Images in Henna

"Step out of your pants."

I obeyed without question her command. More than willing to let her take control of me. I wanted that, needed her to take the decisions away and let me just be. Simply be, and enjoy what I want to happen here but can't make myself move towards.

I sucked in a deep breath when her hands came to rest on my hips, the fingers curling into the tops of my panties. The elastic rolled then up as she slid her hands down my legs. My bare skin under her fingertips. When my pubic hair caught the cloth and she had to give it I tug I winced at her sudden gasp.

"Wow."

And there it was, the disgust, the revilement. Her hatred of my thick dark hair, I felt my shame building second by second as she looked at me. Then, when her eyes turned up to my face, I was ready to flee my own bedroom.

"My god, that so beautiful," said Jen her voice filled with quiet awe. Then her hand brushed through my wiry curls.

Oh, Uie Maa, light take me!

Was this what the only woman I had ever touched intimately felt when my hands had roamed her that long ago night? How could she have not enjoyed this? How could she have not taken my touch as the gift it had been meant as, how? And then Jen leaned into my body and rubbed her cheek in the thick hair, the very thing I had wanted to do to Madeline. When Jen began to kiss her way back up my belly and her mouth fastened upon my nipple I moaned.

Then her mouth, hot and wet was upon mine. Her kisses taking my breath from me, I was wet pottery to her when she tumbled us into my bed. Those lips began to teach me the ways of kissing a woman, a skill that mine did not have but that hers possessed in abundance. Oh, oh my yes, I was so eager a pupil to Jen's mouth.

When my mouth was filled with the woman's nipple and my tongue touched those metal barbells I was brought up sharp.

"What?"

"I don't want to hurt you touching these," I said my fingers moving to lightly touch the metal.

Jen's laughter echoed around the room joyfully. She placed a simple pleasant kiss upon my lips.

"You can't hurt my nipples. I love to have them tugged on. The piercings feel wonderful! I love them; tug them to your heart content." Her fingers curled in my dark hair and she pulled my mouth back to her pierced nipple. With her encouraging tugs, I began to suckle, then to clamp my lips and teeth to those tender pieced of flesh, my teeth finding the piercing similar to a fork in a piece of steak. Sudden, hard and abrupt when encountered, but I quickly found them delightful to play with.

"Touch me."

Moving my hand with no thought I ran my fingers across that valley of bare skin--feeling the hint of stubble rough against my fingertips--and then to a fold that was deliciously puffy, and so very wet. Jen smiled at my awkward exploring, then took my hand and began to guild me to what she enjoyed. Which is good, I was lost. I knew what felt good when I touch myself but when I touched there, on her, she flinched and moved from my fingers.

Then her mouth was on mine again and her hand was between my legs, Jen's lips echoed mine as the feeling of her fingers parting me made me moan. Her hand caressing my most secret of places, the touch so different from my own fingers, brought the moisture pooling from within me. Her fingers moving with a wet sound that after moments she too began to make from my fingering.

I gasped at the abrupt removal of her hand and then she was pushing me hard into the mattress. I watched unsure of what was happening when she placed butterfly kiss on my lips, then chin, then light licks on my nipples. Teasing them even harder. When her mouth went past then and the kisses tickled my bare belly I knew what she was doing. I was unsure if I wanted her to do that. Well, at least till her teasing teeth tugged at my dark hair and her nose parted me. When her tongue pushed into my folds I could not have begged for a more delicious feeling to be done to me.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was suddenly scared that she would obviously want me to do this to her, but even as I felt that moment of terror a desire to do that very thing flooded through me, taking any fear away. She was giving me pleasure in waves that shook me from my henna stained toes to my dark black hair. I felt a tingle that made me shake, I could not control the shiver in my legs but her hands gripped my thighs, stilling them. Then she placed a kiss on that thigh and then the other, little nibbling bites that made me jump. My eyes went wide at her chuckle.

"You are so sweet," she said.

Am I? Ah, what do you say to that?

Then words were taken from me as her hand moved and two long fingers buried themselves inside me. What left my lips next could be best described as a scream. Her fingers were working within me, a twisting motion that took my passion to levels I had not known simple fingers could do.

Her tongue attacked my little bud and, with my hands full of my bed sheets, I begged her to stop but meant nothing of. And she knew that, or simply didn't care what I wanted. Her mouth was devouring me. I felt turned inside out and ... and ... and

"Oh, Uie Maa!"

Again and again, I felt my body sending fiery sparks down every nerve ending. Touch them with a feeling that was feather light and aggressively brutal at the same time. I moaned, begged, screamed and with one last throaty cry I drifted into a place where the world was soft and billowy. I felt surrounded by curtains of silk, my mind disconnected from the wet limp thing that was still twitching in spasm. My mind walked through those lands of silk to golden palaces of opulent pleasure. No Raj had such glory build to them as I did to my sex. And within one palace such I opened my eyes to see Jen's face before mine. A self-satisfying smile on her wet lips.

"Was it that good, Ragi? You took a little nap on me."

"I--" there were no more words hidden behind that simple letter. Joyfully weeping, I wrapped her into my arms and she chuckled at my laughing tears.

** ** ** ** ** ** **

I had never believed I would awaken curled in a woman's arms, naked. Nor that I would be awakened by that woman kissing me.

Blinking, I looked at Jen and smiled to match her smile.

"Suprabhaat," she said grinning.

"And good morning to you too." I did my best not to wince at her terrible pronunciation. "What time is ... oh, we need to get going!"

Her hand cupped my left breast, teasing the nipple. "Yes, alas, my lovely. But I have to ask you something before we go." Jen bit her bottom lip.

"Yes?"

"Was this a once and done?" The longing in her voice for it not to be was clear. In that tone, I sensed the same lonely desire for a forbidden love that I had felt for most of my life.

My answer was to kiss her.

I could smell myself upon another woman's lips. Oh, the very naughtiness of that set my body to humming. Glancing over her bare shoulder at the clock, I decided we still had a little time to spare. And there was still a thing I wanted, that we had both been too tired to try last night. With a smile, I eased her back onto my bed and began to kiss my way across her body the same way she had done to me the night before. My eyes stayed with hers and I saw her grinning at me that I wanted to do this for her.

When my lips brushed the rough stubble, I paused and placed a deep kiss into the softness of that wonderful pillow of flesh. She put her hand on my head, fingers tightening in my hair when I let my lips drift down.

My mouth was on another woman's sex. My lips were touching her in the most intimate place. Then, at her urging, I pressed my mouth into that welcoming valley. My first taste of her was a drink of musky wine, a flavor never before encountered but bringing me delight in that first sample. Then, when my tongue dove between prickly lips and found the source of that flavor, it flooded my mouth. Like a cat licking cream, I settled in to drink from this beautiful woman.

"Mmm."

Jen's fingers in my hair was a tightness that was delightful. A pulling that did not hurt but instead gave me a feeling of guidance. She was in control even though I was the one who initiated this. That feeling comforted me, given that I was taking steps I had never dreamed I would dance.

With slow gentle licks and a ravenous aggression, I varied everything I was doing. With no real clue but plenty of enthusiasm, I tried to copy what Jen had done to me last night. Her moans were encouraging, but I couldn't help but wonder if they were real. There could be no way I was as experienced as she had been, not on my first try. Then, as if that very thought made matters worse, I began to doubt that I was doing anything down here right. Oh, but how naughty this was!

"Ragi?"

I looked up.

"Relax," Jen smiled at me. "I promise that feels wonder."

With a smile that must have been silly looking, I nodded, tried to relax and went back to licking her. Then I remembered how wonderful her fingers had felt inside me. I moved my hand and let a single finger slide into the wet, gripping, heated tightness of this woman. Her fingers in my hair gripped me pushing my mouth deeper. I twisted that finger ludely exploring her.

"Use two, maybe three. Oh, Ragi that feels ... oh, damn yes."

Letting her call what I was doing to her, I slipped that second finger into her. My tongue teased her silky nub, lapping at the bundle of nerves, I grinned when I heard her make a sound that I was sure was real. Sucking on her clit, I added my third finger.

Her thighs closed on my head scaring me but her hand would not let me pull away.

"Don't stop. Please! Oh, please!"

Her begging and trembling thighs told me she was in the grip of the same pleasure that had consumed me last night. Eager to bring her all the pleasure she had given me; I took her nub back between my lips and moved my fingers inside her again.

"Yes!"

** ** ** ** ** ** **

Laying there in my sex-soaked bed of sin, my head pillowed upon Jen's stomach with her absently brushing my hair between her fingers, I was in paradise. A delightful place I never wanted to leave. But of course ....

"We've got to get up and hurry or we're going to miss Madeline's wedding." Jen's caressing didn't stop as she said this.

"Would that be such a bad thing?" I asked.

"For us? No, it wouldn't. But for Maddy, it would be bad. Having two of her friends not be willing to come see her trying to make her life better." Her fingers in my hair stopped. "That's her point of view of this, that she is making her life better."

With a sigh, I nodded. "Yeah."

"Come on. We'll get her married off to that twit, dance at the reception, drink too much and then go try to find our own happiness."

"I don't think I deserve that ... sometimes."

To confess that, even to a woman I've been so incredibly intimate with, was an emotional release. A bearing of a part of me that was far more kept hidden than my body under clothes.

Jen sat up, pulling me up with her.

"Ragi, no. Just no! There is no deserve or don't deserve. There is only life and getting from it what you want." Her henna covered hand caressed my cheek, I leaned into those fingers. "I wanted you, I got you. Does that mean I deserved this night of pleasure? No, it means I wanted it and did what I could to make it happen."

I was thinking of that when she kissed me.

"Come on. Let's go get naked and embarrassed in public. Angela is bringing her karaoke machine to the reception. " She grinned at me. I giggled when she cupped her smallish breasts and gave them a shake. "I've got to go do my Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction impersonation."

Smiling, I looked at those pierced nipples. "I think Tasha's going to be doing that."

Jen scoffs. "Just because she has the same skin tone as Janet does not mean she can have all the best singers. I am the queen of Janet Jackson karaoke. She can have Gaga."

With her singing and me laughing we got dressed.

Jen was right, though, she really could sing.

** ** ** ** ** ** **

Angela was already bigger than life and twice as loud.

Tasha seemed to want to blend into the background, let the world look past her to the more vibrant Angela.

Jen walked in with a glow around her that reeked of sexual afterglow. She grinned at questions and gave a sly smile as an answer.

Madeline was a mental, emotional, nervous train wreck in progress. It was clear she was going to die of embarrassment long before she even removed her clothes.

And me?

Well, I was ... I was ... I'm not sure what I was. Lost? Found? Somewhere in-between, maybe?

"Ragini, my henna looks awesome! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Suddenly finding myself in an Angela power hug, I looked to Jen who was chuckling. She motioned for me to give Angela's plump ass a spank, but I didn't do it.

I looked around me at the work of yesterday. My art, the effort of hand and eye. I saw the henna paste had long ago flaked off and the reddish stains had darkened to a luscious mahogany brown. Moving over to Tasha I took her hand and looked over the designs. I had spaced hers further apart to make her darker skin contrast. The dark stain had taken well and even with her chocolate skin tone the patterns showed well. She too gave me a hug. When our heads were close she whispered into my ear.

"Madeline's a mess."

I gave a little nod.

Moving over to the bride to be, I made a pretext of looking over the henna but I was looking over her. Her decorated hands were shaking, and she had a paleness to her skin that made my darker images stand out.

"Maddy?" When she looked up her eyes were red. "What is it?"

"I don't know if I can do this. Why oh why did I ever agree to this? I don't even like wearing a bikini to the beach! How can I stand naked in front of my parents, friends, strangers and a preacher? Oh, what was I thinking? Jim's having the time of his life and I'm going to be sick."

I was about to try and give an answer when there was a tap on the door. A male voice came through the cheap wooden partition. "Wedding time, ladies."

Behind me, the other bridesmaids began to either finish disrobing or began putting on the simple white terry cloth robes they would wear out to where the ceremony was going to take place, in the flower garden. Glancing back I saw familiar skin appearing.

"Give us a moment, please?" I asked when they were ready and Madeline had not even begun to undress. Angela began to say something boisterous, but Tasha took her arm and led her out the room whispering to her the whole time. Jen gave me a smile, a nod and then pulled the door closed behind her.

The tears began the moment the door closed.

Hugging my best friend in the world to me, I offered the comfort of what a shoulder and a few soft words could give. I listened as she told me how she had not slept last night, how she had been sick twice this morning, how she was not feeling like a bride but like a stripper. What words of mine would help when she told me how Jim had sent her texts all morning about how much he was looking forwards to this, how happy he was, and how sexy he thought the whole "Nude Wedding" was going to be? I tried to find some helpful words, none the less.

There was another knock on the door. Another urging to join the wedding.

When Madeline began to remove her clothing I felt like a rapist to be helping her. I gave fake smiles as I helped adjust her veil, the only article of clothing she had. She quickly donned the soft, white robe. The thing cloth around her seemed to give her the courage to go face the new life she was getting herself into.

I handed her the white lily bouquet; most likely her mother's choice. Madeline hates lilies. She looked at it, tears still hovering behind those lovely eyes.

"Maybe I can use this to hide behind?"

My gaze went to her breasts covered by terry cloth. "You will need more flowers."

She gave a chuckle that was half sob. "Well, quick call the florist! I guess I'm ready." She looked at me still fully dressed. "Come on Ragi, nudy girl time."

"I'll be right there."

I watched her leave. Standing there, white robe in hand, I knew that was what I was really doing today. She was leaving me behind. My Maddy, my best friend in the world was going to soon be gone. The parts of her I have loved since we first met were going to be suppressed by her new life till the woman I loved was but a pale shadow. Looking down at that fistful of white bathrobe, I crunched the material in my fists but made no change to the soft cloth. Suddenly I tried to tear it, to rip it. Nothing I did made any difference, all my strength useless against the fabric. That was how everything felt at the moment.

Nothing I did would make the least change today.

The knock on the door, this time, was less pleasant. Impatient. The world wanted to see me naked.

** ** ** ** ** **

My white sandals crunched the gravel of the path underfoot as I walked through flowers. Hundreds, thousands. All bright shades and frilly leafed. Their normal growth trimmed and shaped to make them more appealing to the eyes of the viewer. Tamed, perhaps to make them more vibrant, but tamed all the same. And, there in the middle of the garden by a white gazebo, were the most beautiful flowers of all. My friends.

And the rest of the wedding party and guests. Weeds?

The full extent of my artwork was on display. Bare skin in abundance. Each bridesmaid held a cluster of flowers, also lilies, in hand. I saw that the groomsmen each had been given a small wreath of greenery. The groom, Jim, had his on his head, like a crown of Roman leaves. And he was standing like he was the very Cesar. As I approached I noticed his eyes taking in every hip and curve of the other ladies, and that hint of a smile lurking in his eyes told me something. That had been part of Jim's idea for this, getting to see Madeline's friends naked.

When I approached, I saw his eyes cut to me. Jim nudged the arm next to him and a grin of anticipation pass between him and his best man, Mark.

There was a white folding chair to one side and I saw the robes piled there. Moving over to it I took a deep breath and untied my white robe. When I shed the covering, I got the expected response.

"Ah, Ragi?" Tasha made a pass over her body and then pointed to me.

"Hey, what's up?"

My eyes went to Jim and I leveled him a look of scorn. Walking past the other bridesmaids, no explanations given but a shared smile for Jen, I stopped in front of Madeline. The confused look in her eyes was pitiable. I let my eyes slide down the length of her nude body, seeing my artwork displayed on the loveliest of canvases. I saw the flush to her skin as my eyes came back up and met hers. Madeline bit her bottom lip then looked at my short dress.

"Ragini honey, you're supposed to be naked. Remember?"

Reaching up I lifted her veil back from in front of her face, revealing those beautiful eyes, pools so deep I wanted to go swimming in them all night. I let myself take in every last freckle on her nose, every eyelash, every curve of her lips.

"I am naked. Now and forever." Looking over at my friends I knew this might lose me all of them, well not one. Jen's gaze met mine with assurance. She would be there to pick up the pieces of my shattered life. When I looked back at my best friend I smiled at Maddy's confusion. Then I raised my voice so all could hear. "Madeline, I'm a lesbian. I always have been. And, I've always been in love with you."

A hushed silence killed the scattering of whispers that had been drifting to us from the wedding audience. I didn't waste a glance to see what any of them looked like. To see if their faces were full of disgust ... that familiar disgust I knew from the past. I didn't care about their opinions of me. Nor did I care any longer about the vile opinions of those that had thrown me out into the world. No, the only face I watched was the one before my eyes. I interrupted her before her parted lips found speech.