Date: Thu, 9 Sep 2004 22:58:24 -0700 (PDT) From: Cassandra Whitehead Subject: Garden of Eve (2) Eve had been working at the computer company for 6 months now, and she loved her job. Not many people can say when they wake up in the morning that they're excited about going to work, but Eve was one of those few. Computers had been her life when she was in college, but when she moved back home her parents wanted her to go into nursing, and being the obedient child that she was, she did, and hated every minute of it. Not only did Eve love her job, but she loved the night life that she had been exposed to. The first weekend she was in Florida, Mike took her out to 3 different clubs. Each club was a gay/lesbian club and she had seen some of the most beautiful woman, but the most beautiful was still Jackie. She had to admit every time she was around her, her body did the most weird things. One night last week, the three of them had gotten together for dinner at Mike's house. They had all sat down to begin eating and Jackie had sat directly in front of Eve. Needless to say, most of her dinner kept reentering her plate, because for some odd reason she was having a hard time putting it in her mouth. Then the most unexpected thing happen. As she sat in that chair across from this beautiful woman, she felt herself getting wet. She had excused herself from the table, and went into the bathroom to try to clean herself as quickly as possible. No one had ever made her feel that way, and the worst part was that Jackie had no idea that she was causing Eve all of these emotional and physical problems. Eve shut down her computer and began to clean up her work area. She was picking up her purse, when her phone rung. "I shouldn't answer it. Who in the world would be calling me at 5:05. Be real." But for some odd reason she found herself answering it. "Compaq Inc., Eve speaking, how can I help you?" "Hi, Eve. It's Jackie." Jackie? Eve was very happy that she had decided to answer the phone. "Hi, Jackie. What's up?" "I was looking for Mike, do you happen to know where he is?" Eve quickly picked up on the way Jackie's voice was shaking. "He had to go out of town this morning on business. He should be back in about 3 days. Is there something I can help you with?" "I don't know. I just feel terrible. I left work early today. I was throwing up and I feel like I'm on fire. Mike usually knows how to make me feel better. That's why I was looking for him." "I'll be right over okay. Try to rest." "Thank you Eve." Eve hung up the phone, and with more speed then usual she rushed out the door. ** Jackie laid back down on the couch, holding her hands against her stomach. She couldn't remember ever feeling this bad before. Every part of her body ached. And the fire that had begun in her stomach was now traveling through her entire body. In what seemed to be record time, Jackie heard a knock at her door. She opened it to see a concerned Eve standing there. "Baby are you okay?" She asked as she walked into the apartment. She took Jackie by her hand and led her back to the couch. Eve laid her hand across Jackie's forehead and the back of her neck. "Sweetheart, you're burning up. I'm taking you to the hospital." "NO! No hospital." "Jackie, you need to go to the hospital. You're seriously sick." "No hospital Eve. Promise me." It wasn't her words that stopped Eve from calling an ambulance, but the pleading look in her eyes. "Okay, no hospital, but you have to do exactly what I say." "Okay." "First we need to cool your skin down, before you burn a hole in your clothes. This means a cold bath. You think you can handle that?" Before Jackie could give her an answer, she felt a new wave of vomiting hit her. Eve held Jackie's hair back, as she vomited in the waste basket that she had placed in front of the couch. Once the wave had passed she shook her head yes, and Eve went to prepare the bath water. Once the water was ready, she went back into the living room and helped Jackie walk into the bathroom. Her first intension was to leave and allow Jackie to get undressed, but that idea was quickly dismissed because Jackie couldn't even stand up to long by herself. So Eve began to help her removed her clothing. Once the clothes were gone, Jackie stepped into what had to be the coldest bath water she had ever been in. Once in the water, Eve removed a bath cloth from the closet and slowly began to bathe Jackie's skin with the cold water. Jackie laid her head back against the tub, enjoying the feel of the cold water on her burning flesh. Eve couldn't believe that she was actually doing this. Here she was with the object of her desire, naked, and sex was the last thing on her mind. She just wanted Jackie to feel better. After about 20 minutes of the cold bath, Eve helped Jackie out of the tub and into her bedroom. Once again Eve had to help Jackie by drying her and helping her put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Once Eve had Jackie in the bed under a mountain of covers, she went back out to her car to get the things she had purchased from the drug store. She returned to Jackie's bedroom with a cup of orange juice, Theraflu Nite Time, lemon drops, and pepto bismol. Once Jackie had everything in her system, she closed her eyes and tried to rest. Eve got up from the side of the bed and began to walk out of the room. "You're leaving?" "Yes, you need to get your rest." "Can you please stay?" "Oh, I'm not leaving the apartment, just the room." "That's what I mean. Can you stay in here with me?" How could she turn down a request like that? "Yes, I'll be right back." Eve placed all of the medicine in the kitchen and return to the bedroom. She borrowed some PJs out of Jackie's drawer and climbed into the bed beside her. Within moments, the Theraflu was working, and Jackie had fallen sleep. Eve just laid there staring at her, wishing that she was here under different circumstances. ** The next evening, Eve came back to Jackie's apartment to take care of her. She had placed the phone on the nightstand next to the bed, just in case Jackie needed her during the day. She had also drugged her up pretty well before she walked out the door that morning. When she entered the bedroom, she found Jackie still fast asleep. The night before had been a rough one. Jackie had awaked at least 3 times during the night, throwing up whatever was still remaining in her stomach, which wasn't much. Eve prepared some chicken noodle soup and walked back into the bedroom. Being as gentle as possible she woke Jackie up. "Hi." She said as Jackie finally opened her eyes. For a moment Jackie couldn't remember where she was. She felt completely drained, but when she saw Eve's face, she felt a type of peace wash over her. "Hi." She said in return. "We need to put something back into your system. Let's set up and see if you can digest any of this soup." Eve helped Jackie set up with pillows behind her back, and she began to feed Jackie soup. Neither said anything to the other, but words weren't needed. There was a peaceful silence forming between them. Once Jackie had consumed as much as possible, which really was much at all, Eve placed the bowl on the table and gave Jackie another round of medication. "So how is your body feeling today?" "I still ache." "Maybe I can help with that too." Eve went into the bathroom and got the bottle of cocoa butter lotion that she had seen last night. She return to the bedroom and sat on the bed beside Jackie. Placing a small amount of lotion into her hands, she took one of Jackie's arms into her hands and slowly began to massage it. "I have a question for you?" "Okay." "Why don't you like hospitals?" Jackie knew that, that question was coming. "Every since I was a child, I have had to fear of hospitals. I asked my mother about it once and she said it was because of the way my father had died in the hospital when I was about 4. For awhile I couldn't remember it, my mind had surpassed the whole thing, but we had went to see him at the hospital. He had been in a really bad car accident and they weren't sure if he was going to make it. My mom had this idea that if we saw him everyday and talked to him then maybe he would wake up." Eve switched from the right arm to the left. "So on this particular day, the doctor wanted to see my mom in the hallway to talk to her. When she left I found myself all alone with him. Everything got really quite, when suddenly all of the machines started going off. I ran up to my father, not sure what I was trying to do, but he reached out his hand and grabbed my arm. It was so painful. It was like I could feel him dying through his touch. I screamed and screamed. Finally my mother and the doctor ran in, and tried to pull my arm away from him, but his hold was too strong. He held onto my arm until he let out his last breath. I have never been to a hospital since then." Eve found that she couldn't say anything. She had even stopped massaging Jackie's arm. All she could do was look at her. "Don't stop. That's was beginning to feel really good." Eve slightly shook her head and began to massage Jackie's arm again. She traveled from limb to limb, taking her time massaging every muscle her hands passed over. Jackie closed her eyes and found herself lost in Eve's touch. It felt wonderful to have someone touch her, no it felt wonderful to have Eve touch it. No one had ever made her feel this relaxed and open around them. She had never told anyone that story, not even Mike, but it felt right to tell Eve. Eve was massaging Jackie's thigh, when Jackie realized something, she was starting to have feelings for a woman. She couldn't have feelings for a woman, she wasn't gay. She opened her eyes and watched as Eve continued the massage. It wasn't just a woman she had feelings for, it was Eve. This special, wonderful, beautiful person, who was so much fun to be around. Who could make her laugh at the drop of a hat, and who made her feel protected and loved with a simple touch. What was she going to do? The next day when Eve came back to Jackie's apartment, she found her up out of the bed cleaning the house. She had on a pair of gray sweat pants, and a black tank top. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail. She looked wonderful. "Well, looks like someone is feeling better." Eve said as she entered the apartment. "Yeah, actually I am." "That's great." Eve watched as Jackie continued to clean. She suddenly got the feeling that she was unwanted. "Am I in your way?" She asked as Jackie walked around her dusting furniture. "Actually yes you are. I'm feeling a lot better now, so you don't have to come over everyday." Eve couldn't believe her ears. Did she just say that she was in her way? Knowing when to take a hint, Eve said goodbye and walked out the door. Jackie stopped cleaning and just stood there. She was so tired. She knew what time Eve was coming, so she had gotten out of bed and tried to make it seem that she was doing okay. But in actuality she was feeling terrible. She threw the dust rug across the room, and laid down on the couch. She had been feeling weird every since Eve had given her that massage last night. She didn't want to put Eve in an uncomfortable position, so she figured if she didn't spend time with her, the feelings might begin to go away. Jackie closed her eyes and let sleep take over.