Cupid’s Garden Café—an upscale backyard turned gathering space—had been reserved by Maddie for one evening only. White lanterns floated overhead, fairy lights twined through citrus trees, and pillows, rugs, and plush ottomans invited relaxed sophistication.
Salads and sparkling water sat on the small bar. A bowl of rose petals lay at one end of the long wooden communal table. Necklaces, bracelets, comfy kimonos, and aromatic oils were spread out, waiting to be discovered.
Invited:
- Vanessa and Celeste (from the original household).
- Liana and Dani (Maddie’s chosen lovers).
- Ori, the café owner—petite and quiet, with dark lipstick and tattoos that peeked from her sleeves.
- Selma, a statuesque lawyer with curves and a practiced smile.
- Jules, a soft-spoken artist who dressed in loose linen and had pink-dyed bangs framing her face.
- Tasha, city councilwoman, athletic and tall, wearing a white jumpsuit.
The women arrived in waves:
- Ori greeted Maddie with a soft grin and poured her sparkling water.
- Vanessa and Celeste entered together—Vanessa trailing a cool composure, Celeste’s gaze flickering between everyone.
- Liana and Dani held hands, movement synchronized.
- Selma, polished and confident, dropped into a seat near the rose petals.
- Jules lingered by the lanterns, surreptitiously taking in everyone.
- Tasha took a long drink of water, eyes flashing.
Maddie, dressed in a navy blue slip dress with scalloped lace hem, took it all in. She walked past each woman, offering a single word:
- To Ori: “Beautiful.”
- Vanessa: “Welcome.”
- Celeste: “Here.”
- Liana & Dani: “Thank you.”
- Selma: “Power.”
- Jules: “Art.”
- Tasha: “Strength.”
She paused by Jules, traced a fingertip over her pink strand, and whispered, “Curious?”
Jules nodded, breath catching.
Maddie invited everyone to sit in a circle on low pillows. Rose petals were offered—each woman dropped a petal at her feet, symbolizing acceptance.
Maddie opened with a soft question:
“Tell us… what draws you here tonight?”
One by one, they spoke:
- Ori: “A calm I haven’t felt in months.”
- Vanessa: “A challenge well met.”
- Celeste: “To see if she’s still unbreakable.”
- Liana: “To honor beauty in all forms.”
- Dani: “To learn what passion looks like.”
- Selma: “To feel desired in ways I’ve forgotten.”
- Jules: “To paint what I feel.”
- Tasha: “To unbind from expectations.”
Maddie listened, smiling, and nodded. “We are all here to see. And to be seen.”
Near the pillows, a velvet drape divided a cozy lounge. Maddie invited groups of two to enter, explore:
- Selma & Jules:
- Jules brushed a ribbon around Selma’s wrists, asking permission before tying it loosely.
- Selma closed her eyes, leaning into the silk, hands free to explore Jules’s curves.
- Maddie observed from a distance, sipping rosé.
- Tasha & Ori:
- Tasha traced Ori’s arm, marveling at tattoos.
- Ori rolled her wrist, kissed Tasha’s palm.
- Maddie said, “Take your time.” They did.
- Vanessa & Celeste:
- Tested distance. Vanessa wore her silk robe; Celeste in blue slip dress.
- Celeste pressed a kiss to Vanessa’s neck—soft, public, bold.
- Vanessa lowered her robes from the side—her shoulder revealed. Celeste kissed it again.
- Liana & Dani:
- Liana tied Dani’s shoes gently, pressed close.
- Dani flipped the process—ribbons around Liana’s ankle.
- They embraced—lips brushing cheek, neck, and then closer.
After each pairing, Maddie moved in, uniting them.
She knelt before Selma and Jules, kissed Selma’s hand, then kissed Jules’s lips lightly.
With Vanessa and Celeste, she whispered into Vanessa’s ear, touched Celeste’s hair, coaxing their open longing.
She cupped Liana & Dani’s faces and watched them share breath.
Tasha & Ori were guided back by Maddie for tea.
Maddie had each woman join her on a velvet rug at the center.
RULE: Hands behind backs. No touch—only presence.
Lanterns dimmed. Music pulsed low—a heartbeat under moonlight.
Maddie circled the rug, greeting each by name, brushing a fingertip down their shoulders, necks—never staying, never touching long enough to belong.
They responded: shivers, intake of breath, cries of exhilaration.
Maddie asked each to offer one word describing desire.
Selma – “Freedom.”
Jules – “Color.”
Tasha – “Power.”
Ori – “Calm.”
Vanessa – “Fire.”
Celeste – “Storm.”
Liana – “Devotion.”
Dani – “Heart.”
Maddie ended: “Desire is many things—tender, daring, dangerous. This circle is for us to explore its pulse.”
She asked everyone to join hands.
“Tonight, we are a sisterhood of sawtooth fire.” She looked at each:
- Soft smiles turned firm.
- A subtle nod.
- Affirmation of belonging.
Maddie lit a final lantern.
“Take this moment. Carry it.” She touched each hand. “You give me life. Never forget you deserve it—always.”
The air had shifted.
What began as a gathering of conversation and shared presence now simmered with something thicker—anticipation.
Maddie felt it in the glances exchanged, the subtle edge to laughter, the way bare knees touched just a second longer than they needed to.
The fairy lights above dimmed slightly as Ori adjusted the lantern settings to a low golden pulse. The garden glowed with intimacy now, not just ambience.
Maddie rose from her cushion slowly, drawing every eye.
She slipped off her light shawl and left it behind.
Bare-shouldered in navy silk, she moved with calm confidence, circling the group. Her fingertips trailed behind her, grazing necks, shoulders, hair, as if giving each woman permission to exhale.
And they did.
Selma was the first to speak.
“Is this… still part of the gathering?” she asked, voice low, unsure but hopeful.
Maddie turned her head, smiled.
“Only if you want it to be.”
And with that, she knelt in the center again and extended her hand.
Not to one.
But to all of them.
“Come closer,” she said. “This isn’t about proving anything. It’s about feeling everything.”
Jules, the quiet artist with rose-dyed bangs, moved first—eyes wide but determined. She settled beside Maddie, her linen blouse slipping down one shoulder.
Then Liana and Dani moved as a pair, curled up close together opposite Jules.
Ori came next, seating herself cross-legged, tattooed wrists resting against her knees.
Then, Vanessa—composed, calculating—entered slowly, her silk robe whispering around her calves as she sank gracefully beside Jules.
Tasha stood still for a long moment, then finally joined, laying her long limbs across a velvet ottoman like a queen.
Only Celeste and Selma remained at the edges.
But Maddie didn’t push.
She just smiled and began.
Maddie reached for Jules first. Their eyes met, breath passed between them. She brushed Jules’s cheek with the back of her hand, then let her palm trail down to her collarbone.
“Soft,” Jules whispered, leaning into it.
Maddie turned to Dani and Liana, placing a hand on each of their knees, slowly sliding up. Both inhaled, synchronized, and leaned closer.
Liana reached for Ori’s fingers, threading them together.
Dani reached across to brush the loose hair from Jules’s face.
It was happening.
Jules, emboldened by Maddie’s touch, turned to Vanessa, tracing a finger along the lapel of her robe.
“You always seem so untouchable.”
Vanessa gave her a half-smile. “Maybe I was just waiting for the right hand.”
Dani leaned into Liana’s shoulder and whispered, “Remember college?”
Liana laughed. “Vaguely. Want to remind me?”
Their lips met—softly, first. Then again.
And again.
Across the circle, Ori let her head fall back as Tasha traced the tattoos on her inner arm, slowly leaning closer.
“Is this allowed?” Tasha asked.
Ori responded by guiding her hand lower.
The remaining two held back only a moment longer.
Maddie, still in the center, made no move toward them. She simply looked their way and said gently,
“You don’t have to be first. But you don’t have to be last.”
Selma finally stood, walked forward, and seated herself beside Maddie. She placed a hand on her own thigh and waited.
Maddie reached over, placed her hand atop Selma’s, and squeezed. “Only what you want.”
Celeste was next. She didn’t say a word. She just came to kneel directly behind Maddie and ran her hands slowly over Maddie’s shoulders, thumbs tracing along the base of her neck.
Touches grew bolder:
- Jules and Vanessa now kissed softly in the corner, Jules straddling Vanessa’s lap as fingers tangled in silk.
- Ori and Tasha lay side by side, fingers grazing ribs, thighs, lips brushing earlobes as they whispered private promises.
- Dani had lowered herself between Liana’s legs, nuzzling against her stomach while Liana arched gently beneath her.
- Selma and Celeste met eyes across Maddie’s back and leaned into each other, foreheads touching, fingers sliding between open palms.
And in the center?
Maddie.
Calm. Present. Powerfully grounded as six women around her explored curiosity like it was a sacred rite.
She kissed Jules’s collarbone.
Let Vanessa undo the clasp at her shoulder.
Let Celeste unfasten the back of her dress.
And then she whispered:
“This… is for all of us.”
They formed a spiral now—arms entwined, heads resting on laps and shoulders, skin brushing in pulses of exploration.
Every woman had kissed every other woman by now.
Some softly.
Some like hunger.
Some just grazed cheeks, fingers, knees.
Others pressed thighs together, lips exploring collarbones and curves.
Tasha lifted Jules’s chin and kissed her while Ori traced Tasha’s spine from behind.
Vanessa, flush-faced, laid on her back while Dani trailed fingers along her ribs and kissed each one.
Selma rested between Liana’s legs, murmuring:
“I forgot I could still feel this beautiful.”
Eventually, they lay in a tangle of limbs, breath mingling under the soft twinkle of the lanterns. No one spoke for a long while.
It wasn’t needed.
Every woman had surrendered to a part of herself that longed to be awakened—not taken, not dominated, not scripted—but simply seen and met.
Maddie sat up slowly, smoothing her dress back into place.
She looked around the garden.
“You are all home now. In this body. In this neighborhood. In this night.”
And the women smiled.
Not because of what had happened.
But because of what it had awakened.
XOXO
Maddie’s Page