Set Me Free

The alarm clock next to Juno’s bed blew up like a marching band forcing her out of her slumber. Glancing at the clock showed that it was way too early.  Eight am blinked at her and not for the first time she wondered why people get up so early, it’s excruciating to say the least. She eye’s her smooshed pillow and is already missing it and the comfort it entailed. She runs her hands down her face wiping the grogginess away. “How do people wake up so early? Early worm and all that. They’re crazy.” “Get out of bed you snoozalooficus!” Slapping an arm across her eyes, Juno blocks out the invading light through the semi closed blinds. She loves her sister, Emra, she truly does, but she’s way too chipper for the mornings.  Emra calls again from somewhere in the house, begrudgingly she grabs her pillow and buries her face in it. “I’m up!” Juno’s muffled voice no doubt was unheard. It was still too much effort to pull herself from the tempting comforts of her plush bed.  Heavy footsteps pounded down the hallway, the door burst open with a gust as Juno’s dear sister stomped inside like a runaway herd and threw open the curtains inviting even more of the day's sun. Warm light washed over the floor and speckled her cheek. Groaning Juno grabbed the pillow next to her and retaliated by throwing it at Emra. “Hey! Stop throwing things!! You asked me yesterday to get your ass up this morning!” Hands on her hips, Emra c****d her head to the side and narrowed eyes, daring Juno to argue. Juno stared at her younger sister in confusion. “Now why would I ask you to do something so awful?” You groan laying your bed back down on the now cold sheet. Almost instantly she felt laxed. Exasperated, Emra threw her arms up in the air, “Honestly! How many margaritas did you have last night!?” Juno racked her brain for any recollection, any memories from last night but it all was completely blank. Her memories of last night were a complete blank slate. Unable to admit that she may have had too many, she lied to Emra. “Enough I guess.” Emra wasn’t fooled as she ripped the blanket away. The cold air bit into Juno’s bare legs and arms. Apparently tank tops with simple briefs weren’t enough to stave off the winter chills. With the splash of coldness now seeping into her bones Juno groaned as she threw her legs over the side of the bed. “Juno!” Emra chastised her. “You have a family portrait today!” Emra points at her watch indicating that Juno doesn’t have much time to get ready. “And soon, I might add.” Like a scene from back to the future, everything from last night comes zipping through Juno’s brain like a slideshow at lightspeed. Yesterday they were at their older sisters, Callie’s, birthday party, celebrating the bight 3-2. Juno vaguely recalled meeting a couple and they eventually got to talking about what Juno does for living and whether she could take the couple's portrait. Then somewhere along the way Juno had a few too many drinks. Springing fully awake like a jolt of caffeine, Juno quickly grabbed her clothes off the floor and started tugging them on roughly. Emra watched with wide eyes, her mouth hung slightly open, her lips moved like she was trying to utter words and wasn't sure what to utter. “Please tell me you’re going to take a shower and not put on yesterday’s clothes. My god, woman! Take a shower so you don’t stink like a distillery!” Emra giggled as she grabbed a towel from the closet and tossed it on the bed. She went back rummaging around as Juno started pulling her clothes back off, tossing them in the direction of the hamper in the corner of the room tucked between her dresser and desk. The clothes landed on her desk and far from the hamper.  “You’re right! I need a shower! Crap, I’m so behind. When were they supposed to come over again?” Juno asked sweetly, batting her lashes. “Great. Now I'm like your personal assistant. Jeeze, they’ll be here soon you have some time at least but seriously Juno, you need to get better organised than this.” Emra rolled her eyes. She then pulled out some clothes and handed them to her. Grabbing the clothes from Emra’s outstretched hands, she zipped off into the bathroom with lightning speed. Grabbing her toothbrush she plopped it into her mouth before spinning and pleaded with Emra with her eyes. “No.” Emra recognized the look in Juno’s eyes. “No. I will not.” She crossed her arms defiantly. Juno ignored her sister, “Thank you so much, Emra! Could you be so kind as to make some toast for me please? Pretty please with super sweet cherries on top?” Yelling a final ‘Thank you’ over her shoulder, Juno turned back and kicked the bathroom door closed with her heel. Emra could be heard muttering on the other side of the door as she left.  Having stripped her clothes she stood bare naked in front of the mirror hanging over the sink. She looked at her disheveled state and grimaced. “I can’t believe I was that stupid! I could have messed up a very good chance to get some good exposure for my studio.” With one final self reprimand she jumped into the hot shower, the steam and peppering heat burned her skin.  “Ow! Damn it!” Quickly she turned the knob and let out a moan as the intense heat turned to a cool, relaxing massage. In the midst of her shower something began playing from somewhere. Popping her head out from the shower curtain she flexed her ear listening. In the distance a muffled tune played but it was unrecognizable. She couldn’t tell if that was her phone but if it was it could be important, and she hopped out of the shower and hopped out on one foot like a gymnast. Patting herself on her back for her balance and for the fact she didn’t slip and fall on her arse.  “Coming!” She called out like the phone would respond. Finding the phone on the mahogany nightstand that’s been in the house for probably since ancient times, it was her mother’s and much like everything else in this old archaic house it was old. Probably as old as time itself but well kept. Grabbing the phone with wet hands she peered at the screen and didn’t recognise the number that flashed across the small window. Deciding to ignore it and get dressed because she doesn’t want to get aggravated with some telemarketer, she tossed on the clothes Emra pulled out for her. Sitting down at her vanity she grabbed her mother’s rose gold necklace with a bright green emerald held within the twining stems of gold in the center. She dabbled on some blush to her cheeks and quickly lined her eyes with some shadow and found herself looking somewhat acceptable. She never did enjoy makeup and tended to just do the bare minimum unless an occasion called for more. She hated putting so much on her face that her face felt heavy, hated that caked feeling and rarely did she do the whole work. After applying the final touches her phone rang again on the bed.  Leaning back in the chair on it’s back legs she looked over her shoulder at the flashing screen.  Juno’s heart skipped a beat at the number she does recognize. Quickly the chair sprang forward with a stomp and she put her tools of decency down and jumped on the bed like a child and answered the call, her legs kicking behind her in excitement. “Kevin! I’m so glad you called!” Kevin was her current boyfriend and wasn’t so bad. He’s sweet and kind and always does and says the right things but Juno always felt like it wasn't enough or maybe she wasn’t sure what she wanted. She enjoys being with him and has so much fun but then at times she’d rather drown herself in ice cream. Guilty pleasure her inner child coos as she somersaults “Hey, Diamond! You sound awfully excited, what’s the news?” Right. Almost forgot that she was in a hurry. Getting off the bed she placed the phone on speaker and went back to the vanity and started combing her hair, ripping the tangles out. There is one thing that you absolutely cringe at are the weird nicknames Kevin makes up for her. They aren’t even cute and they make her feel equivalent to a dollar sign, they always have an air of extravagance to them and that’s definitely not Juno, despite what it may look like. “Well, so you know how I’ve been looking for more clients for my portraits? She says shyly. “Uh huh…” Kevin says in his monotone voice. Sounded like there was tons of chatter on his end of the line, like he was in a thunderstorm and the rain was pattering against the phone. Deciding to ignore it she pushed on too full of energy at the coming shoot. “Today I’ve got a couple coming over for one! I can’t believe it! And the worst part of it all” Kevin chuckles, his voice cold and sweet like a peppermint. Her insides flip flopped as a tingle slid down her arms.  “I can’t imagine there being a worst part. What happened?” He asks, his tone and voice never changing, still remaining as it’s cold yet hinted with sweetness. “I totally got wasted last night!” She roughly pulls the comb through a knot in her hair which ended up yanking her head to the side causing her to wince. “Juno! Why would you do that!?” Kevin yells back, no longer holding any hint of sweetness of fondness. He sounded cold and accusatory. Scowling at her reflection in the mirror and irritated by Kevins lack of empathy, she snapped back. “What the hell Kevin, lay off! It was a mistake but I don’t need you acting like my Mother trying to rub it all my wrong doings!” Slapping the comb down on the vanity, she snatched the phone from the bed. “Listen.” He says. “I’m sorry, but you know how I feel about you drinking.” She’s been dating Kevin for about a year now. They’ve enjoyed each other’s company and he’s been her support in finding the rest of her sisters. He’s tall, lean, smart, well-mannered and educated. She couldn’t ask for anything better in a package, but he has a tendency to set rules. And being an apparent rule breaker, that usually gets them in a tiff. He simply dislikes her drinking because he wasn’t there. He only likes it if he’s with her, and that’s also half the problem, despite what he has done for Juno, it’s not nearly enough to make up for the times he’s bailed on her or left her by herself when she truly needed him the most.  “It was an honest accident. I’m sorry, I never intended for it to happen anyways.” Apologizing felt like ash in her mouth. Why was she apologizing? Was it because she felt like she broke some sort of unspoken promise or because she’s apologizing when she knew deep down she had no reason to. “Just be more careful.” Just like that he’s back to his sweet self, his concern laced in his aristocratic tone.  He just cares about her and just gets worried she tells herself. A small smile quirked her lips up at the corners.  ‘Thanks, Mother!” She rolled her eyes. It’s sweet but it’d be nice if he didn’t hound her constantly like a mother-hen as if she couldn’t take care of herself.  “JUNO!” Emra’s voice rang out angrily, sending chills down her spine. “Listen, we’ll continue this later. I love you and can’t wait to see you later! Emra is getting mad, ok bye!” Hanging up the phone, Juno declared her hair was good enough and ran downstairs to a flame faced Emra. Scowling at the bottom of the stairs, hands on her hips glaring daggers at Juno. “What the hell Juno! Now what were you doing? Did you fall asleep in the shower? Or this time did you fall asleep putting makeup on?” Juno looked at the floor guilty. It’s true she has fallen asleep doing both things before, taking a shower though it was a bath, still almost equivalent and yes she also fell asleep putting make-up on. She woke up with a red clown line smearing across her face. Both results of a night out with your Sister’s birthdays. Can’t fault a girl for celebrating to the fullest extent, she defended herself internally. “Har har!” Poking her tongue out at Emra she bounces down the stairs. “Very funny, Emra.” She heads towards the kitchen with Emra hot on her heels. “Kevin called and got stuck talking to him. Anyways where’s Callie?” “She has a house showing and left early.” Emra says as she zooms past you into the kitchen. Juno always hated working for others and wanted to pursue her dreams of being an artist and photographer. Her late Mother pushed her to follow her dreams and make them a reality and she has been doing exactly that. Callie is a real estate agent and a damn good one at that. She could sell anything and more often than not you think it’s because people fall in love with her. She has the s*x appeal, the charm and her attide is take no prisoners, hold no punches. It could be her anvil approach that allows her to sell so easily. Then there is Emra, the youngest of the three who since you’ve known her has taken a liking to animals, almost like a kinship. Once found a starling with an injured wing in the nearby city park and brought it home. She brought it home and nursed the poor bird back to health. That was the beginning stage of her dream of being a veterinarian and after years of school she is now a veterinarian assistant to the local vet in town and will be taking over as soon as her schooling is complete. Juno has never been more proud of her sisters but it does sometimes feel like she’s falling behind, that maybe she should think of a new way to earn income.   Coincidental all three of you share very similar looks and that’s surprising since the three of you came from different birth mothers but had the same father. It was only later on that you’ve discovered each other made a pact. Though Callie is the tallest at six feet, you and Emra are the shortest running in five in a half. Juno has blond hair where Callie and Emra have darker, almost walnut but with a bright shine.  Emra places a plate in front of you at the breakfast island and takes a seat across from her. Swirling the orange juice around her glass like a martini, her brow quirked at Juno. “So later tonight, Callie wants to go back to the bar we went to yesterday.” Juno scrunched her nose up. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. What if I made a fool of myself yesterday and I don’t remember, but then, like, we get there and everyone just points and laughs!” She pleads with Juno with wide eyes. “I’ll be humiliated! I can’t go again!” Emra brushes Juno’s worries away.” Oh shush! You reap what you sow! And besides I doubt you did anything ‘that’ bad to be remembered by the bar's populace.” An uneasy feeling came over Juno. A feeling that doesn’t make any sense because she can’t remember yesterday's outing, so why does she feel trepidation. Dread crept up on her like a stalking shadow. Juno shook off the gnawing feeling. “Oh come on! It’s just us girls this time. No big group or anything like that. It’ll just be us and you’ll be safe from humiliation. I promise. Nobody dare make fun of my sis or I’ll make them pay!” Emra says flexing her bicep. When she noticed Juno wasn’t convinced she changed tactics. Emra pouts her lips and looks at Juno with such innocence that it made saying ‘no’ impossible. “Fine! But only if you’ll be my personal protector!” Emra throws her hand up in a mock salute. Her grin widening ear from ear. “Count on me! I’ve got you, Sis!”  By noon the appointed schedule came and went with the lovely couple Juno met the night before. They were adorable together, like two pieces that simply fit perfectly. If there ever was such a thing as a perfect image of love that was it. Capturing that on canvas was an honor. The couple understood each other, knew each other on some deeper level that normally couples never reach, even she couldn’t attempt to imagine what that must feel like. Where the other person is whole heartedly in your soul, mind and body.  The couple thanked Juno and left smiling. Emra went home as she’s living with Callie right now. Juno was living at her house that was handed down after  their mother passed away but after being with Kevin for some time it just seemed like the logical next step. They’ve spent enough time dating and being at each other's place that it seemed best to move further into the city at Kevin's flat.  Juno’s foot splashes back down into the water. After the portrait she decided it’d be great to unwind and relax before tonight's outing with her sisters again. Relaxing in the tub, feeling her muscles melt into the water itself, her contented sighs fluttered around the bathroom. The lavender fragrance from the bubbles teased her nose, melting further into the tub she sighed again. Her feet slide up the end of the tub and rest on the rim. “Damn you look magnificent.” Her lips slipped into an easy smile. Her body slowly burning, raising her lashes to get a good look at Kevin’s wickedly handsome face as he peers down at her. Soft eyes gazing at her in peerless wonder. His smooth hands came to her shoulders and kneaded the bundle of muscles there. Closing her eyes she let herself go to the sensation building within her. It didn’t take long though for Kevin to lose focus and focus on something else entirely. His hands slowly slid down her shoulders, encasing her tingling breasts, n*****s peeking out from the foamy water at full attention. Kevin didn’t stop there, he kept his teasing perusal heading south towards her aching c**t. Dipping passed her sensitive belly, she arches into his wanting hands. Kevin never really does spend time on pleasing her, not the way she really ached for. Maybe she just craves too much, something that is unrealistic, yet, that crave is still there. To be worshipped head to toes, to have him make love not to just her, but her entire body. Still, when his finger grazed across her budding c**t she couldn’t help but arch into his wants with a soft moan. “I love how receptive you are. You are gorgeous when you’re blushing like this. When I have you at your most vulnerable.” Her womb clenched at his words, his fingers teased around the core, cautiously and achingly slow at first, then they got more embolden, his fingers became more thirsty like a hundred yard dash to the finish line. Her lips parted on another frantic moan as heat built low in her belly, her toes curling around the edge of the tub, fingers gripping and holding onto the sides. Juno’s heavy, erratic breathing and the splashing of the water flying over the sides of the tub like a tsunami echoed against the four corners of the room. Within mere minutes Juno was wailing as her orgasm pulled her under, drowning her in pleasure, holding her for seconds before she was able to come back up, her orgasm slowly subsiding with the calming water. “Oh, god I’ve missed this.” Kevin's chuckle was light. “It’s only been a few days. Sorry it took me so long on getting back to you.” He says, almost defensively. She arches a brow at his dismissive tone but decides to ignore it. Kevin works for a corporate retail chain and so spends most of his time out of state. Usually he’ll be home every other week and that’s always been fine, but when he does come back it’s feels like the only thing he wants is s*x. Which, she isn’t complaining but it just feels like there should be more. Maybe it’s the happy couples she sees in her portraits and maybe it’s that she doesn’t see that with them. Or maybe she’s just too busy comparing which she also knows is something she needs to stop. Still, the hole never seems to fill. “Still…” She huffs. “I don’t like ‘Not’ being able to see you. And besides, you aren’t very responsive when you ‘are’ out of state.” She’s tried face timing, simple phone calls, but lately it’s resorted to one word texts and that infuriates her, but everytime he does come back home she just doesn’t have the energy to start an argument with him about it. No doubt he’s probably exhausted from the flights and work. “Hush now, diamond.” He places a kiss on her temple and moves away from the tub. “Just know I’m making everything better for us.” There he goes again talking about ‘Them’ like she’s been part of these mysterious conversations with her. All his talk of ‘Them’ is him dictating how their relationship should go. He likes to have control like that, not that it ever bothered her before, but she also didn’t have that hollow void growing within her either. Now it simply irritates her. No longer in her dream-like mood of floating on top the ebbing waves of her orgasm, she pushed up from the tub and stepped over, splashing water everywhere as she did so.  “What the hell, Juno! These are new shoes!” Kevin looks pissed with his furrowed brows but she just didn’t care. Looking down at his designer shoes she smirked, actually happy that his expensive shoes are wet and possibly ruined. Should have taken them off at the front door, she mused. “Where are you going?” He follows after her like a lost puppy. She would have found it cute if she wasn’t so irritated with him at the moment, and maybe she is taking things out of proportion, or maybe she isn’t. The questions though feel like an interrogation instead of simple curiosity. Whirling on him she jabs his chest with her finger, water dripping from her bare body on the floor but she didn’t care. “What the hell, Kevin!? I’m going to get dressed and then call Emra to pick me up.” She explains, more abrasive than she wanted. Turning back around she stormed to the dresser. In the dresser mirror, Kevin's furrowed brows watch her with an icy stare. His hands on his hips as he glared at her, which she returned a death glare of her own as she slammed the dresser drawer closed after snatching a simple dress. “Again? Didn’t you go out last night with them?” The way he says ‘Them’ sets her blood boiling. His attitude towards them is one you’d hear from someone who’s talking about an rabid decrepit animal. Juno knew he never did take a liking to her sisters and vice versa, but the way he acts as if they were diseased at times. She never understood it and still doesn’t. “They are my sisters, Kevin! So yes, I am going out with them, again! God, why are we even arguing!” Juno swept around the bedroom like a tornado all the while tossing on the dress and grabbing her heels before dashing for the door and jumping in Emra’s waiting car like some sort of heist.