Forever Yours, Faithfully

Mateo leaned against the wall, making himself a bit more comfortable now that he was out of sight of the rest of the family. “I’m glad you’re having a good time,” he said genuinely. “You’ll have to come back sometime. The family recently opened a pool house - it’s warm, even in the winter. I’m sure Lord Romano would welcome you and your dominant back.”

Megan looked over with a soft smile before she placed her fork down, “I’m afraid you are going to be bitterly disappointed then.  The most exciting thing about my day was that it was Sunday and therefore I didn’t have to go into work.  Otherwise it’s a huge disappointment.”

“Really, nothing? Not even a ‘I read all of those books I’ve been planning on reading but always say I don’t have time for? No, I’ve made a list of every place to visit in the nearby countryside to create a more shocking story than my cousins have told me? If you could pick one wid thing to do in this upcoming year what would it be?”

Megan sat down at the table, placing her slice of chocolate cake down beside her and looked down at it with a sigh, memories of last year’s birthday still so fresh in her mind, days before it all went wrong.  “Another fabulous birthday,” she murmured to herself with a frown as she cut off a piece with her fork.

Diana leaned over and brushed her lips against Megan’s forehead before settling across from her. “I certainly hope it will be. I’m expecting to hear about all of your grand plans for the rest of the day.”

“I don’t care, just get it sorted,” Martina exclaimed before she ended the call with a loud groan of frustration.

“Is everything all right? Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Kinda. Ain’t like we’re hiding something, it just leads to the private suites. We’re trying to keep all guests in the main hall and letting them use some of the guest areas,” Mateo explained. He shoved his hands in his pockets, deciding not to rush her to move. What would a few minutes hurt? “You enjoying the party so far?”

Liana’s eyes fell on a woman kneeling near a flower bed, and a smile grew on her face. She had been in that very same position countless times before and could relate. “Hello,” she said as she turned her body towards the woman. “Are you alright?”

The concerned voice nearly had her swearing again before letting out a sigh. It wasn’t the strangers fault she was slowly becoming a disaster. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Thank you for your concern. I’m just a little tired.”

Alex: I thought with your background and all you might appreciate the nature as much as I do. This is my favorite time of year.

Luan’s therapist had been encouraging her to be honest with herself and to embrace who she was and what she liked rather than being afraid and trying to hide all the time.  Having her hand held was one of the best ways for her to feel comforted and supported and though Diana wouldn’t have known that Luan offered her a grateful smile despite the sadness still hanging over her and gave the other woman’s hand a little squeeze with her own.  “Well ummm… m-maybe if she sits still long enough I could d-draw her but ahhh… that would mean not cuddling her any more s-so maybe I’ll save that for next time.”

“Isn’t that always the struggle? But I give you full permission to come over whenever you’d like either cat cuddles or a cat model, and I’m sure between the two of us we can bribe her into submission.” Before long, Diana was leading her into the house and opening the door to the other woman. “Here we are. Make yourself comfortable and I’ll grab the cookies.”

Mateo was going to object, but even from standing across the room, he could see the submissive’s bump and swollen feet. He shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded. “Yeah… yeah, of course. If you want, I can set you up a place out on one of the balconies. We got those heaters set up, so it ain’t cold. And I can find you something to prop your feet up on. Y’know… if you want.”