Finding Flagstaff

"You suckered me," he laughed. "There's no way that huge hunk of iron ought to go like that. What's your name?"

"Sahara," I told him. "What's yours?"

"Merlin," he said. "Okay, Sahara, pop that hood and let me see that rocket."

Of course, when I did the first thing he saw was that big blower. He laughed and shook his head again. "Okay, Sahara, you got me. I should have kept my big mouth shut. Now, can I drive it?"

We traded cars and I loved that little pony right away. It was an antique, but it sure sounded sweet and it rode like a logging truck. When we got back to the gate, we parked and traded back.

"What's the top end on this thing?" he asked.

"I have no idea," I told him. "I'm afraid of it. I hit 170 there. That's as fast as it's ever been. Theoretically, somewhere around 210, but I'll never know."

"Jesus Christ, Sahara, that's some beast you've got there. Who built it for you?"

"I built it myself," I told him. "I'm a pretty good mechanic. I had help with the blower, but I put the engine in myself. It's a 6.4 liter hemi, by the way."

"You run quite the con game, don't you?" he chuckled. "This has got to be about the baddest boy on the planet that's street legal."

"Yeah, and it gets more than 20 miles to the gallon if I keep my foot out of it," I told him. "It drops to four cylinders when I'm cruising."

"Modern miracles," he said. "It still doesn't sound as good. Where do you want to go for dinner and where will I pick you up?"

"You won't, and I want to eat Italian," I told him. "You're the local; you pick the time and place. I'll bring my friends and we'll meet there. I just met you today and I'm not sure about you yet. Is that okay?"

"Absolutely," he said. "I understand. I could be Freddy Krueger for all you know. I'm not, by the way. I'm a detective."

"Well, then I'm afraid I'll have to cancel that dinner," I told him.

"Why? Do you mean because I'm a detective?"

"Yes," I said. "I'll never go out with a policeman."

He laughed. "Well, it's a good thing I'm not a policeman, then. I'm a private detective, Sahara. What do you have against the police?"

"It's a long story," I told him. "Why don't we go back to IHOP, you can eat breakfast, I'll drink coffee and I'll tell you my tale of woe."

He ordered and I got coffee and I explained. "I don't know if you noticed, but I'm black," I told him.

"Yeah, I kind of got that," he chuckled. "You don't look very black to me though."

"Dad was white," I told him. "I don't remember him, but that's what Mom said. Anyway, black people don't have quite the same experience with the cops as white people. For instance, suppose you and I are with a group of hot rodders on a cruise. We're all in a line, the speed limit is 70 and we're all doing 80. There are a dozen of us. A cop sees all these hot rods and comes crawling up the line deciding whom he's going to pull over. Who do you think that's going to be?"

"Let me guess," he grinned. "It's going to be you, because you're black."

"You catch on quick," I pretended to admire him. "Do I need to tell you that has happened to me a hundred times? I've been pulled over because cops assume that since I'm black, I must have stolen my car. I've had my ID checked going to my mailbox because the cop thought I didn't belong in my neighborhood because I'm black. No, Merlin, I don't want anything to do with the police. I believe that they're as corrupt as the people they arrest. If you want to protect and serve, join the fire department."

He sat there for a minute, just eating his eggs. "Well, I'm not black, but I have the same thoughts about them as you do," he said. "That's why I'm in private security. A lot of the things I do bring me into contact with the police, and I probably know more about corruption than you can imagine."

"What does a private detective do these days," I asked. "Snoop around and get information on cheating spouses?"

He chuckled. "I don't actually do that myself at all, anymore. It was making me a cynic. I have a couple of old divorced guys who think everyone's a cheater anyway. They do all of that kind of stuff. I'm actually working on something now that you might like. I might tell you about it, but we don't have time this morning."

I gave him the hotel number, he gave me a business card and we agreed to meet at seven for dinner. As soon as I could, I called Rosaline and Ellen. I told them I had met a cool guy, but I needed wingmen to cover for me (wingwomen in this case). They agreed to go and I worked for a while on my computer. In the afternoon, I decided to check out the real estate situation and dropped by the university to check out the job market. The position was in the English Department, and they were very impressed with my resume. They didn't have a published author in their department, and I could tell the Department Head was very interested in me. I didn't know if it was my boobs or my resume he was most interested in, but I know how to handle that sort of thing.

I don't have huge boobs, but they look pretty nice. I work out a lot and I still have that sprinter's butt I had in college. I ran 400 meters and I was tenth in the nation. That probably doesn't sound that impressive, but out of 30,000 female runners, I was tenth.

I looked at a couple of condos, and it was time to get ready. I showered and put on a little white dress. It showed off my skin pretty well, and it was low in the neck and high in the hem. The girls looked very nice when I picked them up, and we took off. I told them about racing Merlin and winning dinner for us, and they laughed.

Ellen told me I was awesome. "I've never met anyone like you," she said. "You're just so full of life and you have so much fun."

She was sitting in the front with me and I pulled her over for a hug. "You're pretty swell, too, kiddo," I told her.

"Hey, what am I, chopped liver?" Rosaline piped up from the back seat.

We were stopped at a light and I turned around, pulled her up through the gap between the seats and kissed her. I put quite a lip lock on her and didn't let her go until the car behind us got impatient and honked. I let her go and she slumped back into her seat. Ellen was looking at me as if I had a third eye, and Rosaline was all flushed. I laughed for a long time.

"I think she's trying to shock us, Roz," Ellen said.

"She can shock me any time," Roz said.

We pulled up at the restaurant and Merlin was already there. I introduced him to the girls, and I could tell he was charmed. Ellen did her usual disappearing act, and Roz just blossomed. We had a nice dinner and Ellen gradually became visible again. She mostly talked to Roz and me, but she answered questions when Merlin talked to her. When we got ready to leave, he walked us out and asked me if I would go out with him the next Friday.

"I'd rather go Saturday and spend the day," I told him. "Take me to the Grand Canyon, and I'll go."

He agreed, we parted with hugs all around and the girls and I went back to my place. The girls really liked him and even Ellen talked about him some. We watched a movie on pay-per-view and giggled a lot together and I took them home.

I had a good week. I settled on a condo that was close to the University. I had been called in three times for an interview, and they offered me a contract. The money wasn't good, but it wasn't bad either. I would be teaching English literature, film as literature and creative writing. The school had a literary magazine and I would be the advisor. They told me that the Dean of Instruction would be retiring soon and hinted that I could have the job if I wanted it. Since my degree was in administration anyway, I thought that would be a good fit for me.

I went out with the girls Wednesday evening and we had a blast. Merlin took me to a shooting range Thursday afternoon and that was fun, too. I didn't have a gun with me since I had no permits in Arizona, but he told me it wouldn't be a problem. When I got the condo, I called the moving company and had them get my stuff out of storage and bring it out. The Grand Canyon had to be postponed, because I was moving into the condo. Merlin had a pickup and he and the girls helped me move in. We had a lot of fun arranging things and we sent Roz to get Chinese carryout while we finished up. We all watched some cheesy movie Merlin had rented and drank beer. Ellen even drank one and she sat by me in a big chair. I petted her and she seemed to like it. Merlin looked a little jealous but I stuck my tongue out at him and he laughed. Roz was getting pretty comfortable with him on the sofa anyway, and I don't think he minded having a very cute 20-year-old cozied up to him like that.

I invited the girls to spend the night when Merlin left and we all wound up in my big king sized bed for a sleepover. Ellen took me to church Sunday morning, and introduced me around. It was fun and uplifting and the condo seemed empty after I took them home. Oh, well, I'd been by myself before.

As I spent more time with Ellen and Roz, I noticed several things: First, of course, was how close they were, closer than any sisters I knew. I also never saw them with any guys. I don't just mean boyfriends; they never seemed to hang out with any men. I don't know what they did at school, but when they were with me, there was never the excited chatter about guys that you would expect from college girls.

On the other hand, they always seemed to be especially excited to see me, and even Ellen was coming out of her shell more, and seemed to be more welcoming towards my hugs. I began to wonder if there might be more to their relationship than met the eye.

Ever since I became aware of myself as a sexual being, I have been equally attracted to both men and women. It wasn't until Sex Ed that I knew that there was a term for people like me: bisexual. I was definitely attracted to both Roz and Ellen, but I was worried about upsetting the apple cart. I valued their friendship, and didn't want to scare them off, and Ellen seemed especially sensitive. I also had Merlin to consider. He seemed like a really nice guy, and I didn't want to mess up whatever might happen with him. I decided that I would be patient and see what developed.

The matter was taken out of my hands when Roz was at the library doing some research, and Ellen and I were lounging on my bed watching some mindless Rom-Com, while I was trying to multi-task, jotting down some notes for my next book. Suddenly, Ellen looked up at me and said, "You like me, don't you, Sahara?"

I was startled by her question, and babbled something like, "Of course I like you, and Roz, too."

"No, I don't mean like that," she said, "I know we're friends and all. I mean like the guy in the movie likes the girl."

"Um," I said, showing my brilliant command of the English language.

"Because..." she said, crawling sensually over to me, looking deep into my eyes, "I like you that way." Then she took my face in her hands, kissed me full on the mouth until our lips parted and our tongues danced together.

I'd had four women lovers, but I didn't know about Ellen, and despite her kiss, I was wary of pushing her too far, too fast. I hadn't expected shy, awkward Ellen to be so forward.

I needn't have worried!

As soon as we broke the kiss, she started a trail of very gentle kisses, like the touch of a butterfly, down my neck until she reached my collar. When she started to unbutton my blouse, I asked what must have seemed like one of the dumbest questions: "Are you sure you want this?"

She just laughed and said, "Do you see anyone holding a gun to my head?" as she caressed my breast over my shirt, before continuing her task of unbuttoning it.

I just sighed, put my head back and gave myself over to the moment. When she reached the waistband of my jeans I helped her loosen them to finish removing my shirt, then I pulled her shirt over her head, noticing for the first time that she hadn't been wearing a bra. She had lovely breasts, I guessed about a B cup, nice and firm, with a distinct perkiness to them. They had fairly small areolas that formed their own little miniature cones, with tiny pink nipples that were hard and erect.

Ellen quickly evened things up, removing my bra, gazing at my breasts with obvious admiration and desire. My breasts were a little smaller than hers, a full "A" cup, with larger areolas a little darker brown than the rest of my skin, with dark brown puffy nipples, like little Hershey's Kisses.

"Oh, my God, Sahara," she sighed. "You are even more beautiful than I could ever have imagined!" she said, as she leaned forward to take one of my nipples in her mouth, while softly caressing my other breast.

I gently pulled her closer, fondling a breast with one hand while gently stroking her back with the other. She began running her free hand up and down my spine, sending chills through my entire body.

I decided that it was time for me to take charge a little bit, so I gently disengaged, running my hands down her sides until I reached her pants. I quickly unfastened them and pulled them down, along with her panties. I couldn't help noticing how she smelled, and I breathed in the heady musky scent emanating from her pussy.

Her mons was totally bare, with just a landing strip above. I could see that she was excited, and her clitoris was already erect and peeking out. I leaned in and gave her a slow lick from the bottom of her pussy all the way to the top, feeling her shudder as I did.

I pulled back for a minute and quickly removed my jeans and soaking wet panties, and she grabbed my shoulders and pulled me in for a kiss.

"Wait," I said, "let me wash my face."

"I don't care," she said, "I need to kiss you, and I need to kiss you now!" and she did just that.

When we broke the kiss, Ellen continued to pull me up, pulling my pussy towards her mouth. I had given up resisting her desires, and moved up on the bed until my pussy was hovering over her face.

"Your pussy is just beautiful!" Ellen said. "I've never seen one totally shaved, Roz likes hers furry, she just gets a bikini trim in the summer."

She was very good, much better than I'd expected. She teased me, gently biting at my inner thighs and making me squirm. The teeth were replaced by feather kisses over my skin and she had me on fire. I could feel her little pink tongue, tracing the corded tendon up my inner thigh until I felt her breath, hot and steamy against my lips. The little tongue darted out, teasing the outer lips until I thought I would scream. She pushed it up inside me, licking away at the girl cum that was dripping from me. I was incredibly aroused and the thought of this sweet awkward girl making me feel like that was mind altering.

She traced a little circle around my clit and I was getting frantic, waiting for her to finally let me cum. I felt her slim little fingers cupping my ass and then the incredible sensation of her thumb, slipping into my dripping pussy from behind. My clit was throbbing as her tongue circled the base, fully erect and seeming to be an inch long. When she finally closed her lips around it, lashing the tip with her tongue, I went off like a bomb. Every muscle in my body went tense and then spasms of pure pleasure were ripping me apart. It was as intense an orgasm as I'd ever had and when she pushed one finger inside the clenching ring of my ass, it just started all over again.

She worked on my clit, sending pulses of pure ecstasy shooting through me and the thumb in my pussy and finger in my ass just trebled the sensation. I came like a bomb and rode it until I thought I was going to pass out. I was becoming oversensitive and I began to pull away. She tried to hold me there, but it was becoming almost painful to keep cumming like that and I twisted away to lay beside her, my head swimming and my pussy pulsing with the aftershocks.

As I came down from my high, I realized that I hadn't given Ellen an orgasm; I didn't think that the shudder when I licked her pussy counted.

When I started to move down her body, Ellen asked me what I was doing.

"I'm returning the favor!" I said with a smile.

"Please," she said, "You don't have to do that."

"I know, but I want to," I said, "It makes me feel good when you feel good, baby!"

Ellen seemed a little irritated. "Really," she said, "I'm fine, let's just enjoy the moment."

I was a little perplexed, but I didn't want to put a damper on things by pressuring her. I figured if this relationship was going anywhere, there would be plenty of time to figure this out later.

We cuddled together and I idly played with one little nipple while she stroked my belly.

As we lay in each other's arms enjoying the afterglow, I noticed the time and realized that Roz could be home at any time.

.

"Hurry, we've got to get cleaned up and dressed before Roz gets home," I said.

"Why?" asked Ellen, "What's the problem?"

"This!" I said, waving my arms at our scattered clothing and the rumpled bedding, wrinkling my nose at the scent of sex still in the air.

Ellen laughed! I couldn't believe it, she just laughed aloud! I don't think I'd heard her laugh like that three times since I'd met her.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked. "This is serious. What will Roz say if she finds us like this?"

Ellen gave me a strange look. "You really don't know, do you?" she asked.

"Know what?" I said, "I wish you would just tell me what the fuck you're talking about!"

Ellen got a little flustered but settled down, and took both of my hands in hers. "Sahara," she said, "If Roz came in right now, she would probably want to join us!"

Suddenly, a light bulb lit up in my brain! The unusual closeness I had noticed between Roz and Ellen suddenly made sense.

"Y... You mean that you and Roz, you and Roz are lovers?" I said.

"Yes, Sahara," she said. "That's exactly what I'm saying. Maybe I should explain."

"Yes, I think that might help," I said.

"Growing up, I had a very hard time relating to people," Ellen said. "Autism was still poorly understood, and often misdiagnosed. Roz and I were very close; she was my protector, keeping the bullies at bay.

"Then Roz hit puberty, and had the natural urges that went along with it. It was very hard on both of us. I didn't want to let go, and she wanted to go out and experience what every teenager did, but she felt guilty as if she was abandoning me. We went back and forth and up and down, sometimes one or both of us angry with the other, sometimes crying in each other's arms.

"A year or so later, I hit puberty and it seemed like things weren't twice as bad, they were ten times worse!

"A few months later, our parents went out. To this day, I don't know if it was just a night out or if they wanted to escape our squabbling. After a tense supper, we took our showers and we were still wrapped in our towels, when something set us off. I don't remember what it was; I'm sure it was something stupid. One thing led to another, our towels fell off and we were wrestling naked!

"As soon as we realized what we were doing we stopped and grabbed our towels, holding them in front of ourselves, panting; then Roz dropped her towel, reached out, grabbed me and started kissing me! As you can probably imagine, I was shocked, and started to push her away, until I realized, 'This feels good!' and started to kiss her back.

"This was all new to both of us, and we didn't know when our parents would be home, so we pulled ourselves together and cooled it." She looked up at me with those beautiful shy blue eyes. "Do you hate us, now, Sahara? Do you think I'm creepy?"

I gathered her lithe little body up in my arms. "No, baby, I think you're so beautiful and you're so special to me. I could never hate you. I love you, Ellen. I love everything about you. I've never known anyone like you. I'm surprised, yes, but not in a bad way. I don't think you're creepy at all. I promise. So you think Roz... she won't... she'll be okay?" I was drawn back to what we'd been talking about.