Bliss Read Free Page A

someone else touched me with the
intent to pleasure, I fell in love. Not with that person, but with the act itself. Such intimacy and accord. Even with the awkwardness of first time
lovers there was a grace and purity, carnal and
beautiful, that I knew from that moment on I
could never live without.
    Sinclair slid down into the covers and continued reading.
This was a woman who unabashedly loved sex. The more
she read, the more descriptive and less academic Regina's
prose became. Sinclair squeezed her thighs together and
crossed a hand over her stiffening nipples. Regina was very
good. She imagined the slight woman reading the words
aloud, her soft red mouth shaping the seduction, an invitation to fall into her silken trap. And Sinclair was seduced. In
the cool seclusion of her bedroom, she felt Regina's hands on
her, touching her skin, teasing, satisfying. All these things
that she wrote about aroused Sinclair's curiosity-the goodnatured teasing among friends that eventually became a thoroughly gratifying group orgy, going down on a lover in a
crowded subway station, the scorching wave of a shared orgasm in a cozy bed for three. All these were alien experiences
to Sinclair. Regina's words made her long for them. Her fin gets slid down between her thighs. She didn't fall asleep until
almost five in the morning.

    The office intercom buzzed and Shelly's voice filled the air.
"Regina Velasquez calling for you, Miss Sinclair."
    Sinclair's fingers twitched against the computer keys and
typed three extra t's.
    "Put her through."
    She took a deep breath and picked up the phone.
    "You didn't call me last night." Regina's southern drawl
wrapped around the words like hot molasses.
    "I didn't know that I was supposed to."
    "You were, but I forgive you. Did you read any of my essays?"
    "Yes. A few." Sinclair wiped her damp palms on her
slacks.
    "What did you think?"
    "They're good. Very ... vivid."
    Regina laughed again while Sinclair's stomach rearranged
itself. "That's something, I suppose."
    "Is that how you pick up people?"
    "What makes you think I was trying to pick you up?"
Regina asked.
    Sinclair had walked right into that one. In all of Regina's
essays, she never once mentioned the gender of the person
she was with. There had been body parts sprinkled throughout, a liberal mentioning of penises and vaginas, breasts and
buttocks that left Sinclair absolutely bewildered and painfully aroused.
    "Are you?" Sinclair felt bold enough to ask.
    "Yes." The other woman's laughter was full bodied and
captivating. Sinclair imagined Regina throwing her head
back, white teeth flashing, her long neck arched.
    "Well, you know that I'm seeing someone," Sinclair said.
Her hand tightened on the phone. Yuen had never made her
feel like this. Hot in her belly and dry-mouthed. Sinclair knew that she should have been more nervous, hesitant, but
Regina's seduction was so shameless and genuine that her
own responses were too.

    "So am I," Regina said. "Do you want to come to dinner
with me tonight?"
    She couldn't say no. Her body remembered the promise in
Regina's book, in her low laughter. But she hesitated. What
about Yuen? He would be expecting to see her soon, maybe
even tonight. What would be her excuse? Sorry darling, this
stranger propositioned me and I was a little curious about
my attraction to women so I'm going to try her out and see
what happens. That obviously wouldn't work.
    In the end Sinclair called to invite him to breakfast on
Sunday, apologizing that she couldn't see him before then.
Still, she knew he would call to wrangle an invitation to
Saturday dinner as well. She'd deal with that when the time
came. In the meantime she tried to convince herself that there
was nothing for her to feel guilty about. At least not yet.
    Dinner was at a Mediterranean restaurant near Regina's
house. The decor was stark. Sky blue walls and white columns,
the scent of olives in the air despite whatever else was