The next day Ryan came down stairs and met Michael in the kitchen. They had slept late and then shared a long shower, but now they needed to go to see Mama Higgins for afternoon tea and lectures, most likely. Ryan open the fridge to steal a swig of juice and asked, “You ready?”

He didn’t answer and when she turned to face him, he was just staring at her.

She made a sassy face at him. “What?”

“You’re in a dress.”

She was, a simple pale purple cotton dress, short sleeves, high collar, buttons all the way down the front, springy, comfy. “Yeah…and?”

Ryan was not necessarily the girliest of girls in most things, including her personality, but she did enjoy dresses at times, mostly because it meant she didn’t have to wear pants and only had to put on one piece of clothing. Simple, easy, low maintenance.

Michael was just mesmerized by this and it was fairly amusing to Ryan. He couldn’t stop staring at her long legs and all those buttons he wanted to undo one by one, kissing each strip of skin as it was revealed.

He stepped up to her as she shut the fridge and he pressed her against the now closed door. His hands reached down, fingertips stroking the fronts of her thighs until he hit the hem of her dress. He adjusted his hands, putting his palms flat against the sides of her thighs and then went higher, hicking the dress up at he went.

Her protest was marred by a smile. “Raff, we have to go. And we literally just did this twenty minutes ago.”

“Yeah…but you’re in a dress.”

“So you keep saying. I -”

She cut off when he kissed her, his hands now gripping her hips and then sliding back towards her ass that was exposed in a thong. When he felt her bare flesh there, he groaned. “In a dress and a thong.”

She smiled against his mouth. “Of course, I like to feel the free air on my ass.”

“Jesus, Ry.” He moved to kiss her again, but she pushed him back, a hand on each of his shoulders.

“Later. Let your dick get nice and hard as we sit there enjoying tea with Contessa’s mother and I’ll fuck you good and long when get home.”

He put a hand over his heart like she had stabbed him and whined, “Ugh, that’s so mean.”

“I’ve told you, I’m not nice, Raff. Come on.”

Ryan let him drive them to Contessa’s mother’s home across town. She lived in a red brick town house in Society Hill that was meticulously maintained. It was one of those houses where all the furniture is white or cream colored, tables are made of metal and glass, art is purchased from galleries and hung by professionals, and everything is neat and tidy, kept just so.

Contessa had grown up in this house and Ryan had spent plenty of time in it as well, so in spite of the elegance, it just felt like home to both girls. Michael, however, felt like he should have put on a nice shirt instead of the old t-shirt he had doned and he was standing at attention the moment they were let in.

Mama Higgins embraced Ryan immediately, hugging her for a long time. When she released her she said, “Ryan, my darling, you look so pretty today. I love this dress.”

“Thanks, mama.” She turned towards Michael. “I brought a friend, I hope that’s alright.”

“You have friends besides my daughter? Wonders never cease.”

“Fuck you, you old bitty.” Mama Higgins smacked her arm, but Ryan continued the introduction, asking sarcastically, “This is Michael Raffl, you know him, right?”

Mama Higgins scoffed, “Little imp, don’t forget who took you to your first Flyers game. How are you, Michael?”

He took her hand and answered, “Very well. You have a beautiful home.”

“Ah, thank you. I’ve lived here for many years. Lovely neighbourhood, though the neighbors themselves leave a lot to be desired. Thank you for coming. Do you like tea?”

“Yes, very much.”

“Good, good. Have a seat, Ryan knows the way, I’ll be along shortly.”

Ryan led them into the living room that featured two sofas facing each other (both white) and a ornate coffee table with serpentine sides and inset beveled glass top. Michael sat next to Ryan and she smiled at him, crossing her legs and making her dress ride up almost to her hip.

He groaned and she let out a giggle. “Are you gonna make it through this, Raff?”

“Depends. Is there a spare bedroom in this house?”

“Several.”

His hand came to her knee and stroked her soft skin there. He leaned over, about to whisper some sort of filth or another when Contessa’s mother came back in the room. “Here we are.” Michael snapped back into his own seat and straightened his back. Ryan lounged and grinned at his antics.

She set down a tray on the table that held an old fashioned tea set, complete with sugar bowl and mini milk jug. The pattern was of yellow roses and it was the most bizarre thing Michael had ever seen in Philadelphia to date.

Mama Higgins read the look on his face and asked, “Are you quite alright?”

“Yes, sorry. It’s just so…European. I’ve never been served tea like this in America.”

She smiled and Ryan stifled a laugh before answering, “Mama spent time in London and Paris when she was younger. She fancies herself a step above the rank and file Americans she must now live among. Hence the fancy tea service.”

“And Ryan is a loud mouthed brute at best, Michael, please ignore her. I simply enjoy the routine of tea. It’s soothing in a way, the process, the ritual. I do not put myself above anyone.”

“I would never think that, Ms. Higgins.”

“Oh, Lord, you can call me Mackenzie. Ryan, please stop being your usual annoying self and serve the goddamn tea before it gets cold.”

“Yes, mama.” With skill that comes from years of practice, Ryan poured the tea with grace, fixing hers and Mama Higgins’ as they liked and then asking Michael, “Sugar, milk?”

“One sugar.”

He took the cup from her and sat in awe. This was new, this Ryan who was so dutiful and poised. And he knew now that she had worn the dress simply to please Contessa’s mother because the smile she wore after she was complimented lit up the room.

Ryan here was relaxed, at ease, and entirely soft, but still herself, of course. She took a sip and then said to Mackenzie, “Now, you want to tell me why you were Facebook stalking your ex-husband like a fucking psychopath?”

Mackenzie took a sip as well and calmly set her cup into the saucer as she held it. “I’m not having this discussion. And Contessa was wrong to tell you that.”

“Mama, please, you know there are no secrets with us.”

Michael, the sweetheart, said, “I was sorry to hear about your ex-husband’s new friend. That must be hard on you.”

Mackenzie cleared her throat and looked pointedly at Ryan when she said, “Thank you for understanding, Michael. It is difficult.”

Ryan rolled her eyes and nearly shouted, “Oh, pu-lease, they’ve been divorced for years, don’t act like you split up last year and this is the first woman he’s been with you since you. Even if it were, you still can’t justify the ridiculous lengths you went to in order to find this information out just to make yourself miserable.”

“I will have you know, Ryan, that I am grown woman and therefore free to look up whomever I chose, in whatever manner I see fit. And I’m not in misery. I…simply felt a little upset is all. I was in love with the man for years, we have a child together, so naturally we have bonds to one another.”

Ryan mumbled into her tea cup, “Still in love with him, actually.”

Michael heard her clearly, but Mackenzie asked, “What are you muttering over there, you cunt?” Michael now spit up his tea and it nearly went flying across the room. Mackenzie looked at him, concerned. “Oh, dear, I’m sorry. You must know by now that Ryan brings out the worst in people. She has an irritating effect on me. Please excuse my language.”

Ryan answered before he could. “Like he’s never heard the word cunt before. I’m sure he knows and uses it in several languages, in fact. He’s not a prude, mama.”

“Yes, but we are having tea. We should all be more civilized”

“Right, I forgot, the rules of tea. No calling Ryan a cunt, no talking about fucking, and what were the others?”

“Damned if you aren’t the most trying woman on the planet. Honestly, Michael, how do you tolerate her?”

He smiled at Mackenzie and she returned it. Their banter was harsh, but almost rehearsed like they had teased each other like this so much it was just a part of their lives and they did it without thinking. He felt almost blessed to be thrust in the middle of it. He looked to Ryan whose smile was radiant and pure.

“Well, when she’s not talking, she’s quite lovely to be around.”

Ryan started laughing and Mackenzie chuckled before taking another sip of tea. “My dearest Michael, you fit right in with this mess of family we have.” She waved a hand at nothing and said, “Enough about my ex, tell me what you’ve been up to this summer, both of you.”

Ryan and Michael both thought about what they’d been doing, mostly having copious amounts of sex and laying around her house being lazy. He accidently looked at her and saw the thoughts written on her face and she saw it on his. They both started giggling and there was no stopping it once they started.

Mackenzie sighed, “Of course, young lovers. How obnoxious. Naturally when Contessa took a job with the Flyers you decided to use the team as your own personal harem. What a little slut you are, Ryan.”

Ryan shrugged and indicated Michael with her hand. “Can you blame me? Look at him.”

Michael blushed and Mackenzie rolled her eyes. “Crass and inappropriate, as always. Well, I’ll tell you what I’ve been doing, since it is g-rated and tea appropriate.”

Mackenzie launched into a recitation of her summer thus far. She was busy, with work of course, but also charitable foundations she was involved with, either volunteering or sitting on the board. She had her book club on Tuesday nights, a standing Sunday brunch date with a group of women from the office, and she would start golfing again soon now that the weather was more consistently nice.

“As you see, I am keeping quite busy and am in no way pining over my ex-husband or missing my daughter, who, by the way, I know sent you over here for a visit because she thinks I’m lonely.”

Ryan ignored the statement of the facts about Contessa’s motives and said, “All that and you still found time to stalk your ex, amazing.”

Mackenzie licked her teeth, a nervous tick, and then held out her tea cup to Ryan who stood to freshen all their cups. “So, Michael, do your parents live nearby?”

“No, they’re both in Austria. My brother Thomas is in the states normally, he plays in the AHL, but now he’s back home with them as well.”

“You talk to your mother often?”

“Once a week about.”

Mackenzie gave him a harsh look. “You should call your mother more often than that.”

Michael laughed, but quickly stopped when he realized she wasn’t teasing. “Yes, ma’am. I should, I will.”

“See that you do. And Ryan, why haven’t you cleaned out your gutters yet? I drove past the other day and was appalled at the state of your yard. Hideous fairy statues aside there were old rotted leaves everywhere.”

“Ugh, mama, please.”

“You want to own a home, you must take care of it.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I’m serious, you brat. If you don’t clean your gutters -”

“Mama, Michael cooked for me last night. You know any good recipes he could try?”

“Do I!” Predictably, Mama Higgins was off and running, her lectures about gutters and yard work and calling parents abandoned in favor of a discussion of all things food. She asked what Michael had made, what he liked to cook, how he learned, and on and on. He answered with enthusiasm and Ryan sat back to enjoy watching them together.

Eventually, Mackenzie practically leapt up. “Come into the kitchen, darling. You can sort through my cookbooks and take whatever you like. If it means Ryan is eating less microwaved trash, I am more than happy to help.”

Michael smiled at Ryan and she waved him towards the kitchen. “Go, go, you girls do your thing.”

With Mackenzie and Michael in the kitchen, Ryan finished her tea and then went over to the mantle above the fireplace. So little in the house had changed over the years, but Mama Higgins always had new photographs put up fairly regularly. There were two new ones, one of Sidney and Contessa sharing the same sofa Ryan and Michael had been on. In it they were holding hands and smiling over their tea cups. It must have been taken just before they left for the great north.

The other was of Mama Higgins, Contessa, and Ryan was from last October when the Flyers season first began. The two younger women were in the their jerseys while the matriarch was in a bright orange t-shirt with the team’s logo on the front. All their smiles were bright and excited. Ryan was in between them and the Higgins ladies both had their arms draped over her shoulders, wrapping her up a cocoon of love. The sight of it flooded her with memory and warmed her otherwise cold heart.

She didn’t noticed Michael in the room until he pressed his body against hers from behind and wrapped an arm around her waist.

“Anything good?” she asked.

“A few she’s going to let me borrow.” He pointed to the picture Ryan had been looking at. “Three little cuties.”

“Yeah, that’s a good one. Mama!”

“Must you bellow so, little banshee? What?”

Ryan turned and Michael released her. “Can you send me this?”

Mackenzie took the framed picture from Ryan’s hands and grinned. “Of course. I love this one. You want the one of Sid and Contessa as well?”

“Fuck no.”

“Ryan MacShaw, are you still giving that poor man a hard time?”

“Poor man? Poor man?! He -”

Mackenzie cut in, “Loves Contessa more than anyone on the planet ever could, including you. So do us all a favor and shut your mouth about it.”

Michael snickered and Ryan punched his arm, which only made him laugh more. “Whatever. Send me the picture.”

Ryan came forward and kissed Mackenzie’s cheek, but Mama Higgins pulled her in for a giant hug as well. “I will. And please be nice to Sidney, he taking wonderful care of my daughter and I love him for it.”

Ryan sighed and mumbled, “If one more person tells me to be nice I swear to fucking God…”

When she tried to pull away, Mackenzie pulled her closer, whispering, “And be nice to Michael, too. I like him. You should keep him around.”

“Jesus, like mother like daughter. You Higgins girls are gonna kill me.” Mackenzie released her and smiled sweetly. Ryan finished, “I’ll talk to you soon. Thank you for tea.”

“Anytime. And Michael…” Mama Higgins pulled him in a large hug as well. “You have my books, so you must come back again, yeah? Bring the brat with you if you must, or come alone, either is fine. You are always welcome.”

“Thank you so much. And thank you for these,” he held up the books. “I’ll bring them back and we can have tea again.”

“Wonderful.” As she walked them to the door she asked, “Plans for today?”

Again, the two of them were filled with thoughts of what their plans were, none of them g-rated. Mama Higgins realized her mistake in asking and said before they could answer, “Nevermind, I can only imagine. Enjoy. Michael, call your mother. Ryan, clean up your goddamn yard.”

At the same time, Ryan said, “Yes, mama,” as Michael said, “Yes, ma’am.”

In the car on the way home, Michael was glowing. Ryan was smiling when she asked, “Have a good time?”

“I did. I adore Contessa’s mother. And I like how she handles you, matches you insult for insult.”

Ryan’s grin wider. “Yeah…she’s the best.”

Michael reached over and took her hand. “I’m glad you have her, Ryan. Her and Contessa.”

Ryan patted his hand and pulled hers away. “Yeah, yeah, we had a nice day, don’t get sappy on me now.”

He put his hand on her thigh instead. “Alright, enough of that, then. How about I can’t wait to rip this fucking dress off and ravage you.”

Ryan scooted closer and ran her own hand up his thigh. “Mmm, now you’re talking. But you don’t need to rip it. I’ll happily take it off.”

He wasn’t going to ruin that dress, wouldn’t dream of it because he wanted to see her in it again. He was going to remove it slowly as her punishment for making him suffer through tea with a raging erection. He started the teasing in the car, his fingertips tracing circles on her bare thigh until was Ryan was shifting in her seat and then openly grabbing his cock over his jeans.

She scooted closer and pressed a few kisses to his neck. “Mike, is this as fast as you can go?”

His hand on her thigh went higher as he tried not to crash while she stroked him. “You’re not anxious to feel me, are you? Not looking forward to me fucking you for hours until you’re exhausted and can hardly stand?”

Ryan moaned and when he met her eyes her pupils were wide with lust and he just smiled sweetly. They made it home without dying in a crash and Ryan pulled him upstairs to her bedroom. Once there, Michael refused to be rushed.

He shoved her on the bed, slapping her hands away when she tried to take off her dress. “Don’t even think about it. I’ve been dreaming about taking this thing off all afternoon and you will not deny me the satisfaction of that now.”

Ryan smiled and leaned back against the pillows, her hands tucked under her head which hiked the dress up, exposing more of those endless legs of hers. “Alright, only because you’re so sexy when you’re bossy.”

Michael stripped down to his boxers and only then planked over her. He started with a slow kiss to her mouth, his coaxing tongue and plush lips winding up Ryan even more. She kissed him back with the same passion and touched all of his soft skin that she could reach.

Eventually, he moved to her neck, exploring it just as slowly and methodically has he had her mouth. Ryan shifted underneath him, clearly needy and starting to get impatient. He used his hips to hold down her center, but he let her hands remain free so they could continue wandering over his body.

He undid the first button of her dress, exposing her collarbones. He put his mouth to the skin, licking across the top of her chest. He undid another one and pressed a chaste kiss to the smooth skin that was exposed. Then he undid another, now seeing the lovely curves of uncovered breasts.

He muttered against her as he groaned, “Do you even own a bra?”

Her answer was strained as she arched her back to press herself closer to his mouth. “One…somewhere…never wear it.”

“Perfect.” He undid another button and pulled the dress apart to free her breasts. “So perfect.”

“Mike, are you gonna fuck me, please?”

“I’m getting there.”

His body was heavy on hers, making it impossible to move. She tried to create friction in anyway she could, thrusting her still covered hips against his and moaning to try and spark him into action. It didn’t work, he just kept up his calm exploration.

Another button was popped and he dragged his tongue along that new skin between her breasts. His teeth latched onto a nipple, and then the other, and then back to the other again. Her hands came to the back of his head, fingers lost in his wild waves that she mussed even more.

He released her nipple and rose to undo another button, planted a few kisses on her and then undid another. He went on like this, more buttons, more kisses until the dress was all the way open and spread out around her.

She sat up and he pulled the dress from underneath her and tossed it off the bed. He then kissed up her thighs, kissed her mound over her panties as she spread her legs desperately. He kissed around her navel and then back down again. Finally, he peeled off her soaked panties and kissed her outer lips as he poked just the tip of his tongue into her folds.

Ryan whimpered and thrust her pussy against his face. His strong hands came down on her hips to force her to be still against the mattress. Michael continued his teasing torture, until Ryan pulled out a dirty trick.

She moaned and then cried out to God in heaven, but in German. “Aye, gott im himmel…Mike.”

The sound that was pulled from his throat when hearing this was rough and unstoppable. He licked at her almost angrily and she came against his tongue right away. Before she was even done, he pulled away, shed his boxers, and pressed his cock into her still quivering pussy.

Ryan smiled and sighed at the sensation. When he found his rhythm he told her, “You are a little devil, Ry. I was going to do that for hours without letting you come.”

With a smirk, she asked with faux ignorance, “What stopped you?”

Michael chuckled and kissed her. Mumbling, “Devil…devilish woman.”

Ryan wanted to give him a sassy answer, but he had her so turned on with his undressing that she was already about to come again. Michael felt it and sped up. Ryan gasped and squeezed her eyes shut, letting the feeling of her orgasm wash over her as her body trembled and shook. When the last wave passed, she let out a long groan.

Michael had been kissing her neck as he fucked her through it and now said, “Twice in less than a minute. I think I just set a new record.”

Now she sassed him. “Come on, baby, I know you can do better than that. Keep fucking me and I’ll keep coming.”

Michael accepted the challenge and that’s exactly what he did, pulling three more orgasms from her before he came himself. When he was finally done, he was the one who was exhausted and Ryan was still panting even after he caught his breath.

“Now that, Raff, was a fucking record.”

He grunted his agreement and managed. “That’s what happens when wear dresses.”

Ryan laughed and turned to nestle against his side. “Duly noted.”

Notes