Holiday Escort by Julia P. Lynde

Sue smiled at my reaction.
    Shortly after, we were wishing everyone a good night. I had my arm around Karen's waist, and she had her fingertips teasing my back. We closed the door, and she started to pull away, but I pulled her back to me and put my head on her shoulder. She kissed the top of my head and continued to stroke my back. I let her do that for a few minutes before I said, "Help me turn off the lights?"
    Instead, we found ourselves back downstairs. The tango music was still playing, and I found myself in her arms again. She danced me around the room until the song ended. I stared up at her before pulling away and turning off the lights. I took her hand as we climbed the stairs together.
    Upstairs outside her room, we look at each other. She was teasing my back with her fingers again, but I pulled away from her and said, "I have an answer for you. You may not like it."
    Her expression fell. "Can I change your mind?"
    "No. I don't want to be your fake girlfriend anymore. If I'm staying, it will be as your real girlfriend."
    She stared at me, and I could tell she was repeating in her head what I had just said.
    She didn't answer, so I stepped past her, opening the door to her bedroom, and stepped inside, leaving her where she'd been standing.
    "Have I misread you, Karen?" I asked quietly when she didn't join me. "Did I just hopelessly embarrass myself?"
    She turned around and walked into the bedroom, stepping right to me so I was looking up into her eyes.
    "My hours."
    "You are mine from nine PM every night. You will give me one full day every weekend and one full weekend every month. I want more than that, but you will promise this much as a minimum. "
    She searched my eyes but still wasn't touching me. I let her think about it, but she just stood there. The long er she stood there, the more I started to wonder if I had completely misunderstood everything that had been going on.
    I finally looked down, feeling hurt and embarrassed.
    "Right," I said after we'd been standing there for a good long time. "I'm sorry."
    I started to slip past her, but she pulled me into her arms, and the moment her fingers were on my back, I melted against her. I lifted my lips, and she began kissing me.
    I parted immediately for her, and she slipped her tongue into my mouth, invading me completely. I moaned into the kiss.
    This felt so right. Her arms, her mouth, her body, we fit so well, and I wanted her so badly.
    She broke the kiss and looked into my face. She held me, not moving, not taking my clothes off, not taking me to her bed, and not kissing me again.
    "I don't understand, Karen."
    "I could accept you as my fake girlfriend," she said.
    I started to pull away, immediately getting angry and hurt.
    "Wait, please, let me finish," she said. I stopped struggling, but I was hurt.
    "Are you just curious, Madeline? What's it like to bed a woman?"
    "Karen, listen to me. I don't do anything without thinking it through. Do you want me or not?"
    "I want you more than I've ever wanted anyone in my life," she said.
    "Then why am I still wearing clothes?"
    At that she pulled me into another kiss, her tongue immediately invading my mouth again, and I surrendered to her entirely. The kiss went on and on, and I clutched at her, moaning, pulling myself more tightly against her.
    She eventually pulled her mouth from mine and her eyes searched my face. I fluttered my eyes for a moment before focusing on her. "I don't know what to do, Karen."
    "I do."
    She had me out of my clothes in record time, touching my bare skin everywhere she removed clothing. She set my clothes over a chair then turned to look at me. "Please stand right there," she said, then began circling me.
    I started to color from the attention, but it felt good to be appreciated it. She closed the distance to us and kissed me again, pushing me towards the bed as she did. She was still dressed, and I began grabbing at her clothes, but she pushed my hands away and pushed me up onto the