-colored, v-neck, cashmere sweater that showed off her breasts to perfection. She was barefoot. Her dark hair curled gently around her face. She had removed her makeup and seemed even more beautiful without it. Laurel couldn't take her eyes off her nor deny the effect just looking at K.G. had on her libido.

"Can I get you a drink?" Katherine asked huskily, her eyes piercing Laurel's.

Laurel realized that K.G. was fully aware of the effect she was having on her. "Just a tonic and lime," Laurel responded with a hint of embarrassment in her tone. She sat down on the large couch and curled her feet up under her.

"If you'd like to change into something more comfortable, I'll wait while you run upstairs," Katherine said. "Or you can shower here, and I can give you a robe to slip into."

Laurel hesitated. "Here will be fine," she said, not wanting to leave the taller woman any longer than necessary. She stood up, and Katherine pointed her to the bedroom. Laurel headed to the bedroom, walking slowly and deliberately, confident that Katherine was watching every move she made.

The bedroom, like the living room, was beautifully decorated. A king-size bed dominated the room and faced French doors leading out to a balcony overlooking the city. Laurel slipped out of her clothing and stepped into the large shower just off the bedroom. The hot water felt wonderful and relaxing. She dried herself with the oversized bath towel Katherine had left on the sink, then put on her bra and panties before slipping into the robe that lay folded on the bed. The robe dwarfed the smaller woman, and she had to pull it up and tie it with the cord so that she wouldn't trip over it as she returned to the living room. The robe contained a hint of the enticing smell of the woman who owned it, and Laurel buried her nose in the collar to inhale its spicy fragrance before heading back to the other room.

Katherine poured herself a wine and set a glass of tonic and lime on a coaster on the coffee table for Laurel. Her eyes twinkled with amusement when she saw the smaller woman enter wearing a robe that was obviously two sizes too big for her.

'Cute,' said Katherine’s alter ego.

'Shut up, A.E.,' thought Katherine.

Katherine patted the couch next to her. Laurel walked over and sat down just inches from Katherine; she picked up the stack of newspapers and began reading her reviews again.

Katherine watched intently as Laurel reached the review in the New York Chronicle. The small blonde read it once and then again and yet again, grinning more widely each time she read it.

"You have to read this one, K.G.," Laurel said, passing the paper to her. She still had not made the connection. "I can't wait to meet this K. L. Grant, whoever he is."

"And what will you do when you meet him?" Katherine asked.

"Why hug the breath out of him and give him the biggest kiss he's ever had, of course," Laurel kidded, laying the paper in Katherine's lap. "Read what the man says."

Katherine left the paper in her lap and looked directly into Laurel's eyes. "God smiled on The Peace Center and its patrons this evening," she began, "when a new artist and composer of unparalleled talent let the music of the heavens flow through her fingertips."

Laurel looked at K.G., at first confused, then shocked when she realized what was happening. "You're that Grant? K. L. Grant?" she gasped.

"Katherine Louise Grant, at your service, ma'am," Katherine smiled. "K.G. to you. Now, I think you owe me something."

"What?" Laurel whispered, knowing full well what the answer would be.

"Why, to hug the breath out of me and give me the biggest kiss I've ever had," Katherine responded softly, her words underlined by the body heat that burned in the air between them.

The two women looked deeply into each others eyes. Katherine was certain she was not misreading the invitation saw in Laurel's. She tipped her head down as Laurel lifted her lips to her. Their lips met softly in a kiss so sweet it made them both ache.

'Go slowly,' Katherine's alter ego said to her.

'Go to hell, A.E.,' Katherine replied.

Katherine was the first to break the kiss. She stood, looked down at Laurel, and held out her hand.

Laurel hesitated, and K.G. wondered if she was moving too fast. As if to answer K.G.'s unspoken question, Laurel rose and placed her small hand in Katherine's larger one.

The women moved to the bedroom together never losing contact with one another. They stood at the side of the bed, and Katherine slowly untied the cord around Laurel's waist. She slipped the robe from Laurel's shoulders and let it drop to the floor. Katherine reached behind Laurel and expertly unhooked her bra, letting her hands move back and brush lightly against Laurel's breasts as the bra fell to join the robe on the floor. She put one arm around Laurel's waist to draw her closer to her and heard the smaller woman's breath catch and become more ragged. She lay Laurel back on the bed and reached down to remove the black lace panties covering the treasure she coveted. Katherine’s hand was on fire as it brushed against the silky hair covering Laurel’s pubic mound, and it took all of her self-control to keep from touching Laurel more intimately or plunging immediately inside.

Laurel moaned and reached her hand out towards Katherine's breast. Katherine gently grabbed her wrist and stopped her. "Not tonight, love. Tonight is for you," Katherine said as she captured Laurel's mouth with her own.

Katherine moved slowly taking care not to frighten Laurel; her need to dominate was overcome by her need to pleasure the small blonde woman beneath her. It was a sensation she had not felt in a long, long time.

Katherine left Laurel's mouth just long enough to remove her own clothing, which she flung across the room. She lifted herself over Laurel and lowered herself slowly upon her. She felt Laurel's mouth open slightly and slipped her tongue into it savoring her sweet taste.

Laurel pushed against Katherine and began rotating her pelvis with hurried desire, overcome with her need to be close to the dark-haired woman above her.

"Slow down, love. Wait … wait," Katherine said softly.

Laurel slowed her movements and gently ran her fingernails down K.G.'s back, her hands coming to rest on the taller woman's buttocks pulling her closer. Katherine shuddered with own desire and buried her face in Laurel's neck, nibbling at the pulse point she found there.

Katherine slid down slowly until her breasts were against Laurel's stomach and her mouth was upon Laurel's breast. She ran her tongue around the areola and sucked each breast into her mouth savoring the hardness of the nipples.

At each suckle, Laurel arched her back to press her breast more firmly into Katherine's mouth.

She placed her hands on each side of Katherine’s head and pulled her mouth harder against her.

Katherine ran her tongue between Laurel's breasts, then moved down lower still, ringing her tongue around Laurel's belly button, licking and blowing on the skin of Laurel's stomach.

Laurel made small whimpering sounds that only fueled Katherine's desire. Laurel grabbed Katherine by the hair and pushed her head down further still in a silent plea.

Katherine kissed and nibbled her way across Laurel's mound until she reached her clitoris. She teased Laurel with her fingers and tongue as she felt the river flowing between the smaller woman's legs and knew she was ready to ignite.

"What do you want, Laurel," Katherine whispered. "Tell me what you want."

"My god. You know what I want. I know you can feel it. Take me now, K.G. … now! Please, I can't wait." Laurel moaned.

Laurel was wet, and open and ready. Katherine entered her quickly and easily. It was as if they had been together all their lives. Katherine knew instinctively where to touch Laurel and how to touch her. She knew in her soul what would bring this beautiful woman pleasure.

Laurel's scream began low in her belly and erupted in a joyous sound. "Oh god, K.G. Yes. Yes!" She cried.

When she could stand it no longer, Katherine reached down with one hand and touched herself,

while at the same time being careful not to leave her lover. Katherine's own climax washed over her with unbearable intensity as she felt the smaller woman explode in ecstasy, and the sound of Laurel‘s pleasure shook Katherine to the core.

*~*

'Told ya,' whispered Katherine's alter ego.

'Fuck you, A.E.,' Katherine thought as she pulled Laurel to her and let her fingers feather against the small blonde's skin. 'You had nothing to do with this.'

'You're wrong, my dear,' said A.E. 'I had everything to do with it.'

*~*

To be continued in Part 4

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