A Matter Of Pride

Carla waits in her living room, calm and patient. Stephanie’s scheduled visit means something important, and Carla is always ready for her niece. When the girl arrives her eyes are glassy, her posture tight. Carla guides her to the couch, hands gentle but steady. Stephanie’s voice cracks when she speaks. She has feelings she can’t shake, feelings for someone close to the family. Carla’s pulse kicks hard. This could be it. The moment she’s angled for. But Stephanie names another person—someone both of them know. Carla swallows the sting and keeps her face soft. She tells the girl to speak her truth anyway. Stephanie listens. She trusts. She leaves. A few nights later Stephanie returns wrecked, leaning on Carla’s doorframe. Carla welcomes her inside, arms open, voice low. She promises the man she loves could never touch her the way she needs, but Carla can. Her fingers slide over Stephanie’s wrist, tracing the delicate pulse. Soon her palm cups the girl’s breast through thin cotton, thumb stroking the stiff nipple beneath. Stephanie shudders, caught between pain and need. Carla presses further, mouth brushing the shell of an ear, whispering how she’ll lick every inch, part every fold, feast until Stephanie forgets anyone else. Stephanie folds into the touch, hips rocking forward, thighs spreading as Carla guides her down. Skin to skin, heat to heat, she gives herself over, moaning under Carla’s eager tongue and knowing hands.