B.L. Miller - Crystal's Heart

"That's different," Laura huffed, her breathing still not back to normal. "You can usually function afterwards. I can't move a muscle." "Then we'll just have to stay here," Crystal said, her smile now a grin.

Laura looked at her and frowned. "You are entirely too pleased with yourself," she said, pulling Crystal in for a kiss. "I love you." "I love you too," Crystal said, snuggling down so her head rested in the crook of Laura's neck.

Endless minutes passed as they held each other in the cooling water until Laura shuddered and goosebumps appeared on her forearms. "The water's getting cold," she said quietly.

"Is it always going to be like this?" Crystal murmured, not lifting her head from its soft pillow.

"You mean am I always going to respond to you like this?" Laura asked.

Crystal shook her head. "I mean" She paused, unsure how to put her thoughts into words. "Will you always feel about me the way you do now?"

Ignoring the cold for a moment, Laura reached down and cupped Crystal's chin. "I can't imagine not feeling this way about you," she said softly. "You mean everything to me and the thought of you not being here hurts too much to think about. I love you, Crystal. I know it sounds selfish but I want all you can give and then some. I want to be the only one you touch in love and the only one that touches you. I want you to be the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning and the last before I go to sleep. I want to hold you when you cry and laugh with you when you're happy. I want to be your white knight when you need protection and your helpless damsel when you need to be the one doing the protecting. I don't want just a relationship with you," she said, moving her fingers to trace Crystal's lips. "I want a life with you." At first alarmed when she saw tears welling up in her lover's eyes, Laura quickly realized they were tears of happiness and hugged Crystal even closer. "I love you," she said, kissing the top the blonde head. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I love you too," Crystal said, sniffling as she brought herself back under control. She gently smacked Laura's arm.

"Hey, what was that for?" Laura asked with mock indignation.

"You know what your sweet talking does to me," Crystal said, causing Laura to chuckle.

"Serves you right for making me as limp as a washcloth," Laura said. She felt Crystal's lips on her neck, the soft tongue slipping out to taste her. She groaned, knowing she could no more resist her lover's touch than she could resist breathing. "There's a nice warm bed right in the next room," she tried.

"Uh huh," Crystal mumbled, moving down to capture Laura's left breast with her mouth while her fingers kept the other breast company. "Crystal," Laura sighed, her legs automatically parting despite her wish to move the action to another venue.

"You really wanna waste time with the towels?" Crystal asked around a mouthful of flesh.

"No," Laura agreed, caring little at the moment about how wet the sheets would get.

"So what's stopping you?" Crystal teased, her teeth lightly scraping the tender peak.

"Now who's being the bitch?" Laura asked, her fingers lightly stroking her lover's back. "You're going to be the death of me." "Not before we get out of here and under the covers," Crystal said as she stood up, the bubbles sliding down her wet body. "It's cold in here." Laura laughed and reached out for Crystal's hand, knowing sleep would not come for quite a while.

Chapter Seventeenth

"Damn," Crystal swore as Laura steered the Jeep into Patty's driveway. "I can't believe I agreed to this."

"You could have canceled," Laura said.

"And say what? Sorry I can't make it to your son's birthday party? How is Thomas going to understand that?" Crystal said, tossing her sunglasses on the dash. "No, I can't do that to him. I have to go." She shook her head and reached for the door handle. "I'll just have to deal with it." "I'll be right there with you," Laura reminded her. "You don't have to stay long."

"Ten minutes in the same room with my mother is too long," Crystal said as opened the door and stepped out. She took a deep breath, knowing an open display of hostility toward her mother would upset the children. "All right, let's get this over with."

"Don't forget his present," Laura said just as the screen door swung open and the now seven year old came running out, his older sister right behind him.

"Aunt Crystal, Aunt Crystal, did you bring me a present for my birthday?" he asked.

"Mommy says you're not supposed to ask for presents," Jessica said in her best reprimanding tone when they both reached Crystal. "Aunt Crystal, I got an A on my test."

"Oh very good," Crystal said. "And yes, Thomas, we brought you a present."

"See?" he said to Jessica. "I told you I'd get a present."

Jessica crossed her arms and pouted. "I didn't get a present for my birthday."

At that moment Crystal was grateful for Laura's suggestion when they were in the toy store. "Jess," she said, drawing the girl's attention. "I think if you look in the back seat you'll find a belated birthday present."

Jessica's eyes widened in direct proportion to her smile. "A present for me?"

"Yup," Crystal said, looking over the girl's head to share a smile with Laura. "One for you and one for your brother."

Laura curtailed Thomas as he tried to get the back door open. "Hang on, slugger. I'll get it," she said, gently moving him aside and opening the door. "Yours is the one in the long flat box. I'll get Jessica's."

"Hey, her box is bigger than mine," he said in a childish whine.

Laura knelt down next to him. "But yours has more pieces," she said. "Trust me, you'll like it. Now, no peeking in the bag until we get inside, okay?" "Okay," he said, tugging his present out of the car and immediately trying to lift the flap of the paper bag where it was stapled shut.

"All right," Laura said, lifting the package out of his hands. "I'll tell you what. You go tell your mother we're here and Aunt Crystal and I will bring the presents inside."

The colorful decorations caught Crystal's eye when she entered the living room. Blue and white streamers were draped in a crisscross pattern across the ceiling while brightly colored balloons were bunched in the corners. The coffee table in front of the couch was littered with torn wrapping paper. Patty, who had been sitting in the recliner reading the instructions for Thomas' newest video game, rose from her chair when Crystal entered, meeting her halfway for a hug. "I'm glad you made it," the elder sister said, taking the present from Crystal's hands and putting it on the coffee table.

"We can't stay long," Crystal lied, looking around for the woman she wanted to avoid. "Where is she?"

"In the kitchen frosting his cake," Patty said. "Don't worry, she's not going to say anything to you."

"I wasn't," Crystal said with feigned casualness.

"I want open my present from Aunt Crystal," Thomas said, reaching for the present.

Patty paused for only a second before giving in. "All right, but you'll have to wait until after your cake and ice cream before you can open your other presents."

Thomas nodded and tugged open the bag holding his present. "Okay." The black plastic was no match for the seven year old, opening to reveal a race car track set. "Oh boy, thanks Aunt Crystal."

"It's from me and Laura," Crystal said, leaning over to receive the offered hug.

Thomas let go of her neck and turned to Laura. "Thanks Aunt Laura," he said. Crystal exchanged a smile with her lover as Laura bent down to accept the child's hug.

"I want to open my present now too," Jessica said, tugging open the staples and pulling pushing the plastic off the large box. "It's a Singing Suzy make-up center and jewelry box," she said, immediately opening the box. "Thank you."