In a low voice, Ashley said, "Well, that puts a person off their food, doesn't it?"

Puzzled, I asked, "What?"

"Well." She gave a meaningful glance at the twosome, still holding hands. "They're a little past it. It's not really a pretty picture to contemplate."

I glanced at the couple again, and all I saw was stars in their eyes and affectionate curves in their smiles.

Before I could say anything, however, Odette said, "Quite the contrary. I am really hoping to grow up and be as lucky as they are. Finding any kind of romance at any age is hard enough. I want to be one of them in another twenty years."

"Yeah," I agreed. "What Odette said."

And then I thought, "So much for the three-way."

Odette lived almost five hundred miles away from me, and the drive from Eugene to Sacramento could be perilous in winter and miserably hot in summer. This wasn't about tomorrow, I thought as we kissed our way to her cabin. But at least she believed that romance wasn't dead. There were possibilities with Odette, while a dead end had been all that Ashley had offered. I wanted some good s.e.x, but I also wanted possibilities if I could have them; so sue me.

"My roommate is a heavy metal groupie, and I've had the cabin to myself all week," Odette explained as she unlocked the door.

"I need to use the restroom," I admitted. Odette's cabin was an exact replica of mine, and I knew how to get inside the little bathroom and close the door without tripping over the raised sill or bonking myself in the head with the door as I freed it from its safety latch.

"I'll be right out here," she said as I closed the door and locked it.

After taking care of my urgent needs, I studied Odette's toiletries. She used the same moisturizer I did, and I was relieved to spy some toothpaste, cap firmly on. I made sure it was cinched down just as much after I squeezed some onto my finger and swished it around my mouth.

There was rustling going on out in the cabin. Given the various comments made during the video, and the uninhibited body language while they were dancing, I was pretty sure what Odette was arranging. I shinnied out of my skirt, panties and bra, leaving on only my camisole, which was decidedly not long enough to preserve any modesty. I looked ready for sin, and I hoped Odette found that s.e.xy.

Trying to look anything but shy, I left the bathroom. Odette was closing the small closet door.

She looked at me over her shoulder. "Well, don't you look edible."

Leaving the bathroom light on behind me, I walked toward the bed that had been turned down in my absence. "I hope you think so."

I was about to turn around when Odette stepped up behind me. Strong arms wrapped firmly around my waist and warm lips nuzzled at my neck.

"I noticed, during the video, that you were breathing hard a couple of times."

"So were you," I said.

Odette's fingers found my nipples through the cami and she squeezed them firmly, making me shiver further into her embrace. "Did you like the scene where that cute girly-girl was pounced on by her lover?"

"Mmm, yes I did."

Odette pushed me forward onto my hands so I was bent over the bed. The sound of her zipper sent a hard chill up my spine.

"You're ready, aren't you?"

For an answer I reached between my legs and encountered her hand wrapped around a good-sized c.o.c.k. "I'm very ready for this."

"Then why don't you put my c.o.c.k inside you, hmm?"

She had lubed it heavily, and it was slick in my hand. I angled my hips, slid my feet a little farther apart and felt the head slip just inside me. And it felt really good.

"Am I the girly-girl and you're the big, bad girl who's gonna f.u.c.k my brains out?"

Odette pushed into me very, very slowly. "That's right, baby. I have been thinking about doing this to you all day. And that movie..." She groaned as I pushed back to take her more quickly.

"That movie made you want to bend me over, didn't it?"

"Got that right." She pulled out and this time shoved in so quickly I gasped. "I'm not usually so freaking hot for it, but once I started thinking about looking at the gorgeous a.s.s of yours, feeling these-" She reached under me to squeeze my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, hard. "I wanted to see how naughty you could get."

"G.o.d, that feels good." I braced myself for her increasing pace while moments from the video flitted through my mind. "I feel like a very naughty girl tonight."

"Yes, you do." She punctuated each word with a sharp thrust of her c.o.c.k. "You wanted to do it with both of us, didn't you?"

"Yes," I admitted through gritted teeth. "I've never done that and-d.a.m.n! Don't stop. I just wanted to get f.u.c.ked tonight."

She leaned hard into me, pushing my shoulders down into the bed. We'd found a rhythm and the position brought sensitive, responsive parts of me into constant contact with the bulk of her c.o.c.k. "As long as we're clear about that. You're going to get f.u.c.ked."

"Ye-es, yes," I moaned. The backs of my thighs were starting to shiver and my c.l.i.t ached for attention in that way that made the inside of my c.u.n.t all the more wet and open.

There were several minutes where I'm not sure I said anything coherent, and her earthy, sweaty words boiled past my ears, making me hotter and hotter. She was suggesting that I play a starring role in every scene in the video we watched when I pushed up onto my hands, helplessly gripping her c.o.c.k with muscles I wasn't sure I'd ever used before. Of course I had, I thought a bit later, after I had collapsed on the bed with her on top of me. It had just been a while.

For the rest of the night we used the video as fodder for our fantasies. On top of me, on top of her, me on the floor, her tied to the chair, f.u.c.king with our hands and mouths-I was on fire and so was she. The lack of a porthole helped us lose track of time, but I wouldn't have been surprised to learn it was approaching dawn as she sprawled back across the damp, sticky bed while I licked and played between her legs.

"I love how red you are, and how tight your lips are." I parted her c.u.n.t again with my tongue. "And I love that you like getting your brains f.u.c.ked out, too."

She laughed softly and cupped my head. "I don't think I can come again, but your tongue feels incredible."

"Is that a challenge?"

She moaned as I pushed my tongue inside her. "We can do this again tomorrow night. Even tomorrow afternoon, you know."

I savored the delicious taste and texture of her c.u.n.t. I wanted to go on doing that for a long while. After kissing her c.l.i.t, I raised my head to say, "Pity we didn't run into each other earlier in the week."

"There's quite a buffet of women on board-we might not have noticed each other then."

"I'd have been a fool to have overlooked you."

"I quite agree." Her mouth curved in that easy smile of hers.

"I still wish we had more time."

The hand on the side of my head pulled me back down to what I'd been doing. "It's only about five hundred miles from Eugene to Sacra-f.u.c.k, yes, like that."

She was thick and wet against my lips, and remained that way for the next few minutes. When we finally fell into exhausted sleep my last thought was about the possibilities.

Points of Departure Karin Kallmaker "Smile, ladies!"

From my comfortable seat on one of the sofas lining the Piazza Casanova, I enjoyed the sight of yet another couple having their formal photograph taken. The dark-haired woman, six feet if she was an inch, was truly beautiful, and when she smiled it was hard not to believe she wasn't in films. Her arms were nestled around a curvy gal with an infectious smile. A hand casually cupped around a hip illuminated their intimacy.

They finished their time with the camera. The beauty said to the next couple waiting their turn, "That's the first time we've taken a formal portrait."

"It's been ages since we had one done." A much older d.y.k.e with curly silver hair had, like me, been waiting for a while for her partner to appear. Her partner, cute and bubbly, had arrived in a bustle and rush, complaining of zipper woes. I had smiled to myself as a kiss along the neckline had been stolen while the troublesome zipper was adjusted. The bubbly woman's reaction to the kiss had been delightful to watch.

She was engrossed now, looking at something on the curvy gal's finger. There was a hint of tears, ripples of laughter, then the photographer cleared his throat and the couples separated. The younger pair headed for the champagne reception and the older twosome took their place in front of the camera.

I wondered if my dear girl was having trouble with her zipper or something, because she was running later than her estimate. She'd said she had something special planned for our formal portrait and she didn't want me to see it beforehand.

As I watched the ebb and flow of women, I let a short film play out in my mind's eye. I was helping my girl dress, but not being very successful. The zipper just wouldn't go up as my mouth nuzzled the nape of her neck. Bad zipper, horrible zipper. My tongue traced its way down her spine until I buried my lips in the heat at the small of her back. The low zipper allowed the dress to curve around the alluring heart-shape of her a.s.s. Rising, I snuggled my front to her back, pushing the dress forward so I could wrap her close. Years of lovemaking told me that the sudden baring of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s would harden her nipples. I didn't need to touch them to know that for certain. Not touching them would make her even crazier. I could bend her forward slightly and let the dress fall all the way to the ground. She was naked against me and starting to pant.

The wonderful rise of her moan at my touch was broken by someone close calling out, "Hey, Hana!" I reluctantly opened my eyes and was glad I had. The voluptuous Asian woman in a long, glittering gown was well worth the effort.

A leather-clad butch swung around to face her, looking annoyed.

"I have your T-shirt," the Asian woman said. She handed the butch a folded white bundle. "I even had it laundered."

"Why thanks," the butch said with what I thought was feigned nonchalance.

"See ya," was the only response she got, and in a glittery glow, the Asian woman headed in the direction of the Medusa. Slinky was far too mild a word to describe her walk.

I looked back at the butch just in time to catch her smelling the shirt. Cast aside like a dried-up piece of fruit, I wagered. Crossing between us was a picture of happiness, though, and I followed their progress across the Piazza as the redhead said firmly, "I'm not getting off this ship until we go to the Internet library and book something that will let us be together again sometime next month."

"Have I told you that one of your attractive features is that you know what you want?" Her lover looked at her with such fondness that I was reminded of my girl when she saw that I'd made her breakfast in bed.

Breakfast in bed... the last time was a wonderful memory. I'd brought in a tray with her favorite tea, b.u.t.tered crumpets and a special surprise she felt the moment I slid back into bed next to her. I loved her body sleep-soft and melted. She was pliable and easily aroused when she'd had enough sleep. Her mouth opened to me, her body opened to me, and we rose and fell together until, in her abandon, she'd rolled atop me, fully awake and ready to ride me into sunset.

Eventually we had the breakfast.

An elegant couple arrived in my line of sight, walking arm in arm toward the dining room. It would take most observers a little while to figure out why they moved so sinuously together, as if they were merged at their hips and arms. The smaller woman was a subtle guide, navigating the scattered crowd with ease that kept her partner's blindness from being apparent. Their animated conversation was interrupted when the blind woman pulled her partner to her for a kiss that ought to have set off the sprinkler system.

"Let's do it, Gab." A blushing woman in a pretty c.o.c.ktail dress pointed out the photographer. Leaning into her girlfriend's side, she added, "We won't be able to find a photographer at home who'd do a picture like that for two women." Gab, it seemed was amenable, and they joined the short queue on the other side of the piazza.

The photographer continued to exhort smiles from the couples and I drifted again, wondering where my darling girl was. All around me were loving, happy women, holding hands, all of them looking at the future with shared visions. I wanted my beloved at my side, too. We were going to dance all night and then I was going to exhaust her by morning.

We loved dancing together. We'd met at a local d.y.k.e dance, both surprised to find a jive partner who could keep up. The later it got, the more the lights dimmed and the more she melted into my arms.

I was enthralled by her shoulders. We danced slower and slower until her hands were down the back of my trousers and my lips and tongue were exploring the slope and breadth of her shoulders. I had never recovered from that night. Before her, I knew what s.e.x was all about. One night with her and I knew what love was all about.

There seemed to be nothing but couples deeply in love everywhere I looked. If love could float a boat, we'd all be dancing in the stars tonight. Just across the way one woman touched another's belly-the gesture was unmistakable. Their future was taking on a new life.

I thought about the redhead wanting to plan her next date with a new love. I wanted to plan my next date with the love I had. I wanted to know when I'd see her smile and when I'd breathe in her perfume. I wanted to plan to spend the holidays in New Zealand, spring in France, next summer in Victoria, and after that I wanted to know the shape of every day, the time of our next kiss, how many times I could count on seeing her smile.

I was desperately, completely in love, and the future was all I wanted.

"Smile, ladies!"

The photographer shook me again out of my reverie. My gaze focused on the luscious curves of a lissome brunette leaning against the bar. Since she was facing away from me, I admired the playful dark curls that cascaded down her bare back and acknowledged that the slinky blue silk dress was extremely flattering to her fair skin.

The sheer stockings and skimpy high heels awakened even more l.u.s.tful feelings, and I imagined her on her back, under me, those long legs wrapped around my hips. I left my perch to see if her perfume was as delicious as that dream of a dress.

Moving in behind her, I whispered, "Can I buy you a drink?" just before I put my hand on her waist.

"I've been waiting forever for my lover to notice I'm here, so yes." She turned and those bright blue eyes gave me that look, the one that had been instantly fatal to my heart. "Yes, you may buy me a drink"

The future was all that I wanted. Tonight, tomorrow, next week... next year. After a hard swallow, I said, "You look fantastic. That dress is a crime."

"I thought you'd like it." She smoothed the midsection with one hand. "I'm afraid I've put on a few pounds this week, what with die good food and lazy days."

"Don't worry about it, darling." I loved our past, but all that mattered was the future. "They'll come off after you start the chemo on Monday."

I folded her to me, holding my future in my arms.

Dream Date Radclyffe Kay wasn't certain she was really the diamond drop-earring kind of girl. She wouldn't even have had diamond earrings if her great-grandmother hadn't left them to her, and in the five years that she'd had them tucked away in her jewelry box, she'd never worn them. They weren't overly large or blatantly ostentatious, but they were bright and bold and,... okay, a teeny bit showy. In short, they just weren't her. She wore small gold posts. Una.s.suming and reserved. Like her.

Well, she thought, today was a day of firsts, so I guess for tonight at least, the diamonds are me.

Brushing her thick, curly blond hair back from her shoulders, she shook her head and watched the diamonds sparkle in the mirror over the dresser. She had spent the afternoon in the salon, having a ma.s.sage and a facial and getting her hair done. That wasn't something she ordinarily did, not just because it strained her teacher's salary, but because she didn't pamper herself.

Tonight, for a few hours, that was going to change. Tonight, the last night of the cruise, she was going to finish up an unusual day with a night like none she'd ever known. Taking in her strapless red dress with the plunging neckline and cutaway hem that left most of one thigh bare, she laughed, knowing that none of her friends back home would recognize her. And that was part of the fun-she had come on the cruise alone so that she could do what she wanted and not have to hear anyone say, "Oh Kay, that's so unlike you!"

She was going to the formal dance, and she was going to look the way and dress the way and act the way she had always dreamed. The only other thing she needed to make the evening complete should be arriving any moment.

At precisely seven thirty p.m., a knock sounded on her cabin door. For one second, Kay had a moment of sheer panic. What had she done? This was so absolutely not her!

"And that's the point," she whispered as she pulled open the door and smiled brightly. "Hi. I'm Kay."

Her dream date smiled back.

"Hi, Kay. I'm Ryan."

I don't care who you are, you're perfect. And of course, she was, because Kay had chosen her based upon her photograph and date profile on the escort Web page. "5 feet 8 inches and 140 pounds of blue-eyed, black-haired s.e.x on the prowl. A butch for all seasons-tops with ease, bottoms with expertise." Tonight, she looked even more edgy and exciting than her picture or the glimpse Kay had caught of her, quite by accident, earlier in the week. Lean-hipped and lithe, her plain-fronted tuxedo shirt revealed the barest curve of small b.r.e.a.s.t.s beneath the starched fabric. Unable to resist, Kay glanced down and thought, but she couldn't be sure, that she saw a slight swelling to the left of the fly in Ryan's silk tuxedo pants. Just thinking about what might be tucked away in there made her p.u.s.s.y clench.

"I'm sorry," Kay said somewhat breathlessly, "I'm staring, aren't I?"

"That's all right," Ryan said, grinning. "So am I. You look fantastic."

Kay stepped back. "Come in for a minute. Is that all right?"

Ryan stepped inside. "Anything you want is all right. Tonight, the only thing I want is to please you."

Kay wasn't sure how Ryan managed it, but she sounded sincere. Practice, she guessed. It didn't matter. She was getting wetter by the second.

"Would you like a gla.s.s of champagne? The dance doesn't start for at least an hour and I'm a little nervous. Maybe if we-"

Ryan gently lifted aside Kay's hair and kissed her softly on the neck, just below the angle of her jaw. Her lips were warm and very soft.

"You have nothing to be nervous about." Ryan framed her face and kissed her lips, slowly and carefully. "Anything you want. Anything at all."

Weak-kneed, Kay steadied herself with both hands on Ryan's shoulders. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s felt heavy and she knew her nipples were hard and pushing out against her dress. She didn't usually get so excited so quickly. Maybe knowing that whatever she did or said was all right, no matter how unlike her, had unleashed something in her she hadn't even known she wanted. "Can I ask you questions?"