Page 24 of Bliss

Alex

Having to lift and maneuver Tina’s body so the nurses could slide an absorbent mat under her was very awkward and difficult because of her left arm and leg being supported in slings. But the nurses were good about not touching Tina at all and patiently waited for instructions from Isadora while she and Alex did the lifting and touching. It was a slow process, but they were able to get the mat under Tina without causing her any pain or a panic attack.

After the nurses left the room, Isadora brought a cart closer to the bed, and said, “Tina, we’re going to need to remove your gown, but we’ll drape these warmed towels over you to keep you warm and so you only have to expose one area of your body at a time.” She placed her hand on a stack of washcloths, then pointed between two basins of water, and explained, “We’ll dunk a cloth in the soapy water, and you’ll use that to dab at your skin. No rubbing. Your skin, particularly around your wounds and on your back will be very sensitive while you’re bed-bound. You don’t want to cause too much friction and increase the risk of bedsores. I’ll then give you a cloth with just warm water to rinse. We’ll repeat the rinsing process at least twice. Any questions?”

“How are we going to wash my hair?”

Isadora bent to grab an inflated object that looked like a sink basin with a long, flexible tube for a drain. “We’ll sit you up and these sides will sit on your shoulders and snap together in the front with the basin in the back to catch the water as we shampoo and rinse.”

“That’s kind of ingenious.”

Isadora smiled and nodded as she put the inflated shampoo basin back on the cart. “It’s a very helpful invention for us in the hospital and for home caregivers.” She met Alex’s gaze, and told her, “I encourage you to order one for when Tina is released from the hospital. They’re fairly inexpensive and well worth the small investment.”

“I’ll order one today so it ships in time. Thanks.”

For the next thirty minutes, Alex and Isadora helped Tina bathe herself, swapping soapy cloths with wet cloths and amassing a large pile of discarded cloths in the process. When Tina had washed and rinsed everything she could reach, Alex had to take over, washing the lower half of her right leg and her feet, shoulders, back, and backside. Having to wash Tina’s ass made both of them tense and blush, neither of them meeting each other’s gaze until she was dried off and Isadora began prepping her to wash her hair.

Tina whispered, “Thanks,” as she looked up at Alex.

“You’re welcome,” Alex answered, as she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, before she snapped the sides of the basin together.

“Alex, we need to be very careful with Tina’s scalp because of the superficial head wound near the left temple and the surgical incision at the back of her skull. Absolutely no scratching her scalp with your fingernails. We’ll also need to blow dry her hair afterwards. Tina, please alert us immediately if you feel any pain or any sensation that seems weird and unexplainable.”

“Okay.”

Washing her hair was a long and slow process, with both Isadora and Alex gently working their hands through the strands, massaging out the crusted blood and occasionally finding very small chunks of glass that, thankfully, didn’t cut either of them and hadn’t cut Tina’s scalp. After finding the third piece, Isadora went through Tina’s hair with a fine comb and thoroughly inspected her scalp for any embedded pieces that may have been missed in Triage. None were found, much to their relief. Using the lowest heat setting, Alex then blow-dried Tina’s hair, while Isadora helped her into a fresh gown and put fresh slipper socks on her feet.

When Tina’s hair was mostly dried, Isadora carefully removed the bandages from her arm and leg to inspect the swelling and the healing of her incisions. After running through some sensory tests, she wrapped fresh bandages around the limbs, and assured Tina that everything was looking good.

After the nurses returned to help them remove the absorbent mat out from under Tina, and they rolled the cart of bathing supplies out of the room, Callie and Hannah came back into the room with Richard following behind them.

While removing a pair of exam gloves, Isadora asked, “Do you have any other questions for us, Tina?”

Shaking her head, and with her eyes fluttering, Tina answered, “No. I think I’m going to fall asleep.”

“That’s good. Sleep will help you heal faster. I’ll be back to check in on you tomorrow.”

“Okay. Thank you for everything.”

“You’re welcome.”

Isadora looked across the bed at Alex, and requested, “Wait for me by the nurses’ station after you say your goodbyes, please.”

“Yeah, of course.”

She nodded, then left the room with her husband, saying, “I need to go change.”

Alex gently squeezed Tina’s hand, and Tina’s eyes shot open, as she tilted her head to look at her. “I’m going to take off so you can get some rest. Do you need me to do anything else for you?”

“Not that I can think of right now. When will you be back?”

“I’ll stop in sometime tomorrow. Monday is my busiest day of the week, so unless someone cancels their training appointment, or you have some kind of emergency, I won’t be able to make it over here before visiting hours end. If you need those forms for work before Tuesday, I’ll have to forward the email to Roz to bring over for you.”

“Tuesday should be fine. Thanks, Alex.” She looked past her, and Alex followed her gaze to her girlfriend standing near the foot of the bed with Hannah at her side. “Callie, thank you for being understanding and not being upset with Alex for helping me.”

“You’re welcome.”

Tina’s eyes closed as the corners of her mouth curled into a small, sleepy smile. “I’m going to sleep now.”

“Wait.” Tina’s eyes fluttered open, and Alex asked, “Do you want me to put your e-reader under your pillow or in the drawer of your side table?”

“Under my pillow. Thanks.”

Alex slipped the thin device under her pillow, then gently squeezed Tina’s hand, and whispered, “See you tomorrow.”

She slung the black bag with the rest of Tina’s belongings over her shoulder, then took Callie’s outstretched hand and they left Tina to rest.

Isadora soon met them near the nurses’ station dressed in a pair of slim-fit designer jeans and a silky light blue floral blouse, looking relaxed yet elegant. She smiled as she motioned down the hall, and their group started walking in the direction of the elevators.

After they passed through the ward’s doors, and Isadora pressed the down arrow for the elevator, she asked, “How involved do you plan to be with Tina’s care after she goes home, Alex?”

“Probably not very. I’m a personal trainer with a tight schedule split between in-home visits for the first half of the day and the other half is spent at the gym. My clients would understand if I had to cancel an appointment or two here or there, but I couldn’t take a month or more off. I was planning to talk to her today about getting an in-home nurse lined up, but she fell asleep before I could bring it up.”

As they boarded the elevator car, Isadora said, “If you need recommendations, I can give you the numbers of some very good agencies. I can also give you a list of supplies that would make her care and recovery easier.”

“I would appreciate any recommendations you can offer, and I’ll coordinate with Tina and her friend, Roz, to get everything bought and lined up to be in place before she’s discharged.”

When they reached the hospital’s main lobby, Isadora held out her unlocked phone to Alex, saying, “Add your number, and I’ll send you a text later today.” Alex quickly added herself to Isadora’s contacts, and Isadora smiled as she shot off a text to Alex. “Now you have mine, in case you have any questions.” While putting her phone back in her purse, she looked between Callie and Alex. “Richard and I would like to take you all out to dinner one night soon so we can get to know you better, Alex. How does seven on Wednesday look for you?”

“I can do seven on Wednesday,” Alex answered, as she glanced over at Callie, and asked, “Is that okay with you?”

“Yeah, I’m normally home by six.”

“Wonderful. Unless something comes up in the meantime, we’ll plan for seven at Emerson’s. Any objections to me inviting your parents, Callie? Hannah told me they haven’t met Alex yet, and I’d hate for your mother to feel like I’ve overstepped in any way by taking this privilege before she could officially meet Alex.”

“Um…” Callie bit her bottom lip as she looked at Alex, eyes darting between Alex’s, as if trying to find any hint of hesitation or discomfort.

Alex smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. “I’d love to meet your parents, Callie, whenever you’re ready.”

Inhaling deeply, Callie slowly turned to face Isadora, and answered, “Okay, you can invite them.”

“I’ll call her later today. Now, we have some errands we need to run, but we’ll talk soon.” Isadora pulled her daughter into a hug and kissed her cheek. “It was nice having you at home for breakfast.” She pulled away and affectionately pinched her chin. “I love you, sweetheart.”

“Love you too, Mom.”

After Hannah hugged her father, and Alex thanked them again, particularly Isadora for being patient with Tina and finding a way to minimize her discomfort with bathing, they split up to go find their vehicles in the parking lot.

While Alex and Callie walked hand in hand, Hannah looped her arm with Callie’s other arm, and told her, “Sorry for the ambush. Mom was really stealthy in her interrogation while we ate breakfast this morning. We were twenty minutes in before I realized it was an information gathering session and not just a conversation.” Hannah sucked her teeth, and complained, “She’s always been so good at that. Anyway, after she asked me how long you’ve been dating Alex and how you met, I realized I was being played.”

Callie chuckled, and assured her, “It’s okay, really. Actually, it might be for the best. I mean, my parents hated Britton with a passion.”

“As did my parents. But they love Alex.”

“Exactly. I think it’s going to be hard for them to understand this situation with Tina, but maybe if they see that your parents like Alex, and they’ve been here through this whole process to watch us all together, maybe they won’t be so judgmental about it.”

“I’ll pack a stink bomb in my purse, so if things get too dire, we’ll have an easy excuse to leave the restaurant.”

Callie and Alex laughed hard, and Alex asked, “Have you ever done that before?”

Still chuckling, Callie answered, “Yes, she has. She used them more than a few times to get tests postponed in high school. And she’s used them to help us escape awkward social situations.”

“I’ve even used them to escape bad dates.”

“You’re like a cross between Dennis the Menace and a superhero.”

Hannah giggled at Alex’s assessment and nodded. “I like that description.”

While they drove back to Alex’s house, Callie and Hannah kept them laughing with stories involving the well-timed deployments of stink bombs and how Hannah almost got caught a few times.

When they pulled into Alex’s driveway, and the garage door rose, Hannah said, “Ah, good times,” still chuckling and wiping tears of joy out of her eyes.

After they climbed out of the Jeep , Hannah accepted her car keys from Callie and gave her best friend a tight hug. “I gotta go get some shit done, but I’ll see you tonight for our barbeque do-over.”

“Okay. Drive safely.”

“Always.”

She fluttered her fingers in a wave to Alex, then walked across the driveway to get into her car. Callie waited for her friend to back out, and after waving to her, she and Alex walked into the house.

“Do you need anything to eat or drink before we get in the bath?”

Biting her bottom lip, Callie nodded, and asked, “Maybe we can make a little charcuterie board to eat with some wine while we soak?”

“I like the way you think.”

While Callie washed some berries, grapes, and an apple, Alex sliced a few different cheeses and arranged them on a large plate with some thinly-sliced capicola folded into triangles. After the apple was peeled and sliced, Alex finished off the plate with some roasted cashews and candied pecans.

“Pinot or Merlot?”

Callie thought for a moment, then asked, “Do you have any of that Pinot left from the Willamette Valley?”

“I do.”

Alex selected a bottle of the requested Pinot from her modestly stocked wine rack built into the island, and after removing the cork, she pulled two wineglasses from the cabinet, and they took their lunch upstairs to the master bathroom.

“Uh…” Callie looked side to side, biting her bottom lip, and asked, “Where are we going to put this stuff?”

“I have a tray that goes across the tub. Be right back.”

Alex set the wine and glasses on the vanity, then darted back out of the bathroom and into her walk-in closet. When she returned, Callie’s smile made Alex feel like she’d just presented her with an amazing gift. The long wood tray laid perfectly across the width of the large soaking tub like a table that was plenty big enough to hold their lunch with some room to spare.

“Would you like to pick the bubble bath?” Alex asked, while opening a cabinet in the vanity, and pulling out a narrow tray on casters, which was stocked with a variety of bubble baths.

Callie bent down and tilted each bottle to read the scents, picking up a few to sniff them, before she stood with a smile, holding up Alex’s favorite. It was called Wanderer and smelled like a floral-kissed breeze blowing through a forest.

“This one reminds me of our kayaking and picnic date at Crescent Pond.”

“You just made my favorite bubble bath even more amazing.” Alex bent over the tub to turn on the water, holding her hand under the faucet to check the temperature, and asked, “How hot do you like your bath water?”

“Hot but not scolding.”

When Alex was confident the temperature would be comfortable for both of them, she dumped a generous pour of bubble bath into the still flowing water, then stood upright to put the bottle away.

She froze and her chest rose with a deep inhale, then she quickly swallowed a rush of saliva and cleared her throat. Callie was leaning against the vanity, wearing absolutely nothing but a seductive little smirk that sent a bolt of lightning straight to Alex’s core.

“Looks like I have some catching up to do.”

Callie giggled as Alex rushed to put the bubble bath away, then quickly ripped her tee shirt off over her head, immediately followed by her shoes and the rest of her clothes. As Callie pushed off the vanity, and slipped her arms around her waist, pressing their naked bodies together, Alex’s nerves lit up, sending tingling pulses throughout her body.

“God, you feel good,” Alex groaned, as she ran her splayed hands up and down Callie’s back, pulling her in even tighter against her body.

Callie hummed her agreement, while nodding against Alex’s chest, then placed a soft kiss on both of her breasts and tilted her head to look up at Alex with a serene smile. She perked up on her toes to clear the three-inch height difference and planted a firm, warm kiss on Alex’s mouth. When Alex was about to part her lips to tempt her into a deeper kiss, Callie pulled away with a smile, taking her hands, and walked them over to the large soaking tub.

The water was getting a bit too high, so Alex quickly shut it off, then laid a thick towel down on the floor alongside the tub. Callie accepted her offered hand for support, then gingerly stepped into the tub. As she gripped the ceramic sides and slowly lowered her body into the hot, fragrant water, her eyes narrowed to slits and her mouth fell open with a long, burring moan. As she settled against the back of the tub, and the bubbles clung to her pink skin, Alex just admired her beauty and how at peace her girlfriend looked.

But when Callie smiled and opened one eye to peer at her, and cooed, “Get your sexy ass in here with me, baby,” Alex released a brief chuckle and climbed into the tub opposite her.

“How’s the water?”

“Perfect.” Callie moaned as she slowly sat upright. “This is the most comfortable bathtub I’ve ever been in. I love how it perfectly supports the back and neck.”

While Alex poured the wine, she answered, “It’s been my dream to have a tub like this since I was a kid. I didn’t care what the rest of my house looked like, so long as I had a large soaking bathtub. I was so dead-set on having this tub that if a realtor had shown me a dilapidated shack in the woods with this tub sitting in the center of the kitchen, I probably would have bought it.” Callie laughed and shook her head. Alex chuckled, and insisted, “I’m serious. But when I started house shopping, I quickly realized I was going to have to change my tactics. I was going to have to shop for the house, then add the tub later.”

After taking a sip of wine, Callie asked, “Who was your realtor?”

“Bobbi-Jo Sutton with Greenbank Realty.” As a slow grin crept across Callie’s lips, Alex quirked her left brow, and asked, “Do you know her?”

“I only met her once at a real estate conference that Britton dragged me to one year. I thought she was really nice, but Britton hated her.” Callie rolled her eyes. “They had a major rivalry going on because they worked in the same regions but for different brokerages.”

“Ah.” Alex chuckled and nodded. “Those rivalries can get pretty intense. I’ve had a few personal trainers cramp my space in the gym and try to poach clients from me over the years.”

While they ate their simple lunch of fresh fruit, cheese, capicola, and nuts, and sipped on the delicious red wine, Alex shared a couple funny stories of her “rival” personal trainers, and Callie shared a couple of funny stories of silly rivalries with her brother when they were younger.

When they’d eaten the last bite of food, and were on their second glass of wine, Callie grinned as she slid a foot up between Alex’s legs, stopping just a few inches from her center.

“Can I come sit with you now?”

Alex dramatically sighed, “I thought you’d never ask,” making Callie giggle, then she quickly grabbed the wood tray separating them and set it on the floor. When she was settled again, she spread her legs wide and held out her hands to Callie. “Get over here, beautiful.”

Callie leaned over the side of the tub to set her glass down, then turned her back to Alex, and as she started to slide backwards, Alex grabbed her hips, pulling her through the water so quickly it made her release an adorable squeal.

The water sloshed around precariously close to the edge of the tub, but unconcerned, Alex wrapped her arms around Callie’s middle, holding her flush against her own body. Callie sighed as she layered her arms over Alex’s and tilted her head back to rest on Alex’s shoulder.

“This is heaven.”

Alex smiled at the whispered words and bent to layer a trail of soft kisses down the side of Callie’s slender neck, over her collarbone, and across her shoulder, eliciting another sweet sigh. When Callie’s eyes slid closed, Alex grabbed a washcloth from a shelf behind the tub, dunked it in the water, then rubbed it over Callie’s shoulder and down her arm.

“Mmm, that feels so good.”

While Alex continued to wash Callie’s body, her cheeks became more flushed, and her little sighs turned into a near panting. When Alex dipped the washcloth under the water and pulled her right thigh out to the side, Callie released a little whimper, and Alex felt her left thigh press out against her own as Callie spread her legs for her. Alex drew the washcloth up the inside of her thigh, then gently cupped her center, parting her slit with two fingers, then drew the cloth up and down through her folds a few times, being gentle as to not irritate her sensitive skin with the extra friction of the cotton terry cloth.

Callie tilted her face towards Alex, her panting lips brushing the side of her neck, casting her warm breath over Alex’s skin and increasing her own arousal. As Alex tilted her head to capture her mouth in a kiss, Callie suddenly sat up and turned around, straddling Alex’s lap. The gentle shudder of the water from her sudden change of position mirrored the ripple of desire that traveled through Alex’s nerves and settled between her thighs. As she gripped Callie’s hips, pulling her in flush against her groin, Callie grabbed the sides of her face, pulling her into a deep, fervent kiss.

With the gentle rocking of Callie’s hips against Alex’s pelvis, the warm water broke against their chests and arms like waves crashing against a cliffside. The sound of the sloshing water joined the chorus of their heavy breathing and quiet moans, creating an ethereal melody that just increased the hypnotizing spell of Callie’s taste and touch.

As if of one mind, they slipped a hand between each other’s legs, gliding easily through the slick arousal clinging to their folds despite the warm, soapy water. Their mouths momentarily stalled, as they gasped for a breath and groaned from the pressure of two fingers pushing deep inside them. Callie lightly bit Alex’s bottom lip as she whimpered and pushed her hips down onto Alex’s long, strong fingers, and Alex’s body spasmed as Callie pressed her thumb against her hard clit while curling her fingers up against her G-spot.

“Fuck, you feel good,” Alex groaned, as she added a third finger and began pumping in and out of Callie’s hot, tight pussy. She loved the way Callie’s walls clamped down on her fingers, trying to keep her inside, and she loved the way Callie’s moans sounded like a love song written just for her, and the way her body quaked against her made her own body tremble. “Come for me, baby.”

“Close,” Callie gasped, as she rested her head on Alex’s shoulder and rocked her hips, meeting each of Alex’s thrusts.

Alex’s eyes rolled back as Callie lightly licked the space where her neck met her shoulder, then firmly bit the firm trapezius muscle. When she unclenched her jaw, she painted fast kisses up the side of Alex’s neck, back to her mouth, and kissed her deep and hard. Alex’s head was swimming with such an intoxicating cocktail of love, desire, and arousal that she wasn’t sure if she was about to faint or orgasm.

But when Callie suddenly broke from the passionate kiss, pressing her forehead against Alex’s, and her body stiffened, the orgasm won out and they crashed over the cliff into the raging waves together. Their lungs seized in the initial fall, then a gasp of shock and moan of awe breathed air back into them, causing their bodies to jerk and spasm together.

As Callie fell limp in Alex’s embrace, the sloshing tub water slowly settled with their breathing and heart rates, an ever-reliable mirror of what was happening inside of them.

After just holding each other for a few minutes, Callie said, “I would have bought the shack in the woods for the tub too,” making Alex crack up. As her head bounced on Alex’s chest, Callie giggled, then lifted her head and firmly kissed Alex’s lips. “Can I wash you now?”

“If you want.”

“I want,” Callie answered, as she fished the washcloth out of the water and brought it to Alex’s chest.