224Disclaimer: Welcome to another original story by this lunatic. The story and the characters are mine. Do not use them without my permission. Also, any and all characters, events, and situations found in these stories are fictional. If there are any similarities between these things and real people, events, and situations, it is purely a coincidence.
I'm sure you know there will be a sexual relationship between two women, but if you don't know this is me warning you. There will be a sexual relationship between two women in this story.
Come say hi to me on FB: facebook pages / SL-Kassidy /482097488469386 (take out the spaces or use the link on my profile.)
Many thanks to my beta – Rleef.
This story is the sequel to Life Lessons and picks up right where that one left off (not counting the epilogue). You should probably read Life Lessons first for this to make sense. This story is going to be told in rather short chapters, just like the first one.
Life Lessons: Graduate Courses
1: Return Trip
The pantheon waited on pins and needles, sitting anxiously in the living room and watching the door. The youngest amongst them decided to go to the very front for the best view. Diana managed to prop herself upon one of the bikes in the den in order to gaze out of the open front window. Art watched her namesake carefully while making sure not to laugh at her sisters. After all, she really wanted to do the same thing. She was just as eager as they were, maybe even more so.
"Is she coming? Is she coming?" Juno repeated every couple of minutes.
"I don't see her!" Diana always reported back.
The sisters were all waiting for Quinn to return. She had left several hours earlier to attend her summer session class. Artie feared her lover had been late because the girls had held her up as she was trying to leave. They feared Quinn was leaving for the summer, not just the afternoon. The level of bargaining they had done could only be seen as one of the signs of grief and Quinn had to make all sorts of promises to get out of the door at the time. Now, they needed to see the proof that Quinn was coming back. Underneath it all, Artie needed the same proof.
Honestly, part of Artie was scared that Quinn might have fled the scene after their emotional night. After all, Quinn did not have a lot of luck in love and she might have allowed doubt to gnaw at her mind on her way to school or even on the way back. She might have decided to stay at school. She was all too aware that Quinn had made arrangements to stay somewhere else during the summer, never wanting to go back to her parents' house if it could be helped. The thought that Quinn might actually be at someone else's house made Artie's heart beat heavy and threatened to close her throat.
"I think that's her car!" Hestia, better known as Tia and the middle child in a way, shouted while pointing out of the window. Her blonde hair was flowing wildly, so Artie made a mental note to brush it or at least get one of the twins to brush it.
"You don't have your glasses on!" Venus pointed out.
"So, how can you tell?" Aphrodite chimed in, backing her twin. They were practically climbing over each other trying to look out a window now.
"I can see without 'em!" Tia snapped, sticking her tongue out at the twins. The pair made faces at her in return.
"Hey, hey, hey," Artie said, putting an end to those antics.
"She came back! Art, Quinn came back!" Diana grinned, saying what they were all thinking. She pressed her face against the window glass. Juno ran over to the window to join her, putting her face against the window as well.
Artie was able to breathe a sigh of relief. "Okay, let's all get away from the door. You know Quinn's not used to us yet, so she'll probably think it's weird that you're all gathered and waiting for her."
Her sisters all nodded in agreement and scrambled to make it seem like they were being normal while Quinn parked her car. The twins leaped onto the sofa while Tia slid onto the floor in front of the television. The smallest, Diana and Juno, just went to Artie, who went to answer the door. Quinn did not even have to knock as the door swung open.
"Welcome back." Artie smiled. Her heartbeat had to rival the flutter of a hummingbird's wings. That can't be good, but as long as I don't pass out, I don't care.
"Yeah, welcome back," Juno declared while Diana just put her arms up, signaling Quinn should pick her up.
Quinn smiled and gave into the hint, picking up the toddler and hugging her tightly. "Thanks for such a warm welcome."
"I missed'ed you," Diana said, as guileless as ever as she returned the hug. Artie hoped that her namesake never lost the quality of saying whatever was on her mind.
"I missed all of you, too," Quinn informed them. This was enough to send all of the sisters, except for Artie, in for the kill. The pantheon wasted no time going in for hugs of their own and expressing their happiness that Quinn returned. They all spoke at the same time. Quinn just smiled, probably having no clue what they were talking about.
Artie was pleased that Quinn just accepted all of the affection, even though she knew it was foreign to Quinn. With luck, she and her sisters would be able to change that by the end of the summer. I definitely want to have a hand in it… Wow, that sounded dirty even in my head. It was a good thing she had not said that aloud.
The evening went as normal for them with the usual flurry of activity and Artie was pleased that her mother, Anna, wasn't rude to Quinn that night. Of course, Anna barely looked in Quinn's direction, but for Artie, that was better than her mother looking at Quinn as if she were lower than something Anna might find on the bottom of her shoe.
Later that night, Quinn cuddled close to Artie as they settled in bed and Artie let out a breath she hadn't been realizing that she had been holding. Quinn sat up, propping herself up on her elbow and she gazed down at her. Artie wasn't sure what to make of the look, but reached up and caressed Quinn's soft, creamy cheek. A smile settled on her face as she took in the lovely image of Quinn's face being framed by her dark brown hair. She couldn't believe Quinn came back.
"Are you all right?" Quinn asked in a tender, low tone. Even though shadows covered the room, Artie was able to see the concern in her umber eyes.
Artie licked her lips. "I think I am."
Quinn offered her a small smile and leaned down, shyly kissing her lips. It was just a sweet little peck, but it helped release so much tension in Artie's body. As Quinn pulled away, she smiled back at the enchanting, almost glowing woman above her.
"Okay, I think I needed that," Artie admitted with a light laugh.
"You thought I'd fall out of love with you within a single afternoon?" Quinn teased.
Shaking her head, Artie laughed a little more. "I don't know what I thought. These feelings… it's all so new and scary."
Quinn nodded and moved a hand to caress Artie's bicep. "I was nervous for the whole afternoon and the drive back. I didn't know whether you'd come to your senses while I was gone or something. I kept thinking that somehow time away would make you realize how silly it was for you to love someone like me."
Artie frowned, knowing these words came from the fact that Quinn hadn't had a successful relationship since her high school sweetheart. It didn't help that he turned out to be an ass. He dumped her when they got into college with a bullshit excuse of them needing to explore things or they'd regret it later on in life. Now, she felt like an idiot for actually being scared that Quinn would figure out between here and her ride to school that she didn't actually love Artie and just thought she did.
"Princess, you are my senses and I'd definitely like to come to you," Artie remarked, earning a laugh from Quinn.
"You're horrible. So horrible," Quinn replied.
"So horrible that it got a smile out of you, which I want to always do. I think today proves we need to actually talk about this whole love thing. Apparently, we can't just go on business as usual, which is what I had been hoping for since it means I could have your nipple in my mouth right now."
Quinn gasped and playfully swatted Artie. "Pig."
Artie gave her a lopsided grin. "Says the girl giving me spankings."
"You'll get plenty more if you keep this up," Quinn threatened, shaking her finger in Artie's face.
"Hey, I might grow to like it, then. But, seriously, Quinn, I think we need to talk about this. This is my first real relationship and I don't want to screw it up. I also don't want to go half-mad from anxiety and drag my sisters with me. I know you know we were all being crazy and waiting at the windows for you."
There was a nod and a smile. "I thought it was cute and it made me feel wanted. Of course, it would be crazy if you did it everyday. What do we have to talk about, though? Where do we start? I mean, I know it's nuts for me to think that in the course of four to five hours you'll figure out I'm not worth the time and effort. That doesn't stop me from thinking it, though."
A long sigh escaped Artie as she nodded. She grabbed Quinn by the waist and had little problem moving the smaller woman over her. Quinn straddled her stomach and Artie let her hands rest of Quinn's hips. They stared at each other.
"Quinn, I want you to know that my feelings have only changed for the better for you over the course of time that I've known you. You've gone from a woman that initially intrigued me to my friend to my lover, now in every sense of the word. Added to that, I haven't lost those other things. You still intrigue me and you're still my friend. I want things to continue on similar to this, but with our emotions known and in the open. I want to continue sharing my family and life with you. I want to grow with you and I want to know that you want those things, too."
Quinn smiled a bit. "Wow. Yeah, I want those things, Artie. Being with you is making me a better person and you bring out sides of me that I didn't even know were there, all for the better. I want to make you feel the way you feel. I want you to know how special you are to me. I want you to know that you're number one in my world."
Artie grinned and caressed Quinn's sides, reveling in the feel of her girlfriend. "I think that's good enough for now. I'm sure we'll have to do a lot more talking for this to work, but that should be good for now."
Quinn smiled more now. "You are number one in my world."
"Thanks for saying so, Princess. Now, we have roughly forty minutes before the person who'd probably kill me if she knew I was number one wanders down here to sleep in between us. Whatever shall we do with our time?"
Quinn chuckled again and Artie sat up to plant a passionate kiss onto Quinn's beckoning mouth. They had a little more than a half-hour to enjoy each other before Diana came into the basement bedroom and forced her little body in between theirs to make sure they kept the nightmares away. They didn't mind, but it made them frantic now.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: Quinn helps Artie deal with the pantheon.