Rude Awakenings: A Novel of the Terribly Acronymed Detective Club (Book 2)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Lauren, Summer, 2009

The latest message from Rachel came like a splash of cold water, after a brief exchange of bland messages about her progress in locating other women who'd been duped by Martin Heath. It woke her up, and awoke things in her.

A little more careful digging had turned up another potential victim of his affections, one who had gone to jail for her troubles, and she'd just finished exchanging messages about that, and had almost settled in to enjoy the rest of a rare Saturday off, when this message came from Rachel:

OMG my mom visited and I told her about our lezzo experience when we were 13.

It was so unexpected that Lauren stood still, just reading it over and over again, very aware that her children were in the living room playing, and Joe was in the backyard mowing the lawn.

The first surprise was that Rachel's mom had visited; Lauren knew their relationship was strained. What really blew her away, though, was that Rachel had told her about that night.

The word she used to describe it... they'd never given it a name when it had happened, but her word brought back memories of high school, the boys calling, "Lez be friends!"

Rachel was the only girl she'd ever touched or wanted to touch that way. Well, to be fair, it also wouldn't take much effort to wonder what Sunny's wife was like in bed, she was quite luscious and a lovely person to boot. Still, she'd never considered herself a lesbian; even bi was a bit of a stretch, since Joe had been her main obsession since she'd been barely an adolescent. She'd never considered labelling her sexuality. People came into her life, and something about them made her fall for them, male or female, and that was all that ever mattered to her. It had been that way with Joe, and with Rachel, and though conceivably it could happen again, it hadn't yet, and she didn't think it could ever happen with the intensity of those two; she just didn't have the time or energy for it.

After the surprise came pleasure at the realization that Rachel remembered it too, that it had lasted in her memory all this time.

So, how did she respond to this? She had to ask herself why Rachel had told her this; she didn't have to. Maybe as a warning in case her mom told Lauren's mom? Lauren's mom wouldn't have cared; she and Dad always said love was love, and their own marriage was an example of not being afraid to pursue it regardless of what people thought. Maybe Rachel was afraid it would get back to Joe?

She had to put her at ease on that account too.

First she sent a shocked face emoji, just to joke with her. Then she looked around, to make sure the kids weren't close by, and typed:

No biggie. I told Joe a long time ago, one night while I was riding him like a bucking bronco. It made him so turned on he exploded prematurely.

She waited, biting her lower lip, wondering how Rachel would respond. It was reckless, maybe too much information for a woman with whom she'd just reunited.

Then Rachel responded.

Holy shit you made me wet telling me that. Are you looking for a repeat of that night or something?

Lauren's eyes widened, and she felt heat in her throat and down below. Rachel was into it. Even after all these years she still felt the same way. She yelled, "Kids, I have to go to the bathroom! If you need anything go to Dad!"

She fled to the downstairs bathroom off the rec room. She locked herself inside. She took a deep, shaky breath to calm down, unzipped her jeans and pulled them down. Then she typed:

Are you touching yourself now?

The response came quickly. Yes. Are you?

Now she was. One hand held her phone, thumb dexterously typing a message, while the other felt beneath her panties.