CHAPTER – 48: Old Wounds, New Beginnings

The asshole approached, carefully; perhaps he was still smarting from the easy way I had handled him the first time. However, considering the odds were three-to-two and all of them armed with something, he didn’t seem scared. On the contrary, he looked more sure of himself. Quickly undoing my belt, I took a step toward him swinging the buckle to keep him away, while preparing myself for the fight. As I started my shallow breathing, a cool wind seemed to blow in my mind clearing up any clutter, letting my instincts take over.

“I’ve got these clowns covered, Pete. How are you doing?” I shouted, to goad the bastards.

Pete answered, “No worries, Mitch. I got your back covered.”

The asshole was laughing, and joking, but the time he wasted was precious for me. Still I didn’t hurry; I was almost there.

“Hear that, guys? The hot-shot and the other asshole got us covered.”

My senses extended, probing, questing, alert to report any changes in my immediate vicinity. I felt myself sinking into that familiar place, into my center, and a peculiar calmness settled over me, the kind that I used to experience prior to combat during my practices with my sensei. As I watched my opponent move, it looked like he was moving under water, too slow. Time seemed to expand, and I could feel a warmth deep in my belly, ready to burst out at a moment’s notice.

I angled to his left, and took a few steps closer, swinging the belt. I was planning to herd him close to his friend so that I could deal with both of them easily. He wasn’t expecting the move, but after a pause, he came back swinging the tire iron. “You want a taste of it?” he shouted.

I swung the belt, aiming for his face with the buckle, as he expected. At the last moment, I flipped the buckle lower with a quick wrist action and swung it down, hitting him in the crotch. The buckle wasn’t big or heavy enough to do much damage, but it hurt, and drew a grunt from him, followed by an angry shout.

“You son of a bitch! First, I’m going to mess you up, then I will let you watch as I fuck your bitch.”

He attacked, swinging the tire iron. I saw it move, slowly, in an arc. My left hand contacted his wrist, guiding and sweeping the tire iron away from me, forcing him to turn half-way, and expose his right side. I hit him with a vicious kite; my right hand, palm open, made contact with his ribs. His breath whooshed out, and he dropped the tire iron. I stepped in, gripping his right wrist with my left hand, and reaching under his extended arm, my right hand locked around his throat. My thumb found the correct spot around his neck, and when I pressed, I felt a tremor go through his body. Part of me noted the clatter of tire iron as it made contact with the cement, seemingly reverberating for several seconds. Before his body collapsed completely, I pushed him back, while kicking his legs under him, and he went down like a sack of potatoes. I had been careful to put him down such that he blocked the advance of his friend, which gave me the time to face the next threat. The first one was out of the fight for good.

Seeing how easily I had dealt with his friend, the second guy was being more careful. Instead of waiting for his attack I closed in on him, forcing him to swing the wrench, and feinting to my left, I ducked and slid to the ground. With a sweeping kick I cut his legs out from under him. As he fell, I rolled and hit him in the solar plexus with my elbow. He too was out of the fight. Springing to my feet, I took stock of the situation to make sure they wouldn’t be getting to their feet anytime soon. They weren’t in any shape to fight anymore, so I turned to check on the girls and Pete.

Pete had things under control as well, his opponent on the ground, motionless, but he was cradling his hand. I realized he was injured. A quick glance at the girls revealed they were all right, huddled around Sarah. Caroline was the first to collect herself, and she broke away from the group, hurrying to Pete.

“Pete, you OK?” I asked, as I made my way to him.

He gave a thumbs-up, and said, “Yeah. Just a scratch.” With a grin he added, “You sure made quick work of them!”

During the short exchange, Dana had moved away from Sarah, heading for the two that were on the floor. Before I could react, she was by the first assailant—the one that caused all the problems at the club—and with a cry, she kicked him in the crotch. Semi-conscious, he cried out in pain, and then heaved up, vomiting, while clutching his injured private parts.

“You bastards. You were going to hurt us? Rape us? Take this,” she yelled, kicking him on the chest, before I managed to grab and pull her several paces away.

She fought me like a hellcat, yelling, “Let me go, let me go.” I tried to subdue her, but she seemed in no condition to listen to reason. I knew why she did what she did, even though I had not expected this violent reaction. I tried to hold her in my arms, but she kept fighting me, and shouted, “Let me go. Let me go. I’m gonna kill those bastards.”

She kept up the struggle, yelling and shouting, and even trying to scratch me to free herself, but she was getting tired. Although her struggles got weaker and weaker, she kept yelling and sobbing in frustration. With my arms locked around her, I shook her, trying to get her attention. When her eyes found mine, I said, “It’s over. You’re safe.”

But she shook her head, and cried, “Let me go. Let me go,” then resumed her struggle with renewed energy. She still had that slightly feral look in her eyes. When I didn’t release her, she pleaded, “Please, let me go.”

“Dana, look at me,” I said firmly. “They are not going to harm you. They can’t! Not now, not ever,” I added with a gentle tone, but she kept on fighting me and pleading.

With great trepidation, I released her from my hold. “OK. You’re free,” I said, and took a step away from her.

She wasn’t expecting that, and for a moment stood there with a confused and dazed look in her eyes. Then, she turned to the two guys on the ground, and walked toward them, while I followed one step behind her like a shadow. With each step, her pace was slowing down. She passed the first guy who was laying in his vomit, hardly moving at all, curled in a ball. I saw the other one was trying to crawl away from Dana, as she approached him. I followed her to prevent her from doing something terrible, hoping she would stop. I noticed Sarah running toward us, and before she could reach Dana, I grabbed her, and pulled her back. “Let her be, Sarah.”

“Mitch, she might really hurt that guy,” she warned.

“Let her be,” I said sharply, before turning my attention back to Dana. I still hoped she wouldn’t do anything to him.

When Dana reached him, she stopped. I heard the guy cowering, pleading not to be hurt. She took a step toward him, and I closed in on her with the intention of pulling her away. To my utter surprise, she just stood there, looking down at the pathetic figure on the ground for several long seconds. I felt tense, wondering what I should do. If I touched her I could set her off, which meant I would have to grab and pull her away, fast! But I was scared of hurting her. If she hit that guy she could seriously hurt him. After what seemed like ages, she spat on him, then turned away, and walked past me and Sarah, with unseeing eyes. Sarah made a move after her, but I held her back. “She’ll be all right, Sarah. Just let her be for a moment, will you?”

She gave me a searching look, when suddenly, her eyes widened, as if—

I knew... I felt it even before I heard her voice... before I heard her words... because I recognized it on her face. It was there as if written in bold letters... all the emotions... shock, disbelief, hurt... you name it. It was all there.

“She... she was...” she started, but was unable to complete what she wanted to ask.

I could hardly answer her, because I was shaken by what I had seen on her face. When I nodded, her expression changed to one of sadness. She freed her arm from my hold. After a moment of silence, her eyes hardened, and she turned, walking toward the two on the ground. Before she could take another step, I caught her and pulled her back, but not before she yelled, “You bastards. I’ll cut your balls off. You hear me?”

None of the assholes were in any condition to answer, and gently, but firmly, I steered her away from them. “Check on Pete. I’ll take care of Dana,” I said to give her something to keep her busy.

“No, Mitch. I’ll take care of Dana. You check on Pete.”

I knew I couldn’t argue with her. “Are you OK?” I asked hesitantly.

She nodded, before she walked away. I stood there, undecided. I didn’t want to leave the girls alone, but I was feeling out of my depth, and sensed it would be better if the girls had a bit of time together, so I walked over to Pete. Caroline was already there, looking at his hand, and when I asked how he was doing, he told me it was just a scrape. He had caught the tip of the wrench during the fight. Taking out my pack I offered a cigarette, and lit one for myself, asking what we should do with this bunch.

“We could call the police, but it would be a hassle. We could get them thrown in jail, but I don’t know for how long,” Pete said.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have much experience with these things. What do you suggest?”

“It really doesn’t make any difference to me, Mitch. I can handle the police. It was three to two and they were armed with a tire iron and wrenches. They might do some time, but the hassle of going to the court would be too much. I doubt they would go to the police about this. We could just leave them here, and forget about them, or we could make an anonymous call to the police.”

I thought about my options. I had never been involved in something like this before. “I think I’d like to leave them here. Sarah is going to leave tomorrow, and Dana and I will be going off on a vacation. I don’t want to spend time dealing with the police, or in a court.”

“Sure, Mitch. How’s Dana doing?”

“I better check on her. Caroline seems to have things under control here,” I said, and putting my cigarette out, I left them.

We were still busy trying to collect ourselves, so we didn’t notice the arrival of Ulysses; not until we heard him call out, “What the hell happened here?”

Pete and I turned to the sound, and found him hurrying to us, with Amy following behind him pushing a twin baby buggy. Pete told him what happened, and after he finished, Ulysses shook his head and told us we should call the police. He mentioned that he knew the precinct commander, and he could sort this out cleanly. I was worried about Dana and pulling him aside, I had a quick word with him about what she did, and he nodded his understanding, but told me not to worry. Even though I didn’t explain why Dana did what she did, I got the feeling he knew about Dana’s history. But since I wasn’t sure what he knew or how much, I didn’t dare ask. In the meantime, Amy joined us, and Ulysses talked with her about the situation. Amy suggested taking the girls back to the club with the babies, and calling the police from there, while we waited here for their arrival. Before Amy and Caroline joined Sarah and Dana, Ulysses asked to talk to Sarah.

While Amy and Caroline took care of Dana, Sarah joined us, and Ulysses asked her to check the assailants’ injuries, explaining to her that we needed to know how badly they were hurt. She understood what Ulysses was getting at. When I accompanied her she said, “I’m a doctor, Mitch. I’m not going to hurt them.”

“Sarah, I know you’re a doctor. I just don’t want any surprises from them.”

“Oh! OK!”

The guy that Pete handled wasn’t in too bad a condition, with only a dislocated shoulder. The guy Dana kicked was in pretty bad condition. He had cracked ribs, probably from my palm strike, maybe from Dana’s kick to his chest. We didn’t know how extensive the injuries to his genitals were; that had to wait until he was taken to a hospital. The second guy I handled seemed to be in better shape than the others. He had crawled away while we were talking, and I had to grab the bastard and drag his ass back. When he tried to resist, I hit him in the solar plexus again, lightly, as a warning. After a quick check, Sarah told me he was OK, except for a bit of trouble breathing. The checks done, Sarah joined the girls, and with the babies in the baby buggy, they all headed back to the club.

The next hour was hectic. The police arrived, and so did an ambulance. The presence of Ulysses helped a lot, since the officers seemed to know him well. Pete and I gave an account of what happened, and the officers were sympathetic and polite, especially after hearing from Ulysses that two lady friends and one of his waitresses had been targets for rape. The tire iron, the wrenches and the drunken condition of the ‘victims’ spoke volumes. The officers might have seen many fights, and they usually didn’t care for any parties involved, but if their attitude to the bastards was any indication, when it came to attempted rape they had no tolerance or sympathy for the offenders. I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel relieved when I saw how differently they treated us.

Once the crime scene pictures were taken, and the offenders put in the ambulance, Ulysses came back with two cops, one of them a female officer, and told us they would accompany us to the club to finish their report. I pulled Ulysses aside, convinced that he knew something about Dana; the inclusion of a female officer seemed more than coincidental.

“Is there a particular reason for the woman officer?” I asked pointedly.

“Women usually talk more comfortably with a woman officer. That’s why I asked them to send at least one,” he replied casually.

From the way he answered the question I was suspicious, and I suspected he was perhaps trying to keep Dana’s past a secret. “Ulysses, when I met Dana, she told me some things about her past,” I said. He gave me an appraising look, then he nodded his understanding. “And Sarah apparently figured out some things from Dana’s reaction, but she doesn’t know exactly what happened. She loves Dana very much, and I think the girls will talk about it later. Don’t worry, Ulysses. We’ll take care of her.”

“You really care for Dana?” he asked.

“No, Ulysses. I love her. Very much.”

He gave me a surprised look. “I thought...” he said, but didn’t continue. I knew what he was thinking, he thought I was Sarah’s boyfriend.

With a nod, I said, “I know. Sarah’s a good friend. She’s my sister’s best friend, and we’ve known each other for a long time.”

“I see... I’m glad Dana has somebody in her life.” He didn’t say anything else. He didn’t have to.

“I’ll take good care of her, Ulysses. Sarah will, too. Did you talk with the woman officer about Dana?”

“Yes, I made a brief, general reference to Dana’s history. She understands the delicate nature of the situation. I’ve seen her with other female victims. She’s good,” he answered.

“Thank you, Ulysses. I owe you one.”

“No, you don’t. You and Pete protected the girls. One of them happens to be a good employee, another a very good friend, and of course, there’s Sarah, the singing angel. That’s the least I could do. Don’t you worry about the police or the court. I have a good lawyer, and we’ll handle this,” he replied.

Back at the club, the woman officer wrote up Sarah’s account. When it was Dana’s turn, Amy wanted to accompany her, but Dana asked for me and Sarah. I pulled Dana aside, asking if she really wanted Sarah.

“Mitch, I’m all right. Amy and Ulysses know about it, and I know Sarah suspects something... if what I’ve seen in her eyes is any indication. So, there’s no point in hiding it from her. She’s part of our lives and I love and trust her.”

While the woman officer asked questions, Sarah and I sat with Dana, holding her hands. I was impressed with the woman officer, and how she handled the questioning, going over the relevant points efficiently, and as painlessly as possible. In the meantime, Amy had been busy with Caroline preparing sandwiches and coffee for all of us, including the officers, and they appreciated the hospitality very much, staying for a cup of coffee while finishing their reports. Caroline, Sarah and Dana opted for a glass of cognac, and I joined them, while Pete and Ulysses had coffee, since they would be driving. Ulysses and Amy didn’t miss how we kept Dana company at all times. Amy was glancing at us quizzically, especially after Dana requested our presence when the woman officer was questioning her, but I saw Ulysses whisper a few words to Amy, and her expression took a note of surprise, before it changed to a soft smile. When I was getting myself a sandwich from the small banquette set up on a small table, Amy walked by and said, “I’m glad Dana has such good friends to care for her.”

I felt flustered by her remark. She patted my arm, and said, “I’m pleased to meet you and Sarah. Dana is a very strong woman, and a good friend, but I guess you knew that.”

When I nodded, she continued, “Good. Thank you for protecting them all.”

“I wasn’t alone. Pete was there,” I replied, finally finding my voice.

“I know. But, still. Thank you,” she said, and kissed me on my cheek, before she returned back to her seat.

After the officers left, Ulysses had a few words with me, giving me a general outline of plans for tomorrow; he would call his lawyer to go over what happened and then call us at Dana’s to arrange a meeting. He also mentioned that he was planning to contact several clients who were at the club tonight, and ask them if they would be willing to talk to the police—perhaps, even testify—about the behavior of the assailants in the club. He seemed sure that a few of them might be willing to help out—regulars, who enjoyed special privileges at the club.

“I’ll invite them for free drinks, and also get an officer to meet them here. That way they don’t even have to visit the precinct,” he said with a grin. “That would really help the police establish the motives and help the DA in court.”

I told Pete and Caroline we would take a cab, but both were adamant that they would give us a lift, and when I objected, mentioning Pete’s injury, he waived it off.

It was getting to half past three when we left the club. Dana was back to her old self... well, almost. When Sarah and I tried to position her between us in the back seat, she objected.

“Oh, no! We’re going to sandwich him between us, otherwise he would feel out of place,” she joked, drawing a giggle from Sarah and a chuckle from me and Pete, while Caroline colored up.

It was good to see her joking like that, and that little quip helped some to alleviate my anxiety about her state of mind. The girls chatted a bit for the rest of the trip, with Sarah and Caroline doing most of the talking, however we were all subdued, especially Dana, who joined in now and then. I got the feeling she was making an effort to put me and others at ease, so I gathered her in my arms, trying to comfort her as much as possible.

 

* * * * *

 

It was very late when we arrived at Dana’s, just past four o’clock. Even though we were tired, the events of the night had us still on edge and we all needed to wind down. I asked if anybody wanted something to drink; I had in mind a stiff drink, but Dana made a better suggestion, mentioning she had some herbal tea. I turned to go to the kitchen, but Dana said she would prepare it. Before I could say another word, Sarah shook her head at me, and went to help Dana.

“Why don’t you draw a hot bath for us?” Sarah asked.

I went to the bathroom, and turned on the water, adding bath foam. Then I went to the bedroom to take off my jacket, and noticed a tear at the shoulder seam. Both the jacket and the pants were soiled from the fight. I wasn’t sure if the jacket could be salvaged; it looked like it would need a good tailor and dry cleaning, and the pants looked worse. In the excitement I hadn’t noticed. I changed into jeans and a shirt, and went back to the bathroom to check on the tub. Once it was more than half-full, I closed the taps, and went to find the girls. They were in the living room, having their tea.

“The bath is ready,” I announced. “Leave your cups; I’ll get you refills.”

Putting her cup on the nearby table Sarah stood up, pulled Dana to her feet, and they left the room. I collected their cups, and went to the kitchen. To calm myself, I lit a cigarette and drank a cup of tea, finally releasing the tension of the night. I was still worried about Dana, but knew she was in good hands. Perhaps she would talk with Sarah about what had happened to her before, now that it was out in the open. Putting out my cigarette, I filled the cups, put everything on a tray, and took it to the bathroom.

Sarah was sitting with her back against the end of the tub, and Dana was sitting between Sarah’s legs, resting against her chest. Sarah had one arm around Dana’s belly, holding her, and with a sponge in her other hand, was washing Dana’s neck, shoulder, and chest. It was a beautiful scene, like a picture of a mother taking care of her daughter, except, in this instance, it looked like the daughter was taking care of her mother. Dana looked really tired, and was showing her age, but at least she looked at peace. She had her head resting on Sarah’s shoulder with her eyes closed, and seemed relaxed under Sarah’s tender ministrations. Quietly, without disturbing the peaceful scene, I closed the toilet cover, put the tray on it, and turned to leave.

“Mitch? Aren’t you going to join us?” I heard Dana ask.

I realized she must have felt my presence. I turned and saw both girls watching me. “I... The tub is quite small, and I want you girls to have some privacy. Would you like some tea?”

The tub wasn’t that small, but I didn’t want to disturb the peaceful scene or break the girl-bond that seemed to be forming between them. I also thought that Dana might be more comfortable if she wanted to talk with Sarah without my presence. I was feeling out of my depth. What’s more, the scene was very loving and caring, and the girls looked beautiful, which was having an effect on me. I realized, with a start, I had the beginnings of a stirring, and I felt ashamed with the way I was reacting.

How can you think of something like that at a time like this?

“Nonsense! There’s enough room,” Dana said.

“I don’t want to intrude, Dana, and I’m feeling pretty much out of my depth,” I replied feeling very uncomfortable, and trapped. I wanted to make a quick exit.

“Mitch, please get in the tub,” Dana insisted, with Sarah nodding.

With reluctance, I turned away from them and started to take off my clothes. Although we had taken showers together before, this time I felt like I was intruding, and despite my efforts, I was getting an erection. I took my time trying to think of something else to take my mind off the beauties in the tub, but it didn’t work. My mind kept returning to their state of dress, actually the lack of any dress, and I seemed to get stuck in the erotic aspects of the scene rather than the friendly sensuality of it. I was mortified. In the end, I took off my boxers, and quickly stepped into the bath hoping to hide my condition under the bubbles. Then I felt Dana’s hand on my leg, and she said, “Mitch, please turn around.”

I crouched in the water, before turning to face her.

“Are you hard?” she asked.

“I... I’m sorry, Dana. I—”

But she cut me off, gently, giving me a soft look. “I’m not offended, Mitch. Can you come closer?”

There was no way I could refuse her request, so kneeling on my knees I moved closer to her. Now that I was facing her, facing both girls, I was getting harder. Despite her words, I felt ashamed, and I wished for a hole to appear in the floor so that I could jump into it and disappear from sight. Then I noticed her eyes, and the soft smile on her lips. First, I felt her hand on my erection, and then she started to stroke me, her touch sending electric shocks all over my body. I groaned at the feeling, closing my eyes momentarily. When I opened my eyes, I saw her watching me.

“Mitch, I love you. I’m not offended. I’m glad that you are hard. I was worried that you would not want me, or feel timid, scared about wanting to make love to me. I’m all right, and not scared of sex or men, especially you. Do you understand? I’m not fragile,” she said.

I nodded, not trusting my voice. Holding onto the side of the tub, I leaned down, and we kissed, softly, lovingly, as she kept touching me, making me harder. She was telling me she wasn’t scared and loved me, and I was telling her I loved her. After the kiss, I sat back on my heels, and took a good, long look at them, while they smiled at me.

“I love you, Dana,” I said. Leaning forward, I kissed her, before turning to Sarah. “Thank you, Sarah,” I said, and kissed her too, before I moved to the opposite side, and sat.

I took another sponge, and searched for Dana’s feet under the water. Gently, I pulled her ankle, and put her foot on my chest, and then began washing and massaging her calf, ankle, and foot. In the meantime, Sarah kept running the sponge on Dana’s neck, shoulders, and chest, and brushed her hair with her fingers. In a few minutes, Dana closed her eyes, and relaxed back against Sarah. We heard her sigh, and then she murmured, “I love you. I love you both. You make me feel like a queen.”

I was busy attending to her calf, when I felt her tremble. When I looked, I found Sarah gently rocking her, before I noticed Dana was quietly crying, tears leaking around the corner of her still closed eyes. I saw Sarah kiss her and whisper soft words in her ear, as she kept rocking her. While Sarah tended her, I resumed my massage and moved to her foot, knowing it would help. In a matter of minutes, Dana stopped crying, and settled back. Sarah took the sponge she abandoned, and gently wiped Dana’s face. When Dana collected herself, she opened her eyes, and turned halfway to face Sarah, and pulled her in for a soft kiss.

“We love you, Dana. I love you, very much,” Sarah said, kissing her back.

“I love you, too, Sarah,” she replied. Twisting more, she took a long look. Then she clutched Sarah’s neck, pulled her in, and gave her fierce, almost hungry, kiss. Although initially surprised, Sarah managed to return her kiss in the same manner. After they surfaced, they continued to exchange little kisses. Eventually, Dana turned, and settled back into Sarah’s embrace again. I saw Sarah kiss her neck and shoulder a few times, while she kept whispering sweet nothings, comforting Dana.

I switched to Dana’s other foot. While I was busy massaging and washing her calf, she started to tell us what had happened several years ago. At first, she couldn’t say more than a few half sentences, but with Sarah comforting her, her voice got steadier, stronger. She had told me before what had happened, in general terms, but now, the awful details were coming out. As I listened to it, I was very disturbed, shocked. Although Sarah continued to comfort and encourage Dana to exorcise her soul, I could see she was hiding her feelings behind a stoic expression. At first, I thought Sarah was putting on a brave face for Dana’s sake, but as Dana continued with her story, I started to feel queasy. I knew my face was reflecting what I was feeling despite my best efforts, and I wasn’t sure anymore whether Sarah’s mask was for Dana’s benefit or mine.

It had been a break-in and robbery that went wrong. She had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, staying at her boyfriend’s place instead of her own flat that night. She loved him very much, and wanted to sleep in his bed, smelling him. When I heard that, it reminded me of a particular memory, how I did the same, when Rei left me after making love when we were heading for a break up. My heart ached for Dana, and for a brief moment for Rei, too, before my attention and feelings focused on Dana again.

The thief knew there was a safe in the house, but Dana had no idea where it was, or the combination, and couldn’t help him. Aside from what might be in the safe, there wasn’t much in the way of valuables in the house to satisfy him. Some money, and a little gold and silver stuff: plates, candle holders... So, he took his anger and frustration out on her. After beating her, he tied her to the bed, and brutally raped her several times. She told us she had passed out at some point from the pain, and didn’t remember parts of her ordeal, but when she regained consciousness, he went about...

At that point she broke into tears, again, and couldn’t speak for a long time. Sarah held her, gently rocking her and whispering comforting words, until Dana gathered herself again. Slowly, Dana resumed her tale, her voice breaking up several times, crying softly, and we learned that he had raped and sodomized her several times, and beat her as well in between bouts. The worst part was that the repeated rapes had caused a lot of damage in her vagina, which would later result in a long stay in the hospital to fight the infection. However, the damage was done, and the doctors had told her she had very little chance of conceiving. But, she had been lucky, because if the cleaning woman hadn’t found her early in the morning, she would have died, tied the way she was, still bleeding from internal injuries.

My stomach turned at the last part (and in my heart, I knew, if I ever crossed paths with that sick son of a bitch, he would wish he was never born). Sarah looked sickened to her soul. Even though she tried to keep a brave face, she wasn’t very successful. Seeing both of them in such pain, it felt like a knife was being twisted slowly in my guts. By then, Dana was crying again, and Sarah joined her, unable to keep inside what she was feeling. I was so out of my depth with the situation, I didn’t know if I would be able to comfort them or how, and for a brief moment I wished I were somewhere else. Before the thought left me, I asked for a bolt of lightning to strike me down, mortified about what I was thinking. Here I was, with two women I loved very much, who were in great pain, and I was thinking of tucking my tail between my legs and running away, instead of trying to comfort and give strength to them.

Good going, you little piece of shit! You don’t deserve either of them!

I kept gently massaging Dana’s calf and foot, but it was more like I was going through the motions, as if I were on autopilot, while trying to pull myself together. I was badly shaken, and felt numb, shocked at her story. But when I caught sight of Sarah looking at me through her tears, almost pleading with me to do something to ease Dana’s pain, it galvanized me into action. Gently, I released Dana’s foot, and moved to a kneeling position in front of both girls. With Sarah’s help, I pulled Dana into my arms, and Sarah moved to mold herself behind her, wrapping her arms around both of us as much as she could. For several minutes, we stayed like that trying to draw strength and comfort from our embrace.

Sarah was the first one to stop crying and collect herself, but she didn’t release us from her hold. Instead, she started kissing Dana’s shoulder and neck, whispering to her that she was safe, and how much she loved her, how much we loved her, soothing her. Slowly, Dana stopped crying, except for some sniffles, but her body kept trembling. Eventually though, she managed to raise her head and look at me with red and teary eyes. I lowered my lips, and kissed her. First, I kissed her lips, then her nose. After that, I kissed her on her closed eyelids, tasting her salty tears, before I returned to her lips again, then pulled her head to my shoulder, until her sniffles died, and her trembling stopped.

She tried to apologize, but Sarah shushed her, telling her that she needed to get it off her chest. Kissing Dana’s shoulders and neck, she told her she was glad to be here with her, and I repeated Sarah’s words, gently rocking Dana, and caressing her. When Dana managed to compose herself—as much as possible considering the situation—Sarah helped us to move into a more comfortable position. I sat reclined with my back resting against the end of the tub, and Dana straddled me, sitting on my lap, facing me, and relaxed against my chest. Then Sarah straddled my legs, and plastered herself against Dana, sandwiching her between us. When Dana was calmer, Sarah sat up, and started to massage Dana’s shoulders and neck, which were knotted and tense. With her magical hands, it didn’t take her more than ten minutes before she had Dana’s muscles turned into putty, making her relax more onto my chest. Dana responded with appreciative sighs and moans, while I kept kissing the top of her head, and ran my hands up and down her side.

As she was finishing her massage, I caught Sarah’s eye, and gave her a look of gratitude. She smiled softly, accepting my thanks with a flicker of her eyes, before she silently mouthed, “Love her. She needs you.”

I wasn’t sure that was such a good idea, and worse I hadn’t overcome my feeling of guilt over what I was thinking a while ago. Dana seemed comfortable, and at peace, and I didn’t want to disturb her. Sarah locked eyes with me and tried again, mouthing “Make love to her.” Still, I didn’t make a move, not feeling comfortable with the idea.

Seeing I wasn’t going to take up her suggestion, she decided to take matters into her own hands. Gently, she pulled Dana from my embrace, letting her lean against her chest, and started running her hands from her shoulders down to her chest, and tits, while kissing her neck and whispering endearments. What she was doing wasn’t sexual as much as sensual, relaxing Dana further, and a short while later, Dana opened her eyes, and looked at me softly. Sensing her need, I leaned and kissed her, and a few seconds later, our kiss deepened as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I could feel Sarah’s hands between our bodies, massaging and caressing Dana. When we broke the kiss to catch our breath, Sarah kissed Dana’s neck, and following her lead, I kissed the other side. In the meantime, Sarah’s hands weren’t idle. They moved to cup Dana’s tits, and were massaging them. Leaning back further, she urged and then pulled Dana to her chest, before signaling me to continue with my ministrations.

I started by tracing my lips and tongue on Dana’s collar bone, and slowly moved south to her tits. By then, Sarah held them in her hands, offering them to me. I took over from her, and licked every square inch of Dana’s tits, until there wasn’t a single part that was left untouched by my lips or tongue, except her nipples. I licked and suckled her nipples, moving from one to the other. While I was busy, Sarah moved her hand down to Dana’s belly, caressing her. As I kept moving from one nipple to the other, bringing them to an aching hardness, I felt Dana turn. Taking a brief pause, I looked up and saw that the girls were sharing a gentle but very sensual kiss. Dana had one hand clutching Sarah’s neck, and she was chewing Sarah’s lip. I returned to Dana’s tits and continued teasing her flesh, when I felt soft fingers get a hold of my hardening penis. They were Sarah’s.

While the girls kept kissing each other, and I attended to Dana’s tits, Sarah stroked me. When I was fully erect, the fingers left me, and I felt her teasing Dana’s pussy. A soft moan, somewhat stifled by a kiss, told me Sarah was working on Dana, readying her. Sarah and I kept at it, making gentle, sensual love to Dana, until Dana indicated she wanted more.

After the girls disengaged, and made some space, I moved away from the end of the tub, to the middle of it, and sat with my legs stretched flat on the bottom of the tub. Then, Dana crouched and lowered herself down on my hardness. When she settled down on my lap, she tucked her knees under my arm, and moved her feet, right behind my buttocks. Then wrapping her arms around me, she pulled herself against my chest. It was a very intimate position that allowed her to squeeze my hardness and a little bit of back-and-forth rocking motion—with my help.

By then the water was tepid, so Sarah pulled the plug to drain some, then filled the tub with more hot water. And finally, she straddled me too. Sitting on my legs with her shins flat on the floor, she began a gentle massage, caressing and stroking Dana’s neck, shoulders, and back, interspersed with soft little kisses. We sat like that for long minutes, holding each other, immersed in the comforting touch and feel of each other’s body. Then, Dana started using her inner muscles to massage me. Our position didn’t allow us to be very active, and what she was doing felt very good to both of us. Her channel was tight and very hot. With the hot water surrounding me, I felt like all of my body was inside her. She must have been feeling the same way, because every now and then she rocked gently, letting the water moved around us.

Of course, Sarah realized what Dana was doing, so she plastered her body against Dana. We all exchanged soft little kisses in turn, keeping Dana trapped between our bodies. When we heard Dana’s labored breathing, and I felt her internal massaging falter, I realized she was getting close. Sarah must have sensed it also, because she gently removed Dana’s arms from my neck, and pulled her back to lean against her chest, while moving and leaning back more herself, offering her body as a soft cushion for Dana to rest against.

I leaned to kiss Dana’s tits, while my hands moved to cup her ass to guide and support her. She pulled her knees up a bit, and with my help, she rocked back and forth, allowing me to make short strokes, while she kept up her internal massaging. As we started to climb the slope to the peak, I saw Sarah reach down between us. From the way Dana moaned, I realized Sarah was working Dana’s clitoris. Meanwhile, my hands were full, supporting and guiding Dana’s hips.

Even though the position was not very comfortable, and put a lot of strain on my back, I kept on administering to her tits, and kept pulling and pushing her hips. Sarah let Dana slide to her right side, positioning her on her right shoulder, and arm, so that she could reach and work with her left hand easily. I heard Dana’s moan cut off, and when I looked up, I saw them sharing a kiss. Just then, I felt her channel grip me, and her body started to shake. They broke the kiss, and Dana let out a moan that turned into a soft scream. I quickly increased my attention to her nipples, sucking and gently chewing them in turn, as her channel started its irregular palpitations. Sarah’s hand was still busy at our connection, and we both felt the water churn violently, as Dana’s body started to twist and tremble, almost uncontrollably. The insistent palpitations of her channel, and the novelty of making love to Dana with Sarah’s help proved too much for me. Suddenly, I felt myself gushing into Dana’s velvety depths. The feeling of being suckled by her hot sleeve, and the hot water sloshing all around me, merged into a single sensation, and I felt as if all my body was melting. I could hardly breathe, and was getting dizzy from the sensory overload. Instinctively I lurched, trying to force my way into that heat, to get more of that exquisite torturous pleasure. Finally though, it ended, before it left me completely insensate.

As I slowly came down from the euphoria, I felt a momentary sadness at losing that pleasurable feeling. Realizing where I was and what we were doing, I turned my attention to Dana. She was comfortably resting in Sarah’s embrace, her body twitching with the after-effects of her orgasm. Sarah, in the meantime, was busy kissing her neck, and whispering words of endearment, while she ran her hands all over her body.

I wanted to kiss Dana, but in our position, I couldn’t reach her lips, and Dana seemed too out of it to be able to move, but Sarah realized the problem. Flashing me a smile, she leaned down and cupping Dana’s face, she kissed her.

I heard her say, “That was from Mitch, and now, from me.” She kissed her again, with passion and love. It must have been something, as I caught parts of a moan, when the seal between their lips allowed it to escape the confines of their mouths, and I felt Dana tremble and shake anew, before it slowly tapered off. When the kiss was over, their eyes met, and they exchanged soft little kisses again. I saw both of them leaking around their eyes, but they were happy tears. Collecting herself, Sarah helped Dana to sit up and I pulled her in for a long soul kiss. Twisting in my arms, Dana pulled Sarah to us, so I could kiss her too. Then Sarah and I sandwiched Dana’s body between us. We sat entwined with each other, with Dana resting her cheek against my shoulder, nuzzling my neck, and Sarah resting her chin on Dana’s shoulder, kissing her neck and kissing my cheek. We whispered sweet nothings to each other, enjoying our new closeness.

I wasn’t sure how long we sat like that, but eventually my back and legs started to cry out in protest, and despite my reluctance, I had to lean back to ease the tension. At first, Dana tried to follow my body, but the position was awkward for her, and Sarah seemed to know my problem. “Is your back hurting?”

I nodded in confirmation, giving an apologetic smile to both girls, but both waived it off. Sarah helped Dana to kneel, so that I could slide to the end of the tub to lean against it and rest my back. Then, both girls sat down on my legs, again straddling me. Sarah had an arm around Dana’s belly, resting her chin on her shoulder, as they watched me. I reached out and traced my fingers along their cheeks. Dana took my hand and kissed my palm, then repeated the same with Sarah. I felt a sudden swelling in my heart at the tender and loving gesture from Dana. It was like Dana was telling us we were all bonded to each other, forever. Then, Sarah caught Dana’s hand, and kissed her palm in return. I caught the expression on their faces, as Sarah released Dana’s hand, and I felt my eyes misting. Trying to collect myself, I grabbed first Dana’s hand and kissed her fingertips, then repeated the same with Sarah. When my lips left her fingertips, Sarah grabbed my hand, and pulling it to her lips, she turned my hand and kissed my palm, closing the circle of love. Finally, she sat my hand on Dana’s breast, keeping her hand over mine. A second later, Dana put her hand over Sarah’s, keeping our hands in place.

We sat basking in the afterglow of what we shared. As the silence stretched, Sarah broke it before it got to be uncomfortable. “If we sit in this water any more, we’re going to turn into prunes.”

“Not to mention how late it is,” Dana added.

With a resigned sigh, I nodded, still not wanting to break the atmosphere, and the afterglow we shared. I guess both girls felt the same way, as they smiled emphatically.

Turning to Sarah, Dana said, “Thank you, Sa—” before Sarah cut her off with a quick kiss, which she followed up by more kisses from lips to nose, to closed eye lids.

“I’m happy to be here, Dana. I’m happy and thankful that you’ve shared all those things with me, with us. And, I love you, too,” she said softly.

After that, they didn’t need to say anything. Slowly Sarah stood up, and pulled Dana gently to her feet. When I tried to get to my feet, my legs protested, so the girls helped pull me up. Somewhat shakily I stood on my feet leaning against the wall for support, while Sarah pulled the stopper to drain the water. Dana turned on the shower testing the temperature of the water. Then we washed each other, still feeling the effects of the afterglow, not wanting to let it go, but also feeling very, very tired. The girls helped each other to shampoo and rinse their hair, and then we dried each other with fluffy towels. I nodded to Sarah to take Dana to the bedroom, while I collected the tray with still-full cups to take them to the kitchen. Turning off the lights in the kitchen and living room, I made my way back to the bedroom.

I found the girls in the bed, cuddling, and when Dana made a move to make some space between them, Sarah stopped her, telling her she wanted to cuddle with her. Dana looked like she was going to object, but thinking better of it, she moved closer to Sarah. I went to the window to part the curtains a little bit so that the room will be bathed in by the soft light of the waning moon. Turning off the lights, I got into the bed. It was already half past five, and nearing daylight, but we were physically and emotionally tired. I knew we wouldn’t have trouble falling asleep in a matter of minutes. Dana kissed me and whispered, “I love you,” before turning to Sarah and repeating it. Sarah responded similarly, and both of us leaned over Dana to share a similar kiss. Then Sarah pulled Dana into her arms, and I spooned behind Dana.

For a short while we were all awake; I felt both girls gently caressing each other and my hands weren’t idle either. My heart felt lighter than it had ever been, almost singing, and there was a sense of peace and calm I had not felt before. I fell asleep listening to an ephemeral tune my mind pulled out from some obscure corner of my memory.

 

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