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Costly Confusion

By: Smokey125



SS29: "Give Me A Little More Credit Here—Costly Confusion"

This is a sequel to my original long, long, looooooong non-erotic non-epic "Give Me A Little Credit Here." And so as the heading says, the full title of it is, "Give Me A Little More Credit Here: Costly Confusion." Luckily, this one is very erotic, and it's also kept to a (more) controlled length. And they're not totally sequential, so you don't have to read the first one in order for this one to make sense, though it (the original) does have more backstory on the characters.

***

September 15th, 7:41 p.m.

The last of the sunlight slowly spilled below the horizon, concealed by the cloudy heavens. It was a mild, cool Tuesday evening, the week before the autumnal equinox. The sky was infused with precipitation, but the impenetrable rainbow stood proudly arched over 301 NW 3rd Avenue, where inside dwelled the happiest married couple in town. Maybe on Earth.

Valerie and Donna O'Hanlon sat together on their appropriately named love seat, feet on their coffee table, TV trays in their laps, dining on their homemade supper of hamburgers, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots, courtesy of Valerie the chef. At one point Donna almost choked on her food laughing at the TV.

"You want to buy a vowel?!" she shouted at the contestant between guffaws. "Are you kidding me??"

"Oh, hell, honey, the show doesn't give two figs if the people are actually good at the game," Val explained, as if Donna wasn't aware. "As long as they're lively and upbeat, that's fine with them! That's all they care about, the Almighty Ratings!"

Donna of course knew this as well as Val, but she turned to her with limitless love in her eyes all the same.

"You're right. It just looks easy now 'cause you guessed it after only four of the letters came up. You're so damn smart."

"Of course I am; I married you, didn't I?"

Valerie Megan O'Hanlon and Donna Ellie Gardner-O'Hanlon had been ecstatically married for thirteen months. They had spent their honeymoon one year ago in Hawaii, and their one-year anniversary on August 9th at the science center where they sat in each other's arms in an IMAX theater and saw a wonderful nature film in 3-D which made them both wet their 3-D glasses. Everything they did was so much more exponentially grand when they were together. They were made for each other.

When they were finished eating on this particular evening, Val took the plates to the kitchen, deposited them in the dishwasher and brought out dessert. The lovely thing about eating at home was that the portions need be no larger than they desired, and so they always had room for a treat. So Valerie had brought home a generous helping of leftover coffee cake from Madigan's, the restaurant where she worked as one of the head chefs.

Donna couldn't believe how fortunate she was to have met, fallen in love with and married such a talented culinary artist—not to mention a comely vixen of a lady and a delightful person all-around. She was set for a lifetime of delicious goodness. And so she always treated Valerie to dinner when they adjourned out to eat. They normally didn't dine at Madigan's; there was of course no shortage of restaurants in the city. They both loved eating, they both loved food, and if they just thought out their meals a bit further, they would realize that if they cut the actual dinner portion short and asked the wait staff for doggie bags, they could both have dessert and have lunch already taken care of the next day. One day they would figure it out.

But food wasn't their only shared passion.

Delectable sweets and treats seldom ever failed to put Donna in the proverbial mood, and Val certainly had no problem with that. Their marriage made Valerie like and appreciate her job more—which could be incredibly stressful at times—as bringing home yummy leftovers actually helped them maintain an amazing sex life. They could certainly be the envy of other married couples around with the dewy cloudiness of love in their eyes looking at each other and their constant identical grins resulting from a great spree of lovemaking. They loved it, and they were good at it. One thing that made them so good was their steady balance. They kept things spicy and spontaneous in the bedroom, coming up with some pretty randy and raunchy games in the sack, but at the same time they didn't overdo it, always keeping alive the possibility of topping themselves next time.

Valerie's work schedule was different from week to week, always laid out for her on Saturdays. Saturday was the restaurant's busiest day, when everyone worked, and so with everybody in attendance they took care of supplemental business like schedules afterwards. The day after today, Wednesday, would see Val working the late night shift starting at 7:00. Donna, on the other hand, worked a solidly regular but flexible schedule in an office, Monday through Friday, though her superiors were gracious enough to allow her to switch things around to accommodate her otherwise. For example, if Val had a particularly heavy week, but had the entirety of Thursday off, Donna could push her time around to work ten hours each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, taking Thursday to be with Val. Donna saw life as a privilege. The only thing that could improve her situation was a raise from her (somewhat meager) salary, but she still took home enough to afford herself niceties like, say, a credit card.

As tonight was a weeknight and Donna was working as normally scheduled the next day, they egressed to the bedroom early, picked a scenario to roleplay and got dressed up.

The O'Hanlons had another little trick up their collective sleeve to keep their sex life vital and healthy: the Fantasy Files. Their Fantasy Files were a regular spiral notebook where they'd scribble down activities, routines, adventures, games and other things they'd like to try in bed. Active a couple of imaginations and libidos as Valerie and Donna possessed, such an archive to record their romps and escapades went straight past beneficial and right into essential. Some they wrote separately, some they wrote together, and to date the notebook was almost three-quarters of the way full. When they tried one out for the first time, they went back into the notebook and give it a review: how it went, if they enjoyed it, how much, how to improve next time, et cetera. And they had thought ahead and made a pact beforehand that regardless of the Fantasy Files' results, they wouldn't let their feelings be hurt. They had already resolved as an unspoken portion of their wedding vows to never go to bed angry or upset.

Their sexual romps varied depending on the girls' moods, as well as their work situation the following day. For example, this evening they would opt for a roleplaying production which would cater more to Donna, thereby affording her a mindblowing release which would knock her out like a light until it was time for work the next morning, waking her up in a lovely mood.

Dinner was concluded. They turned the TV off, did the dishes, and Val took Donna by the hand, leading her to the bedroom. She sat her delicately down on the bed and approached the radio. They did enjoy a little quiet music accompanying their private happy time, so she turned it on, at a low, easy volume, infusing the room with soft poppy chick rock, setting the romantic mood.

"Oh, hey, I know that song," Donna remarked. "Is...isn't that Jen Foster?"

"Uh, no, no, I don't think so, actually, honey," said Val, heading next to their bedroom closet. "I'm pretty sure that's Velette."

The song faded out. The DJ returned with a short after-commentary. "The Voxe! That's right, gals and pals, the incomparable Velette Voxe herself, with her newest single, 'Take My Heart Away'! And you are listening to WACR—only the finest in acoustic and pop rock from yesterday and today! Now we're gonna switch things up a little and go old school. Remember this one?..."

An alternative '90s song started. "Dang!" said Donna, lightly pounding the mattress. "I really thought that was Jen Foster!"

"Ah, don't feel bad, sweetie," said Val, retrieving the Fantasy Files from the closet. "They really do sound a lot alike."

Donna nodded with a smile. "Like I said, super-smart girl. What do I owe ya?"

Val chuckled. "Well, let's find out." She turned back to Donna, but before she sat with her to go through the book, she flipped a few pages herself, and when she found what she was looking for, her face rose to meet Donna's, curling into an evil smile.

Donna, unsure if she should be frightened or not, shyly gestured for the notebook. Valerie handed it to her, and when Donna read it over, she looked up at her wife with an innocent smirk that seemed to ask, "Who, me?"

Val nodded. She about-faced to the bathroom, and Donna went to the closet.

***

September 15th, 8:57 p.m.

The bedroom door was shut. Donna sat on the bed as before, her previous outfit in the hamper. She was now clad in her schoolgirl uniform, consisting of a plaid dress, calf-length white socks and buckled black dress shoes with bows on them. Her hair had been parted and tied into two ponytails on either side of her head. She still had her bra on, but her panties had intentionally been removed and tossed in the hamper. Ready for action, she picked up her cell and rang Valerie's number, exactly one time, and hung up—their mutual signal for "I'm ready whenever you are"—so Val could come into the room whenever she too was all set. Donna put her phone down, and waited as patiently as she could.

A few moments later, the doorknob turned. Donna's heartbeat quickened in eagerness. She tried to hold back from giggling.

Val deliberately opened the door very slowly, for the sole purpose of teasing her wife. She smiled as she remembered the first time she realized just how much it tormented Donna to make her wait. Once near the beginning of their marriage, she just couldn't seem to get her makeup exactly right, the way she wanted it, and when she finally came into the room, Donna, pushed past her limits of tolerance, practically jumped on her, blindly horny, mindlessly trying to ravage her wife, relentlessly begging Val to rock her world. It was like finding her way inside a goldmine. She wasn't particularly proud, per se, of the fact that when she made this discovery, her first and only immediate thought was, YES; got her now! I own her. She's MINE! But deep down inside, she relished the hell out of the fact that she now essentially had Donna by the pussy. She'd found her wife's kryptonite.

Val got all her initial silliness out before she returned to the room, as she was playing an authoritative, serious role in this scenario. Her part was no-nonsense, at least in the first stage of their little play. Her face was straighter than their heterosexual friends. Her makeup was indeed done up, and she had changed into her most maternal deep blue nightgown. She simply stood before Donna for a moment, crossing her arms, tilting her head back, intimidating her with her dark stare.

Both were silent for a bit. Finally, Valerie took a quick breath and delivered the first line in a stern, disciplinary voice.

"Your teacher at school called me today, Donna."

Donna looked up at Val nervously, playing with her hair, pretending to distract her mind from the "trouble" she was in.

"It seems you were a naughty young lady."

Donna darted her eyes back and forth, playing along perfectly. "What do you mean?" she asked sweetly.

Valerie tossed her hair with a strict flip of the shoulder. "She told me...that you were running around touching, and kissing all the little girls on the playground at recess."

Donna hugged her knees on the bed guiltily, knowing she was "caught."

"That's a big no-no. You do of course now realize...that I'm going to have to punish you for this."

Donna orally thickened the plot. "But, Mommy, I—"

"No 'but's, Missy," she admonished. "Little girls who misbehave must be shown the error of their ways."

Donna pouted, batting her pleading eyes. "But...I'm a good girl, Mommy."

Val shook her head, raising and brandishing a chastising finger. "I did not raise you to be promiscuous, Donna." She upped her authoritativeness, pointing to the mattress beside her. "Get on your knees and elbows, right now."

Donna pretended to be more frightened and resistant. "But I don't want t—"

Valerie took three very deliberate steps towards her, glaring down into her eyes. "I said NOW, young lady."

Feigning further fear of what Val was about to do to her—even though they both of course knew full well—Donna whimpered, reluctantly pushing herself onto all fours on the bed. A couple moments later, she felt Valerie whip up her dress from behind, exposing her bare ass, which she pretended scared her, but of course both of them loved and enjoyed.

Valerie gasped in mock shock. "Why, young lady!...Where are your panties??"

Donna turned to look at her with an impish expression on her face and as much innocence in her voice as she could muster.

"I didn't wear any panties today, Mommy."

Valerie shook her head, trying to throw as much threatening spice into things as she could.

"You are in big, big trouble, you dirty little girl."

With that, she delivered the first spank on Donna's right ass cheek.

"Ouch!" Donna shouted overdramatically, reeling from the imaginary pain. "Oh no, Mommy, please don't!"

"Hold still, brat!" Valerie castigated, holding on to her wife-slash-"daughter"'s waist with her other hand. "You're a bad, filthy girl, now you're gonna get what you deserve!" She spanked her left cheek.

"OUCH! Mommy, please stop! It hurts!" cried Donna.

Valerie let out a sadistically wicked chuckle. "Good. Maybe this'll teach you to leave the other girls on the playground alone! Is that the way I brought you up?!" She spanked her extra hard.

"OW!!" yelled Donna, feeling that one but secretly loving every second. "MOMmy!"

"Don't talk back to me when I'm punishing you!" Spank!

"But you're torturing me!"

"You haven't begun to feel torture yet."

The spanking and verbal discipline went on until both Donna's ass cheeks had turned a nice shade of pinkish-red.

"So what do you think, you little tramp?" she heard her "Mommy" ask her from behind. "Learning your lesson?"

Donna inhaled, groping for breath. "But...but..."

Val didn't wait for her to answer. "Do you have any idea what happens to little girls who don't behave themselves?"

Donna sulked in silence.

"Do you?" Valerie prodded, letting loose with another sharp smack.

"Ouch! No, Mommy, I don't!"

"They get sent to juvenile hall. Where the other girls aren't gonna be your friends. They're gonna bully you. They'll push you around and take your lunch money. Is that what you want?"

"No, Mom—"

She cut her off. "And then...if you grow up, and still don't straighten yourself out...do you wanna know what'll happen next?"

Donna waited. Eventually, before she heard her wife/"Mommy" say anything else, she felt another hard spank. She shut her eyes tight, whisper-screaming at what was starting to really actually hurt, and winced.

"...You'll go to a real jail," Val threatened. Unbeknownst to Donna—or rather, to the character Donna was portraying—Valerie was grinning sinisterly behind her, ear to ear. "And of course you know what happens there, do you not?"

Donna gulped and stammered. "Y—...yes, Mommy."

"That's right! The other girls in this jail...are much bigger than you," Val told her. "And they don't just torment you or steal your money. Do you know what they do instead?"

Donna was starting to become very turned on, just listening to her wife describe this situation. Natch, neither she nor Val actually wanted to be in the situation, but they could put their own preferred spin on it in their bedroom.

Making sure her legs were spread, Valerie went on, slowing down her speech and deepening her voice.

"They touch you...in your naughty places. Like this."

She stroked her fingertips over Donna's extremely sensitive labia. Donna gasped.

"NO, Mommy, don't!" she shrieked, pretending to hate it. "Please don't touch me there! Please, no!"

Of course she did very much want Val to touch her there, but Donna O'Hanlon really did have the most sensitive vagina in the world—certainly the most sensitive of all the women Valerie had met. Not that she had tested this measurement on all of them.

Val spanked her again with her free hand, taking it up another notch. "Do not sass your mother, young lady. You'll take your punishment, and you'll enjoy it. Now be a good little girl...and hold still...while Mommy molests you."

Donna was so turned on she was starting to sweat, and Val wasn't far behind. Both girls had grown heavy into kink in their first twelve months of marriage, and this Mommy-daughter incest-play had become quite a highlight in their sex life. They'd tried similar scenarios, substituting an aunt or teacher for the mother character, but it didn't work as effectively. So they kept it based on a maternal relationship. Donna had only to keep her mind on the fact that this was really her sexy wife. Her real Mom, Carole Gardner, was a beautiful lady, but picturing her doing anything remotely sexual did not give Donna a pleasant feeling.

"Let me ask you something, my girl..." Valerie began ominously, after a few moments of silence. Donna waited, feigning fear.

"Do you want your Mommy...to put her tongue...in this tight little pussy of yours?"

She gasped again. "NO, MOMMY!!" she screeched. "Please let me go!"

The very next thing Valerie did was, of course, lick her pussy. Holding her labia open, she very slowly inserted her tongue just below Donna's clit, leisurely tonguing her from top to bottom. Donna felt the sensation, screamed in response and continued fake-protesting as her pussy became wetter and wetter, Val feeling the building moisture collecting on her taste buds.

"MMMMmmm..." Valerie commented, removing her tongue and smacking her lips. "Oh, how wet you are down there! You really like it when Mommy tongue-fucks you, don't you, daughter?! You perverted little harlot!"

Donna started mock-crying. "No, Mommy, I don't!" she pleaded. "Please stop!"

Val conversely laughed at her, circumnavigating Donna's hard clit, tickling her cunt and taint. "Oh yes you do!" she cackled. "That soaking wet little pussy of yours proves it. Now I know you love it. What a dirty little whore you are for your Mommy!"

Donna joined the laughing fit in ticklish hysteria as Val wiggled her fingers over her pussy and bum. "No-o-o, Mom-my-y-y!"

The goal wasn't to drive Donna insane with laughter, but with heavenly passion, so Val ceased tickling her, much as she didn't want to. Truth be told, Valerie O'Hanlon loved tickling the daylights out of anybody, especially such a lass as her wife—which Donna knew, but she also knew how much more overwhelmingly ticklish Valerie was, so Donna still won all the unrestrained tickle fights. But as for Valerie, the hilarious sound of involuntary gut laughter delighted her like mad, and made her laugh right along. But such extreme tickling had its time and place, and would be considered terribly cruel under the wrong circumstances.


Costly Confusion



Still, just once at some point—just once—she'd like to win a tickle fight with her wife.

For Donna's part, she was sputtering for breath, turned on beyond words. In another few moments, she'd lose her powers of speech. She kicked her feet and beat her fists on the mattress, violently shaking her head back and forth, throwing illusory tantrums, continuing to play out her part of the naughty daughter as her mother/wife resumed digitally penetrating her.

When her energy was drained from pounding the mattress and being finger-fucked by Val, she began choking and croaking out whispered moans of, "Oh, God...oh, fuck...oh my God...FUUUUUUCK..."

Val chortled. "Why, now, wherever did you learn such language, you little fucking slut?" she joked. Chuckling again, she added wickedly, "I might just have to wash your mouth out with soap after this if you're not careful."

Donna was unable to care less about Valerie's sadistic taunting. She had more pressing concerns on her mind. A few moments later, her arms and thighs wouldn't hold her upright anymore, so she had to call a quick time-out and flip over on her back.

"Well, well," Valerie commented, "What a submissive little slave of a daughter I've got here. Apparently, this apple fell a little further from the tree!" She laughed at Donna's gasping desperation. "I think that sort of behavior deserves to be rewarded."

Again spreading Donna's pussy lips to either side with the fingers of her non-dominant hand, Val continued with her manual dexterity while taking things up yet another level by leaning down to where she could reach her wife's genitals with her mouth, took Donna's clit between her tongue and palate, and started to suck.

Donna began going crazy, as the profane end of her vocabulary began taking over. "Fuck...oh, shit...OH FUCK!!" she groaned.

Valerie chuckled again, almost blushing, mouth full of swelling, delicious clit. Wow! Really getting into the swing of things, aren't ya, honey? she thought in flattered amusement.

Even had she said what she was thinking out loud, Donna wouldn't have heard her. Donna had lost her mind. Stars exploded in her closed eyes. She felt as if hundreds of tiny sparks were flying and dancing all over her body. She whipped the mattress uncontrollably with her palms, as if tapping out from a wrestling match. A little more time, and she wouldn't know what hit her.

Valerie's wrist, jaws and shoulders were starting to ache from their activity and the position in which she lay, but she didn't even think about stopping or slowing down. She had always subscribed to the philosophy of "you only live once." Her aches would eventually go away, but orgasms like this didn't come along every day. Part of her of course wished she could be on the receiving end of such an immeasurable thrill ride, but she also believed it was better to give than to receive. And she was sure that they'd get to switch roles and Donna would get to play her mother on another fatefully wild night.

Besides, with a sex life as wonderful as theirs, no source of conflict ever seemed unmanageable in the least.

As she brought Donna nearer and nearer the impending edge, she opened her eyes to gaze up at her wife's face. Struggling to hang on to the bed, her arms were flailing, hands groping for the headposts. Her back was arched, and her head was tilted back so far that from her angle Valerie could only see her chin and the tip of her nose. But it mattered not; Val's heart never failed to burst with love if she even so much as kissed Donna on the cheek, to say nothing of having mind-blowing, feet-sweeping, Earth-moving sex with her. Just knowing she had the power to make her wife feel like this made her the happiest woman in the world.

Gently cradling Donna's erect, throbbing clit between her teeth, slicking and swishing her tongues in glorious circles around it, Valerie couldn't say what she wanted, which was, "You gonna come for Mommy, young lady? Huh? You gonna come for her?! Come on, dollface, make Mommy proud!" But as kinky-hot as these phrases sounded in her mind, as much as her lips, tongue and voice desired to form and produce the sounds, the obligation to finish off her wife and let her drift off to ethereal oblivion surpassed her whim for pillow talk. She'd have to remember to jot down her taunting phrases in a page of the Fantasy Files.

At last, she propelled Donna past the no-return point and blasted her like a human cannonball through the orgasmic portal. OH, how exquisitely Donna screamed in delicious ecstasy, through to the alternate dimension Valerie transported her to. And how gratified Val was by her bride's thankful cries and her pussy anointing her fingers with a soft, frothy sheen of wife-come.

When it was over, Valerie delicately vacated Donna's fragile, red vagina and kissed her sweaty sleeping wife's mouth. She knew Donna would be out for at least a few hours' naptime, if not the whole night, as per the goal. Either way, she would certainly get herself up in time to clean off and change out of the schoolgirl outfit. So Val pulled up one of the comforters that had fallen to the floor and covered half of Donna's now unconscious body with it.

Finally, she exited the bedroom to let her betrothed peacefully doze away. She quietly cleaned herself up in the bathroom, and returned to the living room to catch up on some reading until she too was ready to turn in.

***

September 16th, 5:42 p.m.

"So, when you run your report for the week, you wanna give it a final checking over to make sure the figures are accurate, and then you just slap a Post-It on top and label it, and hand it in," Donna explained and demonstrated to Lesley, the new girl in her office whom she'd been training for the past week. "That easy."

"Sounds straightforward enough," replied Lesley with a smile. "Thanks, Mrs. O'Hanlon. You're the best."

"Don't mention it, Les. And I keep telling you, please, call me Donna."

When Lesley Walker arrived at the office in her department the previous Monday morning, Donna jumped at the chance to train her. The two took an instant liking to each other. They knew they'd have a positive connection—when she came in, Lesley was positive that as with virtually all other jobs she'd held, she'd be the one and only lesbian in attendance—a distinction which Donna'd actually held here prior to that point. She and her straight co-workers got along well enough for colleagues, but a small paranoid part of her couldn't help feeling the girls were the least bit wary around her. The foundation was stable, if somewhat frail. So when Lesley showed up at their doorstep the previous Monday and needed training, Donna seized the opportunity for them to buddy up. The rest of the girls were okay, but the companionship of a sapphic sister around was too valuable to pass up.

In fact, Donna rather thought of Lesley as a kid sister. She was very young—25—a few years younger than Donna and Val—shy, sweet, and aiming to please. She had a good work ethic and strong values. In fact, if Donna had to choose one thing about the girl that might count against her in this position, it would have to be that her sense of humor sometimes pushed against the boundaries of proper office etiquette. But at the same time, Donna liked a good, uninhibited sense of humor. It was one of her favorite qualities in her wife. And truth be told, it was becoming one of her favorite qualities in her new buddy Lesley as well.

A couple dozen of their workmates had gone for the day, leaving only about seven or eight office occupants remaining, including the two of them. Their boss had asked if they wouldn't mind staying a little later this evening, so Donna'd called Valerie in the afternoon to let her know. Almost in secret, they had both been very much enjoying working together thus far, their daily training sessions. Soon Lesley would be able to hold her own reins herself, and wouldn't need Donna's guidance anymore, which both knew and to which neither looked very forward. They liked this closer, professional byplay. Given the choice, they'd prefer to keep on this way. But even should they not get to pal around while training, they could still have lunch together, and Donna thought it would be really nice if she and Val could take the girl to get something to eat outside the work environment, all the three of them. Or to go shopping. Or whatever struck their fancy.

Once she'd taken Lesley through the process of how to run the report, she showed her how to print it out on both sides of a sheet to save paper. Then, subsequently, she needed to show her how to unjam the printer-copier when it grabbed two sheets at once, which wasn't supposed to happen, but which actually did happen fairly often. Donna honestly felt the machine was kind of a hunk of junk and that they really needed a much better device, though she hesitated to come right out and say so.

"Wow, Mrs. O'Ha—er, Donna, you really know your stuff," Lesley said, shaking her head in admiration.

"Ah, it'll be second nature to you in a couple days," Donna said modestly. "Really, you'll get the hang of it in no time."

Unbeknownst to them, a visitor was entering the office suite where their department was located.

Seeing the two of them together, Valerie waved. "Hey honey!" she called. "Surprise!"

They turned to see her approaching, carrying a Saran-wrapped plate.

"Well, hi there, stranger!" exclaimed a lit-up Donna, overjoyed to see her, especially bearing gifts. "Fancy seeing you around!"

She trotted over for some affection. They embraced and kissed.

"So, gosh, what are you doing here, babe?" asked Donna. "I thought you had to work tonight."

"Well, not for another little while yet. And I knew you had to stay late at work today yourself, sooooo...in honor of annual Wife Appreciation Day, I baked you some cookies!" Val said, presenting the plate. "Warm and gooey, straight from Valerie's Oven!"

Donna's heart grew as warm as the cookies. "Awww!" she gushed, accepting it. "I love you so much! Sweets from my sweet!" She threw another hug on her beloved before she remembered. "Oh, where is my head?" she asked in amusement. She waved and called over to Lesley. "Les! C'mere, there's someone I want you to meet."

She took the plate of cookies from Val, set it down, and introduced them. Lesley shook her hand extra enthusiastically and said, "Oh, my gosh, Mrs. O'Hanlon, I absolutely adore your wife. She is the smartest, nicest, loveliest person I've ever met."

Val giggled. "Why, thank you!" she said. "You mean she's the nicest person you've met here, in your office?"

Lesley shook her head emphatically. "No."

Idly glancing down as they shook hands, Valerie chanced to notice all ten of Lesley's fingers were naked. Looking back to Donna setting the plate of cookies down, she couldn't help but observe her wife's fingers were also unadorned at the moment.

"Honey, uh...where's your wedding ring?" Valerie asked.

"Oh, right, right," said Donna, heading back to the corner where the printer-copier stood. "I had to take it off to show Lesley how to unjam the stupid gosh-damn printer," she explained, raising her voice to carry across the room. "See, you gotta flip this latch inside, and ring or no ring, the opening's so small you can barely even get your hand in there."

Lesley blushed and giggled in awkward amusement, covering her mouth.

"I, um...I'm sorry," she chuckled to Valerie. "I have a terrible mind."

"I don't know if they designed this thing to be used by a Smurf, or what, but if they don't replace it soon, I'm just gonna supply the cash myself," said Donna. She looked around the machine, but she didn't immediately locate the ring.

"That's weird," she said, "I could've sworn I put it down right here."

A light bulb clicked on above Lesley's head. "Oh, Missu—uh, Donna, I think you asked me to hold on to it for you."

"Oh, you're right!" remembered Donna. "Good girl. What'd you do with it?"

Lesley slung her purse around her elbow and started sifting through it. She went on for several moments, during which the office became remarkably silent. Valerie was a little disoriented about the current situation. Regardless of the circumstances, she felt a little funny about her wife's ring being in another woman's purse, for whatever reason. Eventually, wondering what was taking so long, she leaned over a bit towards Lesley for a closer peek inside.

"Can, uh...can we help you with that?" asked Val.

Lesley shrugged it off. "No, no, it's okay. I dropped it in here so it wouldn't get lost."

A strange look washed over Valerie's face. Really? Gee, good strategy, she thought, keeping her sarcasm silent.

Finally, Lesley declared, "Oh, this is silly." She sat on the floor, spread her legs out and dumped the contents of the purse in front of her. She spread items around until everything was visible, and at last the ring turned up.

"Ah—here you go!" She handed it up to her.

Lesley started returning her varied, numerous belongings to her deceptively small-looking purse. As Donna slipped the ring back onto her finger, Valerie arched an eyebrow at her. She admitted it struck her a little strange that her wife wouldn't remember what she did with her own wedding ring, not to mention the previous assessment that it had ended up inside this girl's handbag. But she was rational and reasonable, and always tried to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. She figured it had probably just been a long day, wearing on their minds. They were here after hours, after all.

She watched as Donna picked up the cookies she'd brought for her into the kitchen and break area. She looked down to see Lesley still putting her things away. Her gaze rose back up. She sighed.

Oh, she hated herself for what she was about to do, but...she started to slowly drift towards the printer-copier.

Using as much surreption as she could, she leaned down to have a look at the small opening Donna had indicated for her where the unjam latch was found. Taking a peek back at Lesley, she slipped her hand inside. She thought she could feel the latch, but it didn't feel that tight or narrow to her at all. Then again, her fingers were a tiny bit more petite than Donna's...and yet, did she really have to take off her...

She suddenly asked herself what on Earth she was doing. This was ridiculous. She absolutely trusted her wife. She trusted her more than she trusted any other person in the world—even her own parents. Actually, especially her own parents. The seed of suspicion had been unfortunately planted in Valerie's mind at a young age, when her family was split apart by her folks' marital infidelity. She seemed to remember not one but both of them having affairs, and she honestly didn't know what happened first, but the sequence was less than important. Eventually, Mr. and Mrs. O'Hanlon divorced when little Valerie was still just a wee lass, and she did more than her fair share of traveling going back and forth to spend time with both of them.

And so as she grew up, this early exposure to the human being's capacity to be unfaithful took its toll on her. Val was wary of relationships as a teenager and had trouble trusting them. When one or a couple of her friends began dating, she was afraid someone would get hurt. She wasn't sure how she would handle it if she became interested in someone, or vice versa. But when she met a much younger but just as devastatingly lovely Donna Gardner, her worries just seemed to melt away. Donna made her feel that she wanted her and only her, which still held true to this day. She made it appear that she and Valerie were the only two people on Earth at any given time, and that was a feeling Val loved and wasn't wary of at all.

After she and Donna got together and Donna took this office position with a couple dozen other women around all the time, Valerie felt a ping of doubt here and a bit of worry there, but she quickly shoved them out of her mind. She knew Donna. And she trusted Donna. Her girl was nothing if not faithful. Besides, Donna would tell her all the time, "They're drones, honey. They're all the same! They all say the same things, they behave the same ways, and when they're not working they're gabbing and whining about their husbands and boyfriends. For Heaven's sake, sweetheart, they're robots. They're nothing like you."

And she would give Valerie's cheek a sweet caress and tell her she loved her, and Val would scold herself for even thinking Donna could be capable of such deception. Shame on me, she'd think. How could I doubt her? Shame on me. Shame on me!

Recollecting herself in Donna's office, she repeated the same three words to herself as she made her way back away from the printer-copier, and Lesley finished putting her things away. She could pretty easily tell that Lesley was a lesbian—and a cute little thing at that—but she also seemed much younger than either Donna or herself. She shook her head as she looked at her with a smirk. This girl posed nothing in the way of a threat. She seemed merely sweet, innocent, diligent and professional. Valerie felt bad for letting impure thoughts about Lesley cross her mind. She mentally apologized to her.

"OH, my God," came Donna's voice as she emerged with a mouthful of cookie. "I have married...a culinary genius."

Val smiled and closed her eyes, folding her hands together. Donna took her wife in her arms, dipped her, and kissed her with sugary passion. It was amazing the effect sweets really did have on her.

Lesley hopped up, purse again full. "Oooh, I love cookies! May I please have one, Mrs. O'Hanlon?" she asked Val.

"Oh...of course, Lesley! Help yourself."

"Mm!" Donna let go of Valerie and followed Lesley into the kitchen. "I gotta get another one too."

Val watched as her bride ran in after Lesley. The next thing she heard were some giddy giggling sounds. In the midst, she thought she heard one of their voices say, "Oh, my!" followed by more giggling.

She let a few moments pass, and headed into the kitchen along with them, to see...

...Donna feeding Lesley a piece of cookie?...She couldn't be entirely sure from the angle, but that was what it looked like.

"Uh, I'm gonna go," she announced. "I do have to get to work."

"Mm!" Donna reiterated, trotting back over to her. "Right. I love you, honey!" she bid her with a peck on the cheek.

Valerie suddenly felt an urge to be a little more aggressive. She took Donna's hand and turned her back around again.

"Hey, wait a second here, lady," she flirted with a smirk. "Is that all I'm gonna get?" She batted her eyes seductively.

Donna smiled back at her, settling in to embrace her nice and tight, eyes softening into her own mutual seduction. They shared a long, expressive kiss, after which Val flashed her evil smile.

"You tease," she whispered.

"Maybe, but I'm your tease," Donna whispered back, dabbing her nose.

Any apprehension Valerie was feeling about anything two minutes ago had evaporated.

"Y'know what I'm gonna do to you tomorrow night?" Val asked.

Donna shivered with excitement. "Tell me."

"I will...tomorrow night."

Donna gasped. "Oh, you wicked woman!" she grinned. "And you're calling me a tease??"

The truth was that Val didn't actually have a plan mapped out for tomorrow night yet, but she didn't need one. Merely suggesting the idea was enough, and she knew how magnificently titillated and anguished Donna became at being forced to wait for fun sexy time. Of course! Valerie told herself. What are you worried about? You own her! Her pussy's yours, remember?




Costly Confusion



"Okay then," said Val, letting go of Donna and returning to her normal voice. "Bye, sweetie! Bye, Lesley!" she waved.

"Bye, babe, love you!"

"Bye, Mrs. O'Hanlon!"

***

September 18th, 8:34 a.m.

A couple more days of marital heaven passed, riding the girls out the rest of the week into another wonderful Friday. Donna was running a little late, so she hastened to get her things together and get out the door. She tossed together a quick improvised lunch with some random munchables from the fridge, kissed Val goodbye and hit the road.

Donna wished she could've stayed home with her beloved wife. When she left, her cherished Valerie sat in her robe, sipping her coffee, one leg crossed over the other. And of course, the everpresent halo above her head. She looked so cozy and comfy, and the fuzzy robe made Donna want to leap on her and make them both happier than clams.

Donna fought off a miniature battle each weekday morning this time when she had to go to work and leave her bride behind. Valerie really was the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to her. She was gorgeous, she was charming, she was good-hearted, she was honest, she was creative, she was funny, she was kinky, she was a sex goddess. An angelic devil and a devilish angel. And she had a vulnerable side that allowed Donna to cradle her and heal her heart when she was hurt. She was just...so...

...Perfect.

Donna couldn't imagine any person loving any other person anywhere near as much as she loved Valerie. Sometimes when she departed for work and thought about how much she simply treasured her wife...she was almost moved to tears.

Off she drove to the office, just like the hundreds of workdays before.

***

September 18th, 8:42 a.m.

Back at home, Valerie finished her coffee and started a load of laundry. Normally it was okay to wash both their clothes together in one big load, so she did so, as they were both starting to run out of clean apparel. Yet after she started the washer going, her eyes fell back down upon the now half-full basket of worn laundry.

She recognized the workout panties in which Donna had gone running a few days ago. She smiled as some naughty, less than wholesome thoughts crossed her mind. She didn't think Donna knew she did this, but that was exactly what made it so enticing. While no one outside her wife knew this about her, Val was hugely turned on by a hot, athletic, sweaty girl like her bombshell wifey, especially undressing and stepping into the shower. So often when Donna came back in from a run and started up a bath for herself, Valerie refused to let her bathe before grabbing her sweaty body and practically raping her. Donna would first laugh and playfully object, saying, "Hon-ey!...Come on, I'm all dirty and sticky!" but that only made Val want her more.

And almost invariably, they would end up in the bathtub together.

In a case like this, it would be Valerie who couldn't stand the waiting. Should Donna return home from working out, dodge her wife and jump right in the shower, Val would see it as quite a disappointing missed opportunity. She couldn't explain what it was about sweaty girls that lit her right up, but she at least knew she much enjoyed watching a couple cute chicks burning up the tennis court, and she positively loved the WNBA. Luckily, so did Donna.

Valerie wasn't by nature an advocate of unsanitary practices, but this was a case in which she had to make an exception. She brought the panties to her face, inhaled, and her eyes fluttered closed at the intoxicating scent.

That really was just about all it took. She headed to the bathroom, slipped out of her robe, enjoying the angle of her curvy frame in the mirror, fondling her ass and breasts, her thighs and hips, until she started the water running. Her nipples twitched and solidified. Her pussy tingled. She was losing patience fast, so when the water reached halfway up the tub, she added the vanilla oatmeal bubble bath, put the panties on and stepped in.

Depending on her mood and levels of spontaneity, Valerie O'Hanlon sometimes required as much as an hour of foreplay, and sometimes absolutely none at all. This was a case in which since her sweat fetish was involved, the latter applied. (Donna's foreplay needs also fluctuated, but not quite to such extremes as her wife's.) Once she was under the water, she reached under the panties and began eagerly rubbing her Little Val. She grinned, chuckled and traced her labia with a fingertip until her pussy started begging her to be stroked harder and faster. Her mind flooded with images of her irresistible wife. "Donna, please fuck me," she silently beseeched. "PLEASE fuck me, honey, I beg of you!" she smiled.

The water had reached above her breasts and almost to her kneecaps. She shut it off, slid herself further down until only her face remained unsubmerged, and sat her heels up on the ridge of the tub. Her left hand joined her right beneath the exercise panties and opened her pussy wider, stretching the skin so she could effectively strum her clit and plunge her hot, wet cunt.

A dreamy sensation of utopian happiness overcame her as the bubble bath worked its rejuvenating magic on her at the same time she started more vigorously making love to herself, spilling water over the side of the tub.

"Ohhh, Donna...you bad girl!" she mouthed, grinning again as she imagined some of the contents of their Fantasy Files coming to life right here in the bathtub. She closed her eyes, held her breath, sank her face beneath the surface and shifted her hands and arms into second gear. She jilled herself off like she had just woken up from a cryogenic coma.

The surges of pleasure that blazed through her were insane. She was employing a magical if dangerous trick she had learned at one point whereby temporarily cutting off her oxygen supply, she could intensify her orgasm beyond what used to be her wildest dreams. She desperately held herself under, clutching at her pussy, driving her curling fingers in and out of herself, pressing the bottoms of her feet hard against the tile wall, until she finally needed both a breath and a break.

She rose back above the surface and gasped for air, her face covered in bubbles. When she began to calm back down again, she crossed her arms and hugged her tits, which felt just as good as autofucking her pussy, but in a slightly different way. Squeezing her breasts sectioned off a portion of her hot, rampant lust and substituted a dose of tranquil comfort for it. While she was taking her little break from her wild underwater masturbation, this embrace pressing her tender breasts against herself and each other made her feel as if she was hugging a rainbow. She smiled in giggly giddiness.

When her breathing returned to normal, she was ready to resume her thrusts of fiery passion into both her pussy and oblivion. She gave her arms and hands a shake, slipped them back under her/Donna's panties and started out slower once more before she built up the speed and heat again.

Her eyes fluttered closed and her head tilted as far back as her neck would allow. She imagined her beautiful beloved wife, naked outside in Mexico, on the hottest day of the year, drenched and pouring with perspiration. Her sensations doubled. She decided next to steam things up and employ a little mental cruelty on poor Donna, imagining pinning her hot, naked body to a stake, hands behind her back, so she could neither cover her nudity nor run in out of the heat. It was sadistic, and real bondage had always struck Val as a bit mean. And it was only fantasy; she would never do such a thing to Donna in real life.

Probably.

Even though 85% of her body was underwater, Val began to sweat herself, as she also envisioned Donna playing tennis and basketball in her naked splendor. Her bouncing, glistening breasts, her shaking pussy as she sprinted down the court, her messy wet hair glued to her face, her jiggling ass...her heavy, rushed breathing...

"FU-U-U-U-U-UUUCK..."

The sensations tripled. Never mind the tub; Valerie was drowning in an ocean of sensual goodness. Whether alone or with her wife, sex was divine. It was time to go diving again. She slid her heels back down and adhered her soles to the tiles once more.

Under she went, putting her manual motion into overdrive.

Having only to hope she timed things right, she squealed and writhed helplessly under the bubbles, desperately fucking the daylights out of herself, racing like hell to beat the clock. Sweat for me, Donna, she thought. Turn off the AC, turn up the heat. Turn up the heat and make love to me. I want to make you sweat your ass off. Wet me down with it.

She was so close...she was so close she could taste it! She didn't know what more she could do to finally bring herself over the edge...until...her mind played out the sex fantasy a bit further with Donna and she imagined Donna's forehead was relentlessly dripping sweat onto hers, like Chinese water torture.

That did it.

Valerie came, like she had never come before. As soon as she hit the apex, she shot like a bullet up from under the water with a violent gasp of air, like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction. But she had the presence of mind to keep her hands going, finishing out the wildly monstrous orgasm. When she at long last was done coming, she had to concentrate to keep herself above the water just so she didn't literally drown.

Fifteen minutes later—

Oh...I have to get out. These panties have to be washed again now.

***

September 18th, 10:56 a.m.

Valerie didn't have a great deal of desire to do chores after her euphoric bathtub adventure, but she contentedly got on with the laundry, moving the washer's load to the dryer and putting Donna's workout panties in the washer with the following load.

She giggled as she continued the laundry, and then adjourned to the kitchen to put the clean dishes away. She felt so domestic. She of course worked as well as Donna, but even so, here alone in the mornings, she relished the privilege of being able to relax at home as the housewife. The happy homemaker. Besides which, as a chef, she loved being in kitchens.

Oh, what a beautiful day! she thought as she put her robe back on and opened the windows. Fall was just around the corner. The outdoor air this lovely Friday was a cool, fair 71°. Valerie could not have stopped smiling right now for $10,000. She was so elated she was about to cry. Nothing could spoil her day right now. Nothing.

She heard a phone ring. Following the sound to the living room, she saw Donna's cell phone lying on the coffee table. Oh, she must've forgot it. She'd run from the house in a rush, fearing she'd be late, and in doing so she'd indeed left the phone behind.

Val was just about to see if she recognized the number, when coincidentally, she heard her own cell phone ring. Being a bit more organized than her wife in this department, Valerie's cell lived in her purse, and she made sure it stayed there at all times when not in use. She snatched up her purse, found it and saw Donna's work number flash across the display.

Ah, she thought with a smile. Must've realized. She pressed the green button to accept. "Hi, honey!" she greeted cheerily.

"Hi, baby!" came her wife's voice. "I've been trying to call you a couple times today."

Whoops. "Oh...gosh, I'm sorry, Donna, I was, uh...a little busy before."

"Oh, that's okay, babe. Just checking, did I leave my phone there? I can't find it."

"Yes! Yes, you did, actually—in fact, someone just called you."

"Oh, good. Did you find out who it was?"

"No, no, sorry, sweetie, I didn't. I was about to, but that was right when you called me," Val chuckled.

"Aha, I see," Donna chuckled back. "Well, would you be a doll and keep an eye on my messages for me today?"

"Oh, no, Donna, I'm afraid I can't do that," Valerie sarcastically teased her. "I have big plans all day today. I'm sitting on the couch watching TV and eating Combos."

The other end was silent. Donna didn't always grasp when she was being facetious.

Finally, Val added, "I'm kidding, honey-pie! Of course I will, silly!"

"Oh!" laughed Donna. "I am silly. All right, thanks, babe! I love you so much!"

"Not as much as I love you!" answered Val.

"Not possible; you're perfect."

"No, you are."

"No, you are."

"No, YOU are!"

"Okay, fine, you win; I'll be perfect," Donna conceded. "I really do have to get back to work now. Oh, but I just wanted to mention one more thing real quick."

"What's that?" asked Val.

"No, YOU are!!" shouted Donna. Click.

Valerie's mouth dropped open in amusement, realizing Donna had tricked her. "Oh, you devil," she giggled at the dial tone. She returned her own phone to her purse, ran off to fetch her portable laptop, opened it and pranced back to the coffee table and flopped herself on back in the recliner, kicking her feet up. She made the laptop live up to its name and activated the phone. She had to play around with it a little to get to her system's voice mail, but she found it.

"You have two...new...messages," said the electronic voice. "Friday...eleven...seventeen...a.m."

Okay, so this must have been the one that just arrived right when Donna had called her. Valerie cradled the phone on her shoulder and readied her fingers on the keyboard. She next heard another electronic voice.

"This is a reminder for..." Pause. "...Donna...O...Hanlon...of your appointment with...Dr...Carter...on Monday...September...21st, at...three...p.m. Thank you." Click.

"Doc...appointment," Valerie mouthed, typing it down, noting the date and time. The voice mail beeped.

"Friday...one...thirty...five...a.m."

1:35 in the morning?

The next voice Valerie heard was not electronic. It took a couple moments for her to recognize it, but she did.

"Hey, you sexy thing," purred the voice of an obviously aroused Lesley Walker.

Val's eyebrows jumped at this greeting.

"I had the best time with you the other night," said Lesley's soft, seductive voice, chuckling lasciviously. "MMmm, you were amazing, you naughty lady! What a dirty, dirty mind you have! All the better to tease me with, right??" Another salacious giggle.

Valerie froze, her fingers lifelessly resting on the keys.

What?

"Oooh...my pussy's still wet. You bad girl! I think you put something in those cookies, lover!"

...

WHAT?!

"Hee-hee! See ya next time, sweet ass!" Click.

The electronic voice continued to inform her that Donna had no more messages, but Valerie was no longer listening. She sat stock-still, not moving, not blinking, not even breathing. She could not believe what she had just heard. As she thought about it again and again, the horrifying implication set in.

"...Sexy thing...best time...naughty lady...dirty mind...tease me...bad girl...pussy's wet...sweet ass..."

Life continued to go on outside the O'Hanlons' house, the sun continued its daily arc, but the rainbow over their happy home suddenly cracked and faded, as Valerie Megan O'Hanlon felt her entire world slowly begin crashing around her. Her hands began involuntarily shaking and quivering. She dropped the phone. It bounced on the arm of the recliner and clattered to the floor. Her face didn't move an inch, but a solitary tear did slip from her eye.

Oh my dear God...could she really have...

She couldn't bear to finish the thought. A terrible pain assaulted her chest. She all but literally felt her heart break.

Her logical, rational mind tried to come at this from all angles, but could not penetrate to a possibility that brought her any comfort. Lesley had given her a little too much evidence to the contrary. Her tone and words were deliberate and to the point. Such intimate remarks were not to be taken lightly. Why would she say these things? She'd seemed so innocent at the office!

God help me...she really did, didn't she...

...She...she cheated on me.

My own wife...was...with another woman.

Valerie suddenly felt herself about to throw up. She could never in a million years have imagined this happening. And she could never in a million years have dreamt anything could hurt this bad. She had begun to jump to this exact conclusion at the office, but she had then let down her guard and convinced herself that she was wrong. And she had never been so happy in her life to be wrong about anything. But...she wasn't wrong...was she.

She'd been right all along. She knew there was a real reason Donna's ring was in this little hussy's purse. She knew something was up. She knew there was a reason they'd been trying to cover it up with this flimsy story about the printer's unjam latch.

And she knew she couldn't trust fidelity in relationships. Another horrible truth she'd been right about the whole time.

She buried her face in her hands and began crying, softly at first, quickly escalating into wracking sobs of despair.

Her life...was over. She didn't want to eat. She didn't want to sleep. She didn't want to breathe. She didn't want to exist.

She wanted to die. Her most favorite person in the world, the very person to whom she'd given everything in her open heart, professed her undying love, married and promised to spend the rest of her life with, her angel on Earth...had betrayed her.

She was shattered and drained. She didn't have the energy to so much as stand up from the recliner, let alone throw their laptop through the window. All she could do was sit and cry.

When she could raise her head, she looked up to the ceiling to scream, "Why, WHY, WHY?!! Why did this happen to me?!" she wailed. "I'm a good person! Tell me what I did to deserve this!

"TELL me what I DID to deSERVE this!!"

***

September 18th, 5:27 p.m.

Val was scheduled to work the afternoon/evening shift at Madigan's, but she had to call in sick. She was too destroyed, and she needed to confront Donna about this in person A.S.A.H.P. First, though, she'd taken a couple of errands when she could finally get herself out of her La-Z-Girl, and picked up a couple items at the "toy store," formulating a plan to teach her wife a lesson.

She'd purposely hidden them in an undisclosed location in their bedroom only she knew. She'd also put Donna's phone along with the toys in this same secret spot. When she heard Donna slam her car door and come inside, her heart accelerated.

Just stick to the plan, she told herself. Just stick...to...the plan.

"Anybody home?" she heard Donna call.

"I'm in here, sweetie!" Valerie called to her in a happy voice. "Naked!"

She suddenly heard Donna's footsteps coming much more rapidly around the corner. Valerie smirked bittersweetly. Do I know this woman, or do I know this w—...uh...

...Actually, let's not ask that question right now.

When Donna bounded around to their room, smilingly anticipating, and saw Val, she frowned in confusion.

"Hey, you're not naked."

Much as she didn't want to at this moment, it was part of the plan, so Valerie took Donna passionately in her arms, put on her sexy voice, told her, "No, but you're gonna be," and laid a powerful kiss on her.

Donna shivered at the raw zeal Valerie sent through her with her sexual aggression. When they peeled their lips apart, Donna immediately obeyed. "Yes, ma'am!" she excitedly agreed, starting to undress.




Costly Confusion



Halfway naked, she looked back up at her. "Aren't you gonna get naked too?"

Val shook her head. "That won't be necessary," she informed her.

Donna put on a sad puppy face and pouted her bottom lip.

Val continued with a sexy smirk. "Because, I'm gonna tie you up and blindfold you."

Donna perked right back up. "Ooooh, I like the sound of that!" she said. "Kinky! What are we gonna do?"

"Oh, you'll see," Valerie assured her. "You just keep getting naked for me, my dear."

Donna did as she was told. When all her clothes lay in a heap on the floor, Valerie pointed to the bed authoritatively.

"On your back. And no arguments."

"No problem!" Donna replied, practically leaping onto the mattress.

"'Atta gal, now then..." Valerie retrieved her toys, starting with the blindfold. "Here you go..." She proceeded to sit her back up and blind her, subsequently asking, "Can you see?"

Donna grinned and shook her head.

"Very good." Val gently pushed her down on her back again. "Now, hold still..."

Donna got a chill, remembering how Valerie had also given her this order when they were playing Mommy and daughter.

Valerie had figured the best and most effective way to do this was to put her hands and feet in cuffs, thread rope through them and connect them under the bed. So that was what she did. When she'd finished doing precisely this, and pulled the restraints good and tight, minimizing the slack, she asked Donna, "Now, how much can you move?"

Donna hadn't exactly expected to be tied up quite this tight. "Mm..." she muttered, a bit uncomfortably, "Not much."

"Really really try, Donna. I don't want you breaking loose on me."

Donna hadn't been lying. She struggled as much as she could, which wasn't too much at all. "Nope," she sighed. "I'm stuck."

"Tee-rific then," Val said, silently opening the last item, a shrink-wrapped package with a half-dozen...

...Long, stiff, sharp-bladed red, white and blue feathers—quite a bargain, left over from the store's 4th of July sale.

Looks like I'm gonna win today, she thought, removing one and twirling it between her fingers. But before she started with this, she wanted to have a little chat with her first.

"So what're we gonna play?" Donna asked in eager anticipation.

Val reactivated the phone and navigated again to the voice mail. Still in her friendly, affable voice, pacing her words until she could get to the message and play it again, she said, "We...are gonna play...a little game...called..."

Her tone suddenly turned sharp, low and very hostile.

"'Tell...Your Wife...The Truth.'"

Donna's blood suddenly went cold on her. She wasn't exactly sure what was going on.

"W—...what?"

The next thing Donna heard was her cell phone on speaker. It beeped.

"Friday...one...thirty...five...a.m."

"Hey, you sexy thing...I had the best time with you the other night. MMmm, you were amazing, you naughty lady! What a dirty, dirty mind you have! All the better to tease me with, right??...Oooh...my pussy's still wet. You bad girl! I think you put something in those cookies, lover! Hee-hee! See ya next time, sweet ass!" Click.

When the message finished, Val hung it up, leaned down to face her bemused wife, and said, "That's what."

Donna didn't understand. "Th—that w—...that was on my phone? I...that sounded like Lesley!"

Valerie shook her head, angrily tossing the phone on the mattress. "Don't give me the innocent act, Donna. You heard it, and I heard it. Of course it was Lesley, damn it! How could you, Donna?! How COULD you?!!"

Donna started to shake her head in frightened confusion, sputtering for words. "D—how could I what? Valerie, th-I-sh-I...I have no idea what she's talking about!"

"Donna, for God's sake, how the hell gullible do you think I am?? The evidence is right there on your goddamned phone, and you still have the guts to deny it?!"

"Deny wh-th-there's nothing to deny!" Donna insisted, almost starting to cry. "I didn't d—"

"Didn't what?!" shouted Val. "Didn't fuck the little whore??!"

Donna did start to cry at this outburst. "WH—NO!! God, no, Valerie! I love you! How could you even think that??"

Val picked up the feather and began twirling it again. "Boy, you really do wanna play hardball, don't you..."

"I...I'm not trying to play anything! I don't know what's going on here! Valerie, sweetheart, I, LOVE, YOU."

Silence followed.

"I believed that yesterday, Donna."

"But, I—"

"But now I'm gonna make you pay for this."

Donna's heart began quaking through her chest. "Pay for what??" she wailed. "Why won't you believe me?!"

"Give me one reason I should."

"Bec—because I'm telling you the truth, Val! I am telling you the truth, I swear to fucking God! I married you, and I love you, and I have never lied to you in my life, and I never would! Valerie, listen to me! I wouldn't hurt you for anything in the world!"

Valerie let the feather twirl between Donna's toes.

"AAAHH!" cried Donna.

"Give me another reason."

"What the hell was that?" Donna demanded to know.

"That was karma, Donna. And so is this."

With that, she began rapidly swishing the feather up and down the sole of Donna's right foot.

Donna, predictably, went insane. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHAAHAHAHAHAAHAAA!! OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD!" she shrieked between hysterical forced laughs. "PLEASENO! PLEASESTOP! PLEASEGODVALSTO-O-O-O-OP!! PLE-E-E-E-EASE!!"

"Nah," Val casually tossed off. "I enjoy seeing you like this. I want you to suffer."

Donna was so ferociously ticklish she wouldn't last very long at all before running out of breath. Valerie tickled her foot for about thirty seconds straight before she finally let up.

When she realized she wasn't being tickle-tormented anymore, Donna threw out her breath with an audible, "Oh!" and gasped for inhalation, coughing it out. Val did feel this was rather cruel, but not enough to completely let up. In fact, she decided to get a second feather out of the packaging and let it too get in on the action.

Once Donna could gather together enough breath, she shouted, "VALERIE!"

Valerie waggled the feathers over her ankles, making her twitch and emit squealing "Eeee!" sounds. The sounds intensified as she slid them farther up Donna's legs, ankles to knees, to thighs, up to her belly, where she paused, swishing them over Donna's heaving abs. She was trying to hold it back, but when Val let one of them slip into her belly button, she blew like a volcano. Her laughter turned to the other side of wild and raucous. She struck the bed with her fists and heels as hard as she could manage.

Val at last grew bored with her belly button and abandoned it for the moment. Affording Donna just a free second to catch her breath, she moved with the feathers to her ribs and danced them up to her breasts, toying with her nipples. This sensation coerced a different variety of laugh out of Donna. At this she thrashed left and right, winging her vulnerable titties back and forth. Unfortunately, she didn't get a lot of relief either way.

When Val decided she was done, at least for now, with Donna's boobs, she worked on her armpits, which had roughly the same effect, and gave her a rest from the wrath of the evil feathers. Again, Donna struggled to catch her breath.

"OH my God, you're killing me," Donna wheezed out. "I'm gonna die."

She waited for Valerie to say something, but she didn't, so Donna added, "Valerie, sweetheart, for the love of God, please pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease don't tickle me anymore! PLEASE!"

"You know something, I'm just not sure this can be saved, Donna."

"But you're torturing me!"

"You haven't begun to feel torture yet."

"Valerie, no kidding, I'm serious, okay? This was kinda cute at first, but enough is enough. Now will you please let me the hell go so we can figure this all out together like grown women?"

"Perhaps soon enough, Donna...but for now, the worst is yet to come."

Donna flung her head back down in the mattress and moaned in irritation. "I don't like this, Valerie! It's not fun!"

"Could've fooled me, the way you're laughing like that," Val commented. "All right, I'll at least end the suspense." She took both feathers in one hand and used the other to pull up and back the skin above Donna's labia, exposing her vagina and clit.

Gasp. "Valerie Megan O'Hanlon, don't you dare!"

"Don't I dare what?" Valerie asked calmly.

"Valerie, I swear, so help me—"

"Do this?" she asked in the same tranquil voice, lightly gliding both the feathers upwards between her legs, trying to brush both the insides of her labia and her clit at the same time.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!" Donna exploded. "FUCK! NO! GOD! STOPPIT!!"

To say that Donna erupted at having her cunt tickled aspired to an understatement. Her reactions burned off the charts. Her screams went through the ceiling as Val tortured her pussy. She was officially out of her mind. She could never have guessed Valerie had the capacity within her to be so cruel. She wasn't just playing a fun sexy tickle game with her; she was abusing her.

"VALERIEFUCKINGSTOPGODDAMMIT!!"

"Okay," said Val, pretending to honor her request. "I'll just keep one here and remove the other one."

"REMOVE 'EM BOTH!" demanded Donna, trying not to tell her wife that she hated her, or anything else regretful.

"Oh, I think we'll just do one for right now..." pondered Val, holding the skin around her pussy stretched out with her left hand and one feather against it with her thumb. "And then, uh..." She slid the other up the bottom of Donna's left foot, which to this point had been left out of the fun (no pun intended).

As she began to feel it, Donna started to say, "Oh, hell!—" But her laughter cut her off.

"Not the feet!" she screamed at Val when she could form coherent words. "NOT THE FEET! NOT THE FE-E-E-E-E-EET!!"

As if she hadn't been going crazy enough already, Donna was starting to have some serious trouble getting air near her lungs. She coughed, hacked, gasped and heaved for oxygen. She thought she really was about to literally die.

"It's funny, isn't it?" mused Valerie. "That these tiny light little objects that come from birds weigh less than a toothpick, and yet can wield such an incredible power over a person."

This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be the Valerie O'Hanlon she married. Someone must have snuck into their room just at the moment she tied Donna to the bed, done something to Valerie, and then turned on her with this dead-on impression of Valerie's voice. My God... Was she going to survive this?

Though almost inaudible above Donna's fits, the doorbell rang.

"Well, that's too bad," said Valerie. "Our visitors are just gonna have to come back another time."

"V—...Vale—...rie, plea—...se answe—...door!"

Before Valerie could reply, a repetitive knocking came at the door. Then the doorbell was rung...three more times, in quick succession. Then more knocking again. Finally, Valerie got up to see what all the fuss was.

"All right, Donna, you get a break," she said, heading back through the bedroom door. "Now don't go anywhere!"

The doorbell chime and knocking kept up as Valerie hastened around to the front door. "All right, all right, I'm coming!"

When she at last reached the door and yanked it open, she was met with a surprise. Outside the door stood Lesley Walker.

When Valerie saw and recognized her, she burned with ire. She shoved open the screen door towards Lesley and slammed the front behind her. "Well, well...speak of the devil. If it isn't the little whore herself."

Lesley's first question was answered by her demeanor. "Oh, God, you know already...all right, you obviously heard it. Um, I—"

"You're goddamn right I heard it," Valerie growled, marching angrily on her. "And you're not getting anywhere near my wife, you homewrecker. She's mine. You're gonna have to go through me first."

Val continued inching on Lesley, prompting her to put up her hands and back away.

"M-M-Mrs. O'Hanlon, I—"

"You know something, I really do not like you right now," Valerie hollered at her, chasing her more quickly down the lawn.

"Mrs. O'Hanlon, please—"

"I think it would be a very good idea if you left."

"But—"

"In fact, I think it would be a very good idea if you got out, and stayed the hell out of our lives, forever, Miss Lesley Walker."

Lesley backed up until she bumped into the apple tree in the middle of the O'Hanlons' yard. Valerie closed in on her.

"Before I kill you several times, give me one good reason why I shouldn't."

"Mrs. O'Hanlon, I didn't have sex with your wife!" Lesley cried, shielding her head with her arms.

Valerie stopped and lowered her eyebrows in temporary confusion.

"We-w-we went out for a drink together, but that was it!" Lesley insisted. "I promise!"

"What the hell are you talking about, you didn't have sex with my wife??" Val said. "You left that message on her voice mail!"

"It wasn't meant for her! It was a mistake!" While she was cowering, Lesley dropped one hand to reach into her pocket and pull out her cell phone. She frantically brought up her contacts list.

"What?" demanded Valerie.

"I-I-I have a girlfriend," Lesley told her, opening the contact right below Donna in her address book. "See?" She showed her the display. Val snatched the phone to look. On the screen was a picture of a pretty petite blonde with contact info below.

"Her-her name's Dori," Lesley said. "Dori Young. She's 27, she lives in Green Plains, about fifteen minutes north of here, and she's a baker. She makes cookies and stuff just like you. We've been together for about three years. She's five-foot-five, she's a Leo and she doesn't smoke. She plays the piano, and she likes rainy days, puppies and ice cream."

She paused for a breath. "She was the one I meant to leave that message for," she explained in a mixture of embarrassment and fear. "See, Wednesday night, after work, Donna and I had a drink together, then I met up with Dori, and, we had a few more drinks, and then, well, things got pretty hot and heavy. So last night, I-I meant to call her, and leave her that voice mail, but..."

She sighed. "I...I drink like a fish, Mrs. O'Hanlon," she confessed. "I'm not proud of it, but, I really do drink a lot. And last night I was still a little tipsy, and, uh...well, my phone contacts are listed in alphabetical order, so when I was scrolling through to find Dori and call her and tell her all that stuff..."

Valerie shut her eyes and filled in the blank, the awful real truth illuminated. "...You landed on Donna's contact instead."

"Yes, ma'am. Completely by accident. And like I said, I was still kinda drunk, and the voice mail didn't tell me her name, it just beeped. And I didn't even know myself until a little while ago. I called Dori to ask what she thought of my message, and she told me she never got it. So I went through my calls, and I realized I must have left it on your wife's phone. And when I found out, I just felt so, so terrible. You guys weren't supposed to hear that, and I am so sorry, Mrs. O'Hanlon. I would've called you, but my battery died, and of course I couldn't find my charger, and I would've called you in the car, but I'm not hands-free. But I...I hold a great deal of admiration and respect for Donna; she's such a wonderful, awesome person, but I'm not interested in her as anything more than a friend and a colleague. I swear on my mother's grave. I do get a little flirty when I drink, and we've shaken hands and hugged, but that's it. I'd never dream of trying to steal your wife from you, Mrs. O'Hanlon. I'm not that kind of person. I really really like her, and I really really like you too." She inhaled again. "I just wanted us all to be friends."

She paused, still fearfully holding her hands in front of her face. "Pl—...please don't hit me."

It was Valerie's turn to feel awful. Her voice and her disposition calmed down, guilt flooding her veins. "I'm not gonna hit you, Lesley," she said, giving her back her phone. "I believe you. And...I'm so sorry too for calling you a homewrecker and a whore."

"Oh, whew," Lesley exhaled in relief. "Thank you, Mrs. O. My sincerest apologies for any trouble or grief I may've caused you. I promise I'll go through my contacts list a lot more carefully from now on! I have to go now, so I'll see you later!"

She gave Val her extra enthusiastic handshake, trotted back to her car, got in, waved goodbye, and sped off. Valerie watched her go, starting to feel tears come to her eyes for a completely different reason than she had eight hours ago.

Eventually, she turned around to go back inside, feeling like raw sewage. Wow, she thought. What a mess I've made of everything. I don't believe it...how could I screw up this badly??

She slowly pushed the bedroom door back open with a remorseful creak.

"Valerie?" asked Donna.

"Donna...I—"

"Valerie, I can't take this anymore, I really can't. This has gone way too far. This is fucking insane. Okay, look, Lesley and I did go out for a drink the other night—I didn't tell you that before and I'm sorry—and...and okay, okay, we have flirted a little, just a little, but really, that's it, I swear! And she has a girlfriend! At least I think she told me she did," Donna explicated, sobbing through her words. "I honestly don't know where that message came from, or how it ended up on my phone."

I'm going to hell. I know I am. I am going straight to hell.

"But listen to me, Valerie," she shouted, throwing an extra dash of tearfulness into her voice, "I could never even think of cheating on you. You mean the world to me, but...if you still refuse to believe me, then I just don't think you trust me anymore. And if our marriage is already in this much trouble, I, uh...I think..." She cried. "...I think...maybe we should get a divorce."

Valerie looked at the floor, wiping at her own eyes in shame.

"Donna...um...that was Lesley at the door. She, uh..." She lifted the blindfold up from Donna's eyes, but didn't think she could look at her. "...She told me what happened. She meant to send that message to her girlfriend, but she sent it to you by mistake."

Donna turned her confused eyes to the ceiling, blinking away the lacrimal moisture, breathing deeply in and out, processing this. Out of the corners of her eyes, she saw Val somberly circling the bed, and felt her uncuffing her appendages one by one.

For a couple of moments Valerie was too ashamed to say anything. When she was done unbinding her wife, she sat on the floor against their dresser, dropping her face into her hands like she had that same morning.

She shook her head. "I was so wrong. So terribly...horribly wrong."

Dropping her tear-stained hands, Val let her head fall back against the dresser where she was sitting. "I don't even think I can ever apologize enough to make this up to you, Donna," she wept. "I can't believe how bad I messed up this time. I would say I'm so, so sorry, a million times over—and I am, sweetie; really, you just can't imagine how sorry I am right now—but I don't know if any amount of sorries can patch up a faux pas this bad. You didn't deserve this, Donna, not in the least, and I don't think I deserve your love anymore after what I did. Donna, I just want so badly to be able to say and mean that I do trust you, but I think I've thrown away all credibility at this point. I don't even trust myself. I'm too suspicious for my own good."




Costly Confusion



Abruptly breaking out into another sob of angst just like she had earlier that day, she let out a doomful, "SHAME on me!!"

Donna steadied herself to her feet and began walking past Val out the door.

"Excuse me..." whispered Donna. "I can't think straight right now. I gotta take a leak."

***

September 18th, 11:24 p.m.

After her bathroom excursion, Donna didn't come right back to the bedroom, and Val couldn't blame her. They both needed a little time alone to think about things. She went down to the laundry room instead, found the clean clothes Valerie had put in the dryer, found enough of hers to accessorize a passable outfit, and put it on.

Time passed. The sun closed the day and the moon lit up the night. The city lived its usual nightlife, just another evening right before fall. Trees rustled, leaves yellowing. Streetlights beamed. Traffic lights turned red, green, yellow and red again. Rain fell into the later night hours, drizzling down to none, leaving rainbow reflections on the pavement and in the clouds.

But the rainbow above 301 NW 3rd Avenue remained broken and invisible.

After Valerie realized Donna wasn't coming back from the bathroom, she crawled to the closet. She cried all over again as her eyes fell on the Fantasy Files, thinking she had probably tainted all the symbols of their love that meant so much as this. She dug into a box where some of her old toys were kept and pulled out a ratty old teddy bear with a red scarf around its neck. She got herself up into the bed and lay, hugging the bear to her face and torso for comfort, crying innumerable tears on its head.

Oh, why didn't I just ask her, Walter? she silently wept to the bear. Why didn't I just talk to her about it, instead of...of...

She felt another wave of tears come on as she heard Donna's Beetle start up and pull away. Valerie didn't know where she was going; she had only to figure Donna felt she needed some time away from her. What a shambles. Twenty-four hours ago, they were the two happiest wives on the planet. Now for all she knew, things could be over tomorrow.

Donna had needed some time away. She'd gone to visit her parents for a few hours. But she didn't think she could bear to spend the entire night away from her wife, so she headed back home about an hour before midnight. When she returned home, Valerie was lying in bed, asleep, hugging her teddy bear. After she had a little snack, she traversed the house, and finally made her way back around to the bedroom, and sat on the bed beside her sweetheart. Her soft breath eventually woke Valerie up.

"Hm?" she blinked.

Donna gently stroked her cheek. "Sweetie..." she whispered.

"Donna?"

She nodded. "I'm home, hon."

Valerie sat up to hug her. "Oh, I'm so glad."

"Val...do you know what I was just doing a minute ago? I was walking around our home. And taking it all in. All the beauty that we created together in this ordinary building. I love this house, Valerie. And I love being married to you. What we have is extraordinary. I know it means as much to you as it does to me. And I thought...it must have been so scary and horrible for you thinking this awful thing happened to us. And I just hate that you had that kind of day. I'm so, so sorry you went through that."

Valerie began crying again. "Oh...I'm the one who's sorry. I should have trusted you. I'm a terrible wife."

Donna hugged her. "No, you're not. You are an overcautious wife. There's a difference. It's just the way your mind works. The only thing that hurt me was that you wouldn't believe me. But we can work it all out. We can work everything out together."

Valerie looked back up into her hazel eyes, her own green eyes pooling with hope and love. "Together?"

"Forever. Valerie...my bride...our love is invincible. It can overcome anything. You taught me that. Do you remember? Last year when we stayed up all night, and had our first fight? You told me we'll have fights because we love each other so much."

Valerie smiled for the first time in twelve hours. Her arms slipped around Donna as they laid down in bed side by side.

"I'm so sorry I doubted your love for me, honey," Valerie whispered into Donna's neck. "I never will again. I love you."

As the clock struck midnight, and the angels fell asleep in each other's arms, above the one-story red and blue house on the corner at 301 NW 3rd Avenue, the fresh, pristine rainbow arched anew, eternally watching over Valerie and Donna O'Hanlon.