Looking at the Sun

Sienna nodded. Then, to her surprise, Sasha grabbed some tinfoil from a drawer and wrapped up the dishes.

"Not good?" Sienna's stomach fell.

Sasha grinned and slid the dishes into the oven and set the temperature, "It's very good. But it's not as good as you... in nothing but an apron."

"Oh!" Sienna felt a bolt of desire shoot from the tips of her toes to the back of her scalp. Sasha read the words on the apron and chuckled, "C'mere." Sasha leaned forward, and then picked Sienna up in a fireman's carry.

Sienna screeched, "Sasha, you're going to drop me. I'm too heavy!"

Sasha gently let Sienna down on the bed, "You were the one who dropped me in 10th grade... and look, you are now perfectly safe."

Sienna reached behind her back to undo the apron's ties, "You said 'give me a minute,' so I looked away. You chose to move before the minute was over."

"Sienna, it was a fucking ropes course trust fall." Sasha snorted. Sienna blushed, remembering Sasha's look of stunned surprise when she found herself flat on her back in a muddy field.

"How about you let me make it up to you?" Sienna dropped her voice to a lower timbre, and slowly pulled the apron off herself.

Sasha stopped laughing immediately and crawled over so she was right over Sienna's body. "It was incredibly painful," she said with mock agony.

Sienna reached up and started undoing the buttons of Sasha's shirt, "Where did it hurt? Here?"

Sasha shook her head.

Sienna unbuckled Sasha's belt, "Here?"

"Lower," Sasha rasped.

Sienna's hand snaked into Sasha's boxers. "Here?"

"Hmmm... getting closer..."

Sienna's phone, which was still sitting on the kitchen counter, started ringing.

"Probably my mother..." whispered Sienna. Her hand reached its destination.

"News travels fast, I guess." Sasha sucked in a breath as Sienna slid two fingers into her.

"Then I don't need to talk to her, do I?" Sienna grinned wickedly as her fingers teased Sasha's inside walls.

Sasha shuddered, "Nope...."

Chapter 12: The Lab (Summer Before Senior Year -- One Week Later)

Sienna sat in the lab, daydreaming about Sasha. Sienna's pre-med summer program was a ten week rotation through research lab work, supplemental coursework and seminars, with some clinical staffing at Manhattan General Hospital. Sienna got the lab rotation first and was assigned to an immunology research team focused on viral immunomodulatory proteins. Sienna didn't know too much about this particular discipline, but data entry and database management was something she could handle.

"You shouldn't look this happy reconciling an excel file with thirty tabs in it," mused her supervisor.

Sienna turned, "I love excel!"

Andy shook his head, "It's your first week -- you'll be wanting to punch a hole in that screen by the time you're done. Nobody here wants to go anywhere near that thing."

"Why is this even in excel? Don't you guys use the MedBase platform to pull data from participating hospitals?"

"Yes, but we do our analytics on Healthlytics, and it doesn't talk to MedBase. Excel is the translator."

"I'm just the idiot intern, and I love a good excel model, but it seems like there should be a better way."

"Yeah, probably. But it'll cost money we don't have. Unless you know a coding whiz who would be willing to help us for free, this is the status quo," Andy cocked his head, "Why are you smiling like that?"

"Because I know a coding whiz," Sienna grinned.

"Will he help us out pro bono?"

"She." Sienna lifted an eyebrow, bristling at Andy's mistaken assumption, "Girls can code too, you know?"

Andy looked appropriately admonished, "Yes.. yes.. okay. Point taken. Seriously though, would she help us out?"

"I can ask," Sienna nodded.

"For free?"

"I think I can convince her..." Sienna nodded.

And that is how Sasha found herself in the basement of the Barnes Medical Research Center the next evening.

"There're no windows down here," she looked around.

"I won't get skin cancer!" Sienna shrugged, "It's only for three weeks. No biggie. It's only been a couple days, but I know for sure I don't belong in a lab."

Sasha plopped down in front of a computer, "This one?"

"Sure," Sienna leaned over her shoulder and clicked open the relevant files and applications.

Sasha shifted just a little so their cheeks would touch. Sienna gave her a quick kiss before turning back to the screen, "Here are the two databases. This is the monster excel data dump that I don't want to reformat and rename column headers for. Do some magic and make it go away."

Sienna looked at Sasha and realized Sasha wasn't looking at the screen, but at her.

"Sasha," she whispered, "Stop looking at me like that."

"I can't help it..." Sasha wiggled her eyebrows and let her gaze move from Sienna's ice blue eyes, down her neck, and the neck of Sienna's shirt, which gaped open as Sienna leaned forward.

"Sasha!" Sienna tried to sound stern, but she loved that Sasha was checking her out.

Sasha watched two subtle bumps form under Sienna's bra. She reached for one of them.

Sienna slapped her hand away, "Sash, stop it. I mean, temporarily... the faster you figure out my computer problem... the faster you can have all of this." Sienna gestured at her body.

Sasha ran her eyes up and down Sienna's body, "We can skip dinner?"

"Depends how much database pain you take away from me."

Sasha tore her eyes away from her lover and turned to the computer, "Ok. I'm not going to solve this tonight -- I need to figure out how which backends they use, but..." Sasha plugged in a flashdrive, "it shouldn't be a huge lift."

"So you can get the two databases to talk to each other?"

"Databases are just big dumb buckets of data. What we need to do is figure out if we can use or create something in the existing App or API..."

"Are you really going to waste time dorking out on this?" Sienna sat down on a chair, undid two buttons of her blouse, and leaned forward once more.

"Fair point," Sasha's eyes lingered on Sienna's cleavage, "You are such a tease."

"Perv," Sienna shot back, "But I confess that I quite like it when you stare at my boobs."

Sasha opened her mouth to say something, but stopped herself, "Hold that thought. Let me just..."

Sasha turned back to the computer after giving Sienna a quick wink. Sienna gripped the seat of her chair, holding herself down from the urge to launch herself onto Sasha's lap.

"You need to breathe, Si," Sasha murmured as she typed, "I work better when I can hear you breathe."

"Stalker!" Sienna chuckled.

"Maybe. I've always liked hearing you breathe. In the non-stalker sense..." Sasha kept toggling between screens.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know," Sasha shrugged, "Doing homework with you when we were in school was one of my favorite things -- we would be together, doing our own thing, and I liked hearing you breathe near me. It's the next closest thing to hearing your heart beat."

Sasha pulled up a new screen and started typing. When Sienna didn't say anything in reply, she looked over, "What?"

Sienna shook her head, "Nothing -- just finish what you need to do, okay?"

"As you wish," Sasha smiled.

Sienna tried to collect her thoughts, which were hyperactively bouncing around in her brain, partly due to the happiness of being in a room with Sasha, but mostly because of what Sasha just said about needing to hear her breathe. There was something so enormous and scary and enchanting all mixed up in that sentiment. Scarier still, Sienna loved it. She loved that Sasha's ears were attuned to her breathing. She loved that it's been something Sasha had internalized since forever ago. It felt intimate in just the right way. I love it so much. And I love... her... Sienna's eyes widened with her silent confession. Of course you do! said the voice inside her head, her thoughts still whirling.

Sasha, meanwhile, was trying to focus on the task at hand. It was true, what she said about doing homework with Sienna. Back then, it really was the proxy for how desperately Sasha had wanted to be with Sienna. Now, she heard a slight hitch in Sienna's breathing and it was all she could do to not revel in it, because Sasha understood it meant that Sienna's pulse was climbing too. It thrilled Sasha to know that Sienna was reacting to her. The past week had been a continuous recalibration of fantasy and reality for Sasha, with reality proving to be exponentially more amazing that her yearnings ever yielded.

"Okay!" Sasha closed out the windows and extracted the flashdrive. She turned to see Sienna staring at her, her eyes a stormy blue.

"Really? You're done?" Sienna ran her tongue over her bottom lip. If the lab didn't have security cameras installed, she'd already be naked.

Sasha nodded, her brain stalled; Sienna was looking at her like a cat waiting to pounce.

"Take me home, Sasha, right now."

Chapter 13: The Declaration (Summer Before Senior Year -- Another Week Later)

"What do you want to do today?" Sasha was propped up on her side, one hand tracing long, looping lines up and down Sienna's torso.

"Not much. Hannah's been hankering to hang out with us the past two weeks, so I think we should keep our plan to meet her for dinner tonight. But until then..." Sienna pushed Sasha onto her back and wiggled her eyebrows.

Sasha grinned, "Oooh! A time-bound challenge. I like that. Any preference on where we start?"

"You stay right there," Sienna straddled Sasha and reached across to the bedside table, "And we re-introduce our friend here to your hips..."

Sasha lifted her legs as Sienna pulled the harness up. Sasha tightened the straps and waggled the dildo, "Now what?"

"Now fuck me like you did last night." Sienna rolled over on her back and spread her legs wide.

Sasha growled, "Oh, I think I can do better than what we did last night..." She slotted herself between Sienna's legs and paused, "I think I can make you scream louder than that."

Sasha placed her hands gently on Sienna's breasts, "You see, in my haste to make you come last night, I forgot to worship your magnificent breasts. And I think they felt a little left out."

Sasha's thumb made a slow orbit around Sienna's nipple. "Ohhhhhh..." Sienna moaned.

Sasha lavished caresses on one breast, and then the other. Sienna's nipples were hard and swollen when Sasha bent down and sucked on one. "Fu-u-u-ck, Sasha..." Sienna's hand wandered towards Sasha's cock, eager for Sasha to fill her up.

Sasha watched Sienna guide the cock in, and with one smooth push, Sasha glided inside.

"Oh god, you feel so good Sasha, do that again..."

Sasha slowly pulled out, and pushed in once more. Sienna threw her arms over her head and lifted her knees up. Sasha pulled Sienna's legs around her hips as she started thrusting, slowly building speed and power. Sienna crossed her ankles behind Sasha's back, deepening the angle of penetration. Then Sienna's senses blurred, from the nerve cells inside to the skin cells outside, they blurred into a massive energy ball of pleasure. Her body was rocking back and forth as Sasha pounded into her. She heard herself screaming with every thrust, and felt her arms flailing as she sought release. And release slammed into her moments later, leaving her in a strange, beautiful liminal space where she felt nothing and everything, all at once.

Sasha pulled Sienna in towards her, "I love fucking you."

"You really have mastered that thing," Sienna shivered as an aftershock ran through her body. Sasha undid the harness and flung it across the bed. She grabbed one of Sienna's legs and laid it across her body.

Sienna traced Sasha's scar with her finger: it ran parallel to Sasha's hairline and then down her forehead, clipping the edge of her right brow. "This is so fucking sexy Sasha," Sienna whispered, "I never thought I'd be grateful to Amanda Whitaker for anything."

"If I knew you'd like scars this much, I'd have been much less conscientious about personal safety."

Sienna shook her head, "Nope, I just like this one. Because it's mine." She kissed it gently, and then traced it with her tongue. Sienna's clit tingled when she heard Sasha's sharp intake of breath.

Emboldened, she let her tongue wander lower. She licked the edge of Sasha's ear, which earned her another breath and a slight jerk from Sasha's leg. Sienna raked her teeth along the bottom of Sasha's ear lobe, and continued along her neck. "How would your boss take to you having bite marks all over your neck?"

"He is an ends-justify-the-means kind of guy. As long as I get the work done, I don't think he'd care if I started showing up with half a ton of bananas in my pants."

"Are you trying to say that you are excited to see me?"

"Sienna, it's eleven o'clock on a Saturday morning and we been having sex on and off since... since after dinner last night. I think the answer to that is fairly obvious."

"Trust... but verify..." Sienna lowered her hand to Sasha's sex, "Hmmmmm, so very wet...."

Sasha tilted her hips up as Sienna shifted down, landing kisses down the middle of Sasha's body. Sienna's hands drifted lower, until they reached Sasha's thighs. Sienna pushed them open and nestled her shoulders under. Sasha let out a slow breath of anticipation. Sienna smiled and licked upwards. Sasha tasted like delicate honey, and Sienna wanted more. Her tongue probed deeper, thrusting forward as Sasha moaned, "Yes... yes... oh baby, just there... more" Sasha grabbed Sienna's hand and pushed them downwards. Sienna obliged happily, sliding two fingers in and shifting her tongue to licking Sasha's clit. That's when Sasha started really moving. Sienna clamped down with her lips to prevent her tongue from losing contact, and pumped aggressively with her hand, meeting Sasha's thrusts over and over again. The closer Sasha got, the more her muscles tightened. Her hips were completely off the mattress when the orgasm hit, after which she collapsed back onto the bed, spread-eagled and panting.

Sienna loved seeing Sasha like this, "I can't believe I can do that to you."

"Did I smash into you too much?" Sasha mumbled.

"Don't you worry about it, I have enormous lung capacity. You can smother me any time you want."
Sasha burst out laughing, "Sorry. That made me think of you eating me out in scuba gear."

"How would that even work?" Sienna said, chuckling at the mental image.

Sasha shrugged and smiled. She beckoned to Sienna with her finger, "C'mere Jacques Cousteau..."

Sienna snuggled into the crook of Sasha's arm, "May I ask you a question?"

Sasha nodded.

"Over Christmas, when you thought I was talking about reciprocation and sex, you said 'no'. What did you mean by that?"

Sasha covered her face with her hands, "Oh I am so embarrassed."

"Sasha, I just had my tongue up your vagina. I'm pretty certain we are past all that now."

Sasha raised her eyebrows, "Ok. Look, I thought you meant reciprocation in terms of a strap-on. I said no because..."

Sasha paused and shut her eyes tightly, "... because it was something Anastasia and I fought a lot about. She didn't like the fact that I wouldn't let her, you know, fuck me with it. Just never had the desire for it. She said I was a control freak. The more she pushed for it, the less I was willing to give in."

"You shouldn't have to do anything you don't want to do," Sienna said gently.

"Anastasia always thought it meant I was holding something back," Sasha shrugged, "I wanted to want it, I guess, but I didn't."

Sienna rested her palm on Sasha's cheek, "I've never agreed with Anastasia on anything, but I can understand the urge. You are fucking irresistible. But that's where my agreement ends. If it doesn't feel good to you, no one has any business making a judgement on what it does or doesn't mean."

Sasha closed her eyes and didn't respond. And then a tear fell.

Sienna eyes widened with concern. She moved on top of Sasha and brushed the hair out of her face. She kissed away the tears, "Sasha, what is it?"

"Don't know if it feels good..." Sasha whispered.

"What? Sasha, I-" Sienna struggled to understand what Sasha was saying, "Don't cry. It's ok." She rained kisses on Sasha's face.

Sasha wiped the tears from her eyes, and then looked directly at Sienna, "I have no basis for knowing if you know, if that would feel good to me."

"You mean you've never ..."

Sasha shook her head.

"With any one?"

Sasha shook her head again.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Okay fine, that's just not something you are into. It's not like it's been slowing us down..."

Sasha reached for a tissue and blew her nose, "Yuck, this is incredibly un-sexy... sorry."

"No need to be sorry. I love you, snot and all," Sienna said. For the second time in as many weeks, Sienna's brain-to-speech filters failed her.

Sasha slowly moved the tissue away from her face as she processed what she heard. Sienna was also dealing with the echoes of her words as they reverberated in her head.

Sasha smiled and suddenly wrapped her legs and arms around Sienna.

"What are you doing?"

"Applying restraints in case the urge to run away strikes you again. I am noticing a pattern... and have learned to recognize the Sienna Logan pre-flight look of panic."

Sienna was panicking, and she squirmed mightily. Sasha only gripped her harder, igniting an immense ripple of pleasure that emanated from Sienna's core. Sienna gasped.

"Do you really love me?" Sasha asked, her legs squeezing tighter.

Sienna gazed into Sasha's blue eyes, unable to speak. Say 'yes' dammit!! her brain kept telling her.

"It's a simple question, Sienna," Sasha smiled with mischief. She tilted her hips up, causing exquisite friction between them.

Sienna gasped again, "Yes..." YES! YES! YES!

"Sorry, what?" Sasha asked. Sienna's eyes were half-closed at this point, completely distracted by what Sasha was doing with her pelvis. Sasha tilted her hips again.

Sienna's eye flew open, "YES. I love you. Stop doing that... oh!"

"See, that wasn't so hard...right?"

"It was extracted forcefully, under extreme duress." Sienna buried her face in Sasha's neck.

"Chickenshit." Sasha smiled. Her hand slid between their bodies towards Sienna's sex.

"Virgin!" Sienna yelled as Sasha's fingers traced lazy circles under, over, and around Sienna's clit.

Sasha flipped Sienna over and hovered over her, "Only in the biblical sense. Oh, and I love you too, scaredy cat."

Sienna's eyes widened; she grabbed Sasha's face and pulled her in for a deep kiss. Sasha's fingers continued their dance. Sienna broke from the kiss and glared at Sasha, "Can you stop fucking around now?"

Sasha looked worried for a second, but smiled when Sienna winked and stuck out her tongue salaciously, "I need you to know me... you know, in the UN-biblical sense..."

Chapter 14: The Swim Meet (Senior Year - December)

The call that Sienna had been dreading came. She picked up, "Good morning mom."

Barbara Logan just caught wind of the fact that Sienna wasn't coming home for Christmas, "Maria just told me you and Sasha were staying in New York for the holidays?"

Sienna sighed. Sasha, who had just had an almost identical conversation with her mother, was lounging on the couch, poring over the Times Crossword puzzle. She looked up and mouthed good luck before returning to her clues.

"Mom, Sasha drew the short straw at work. Actually, she is the short straw, given that she's the rookie, and someone from her team needs to be on call over the holidays so she's stuck here. I'm going to go on the team training trip second half of break, so if I don't stay here, I won't see her at all over winter break."