Chapter 4

Kim: Floating. Gotta go.

She sent a picture message via Snapchat a minute or two later. It was a selfie that showed her at a café wearing an off-white blouse and dark grey, checked trousers, the angle of the camera clearly showed off her breasts. I was so distracted by that picture that I actually tried to put a new starter motor on upside down.

That night I struggled to find something nice to wear. I mean I’m no stranger to dating, quite the opposite in fact but that night I think I tried on four outfits before discarding all of them for a plain white shirt, black leather tie, black jeans and a black waistcoat. I was going to wear trainers but instead chose my favourite boots. Mum did a double take when she saw me in the kitchen.

“A little butch, even for you.”

“God, don’t say that,” I sighed, “I’m trying to look ladylike.”

“Hmm,” she took a step back, “wait there, I might have something else in mind.”

Mum’s something else was an old white blouse with ruffles up the front and contrasting black cuffs and collar. I eyed it doubtfully but tried it on all the same and was surprised at the result.

“I was going to give it to the op shop but didn’t have the heart to put it in the bag. It was the blouse I wore on my first date with Wendy,” she nodded at the door to the living room where Wendy was sitting watching tv.

“Thanks, I’m not even sure what’s going to happen tonight.”

“Well I’ll leave the porch light on until one, after that you’ll have to use your torch,” she tugged at the loose, floppy collar, “remember that good things take time. It took me a month to agree to go on a date with Wendy and about another three weeks before we got naked together. I was definitely a slow burner but we’ve been together ever since,” she patted my cheek.

“Now go in there and say goodbye to Wendy.”

Wendy gave me the once over and a thumbs up.

“When do we get to meet the lovely Kim?”

“Soon, I hope,” I kissed her cheek, “bye.”

I felt somewhat overdressed as I drove over to Kim’s joint but that feeling vanished the moment she opened the door.

“Wow,” she ran an eye over me, “you look beautiful.”

“So do you,” I looked at her outfit, “your work uniform is definitely better than mine.”

“It has to be,” she stepped back, “come on in, I hope you brought an appetite.”

I could smell the food as I stepped into the kitchen. Honeyed chicken wings, boiled rice and some steamed vegetables, she’d added some soy sauce and prawn crackers.

“Let’s hope it tastes just as good,” she replied.

The meal was certainly tasty but it was the conversation that I remember most vividly because that was the night she told me the truth about her father. What shocked me was finding out that he’d been killed in a police raid.

“It was a raid that went wrong,” she stirred the remainders on her plate.

Now I’ve always considered myself open minded, you have to be in the entertainment industry, otherwise your creative juices would never flow but that caused me to sit bolt upright.

“It was a drug raid,” she shrugged, “my father was a dealer. He pulled a gun when the cops burst in and wounded one of the cops and then they shot him. My biological mother had died a few weeks previously from an overdose of extra strong heroin and the way mum explained it, the drug squad decided to move in and arrest him to get me out of there. I ended up in hospital because I was malnourished and Analyn decided to adopt me but to avoid being rejected by the department she resigned from the force and applied as a civilian. Tracey’s dad did grease a few wheels though but that was years before they became an item of course.”

“Now I’ve heard it all,” I exhaled, “so, how long have you known this?”

“Not long after I started high school,” she told me, “I mean it was obvious I was adopted but I didn’t know the full truth until I was fourteen. She told me as much about my father as she knew, which wasn’t much but she also took me to where my biological mother is buried out at Springvale. It’s a sad little plot, she was only twenty two when she died, which is old for a drug addict, I haven’t been back since because I’ve always thought of Analyn as my real mum. She’s the one who raised me, in that way I think I can say she really loves me because she chose me, instead of just giving birth to me.”

“It’s a good way to put it,” I replied, “and what about your father?”

“He’s buried out at Springvale as well but I’ve never been to his grave.”

It made my upbringing seem positively normal in comparison and I said as much in my usual roundabout way.

“But you had two mums, didn’t you ever wish for a dad?”

“Nope, but I had plenty of positive male role models. My two mums had straight and gay male friends who still drop in to see them, what about you?”

“Mum had boyfriends and one girlfriend I know about, but when Tracey’s dad got back in contact with her a while ago they just hit it off. I’ve known Tracey ever since then and if my mum and her dad ever get married we’ll be sisters.”

“So, you and her would never,” I left the question unfinished.

“Never,” she winced, “she’s my best friend and if we did get together and then broke up I’d lose my best friend and a girlfriend. Some friends of ours kind of suggested it a while ago but that was before she got together with Charlie.”

“I’ve known Charlie for years, it’s kind of the same thing I guess. She’s the girlfriend I have when I haven’t got a girlfriend but neither of us ever went all the way, it’s funny like that but I understand the tension though.”

“Good to know,” she rose and started gathering the plates.

“Why? You thinking of applying?”

“I might be,” she glanced at me, “let’s just say I like the way Tracey is with Charlie, I know you can’t compare people like that, but Tracey is a lot like me in some ways. I never thought she’d go for women despite the fact she can be a bit of a tomboy.”

“I wouldn’t call her a tomboy,” I propped on my palm, “perhaps a ladylike tomboy.”

“A lady boy,” Kim moved up behind me and rested her hand on my right shoulder.

“Maybe not a lady boy but she does know how to dress like a lady.”

“So do you,” she flicked at the floppy collar, “I love this blouse.”

“It belonged to my mother, she wore it on her first date with Wendy.”

“Oh,” she squeezed my shoulder, “now that’s romantic.”

Her hand left my shoulder but I could still feel the warmth as she finished clearing the table, I was almost going to help when she nodded at the living room.

“I won’t be long, I’ll see you in there.”

I slumped into the couch a minute or so later. I was experiencing a definite sense of déjà vu, I’d been on this same couch when Analyn had dropped that line about Kim’s father. What was going to happen next? I could hear clinking glasses in the kitchen and then the familiar hiss of running water in the dishwasher. I closed my eyes and let my mind wander and because I’d been working all day I did kind of doze off, only wakening when Kim sat down beside me.

“Did I wake you?” Kim settled against the back of the couch.

“Kind of but in a nice way,” I opened my eyes, “so, to clarify something, Analyn adopted you.”

“Yeah, it’s something she does,” Kim put her arm on the back of the couch and propped on her palm, “she’s very maternal but her womb doesn’t work, she was shot on duty one night and they had to remove her uterus because it was too badly damaged. She’s always wanted to be a mum. Gizella and Ilona are orphans like me. Mum just seems to adopt strays,” she smirked.

“Well that’s a relief because she likes you and in case you’re wondering, she knows you’re gay.”

“She asked and I told her the truth,” she tapped me lightly on the cheek with her other hand, “she’s an ex cop, mum is pretty open minded and she understands about being with a woman.”

“But for her it sounds like mere curiosity,” I looked down as Kim’s hand dropped to my right thigh, “or maybe bisexual.”

“We’ve never talked about it to be honest,” Kim’s hand slid down between my legs, “but it’s not something you inherit either, my biological mum was most likely straight. She was a refugee who fell in with the wrong company or perhaps the war affected her.”

Her hand moved further up my leg but then stopped because my legs were still closed and then I parted my legs slightly and her hand went further to my crotch. I sighed and smiled crookedly as I put my hand on her wrist.

“I’m getting a feeling of déjà vu here.”

“Except now we can’t be disturbed,” she slid her hand beneath the flap of my fly.

“Did you plan it like this?”

“No,” her fingers swept up to the tab, “it’s kind of a happy coincidence,” she tugged at the tab playfully and it slid down a few teeth.

“Our first date was just to sound you out, and to confirm what I already knew about you,” the tab slid down a few more teeth, “the second was just to see how far you’d go if I put myself out there,” she slid the tab down a little more.

“You passed that test with flying colours, a man would have had his pants off within a few minutes but you kept yours on,” she reached the bottom of the zipper.

“So, here we are, all alone,” her fingers slipped inside my trousers, “and now I’m curious, how far can I go?”

“Why don’t you find out?” I spread my legs a little more, “undo my button.”

She undid the snap button and the front of my trousers sprang apart. Kim swallowed as she teased my labia and I moved my hand over to her leg, she stopped as my hand moved over her pussy and then she changed position, swinging over until she was straddling me.

Her long black hair swept forward as she leaned down to kiss me on the lips and this was like our last kiss, long and passionate. Her mouth parted a moment or two later as she engaged with me, she kept rubbing my pussy but wasn’t taking matters any further for the moment.

Our kissing went on for a good five minutes, now and then she arched her back slightly and pushed forward but I didn’t try to undo her trousers. I was content just to enjoy this as I rubbed her legs, but I was getting closer to her pussy and finally I reached it. Her kisses became more passionate and a little frantic as I slid my fingers up her fly to the belt. A low, out of breath moan escaped her lips as I pulled the leather through the keeper and popped the buckle tongue out of the hole. The belt fell away and I danced my fingers down her fly, the cotton material meant I could exert pressure in all the right places and she finally broke free.

Kim’s breathing was decidedly ragged, she lifted her hand from my genitals and put both hands on the top of the couch and arched herself towards me and taking my cue, I undid the first button on the waistband flap and then the second button. She watched me unhook the metal hook and then I unzipped her. A smile drifted across her face as I inched my hand down over her wet panties and began tickling her, Kim shuddered as I kept going all the way to the waistband of her panties and then I slid my hand behind them to her moist lips and at that she suddenly straightened up and exhaled rather loudly.

“Huh?” Kim stared down at me, “um, the bed is probably better.”