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  Max chuckled and helped herself to a tater tot. “Yeah, you’re probably right. We’ll have to cancel the credit cards if we want to see them again before Christmas.”

  “Credit cards?” Lorelei joked, “You gave your wives your credit cards? If you have to cancel them, that’s your own damn fault.”

  Cordy popped another tot into her mouth and frowned as she tilted her head sideways. “Well, yeah,” she said around the morsel, “How else do you expect them to pay for stuff?”

  Max gasped and placed a hand at her throat, clutching at Cordy’s arm with a look of alarm on her face. “Oh no, Cordy! You don’t think she gave that poor baby,” she paused long enough to gasp loudly and dramatically, “cash, do you?”

  Lorelei laughed and tossed a tater tot at the two women. “Of course not,” she said with a shake of her head, “Aspen has her own card account, so if she maxes it out, that’s her own problem.”

  “Bullshit,” Cordy chuckled, “You’ll pay it and make her work it off.”

  Lorelei shrugged but didn’t deny it. “She set her own budget, so it will be fun to see if she can stick to it. Besides,” she added, tapping her temple with her finger, “her card is prepaid, and she only put the amount on there that she wants to spend on this trip. So, there’s no chance that she will overspend.”

  Cordy and Max shared a look, before turning to stare at the younger woman. Lorelei was nearly twelve years younger than Cordy, and only a few years younger than Max, but one would never know that by the way she interacted with others.

  Unlike many women her age, Lorelei wasn’t the least bit interested in social media, current fashion trends, or who was the hottest new star in the public eye. She wasn’t concerned with what was trending or popular, and she was essentially clueless when it came to cultural icons.

  Lorelei’s upbringing hadn’t afforded her the luxury of focusing on such mundane topics. She’d gotten a babysitting job at the age of twelve, using what money she made to help cover their rent. During breaks from school, and when she wasn’t babysitting, Lorelei mowed yards and cleaned houses to make as much money as she could.

  Instead of hanging out at the mall with her friends or laying around in her room on her cell phone, Lorelei spent all her time around adults, learning the skills she would need to help her brother cover the bills their mother ignored. Because of her willingness to learn, and her readiness to help others, Lorelei’s neighbors were more than happy to help guide the young woman.

  Because of this, Lorelei’s life skills and priorities were much more developed than the majority of other people her age, at least locally. Instead of worrying about getting the hottest new cellphone, or wearing the newest designer shoes, Lorelei learned how to invest her money and spend frugally to help fund her future.

  That was how Lorelei managed to become a homeowner at the age of nineteen and be completely debt-free when she graduated college.

  “How the hell did you get so smart?” Max asked in amazement, “Dani and I have been married for years, and I never thought to give her a prepaid debit card. We’ve always just fought about the credit card bills.”

  “Three,” Cordy said, shaking her head in disbelief at Max, “You and Dani have been married for three years. But I agree with you. Jenica and I have been married a lot more than three years, and we just fight about the credit card bills, have great make-up sex, and call it good.”

  Lorelei offered her friends a devilish smirk and tossed a tater tot into her mouth. “Your wives are older and set in their ways,” she jabbed, “It’s too late for them. Aspen’s just starting out as an adult. ‘Get ‘em young, train ‘em right’, that’s what my old Chief used to say,” she paused to take a sip of her 7-and-7, then shrugged her shoulders.

  “Of course, he was talking about fresh meat at the department,” she added, smirking at the looks of hesitation on her friend’s faces, “but the sentiment works, just the same.”

  Max and Cordy snorted, quickly covering their mouths with napkins to avoid spraying the table with their drinks when the palm of Dani’s hand connected with the back of Lorelei’s head.

  “Who the hell are you calling old? I’m the same age as you!”

  Lorelei’s head whipped around fast enough to make her grip the seat back for balance. Dani, Jenica, and Aspen stood behind her, shopping bags dangling from their crossed arms and matching looks of disapproval on all three faces. Rubbing at the tingling soreness, Lorelei smiled winningly at the trio.

  “I didn’t call anyone old,” she replied nonchalantly, “I said older. You and Jenica are both quite a bit older than Aspen. Therefore, you have no reason to be offended by what I said. Besides,” she added, turning back around to face Cordy and Max, “eavesdropping is rude, so you deserve to be offended.”

  Lorelei braced herself and reached for her drink as she winked at her friends. Cordy shook her head in exasperation while Max flinched, just as Jenica and Dani both slapped the woman with a huff.

  Two arms threaded themselves around Lorelei’s neck, and soft lips pressed a gentle kiss to the now throbbing spot on the back of her head. “You’re an asshole,” Aspen teased, “and you deserved that.”

  “I know,” Lorelei grinned, turning to kiss her wife’s enticing lips, “I wanted to spice up my afternoon. Things with these two were getting a little stale,” she waved her hand toward Max and Cordy, both of whom flipped her off, “so I said to myself, ‘Self, you know what you haven’t done lately? You haven’t gotten the sass slapped outta you. You’re about due for that, and today’s the day!’ Thanks for helping me beat the boredom, ladies.”

  Jenica and Dani’s eyes rolled so fast they nearly got speeding tickets from the traffic cop at the end of the street. Lorelei pulled Aspen around her chair and into her lap, curling her arms around her waist.

  “Did you get everything you needed?” she asked, nuzzling her wife’s neck with her nose.

  “I did!” Aspen replied excitedly, setting an extensive collection of shopping bags down by their feet, “I even got a couple of things that weren’t on my shopping list. We found some amazing sales, so even after buying the extras, I still spent a lot less than I was expecting.”

  “That’s fantastic, baby!” Lorelei praised, rewarding Aspen with another kiss, “You’ve passed your first budgeting test. I’m proud of you.”

  Cordy and Max exchanged a confused look at the genuine pride in Lorelei’s tone, but warning looks from their wives stopped either of them from commenting on it.

  “So, what did you lovelies get for the baby?” Jenica asked, pulling a chair over from the empty table beside them to sit next to her wife.

  Cordy reached under the table and produced the gift for her wife’s approval. Jenica took her time inspecting the functional diaper bag that converted into a portable bed and reading the information printed on the back of the box, before leaning over to kiss Cordy.

  “It’s perfect,” she said, “And you put up such a fight about buying a gift. You’re a natural at it!”

  Cordy’s cheeks pinked and she shot a look at Max. The brunette simply smiled and winked as she began to pull out the multitude of onesies and swaddling blankets she’d found.

  “What did you buy?” Aspen asked, leaning her head back to rest on Lorelei’s shoulder.

  It was Lorelei’s turn to blush and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “I, um,” she glanced sheepishly around the table, hoping that the others were too busy talking about their own gifts to pay her any mind. “I got a little carried away,” she muttered when she saw that Dani and Jenica were looking at her.

  Blushing like mad, Lorelei produced her shopping bag. She pulled out a set of medical-themed rubber ducks, a white onesie with the words Coroner in Training across the front, a set of receiving blankets bearing the State of Oregon seal, and a photography prop set that made the others chuckle, but had Max saying “aww!”

  The prop set; a hand-crocheted one-piece outfit made to look like a standard white lab coat and blac
k trousers, came complete with a miniature keepsake replica of a Coroner’s badge that could be personalized with the baby’s name and birth stats.

  “Oh, sweetheart,” Aspen cooed, “That’s adorable! They’re going to love it! But, how did you manage to find stuff that specific at the mall?”

  “We asked the same question,” Max replied, her tone flat as she gave Lorelei an annoyed look.

  Lorelei smirked. “I didn’t. I bought these things a couple of weeks ago, shortly after we got the invitation. I customized them online, ordered them, and had them shipped to the store here at the mall. I got the email last night that they were ready to be picked up.”

  Aspen laughed and covered her face as four tater tots sailed across the table towards her wife. Laughing, the group gathered their purchases and headed across the street to the parkade. Although it wasn’t a very long commute back to Falls City, it was getting close to rush hour. Nobody wanted to be stuck in traffic for forty-five minutes, just to go the two blocks needed to reach the highway.

  ***

  “Did you know that Lorelei gave Aspen a prepaid debit card to go shopping with?” Cordy asked, once she and Jenica had safely merged onto the highway. The three couples had arrived in their own cars, to accommodate their after-shopping plans.

  “Yes,” Jenica replied absently as she busied herself on her phone. “Aspen had a set amount she wanted to spend on her school things, so Lorelei gave her a card with that much on it.”

  Cordy frowned and changed lanes to get around an irritatingly slow driver. “Why though?” she asked, “As much as I joke about her age, Aspen isn’t a child. Doesn’t Lorelei trust her not to go overboard?”

  Jenica sighed and put away her phone. She understood Cordy’s curiosity and confusion; she’d had the same questions when they’d arrived at the mall that morning.

  “I wondered about that, too,” she admitted, sliding a hand across the seat to rest on Cordy’s thigh, “I asked Aspen about it, and she explained why they did it that way. Do you know who Aspen’s parents are?” she asked.

  Cordy frowned at the non-sequitur. “No. I never met Aspen until they moved in next door.”

  “Do you know who Ambrose and Talia Aldrich are?”

  “Of course,” Cordy said, eyes lighting with recognition, “Ambrose Aldrich is that investment guru in Dallas. The guy’s magic when it comes to stock portfolios and investment funds. He’s the one who showed me where to invest our savings when we were trying to come up with the down payment for the house. Six months later, boom, Aldrich’s advice had given us enough money to buy the house outright.”

  Jenica nodded but kept her expression passive. “Talia Ambrose is a self-described philanthropist, who likes to throw money at causes she deems worthy. Namely, those centered around the church or anything that supports the hard-core republican ideology.”

  “Okay,” Cordy said, motioning for Jenica to get on with it, “what do they have to do with Aspen’s spending habits?”

  Jenica narrowed her eyes and withdrew her hand. Shaking her head, she crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at her wife. “Honestly, Cordelia,” she chastised, her New Zealand accent thickening, “have you not asked a single personal question about your new friend? You tease her relentlessly about her age, but what do you really know about her?”

  Cordy chewed on her bottom lip as she thought. “I know that she’s from Dallas and that she turned eighteen on January third. I also know that she and Lorelei started dating on January fifth, got engaged on April seventeenth, and were married on May first. I know that she and Lorelei moved out here because Lorelei got the Captain’s position at the Fire Department, and that she transferred to FCHS for her senior year.”

  Jenica rolled her eyes and scoffed at her wife. “Do you know what any of her interests are? Or why she joined the Fire Department on her eighteenth birthday? Or why she married a twenty-seven-year-old woman, less than six months later?”

  Cordy shrugged and signaled to take the exit toward Marilynn. “Nope. It didn’t feel right to ask her such questions,” she explained matter-of-factly, “I like Aspen, babe, but I’m over twice her age. My only real conversations with teenagers are when I’m interrogating them, or giving a presentation for a class. I don’t really know how to talk to her.”

  “Aroha,” Jenica said gently, “You just talk to her the way you talk to any other adult because that’s what she is; an adult. The only time you should even be thinking about her age, sweetheart, is when she brings it up. She may not be old enough to go to a bar, but she is legally an adult.”

  “There’s a reason I asked about the Aldrich’s,” she went on, returning her hand to Cordy’s thigh, “Aspen is their only daughter. She has a younger brother, Brett, who is the family’s golden child. Lorelei and Aspen have known each other since Aspen was five. You’ll have to ask Lorelei about that,” she added at the look of surprise on Cordy’s face, “but, they didn’t just meet and start dating.”

  “Aspen’s parents are incredibly homophobic, which is one of the reasons they’re so popular with Dallas’ elite. But; and this is a secret between the two of us, so you’d better not say a word to anyone else,” Jenica paused to glare at her wife until Cordy nodded her acknowledgment, “Ambrose fully supports Aspen’s relationship with Lorelei.”

  “Talia, on the other hand, completely cut Aspen off when she came out on her fourteenth birthday. She said some very hurtful things to her daughter and made it clear to Aspen that she sees her as less than nothing. Because they were so wealthy, Aspen never had any sort of experience with financial hardship. If she wanted something, it was bought for her.”

  “She also never learned any basic living skills, like cooking or cleaning, either. Ambrose asked Lorelei to teach his daughter the skills she needs, and he provides a small stipend so Lorelei’s income isn’t impacted. There are no obligations for her to meet in order to continue receiving it, but that’s why she gave Aspen the prepaid card. She’s teaching Aspen how to budget.”

  “Does Aspen know about the stipend?” Cordy asked as she took the last turn out of Marilynn toward Falls City.

  “Yes,” Jenica replied, “Aspen knows all the details. The stipend is to be used to supply Aspen with the things she needs for school. It’s not much; three hundred dollars each month, I think she said. But they’ve been saving it up since they got married, just so Aspen could get what she’d need for back-to-school.”

  “How is her dad going to know what they spend the money on?” Cordy wondered aloud, “do they have to provide him with receipts?”

  “And with the monthly statement from the prepaid account,” Jenica confirmed, “Lorelei doesn’t want to know the PIN number, but she is privy to the account balance. After graduation, so long as Lorelei is able to teach Aspen the skills her father has asked for, he will pay for them to have a full, late wedding ceremony and he will even give her away.”

  “Wow,” Cordy whistled, “what happens if they fail?”

  Jenica shrugged. “Aspen said that he wouldn’t pay for a wedding. She really wants to make her father proud, so she’s trying her hardest. Lorelei is doing what she can to help, and from what Aspen said, it’s working. She’s learning a lot.”

  “Damn,” Cordy said, rubbing at the space between her eyebrows, “That’s fucked up.”

  “That’s the price of slumming it with lesbians,” Jenica teased, leaning across the console to peck Cordy’s cheek, “You really should try to get to know Aspen a bit more. You’d be amazed at the things you can learn about someone when you make the effort, Lieutenant.”

  Cordy’s face flamed at the emphasis Jenica put on her title. She understood what her wife was trying to say; her lack of knowledge about their young friend meant she was doing a piss-poor job as an investigator, especially since Cordy had dug up just about everything she could on Lorelei when they first met.

  Cordy and Jenica had been friends with Lorelei for several years; ever since the young firefighter first boug
ht the house next door to them. Lorelei lived in the house for a year while she fixed it up and got it ready to rent out, during which time the three women became quite close. Once she moved out and renters moved in, Jenica and Cordy didn’t see Lorelei as often as they would have liked.

  Now that the woman had returned, this time with a bride and the intention of staying, Cordy and Jenica were happy to nurture the friendship.

  “Okay, okay,” Cordy said as she pulled the car into the driveway, “I get the hint. I’ll sit down with Aspen and get to know her. You really are pushy, you know that?”

  Jenica flashed Cordy a winning smile. “I know,” she said, “It’s one of the many, many things you love about me.”

  Chapter 3

  “Aspen,” Lorelei whimpered as she tried to still her wife’s hips, “Baby, please. I can’t go anymore.”

  “We both know that’s not true,” Aspen panted. Her hips continued to rock and her hands slid up to tease Lorelei’s breasts. She tipped her head back and let out a long, lusty moan.

  Lorelei bit down on her bottom lip as her brain struggled to control her body. Push her off! We need to go to sleep! Instead of obeying, Lorelei’s hands gripped Aspen’s hips, guiding the wet heat where she wanted it.

  Stop looking at her! But Lorelei’s eyes glued themselves to the prominence of Aspen’s firm breasts, bouncing alluringly in the pale moonlight as she drove them both toward another orgasm.

  We have to be at work in four hours! Fatigue tried to weigh Lorelei’s eyelids down, but the feeling of Aspen’s knees clenching against her sides had her eyes popping wide open in anticipation.

  She knew what it meant when Aspen did that; she was close to release. Good! Wear her out, quick, so she’ll be too tired to go again!

  With a burst of energy she hadn’t realized she possessed, Lorelei sat upright and shifted forward, pinning Aspen to the bed beneath her. Aspen grunted in surprise, but the sound quickly turned into a gasping moan when Lorelei took over, setting a hard, fast pace.