MOMMY ISSUES | Tamber

15

Tara paced the cramped living room of her apartment, her phone clutched to her ear. She paused mid-stride, biting her bottom lip anxiously as the phone rang. When the call went to voicemail, she hung up with a frustrated huff, tossing the device aside. Scrubbing her hands through her hair, her gaze landed on a framed photo of her and Amber, radiant in each other's arms.

"This is ridiculous... c'mon, Tara. You can do this," she muttered under her breath.

Her ringtone chirped, startling her. She snatched up the phone and accepted the call before her nerve could fail her.

"Amber? Hi, it's--"

"Tara! Hey, I was just about to call you. Everything okay?" Amber's voice came through the line, sounding both familiar and distant.

Tara swallowed hard, trying to find the words as doubt prickled at the corners of her mind. They hadn't spoken face-to-face since the incident, the unspoken tensions and old wounds throbbing between them. She opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by Sam's caustic voice drifting in from the kitchen.

"If this is you gearing up to beg that abusive snake to take you back, you can forget it," Sam said sharply.

Tara flinched, instantly nettled. "I don't tell you how to live your life, sis. Don't even start with that judgmental big sister bullsh--" She cut off, mortified as she realized Amber could hear everything.

"Tara? You, uh... you still there?" Amber's bewildered tones came through the line.

Tara squeezed her eyes shut, trying to regain her bearings. "Amber... hi, sorry. I just... look, can we maybe get coffee or something this afternoon? There's, um... there's something I want to discuss with you. In person."

There was a brief, weighted pause. "Yeah, absolutely. How about we grab that little picnic by the lake, like old times? Say around two?"

Despite the casual words, Tara could read the acute anxiety lacing Amber's tone. Her throat tightened. "That... that sounds perfect. I'll see you then?"

"Uh huh. See you soon."

Tara hung up in a daze, snapping back to reality when Sam pointedly cleared her throat. Tara shot her sister a venomous glare.

"So that's seriously what you want, huh? Back under the thumb of your very own personal succubus?" Sam said, shaking her head with grim resolution. "Not if I have anything to say about it..."

The azure waters of the lake shimmered like liquid sapphire, reflecting the glorious spring afternoon. Towering pines cast languid shadows over the expansive greens and picnicking couples dotted the shoreline. Near the water's edge, a faded old quilt was spread out with an ice-packed cooler and a few crumpled brown bags of supplies. Tara waited, fidgeting restlessly as she scanned the area.

Then she saw Amber approaching, dressed in a casual sundress that stole Tara's breath. Amber's tentative smile and the way she tucked a stray lock of auburn hair behind her ear brought a wave of memories crashing over Tara. Their eyes met, and for a suspended, electric heartbeat, the world seemed to fall away.

"Hi," Tara managed to say, tears slipping down her cheeks.

Hours later, the remnants of their picnic lay in half-eaten disarray around them. Amber trailed off, cheeks flushed with nostalgic laughter. Tara shifted slightly closer, eyes shining with naked adoration. A healing sort of equilibrium had descended between them, a fragile new renaissance emerging from the ashes. Her gaze drifted longingly to Amber's lips.

"...what? Why are you looking at me like that?" Amber asked.

"Like what?" Tara replied.

"Like you're trying to melt me by sheer force of desire," Amber said softly. "Because... it's kind of working."

Tara went still, suddenly unsure. Sensing her unease, Amber moved closer until their legs were pressed together. "You sure?" Amber murmured.

"Pretty sure, yeah. But more importantly... are you?"

A fractional nod, then Amber closed the gap, their lips crashing together in a searing reunion. Tara gasped tremulously, fingers burying in Amber's silken tresses as their exchange swiftly crescendoed in heat and urgency. Moments blurred into an indistinguishable fever of rediscovery. Clothing shifted and hitched, and then Tara angled back, pulling Amber flush atop her.

"My god, I've missed you... Amber, please, I need--" Tara's plea was cut off by Amber's filthy, open-mouthed kiss.

"Need, huh? Well then, let me indulge you, my love," Amber whispered.

Tara's head slammed back into the quilt with a guttural groan as Amber began divesting her with slow, reverent appreciation. Slick arousal thrummed through her at the first teasing brush of fingertips ghosting over heated flesh. Amber tugged her pants and underwear off in one deft movement, then locked gazes with Tara's smoldering eyes.

"Like you were made for me, baby," Amber purred.

"Amber, please...!" Tara whimpered.

Without further preamble, Amber plunged two fingers into Tara's searing, soaked entrance. Tara bowed back with a shocked, guttural cry as Amber insinuated a third digit, intent on opening her further.

"Want me inside you? To claim what's mine?" Amber growled.

"Yes! Yes, anything... god, just fuck me, baby, please—" Tara's desperate plea was interrupted by the harsh jangle of a ringtone. Tara's phone buzzed in her discarded purse.

"Just ignore it," Amber urged, but Tara's attention splintered. She whined in frustration, throwing an arm across her face as fresh anxiety seized her.

"N-no, hang on... it could be an emergency or—shit!" Tara exclaimed, caught between longing and reality.