"Oh well, more for me!" Sam teased. "I hope we didn't use all of that fudge sauce. Lots of things that I can think of to do with that fudge sauce!" she said seductively to Beth.

Chris tried to erase the mental picture that this brought to mind. Unfortunately, it only reminded her of the feeling of Lynn's tongue on her skin the night before.

"Well, I see that ten years of marriage hasn't slowed down your s.e.x drive, Sam," Lynn said, trying to embarra.s.s Sam the way she had embarra.s.sed Lynn earlier.

Sam didn't even turn red before she struck back. "And I don't think anything could slow down your s.e.x drive, Lynn!"

Lynn felt her face heat up once more. She should know better than to trade quips with Sam.

Lynn stood. "Well, I think I'd better get out of here while some of my integrity is still intact!"

"No, Lynn, don't let her run you out of here!" Beth pleaded.

"I think you'd better leave, Lynn. I think my wife might just like your company better than mine!" Sam teased.

Lynn laughed, offered her hand to Chris, and pulled her up off the couch. "No, we really need to get going, but thanks for the ice cream and the intriguing conversation," Lynn said as the four walked to the door.

"Yes, thanks for everything!" Chris exclaimed. With that, the two left.

Beth leaned against the door after the two had departed and looked at Sam. "I think she's a goner!" she exclaimed, referring to Chris.

Sam nodded. "I think Lynn's a goner, too. I just hope she knows what she's doing."

Beth waltzed over to Sam and took her hand. "Well, I don't know if she knows what she's doing, but I know what I want to be doing."

Sam read her mind. "I'll go get the fudge sauce!"

Back at Lynn's place, Chris plopped down on the far side of the couch.

"You going to sit way over there?" Lynn said, mimicking Chris's question of the night before.

Chris mimicked back, "I believe that it's probably safer that way."

Continuing the game, Lynn replied, "Safer for whom?"

Chris laughed and finished, "Probably for both of us!"

They both smiled, knowing that the statement was true.

Chris threw Lynn the remote. "Here, I know what happens when you don't have control."

Lynn chuckled, getting the hidden meaning in that statement. Turning on the television, she began clicking through the channels. She stopped on a rerun of "The d.i.c.k Van d.y.k.e Show" and looked over at Chris for approval. Chris nodded as she rubbed her neck. "I have a little bit of a headache."

"Do you want a ma.s.sage?" Lynn offered. "Hmm* someone gave me one the other day* who was that* Jill, or Lisa* hmmm," Lynn said teasingly.

Chris threw a pillow at Lynn. "I knew it. I knew you'd forget my name as soon as my hands left your body."

Lynn shivered with the thought of those hands on her body, then looked Chris straight in the eye. "No, my dear. You, I will never forget."

They both paused, and breaking eye contact, pretended to watch a commercial on the television. Lynn glanced back over at Chris, who was now ma.s.saging her temples.

"Come on." Lynn motioned for Chris to sit in front of her on the couch. Then seeing the apprehension in Chris's eyes, Lynn raised her hand over her heart. "I promise*my hands will be on their best behavior."

Chris, remembering how Lynn's tongue felt on her skin the night before, replied, "It's not just your hands that I'm worried about!" Moving across the couch, she settled in front of Lynn. Lynn slowly placed her hands on Chris's shoulders and began to gently rub. Her hands kneaded the tight muscles, starting on the shoulders and moving down Chris's arms to her hands. Lynn's fingers ma.s.saged through Chris's hair, stopped at her temples and continued down her neck. After half an hour, Lynn pulled away.

"How was that?" Lynn asked.

"Almost* o.r.g.a.s.mic!" Chris replied, surprising Lynn with her choice of adjectives.

"Just another satisfied woman," Lynn joked.

Chris smiled, thinking Lynn didn't know how close she came to the truth. She leaned back against Lynn and brought the strong arms around her. Both were overcome with contentment.

"I need to stretch out a little," Lynn said, finally deciding that she was too cramped in her position.

"Go ahead and lie down," Chris replied as she let Lynn's arms loose.

Lynn stretched out on the couch. To her surprise, Chris stretched out right beside her, settling her head on Lynn's shoulder. Lynn brushed a strand of hair from Chris's eyes. "So, what's aeChris'short for?"

Chris smiled. "Christine," she said with a sheepish grin.

"What's that smirk for?" Lynn questioned.

"Nothing, never mind* you'll laugh."

Lynn acted hurt. "I've never laughed at anything you've said!"

"Okay, okay." Chris paused. "Christine is my middle name. My first name is Edith. It's a family name."

Lynn tried to hold back her laughter, but was unable. "Sorry." She chuckled. "You just don't look like an Edith!"

"Thus the name Chris!" Chris pushed away from Lynn and nearly tumbled off the side of the couch. Lynn caught her just as she was going off the edge. Chris grabbed onto Lynn. The swift movement caused Chris to land tightly against the other woman. Lynn immediately loosened her hold, but Chris did not pull away.

The twinkle in Chris's eyes made Lynn feel a little uncomfortable.

"So* don't you have a middle name?"

Lynn grinned. "Ashley. It's just so prissy sounding. I hate to be prissy."

"Oh! Like that really surprises me!" Chris said sarcastically.

"I have a feeling that not much surprises you," Lynn commented.

"I don't know." Chris shrugged, then looked into Lynn's eyes. "This past week has been hill of surprises."

"Really?" Lynn asked. "Like what?"

For a moment it seemed as if time stood still. Lynn watched the light flicker in the eyes that were fixed on hers. She felt the light touch of Chris's fingers trace the outline of her lips, then the soft whisper that followed.

"Like you, Lynn Ashley Gregory, you have been the biggest surprise."

Chris felt herself inching forward. She could not control the action, as if a magnet was pulling her closer and closer. Just a breath away from Lynn's lips, she paused, letting her fingers glide over the lips that were beckoning her.

Lynn did not move. She gathered all of her self-control as she waited. She ached in antic.i.p.ation. In all her past experiences, she had been the one prolonging the moment, making the other woman squirm. Now Lynn knew how those women had felt* watching, waiting, the longing inside. She vowed never to put someone through that again.

Chris lay there, the heat within her body almost unbearable. She felt lightheaded as she traced Lynn's lips with her fingers. She knew after pulling away the other night that Lynn would not make the first move. Chris inched her lips closer.

The two were so close now that they breathed the same air. Seconds turned into minutes as both lay still, lost in each other's eyes. Chris had moved so that the soft skin of their lips was just a whisper away. The next move would be considered a kiss. Lynn could hear her heart beating, or was it Chris's? Either way, she could not hold out for much longer.

Suddenly, the lock on the door clicked. Matt tiptoed in the door and closed it softly behind him. By the dim light of the television, he could see two bodies intertwined on the couch. He smiled, hoping that they were as content in each other's arms as he had been in Paul's. Quietly stepping down the hall, he reached his room and settled in for the remainder of the night.

The two women opened their eyes. Each had pretended to be asleep. Chris had moved her head farther back onto Lynn's shoulder. The mood was broken.

Chris looked up into Lynn's eyes and softly smiled. "Good night." She then raised herself and disappeared down the hall. Lynn squeezed her eyes shut in frustration as she willed the tingling sensation in her body to stop. Impeccable timing Matt, impeccable timing.

Chris climbed into bed and pulled the covers tightly around her. Concentrating on the darkness of the room, she tried to let it cool her body down. But the burning within would not calm. Her mind kept picturing the lips that she had almost touched with her own. She had almost stepped over the imaginary line in her brain, the line between being straight and being a lesbian. She didn't want to be a "lesbian," but she knew what she did want, she wanted Lynn.

Chapter Thirteen.

Lynn's internal alarm clock woke her at five the next morning. She struggled to rise, but every time she tried to move, her body protested. Every muscle in her body ached. She had to admit, she was getting a little too old for the schedule that she was keeping. The lack of sleep was taking its toll. Finally, taking a deep breath she swung her feet to the cold hardwood floor and stood. Ignoring the moaning muscles in her legs, she made her way to the shower that she hoped would relieve her spirit. A half an hour later Lynn climbed behind the wheel of her truck, took another gulp of the extra strong coffee she had prepared, and prayed for a slow morning at the cafe.

Two o'clock came quickly. Lynn had prayed for a slow day, but the busy crowd had actually helped her keep awake. For that she was thankful. She would have loved to go home and take a nap, but she knew that she had a lot of work that had piled up and needed attending to. Wednesday was usually Lynn's day to put on her Investment a.n.a.lyst cap. She had always used that time to do research and contact clients. Unfortunately, her little day trip with Chris yesterday had thrown her off schedule.

Matt caught Lynn in the parking lot just as she was retreating from the restaurant.

"Hey, my mom and dad canceled on us this evening. I guess my mom still isn't feeling well. How about if the four of us go out instead?"

"You mean, you and Paul, and me and Chris?"

"Yeah, kind of like a double date thing."

Lynn shook her head. "I wouldn't call it that in front of Chris."

Matt looked confused. "What do you mean? I saw you two on the couch last night."

"Yeah, I meant to thank you for your great timing," Lynn said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry. Did I interrupt something?" Matt questioned.

"I don't know if I'll ever know."

Matt smiled. "Things still going a little slow for you?"

"I'm living with frustration twenty-four hours a day, Matt."

Putting his arm around his friend, Matt soothed, "Well, take a couple of those hours and kick back and relax a little."

Lynn shook her head. "I've got mounds of work to catch up on. Having Chris there, I can't even make any business calls."

"You could if you told her*"

Lynn raised her hand to stop Matt in mid-sentence. "I haven't found the right time yet!"

A car horn blasted from the direction of Matt's shop to interrupt their conversation. Turning quickly to attend to his customer, he called out, "So what about tonight? That Mexican place okay? About six o'clock? I'll pick up Paul and we'll meet you there?"

Lynn sighed. "Yes, yes, yes, and yes. See you later!"

Lynn towel-dried her hair as she set her briefcase on her desk, and then flipped on her computer. She drew the towel around her neck, pulled several files out, and lay them on the desk before shutting the case and setting it back on the floor. As she waited for her computer program to open, she finished her hair, and then sank down in the desk chair to pore over her latest research. Sometime later her concentration was interrupted by the slamming of the front door. Shocked to see that it was after five o'clock, Lynn hurriedly shoved the files in her briefcase and had just begun closing her program when Chris entered the room. Lynn struggled to cover her tracks by telling her friend that she had been bored and was surfing the Internet. She took a deep breath as Chris accepted her explanation and the dinner invitation proposed.

At five-thirty, the two women walked into Los Amigos and put their names on the waiting list.

"I need to go to the bathroom," Chris whispered.

"Go on," Lynn instructed. "I'll go get us a drink."

Lynn'wandered into the bar and climbed up on a bar stool. The conversation between the two men to her right immediately caught her attention.

"Hey, look at her!" commented the man with a little too much gel in his hair.

"I know her," answered the other as he loosened his tie. "That's Chris Newman, she's really hot!"

"Yeah, she is. Did you go out with her, Rick?"

He chuckled, then answered, "We did a lot more than go out!"

"You nailed her?" the other man asked with jealousy.

"Yeah. She was really good, too. She kept me going all night long!" Rick elbowed his drinking companion.

"Did she*"

"Oh yeah! Everything you can imagine*"

As he started to give details, Lynn decided that she had had enough. She did not want to hear any more. She decided to end the conversation right then and there. Leaning over, she said to the men, "You're right, she is good!"

The men both turned and looked at Lynn. The former lover looked confused. "Excuse me?" he asked.

"Oh, I was just agreeing with you," Lynn answered with a smile. "She is really good!"

Rick still looked confused.

Just then, Chris walked into the bar and toward Lynn.