The Ballad of Miss Lindquist and Miss Mason

“George thinks that I won’t be with him because of Rex.”

Lynette looked up from where she was loading her children’s clothes into the dryer, and raised an eyebrow.

“Really. Do you care to enlighten him?”

Bree straightened her shoulders under her pale pink sweater and put her hands on her hips. “You know very well that I cannot do that. George may tell Rex.”

“Why would he do that? He hates Rex. He’s certainly not going to suddenly get cozy with him just because you’ve thrown him over. Do you think they would start a support group or something? ‘Bree Anonymous?’ ‘Hello, my name is George, and I was rejected by the most beautiful woman anyone has ever seen in recorded history.’”

Bree blushed, pursed her lips and crossed her arms. “I have not thrown him over. I have merely chosen not to be with him in favor of you.”

Lynette straightened up and graced Bree with that half-smile that made Bree’s heart just melt like the vegetable shortening in her prize pound cake recipe. “It is in favor of me, isn’t it?” Bree nodded and smiled at her, unable to continue to look annoyed, and Lynette moved over toward her. Now it was Bree’s turn to raise an eyebrow.

“Is there some reason why you are advancing on me in this predatory manner, Miss Lindquist?”

“No, no. None at all, Miss Mason. Why do you ask?”

“Because I get the feeling you are about to molest...”

Bree didn’t get to finish her sentence as Lynette’s arms wrapped around her waist and her lips were suddenly occupied with keeping up with Lynette’s. Carefully, as though afraid to break her, but firmly, Lynette pushed Bree up against the washing machine, kissing her with a tenderness that belied her attraction and passion. Bree’s hands came up behind Lynette’s shoulders, her right holding Lynette’s body to her, the other removing the clip that held Lynette’s hair up in its customary twist. Lynette stopped kissing her for a moment so they could catch their breath.

“Do you have any idea just how beautiful you are to me?”

Lynette blushed and replied, “You tell me that, and ask me that, and I still don’t get what you see in me. I really don’t. I look in the mirror and see ‘Mommy’.”

“Well, I look at you and see a woman that I love and for whom I lust. Now, please take me to your bed and I will show you just how beautiful you are.”

Lynette’s half smile evolved immediately into a full on grin. She gazed at Bree through half-closed eyes and replied, “We’ll get there. Eventually.” With a burst of strength, she bent down enough to get her hands around Bree’s hips and under her thighs, laced her fingers together and lifted her up onto the washing machine. She ran her hands up over Bree’s slim waist and back, burying her fingers in Bree’s hair. They locked eyes for a moment before Lynette gently began kissing Bree again, brushing her lips over Bree’s, nibbling softly at them. Bree sighed and wrapped her right leg around Lynette’s hip, pulling their bodies together.

“Kiss me like you mean it,” she whispered against Lynette’s slightly parted lips. Before Lynette had time to respond, Bree nipped slightly at her bottom lip and flicked slightly at it with her tongue. Moved by this, Lynette deepened the kiss and pulled Bree closer to her, holding Bree in her strong arms, an embrace normally designed to keep Penny or Parker from falling to the floor, but adapted here for the purposes of loving her neighbor.

Bree tightened her grip around Lynette’s hips with her leg and murmured something too low to hear in her ear. Lynette responded by pressing herself further between Bree’s thighs and kissing along her jaw and her neck. Bree’s head fell back, limp on her neck as Lynette continued to plant soft kisses along her collarbone and the back of her neck, tangling her fingers in Bree’s hair, rumpling the flipped, ironed style that only Lynette knew Bree secretly hated.

Bree swooned in Lynette’s arms as Lynette did the same in hers. Bree managed to hold Lynette up by the waist by virtue of her seat on the washing machine, but it was soon too much for her.

“Upstairs,” she crooned into Lynette’s ear. “Honey, let’s go upstairs. I’ll help you, sweet girl. You won’t have to be strong there. Let me love you. Let’s go upstairs.”

Lynette looked at her for a moment before she broke down in tears. Bree’s eyes widened for a moment before she slid off the washing machine and lowered Lynette to the floor. Once there, she cradled Lynette in her arms, rocking her back and forth.

“Are you alright, honey?”

“Yes. No…Yes, yes I am. I am very alright. It’s just…you remind me of how it is to really be loved, and cherished, and adored, even though I don’t deserve it at all, and it’s just so overwhelming. I’m sorry, I ruined the mood, didn’t I? I always...”

“Shh, honey, no. You are just fine. I would love nothing more than to sit on your laundry room floor with you for the rest of the day. Or the week, even.”

Lynette looked up at her. “Now you’re just lying.”

Bree chuckled. “Ok, you caught me. I would much prefer to make passionate love to you for the rest of the day than sit here, but if you need to sit, then I will sit with you. For however long you need it.” She cradled Lynette’s face in her hand, and kissed her. Chastely and lovingly. At least until Lynette decided that it was time to be less than chaste.

Bree leaned back against the forgotten dryer, still cradling Lynette in her arms, trying to slow down her passions, to show her love. Thoughts raced through her head as she kissed Lynette, all lips, more tenderly than anything else. It had dawned on her in the last few minutes that what had truly drawn them together had indeed been love. They had both harbored some concern that they were using each other to alleviate mid-life boredom, and had shared their concerns over late night coffee and walks along their street in the cool air, fingers entwined. Bree realized now that their concerns were certainly unfounded and that she, at least, cared for Lynette as much as she ever had for anyone in her life.

She had an overwhelming urge to enfold Lynette, to hold her and rock her and whisper sweet things in her ear, things that Lynette obviously did not hear from Tom often enough. Lynette had told her how Tom would come home and just want to get laid, with no concern for her, how if he would just wait until she could have a shower and feel like a normal human being for a few minutes…but no. And then, he even wanted to risk yet another pregnancy. And as much as Lynette loved her kids, if she had another one, she really would lose it.

Bree knew all of these things, and it made her want to be better, to tell Lynette so. Without thinking, she suddenly did.

“I would never treat you like that.”

Lynette, who had been happily off in Sexy Bree Land, came back to earth with a start. “Huh? Like what?”

Bree looked up at the single incandescent bulb in the ceiling and took a breath to arrange her thoughts. "Like...Tom." She considered, and turned to look Lynette in the eyes. “You are precious. I would not use you for my own desires, I would be more considerate of your moods, I would cook for you, I would never suggest that we just ‘risk’ anything…”

“Not like that’s really a big concern, unless you’ve got something that I don’t know about.” Lynette grinned.

Bree looked flustered. “You know what I mean. I mean...what I mean is that I would treat you like you are, like you are the most perfect and beautiful and gentle woman, not just some full-time babysitter with whom I sleep between business trips and power lunches.”

Bree felt Lynette relax into her arms and nestle her head onto her shoulder, and there she was, enfolding Lynette just as she wanted. Though Bree had thought something more along the lines of a window seat or a rocking chair or a bed would be more picturesque, she decided that right here on the laundry room floor was just fine. She settled her chin into Lynette’s hair and they just sat like that, together, for an interminable length of time, with Bree rocking Lynette ever so slightly, like she was a small child rather than a grown woman, and whispering loving words to her.

Eventually, Lynette spoke. “I love you, Bree. You are so much better to me than I deserve.”

Bree smiled into the top of Lynette’s head. “I love you, too, Lynette. You are much better than I could ever deserve as well.”

Lynette stood then, and took Bree by the hands and pulled her up into a warm embrace. “Let’s go upstairs then. I’d like to show you.”

“Well, you certainly took long enough. I’ve been wanting to go upstairs with you for at least an hour and a half.” She poked Lynette playfully in the ribs.

“Patience is a virtue, Miss Mason.”

It had taken some time, but Bree and Lynette had finally made it up the stairs. They had stopped on nearly every step along the way, even sitting down for a way about three quarters of the way up, but here they were, finally, in Lynette’s room.

Bree took the initiative. While she loved Lynette’s slow pace, so much better than Rex’s attitude toward lovemaking, she really was about to lose it if something didn’t happen quickly. She kissed Lynette deeply and tenderly, running her fingers through Lynette’s hair before dropping them to her collar. Bree began unbuttoning Lynette’s white and lavender pinstriped shirt, revealing the ever present camisole underneath. Today it was lavender to match the pinstripes. Bree paused for a moment to hold Lynette, feeling her muscles moving beneath her skin.

Lynette took the opportunity of Bree’s apparent distraction to pull Bree’s sweater off and over her head. No matter how many times she did that, it still took her breath away every time, and this time was no different.

They stood, mere feet from the bed, gaping at each other in wonder as though neither had ever seen the other before. Eventually, Bree blinked and undid the fastening at the waist of her khaki slacks. “Help me,” she demanded quietly as she unbuttoned and unzipped Lynette’s jeans. Lynette pushed Bree’s pants over her hips as Bree did the same with her jeans. Where the slacks easily fell to the floor, more effort was required with Lynette’s tighter fitting jeans. Bree was not offended by the extra effort, following the jeans all the way to the floor with her hands. Lynette extended a hand to her and pulled her up into a kiss.

Acting swiftly for the first time that day, Lynette divested Bree of all of her undergarments and began backing her toward the bed.

Lynette laid Bree down into the sheets and blankets which were strewn haphazardly over her bed. Lynette had gotten out of the habit of making the bed long ago when the twins were babies, and she never had gotten back into it. She had previously been embarrassed when Bree saw her bed like this, but that was before they had become closer as friends, before Lynette understood that Bree’s absolute perfection was how she dealt with the dearth of joy in her life.

Lynette wanted to fix that lack now, with this lovemaking. She rested her body on Bree’s, the two of them almost matching except for the extra several inches of length in Bree’s frame. She looked down at Bree, whose eyes were half closed in anticipation, and smiled before placing the first of a series of kisses along her neck and collarbone. Bree sighed a little, more of a little mewling sound, as Lynette made her way down toward her breasts, where she suddenly stopped and grinned up at Bree.

“Are you out of your mind?” Bree glared at Lynette. “If you stop again, I will kill you at my first opportunity.”

“Well, then, you will be in worse circumstances than you are now, won’t you?” Lynette kept grinning, looked down and exhaled onto Bree’s breast. Bree convulsed under her and inhaled sharply. Lynette responded by covering Bree’s nipple with her lips, kissing and nipping at it as she had been doing with Bree’s lips only a few minutes before. Lynette continued on as Bree held Lynette’s head to her chest and petitioned God and Lynette in turn. Finally (or so it felt to Bree), Lynette moved her hand down between their bodies, pausing to look Bree in the eyes. Bree pushed up with her hips and Lynette pressed down with two fingers and Bree decided that it was a good thing indeed that she had not shot Lynette with the Luger as she had threatened. It was not long before Bree was crying out her pleasure, rather than muttering it under her breath, and she rolled over onto Lynette after having finally divested her of the button down shirt and camisole.

Bree kissed Lynette passionately, and Lynette responded in kind, arching her back and neck as Bree caressed her hips and thighs. Bree slowly kissed her way down Lynette’s body, holding her close, playing her fingers along Lynette’s sides as she settled between her thighs. She nuzzled Lynette, who responded immediately by screaming various obscenities and clutching at the sheets. Bree flushed at the language and what it implied and went on licking and nipping at Lynette with her lips while keeping a grip on Lynette’s sweat-slicked thighs so as to keep her head from being crushed between them. Lynette finished a lot more quietly than she started, barely whispering Bree’s name. Bree crawled back up Lynette’s body and kissed her sweetly on the lips.

“Could you hold me for a little while? I just want to feel your arms around me. You make me feel safe.”

Lynette smiled at her and replied, “Always.”

They arranged the pillows to support them and straightened out the sheets twisted from their earlier lovemaking, and Bree burrowed into Lynette’s arms, their bodies pressed together, and Lynette wove her legs into Bree’s, holding Bree’s entire body with her own. Bree sighed contentedly and nuzzled Lynette’s neck.

Lynette whispered into Bree’s hair, “How are you feeling?”

“Good,” she replied. “Always good, when I am with you.”

“You are perfect.”

“On the contrary; with you, I don’t feel I have to be perfect.”

Lynette looked down at Bree, all sleepy-eyed and mussed hair, and mused at how effortless Bree made perfection look, even now. “Will Rex miss you if you don’t go home?”

“He will be annoyed, but he won’t miss me, per se.”

“Stay here with me tonight.”

“The kids?”

“I’ll give the sitter a bonus. Let’s just be us tonight.”