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Message-ID: <41991asstr$1050995403@assm.asstr-mirror.org>
From: "Vulgar Argot" <VulgarArgotREMOVEALL@CAPSinsidejoke.tv>
Subject: {ASSM} Marigold, Part 14
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2003 03:10:03 -0400
Path: assm.asstr-mirror.org!not-for-mail
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Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories
Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d

Marigold, Part 14
by Vulgar Argot
(tags moved to bottom for spoilerage)

It seemed like the car had barely rolled to a stop in the driveway when
Thule bounded out of it. He ran across the yard and disappeared into the
house.

Dawn and Marigold sat in the car, waiting. Finally, Dawn said, "Do you think
we're supposed to follow him inside?"

"I don't know," said Marigold, "Your guess is as good as mine."

After they had sat there for another minute or so, Dawn said, "He seems to
do that a lot, doesn't he?"

Marigold nodded, "The bounding thing? Yes. He's always bounding off
somewhere."

Dawn nodded, taking the idea in. After a few seconds of thought, she said,
"Maybe we should follow him inside."

"All right," said Marigold, "let's go then."

As Marigold got out of the car, she noticed that Dawn wasn't moving. Looking
down into the window, she asked, "Dawn, is everything okay?"

"No," Dawn said quietly. Thinking quickly, Marigold pulled open the door and
guided Dawn out, "Come on," she said coaxingly, "let's get you inside."

Dawn said distantly, "Thule won't mind?"

Marigold shook her head, "Thule won't mind. He's waiting for us." Once she
opened the front door, she shouted, "Thule!"

Thule came bounding out of the bedroom, concern writ heavy on his face,
"What?"

"Get a blanket," said Marigold, "Dawn's going into neurogenic shock."

Dawn turned to Marigold, a look of intense puzzlement on her face, "I'm
not..." Then, her knees buckled. Marigold, having expected the faint, caught
her friend on the way down, although she almost collapsed herself in doing
so.

Thule, having disappeared into the bedroom, re-emerged with a silver
emergency blanket with the word "ORACLE" etched across it in red. Wrapping
Dawn in the blanket, he lifted her up into his arms, scooping her as if she
weighed nothing at all.

"She's fainted," said Marigold, "We need to get her somewhere that her head
will be lower than her heart."

In a surprisingly dextrous move, Thule kicked the headrest on the EZ-Boy
near the TV. He said, "Put a pillow on the footrest."

Marigold did and Thule placed Dawn in the prescribed position on the chair,
wrapping the blanket more firmly around her.

"Now what?" he asked. But, Marigold was already crouching down next to the
chair, holding Dawn's wrist, reading her watch, and counting.

After she had an accurate pulse rate, Marigold said, "Just give her a couple
of minutes. She should come out of it on her own. She wasn't injured at all
today, was she?"

"No," said Thule.

"Okay," said Marigold, "whatever you rushed in here to do, it's probably
more important than standing around, waiting for her to wake up. Why don't
you go finish?"

Thule said, "I was just checking the police bands. They're reporting the
shooter as a false report and calling the cars back in."

"Well," said Marigold, "why don't you go see if anything new has developed.
I've got this taken care of."

Thule looked bemused, but went back into his room.

A few minutes later, Dawn said, "Why am I upside down?"

"You fainted," said Marigold, "I'd like to keep you in this position for a
few more minutes, make sure you're getting enough blood to your brain."

"Oo," said Dawn shakily, "Have I ever told you about my bossy nurse fetish?"

"See?" said Marigold, deadpan, "clearly, more blood is needed."

"I feel stupid," said Dawn.

"For fainting?" asked Marigold, "Don't. It happens."

"No," said Dawn, "for believing June Kane, for running off to have a secret
rendez-vous with her, for almost getting myself gang raped again."

"For that," said Marigold, grasping Dawn's wrist to take her pulse again,
"you should feel stupid."

"Doctor Tarr," said Dawn, "your bedside manner sucks."

"My bedside manner is fine," said Marigold briskly, "My armchair-side manner
could maybe use some improvement."

"I'm sorry," said Dawn, "I shouldn't have run off like that."

"It's okay," said Marigold, her face softening, "but it was a very foolish
risk."

"Well, I know that now," said Dawn, sounding a little annoyed. Then, more
penitent, "Are you mad at me?"

"No," said Marigold, sighing, "I'm mad at me. I was supposed to be watching
out for you. I let you slip away. We should have stuck together."

"I didn't think June had a threeway in mind," Dawn pointed out.

"Dawn, I'm serious," said Marigold.

"So am I," said Dawn, "My danger sense was completely off on this. I just
thought I was getting laid."

Marigold crouched down and stroked Dawn's hair, "It's okay. I'm sorry if my
nerves are a little jangly. I screwed up. Thule was trying to call me the
whole time he was driving to the school and I had my phone on vibrate in my
purse, which was in the events office."

Dawn grinned sheepishly, "I left my phone home by mistake. I'm not used to
having one."

Marigold sat down on the floor, next to Dawn's head, "We haven't been taking
this whole thing very seriously, have we?"

"It is a lot more life and death than I thought," admitted Dawn.

"Sorry you volunteered to be the plucky sidekick?" asked Marigold.

"No," said Dawn, shaking her now-flushed head, "He needs all the help he can
get, doesn't he? I'm just sorry I unintentionally volunteered for the damsel
in distress role."

"Actually," said Marigold, "it's not so bad, so long as you're rescued."

"Yeah," admitted Dawn, "getting to ride off on the back of the white charger
is nice."

Thule stepped out of the bedroom. He had stripped off the green shirt and
now wore only a towel, draped over the back of his neck, and the khakis. As
he emerged, he said, "If you haven't taken it seriously up until now, it's
probably because everything you've known has been in the abstract until now.
Mea culpa." He sat down on the couch.

"How much of our conversation did you hear?" Marigold asked.

"All of it," admitted Thule, his tone faintly mocking, "You didn't really
think that I was going to run along to my room and go back to what I was
doing while Dawn was passed out in the living room, did you?"

"I passed out?" asked Dawn.

"You fainted," said Marigold, "You were going into shock. How do you feel?"

"Like all of the blood is rushing to my head," said Dawn, "but, other than
that, fine."

Marigold took Dawn's wrist again, timing her pulse. After a half-minute, she
said, "You should be able to sit up now. If you get light-headed, get your
heart above your head."

"I already made that mistake once today," quipped Dawn, "Hey, if I fainted,
how did I get inside and upside down?"

"You walked to the front door," said Marigold, "then fainted on me. I kept
you propped up until Thule came out with the blanket and carried you to the
chair."

Dawn spun herself into an upright position, never taking her eyes off of
Thule. Marigold suppressed a twinge of jealousy. She'd seen Dawn gaze at
Thule with that look of adoration before, but never so openly.

Even when she knew neither of them would act on it, the obvious affection
between Thule and Dawn had made Marigold jealous. That relationship had
started out honest. Dawn hadn't spent more than four years treating Thule
like dirt or treated Maya so badly as to drive Thule to these extremes.
Marigold felt a chill that had nothing to do with the room's ambient
temperature. Rising, she went to sit beside Thule, who wrapped an arm around
her and kissed the top of her head.

Marigold snuggled in, drawing her feet up on the couch and laying her head
on Thule's chest. With the exception of Brianne, there probably wasn't a
woman in the world who deserved Thule less than she did. She lived in fear
of the day that Thule would figure that out and she would lose him. At
first, she'd hoped to be married to him before that day came. But, she knew
she would never keep him that way.

She also saw how other people looked at Thule. The people they ate lunch and
hung out with in school, some teachers, her mother, even Jonas. Despite the
fact that he had chosen a very lonely path, he had the easy, earnest air of
a natural leader. One of these days, he was going to have to divide his
attention among a lot of people. Marigold just hoped that, when that day
came, she would be one of them, still first in his heart. After all, he had
promised.

"I've got about an hour before I need to start getting ready for the party,"
said Thule, "I think it's about time I told you what's going on."

"Both of us?" asked Dawn.

Thule nodded, "You already know enough to betray me if you were going to. I
trusted you enough to tell you that, I might as well tell you the rest."

So, he did. And, while he covered a lot of details that Marigold already
knew for Dawn's sake, he skillfully expurgated any mention of Marigold's
complicity.

When he finished, Dawn was wide-eyed. She asked, "But, it's over, right?
There's no way they can get away with what they did today, is there?"

"They have before," said Thule, "at least three times. But, maybe. I don't
know how thoroughly the Vandevoorts control the police and I doubt the cops
have ever walked in right in the middle of it before. But, I'm not relying
on that. I still have to go to this thing today." He stood up and started to
pace, running both hands over his hair, "I still have to play nice with
Randy and Brianne, at least for a little while longer. He groaned and blew
out, a gesture of fatigue and frustration.

"Sit down," said Marigold, patting the couch next to her, "We can't have you
going off to battle without your A game." Thule sat down and she began to
massage his shoulders, kneading the flesh of his back. Thule sighed in
pleasure and relief.

"Not too much," said Thule, "My A game doesn't come out if I'm too relaxed."

Marigold chuckled, "I don't think I have the strength to get you too
relaxed. You're safe in my semicompetent hands."

Thule sighed contentedly and leaned back against Marigold, laying his head
on her shoulder, and closing his eyes.

"Hey," said Dawn, chuckling uncomfortably, "get a room, you two."

Thule gestured vaguely towards his room, "No time," he muttered, "and I
would be too relaxed afterwards." The last word was elongated by a yawn.

                                     -=-

After Thule had gone back into his room to dress, Dawn said, "Marigold, I
know it's completely out of line for me to ask a favor at this point,
but..."

Marigold interrupted her, "Dawn, are we friends?"

"I..." Dawn paused, "I like to think so."

"So do I," said Marigold, "Am I going to have to be perfect to stay your
friend?"

"N-no," said Dawn, "Why would you even ask that?"

"Because you seem to be presuming that you have to be perfect to stay mine,"
said Marigold, smiling, "What did you want to ask me?"

Dawn smiled shyly, lowering her head, her bangs obscuring her face, "I
just...would rather not be alone today. At some point, the enormity of what
just happened is going to hit me and I'm going to go to pieces, but I'd like
to put it off for a little while. I could use a friend."

Marigold nodded, "Of course, Dawn. Why don't you come over? I just had an
afternoon of vigorous tanning to look forward to with some light studying
thrown in."

"Oo," said Dawn, "I'm not sure about the tanning bit. Any time I get sun, I
freckle."

"I know," said Marigold, "it's part of that sexy girl-next-door thing you've
got going."

"What?" asked Thule as he came out of his room, "the freckles?" He smiled,
"Definitely. Oh, and the blushing, too."

                                     -=-

Once Thule had dropped them off, Marigold said to Dawn, "I'll have to
introduce you to my parents. They're a little bit scary, but don't let them
put you off. They mean well."

"Marigold," Jonas called from inside, "is that you?"

"Yes, sir," she called back, "and I brought a friend over."

Jonas came to the front door. He was wearing blue jeans and a gray cardigan,
"Hello," he said peremptorily to Dawn, "Hon, can you come in my office? I
think I deleted something I shouldn't have."

"Let me see," said Marigold, following him inside.

Jonas brought her into his office, around behind the desk, "Look," he said,
sounding flustered, "I had a spreadsheet open. Then, I hit something and now
it's blank."

Marigold looked it over, "Do you have any idea what you hit?"

Jonas looked helpless, "Something near the bottom, I think."

 From the other side of the desk, Dawn said, "Did you maybe change
spreadsheets?"

"How do I do that?" Jonas asked.

Dawn came around the back where Marigold and Jonas were standing. Taking the
mouse, she clicked once and columns of numbers appeared on screen, "Is that
what you're looking for?"

"That's it," said Jonas, clapping his hands once in relief, "How did you
know to do that?"

"Office automation class," said Dawn, "I accidentally did what you did in
the middle of the midterm. I almost started crying before Oxana showed me
what I did wrong."

"Office automation," said Jonas, his voice somewhat distant, "Marigold, did
you ever take that?"

"No," said Marigold, "I would have liked to, but it would have conflicted
with either honors French or AP chemistry, both of which had higher
differentials."

"Right," said Jonas, "differentials. Marigold's going to be Valedictorian."

"I know," said Dawn.

"Well," he said, "I won't keep you two. You've obviously got better things
to do than listen to an old man complain about these damned machines. It was
nice to meet you, ummm..."

"Dawn," said Marigold, "and you haven't met her yet."

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Jonas, "where are my manners? It's nice to meet you,
Dawn."

"Dawn," said Marigold, "this is my stepfather, Jonas."

Dawn shook Jonas's hand, "It's nice to meet you, sir."

Jonas got a pained look on his face, "Don't call me sir, please. Marigold
only calls me that because I didn't want her calling me 'Dad' or anything
else that suggested I was trying to take her father's place and she didn't
want to call me Jonas."

Marigold said, "When was I ever allowed to call you Jonas?"

"What?" asked Jonas, "Oh, right until the wedding day. Then, you asked me
what you should call me now and I told you not to dishonor your father's
memory, but to find something appropriate. You came up with 'sir.'"

"I did?" asked Marigold, "Wait. I did, didn't I?"

Jonas nodded, "Yes. Now, if you two will excuse me, I lost an hour on this
stupid spreadsheet already." As he was shooing them out of his office, he
said, "Again, it's nice to meet you, Dawn. Thank you for figuring out the
spreadsheet thing." Once they were out of the office, he closed the door
behind them.

Dawn giggled, "I thought you said he was scary."

"I know," said Marigold, "He was mellow and vaguely befuddled. I wonder if
he's got low blood sugar or something." Then, as if thinking of something
else, she said, "We're about the same size, other than those legs of yours.
If you want to swim or sunbathe, I'm sure that I've got something that will
fit you."

"That would be great," said Dawn and up the stairs they went.

Upstairs, Marigold opened her walk-in closet, "I've got some stuff I bought
for New York and never got around to wearing, other than to try it on in the
store."

"Oh," asked Dawn, looking around Marigold's room, "What were you doing in
New York?"

Marigold emerged hurriedly, closing her bedroom door, locking it, and
turning on her stereo. When Dawn raised a quizzical eyebrow at her, Marigold
said, "Sorry about that. My parents don't know I went to New York. They
think I was at my aunt's."

"So," asked Dawn, dropping on the bed and sliding into Indian-style, her
elbows resting on her knees, "what were you doing in New York?"

Marigold sat down next to her, mimicking her pose in perpendicular, "Thule
was trying to sell this software he wrote and I went with him."

Dawn's eyes widened, "You did? For how long?"

"A weekend," said Marigold, "from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening."

Dawn giggled, "He is so romantic."

Marigold laughed. Then, once she started laughing, she found it hard to
stop. Soon, she was gasping for air.

"Obviously," said Dawn, puzzled, "I said something funny."

"Let's just say it wasn't like that," said Marigold, holding her ribs from
laughing, "Now, let's see what I have that you can wear."

"No," said Dawn, "you can't just say something like that and then leave me
to wonder. What happened in New York? Did you fight? Did he ignore you and
spend all of his time focusing on work?"

Marigold started giggling again. Dawn waited patiently. Finally, when the
giggles had subsided, Marigold began to explain, in some detail, what the
weekend had been like. That led to an explanation of how the relationship
had started. Marigold had been dying to talk to someone, anyone about her
relationship with Thule. And, even though Dawn's eyes kept getting wider and
her cheeks redder, she made a good audience, asking the right questions, but
mostly just letting Marigold tell her story.

"Oh...my....God," said Dawn slowly, awe clear in her voice, "He is so
romantic."

Impulsively, Marigold wrapped her arms around Dawn, hugging her, "I thought
I was the only one who would think so," she exclaimed.

"Lord, no," said Dawn, fanning herself with her hand, "How come nothing like
that never happened to me?"

"You probably didn't do anything awful enough to deserve it," said Marigold.
Immediately, internally, she flinched. She'd been hoping to avoid the
question that she'd just made more or less a certainty.

"Well," said Dawn, "I did once shoplift from the drug store on Columbia
Avenue. But, it's just as well that I didn't get caught because the store
owner was fat and bald and had hair in his ears and halitosis. But, what did
you do that was so bad?"

Marigold could hear the disbelief in Dawn's voice, thought she might be able
to sidestep the question with a glib comment. But, she steeled herself and
started talking. She found that she couldn't look at Dawn as she spoke, so
she stared at the pattern on her bedspread. Her faith didn't believe in
confession, but she imagined that this was what it felt like, to unburden
herself. She was just afraid that, when she stopped talking, she would lose
one of the two real friends she had.

When she finally fell silent, Dawn asked, "Marigold, are you okay?"

Marigold, who hadn't even realized she was crying, shook her head miserably,
"Oh, Dawn," she whispered, "I don't deserve him."

Dawn muttered a sympathetic sound and drew Marigold into her arms. As
Marigold cried herself out, Dawn rocked her like a child and pet her hair.
Marigold clung to her, holding on to Dawn's shoulder and burying her face in
Dawn's neck. The response was startlingly Thule-like. When Dawn kissed her
on top of the head, Marigold gave a little shudder of pleasure. She wanted
so badly to tilt her head back and be kissed properly. That sort of kiss
meant forgiveness, absolution.

Dawn leaned down and kissed her on the forehead, then on the cheek. Marigold
trembled in anticipation, but seemingly at the last second, Dawn pulled
back.

"So," asked Marigold, "do you hate me?"

"No," said Dawn, quickly reassuing her, "not at all. And, you need to stop
beating yourself up about Thule. I've never seen anybody in love as the two
of you. You two are going to be together forever."

"I hope you're right," said Marigold quietly.

"Of course I'm right," said Dawn emphatically, "Now, why don't you go wash
your face so that we can get some swimming done before he gets dark."

Marigold nodded and slid off of Dawn's lap, "Second dresser on the right,
third draw, is this season's bathing suits. If you see anything that looks
good on you, grab it." Then, she went into the bathroom to wash her face.
When she emerged, Dawn was rummaging around in the closet. Marigold stepped
in behind her to see if she needed help.

Dawn rose from a crouch, bare from the waist up, "Tell me what you think."

Marigold glanced down and asked, puzzled, "About your...."

"No," said Dawn, slapping her playfully on the arm, "I'm going to try on a
top." Seeing Marigold blush, she added, "You really thought I was asking
about my chest, didn't you?"

"Well," admitted Marigold, the flush rising in her cheeks, "I haven't really
had much experience with girl talk. I don't know."

Dawn slid on a red bikini top, relatively demure as the type went. She held
her shoulders back so that Marigold could get the full effect, "What do you
think?"

"Oh," said Marigold, surprised, "it looks really good on you, like you
picked it out yourself."

"It doesn't look too...chesty?" Dawn asked.

"I'm the wrong person to ask," admitted Marigold.

"Oh," said Dawn, getting flustered, "I didn't mean that you..."

"No," said Marigold, blushing again herself, "I wasn't saying....I just mean
that Elliot hated my chest, so I always thought that it was hideous."

"Oh, no," said Dawn, horrified, "you have beautiful breasts." Realizing what
she had said, Dawn blushed a deep crimson that went all the way down into
her cleavage.

They both stood there, blushing for a minute before Marigold said, "Why
don't you hand me the black one?"

Dawn did and Marigold backed out of the closet. Once she was around the
corner from where Dawn could see her, she leaned against the wall and
laughed silently to herself, getting it out of her system as quickly as
possible.

She was in the middle of changing when she felt Dawn's eyes on her back. As
she turned, Dawn asked, "So, how do I look?"

Marigold said, "Oh, that is so unfair."

"What?" asked Dawn, looking confused.

"I bought that one because it elongated my legs. Now, you wear it and it
looks like it's made for you, particularly in the legs. I hate you. I want
long legs like yours."

Dawn laughed, "What are you talking about? You have very pretty legs."

"Maybe," said Marigold, "but I'm so short."

"I think you're just right," said Dawn.

Marigold snapped on her top, "Well, I thank you for saying so. Are we ready
to go?"

                               -=-

Marigold's top didn't stay on long. As soon as she got out to the poolside,
she unsnapped it and took it off. Dawn looked around, "Is it okay to...?"

"Sure," said Marigold, "Jonas accidentally saw me topless out here when I
was sixteen. He was too embarassed to look me in the eye for like two weeks.
If he needs to get a message to us, he'll send my mother out and she's not
here yet. We'll be able to see her coming up the street a long ways. There's
a fence around the pool and a fence around the yard. We might as well be
indoors."

"All right," said Dawn, still sounding uncertain, but stripping off her top.

"Oh, wow," said Marigold, "you're starting to freckle already." She patted
the towel in front of her, "Come over here, so I can get some sunscreen on
you."

Dawn came and sat down facing Marigold. Marigold squeezed some lotion on her
hand and, starting with the tops of Dawn's feet, rubbing in broad circles on
her lower legs. Dawn smiled shyly as she did it. Then, Marigold started
working behind the knee. Dawn flinched, but Marigold made a shusshing sound,
stroking Dawn's leg, and continued working her way up. As she got farther
and farther up Dawn's inner thighs, Dawn stared at her, clearly enjoying the
sensation of being touched, clearly aware that Marigold's hands were getting
into sensitive territory, torn between avoiding embarassment and enjoying
what was being done.

Marigold could see exactly the effect she was having on her younger friend.
She repressed the urge to chuckle. She had to admit that she was enjoying
the feeling of power it gave her to put Dawn in such a state. "Stand up,"
she ordered, imitating Thule's delivery when he was ordering her around
sexually, "turn around." Dawn did. Marigold rubbed lotion on the tops of
Dawn's legs.

"Now, sit down," she ordered, "facing away from me." Dawn obeyed. Marigold
felt a twinge of pity for Dawn. The younger girl couldn't be sure that
Marigold was seducing her. Only Marigold knew for sure. As she rubbed lotion
in Dawn's shoulders and down her back, she slowly inched forward. By the
time she'd finished Dawn's back, she was easily close enough to reach around
and rub lotion on Dawn's stomach. Dawn actually gasped when Marigold's hand
snaked around. Marigold did chuckle then, using one hand to pull Dawn
backwards so that the backs of her shoulders rested on the front of
Marigold's. Dawn relaxed into her, her back pressed against Marigold's belly
and breasts. Her eyes were closed now, her breathing shallow.

As Marigold's hands rose from Dawn's ribs, sliding into her cleavage,
Marigold murmured, practically right in the taller girl's ear, "You'll have
to do your own face. I don't want to get any in your eyes." Dawn nodded,
stiffening so as not to react to Marigold's hands cupping her breasts now.
Marigold worked efficiently, but did not hurry.

When she pulled her hands away, Dawn was trembling. Marigold handed her the
bottle of lotion, "Okay," she said, "Do your face. Then, do me." Dawn, who
was squeezing out some lotion, squeezed the bottle too hard and it slipped
from her hand, flying into the pool. Marigold started giggling and couldn't
stop, even to help Dawn stretch out over the surface of the water and
retrieve it.

When Dawn came back, she did her face quickly. Then, having Marigold stand
up, she followed more or less the same plan that Marigold had. The
difference was that she was skittish where Marigold had been bold. As Dawn
skirted the edge of her bikini bottom, Marigold said, "Make sure you don't
miss any spots." Then, again, when Dawn was covering her breasts, Marigold
said, "Make sure you rub it in good. I don't want it washing off in the
pool." Even so, Dawn's touch never moved beyond warmly clinical. Marigold
frowned to herself. Having never been on this end of a seduction, she hadn't
realized how tricky it might be.

As Marigold was putting lotion on her face, she said, "The pool might be
kind of cold." By the way Dawn dove in, Marigold thought that she must have
decided that a shock of cold water was just what the doctor ordered.

                               -=-

The next few hours passed in relative idyll. They alternately swam and
sunbathed, read, talked and laughed. Most of what Marigold would remember of
that afternoon was how much they laughed. It was the sort of friendship she
hadn't had in years, if ever, the sort of friendship she should have had
with Maya if she hadn't poisoned it from the very start.

At the same time, she kept up her flirtation with Dawn, touching stroking,
hugging, staying closer than mere friendship granted permission for.
Marigold thought she was incredibly bold, but Dawn still seemed afraid,
unsure of whether she was being seduced or just reading too much into
Marigold's affection. Marigold knew she was being a horrible tease, but even
Thule would not be able to object if he knew her full attentions.

As darkness became an undeniable fact, they went inside. Holly looked up
from her cooking, "Oh, Marigold, I didn't know you had company. Will she be
staying for dinner?"

"If I can..." said Dawn, "I didn't realize how late it was."

"Of course," said Marigold's mother, "I always make plenty. I hope you like
lasagna and meatballs."

"Yes," said Dawn demurely, "thank you."

Marigold grinned, "Mom, would it be okay if Dawn stayed over tonight?"

Dawn looked at her, startled. Holly just said, "It's fine with me, but check
with Jonas."

Marigold stepped into Jonas's study, "Jonas," she said quietly, "Dawn's had
kind of a rough day today. Would it be all right if she stayed over
tonight?"

"Sure," said Jonas, "if it's okay with her parents. Is it something I can
help with?"

"No," said Dawn, "it's just boy troubles. Nothing serious."

"Boys are nothing but trouble," grumbled Jonas good-naturedly, "I used to be
one myself. You stay away from them."

"Yes, sir," said Dawn, glancing meaningfully at Marigold, "I'll see what I
can do."

                               -=-

Marigold had to resist the urge to join Dawn in the shower, but the risk of
discovery was still too great and dinner was waiting. Instead, she took her
clothes down to the guest bathroom and took a quick shower. She touched
herself only lightly, preferring the longing ache she felt right now to a
quick fix.

Downstairs, over dinner, Holly asked, "Should I make up the guest room for
Donna?"

"Actually, Mom," Marigold corrected gently, "her name is Dawn. And, I
thought she could stay with me. That way we can stay up for a while, talking
or whatever, before we go to sleep."

Her mother nodded. Dawn kept her face carefully neutral. Marigold smiled and
dished herself more salad.

As Dawn and Marigold were sitting, chatting in the living room, the
television droning in the background ignored, Jonas stuck his head in,
"Dawn," he asked, "will you be joining us for church tomorrow?"

"Sure," Dawn said, "I haven't been to church in years."

"Great," said Jonas, "You two don't stay up too late, then. I'll see you in
the morning."

"Good night, Jonas," said Marigold.

They sat there talking for another half hour or so, the conversational
pauses becoming longer and more meaningful.

Finally, Marigold stood up, "We should get to bed, then." Dawn nodded and
followed her upstairs. Once the door was closed and locked and the stereo on
low, Marigold asked, "Do you want me to find something for you to sleep in
or..."

"That would be great," said Dawn a trifle too quickly.

Marigold went into the closet and emerged with a long, white t-shirt that
read, "Windows 2000 gold release."

"You have vendor t-shirts?" Dawn asked, holding it.

"Actually," said Marigold, "it's Thule's. It got mixed in with my luggage in
New York."

Dawn looked at it uncertainly. Marigold added, "I did wash it. I just
haven't given it back yet."

"I just don't know if I should wear Thule's shirt," said Dawn, her voice
vaguely reverent.

Marigold shrugged, "Suit yourself. I could find you..."

"No..." said Dawn, deciding quickly, "I'll wear it."

Marigold smiled and started to undress.

Later, after ablutions had been done, Marigold asked, "Do you have a side
you prefer?"

"I don't know," admitted Dawn, "I've never shared a bed before."

"Never?" asked Marigold, cocking an eyebrow.

Dawn shook her head, "Never."

"Well," said Marigold sitting on one edge of the bed, "I like this side. Why
don't you get in over there?" She slid under the sheets. Dawn got in
awkwardly, staying as far away from Marigold as she physically could without
falling out of the bed.

Marigold turned off the light. Lying on her side facing Dawn, she said,
"Dawn, you can move a lot closer. I don't take up a lot of bed."

Dawn scootched closer to Marigold, lying on her side and facing away.
Marigold curled up closer to her, moving in a little at a time until she was
spooning Dawn. Her hand lay gently across Dawn's stomach, her fingertips
gently teasing through the shirt.

For a few minutes, she just held Dawn there, listening to the other girl's
shallow breathing, feeling her body quiver with anticipation. Then, Dawn
said, "Marigold, you know I'm...you know I like girls, right?"

Marigold's hand slid down to the bare flesh just above Dawn's knee, "I've
heard you say so," said Marigold, her hand sliding up under the shirt,
tracing a line up Dawn's inner thigh, "but, I have yet to see you do
anything about it."

Dawn rolled towards Marigold. Marigold wrapped her free hand behind Dawn's
head, drew her in and kissed her, slowly and sweetly. Dawn's mouth opened
and her tongue darted out. Marigold's hand slid up to rest on Dawn's bottom,
fingertips stroking the silky material of her underpants. As the kiss went
on, she slid Dawn's panties down and free, her hand coming back up to the
already moist place between her younger friend's thighs. Dawn sighed in
pleasure as Marigold's fingertip entered her teasingly.

"Wait," said Dawn when the first kiss broke, "I thought you were the one who
told me less than a month ago that I was too pretty to be a lesbian."

A month, thought Marigold. It might as well be a million years ago. The
person she'd been then was barely recognizable now. But, that was too much
to explain. So, instead, she just said, "I was right." Sliding a finger
deeper inside of Dawn and kissing her briefly again, she added, "Much too
pretty."

Dawn gasped and trembled. Marigold continued to stroke her friend's clitoris
and plant small, gentle kisses on her mouth. Soon, Dawn's hips were rising
and falling, the pleasure building up her body. But, she was fighting it.

"It's all right," whispered Marigold, "no one will hear us if we keep it
reasonably quiet."

"It's not that," said Dawn, moaning, "It's...Thule."

Marigold chuckled, "Is that why you've been fighting this all day? Oh,
Donna. I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner. Thule and I have a lot of
living left to do. We love each other and want to be married one day, but
neither one of us is ready yet."

Dawn writhed so that she impaled herself more deeply on Marigold's finger.
Within a few seconds, her body was trembling, a harsh moan escaping her
lips. Marigold slid down the length of the bed, sliding Dawn's t-shirt up so
that she could lay her head at the apex of Dawn's thighs. Then, her tongue
darted out, teasing, licking, probing, working around and past her finger.
Dawn's moans were low and guttural.  Marigold tried to remember what Thule
had done to make her so crazy and, while she doubted she approached his
facility in the field, received no complaints from Dawn, who gripped her by
the hair, holding her in place.

"Oh, God," she whispered loudly, "Oh, Marigold. Oh, please don't stop." And,
for a long time, Marigold obliged, her hands sliding up to push away Dawn's
t-shirt until Dawn got the hint, stripping herself and then Marigold.

Marigold slid up to put her head back on the pillow, kissing Dawn.
Meanwhile, her finger continued to probe, now joined by a second one. As she
kissed Dawn, Dawn's hand snaked down, slid inside of Marigold's panties, and
between her legs. Marigold wiggled to give Dawn a better angle and soon,
Dawn was stroking her clit while Marigold returned the favor. Both of them
sussurated their pleasure, moaning occasionally, Dawn's entire body
trembling with pleasure, Marigold's gaining ground quickly. Then, Dawn slid
down, one hand and her lips stroking and teasing Marigold's breasts.
Marigold felt herself lose control and came, moaning into the pillow. Dawn
kept stroking and licking Marigold's nipples, using her tongue like a cat
would until Marigold felt her neat, even progression of orgasms starting to
fray, tumbling in on her now, one on top of another. As she lay there with
her eyes rolled back in her head, she thought abstractly of how absurdly
inefficient it was to pile so much pleasure on her all pell mell like that.
Surely, it must be spilling out of her body, soaking the sheets and carpet.
All she could reach of Dawn was her head. So, she held on for dear life,
swearing to herself that she would get even with Dawn when she could.

She got the opportunity. When Dawn slid back up into her arms, now coated in
a thin sheen of sweat, she slid two fingers back into Dawn, fucking her with
them like they were a cock. Dawn's hips rose and fell, her eyes closed
against the pleasure that washed over her. Then, Marigold slid one finger
out of her and teased Dawn's anus with it. Dawn's eyes flew open in startled
surprise. Whatever she saw in Marigold's eyes caused her to shudder and
moan, but she didn't speak, only pushed Marigold's face into her chest.
Marigold kissed and licked Dawn's nipples, knowing how good it must feel to
be on the receiving end. Their two bodies writhed together like caducean
snakes, seeking and giving pleasure.

Three times, Marigold lay back, thinking she was spent. And, three times,
Dawn convinced her otherwise, licking, teasing, and penetrating. The fourth
time, she caught Dawn before she could pounce again, "No more," she begged,
"please....I can't. I can't take any more. You have to stop."

"You started it," said Dawn, pouting, but she acquiesced, coming back up to
lie in Marigold's arms, her hand gently stroking Marigold's bottom.

"I've just wanted to fuck you for so long," said Dawn, "so very long."

"You have?" asked Marigold, surprised.

Dawn nodded, "Since we were cheerleaders together. You were the first girl I
ever realized I wanted. You were so pretty and so sad. I just wanted to hold
you and make love to you."

Marigold, who hadn't been a cheerleader since her sophomore year, just
nodded and kissed Dawn gently, "You were the first girl I wanted, too," she
said.

Dawn's eyes widened, "How long have you known?"

"About a week," said Marigold, smiling.

They fell asleep like that, Marigold taking one last glance to make sure
that the door to the hallway was locked so that none would intrude.

Marigold, Part 14
by Vulgar Argot
(FF, rom)

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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