AU/Crack Fic Time After Time Chapter 1

[androgynydelmar]

 

Time After Time Series

No matter the time, nor the distance, they will always find each other….

Chapter 1- TANGO

It was February, almost one year since Andrea had last seen Miranda and her heart ached. Actually, it throbbed. And as she thought more about the way the woman could make her feel, and just how badly she actually yearned for Miranda, other areas of her body began to throb in sympathy as well.

She slowly unfurled herself from the couch and stretched like a cat. Her lean toned frame and glossy mahogany hair were a testament to hard lessons learned during her time at Runway. Gracefully, she padded towards the living room window of her East Harlem apartment that she shared with her best friend Lilly.

For the first time in almost 90 years, the city was completely blanketed by almost three feet of snow. Not having been prepared for this quantity, most of the city was shut down as snowplows from as far south as New Jersey, and as far north as Connecticut descended upon the small island to ensure that the city would be up and running in no time. In the meantime, pedestrians had taken to the streets in skis, snowshoes, sleds, and other makeshift devices in order to more or less enjoy their day free from work.

Andy, having both high speed internet and the ability to telecommute, was not so fortunate and was forced to work from home. But for now, all she could do was look out her window and notice how bleak, yet absolutely unsullied, the city looked at this moment in time. She imagined herself going outside, sullying that pristine whiteness by diving headfirst into the snow, making snowballs, and raining down righteous terror on the neighborhood children. She smiled at this thought and chortled softly.

As her mind drifted in and out of exploring this winter wonderland, her thoughts began to move towards smooth creamy shoulders graced by hair as white as the arctic tundra, with a chilly blue-eyed gaze to match. The accompanying lips were thin, yet tempting, and often had one of two expressions; they were either pursed in contemplation or disapproval, or they would be slightly up-tilted in a devilish smirk. Either way, those lips never ceased to capture Andy’s full attention.

She could even imagine her name coming forth from those devilish red lips.

“Andrea,” she would say. No, that’s not right. She would say, “Andrea.” What the hell was wrong with her? Never would Miranda ever pronounce her name in such a plebeian manner. No, Miranda preferred to pronounce her name as the French do. She would say, “Andréa…”

“Andrea!! Girl, what the heck is wrong with you?!”

She jumped a good foot into the air, pivoting quickly to confront her daydream-crasher. Lilly stood before her, a puzzled expression on her face masking her concern.

“I’m sorry, Lils. I was just thinkin’ about some stu-“ No, she would not say that word. The blistering lecture that she received from Miranda the last time she decided to say that hated word still gave her palpitations. “-some important matters,” she amended.

Lilly did not look convinced, but decided to ignore it for now.

“OOooookkkkaayyyyy… anyhow, I just wanted you to know that I was one of the few brave women who went outside today to forage for some much needed supplies. I got us a couple of flashlights in case the power goes out. I picked up a couple pounds of steak, some milk, veggies, rice, candles….” Her voice faded out as she noticed that Andy was once again lost in thought. Where do you go off to when your eyes go dreamy like that? She wondered to herself.

To see if Andy was paying any attention to her, she continued, “And everything was going great until I went to the corner market. I had it out with this eighty year old couple who ganged up on me and tried to make off with my tuna. First, I cold-cocked the old lady cuz she was lookin’ reeeeaaallll shifty…”

“Uh huh, that’s great, Lils.”

“Then, I jumped on the old man’s hunchback and put him in a half-nelson, the like of which he’ll never forget…”

“Hmmm.. and what did he think?”

“So then, he thinks I’m tryin’ to murder him and screams bloody murder about black on black crime. As if…” she continues shaking her head, stalling to see what else she can come up with to test Andy’s attention span.

“So finally the police come, and by this time, the old man’s passed out, and I have no challengers. Then this Brahma bull of a cop takes out his nightstick and starts rubbing it while winking at me and he says, ‘hey, girl, you want some of this?’ And I of course can’t turn down a challenge like that. So we knock all the groceries off of the checkout counter, he throws me on top of it, and I now have this nasty bruise on my shoulder from where it banged into the register, and we have hot monkey sex in front of like twenty customers… Huh.. I never did get his badge number… So then, we-“ and her voice abruptly cuts off as she catches the horrified and stunned look on Andy’s face.

Andy could do no more than gape like a fish as she pondered the trouble her bff had just gotten into.

“Oh my God, Lillith Anne Gonoud, did you just.. did.. you… oh my God, I have to sit down… Jesus!” she was sweating fiercely and could not for the life of her complete a single thought. One minute, she was thinking about kissing Miranda, and the next she was hearing her friend speak of assaulting an old black couple at the market, and having sex with a police officer in some brash gory exhibitionistic display. Coherent speech just dove out the window, without a backward glance, and Andy could do no more than gape and stammer.

With her own devilish brand of confidence, Lilly just smirked and calmly spoke as though she had not just shocked Andy into mental submission.

“Good. Now that I have your undivided attention, I would like to repeat that we have adequate provisions to get us through this storm. The building has a generator, and I am leaving my jump bag with all of my emergency medical supplies in the foyer under the Stickley mission bench. I can pretty much handle anything short of a decapitation. Then again, if you could find me a power drill, some stainless steel screws, and a few medical clamps, I could probably handle that as well..”

Andrea just stared at her still unsure of how to respond.

“Hon, you need to take a deep breath; I was just teasing you about the couple in the store, ditto for the officer.”

Finally meeting her best friend’s concerned gaze, which- come to think of it- had been aimed in her direction too many times over the last year, she loudly released a pent-up breath and placed her head in her sweaty palms, as coherent speech-the fickle bitch- finally returned to the apartment.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Lils.” She opened her eyes and met soft brown compassionate ones which begged her to continue. “I can’t stop thinking about her. I try and try to focus on other things, and then my mind just wanders and I dream about her, even when I’m awake. I don’t know what to do.”

Andy felt like crying. Her throat burned and ached, and she felt emotional for no reason. She didn’t want to look up and see pity in Lilly’s eyes, so she instead chose to look down at her toenails that were chipped with flaking polish, in desperate need of repair; just like the rest of her life.

“Oh, Andy. It isn’t all that bad. Well, your nails are- you’re in desperate need of a pedicure. But you’re doing so well professionally. Your life isn’t in disrepair, you just need a bit of a tune-up..”

Hmmm, I didn’t realize I even said that aloud, Andy thought to herself.

Lilly looked slightly guilty, but she continued. “You just need to get out more. You should spend some more time with Douggie and me. Go catch a show on Broadway, or you can join me at the opera once the season starts up again.

Andy merely sent her an arch look.

“Okay, well perhaps we’ll work up to the opera, although, you shouldn’t hack it ‘till you try it. Anyhow, maybe you could come to some of my showings. You’d meet some interesting people. As a matter of fact, I have a Mapplethorpe Retrospective coming up in a few weeks. You should come see all of the amazing pieces we’ll have on display.”

Andy meanwhile, began drifting back into her waking slumber. She fought against it, but could not resist the seductive pull of fantasy that felt so much more like memory. She struggled and with grim determination, tried to stay in the present, but her mind once again drifted to erotic images of Miranda locked within Andy’s torrid embrace.

“Andy?” Lilly’s voice magically penetrated the fog of fantasy that had descended on her without warning. “There’ll be no more of that tonight. It’s time. We need to talk.”

Suddenly, the intensity of the fantasy began to fade, and Andy felt as though she were floating on gentle arms that carried her back to the harsh reality of a Miranda-free world.

Lilly heaved a dramatic sigh, and sat down next to Andy on the leather sofa.

“Andy, I am going to tell you some things, which are going to be very hard to believe. But I don’t want you to say a word. You are just going to listen to me, and absorb as much as you can until I am done speaking. Capiche?”

Andy attempted to respond, but it felt as though some force was gently restraining her tongue and she could not physically utter a word.

Lilly looked sheepish, and looked away blushing. “Sorry. That was very rude of me. I tend to get a bit carried away when I’m so focused.” And like that, the pressure eased and Andy was once again able to speak freely. Except she could do no more than gape at the woman before her, who in the blink of an eye, was resplendent in a pearlescent emerald off-the-shoulder gown that hugged her like a second skin.

“It may look like I’m showing off. But I’ve found that you’re much more quiet and accepting when you’ve been shocked into silence. So much more effective than me freezing your vocal cords or some such.”

Andy seemed to be in shock, but it looked as though she were paying attention so Lilly continued.

“Okay, where do I start? It’s been about a hundred years since I’ve had to do this, so I’m kinda outta practice, babe. You’ll have to forgive me.”

Still in a daze, Andy could do no more than gape at the woman before her. But she was aware enough to notice the sumptuous décolletage on display a scant ten inches from her face.

“Ummm… I..”

“You always were a breast man.. Well, this time, you’re a breast woman, I suppose. But at least that much hasn’t changed. Ok, I am Lillith Gonoud. I have had many names before, but I took this name from my lover during the mid 19th century. I’ve been around forever, and I would prefer to not state my actual age.”

Andy looked a little lost.

“Okay, no problem. I’ll go farther back, as I can see that I’m confusing you. I am Lillith, ex-wife to Adam- of the renown Adam and Eve ‘original sin’ pair. I was the first woman to be created, and the first woman to freely speak her mind. I am not vain. I am not a demon. I do not eat children, nor do I stand for promiscuity or disobedience. I am a flesh and blood woman, cursed because I could be more than that stupid subservient underhanded wench Eve who ruined life for all woman-kind. Fortunately, I wasn’t stupid enough to go the way of Lucifer, so though I am cursed, I was not punished as either of them were.” She stopped and locked eyes with Andy who was doing her level best to not run screaming from the room.

Lilly sighed, and looked away. “I am your guardian angel. For some reason, and I truly think that this is God’s perverse sense of humor, I am sent out to guard and protect the ‘special cases.’” At this, Lilly let out a derisive snort and shook her head. “And you my dear are a special case.”

“Like me,” the beautiful Black woman continued, as she stood up and began pacing, “you are cursed. But your punishment is so much more cruel. You are cursed to seek and seek, yet never find fulfillment, nor contentment as punishment for what you’ve done. I’m sure you’d love to know what crime could possibly warrant you living through the ages in abject misery constantly seeking out what you shall never find, but it’s too early for me to reveal that prized gem of information to you.”

“Lilly.. No, Lillith. I think that you’ve been under a lot of stress, and you should probably just lay down for a moment. I’m tired, you’re tired.”

“Silence! Cease that annoying babbling immediately. We go through this every time, Andy, and I wish just once, you could make this easy on me and not greet me with such bloody skepticism. I’ve given you this entire spiel more than fifty times and it never gets easier. I mean, come on!!!”

Once again, Andy did not know what to say to the crazed woman before her, so she opted to say nothing at all until her friend calmed down.

“Do you think I enjoy upsetting your neat and tidy world? Do you think I like being the bearer of bad tidings? Andy, it hurts me to do this to you every time, but such is my purpose if I am to guide you and save you. I need you to concentrate and start off by believing me, so we can together break your curse. I want you to be happy.”

Finally, clinging to something that makes sense, Andy reached forward and hugged Lilly. “I love you too, Lils, and I will do whatever it takes to ensure that you get the best help possible.”

“Son of a--- That’s it! I have had enough. I am not Gabriel; my patience is not my virtue. You WILL believe me!”

With enough force to crush a Mack truck, Andy found herself squeezed in the vice grip of the powerful angel’s arms as they soared up through the heavens. As the familiar greens and blues of Earth faded away, Andy began to hyperventilate.

“Andy, look at me. This is not some acid trip. This is real, and I am going to show you the world.”

Andy’s eyes were compelled by Lilly’s unwavering stare to meet her look, without challenge. As their shared look gained intensity, Lilly spun them counter to the Earth’s rotation and gradually lowered them closer and closer to the surface.

“Look down, Andy. I will protect you.”

As the world continue it’s dizzying spin, Andy’s stomach threatened to revolt. But as she looked on, she lost awareness of everything other than what her two eyes could see. She watched the seasons change within seconds of each other, and she watched high rises disappear as trees and water took their space. The smoky haze that seemed to cover the Northern hemisphere dissolved and the air grew crisp and clear. Styles changed, entire populations came and went, and still she kept looking. She witnessed the black plague that almost wiped out all of Europe and witnessed the Crusades, as though they were miniature action figures on a vivid canvas.

Then without warning came the voices, the laughter, the crying, the screaming. The babies who giggled and cooed, as mother’s spoke nonsense in so many languages, Andrea’s mind almost caved to the assault.

It was too much, and the sick feeling returned with a vengeance. Pained and tortured screams echoed through her mind, perversely mixed with the soft seductive laughter of conspiring lovers, and the angry wailing of a hungry infant. Andy wanted to fold in on herself as the glorious canvas before her inexplicably went red with fire, then white with ice and snow as they suddenly stopped and were once again in the middle of their living room.

Andy collapsed on the hardwood floor and curled into a ball as her body shook uncontrollably. She mumbled to herself carrying on a conversation with the voices that would not leave her in peace.

Filled with remorse at her lack of restraint, Lilly calmly leaned over the quaking body and soothingly spoke. “Peace. Be still,” as she touched Andy’s fevered brow. And just as quickly, the body below her small capable hands lost its tension and went still as its owner descended into a peaceful dreamless sleep.

Sometime later, Andy awoke and her mind felt strangely clear. Warm sunlight caressed her flesh and warmed her soul with a startlingly clear awareness. As she pretended to sleep so this Lillith creature would not kill her, she remembered everything that had happened to her and wondered if any of it was real.

“Andy, I’ll just let you know this from now. I can hear you thinking. I will always know what you are thinking, where you are, and what you are doing. ALWAYS. You have no privacy from me, and all of those voices you heard in your head before was a fragment I chose to share of what goes on in my mind all of the time. I never have any peace, nor quiet. My mind is never silent. My mind is never my own.”

As Andy continued to feign slumber, Lilly heaved a great sigh and without moving, levitated the other woman into a vertical position, then moved her over the shallow swimming pool a few feet away.

With a secret grin on her lips, she released her telekinetic hold of the woman and allowed her to fall helplessly into the swimming pool. As the flailing woman shrieked her displeasure, Lilly was stunned to hear some of the more inventive curses that came her way, but also strangely pleased. Andy was starting to show some potential already.

Minutes later, Andy managed to reach the edge of the swimming pool and hauled herself out. She angrily stalked over to Lilly, who immediately braced herself to defend against any violence the angry brunette aimed her way. But instead of angry fists, Andrea shook her head like a dog resulting in Lilly being soaked with the frigid water from head to toe.

Her eyes flashed dangerously before she regained her sense of humor, smiled, and then clapped for the brave brunette. “Well done, Andy! So you have some spine after all.”

“Cut it out, Lils. Where are we?”

“Well, I thought we had enough of the snow, and I was starting to feel a slight chill. So, I thought it would be fun to visit Grand Cayman for a while. I hope you don’t mind that I took the liberty of packing your belongings for our stay here.”

“Not that I’m unappreciative of your consideration, but what are we doing here?!”

“Andy, there’s so much to explain, and so little time. So, for now, we are in our own little bubble while we’re here, and we are going to concentrate on catching you up to your world. There’s a lot you don’t know, that you really need to learn. For starters, you dream about Miranda because you two are soulmates.”

Score! Andy thought, my luck is finally starting to change. But then, she remembered some of what Lilly had explained to her before.

“So Miranda is my soulmate, but I’m cursed, so we will never be together?”

“I didn’t say that. But that’s certainly a reasonable deduction. I’m not a prophet, Andy. I don’t know what’s going to happen any more than you do. The only difference between the two of us is that I can clearly see and remember all of what has already happened. That seems to be my blessing and my curse.

“Anyhow, you’ve been with Miranda many times. You remember some of this as you dream. Conversely, Miranda does not dream about you, nor does she remember you the way you remember her. But she constantly thinks of you and she is hyper aware of you. She will always know when you are around, she will always smell you and sense you before you are within fifty yards of her. She will always want you, even when she is unclear on what she wants, and rallies against the want and the need.

“For each of you, though you both try to find other people to fill the void, there is no other for either of you. You want and need each other, and that is all.”

Andy slumped in her lounge chair and tried to digest all of this.

Lilly tilted her head to the side and eyed Andy curiously. “Did you know that in your last two lives, you were a man while she was still a woman?”

“Huh? That’s not possible!” Andy sputtered in distress.

“Yeah? Tell that to God, my dear. You were devilishly handsome both times. In your last lifetime, you were called Andrés von Sachs. You were a German playboy living in Argentina. It was 1934 when you, barely 23 years old, met Miriam Princek, a fifty year old Polish seamstress working in a brothel to earn money for her family.”

Lilly highly amused by the story smiles. “You mistook her for a ‘loose woman’ and offered her money for a quick ride, and I’m not talking about in your car. She turned you down flat and didn’t spare you a second glance. Gosh, you were handsome. Let’s see, you were a little over six feet tall, very tall for back then, and you had these incredibly broad shoulders that tapered down to these narrow hips and incredibly long muscled legs. You were a wealthy playboy, but you also worked the fields of your father’s vineyard. You had short closely-cropped brown hair that was always streaked with blonde from all of the time you spend in the sun. Your hands were broad and square with calluses on top of calluses from many seasons spent with your fingers curled around the vines. You had fine muscles and a fascinating body which many women were content to lose themselves in. But your face was your most arresting feature. Your chocolate brown eyes were always so solemn and almost sorrowful. Your long nose was slightly crooked from when it broke as a child playing fútbol out in the fields. But your smile was always so sweet, and never wicked. You were always so good, even when you were so bad. And you had to beat the women off with a stick. But Miriam? She didn’t give in to you like all of the others and you only wanted her more.”

As Lilly spoke, her voice lulled Andy into a comforting daydream and her eyes slowly drifted shut as though she had been hypnotized. She dreamed and she remembered.

The music from the Café Rumi blazed out into the warm and humid night air. Revelers from around the city were out in the streets during Carnivale before they would once again be forced to give up something precious and treasured for Lent. Bodies in varying states of undress hung from multi-level decks and sprawled along cars in the tiny district of Pinchincha, miles away from the more upstanding families in Buenos Aires. Shaking his head at the brazen redhead lewdly offering herself to him gratis, Andrés stepped out of his convertible and leaned against the side of his new Rolls Royce painted the sleek and stately color of slate.

His 23rd birthday was only two days past and had been spent hobnobbing at various social events his family had required him to attend if he had any desire to inherit his family’s vineyard. So, he spent the night chatting with upstanding members of society and dancing with one hand, allowing the frigid clasp of some social vulture intent on snaring both him and his family’s wealth. By the end of the night, he’d never before been so grateful to sleep in his own bed alone. He shuddered at the memory.

Feeling in the breast pocket of his blazer for his ever present Gauloises Brunes, he shook out a thick cigarette and deftly nipped it between his firm and pouty lips. He struck a match against his heel, and lit the cigarette, inhaling deeply. He sighed with relief as he felt that first infusion of calming smoke enter his system. As he lightly puffed away, he took in his surroundings, eyes wandering back to the eager redhead with the hips that swung like a pendulum. He considered, then decided against fucking her tonight; she was too eager and willing, and he needed more of a challenge.

His feet unerringly took him into Café Rumi, where he’d spent many a night tangled up in some gorgeous woman’s arms. Tonight, he searched the room for Sylvia, one of his regular choices for an evening of debauchery. But instead of Sylvia, his eyes landed on an older woman whose shock of white hair made her stand out in a room filled with youth and beauty. Hers, was more elegant, more stately, and timeless. She was captivating and mesmerizing, and she was looking dead at him.

With cool confidence and practiced disinterest, she allowed the young man to look his fill. Miriam was quite accustomed to men looking at her with lust-filled eyes, then discarding her in pursuit of a young nubile and eager playmate. But she reminded herself that she was not a woman of loose-morals and consoled herself with that thought. She was here to sew the exotic and risqué clothing that made the women at this club the most attractive and appealing women in all of Rosario.

Her creations were sleek and streamlined, where most other dresses had flounces Her gowns were meant for dancing the tango; they had careful patterned folds, and followed a simple asymmetrical A line, cut on a bias to hug every contour a woman possessed. As a woman spun sharply, the gown would flair out, then fold and hug her hips like a jealous lover. Miriam was very pleased with her creations, and she was paid very well for her efforts.

Lost in thought, she didn’t notice the man at her arm until he smoothly ran his fingers from her exposed collar bone down to the low-cut lace trim that barely covered her bosom.

“I don’t recall seeing you here before. My name is Andrés and I would like to become your new best friend.”

With a withering glance aimed at the offending limb, she dismissed him with her coldly uttered words. “I don’t care who you are. But you will not touch me again. That’s all.”

Andrés felt his confident grin wither and die, and had the oddest feeling of his life. He had never before been rejected, and it did not feel good at all. As he seethed and tried to calm himself, Miriam merely smirked in his direction and sauntered away.

He stood at the edge of the dancefloor watching her leave his life, as coolly as she had entered it and felt his interest grow in direct proportion to his sudden and undeniable erection. The redhead he had seen outside, Emilia, swayed up to him and pressed her body firmly against his. “My offer still stands,” she spoke against his lips, her breath hot and smelling of cheap Fernet. Her hips rocked and cradled his erection, and he could no more resist her than he could stop lusting after women.

He followed the hypnotic swaying of her hips upstairs to her bedroom at the end of the hall. There, he gave her pleasure and imagined the mesmerizing eyes and smile of the white-haired witch from downstairs. His hips pistoned fiercely into the soft flesh below him, her nails scratching trails down his back and buttocks. As the young redhead whimpered and writhed below him, caught up in greater pleasure than she had ever known, her body suddenly tensed and she felt her reason shatter as another orgasm broke through her and ripped her apart. Her desperate scream of release echoed in his mind, and he finally allowed himself to plunge with her as the words “That’s all” echoed through his mind in a fervent mantra.

Miriam was no saint, nor was she a fifty year old virgin. She was smart, ambitious, manipulative and sometimes she was too scheming for her own good. The young man downstairs was attractive and he had been interested, until she verbally eviscerated him before everyone in the bar. Now, as the pounding of the headboard against the wall in the room next door continued, she was forced to re-evaluate her position, and admit that perhaps she had been a bit hasty.

As young Emilia screamed out her sixth, or seventh, orgasm (frankly she stopped counting after the fourth), Miriam was forced to examine her reaction as she clenched her teeth and tried not to dwell on the apparently amazing sex she could have been having right now, rather than sweating in acute misery alone in her bed.

Why did I reject him so quickly? She thought. It wasn’t as though he had been obnoxious and boorish like some of the other men who, with a strong sense of entitlement, expected her to lay on her back and spread her legs and thank them for the privilege of doing so. This one at least didn’t seem spoiled, though he was clearly wealthy. And the calluses along the fingertips that had caressed her heated flesh were testimony to the fact that he worked with his hands, unlike the baby soft hands of some of the men in his class. Uncomfortably, she felt herself grow wet, and her breasts get heavy. Her nipples were like sharp deadly points resting on soft mounds. She ached to be touched, she needed to touch herself. Yet, she refused to do so. Her foolish pride had cost her a satisfying experience and she deserved to suffer for such folly. Well, she promised herself that she would not make the same mistake twice.

Eventually, she fell into a restless sleep with thoughts of how much happier she would feel with this new best friend in her life, and in her bed.

Two weeks had passed since the young man, who she learned was called Andrés, had openly flirted and been rejected by her. She had seen him a few times since then. Each time, he would meet her gaze with a calm and lustful expression, but then one of those trollops, Emilia or Sylvia, would whisk him away before she could even dare approach him. Although, she never thought far enough ahead to actually contemplate what would be said between them, but that was small potatoes. She needed to get him to approach her again.

With Lent passed, the café was still doing fairly slow business. At this time of year, business quieted down and some of the girls would return to their homes for a month or so until business, and more men, returned in need of their services. Andrés had not shown up in over a week, so both Sylvia and Emilia, along with several other girls, returned to their homes in some of the surrounding barrios.

Miriam could not say how she knew this, but she felt as though Andrés was close by, and had been for days. Rather than greet him as she had before, she made her own gown in anticipation of their reunion. Unlike the electric blue, yellow, and orange tones that she used to make the gowns for the other girls, she made hers with a vibrant and bold red. She paired this gown with strappy bold silver open-toed stilettos and gazed at herself in the full-length mirror. Her beautiful white and silver hair, which normally framed her face in soft curls, was swept back into an austere bun which she ruthlessly stabbed into submission with two short mahogany sticks at the nape of her neck. To complete her look, she rubbed kohl into her eyelids as she’d seen some of the Indian women do, and spread a bold gypsy red lipstick across her full lips.

Pleased with the results, she clasped the skirt, which began high on her right thigh and ended just below her left knee, and threw the full skirt over her hip as she jutted it out, stomped with her right foot pointed outward, raised both arms, and said “Olé!”

Andrés had no idea of what Miriam had in store for him, but after patiently biding his time, he felt that it was time to step up his game. Clearly, he had been spoiled by women constantly throwing themselves at him, and now he was ready to work for Miriam’s attention.

Over the past month, he had visited the boarding house nearby the café where his British friend Douglas was currently residing. Together, they had practiced the forbidden dance, the tango, or el choclo, as it was sometimes called. At first, he lamented his lack of style and rhythm, where before he had felt so sure in his dancing ability. But a Viennese waltz was nothing like a tango. As he and Douglas practiced this dance, Andrés would speak about this woman who completely bewitched him and left him feeling unworthy. Douglas knew of whom he referred to and explained that she only behaved that way because she had been married for years to a philandering husband and didn’t trust men in general. He explained that if Andrés wanted a chance with her, he’d not only have to be exceptionally talented in the bedroom to match her considerable experience, but he would also have to show her that he was intelligent, and loyal, and he would have to like her children if he would ever be fortunate enough to meet the little terrors.

So Andrés planned and he plotted. As the local flora bloomed with the Spring showers, Andrés returned to the café nightly hoping to see Miriam. He knew that she was avoiding him. But it was finally Friday night, and he knew that she would be ready for him tonight. So thinking of her love of style and panache, he wore a double-breasted three piece Italian suit complemented by spit-polished wingtips. He applied a pomade to his hear and slicked it back, absently noticing that it had grown too long and was curling at his collar. He shaved and ensured that his face would be as smooth as a baby’s bottom. He took out his pocket watch and checked the time, it was quarter to nine, and he placed the watch back in his waist pocket.

His butler, Juan, brushed his jacket collar and straightened the sharp creases along his pants leg. After circling him one last time, Juan nodded his head in approval and waited to be dismissed. Once dismissed, he went back to his duties and Andrés headed for his car. Not wanting to spoil his look, he raised the roof on his convertible so the wind would not ruin his hair or his flawless look. Once inside his car, he sparingly dabbed cologne at his neck and his wrists. He placed a peppermint in his mouth, then he drove off whistling a waltz.

Within twenty minutes, he arrived in front of Café Rumi and found an available spot in front of the entrance. Inside, the club was sparsely populated, but he was grateful for that; there were fewer people to compete for Miriam’s undivided attention. He looked around for Miriam, and tried to hide his disappointment that she was not already downstairs waiting for him. He meandered over to the bar and ordered a sauvignon blanc that came from his own family’s vineyard. As he delicately sipped on the fragrant wine, he was grateful that he had just swallowed because a vision in red had just seized his attention and left him quite unable to do anything other than stare. It took him a moment, but he recognized his white witch, the one called Miriam.

The gown she wore would have made any other woman look garish and desperate. On Miriam, it was pure sin- the kind the sinner is eager and willing to commit over and over again- and it was clearly created just for her by her. It hugged her curves which were lush and dangerous in and of themselves. And the neckline sharply plunged almost to her navel, much lower than he had ever seen in his life, exposing the pale smooth flesh of her chest to his adoring gaze. He wanted to kneel down and worship at her feet, but caught himself and instead respectfully approached her and held out a blooming red rosebud, short-stemmed and free from thorns.

She met him at the dance floor and held his hand bringing the rose closer to her face so she could inhale its rich bouquet, and also smell the blend of intoxicating scents that wafted from his person. The combination of scents were dizzying and she almost swooned at the wonder of it, then he interrupted her thoughts with a polite yet brisk, “May I?”

Unsure of what he was asking, she coolly nodded her head and was simply astonished when he placed the fragrant rosebud in her hair, tucked behind her left ear. He left his fingers along the shell of her ear to lightly trace and tease.

The band, having spoken with Andrés before, knew what the young man had planned, and they began playing the music of el choclo. Miranda wasn’t young, nor was she foolish, and she could spot a seduction a mile away. Her contrary nature made her want to challenge the young man (her vanity would not allow her to refer to him as a boy, though she sometimes thought of him as one) for even presuming that she would be interested, but she was so utterly grateful for his interest, and the time he had clearly spent on planning this night, that she went along with his plans.

First, the opening bars of the tango caused several couples to get on the dance floor. Miriam briefly wondered where they came from, but was quite suddenly able to think of nothing other than the press of firm fingertips along her spine. She was swallowed up by Andrés’ long arms, but she felt protected rather than dominated. Though she was reluctant to acknowledge it, she had been dancing the tango for more than 30 years and was quite adept at it; she was eager to see whether this man could measure up and keep up with her.

The easy rhythm hummed through her veins and her heart picked up the beat, One-two Three-four as they punctuated every other beat with a slow sliding step. The group of dancers all around them moved as one with la pista around the outside edge of the dance floor. Their upper bodies maintained the illusion of space and distance, even as their lower bodies were pressed firmly to each other. Lithe and graceful as a panther, Miriam extended her left leg, straight out from her hip and slid back a step, Andrés moving forward with her, never allowing more space between their bodies. Miriam repeated that movement with her other leg and once again, they moved as a unit. Deciding to throw caution to the window, Miriam pushed against his chest and faux-stepped in reverse. Sensing her intent, Andrés forcefully pulled her back towards his chest where she abruptly clung to him, eyes bewitching, as her right foot hooked behind his knee and trailed down to the floor never leaving the warm press of his body- wickedly, slowly.

Feeling the heat in his jacket suddenly blaze around him like a sauna, he looked at her challengingly, stepped away while removing his jacket, and threw it at a nearby table. He was left wearing a starched and pristine white collared long-sleeved shirt, with tailored black pants and a black vest the emphasized the breadth of his chest and narrowness of his hips. Miriam could not quite silence her gulp as she appreciated the magnificence of his figure. He grinned fiercely and stalked her like a hungry lion. Not willing to submit so quickly, she glared at him, threw her head and shoulders back, and stalked in sharp counterpoint to each of his steps as they circled each other, then met in a fierce tangle of wills in the center of their circulo.

She flung her right arm out to the side pressing her chest tightly to his, as he flung out his left, clasping her palm and leading her once again into a paseo. Andrés leaned forward to kiss her lips, and Miriam smoothly turned her head to the side and leaned back so that his lips only managed to graze her ear. But he damn well made sure that he would lick and nibble her ear so that the rest of her would know what it was missing. He hit a particularly sensitive spot and managed to startle a gasp from her lips. He smirked, then gasped as she decided to pay him back for that maneuver.

She stopped on the third beat, and where they would have normally spun into her cunitas, she instead threw herself against him, resting her head on his chest and wrapped her arms tightly around him as though she couldn’t bear to let him go, leg raised high and locked tight around his. Then slowly, Dios Mio, so slowly that she was moving a scant inch at a time, she lowered her body provocatively down his until her legs rested in a split on the floor, and her head rested against his upper thigh, mere inches from where he desperately needed her attention. She defiantly smirked up at him, then swung her leg back around, spinning and standing in one fluid motion, her back towards him.

She took another step away from him, then found her arms caught behind her back as she struggled forward with him pulling her back into his embrace. She succumbed and once again hooked her right ankle behind his right knee. Then he surprised her by grabbing her hips, lifting her and pulling her back into his body as she was dipped over his right hip, giving her no choice but to swing her other leg up in order to keep her balance. He then swung her around to dip her over his other hip, her left ankle automatically hooking behind his left knee. As he dipped her once again, her right leg extended high in the air in order to help her maintain her balance.

This time, however, his hand cupped her right ankle and he kept her leg held high even as he lowered her to the dance floor. Then using her ankle as a pivot point, he spun her around so that groin met groin and her right leg was thrown over his shoulder.

By this time, neither of them noticed that the other dancers had long since stopped dancing and were instead watching the sexy demonstration before them. Andrés and Miriam were so focused on each other, that they scarcely noticed that the music had segued into a waltz. They were still locked together, bodies firmly pressed to each other, heat to heat, and Miriam’s lust-addled brain could not comprehend why she was not yet moving away from this brazen youth.

Seeing something in her eyes, Andrés came to a quick decision, giving her no time to respond. He quickly swept her into his arms, grabbed his jacket, and walked out of the café before Miriam could do more than stutter. He gently seated her in the passenger side of his vehicle, then closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side, starting the car, and driving off before she could utter a single word.

Frankly, she could not think of a single thing to say to him. The presumption of that man- she’d never before been so carefully manhandled in her life. And the way he moves as he danced. She felt a blush suffuse her face and neck and relaxed back into the buttery leather seat of the luxurious vehicle.

It was actually quite a shock to her senses when he finally began to speak. “You know where this is headed, Miriam.” This is the first time he has ever said her name, so she savors the way it sounds coming from his soft lips.

“I am taking you to my home, where we are going to make love. You will be the first woman that I have ever brought into my home, and I hope that you will also be the last.”

At this, Miriam makes a strangled sound not trusting herself to speak, but she feels tears welling up in her eyes.

“I know all about you, and your children. I have desired you since the moment I first saw you, and I knew that I needed you in my life from the moment you said ‘that’s all.’ So I will wait for you to catch up and feel as I do. I will wait, because I know this is important to you, and I will wait because this is the most important decision I will ever make in my life. Do you have anything to add to that?”

Madre de Dios, this man is serious! She wanted to say something cool and sarcastic, but she could not find the words. So many feelings were suddenly swelling in her chest. Not being able to find the words, she sought to show him instead just how she felt.

Reaching out with slightly trembling hands, she ran the tip of her finger from the corner of his eye where she could already see the beginnings of his laugh lines, all the way down to the smoothness of his jaw line. Then she allowed her lips to repeat the same journey as they mapped out his face. His hands clenched the steering wheel in an effort to maintain control of his libido, as though he could grab it and control it with his bare hands.

Her hands were not remaining idle as her lips mapped out his face. Her hands rose and caressed his chest, the hard plane of his flat ridged belly, then lower and as she cupped him, his eyes crossed and he felt the air wheeze from his lungs. He was lost. Realizing that his control was shaky at best, she slowly released him and explained,

“I would prefer that your petit mort not result in la grande mortes de nous deux. So let’s put that away, shall we?” She affectionately patted his cock, then kissed him on the cheek, and sat back down in her seat as though nothing had transpired between them.

He turned his head to look at her, shocked by both her words and her behavior. Then he burst out laughing this deep belly laugh that encouraged a laugh of her own. His deep belly chuckles broke the tension and they both laughed until tears rolled down their cheeks. She rested her hands on his thigh and leaned back into the seat, perfectly relaxed and at ease. He gently placed his hand over hers, clasped her fingers and brought them to his lips, then held them to his cheek.

“I think we’ll get along just fine, Miriam.”

“I agree, my dear. We are certainly an interesting pair. I would like to know more about you; much more. But for now, that’s all…”

She was shaking him from side to side. What the heck?!

“Did you hear me, Andy? That’s all. I’m not going to re-live the rest of this sexual fantasy with you. I just wanted to remind you of the past. Do you believe me now?”

“What? Who? Where’s Miriam? What have you done with-“ Her words screeched to a halt. Her voice sounded strange and high pitched, where before, she had been just speaking in more of a baritone. Andy’s hands suddenly reached for her throat where only moments ago, there had been a pronounced Adam’s apple. “What did you do to-“ and suddenly she remembered everything.

“You weren’t lying to me, Lils? That really happened? All of it?”

Sympathy weighing heavily in her gaze, Lilly nodded.

“So what happened to them? What happened to Miriam and Andrés? How did they die? I assume that they both must be dead if both Miranda and I are alive today. Lils?”

Noticing the silence, and the woman’s unwillingness to meet her gaze, Andy stood up from her lounge chair and straddled the thighs of the young black woman.

“Lillith? How did they die?”

“I can’t discuss that with you quite yet, Andy. Frankly, it would be too much at one time. I just needed you to remember. If you can remember that, the rest of it will gradually come to you. You’ll just have to trust me on this.”

Andy looked far from reassured, but she could hardly argue.

“Just answer me this, Lillith.” The young black woman looked up and firmly held Andrea’s gaze as the other woman spoke. “Will you try to ensure that Miranda and I get together, stay together, and break this curse so that we can truly find happiness?”

“Yes, of course, Andy. But it’s not that easy.”

“No. I don’t want to hear about any other problems right now. I just want to lay down and remember how good we were together. How safe and loved she made me feel.”

Lillith could both see and hear Andy’s thoughts, and while she did not want to have those images of her best friend and her friend’s lover bombarding her every waking thought, she felt that after all of the shocks that Andy had been through, it’s the least she deserved. So she tamped down on her own needs and feelings, and waved her hand over Andy’s head.

The young woman immediately folded like a wilted leaf, and draped herself over Lilly’s body as she slumbered and dreamt about driving through the winding hills of her vineyard with her lover, the white-haired witch, wrapped around her on their way home to make love.