Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:47:34 +0000
From: Ann Douglas <ann_douglas@hotmail.com>
Subject: A Change Of Direction  FF  (1/1)

			   A Change Of Direction
			      by Ann Douglas
			 (ann_douglas@hotmail.com)

        With only twenty minutes left to her shift, Isabelle Alvarez turned
an experienced eye to the number of people standing on her checkout line
and how many items each had in their shopping cart.  The
thirty-two-year-old had worked at the Stop N' Save long enough to be able
to judge how long it would take to handle each customer and decided that
the young mother with the two toddlers in tow at the end of the line would
just about finish her for the day.

        Handing the customer she had just finished with her change and
receipt, Isabelle paused before starting on the next one just long enough
to switch off the open light on her lane.  The robust redhead knew that
turning the light off before the end of your shift ticked off the kid who
was now assistant manager, but he would just have to get over it. As long
as she still had a customer on line when five o'clock rolled round, there
was little he could say about it.

        Sure enough, her timing was again perfect as the second hand of the
large analog clock on the wall had just swept past the hour as she handed
the young mother her receipt.  Isabelle was always happy when the day was
over, especially on a Friday with the promise of the weekend to come.  And
promise it was because she planned to spend it with someone who had become
quite special to her.

        It only took a few minutes to close out her drawer, after six years
she could probably do it in her sleep, and she quickly carried her cash
drawer over to the service desk.  Patricia Brown, one of the head cashiers
working the desk, took the drawer from her and began to check her tally.

        "Big plans for the weekend?"  the older woman asked as she added up
the coupons and checks that had been in the drawer.

        "What makes you say that?"  Isabelle replied, her tone perhaps a
bit too defensive.

        "Just the way you sped through close out," the black woman
answered.  "It made me think you were in a hurry to check out, that's all."

        "Oh," Isabelle said, realizing she had overreacted.

        "You and Perry going down to the shore again?"  Patricia inquired
as she started counting the remaining cash.  "It might be a little too cool
for swimming, but then that probably won't make a difference to the two of
you."  She added with a knowing smile.

        Since just about everyone in the store knew that she had been
dating Perry Wagner, who drove one of the delivery trucks, over the summer,
the question was understandable.  What wasn't common knowledge was that she
and Perry had come to a parting of the ways over a month before.

        Their relationship had started off well enough, quickly progressing
from shared coffee breaks to lunch together and then out to dinner on an
actual date.  Perry was careful to do and say all the right things,
treating her like a lady wanted to be treated.

        If anyone asked, and in a store as small as this where everyone
knew everyone else's business, Isabelle could honestly say she hadn't slept
with Perry until after they had been going out over a month.  What she
didn't need to say was that long before that, the goodnight kiss had been
replaced by the goodnight blow job.  She knew how to keep a man interested
while she made up her mind about him.

        Isabelle was hardly shy about sex, having lost her virginity to a
high school classmate when she was sixteen.  Not the most attractive of
girls back then, she tended to be on the stocky side.  Isabelle made the
same mistake a lot of girls did and found popularity by letting it get out
that she put out.  What she only later came to understand was that, while a
guy was perfectly willing to take her out and have a good time; few
envisioned anything more than that with her.  She wasn't, as the old saying
went, the kind of girl you brought home to meet your mother.

        Her love life, or more precisely her sex life since the occasions
where love might have entered the picture were few and far between, seemed
to follow a familiar pattern.  After a while, despite hopes to the
contrary, her relationship with Perry proved no different.

        At first, it was dinner and a movie, then back to her place for a
rumble in the sheets.  After a while, it was just dinner and off to bed,
until finally she was lucky if they got takeout before their Friday night
fuck.  As nice as the sex was and continued to be, she was long past the
age where she wanted to be just some guy's fuck-buddy.

        "I'm not seeing Perry anymore," Isabelle said, deciding that she
might as well finally get that out there.

        "Oh," Patricia said, more than a touch of curiosity in her voice.
"Is there someone new?"

        "I guess you could say that," Isabelle offered.

        "Anyone we know?"  Patricia further asked, her curiosity aroused.

        "I doubt it," Isabelle replied, the brevity of her answer saying
more than the words.

        "Do we at least get a name," Patricia asked, as if it was
everyone's right to know, "in case he calls the office looking for you."

        "You're not likely to get any calls like that," Isabelle replied,
"but if you have to have a name, let's just make it Jamie."

        "Just Jamie?"

        "Just Jamie," Isabelle repeated, knowing full well that the white
haired woman was mentally running though her almost encyclopedic knowledge
of everyone in town to see if she could come up with a Jamie.

        "You can't give me something else to go on?"  Patricia said as the
look on her face said she couldn't come up with a match.

        "I think I'd rather just keep it private for now," Isabelle
answered, disappointing the senior cashier, "at least until I see where it
goes."

        "Oh I understand," Patricia said, the reluctance in her voice
saying just the opposite.  "Well it looks like everything balances," she
added as she handed the younger woman a receipt.  "Have a good time with
Jamie and good luck."

        Isabelle thanked her and after clocking out, slipped into the
jacket she had left on the coat rack.  Glancing back over her shoulder as
she zipped up, she saw that Patricia had already gone back to what she'd
been doing before.  Nice as she was most of the time, Patricia had a long
standing reputation as being one of the worst gossips in town.  The juicer
the secret, the more she was incapable of keeping it to herself, regardless
of what damage it might cause.

        A recent example, still fresh on Isabelle's mind, was the store's
Memorial Day picnic over by Blue Valley Lake.  Judy Myers, who worked in
produce even longer than Isabelle had been at the store, had a little too
much to drink.  Actually, since she was quite unaccustomed to drinking in
general, that little had an effect all out of proportion to the amount.

        So much so that the tipsy twenty-six year-old had let her most
secret urges take control and wound up with nineteen-year-old Jeffery
Winters in the boat house while just about everyone else had sat down to
eat.  When Ira Kennedy, who had gone to the boat house to look for her
sunglasses which she had dropped somewhere, came upon them, they were both
in a highly disorganized state, at least clothes wise.  Even more shocking
was the fact that Judy was down on her knees performing a highly erotic act
on the stock boy.

        That both were unattached and of legal age never entered Patricia's
thoughts once she was told what happened by her good friend Ira.  It didn't
even take till the end of the day for everyone she could corner to learn of
the indiscretion.  While most of them found the news titillating, the
majority also felt it was Judy's business and that Patricia had been wrong
to spread it.  Despite that, Judy felt totally humiliated and not only did
she never come back to work after that day, she moved out of town a month
later.  Yet even after that, Patricia couldn't break her lifelong habit.

        Walking to her old Escort on the far end of the parking lot,
Isabelle considered that Patricia was probably already telling people that
she and Perry had broken up and that Isabelle was already seeing someone
new.  Imagine the field day Patricia would have, Isabelle thought as she
slid into the front seat, if she knew that her companion for the weekend
was not only ten years her junior, but also another woman.

                                -=-=-=-

        If anyone had suggested to her, only a year before, that she and
someone like Jamie Delgado could find enough in common to be friends, much
less becoming intimately involved, Isabelle might've wondered what they
were on.  To anyone who knew them, it would've been hard to imagine two
more dissimilar women.

        Isabelle was ten years older, twenty-eight pounds overweight and
seemingly doomed to never having a long term relationship.  True, she had
actually been engaged when she was twenty-six, but that lasted less than a
month.  In a rare flash of clarity back then, Isabelle had realized that
the only reason she had said yes was the fact that Manuel Lopez had been
the only one who ever asked.  His reasons for doing so were simple enough,
he was twenty years older and desperately wanted a son and heir.  Not
content to become just a broodmare, she had broken the engagement.

        Jamie, on the other hand, was only a year out of college and almost
a fanatic about physical fitness, going so far as to have been on several
teams in both high school and college.  She had also been in a totally
monogamous relationship for over three years.

        In fact, the only thing the two women seemed to have in common was
that both used the gym at the same community center.  Jamie, simply because
it was an inexpensive and convenient way to stay in shape, and Isabelle
because she was on another of her frequent quests to improve her life.  She
would get inspired about once a year, usually after a relationship had just
turned sour, and try to lose weight.  Like many other things in her life,
this also followed a familiar pattern.  She would lose a few pounds, then
hit the wall and become frustrated by a lack of further progress.
Eventually she would give up and go back to her old ways.

        That all changed, however, the night Isabelle exited the center
after a late night workout and saw smoke coming out from under an Escort
much like her own.  At first she had thought it was her car, since it was
parked in the same section, but as she got closer she saw that it was only
one that had originally been the same color.  If anything, it was even a
few years older.

        Standing next to the car, watching the engine burn out, was Jamie
Delgado.  Isabelle recognized the younger woman from other nights, even
though she didn't think they'd even exchanged more than a few words over a
couple of months.  With the parking lot just about empty, Isabelle decided
that she might as well see if she could be of any help.  In the end, all
she could really do was offer Jamie a lift home after the auto club towed
away the car, but that was to prove a fortuitous gesture.

        Originally, Isabelle had just considered it a good deed, the sort
of thing she hoped someone would've done for her, and promptly forgot about
it.  So when she went back to the gym a week later, she was surprised when
Jamie came up to her and offered to help her improve her workouts.  A few
suggestions on how she could exercise more effectively led to them having
coffee afterwards, over which they had an even better conversation about
what she had been doing wrong and how she could better control her weight.

        In the weeks and then months that followed, Jamie was as good as
her word, encouraging Isabelle at every opportunity and keeping her on
track.  The result being that today, Isabelle was within ten pounds of no
longer being considered overweight.  Most people erroneously concluded that
it was her relationship with Perry that had led to the change, but it had
definitely been Jamie's doing.

        The friendship that grew between them soon extended beyond the gym
as well.  They started socializing on their days off, even going out some
nights when neither had other plans.  Eventually, Isabelle felt closer to
Jamie than any other woman she knew.

        It was about two months ago, about the time Isabelle had begun to
reconsider her relationship with Perry, that she had what she would forever
refer to as the great duh moment.  She had met Jamie at the community
center for a Saturday morning workout and afterwards they had stopped at a
health food store to get some fruit drinks.  They'd taken the drinks across
the street to a local park and as they sat on a bench, Isabelle found
herself telling her friend about her growing dissatisfaction with the man
in her life.

        Jamie didn't have any answers for her, and in truth Isabelle really
wasn't looking for any.  She just needed to vent and was appreciative that
she had someone who was willing to listen.  Had she chosen anyone at work,
they would've undoubtedly tried to convince her that Perry was the best
thing that ever happened to her, despite their growing problems.  In was
only at the end of her tirade that she tossed out a casual thought that
changed her life.

        "It's a pity that I can't find someone as nice as you to date," she
said without really thinking about it.

        "Then why don't you?"  Jamie asked in reply.

        "I guess you didn't hear me," Isabelle answered, "I said I don't
think there are any guys like you out there."

        "I heard you," Jamie said.  "What I was asking was, why does it
have to be a guy?"

        Isabelle looked at Jamie with a blank look that said she still
didn't understand.

        "Isabelle," Jamie said after a moment, a look of realization
finally appearing on her own face, "you can't tell me that you don't know
that I'm gay.  I know I've never brought it up, but you must've seen me
with Heather at least a dozen or so times."

        "Yes, but..."  Isabelle started to say, then as the words finally
sunk in, she had her `duh moment.'

        Heather Boston was Jamie's best friend, a holdover from her college
days.  Isabelle really didn't know her, but she'd seen her many times when
she dropped off or picked Jamie up after her car had been declared DOA by
the mechanic.  Evidently, they also shared an apartment until Heather was
transferred by her company to their West Coast office not long after the
engine fire.

        Thinking about it now, Isabelle reflected that the two women had
seemed overly affectionate towards each other, but she'd just assumed that
was the way the younger generation was.  Women their age these days just
seemed more comfortable with things like that than Isabelle and her friends
had been.  The sudden realization also explained why Jamie had taken
Heather's leaving so hard.

        "I can't believe that you didn't know," Isabelle heard Jamie saying
as she snapped back to the present, then her voice became more concerned
and she asked if it made any difference.  "Between us I mean," she
explained.  "I mean we're still friends, right?"

        "Of course," Isabelle replied almost automatically, "why should it
make any difference."

        That response put a look of relief on Jamie's face.  Back when she
had first come out to her family and friends during her first year of
college, too many of them had decided that they no longer wanted anything
to do with her.  One of them had been her oldest and closest friend, Pamela
Rosario.  The hurtful words Pam had used when their friendship ended still
pained Jamie.

        A short time later, after Isabelle had dropped Jamie off in front
of her apartment house, the older woman found herself asking if what she
had told Jamie had actually been true.  Had nothing changed between them?

                                -=-=-=-

        Over the next week, that question had still haunted Isabelle.  At
times, she really didn't know how she felt about it.  Before Jamie,
Isabelle had never even met a gay woman; at least not any that she knew for
a fact were gay.  The closest she could remember were two women who lived
in the same apartment building she had grown up in.  Several times she had
heard her mother and her friends talking about the two and when she asked
about the unfamiliar word, lesbiana, her mother had grown angry and said it
was an evil word and none of her concern.  If there was one word Isabelle
couldn't imagine applying to Jamie, evil was it.

        Jamie had told her two weeks before that she would be away the
following week so Isabelle didn't think anything of the fact that her
friend wasn't at the community center when she went to exercise.  Jamie's
younger sister was getting married upstate and the two of them had never
lost the close relationship they'd shared growing up.  Originally, Jamie
had planned to skip the wedding lest her presence provoke certain other
members of their family.  Joanna Delgado, however, wouldn't even hear of
it.  She told Jamie that if anyone else had a problem with her big sister
being her maid of honor, then they were perfectly welcome to stay home.
She needed Jamie at her side when she walked down the aisle more than she
needed any of them.

        The brief separation couldn't have come at a more opportune time as
it gave Isabelle a chance to sort out her feelings.  That she missed Jamie
was understandable, considering how close they had become.  But now, once
the thirty- two-year-old allowed herself to consider the possibilities,
other emotions began to come into play.

        One thing Isabelle was certain of.  Regardless of any other
decision, her relationship with Perry had run its course.  Once she
accepted that she wasted no time in letting him know.  He didn't take the
news well, insisting that they talk about it.  Isabelle had said that there
was nothing more to talk about, not that they had done much talking at all
these past weeks.  It had been fun, she'd told him, but that was all it had
turned out to be.

        That behind her, she considered anew the question of if she was
capable of dating another woman.  What would people think?  What would they
say?  Did she care?

        Elusive as the answers to these questions seemed to be, they became
less important once Isabelle replaced "another woman" with Jamie.  Once the
question became specific, no one else's opinion seemed to really matter.
The concept of being involved with the younger woman quickly became more
than acceptable.  Of course that didn't mean she had to proclaim it to the
world right off.  Better to keep it between the two of them, at least in
the beginning.  After all, what if she asked and Jamie said no.  Or if they
found that they really didn't work on that level.

        Isabelle couldn't wait until Jamie came home at the end of the week
so that she could ask her.  It was all she could do to concentrate on her
job, the dark-haired girl never really out of her thoughts.  So much so
that two worries began to take shape.  The first was pretty far out there,
the idea that while she was away Jamie might meet someone else.  If she
did, well there was nothing Isabelle could do about it so there wasn't any
point worrying about it.

        The second concern seemed much more of a possibility, at least in
her mind.  What if, she asked Jamie out, and she said yes, and things
worked out as she hoped, did she have any idea how to make Jamie happy?  It
had been more years that she liked to think about since she had to ask that
question in regard to a man, but what did she know about pleasing another
woman?  Some things would be the same, she thought, but just as many things
had to be different, didn't they?

        Sitting alone in the back storage room of the Stop N' Save that
doubled as a break room, Isabelle considered how she handled that problem
back when she was younger and inexperienced.  None of those solutions
seemed to apply now, well at least most of them.

        The best way to learn about guys and sex, aside from actually doing
it, she remembered was to compare notes with her girlfriends.  Back in high
school, there didn't seem to be anything too personal not to share with her
friends.  She had no idea what guys shared, little of the truth she always
assumed, but it was different with girls.

        Looking back, it now seemed amazing how much information every girl
shared.  Before you even went on a first date with a guy, it was a good
chance you already knew what turned him on the most.  Who was into breasts,
who loved a round ass, and who was the rare guy who was willing to go down
on you.  Even Isabelle had been shocked to learn that Johnny Cage, who was
probably the closest thing to a choir boy in the school, was fanatical
about anal sex.  That the girl who shared that information was not only
still dating him when she passed on that tidbit, but eventually married him
as well.  It just went to show what she enjoyed.

        Even if Isabelle knew other women who were into their own sex, and
looking at her co-workers scattered across the room she considered that
somewhere among them that might be at least one, her days of casual sex
were long behind her.  That left one last idea, one that seemed an
excellent choice the more she thought about it.

        Back in high school, one of her girlfriends, Maddie Friedman, had
access to her father's collection of 8mm adult films.  Once a week, when
her parents went out on their bowling night, she would invite some of her
closest friends over and screen them.  Isabelle had to admit, she learned a
lot on those nights.  Today, with adult films a lot easier to come by, it
should be easy, Isabelle reasoned, to find some about girlsex.

        A visit to her local video store proved the truth of that
assumption, but presented another problem that she hadn't considered.
Unable to afford what it would've cost to have cable in her apartment,
Isabelle usually rented a movie once or twice a week from the store.  The
last thing she wanted to do was have them remember her renting a porn film.

        Checking the phone book for other options, she found a store just
outside of town called Femme Views that seemed just what she was looking
for.  Driving out to the address listed in the book, she found a small
store at the end of a roadside strip mall.  Quite non-descript; only the
name on the door told her she was in the right place.

        There were only three other people in the store, two customers and
a clerk behind the counter – all of them women.  Stepping though a cloth
curtain to the video section, Isabelle was presented with a surprisingly
wide variety of DVDs, ranging from romantic love stories to outright porn.
So much variety in fact, that she was at a loss at what to pick.

        One at a time, Isabelle picked up a few boxes whose titles caught
her attention and read the descriptions on the back.  None seemed to be
exactly what she wanted, although the accompanying imagery was certainly
interesting.  Finally she found one labeled "Lesbianism for Idiots" that
seemed to be the kind of thing she needed.

        "Need some help?"  a quiet voice unexpectedly said from behind
Isabelle.

        Isabelle turned and found the clerk from behind the counter
standing there.  In her late twenties, the woman had blonde hair cut quite
short and an athletic build that nicely filled out the black jeans and
sleeveless white t-shirt that she was wearing.  The latter pressing so
tight against her breasts that it left little to the imagination as to what
was underneath.

        "Excuse me," Isabelle said.

        "I asked if you needed some help," the young woman said, a warm
smile filling her face.  "Are you looking for anything specific?"

        "I'm not sure," Isabelle replied.

        "You're curious, right?"  the clerk, who introduced herself as Sue,
asked as she saw the title of the box in the older woman's hand.

        "Something like that," Isabelle answered.

        "Is this just a general curiosity or is it the result of a more
personal interest?"  Sue asked.

        "I guess you could say a personal interest," Isabelle said,
blushing slightly.

        "Excellent," Sue said, her smile suggesting a hidden pleasure at
the answer.  "But I'm afraid that one definitely isn't what you're looking
for."  she went on, taking the box from Isabelle's hand and putting it back
on the shelf.

        Isabelle watched as the young blonde bent down and ran her fingers
across the bottom row of boxes.  She stopped at a small selection near the
end which were identified as instructional by a small sticker almost
invisible unless you bent down as she was.

        "Ah here it is," Sue said in a small voice of triumph, "I was sure
we had one more left in stock."

        Sue rose back to her feet and handed the nondescript green box to
Isabelle.  Unlike the others she had looked at, there where no pictures or
descriptions on it, just the title in simple white letters, "A Good Girl's
Guide to Lesbian Sex."

        "Don't worry, it's not as clinical as it sounds," the blonde clerk
smiled.  "In fact, it's actually one of my favorites."

        "Thank you," Isabelle said, the warmness expressed by Sue causing
her to lose some of the embarrassment that she initially felt.

        It was however replaced, if only momentarily, by a concern about
the price sticker that she finally noticed on the bottom of the box.  She
had expected that actually buying a disc rather than renting one would be
more expensive but not this much.  Still, it was important and hoping she
hadn't let out too much of a sigh, decided that she could do without any
rentals for a week or two to make up the difference.

        "I'll take it," she told the salesgirl.

        "Great," she replied, "just follow me back to the counter and I'll
ring you up."

        Stepping back to the front counter, Isabelle noticed that the other
two women who had been in the store when she came in were gone.  This of
course, she realized, was why Sue had been able to give her personal
attention.  Remembering that both of them had been looking at the same book
shelf when she'd come in, Isabelle wondered if they had been a couple.

        "This'll just take a minute," Sue said as she took the bills that
Isabelle had given her and rang up the purchase.

        Isabelle took the short wait to turn her head and look around the
store.  A glass case perpendicular to the sales counter held a collection
of sex toys.  Curious about them as well, she wished she had time to take a
better look at them.  That, and the thought of how far she had come in the
last few weeks, made her blush once more.

        "Here you go," Sue said as she handed over the change and receipt,
along with a small, unmarked white plastic bag containing her purchase.

        As was her habit, Isabelle checked the cash and then the receipt,
immediately realizing that they were wrong.  The total on the bottom was
not was it should've been.

        "There's been a mistake," she said, holding up the paper for Sue to
see.  "This is only half the price that was marked on the box."

        A lot of people, Isabelle knew, would've just be glad that the
salesgirl had made a mistake and kept their mouths shut, but she had worked
as a cashier far too long to take advantage of it.  Especially if the
owners, like Stop N' Save, held employees financially responsible for
undercharges.

        "No mistake," Sue grinned, "that's the price after you apply the
employee discount.  The owners are pretty generous with that."

        "But I'm not," Isabelle started to say but was cut off.

        "I used my code, don't worry about it," Sue said.  "It's alright,
really."

        Evidently, Isabelle realized, the younger woman had caught her
surprise when she'd seen the sticker's price.

        "Thank you," Isabelle said, and then dropped the change back into
her purse.

        "Enjoy the film," Sue said with an even broader smile.  "And just
in case it doesn't answer all of your questions, I'm usually here on
Tuesdays and Friday afternoons."

        "Thank you again," Isabelle said as she turned and headed for the
door, not noticing that the salesgirl never took her eyes off of her until
she was out of the small shop.

        It wasn't until she was back in the car that Isabelle realized what
had just happened.

        "Oh my gosh," she said to herself, "that girl was actually flirting
with me."

        Coming from another woman, it seemed strange indeed, but not so
strange that it didn't leave a warm feeling between her legs on the drive
home.

                                                -=-=-=-

        Isabelle resisted the temptation to watch the DVD as soon as she
got home.  Instead she spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening
giving her apartment the good cleaning it needed.  Ever so often, her eyes
would dart to the video sitting on her coffee table, but she would remind
herself each time, not yet.

        Finally, she made herself a simple dinner and sat down with it and
a cold bottle of beer in front of the television.  The DVD was already in
the machine and Isabelle hit play on the remote before setting it aside.
Then, just as the film began to play, she picked up the control and lowered
the volume as not to advertise too loudly what she was watching.

        Ten minutes into the video, A Good Girl's Guide turned out to be
just as good as Sue had promised.  It was quite explicit, but not in a porn
film sort of way, not at all like those 8mm flicks they had watched in the
Freidman basement.  Divided into four segments, each followed two women of
various ages and ethnicity as each explored different aspects of lesbian
sex.  Along the way, Isabelle also learned a great deal about the various
toys she had see at Femme Views as one couple, two middle aged white women,
seemed to share a particular passion for them.  After watching one of them
please another with a strapped on manhood, Isabelle found herself
remembering a T-shirt she had also seen at the store that now made a lot
more sense.  It had read, "Tell me again why I need a man."

        When the film ended an hour and ten minutes later, Isabelle put
away the dinner dish and brought back another beer from the kitchen.  Then,
she sat back and hit the play button a second time.  The guide proved to be
just as interesting the second time around as she noticed some things she
had missed on the first run.  The girls in the last episode were Hispanic
and she found herself imagining herself and Jamie in their places.

        Closing her eyes, she put down the bottle of beer and, slipping
them under the T-shirt she had changed into, brought her hands to the
underside of her breasts.  Her skin was quite warm to her touch and her
nipples hard.  She squeezed them between her thumb and forefingers,
producing a pleasing sensation.

        Leaving one hand to continue to play with her breasts, she dropped
the other down between her legs to feel the damp spot on her panties.
Brushing her fingers against it produced a similar if more intense
reaction.  Feeling like a high school girl again, she slipped her fingers
beneath the elastic waistband and fondled the lightly haired mound
directly.

        "Hmmmm," Isabelle said to herself as she felt the tips of her
fingers caress her inner walls, "I don't do this enough."

        That might have been true, but she had hardly forgotten the how of
it.  In no time at all, she had worked herself into a pleasant frenzy, the
glow of her efforts spreading across her body.  Repeatedly she plunged two
fingers deep inside herself, rubbing her clit at the same time with her
thumb.  It didn't take long before a familiar joyful pressure reached its
limits, and she exploded in a rush of fulfillment.

        "Oh yes, that was nice," she smiled as she opened her eyes, "very
nice indeed."

        What had made it all the more pleasing was that in her mind's eye,
it had been Jamie's hand, not her own, that had brought such a happy
release.  Closing her eyes once more, she tilted her head back on the
cushion and fell asleep right there, enjoying her fantasy one more time as
it replayed in her dreams.

                                -=-=-=-

        Turning her car into the street traffic outside of the parking lot,
Isabelle mentally checked he contents of the suitcase in her trunk.  It had
been hard to pack when you didn't know where you where going, but Jamie had
said just to bring some nice things.  Nothing too special, but nice enough
to go out to dinner in.

        It only took fifteen minutes to get to Jamie's apartment house and
Isabelle was happy to see the dark haired younger woman waiting out front
with her own suitcase.  Getting out of the car to open the trunk, she
apologized for being late.

        "Not a problem," Jamie smiled as she dropped her bag into the back
of the car, "I just came out a few minutes ago myself."

        "Are you going to tell me where we're going?"  Isabelle asked as
she leaned over and kissed Jamie on the cheek.

        "No, I'm not," Jamie said with a touch of conspiracy in her voice.

        "Then I guess you'd better drive then," Isabelle replied, handing
her the keys.

        "That would make sense," Jamie laughed as she took them.

        Isabelle moved around to the passenger seat, while Jamie slipped
into the driver's side.  They had only gone a short distance before
Isabelle again asked for some clue to where they were headed.

        "My aren't we being the curious cat?"  Jamie grinned.  "But like I
said, you're going to just have to wait and see."

        "Can you at least tell me how far we're going?"  Isabelle asked.

        "Not that far," Jamie smiled as she turned in her direction for a
moment.  "If the traffic is not that bad, I figure we should be there in
about forty minutes or so."

        Resigned to the fact that was all she was going to get out of her,
Isabelle turned on the radio and sat back to enjoy the music.  As they left
town, their path took them up past the old North Ridge Canal.  Built in the
late 1800's, the canal had once served as the area's link to the rest of
the country, but with the advent of mechanization it had slowly fallen into
disuse less then two decades later.  Nowadays it was used for the
occasional recreational craft, as well as a make out point for the town's
young and not so young.

        In her high school days, Isabelle had visited the Canal more times
than she could now remember, with a number of boys whose faces she also
could no longer recall.  What she did remember was spending more time in
the back seats than the front, or totally on her back if the boy had a
station wagon or van.  Thankfully those days were also far behind her as
well.

        The Friday after Jamie had come back from her sister's wedding, she
and Isabelle had gone out to see a movie at a small, out of the way movie
theatre on the north side of town.  It had been one of those independent
films, the kind that no one ever really hears about and both of them had
enjoyed it immensely.  Going for a ride afterward in search of an open
diner for a late night snack, they had instead come across the canal and
spotted quite a number of cars parked along its perimeter at wide
intervals.

        "Is there something going on here?"  Jamie had asked as she counted
off a number of darkened cars.

        "Oh there's something going on here alright," Isabelle had laughed.

        From the look on Jamie's face, it was obvious that she didn't get
the joke.

        "Submarine races," Isabelle said, remembering how often that term
had been used by a number of the boys.

        "Submarine races?"  Jamie said as she slowed the car down, not
getting that reference either.

        Isabelle finally explained it as plainly as she could, adding that
she was surprised that Jamie had never heard of the canal since just about
every girl who ever grew up in Blue Valley had to have been up here at
least once in her life.

        "Well I didn't grow up in Blue Valley," Jamie said as the car came
to a complete halt.  "And even if I did, it would've been quite doubtful
that I ever would've come up here with a boy."

        "Well, then maybe you should make your visit with a nice girl,"
Isabelle said, "or better yet, maybe one not so nice."

        The two of them laughed as Isabelle further suggested they park for
a little while, if only to enjoy the full moon and the soft music on the
radio.  Deciding that wasn't a bad idea, Jamie steered her car over to a
deserted spot by the water's edge, beneath a grove of trees.

        They sat there for a while, listening to the song on the radio,
making jokes about what might be going on in the other cars.  Jamie was
surprised when she felt Isabelle's hand close around hers, her fingers
interlocking with Jamie's own.

        "Belle?"  Jamie said, using the diminutive of her name.

        In response, Isabelle lifted their joined hands to her mouth and
kissed Jamie's just above her knuckles.

        "Are you sure?"  Jamie asked, knowing full well that up until now,
their relationship had been purely platonic, and that she had no reason to
think that was going to change.

        "This isn't a rash decision," Isabelle responded, explaining that
she had been giving it a lot of thought while Jamie had been away.  "I'm
ready for us to take it to the next level."

        As if to punctuate her words, Isabelle leaned close and kissed her
with all of the intensity of a teenage girl on her first date.

        The canal now far behind them, Isabelle took just a few more
moments to remember what it had felt like that night.  The feel of Jamie's
lips against her own, the touch of her friend's hand against her bare skin,
and how Jamie's body had felt to her.  Finally, of how they had brought
themselves to mutual orgasm, their bodies pressed tightly together, their
fingers buried deep inside the other.

        "What are you thinking?"  Jamie asked as she noticed the far away
look on her face.

        "Just happy thoughts," Isabelle smiled.

        The next twenty minutes passed quickly, with little traffic to slow
down their progress.  They made such good time that, ahead of schedule,
Jamie announced that they were just about there.

        All Isabelle saw was the same countryside that she had been
watching for the last twenty miles.  She was about to ask the obvious when
Jamie surprised her with an unexpected request.

        "Close your eyes," she said.

        "What?"

        "I said to close your eyes," Jamie repeated.  "Come on, you've
humored me so far."

        "Okay," Isabelle answered, adding that it was a good thing that she
wasn't the one driving.

        Even with her eyes closed, Isabelle could feel the car moving down
what had to be a curving road, maybe even a driveway. Two more turns
followed as the sounds of people around them grew louder.

        "Okay, you can open them now," Jamie said, then added after a
pause, "surprise!"

        "Oh my God!"  Isabelle exclaimed at she saw the large sign in front
of the building that read "Couples Only."

        Couples Only was a high end resort for lovers, situated on the
shores of Lake Jefferson.  Originally started as a honeymoon haven back in
the sixties, it had grown over the years to include long married couples
looking to recapture the magic as well as unmarried couples just looking to
enjoy private time with each other.  Isabelle had remembered reading that
they had recently expanded their clientele to include same-sex couples too.
There had been an uproar over that, she'd read, but any loss of business
from straight couples had quickly been made up by those not so straight.

        "I've always wanted to come here," Isabelle said, remembering that
she had once mentioned it to Jamie some weeks back.  "but it's so
expensive.  Jamie, we can't afford this."

        "Don't worry, it's not going to cost that much," Jamie assured her.
"I used to work here as a maid while I was in college and have a great
relationship with one of the owners.  She's going to give us a really great
discount rate because the room we're staying in is being renovated."

        "Are you sure?"  Isabelle asked.

        "Trust me," Jamie smiled.  "Nothing is too good for my babe."  she
added, leaning over to kiss Isabelle on the mouth.

        Pulling their car into one of the spaces reserved for check-ins,
they left their luggage behind and headed into the office.  Like many
resorts of this kind, the facilities were spread over a large area,
populated by small buildings, each housing one to ten sets of guests.  The
rooms ranged from just above average to opulent, with the price tags to
match.  Even the low end rooms tended to run in the range of over two
hundred dollars a day.

        It took a few minutes for the clerk at the counter to finish with
the couple in front of them, a young man and woman who were checking out
after a week long honeymoon stay.  Finally, Jamie stepped up and presented
a small manila envelope to the friendly girl behind the desk.

        The blonde haired girl opened the envelope, took a few moments to
read the contents, then picked up the phone on the desk and dialed a single
number.  Hanging up the phone, she told Jamie that if she would have a
seat, someone would be with them in a few minutes.

        As it turned out, Jamie didn't even make it to the row of chairs
where Isabelle had already sat.  The door to the office adjacent to the
check in counter swung open and a middle aged woman with short white hair
came bounding out.  Pushing open a swinging section of the counter, she
made a beeline for where Jamie was standing.

        "Jamie, darling," she cried out as she threw her arms around Jamie
and pulled her to her, kissing her on the cheek as she did, "I can't tell
you how happy I was to get your call last week.  This place hasn't been the
same since you left."

        The affection in her voice toward Jamie was so obvious, Isabelle
wondered just how good a relationship Jamie had had with the woman now
finally releasing her.  It was doubtful that all former maids got this kind
of reception.

        "Doris, this is Isabelle," Jamie said as she turned and pointed out
her companion, "Isabelle, this is Doris, the one I told you about.  Doris
is the owner of the resort."  she added, turning her attention first to the
white haired woman, then back to Isabelle.

        "Only half owner," Doris smiled as she took a long look at Jamie's
guest.  "Father left the business to both my brother and I."

        It didn't take a genius to realize that Doris had been the reason
for the resort now hosting same-sex couples in addition to their tradition
clientele.

        "My, she is the attractive one," Doris said, her appraisal of
Isabelle completed.  "You better keep a good eye on her, Jamie dear, else
even an old lady like me might be tempted."

        That confirmed what Isabelle had just guessed, Doris was definitely
into the ladies.  As to the question of if she and Jamie had once been
close, she quickly decided that it was none of her business.  With her own
sexual past, who was she to judge anyone else's.

        Doris said something to the girl behind the counter and she handed
her one of the electronic cardkeys.  Doris in turn handed it to Jamie,
saying she was sure she remembered how to get to the room it opened.

        "Wait a second," Jamie said as she took the key and looked down at
it, "this isn't the right key."

        "Oh yes it is," Doris smiled.

        "That's not what we agreed to on the phone," Jamie said, slightly
perturbed.

        "So I lied," the older woman smiled.  "My dear, did you really
think I was going to put you in a room where the walls were half plastered
and paint buckets are scattered all over the place."

        "Then at least let me pay for ..."  Jamie started to say but was
then cut off by Doris.

        "We both know that's not going to happen," Doris said with the same
affection she'd exhibited before.  "I never got the chance to get you a
graduation gift when you got your degree, think of this as it."

        "Thank you," Jamie said, accepting the futility of arguing it
further.

        "Now you and your friend go get settled in," Doris said as she
turned and smiled at Isabelle again.  "I hope the two of you can have
dinner with me tomorrow night."

        "Why not tonight," Jamie asked, "you still have the late dinner at
nine, don't you?"

        "I just assumed you'd want tonight for yourselves," Doris smiled
conspiratorially.  " No, tomorrow night would be fine."

        "Don't worry, we'll be there," Isabelle answered for the two of
them.

                                -=-=-=-

        Once back in the car, Jamie drove them to a small duplex by the
lake.  It had two identical Suites, mirror images of each other with a
small porch overlooking the water.  Suite A was the one listed on the key,
but it was Suite B that Jamie headed for.  The door was slightly ajar and
she opened it and stepped inside.

        Just as Doris had described it, half the walls were unfinished and
a small pyramid of paint cans filled one corner.  A glance into the
bathroom saw that some of the piping had also been disconnected.  No, this
wasn't the place she wanted to bring Isabelle.

        "Our Suite is next door," she smiled to her companion who had been
waiting by the open door.

        Isabelle stepped aside as Jamie exited the Suite and used the key
to unlock the door to Suite A.  She stepped inside, then paused in the
small alcove to let Isabelle enter first.  After all, the younger woman
already knew what the Suite looked like, having cleaned it so many times
after others had stayed in it.

        "Oh my, this is lovely," Isabelle said out as she entered the other
room.  "It looks just like the photographs in the brochures."

        "I'm glad you like it," Jamie replied as she followed Isabelle into
the main room.

        Composed of three rooms, the largest of which centered around a
large rectangular oak bed.  A long L-shaped dresser filled the far corner,
on top the highest section of which sat a twenty inch television, complete
with a DVD player.  The opposite wall was almost totally mirrored, as was
most of the ceiling.  In between the mirrored sections above were twin rows
of small lights that could illuminate the bed, the controls of which were
within easy reach just to the left of the headboard.

        The second room was the bathroom, only slightly smaller than the
bedroom.  Aside from the necessary fixtures, which were housed behind a
closed door to afford privacy, the room held both a glass enclosed stand
alone shower and a Jacuzzi built for two.

        The last room was the smallest but also the most intimate, about
half the size of the first two.  Heavily carpeted, the only furnishings
were a small table of a height easily reachable to someone sitting, or
lying on the carpet.  Opposite which was a small fireplace, with a supply
of easy light logs piled next to it.

        "Oh look, there's even a refrigerator," Isabelle called out as she
pulled open the door of the small built in unit that was in the bedroom,
"and it's already stocked."

        Talking a look for herself, Jamie recognized the contents as a
selection of the various chocolates and cheeses the resort offered as well
as several bottles of wine.  She'd also noticed a couple of bottles of body
wash and bubble bath in the bathroom.  All gifts left by Doris she knew,
mentally adding up what was normally charged for such things.

        "What shall we do first?"  Isabelle asked.

        "Well, getting the bags out of the car would probably be a good
start," Jamie smiled.

        "Funny girl," Isabelle smiled back.  "I mean after that."

        "Well, we can go out to eat, they have that late dinner I mentioned
before," Jamie offered, "or we can hop over to the snack bar and get
something to bring back to the room."

        "I'd really like to go out," Isabelle answered.  "I want us to go
out."

        "Then out we'll go," Jamie replied.  "We can even go dancing if you
like; the resort has its own nightclub."

        The look on Isabelle's face told Jamie that she'd said exactly the
right thing.  There would be plenty of time over the weekend to make use of
the room's privacy, right now it was more important for them to be out in
public together.

        Dinner was as excellent as one could hope it would be.  It was
buffet night and the only problem was deciding what to try next.  That and
the worry that you were taking more than you needed to eat.  But Jamie
quickly assured Isabelle that it was okay to go crazy once and a while and
she was sure they'd burn enough calories to offset the rich food.  It took
Isabelle a few moments to get the joke, but when she did she burst out
laughing.  Jamie loved to see her laugh and promised herself again to do
everything to make the weekend perfect for the two of them.

        The other two couples at their table didn't seem put off in the
least by the fact that the two women were together.  One couple, Jim and
Sally Rhoades, were in their early twenties and on their honeymoon.  The
other couple, Donald Mason and Penny Riley, were closer to Isabelle's age
and fell into the category that the activities director like to refer to as
business trip/shacking up.  The over dinner conversation proved to be as
good as the food.

        After dinner, they went to the night club where a local band was
playing.  They had a few drinks but spent most of the time there out on the
dance floor.  It was hardly the first time that Isabelle had danced with
another woman, that had practically been a standard at numerous weddings
and social events while growing up.  This time however it felt so
different, because of the deep emotional and physical reaction she had to
the woman in her arms.  It felt so right for Jamie to be there and for
other people to see her there as well.

        "Are you enjoying yourself?"  Jamie asked, her lips just about
brushing against Isabelle's ear as they held each other tight during a
slow, romantic dance.

        "Immensely," Isabelle replied as she tilted her head so that their
lips met and they shared a kiss.

        The music ended just as their kiss did, and Isabelle found herself
quickly looking to see if anyone was staring at them.  If anyone had been,
she couldn't see it.  She knew that this was a controlled atmosphere, but
still it felt good not to have to hide what she was feeling.

        "What would you like to do next?"  Jamie asked.

        "I'd like to go back to our room," Isabelle answered, delighting in
how nice the last two words sounded.

        There was a small bus that carried guests along the half mile road
that circled the resort but it was such a nice night that Isabelle and
Jamie decided to walk back to their room.  It only took about ten minutes
and hand in hand, they counted the stars in the clear night sky.  On the
way, they passed a few other couples with similar ideas in mind, exchanging
nods and smiles as they passed each other along the paths.

        "I love you, Jamie Delgado," Isabelle said as they reached their
room.  "It's been a long time since I've said that to someone and meant it
so much."

        "And I love you, Isabelle Alvarez," Jamie replied, moving closer to
add a long, deep kiss to her words.

                                -=-=-=-

        The light of the fireplace, designed more for effect than warmth,
reflected off the two women as they sat on the floor before it.  Scattered
around them were the half finished contents of the gift baskets and on the
low table sat a half empty bottle of wine, along with two glasses.

        They had changed out of the clothes they'd worn for dinner and
dancing, replacing them with the outfits each had carefully selected for
tonight.  In Jamie's case, it was a flowing blue silk camisole, coupled
with a tiny G-string.  The top draped suggestively over her well developed
form, highlighting her not inconsiderable charms.

        For Isabelle, her choice of nightwear hadn't taken any thought at
all.  Months ago, when she had still been seeing Perry, she had seen the
most erotic, fire engine red corset with matching panties and stockings in
the window of the lingerie shop in the mall.  She had pointed the outfit
out to him, dropping a hint as to what she'd like for a birthday present.
It was a little on the expensive side, she agreed, but he would have been
the one to get the benefits of seeing her wear it.  Perry hadn't taken the
hint, settling instead on taking her out to dinner and buying a more
inexpensive and already forgotten trinket as a gift.

        When Jamie had told her they were going away to spend their first
night together, she knew she had to have that outfit, price be damned. When
she saw Jamie's reaction to it when she walked out of the bathroom, she
knew it had been worth every penny.

        "You are so beautiful," Jamie said as she ran an extended finger
down the side of Isabelle's face, brushing the edge of her lips as she did
so.

        "That should be my line," Isabelle smiled.

        "I'll be happy to share it," Jamie said as she moved in for another
kiss.

        As their lips met again, Isabelle considered again how each kiss
was like their first, a feeling that she had never felt with any man.  It
wasn't a matter of gender, she thought, as much as the fact that what was
passing between them was more an act of love than simple desire.  Not that
the latter was lacking in any way.

        Excited hands moved up and down their bodies, exploring all the
soft places that had become so familiar to both of them these past few
weeks.  Slowly, carefully, Jamie began to undo the small hooks on the front
of Isabelle's top, exposing the ample flesh beneath.

        Much to Isabelle's delight, Jamie leaned down and kissed each bit
of skin as it became visible.  The younger woman was in no rush, preferring
to savor the sweetness of her lover's breasts as more and more of it became
available.  Finally, the last clasp undone, the bright material fell by the
wayside as Isabelle's bounty bounced free.

        Running the tips of her fingers across the dark areola, squeezing
the hard nipples between them, Jamie produced a soft and pleasing moan from
the woman before her.  Her fingers glided downward until she could cup each
mound, then lifted each just a bit, dropping her head at the same time
until both met somewhere in the middle.  Then, after teasing them for just
a moment with her tongue, Jamie took the closest nipple, and as much of the
flesh around it as she could manage, deep into her mouth.

        "Oh yes," Isabelle called out, delighting in the warmth of the
wetness now wrapped around her.

        With the same enjoyment they shared only minutes before as they fed
each other the contents of the gift basket, Isabelle pressed more of her
flesh into Jamie's mouth, a treat she eagerly accepted.  Her darting tongue
caressed the sensitive flesh, even as her teeth added just a tinge of
hardness to the mix.  The combination, repeated back and forth between each
breast, was beginning to drive Isabelle wild.

        On and on it went, until Isabelle couldn't wait any longer to do
the same to Jamie, whispering that desire into her ear.  The dark haired
girl released her grip on the redhead's breasts and, with a quick motion,
grabbed hold of her own top and pulled it up and over her head.

        Isabelle had lost track of the number of times she had seen Jamie
topless at the gym, marveling at the perfection of her breasts.  But this
time it was different, because this time she was going to be able to do
more than admire.  Pressing her face between them, she immediately became
to shower them with the same loving affection that Jamie had bestowed upon
hers.  With equal effect, both physical and vocal.

        They quickly developed a rhythm, trading kisses on mouth and flesh,
their hands massaging each others skin as well as rubbing flesh against
flesh, nipple up against nipple.  Climbing out of their sitting position,
they stretched out in front of the fire, with Isabelle on the bottom as
Jamie climbed on tip of her.

        Starting again at the top, Jamie began to work her way down
Isabelle's body, marking her way with the soft touch of her hands and the
even softer touch of her lips.  Each was rewarded by a pleasing sigh from
Isabelle as they hit all the most sensitive areas.

        "God, girl," Jamie grinned as she paused for a moment, "you have a
really beautiful body."

        "Liar," Isabelle laughed, still sometimes finding it hard to
believe the changes in her over the last few months.  "But it is a lot
better because of you," she admitted.

        "Then I guess its right that I get to enjoy it," Jamie laughed as
well as she went back to the task at hand.

        Down across her stomach she went, her tongue producing even more
laugher from Isabelle as it curled around, then tickled the inside of her
belly button.  Reaching the still covered mound between her legs, Jamie
paused just long enough to kiss the center of the dark stain on cloth,
savoring the appetizing fragrance Isabelle's wetness had produced.

        A hand moved down each leg, working its way down the outside on the
downward journey, then the inner reaches on the return trip.  Warm, wet
kisses alternated between both in each direction.

        "Turn over," Jamie said, actuating her request with the motion of
her hands.

        As Isabelle did so, Jamie started this time from the bottom,
working her way up the older woman's legs until she reached the barely
covered cheeks of her ass.  A kiss graced each soft globe, followed by
outstretched fingers with traced the outline of each, then met in the deep
recesses of their convergence.  A meeting that sent the loudest moan of
satisfaction yet spilling from Isabelle's lips.

        The erotic dance of Jamie's fingers continued up Isabelle's lower
and upper back, again accented by the soft wetness of her mouth.  This
time, the press of flesh against flesh made reappearance as the black
haired girl lay across the woman beneath her and massaged the tips of her
nipples into her back.

        Finally, Jamie reached the back of her neck which, after covering
it too with kisses, she tilted Isabelle's head just enough so that she
could finish her little trip where it had began.  As before, this kiss was
just as sweet as the first had been.

        "Oh I could just lie here forever," Isabelle said softly as she
kissed Jamie again.

        "If you want, we can spend the rest of the weekend doing just
that," Jamie replied, also with a kiss.

        "On second thought, that might not be such a great idea," Isabelle
said after a few moments' consideration.

"Why is that," Jamie said, softly stroking the body now next to her.

        "Because then I'd miss my chance to do the same to you," Isabelle
laughed.  "It's not like I haven't been thinking about it for over a month
now, if not longer."

        "Really," Jamie smiled, "and would you care to share just what
you've been thinking of doing to me all this time?"

        "No," Isabelle said, a touch of defiance in her tone, then adding
after a momentary pause, "I'd much rather show you."

        With that, she lifted Jamie to her feet and placed the younger
woman's arms high into the air.  Isabelle didn't want to simply repeat
Jamie's performance, she was determined to improve on it, or at least give
it her own flavor.

        Standing behind Jamie, Isabelle brought the younger woman's hands
into her own, high above both their heads.  She squeezed them tightly,
sharing the strength of the bond they now shared.  Then, releasing her
hold, she caressed her way down their length, moving across the back of her
neck and shoulders until they traversed a path around to her sides of her
breasts and on to the soft pink nipples jutting out from them.

        Spreading her hand out as far as her fingers could stretch,
Isabelle engulfed Jamie's smaller, but more rounded mounds, squeezing them
tightly.  Jamie responded with a soft cry and a backward tilting of her
head as to share a kiss of appreciation.  A kiss that led to three and more
after that.

        Finally, Isabelle moved on, bending her legs to keep pace with the
downward motion of her hands.  Reaching the knots of Jamie's G-string, she
gave each a tug and the knots collapsed into themselves, the string coming
apart in Isabelle's hand.  She glanced down at the flimsy garment for a
moment, then tossed it aside.

        Dropping to her knees, moving now in front of Jamie as she did,
Isabelle ran her hand across the totally bare mound that was now exposed,
an extended middle finger running down the length of the moist opening.
From glimpses in the shower and locker room, as well as the feel of her
hands against it that night by the canal, Isabelle knew that Jamie usually
kept her hair tightly trimmed.  So it was a surprise now to find that she
had shaved it totally, one that let to a surge of excitement in the
knowledge that she had done it for her.

        Jamie parted her legs to give Isabelle both greater access and a
better view.  Aside from pictures, this was the first time she had ever
seen another woman this close and she couldn't help but take a few moments
to be fascinated by the view.  Gently, she parted the folds of Jamie's sex
with her fingers, revealing the glistening wetness of the inner walls.
Running her thumb up above, she quickly exposed her excited clitoris as
well, marveling at how different, and at the same time similar, it was to
her own.  Of course the view from a hand held mirror in no way compared to
the one before her.

        Taking one more moment to think about all she had learned and
fantasized about in the last few weeks, Isabelle pressed her hand just a
bit forward and slipped her middle finger inside Jamie, followed quickly in
turn by the two fingers on either side.  There was only so much you could
learn by watching and reading she knew, so from this point on she could
only rely on her own experience.

        But for a girl who first learned to masturbate long before she'd
ever heard the word, that experience was considerable in certain areas.
And if all else failed, she could always fall back on that old but
certainly true maxim, "just do to someone else what you know feels good to
you."

        It didn't take long for it to become apparent that what felt good
to Isabelle also felt good to Jamie.  Of course this was hardly news since
she knew she had brought her to orgasm with her hand that night in the car.
The real test was about what happened next.

        Moving her face closer as she parted the way with her fingers,
Isabelle felt far less hesitation in going down on a woman than she did the
first time she had done so with a man.  Of course the latter had been many
years and lovers ago, but as she ran her tongue deep inside the crevice of
Jamie's womanhood, Isabelle liked to think the lack of restraint was more
due to what she felt in her heart and not because of anything else.

        That night in the car, after they were clearing themselves up with
the handy- wipes in from the glove compartment, Isabelle had resisted the
curiosity to sample what Jamie's orgasm had left on her fingers.  She
wanted her first taste of the woman she was falling in love with to be from
the source.  Now, with that sweet honey filling her mouth, she was hardly
disappointed.

        Nor was she disappointed by Jamie's reaction to her efforts as the
dark haired woman mouthed words of encouragement, interwoven with cries of
various intensities.  Hands locked tightly against Jamie's ass, Isabelle
pressed her face deep between her lover's legs, her tongue buried as far as
it could possibly go.

        Curiosity enough, Isabelle had never even tasted her own nectar,
save for the brief remnants left on a man's cock after they had made love.
For some strange reason, she had always associated the act in the same way
that most men viewed tasting even their own climax.  Delighting in the
taste of Jamie's excitement, she now realized that it had been a definite
lapse on her part.

        Tongue and fingers did all they could, bringing Jamie to a state of
arousal that left no doubt that she was well on the road to orgasm.  That
thought only encouraged Isabelle more, redoubling her efforts until the
words fled Jamie, leaving only the moans of desire.

        She could feel the woman in her arms begin to quake as mini-tremors
raced up and down her body.  Jamie could no longer articulate, but she let
her satisfaction be known by actions if not words.  Isabelle hardly needed
the press of Jamie's hands against the back of her head, holding it tight
against her sex, to encourage her.  Still, it was nice to know she was
exactly on the right track.  Subtle changes in the feel of Jamie's body,
again so similar to those she usually felt in her own, told Isabelle that
she was close to her goal.  Actually, she was a lot closer than she
realized.

        The explosion of Jamie's sex against her mouth was as unexpected as
it was satisfying.  As was the echoing cries that filled the room and, had
there been anyone there to hear it, the adjacent one as well.  Isabelle
held on to Jamie as hard as she could, never pausing in her ministrations
until she felt the woman in her arms begin to relax.  Even then, she was
reluctant to give up the prize she had so energetically sought.  As she
finally released her hold, one thing she was definitely sure of.  The
ambrosia of the goddess that she had just savored would never be far from
her plate in the future.

        Released from Isabelle's tight grip, Jamie found herself unsteady
on her feet for the moment.  So much so that she found herself leaning
against the edge of the table that faced the fireplace.  It took another
few moments for her to find her voice.

        "Madre de Dios!"  Jamie said when she did find it, "you're not
going to honestly stand there and tell me that was the first time that
you've ever done that."  Then after a pause to catch her breath added, "Not
that it matters but, girl you could've warned me."

        "But it was," Isabelle replied, "I swear!"

        Jamie looked at her for a very long minute, deciding if she was
telling the truth.  Isabelle didn't know what else she could say, thinking
that all her life, men had been telling her that she was a natural born
cocksucker.  Evidently, she wasn't too bad a pussylicker either.

        "Honestly," she finally added.

        "Damn," Jamie replied, in a tone that said both that she believed
her and than she was happily surprised.

                                -=-=-=-

        The last embers of the small log that had been in the fire began to
fade as the two women watched the glow fade.  Isabelle was still wrapped up
in the glow of her triumph and content to let Jamie relax a little while
before they started again.  This was another difference than being with
Perry, she thought.  If he got his first, the odds were that it was
unlikely that she was going to get a second chance and she'd usually go to
sleep disappointed.  She doubted that was going to be the cause with Jamie
but even by some unlikely chance it turned out that way, she didn't think
she'd mind.  Not with the feeling of contentment still warming her inside.

        Leaving her disappointed was the last thing on Jamie's mind at the
moment, however.  In fact, while they had laid there in each other's arms
she had been rehearsing her plans for the rest of the evening in her mind.
Kissing her softly, she suggested they head back into the main room and the
comfort of the large bed.

        "Do you think we should take a quick shower first?"  Isabelle asked
as they passed the bathroom.

        "Nah," Jamie replied with a mischievous glint in her eye, "there's
be plenty of time for that later.  Besides, I think you're a lot sexier
when you're hot and sweaty."

        "I guess that was why you spent so much time helping me work out,"
Isabelle noted as she helped Jamie pull off the comforter from the bed and
deposit it and the blanket beneath on the floor.

        "Gee, was that the reason?"  Jamie laughed as the two of them
climbed on the bed.

        They met in the middle, sharing yet another kiss before divesting
themselves of what was left of their lingerie.  Leaning Isabelle back on
the bed, Jamie gently stroked her fingers across her breasts, running her
middle finger across the deep valley between.  She kissed each softly,
taking the dark nipples in her mouth and swirling her tongue around them.

        She pressed Isabelle all the way back and once more began to mark
her way down her body with a trail of soft kisses and even softer licks.
This time, there was no obstruction, however meager, between her and the
treasure between Isabelle's thighs.  Unlike herself, the redhead still had
a small patch of hair, but in a whim of fancy, it had been carefully
trimmed into a small heart just above her clitoris.  Later she would learn
that a woman in the lingerie store had suggested a place where Isabelle
might have it done.  Also to Isabelle's, but not Jamie's surprise, the
woman had also given her a business card with her private number, just in
case things didn't work out with her friend.

        Planting one kiss after another on the smooth mound, her tongue
just teasing the inner edge, Jamie also reached up with one hand and
continued to play with Isabelle's breasts.  Skilled fingers tweaked her
nipples, keeping them in a constant state of hardness and sensitivity.

        Hardness and sensitivity also being apt descriptions of her tongue
as ever so slowly, it penetrated past the barriers of Isabelle's sex.
Gently at first, then quicker and more forceful as her own, much greater
experience in this area quickly became evident.  Isabelle might well have a
natural talent, but Jamie had been doing it since she was fourteen years
old, taking full advantage of several high school girlfriends to save
themselves for the right guy, while still getting off as much as they
could.

        Their indiscretion once discovered by a female teacher who Jamie
had been sure was going to take the matter straight to the principle if not
their parents, had instead resulted in an expansion of the women she could
practice on.  Evidently the teacher, and a few friends, were also looking
to get off regularly, if for different reasons than her girlfriends.  With
one exception, all had been married, but weren't getting satisfied by their
husbands in bed.  At least not when it came to cunnilingus.  In some ways,
Jamie had almost been as promiscuous as Isabelle had been, except that no
one outside the circle had any idea of the fact and that it had stopped
when she'd reached college and met Heather.

        Experience won out over natural talent and it wasn't long before
Isabelle had her head tossed back, moans filling the air and hands gripped
tightly around the sheet beneath her which she had balled up into clumps in
her hand.  If Jamie liked her hot and sweaty, she was certainly doing her
utmost to keep her that way.

        A keener observer of the female form in ecstasy, Jamie would bring
Isabelle to the edge, than back off just enough to keep her from achieving
climax. By the third time she had done this, Isabelle was screaming her
name as she implored her to let her come.  The fourth time proved the charm
as, like a damn giving way to a flood, the quivers that had been racking
her body exploded with intensity she had never felt before.  At least not
at the touch of just someone's tongue and hands.  Certainly it was a climax
that no man had ever given her in that way.

        "Good?"  Jamie asked when she was sure that Isabelle was finally
finished.

        "Very good," she smiled back.

        "Everything you'd thought it would be?"

        "And then some."

        "Not missing anything?"

        "What would've been missing," Isabelle asked.

        "Oh nothing I guess, I just thought you might've wanted something
more familiar."

        "I don't understand," Isabelle replied.

        "Well just in case, I had brought a little surprise in case we
needed it."

        "What kind of surprise?"  Isabelle asked.

        "What does it matter since, as you said, everything was perfect."

        Isabelle had the look of wanting to ask the question again, but
held her tongue.  The younger woman let her dangle for a few moments more
then let her off the hook.

        "Well if you're that curious, its in the vanity bag by the side of
the bed," Jamie smiled.

        Unable to resist her curiosity, Isabelle looked over and picked up
the pink bag, undoing the zipper once she had it in her lap.  Her reaction
when she looked inside was once that made Jamie laugh out loud.

        "Oh my God!"  Isabelle exclaimed, then reached into the bag and
took out the surprise.

        There in her hand was an anatomically correct replica of a man's
cock and balls, complete right down to the veins on the side.  It wasn't so
much the appearance that had given Isabelle pause as much as the size.

        "Who'd then get to pose for this, John Holmes?"  she said as she
held it up to examine both it and the harness it was connected to.

        "Who?"  Jamie asked.

        "Never mind, he was before your time," Isabelle explained.
"Actually he was pretty much before my time too, but most of the adult
films we saw back in high school were a little old."

        "Okay, if you say so," Jamie laughed.

        "You really wouldn't have minded if we used this?"  Isabelle asked,
remembering the similar toys she had seen at Femme Views and how they had
been demonstrated on the DVD.

        "I wouldn't have brought it if I did," Jamie replied, "but seeing
as you said we didn't need it."

        A look of disappointment flashed across Isabelle's face, one that
was quickly put away for fear that it might offend Jamie.

        "Oh I can't do this to you any longer," Jamie laughed.  "Of course
we're going to use it.  I'd do anything I had to do to make my sweet baby
happy."

        With that, Jamie took the strap-on from Isabelle and proceeded to
put it on.  With the ease with which she adjusted the various belts, it was
clear to the older redhead that it wasn't the first time she had ever put
one on.

        "Now, baby," Jamie grinned, "I want you to just lie back and see
what it's like to be really fucked by someone who also knows how it feels."

        The look on Isabelle's face was that of eager anticipation.

        Before tossing the vanity bag off the bed, Jamie took a small
bottle of clear liquid out of it.  She squirted a generous amount of it
into her hand, then smeared it all over the head of her cock.

        "I know you're wet enough," she said as she capped the bottle and
dropped it on the dresser, "but it doesn't hurt to add a little something
to make it easier."

        Taking account of the size of the rubber cock, and mentally
comparing it to just about every man who had done where it was about to go,
Isabelle was hardly going to complain about a little more lubricant.

        Laying back on the bed, Isabelle spread her legs as Jamie moved
between them.  Cock in hand, Jamie pressed the head against the opening of
Isabelle's pussy and ran it up and down, spreading the glob of gel on it
across and into the passage.  Then, with a slow, deliberate move, she
pressed forward and into Isabelle.

        "Oh wow," Isabelle gasped as she felt the largeness fill her, even
though it was only halfway inside.  It wasn't uncomfortable as she had
feared, just slightly overwhelming.

        "Just relax," Jamie said as she slowly eased the cockhead in and
out of Isabelle, letting her get even more used to its dimensions.
"Remember, I know what you're feeling and I'd never hurt you."

        "But?"  Isabelle started to say, but then paused, the memory of
Jamie having told her that she had always been into woman coming to mind.

        "I just said that I'd never been with a man," Jamie smiled as she
eased her temporary manhood deeper into Isabelle, "not that I'd never been
fucked.  This toy was one of the things I kept when Heather and I split up
our belongings."

        That mystery solved, Jamie began to slip into Isabelle with an ever
increasing pace, the full length of her toy now disappearing within her.
Isabelle's amazement that she actually could handle it all soon vanished,
to be replaced by the familiar and not so familiar feeling its thrusts were
producing in her.

        Jamie braced herself with outstretched arms, continuing to pick up
her tempo of her actions, even as Isabelle felt her body beginning to
respond to each push forward with one of her own to meet it.  Her hands
came up to Jamie's body, closing around her breasts to hold her steady.
That the cock inside her was made of rubber mattered little, as she now
only saw it as a connection between the two of them, one that was producing
every increasing waves of pleasure for both of them.

        Lifting Isabelle's legs, Jamie tossed them over her shoulder,
gripping them by the ankles as she nearly doubled the force of her fucking.
An increase that was now only appreciated but loudly encouraged by
Isabelle.  The tiny shivers that been rippling across her body were quickly
growing into large tremors, centering in the core of her being.

        "Deeper, harder!"  she heard herself cry out.

        A challenge Jamie was quite willing to take on as Isabelle lifted
her legs off her shoulders and brought them high over her own head, holding
them in place with outstretched arms.  Jamie arched back and began even
deeper penetrations, pulling nearly all the way out before driving forward
once more with all the force she could bring to bear.

        Back and forth they rocked, racing down the road to orgasm as the
base of her toy rubbed against her own clit as well.  Once great advantage
she had over a man was that the artificial nature of her cock precluded any
premature climax that might leave Isabelle unsatisfied.

        Beads of sweat ran down both their backs as Jamie and Isabelle
again changed position, with Jamie now laying atop the redhead as the
latter wrapped her legs around the former's ass, holding them together.
Their mouths were now close enough to kiss and they did so again and again,
even as their breasts mashed together in a slippery mess.  They had
achieved an almost perfect symmetry, each of their motions bringing joy to
the other.

        Soon they were close enough to the edge for both of them to feel it
and Isabelle suddenly decided to take a more active role in bringing them
over that edge.  Reversing their positions, she climbed on top of Jamie and
began riding her just as she would a man.  With one hand massaging the
younger woman's breasts, she reached back with the other and slipped her
fingers under the top of the hardness, stroking her clit for a few minutes,
just long enough to bring her past the point of no return.

        Then, with an unexpected swiftness, she grabbed Jamie's arms,
pressing them down against the bed, their fingers interlocked.  Still
riding her cock with wanton abandon, Isabelle brought her mouth down to
Jamie's and kissed her fiercely.  Their sudden embrace was enough to hurdle
the short distance still beyond.

        The bodyquake which had begun deep inside with Isabelle soon
reverberated inside Jamie as well, their bodies pressing tightly together
as two became one.  Each wave of delight that they shared was more forceful
than the last, washing against the periphery until finally the surge was
enough to shatter the shoals, flooding both bodies with the rapids of their
orgasms.

                                -=-=-=-


        "Was that better?"  Jamie said later as they rested side by side on
the now soaked sheets.

        Isabelle looked over at hand, her hand reaching out as she ran her
fingers up and down Jamie's permanently erect cock.

        "Not better," Isabelle replied after giving it a playful tug, "just
different."

        "Which do you prefer?"  Jamie asked.  "Not that it matters, I'm
just curious."

        "What I prefer," Isabelle answered, "is the person whose brought me
so much pleasure, not how she did it."

        "Good answer," Jamie smiled.

        "Now can I ask you a question?"  Isabelle countered.

        "Of course."

        "Are you going to let me try wearing this too?"

        "I was actually kind of counting on that," Jamie laughed as she
reached to undo the clasps that held the harness together.

        By the time they'd finally finished some two hours later, they
defiantly needed a change of linen, along with that long delayed shower.
Neither one, however, seem to really mind.  The weekend, like the life
together they would begin once they returned home, had only just begun.

END

Copyright 2008 Ann Douglas.  All Rights Reserved.


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