Worth the Wait

By Verda Foster

Lanie lifted her hand and waved at the approaching taxi. She sighed as it passed her by and kept on going. This was the forth taxi that had passed in the last couple of minutes. She had been pushed and shoved in the scramble and had lost the previous cabs to seasoned New Yorkers, who played the game much better than she did.

She'd thought she had this one, though. Finally she was the only one left, and the damn taxi was occupied. She spotted another one and lifted her hand again. This time the cab pulled over and stopped. She breathed a sigh of relief and pulled the back door open and climbed inside.

"Where to," the cabbie asked, without even looking back at her passenger.

"The Staten Island Ferry."

The cabbie nodded and pulled out into traffic, her right hand automatically starting the meter.

Lanie glanced at the rearview mirror and gasped at the familiar face she saw reflected. Jessie? It can't be. Her eyes tracked to the hack license and read the name: Jessica Davies. Shaken, she closed her eyes as her head dropped back against the seat. Please don't let her recognize me.

It had been almost twenty years since she'd seen Jessie, and from what she could see, the years had been good to her. She thought back to the last time she had seen Jessie and guilt washed over her.

Jessie had been her best friend all through high school, but graduation night everything changed when Jessie told her that she was in love with her. They had gone to a friends house for an after graduation bash. Beer was in abundance and neither one of them was feeling any pain. They ended up making love on the floor of a walk-in closet. Well, to be more accurate, Jessie made love to her. Somehow in Lanie's mind, she wasn't a lesbian if she didn't touch back.

She left Jessie asleep on the floor and found her 'sometimes' boyfriend Greg, and in a desperate attempt to prove to herself that she wasn't a lesbian, she convinced him that they should get married. It didn't take much convincing though. He had tried and tried to get her to say yes with no success. Afraid that she might change her mind when she sobered up, he put her in the car and in five hours they were standing in a chapel in Las Vegas getting married.

Lanie opened her eyes and looked in the mirror again. Soft brown eyes were looking back at her. She knows. Lanie averted her gaze and said nothing. When she looked back, Jessie's eyes were once again on the road ahead. The silence was deafening.

They got to the Ferry and the cab pulled into the line of cars that were waiting to drive on board. It puzzled her because she had asked to be brought to the Ferry, not to her door. Still she kept quiet. Now that she knew that Jessie knew who she was, she couldn't bring herself to speak.

The cab parked on board and Lanie watched as the drivers in the surrounding cars got out and walked to the upper decks. Not able to take the silence any longer, she decided that she would go too. Just as she reached for the door handle, the front door opened and Jessie stepped out of the cab. Lanie pulled her hand back. If Jessie was going up top, she would stay in the cab.

She was surprised when the driver's side passenger door opened and Jessie climbed in beside her.

"Don't I even rate a hello," she asked.

Lanie dropped her gaze to her hands. "I didn't think you'd want one."

Jessie shook her head. "Twenty years and you're still running away from me."

"I'm sorry."

"A little late for that, don't you think?"

"I know I hurt you."

"Do you have any idea how much?

"I think so."

"You think so?" Jessie's eyes flashed and she leaned closer. "I bared my soul to you that night. I loved you, and you tossed me out like a piece of trash. No explanation. No goodbye--"

"I was scared."

"Of me?"

Lanie shook her head. "Of me. I was afraid of how much I wanted you. I didn't want to be a lesbian, and for some stupid reason I believed that if I married Greg, it would go away. It didn't."

Jessie closed here eyes. She'd been angry when she first realized who was riding in the back seat of her cab, but now she just felt bewildered. Being in the same proximity with Lanie again brought back all the feelings that she'd tried so hard to exorcise over the years. She opened her eyes and looked at Lanie. "Your mother called me at six in the morning to ask if I knew where you were. She said you hadn't come home that night. Do you realize how frantic I was? I was there with your mom when you called with your happy news. I went home and started to drink. I didn't stop for almost a year."

Tears started down Lanie's face. "I'm so sorry. I understand now why you wouldn't accept any of my phone calls."

"Phone calls?"

"Every time I called your house, your mom told me you didn't want to talk to me." Lanie fumbled in her purse to find a tissue. "When I couldn't get you on the phone, I finally got up enough courage to talk to you face to face. To tell you I loved you, too. I went to your house but your mom told me that you'd moved away. I asked where, and she said you didn't want to hear from me. I didn't blame you for not wanting to have anything to do with me. I deserved your wrath. I earned it."

Tears started down Jessie's face as well. "She never told me you called."

"Never?"

Jessie shook her head. "If I'd known…" She ran her fingers through her hair. "No, those years are gone. It's silly to think of 'what if's.'"

Lanie leaned closer and dabbed at Jessie's tears with her tissue. "I never stopped loving you. I hope you can believe that."

Jessie closed her eyes again and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. She ached to reach out to Lanie. To feel her in her arms again, but she just couldn't do it. It hurt too damn much last time. Soft hands caressed her face and she shuddered at the gentle touch. Oh, God. It had been so long. The years of hurt flew away as she opened her eyes and looked into Lanie's face and saw only truth shining in her eyes. "I believe you."

Lanie still held her face in her hands and she leaned closer until their lips met. The kiss was tentative at first, but soon deepened to one of desperate urgency.

Lanie unbuttoned Jessie's shirt, and her hungry mouth traveled down her throat to Jessie's naked breasts. Jessie groaned when Lanie took her nipple into her mouth, teasing it mercilessly with her tongue and teeth.

Lanie let her hand slide down, skillfully unfastening Jessie's trousers and slipping into her welcoming wetness. "I want you to come for me."

"Oh, God, yes."

"Lift up," Lanie asked, pulling Jessie's trousers down when she complied. "I need to taste you."

Jessie leaned back and opened her legs, her long fingers twining in Lanie's hair, guiding her down to her need. Her hips rose to meet Lanie's hungry mouth, and she found it hard to breathe. She was so close. So very close.

Lanie nuzzled into the curly dark hair at the apex of Jessie's legs, and then ran her tongue along her swollen clitoris. She felt Jessie's hands tighten in her hair and Lanie pulled the twitching shaft into her mouth and sucked as she slipped two fingers inside.

Jessie wanted to hold on, make it last, but she couldn't. Her body became rigid as the orgasm roared through her, then she collapsed, gasping for breath.

She released Lanie's hair, then pulled her up, clutching her tightly. "That was incredible," she said. Fresh tears started down her face. "You were incredible."

Lanie wiped the tears away with her thumbs. "You're so beautiful when you come," she said. "You take my breath away."

Jessie smiled. "Thank you." She pressed her lips against Lanie's forehead. "I love you."

Lanie sighed and nuzzled into her breasts. "I can die happy now."

Jessie's smile broadened. "I still can't believe I found you again after all these years." She reached down and tilted Lanie's face up. "You were definitely worth the wait."

The End