"Well, what would you like to know?" Lynn asked.

Terri slid her hands down to Lynn's b.u.t.tocks and slowly ma.s.saged the muscles. "I wanted to know if your a.s.s felt as good as it looked up there on stage."

Lynn was taken aback. "What else did you want to know?"

"Mmm* I wanted to know how your neck tasted." Leaning closer, she nuzzled then began kissing the smooth skin.

Lynn closed her eyes, feeling the pa.s.sion climbing inside. "What else?"

Terri pulled her lips away and drew her finger across Lynn's lips. "I wanted to know if those lips that release that s.e.xy voice were as soft as they look."

Lynn leaned over and hungrily kissed Terri's awaiting mouth. They continued the slow movement and kissing for several songs, through fast and slow, ignoring the others around them.

Lynn slowly pulled her lips away. "Anything else you want to know?"

Terri smiled seductively. "Nothing that you can show me in public."

Lynn smiled back. "So this is basically a physical thing, right?"

"Do you have a problem with that?" Terri replied.

Lynn simply answered, "We'll need to go to your place."

Terri took Lynn's hand and led her out of the building. Lynn smiled and waved at Sam as they pa.s.sed through the bar. Sam just shook her head.

Lynn followed Terri back to her place. Unlocking the door, Terri flipped on the lights. Lynn stood in the living room while the woman grabbed two beers from the refrigerator.

"Nice place," Lynn commented.

Terri handed her one of the bottles, took her hand, and led her down the hall. "It's even nicer in here."

While Terri turned on a soft lamp and put on a CD, Lynn guzzled down the beer. Terri moved toward her, and taking her into an embrace, began swaying to the soft music.

"Now where were we?" Terri said with a mischievous smile.

The two began moving just as they had in the bar. Terri rested her head on Lynn's shoulder. The music changed to a familiar song and for a moment Lynn flashed back to the previous night when she had been dancing with Chris, slowly rocking to the music, lips coming up to meet hers. She took the mouth hungrily. Lynn felt hot as hands moved from her back and smoothed over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She felt the heat grow as lips moved down her neck.

"Oh, Chris*" she moaned. She knew what she had done as soon as the words left her mouth.

Terri pulled back. Lynn smiled in embarra.s.sment.

"You can call me anything you want, baby," Terri said excitedly and started unb.u.t.toning Lynn's shirt.

Lynn grabbed Terri's hands to stop her. She suddenly realized that she could not go through with this. She could not have s.e.x with someone pretending it was Chris.

Lynn backed away. Running her fingers through her hair, she apologized, "I am so sorry. I can't do this."

"What?" Terri exclaimed.

"I swear, this has never happened to me before, but I just can't go through with this. I can't seem to get someone else out of my mind."

"Please tell me that aeChris' is a woman."

"Yes. Unfortunately, a straight woman," Lynn admitted.

Terri shook her head. "A straight woman? Lynn*"

"Look, I know it sounds stupid, but I think she might be coming around, and if there's a chance*"

Terri moved in toward her and traced her finger down the zipper of Lynn's jeans, coming to rest on the source of Lynn's heat.

"But you have a sure thing here, baby. I can make you feel so good* let me soothe the heat*"

Lynn shook her head. "Terri, I just can't," she said as she backed out of the bedroom.

Lynn left Terri frustrated and let herself out of the apartment. Climbing into her truck she realized she was in no condition to drive. She pulled out her duffel bag and found and set her travel alarm, wishing that she was where she had been the last time she used the device. Folding up her jacket, she curled up on the seat and settled in for the night.

Matt and Chris collapsed into their chairs and groaned, "I don't know when I've ever been so tired!" Chris complained.

Sam set two bottles of beer down on the table and pulled up a chair beside the two. "You two cowpokes look like you could use a drink!" She laughed. "How'd the dance go?"

"Let's just say that it will take a long time for my toes to heal!" Chris smirked.

Matt smiled sarcastically. "Where's Lynn?" he asked, scouring the array of bodies for his friend.

"She left already," Sam answered.

"Oh, I guess we'll just catch her at home then."

"No, I don't think you will." Sam smiled and winked at Matt, "Oh, you mean she left with someone."

"Yeah, it was about time, too. They were all over each other,"

Sam said to Matt, watching out of the corner of her eye for Chris's reaction. What she wanted to see from Chris was that she didn't really care. What she saw was a look of disappointment, even hurt. Maybe her advice to Lynn wasn't that good after all, she thought to herself.

Chris tossed and turned under the sheets. She could not get the image from her mind of Lynn with another woman*dancing, kissing*but then what? What would Lynn be doing with this other woman tonight? Then it dawned on her. She knew where she could find out. She turned on the light, slid the bedside table drawer open, and picked up the novel she had found previously. She opened the book. Chapter one, page one.

Later on, Chris looked at the clock. After three, and Lynn still wasn't home. Looking back at the book in her hand, she found that she was about halfway through. She would've been finished except that she had closed it and set it aside several times. Twice she had even turned off the light, just to turn it back on and reopen the story she had become obsessed with. She had no trouble staying awake. The book made her aware of things, thoughts and feelings that she had never let herself imagine. Although she could now admit that she was attracted to Lynn, she would not concede that she was like the women in the book. These women hopped from bed to bed, looking for s.e.x with every woman they met. She had never had the desire to be with a woman before. And really, she questioned herself, did she want to be with Lynn in that way? All she really wanted was to be held, in those strong arms. Oh, brother. Chris watched the clock now intensely as it clicked minute by minute. She was definitely feeling jealous, and a little hurt, although she could not figure out why. She was the one who had pushed Lynn away What did she expect?

Chapter Eleven.

Lynn woke to sunlight streaming through the window of the truck. Rubbing her eyes, she looked at her watch. d.a.m.n! What had happened to her alarm? Examining the clock, she laughed. The batteries had run out. Her little overnight bag wasn't infallible after all. She started the truck and raced toward the house.

Chris woke to hear someone rifling through drawers. "Lynn?" she whispered. Rolling over, she looked at the clock. It was five in the morning.

"Hey," Lynn answered from the darkness of the room. "I'm running really late. Gotta go."

Chris sank back into bed and thought to herself, I guess satisfying the woman had taken all night. I wonder if she had satisfied Lynn*

Lynn leaned against the railing of the deck, cooling down from the strenuous run she just completed. She realized she had only a few cigarettes left. Either she was going to have to get over her feelings for Chris, or she would have to buy a new pack. She lit the cigarette and drew in her first smoke, wishing that the nicotine didn't work so well at calming her nerves.

Matt slid the gla.s.s door open and stepped out onto the deck. "Oh, real healthy, Lynn. What did you do? Go for a run before you lit one up? Did you really think that one would counteract the other?"

Lynn kept her eyes on the waves crashing against the sh.o.r.e. "Is Chris here?" she asked.

"Not yet. I guess she went to the library today after cla.s.s. Probably because she felt the tension here," Matt quipped. Placing his hands on his hips, he continued in a sarcastic manner, "What's going on between you two, anyway? Are things not going according to your game plan?"

Lynn turned and looked Matt straight in the eye. "It's not a game, Matt" she said. Solemnly, she turned back to the water.

Matt was taken aback. With Lynn, romance had always been a game. It was always the thrill of the hunt. This was hard for him to comprehend. "You mean* what you mean is*"

"What I mean is that I really care for her." Lynn flung her arms in the air. "There, I admit it! I've fallen for a straight woman!" she blurted out. "Pretty stupid, huh?"

Matt nodded. "Yeah, pretty stupid."

"Thanks for your support," Lynn said, saluting him with her bottle.

Matt paused for a moment. Irritated, he asked, "If you care for her so much, why did you go f.u.c.king around with that other woman last night?"

Lynn sighed. "I didn't have s.e.x with her."

Matt mimicked like he was cleaning out his ears. "Excuse me? I think I heard you wrong," he said, never knowing Lynn to walk away from a woman primed and ready for a night of pa.s.sion.

Lynn shook her head. "No, you heard right." She took a swig from the bottle. "Pretty hard to believe, huh?"

Matt nodded and walked over to join her at the railing. He couldn't believe that he hadn't seen this before. All this time he had been irritated at Lynn for lulling Chris into her trap. He thought back to the conversation that he and Chris had on Sunday. He had thought that Chris was just confused and had fallen victim to Lynn's charms. Now he had to look at the situation differentiy. Maybe Chris was confused over her feelings for Lynn because she was falling for Lynn, just like Lynn had fallen for her. d.a.m.n! How could he have been so blind! He was sure of it now. The questions Chris had asked him, the way she acted last night when she found out that Lynn had been with another woman* He had to do something.

Matt turned to Lynn. "I can't believe that I'm going to say this. But I think that if you give Chris a little more time*"

"Excuse me?" Lynn asked.

"I think that she just needs a little more time* to sort out her feelings."

"I don't know if I can take it anymore, Matt. One minute I feel like it's going to happen, the next minute she pulls away."

"Lynn, I think you've forgotten what a real relationship is like. You've gotten so used to jumping into bed with people that you've forgotten that a real relationship takes time. That's what you're talking about, right? A real relationship?"

Lynn ran her fingers through her hair. "Quite frankly, the whole idea scares the h.e.l.l out of me."

"Well, I guess you just better decide if she's worth it. In my opinion, she is. She must be, she's the first woman to get you this hot and bothered since I met you." Matt backed away from the railing. "You know, you surprise me. You have so much patience in your stupid investments, then something like this comes along and you can't handle it."

"I don't make stupid investments. Risky maybe, but not stupid," Lynn snapped.

Matt looked her in the eyes. "I don't think Chris would be a stupid investment. Risky, but not stupid," he said.

Lynn smiled at his hint of sarcasm and remembered why he was her best friend. He shrugged, then strolled back into the house, trying to figure out what he could do to help.

"Yes, a very risky investment," Lynn mumbled to herself. She snubbed out the fading cigarette and reached for another.

"Hey, Lynn, keep your groupies away from the stage, would you?" Nikki called out, Lynn stopped messing with the amplifier and turned around to see Terri standing in front of the stage. "Five minutes, okay guys?"

Jumping down from the stage, she led Terri off to the side.

"Hi," Terri said shyly. "You don't look too happy to see me."

Lynn smiled. "Well, I didn't think I'd see a reminder of one of my life's most embarra.s.sing moments so soon."

Terri reached out and touched Lynn's arm, "You shouldn't be embarra.s.sed. I should be embarra.s.sed."

"You?" Lynn questioned.

"Yeah," Terri replied. Then looking down, she pretended to smooth out a crease in her jeans. "I don't usually come on quite that strong."

Lynn smiled and blushed, remembering the night before. "Yeah, well* you don't have anything to be embarra.s.sed about."

Fidgeting with a b.u.t.ton on her shirt, Terri said, "Look, Lynn, I just wanted to come by and say that if things don't work out between you and that straight woman* well, I really would like to get to know you better, and not just physically, okay?" Terri reached into her pocket, pulled out a small piece of paper, and handed it to Lynn. Lynn took the paper and examined the phone number she had just been given. Smiling, she thought that if things didn't work out with Chris, she would definitely call this woman.

Lynn shoved the paper into her pocket. "I'm not sure I'll be much company for a while if things don't work out between me and Chris."

Terri smiled seductively and reached out to touch Lynn's arm. "I'd love to help you forget," Then covering her face, she laughed. "G.o.d, there I go again! I'd better leave while I'm ahead!"

Around that time, Matt and Chris walked in and waved to Sam, who was tending bar.

"The regular?" Sam called to Matt, who nodded and held up two fingers.

The couple strolled to the seating area and took seats at a table. Both noticed Lynn as soon as they walked in. She was speaking with an extremely attractive African-American woman. Chris watched the tall, thin woman who seemed to be very interested in Lynn as she spoke, and was frequently touching Lynn's arm.

Sam set the bottles of beer on the table, including one for herself, and sat down.

"Who's that?" Matt asked Sam, nodding to the woman talking to Lynn.

Sam looked in the direction that Matt had nodded. As she began peeling the label off of her botde, she answered, "She's the one Lynn was with last night." Glancing up, she saw Chris's intent stare at the two women talking. Sam continued, "I don't know if I would've pa.s.sed that one up."

"What do you mean?" Chris asked, suddenly interested in their conversation.

"Lynn didn't sleep with her," Matt answered, casually looking at Chris.

"She didn't?" Chris said.

"That's what I heard," Sam replied, as she continued to watch Chris.

After Chris turned her eyes back to the women, Matt and Sam smiled at each other mischievously, glad to have conspired on the telephone that afternoon.