The Last Word

"I hope your husband isn't angry that I kept you out so late." Dana found herself holding her breath, waiting for Karen's answer.

Karen laughed. "It really isn't any of his business, how late I'm out, since we're divorced."

"Yes!" was Dana's only thought, picturing herself raising a fist into the air in triumph. Again, Dana was careful with her next words. "Oh! I'm sorry. It's just that I've seen the pictures you keep in your office, the ones of you with your family, and thought you were still married." At Karen's quizzical look, Dana rushed on, "You know sometimes you leave your office door wide open and anyone walking through the book section there can look right in."

"Oh God," Karen groaned. "My sister is always yelling at for me for that. She keeps warning me how dangerous it is, but I keep forgetting, especially if I'm in a rush. Any way, no, George and I divorced a few years ago. That's where I got the money to open the store, from my divorce settlement."

Dana quietly wondered who would be stupid enough to walk away from someone as amazing as Karen, then quickly acknowledged that it was to her advantage that Karen's ex had, indeed, been that stupid. They now stood in front of their cars, parked side-by-side, and stood there staring at each other. Neither woman seemed to want to call an end to the evening, both racking their brains for an excuse to extend things, but both were unable to do so. Dana knew exactly how she'd like to end the evening, but didn't dare. Not this soon. Inside her mind, a devious plan began to bloom. Dana took the initiative and wished Karen good night and climbed into her car. Driving home, Dana began mapping out how, exactly, she would seduce and tease Karen, until the older woman was practically begging Dana to bed her. Parking, she smiled all the way up to her apartment, smiled the entire time until she finally climbed into bed and drifted off to sleep.

##

Karen lay in bed, staring at her ceiling, images of Dana from this evening spinning around inside her head. She knew she was tired, but some other part of her seemed wide-awake, and she couldn't figure out why. The longer she was awake, the more her mind drifted back to the Susan, her lover for several years during college. She wasn't thinking so much about Susan, as remembering the times they'd made love, how it felt to have a another woman stroke her, kiss her, bring to climax. Soon those memories were replaying in her mind with Dana taking Susan's place, and Karen groaned into the darkness. Was that really what she wanted? Was she ready to go back to that life? Had she really given up on it? Maybe her marriage to George had just been an act of rebounding from Susan's desertion? Had she just been hurt so badly that she'd convinced herself she was really straight, just to avoid having to take a chance on another woman?

Karen flipped over to her side, now staring at her dresser, as all these questions rolled around inside her head. But she kept going to back to those images of Dana making love to her. Frustrated, confused, she closed her eyes and forced herself to settle down, to try to fall asleep. It took quite a bit longer before she finally did.

##

Dana spent the next month in a kind of frustrated euphoria. Every free minute was spent with Karen, helping her figure out how to acquire additional books, store them properly, and plan for a book release party. She very thankful she had a simple, 9 to 5 job, that almost never required any overtime. It would have killed her to have to trade the time she was spending with Karen to sit at work.

Step by step, she was implementing her seduction plans. She thought she showed great restraint in how slowly she was moving things along. Every time the opportunity presented itself, she'd gently bump into Karen, or just barely brush against her. Even though all this was intended to heighten Karen's interest in her, it was also pure torture for Dana.

Those brief touches, the smooth, soft feel of Karen's skin against hers, would send agonizing bolts of electricity through her. Then at night, those feeling would resurface, causing some of the most vivid, erotic dreams Dana had ever had. Which, of course, added to her frustration, because she'd then see Karen the next day, those dreams replaying in her head, and she had to force herself not to act on them. Sometimes she worried that, if she ever did get Karen into bed, she'd be too rough and blow everything, she was that desperate for the older woman.

Dana wasn't the only one feeling the heat. It had taken Karen nearly a full week before it dawned on her what Dana was doing, on purpose. When she'd finally figured it out, she was both thrilled and terrified. Thrilled that Dana wanted her, and terrified because she'd yet to work out a lot of her own questions. After the second week, though, Karen was ready to throw caution to the wind and take Dana right there in her office. Towards the end of the third week, Karen was starting to wonder just what the hell it was Dana was waiting for, but hadn't worked up the nerve to flirt back, or just flat out tell Dana that she wanted her just as much.

As the day of the book release loomed closer and closer, Karen reluctantly had to push thoughts of she and Dana aside, she was so busy with last minute plans and chores, and she made sure Dana was just as busy.

##

Finally, the night of the book release had arrived. Dana pulled into the store parking lot at a quarter past five, chuckling as she thought of how many traffic laws she'd probably just broken in her rush to get here. The rush wasn't just because of tonight's big event. Dana had decided that tonight, after the release party, was when she'd make her move, and silently prayed that Karen didn't freak out, and turn her away.

Hurrying across the lot, she yanked open the door, speed reading a sign taped there that announced that the store would close at 5:30 p.m., then reopen tonight at 10 p.m., which was the start time for the party. Advancing inside, she bumped into Chelsea who was rushing towards her.

"Sorry, Dana, but Karen told me to hurry up and lock the doors. Kids have been trying to sneak in here all day and hide, so they could get in on the ground floor of the party. We just ushered a little group out the door, and Karen wants to go ahead and lock up before anymore show up."

Dana laughed as Chelsea filled her in on the day's activities; delighted to hear that word of tonight's party had obviously sparked some interest. Turning back to face the interior of the store, she saw Karen and her sister hustling around, playfully arguing about where to set up the refreshment tables. Dana studied Karen for a few minutes. All of their plans had been meet with quite a bit of enthusiasm from customers, and Dana predicted that Karen's store would do quite well tonight, and not just from sales of the new children's book, because Karen was also offering sales and special coupons to adults, hoping that some of the kids' parents would do a little shopping for themselves while they were here.

Her heart swelled with pride at the thought of how hard Karen had worked to make the bookstore such a success. Then slowly it hit her, she was feeling a lot more than just lust for the older woman. Actually, she admitted to herself, she was in love with her. And what would happen tonight, if Karen said no? Quite possibly, she'd loose Karen forever, and the thought had her deflating like a balloon someone had just taken a stickpin to.

At that exact moment, Karen had finally spotted Dana standing just inside the front door, just in time to see the glow disappear from her face, like watching water drain away. A moment of fear spiked through her, wondering at what had caused the sudden change, as she rushed over to greet her.

"Hi, honey. How has your day?" Karen asked, her eyes darting over Dana's face as she watched Dana force it into a happy expression.

"Great!" she answered with just a little too much force. "Chelsea tells me yours has been very eventful."

Karen chuckled as she thought of the small group of ten year olds she scooted out the door just a few minutes ago. "Yes. It seems like news of tonight's party has spread through the neighborhood. I'm hoping for a nice turn out this evening."

Dana linked arms with Karen and starting inquiring what it was that she still needed help with, all the while thinking that maybe she shouldn't go through with her plans, and felt a tightening in her chest. Lord, what was she going to do!? She wasn't sure she could be around Karen much longer without completely snapping, but at the same time, the thought of Karen rejecting her had her scared to death. As they neared Karen's office, Dana shook off her sour mood. If nothing else, she wanted to make sure Karen had a wonderful, and successful, night tonight, so she focused her attention on that.

##

It was almost two in the morning, and Dana sat in Karen's office, watching her gleefully count tonight's earnings for the fourth time. To say the evening had been a success would be an understatement. The store had brought in more in a few short hours, than it had made all month. Karen's sister and two employees had already left for the night, leaving them alone in the store. Karen had already locked up, and besides the lights in the little office, there were only a few back up lights on in the store, giving it a slightly eerie feeling, but also one of being secreted away somewhere.

She laughed as Karen danced a little jig around her office, wincing a bit when Karen engulfed her in a huge hug, beside herself with happiness at how well the night had gone. Dana, however, was still struggling with how to end the evening, and wasn't quite sharing Karen's joy.

Karen studied Dana out of the corner of her eye, as she locked up the money in her office safe. Dana had seemed very subdued tonight, forcing a cheerful façade every time Karen came near her. She wondered if Dana was thinking of ending their friendship, and the thought left her cold. She'd spent weeks deciding want to do about her budding attraction to Dana, had finally made a decision, and now it would all of been for nothing, if Dana decided to walk away. Well, she'd be damned if she'd let that happen. She was having too good of a night, and thought it was time to push her luck a little further.

Locking the safe, she purposefully stood only inches from Dana as she stood and stretched, enjoying the way Dana's gaze drifted over her body. Yes, it was time to take the bull by the horns, so to speak. Grabbing Dana's hand, she pulled her out of the chair and out of the office, turning off lights as she went.

"Come on sleepy head, time to head home."

"Sleepy? I'm not sleepy," Dana protested, inwardly wincing as she caught the childish tone of her voice.

Karen just gave her a skeptical look as she locked her office door. "Hmmm. Seems to me you just sounded like my kids when they were little, protesting against going to bed even though they were about to fall over."

"I'm not ready to fall over. In fact, I'm wide awake," Dana retorted, and she wasn't lying. She was feeling way too tormented right now to even entertain the idea of sleep.

"Oh, well, in that case, why don't you come home with me and have a drink. I'm so wired, there's no way I'll go to sleep for at least another few hours." Maybe even longer than that, Karen thought, hiding her mischievous smile. No, she didn't think either one of them would be going to sleep anytime soon.

Dana followed Karen through the store, watching her hips sway as she walked, and felt that ball of lust she had been trampling down on all night, burst open. "To hell with it," she thought. Even if Karen pushes me away tonight, maybe I'll at least get one kiss to remember her by. Besides, Karen had just invited her to come home with her. How in the world could she ignore an opportunity like that? Her decision final, she let her eyes roam up and down Karen's body, as she locked the front door of the shop, admiring the view.

Karen, mean while, was secretly mapping out her own plans for the night and, knowing Dana only lived a few minutes away from her, suggested that Dana just ride with her, promising to drop her off at her apartment later in the day when she headed back to the store. Anyway, she argued, if they have some wine at her house, Dana shouldn't be drinking and driving anyway, and she was more than welcomed to crash on her couch. "Or my bed," Karen thought, as she unlocked her car's passenger door for Dana.

It only took them a few minutes to reach Karen's apartment complex, and both women, unbeknownst to the other, were busily planning on how to seduce the other, as they sat in silence during the drive to Karen's place.

Dana, admitting to herself that she just couldn't wait any longer, had decided to pounce the minute Karen shut her apartment door. Ironically, Karen's thoughts weren't all that different. Because of this, the instant Karen pushed her door shut behind her, she and Dana now safely inside her apartment, they both leaped at each other in the middle of the small hallway. Dana captured Karen's mouth, her hands frantically tracing every curve of Karen's body, and felt a moment of shock when she felt how quickly, and eagerly, Karen's tongue slipped inside her mouth. Stumbling around, they finally landed against the wall, Karen pushing Dana into it, and Dana squealed, more shocked to find Karen taking the initiative than she was at hitting the wall.

Dana wrenched her mouth away just as she felt Karen's hands slip under her shirt. She would have just stared at Karen, but Karen, feeling Dana's mouth pull away, had simply let her mouth glide down to Dana's neck, and was now nibbling at it as she freed the clasp of Dana's bra with one hand, and the other hand closed over one of Dana's small, firm, breasts.

"Karen!" Somewhere along the way, Dana's plan had gone up in smoke, but she really wasn't complaining, just surprised.

"What," Karen asked, laughing as she pulled back just enough to see the surprised look on Dana's face. Dana just stared at here.

"What's the matter, Dana? Didn't think an old gal like me could already be a closet dyke?" Karen flashed Dana a knowing smirk.

"You're kidding! I've spent this entire night agonizing over the fact that I might loose you if I made a move, but dying at the thought of not fucking you blind, and you were into women this entire time!" Dana felt torn between shouting in joy, and knocking Karen senseless.

Karen slipped her hands out from under Dana's shirt and took a small step back. Dana's reaction had her wondering if maybe she'd pushed just a little too hard. Seeing the exasperated look on Dana's face, she decided she needed to explain a few things.

She stepped back to Dana, wrapping her arms around Dana's waist, and leaned into her, trapping Dana between her body and the wall. She laid her mouth against Dana's ear and whispered. "Honey, I'm sorry. Maybe I should have said something sooner. Listen, to make a long story short, I had a lover in college, a woman, who broke my heart. I married George on the rebound, convinced that letting myself get involved with another woman would be the biggest mistake of my life. That having been involved with Susan had been a mistake, and that letting myself have feelings for another woman had gone against nature, and that getting my heart shattered was what I deserved. I married George and vowed never to stray like that again."

Now Karen leaned back a little, looking deep into Dana's eyes as she gave her a small smile, the feel of Dana's slightly stiff body making her nervous. "I told you once that I've always enjoyed talking to you; that you were one of my favorite customers, and that was the truth. Finding out, that day, that you were a lesbian, dug up a lot of my old memories. Then, the more and more time I spent with you, I started wondering if I hadn't made a very grave mistake, refusing to acknowledge that I really preferred women to men. And when you started seducing me,"

"You knew!"

Karen gave Dana a wicked grin. "Yes, I knew. I admit I was a little slow on the uptake. It took me almost a full week before I realized what you were doing, but eventually I figured it out. Then it took me another few weeks to admit that I wanted it. Wanted you. More than I've wanted anything, or anyone, in such a very, very long time."

Dana couldn't believe what she was hearing. All this time she'd spent frustrated, body and soul, agonizing about whether or not to risk their friendship in hopes of having something more, and all she'd done was waste precious time. She continued to just stare at Karen in shock, and then she noticed the smile Karen was fighting back, and burst out laughing.

Relief flooded through Karen as she joined in Dana's laughter. For a split second, she was afraid Dana was angry and would storm out. But the laugh died out as Dana took her by surprise, capturing her mouth and spinning them around so that Karen was now pushed against the wall.

"Oh, you're going to pay for this," Dana told Karen with an evil grin. She began kissing and nibbling on Karen's neck, working her way down Karen's body as she freed the buttons of her shirt. Karen leaned her head against the wall and purred at the feel of Dana's soft lips, her tongue occasionally darting out to lavish her skin. God, it'd been so long since she'd felt another woman's touch! Right at this moment, so couldn't fathom why she'd denied herself such exquisite please all these years.

Dana stopped when she reached the waistband of Karen's jeans and stood up. They resumed kissing, their tongues dancing together, sliding over one another, as Dana eased Karen's shirt off of her shoulders and down her arms. Finally free of the blouse, Karen framed Dana's face with her hands, holding her still as she deepen the kiss, exploring the inside of Dana's mouth. She could taste the peppermint candies Dana had been nervously popping all night, and a hint of coffee.

Dana was loving the feel of Karen's tongue, felt a chill race up her spine when Karen's tongue skimmed over her teeth, then lick the underside of her tongue. Her hands, wrapped over Karen's shoulders, let go, and trailed their way down the sides of Karen's body. Reaching her hips, Dana let her hands glide behind Karen and both hands eased into the back pockets of Karen's jeans, gripped Karen's round, firm ass, and pulled Karen closer.

Several minutes passed, which felt like heaven to both women, when Dana pulled back. "Where's your bedroom?" she gasped.

Karen gave Dana a quick kiss, then took hold of her hand, leading her down the little hallway and into the beginning of her living room, before she turned left and strolled down another short hallway to where her bedroom door stood, slightly ajar, at the end of the hall. She gripped the doorframe, and turned around to face Dana as she pulled her into her. They kissed again, sweetly, tenderly, but Karen could feel the heat pouring off of Dana, and knew her soon to be lover was exerting much control, to keep herself from jumping Karen right there.

"You really want me, don't you?"

"You have no idea," Dana gasped, her body so tense with wanting that she felt like she was being squeezed by a giant, invisible hand.

Laughing, Karen stepped further into the bedroom, turned to face Dana, and began to leisurely strip. She couldn't help but feel a little smug as she watched the lust and desire dancing in Dana's eyes, the younger woman unable to tear her gaze away. Down to her underwear, she reached behind her to unclasp her bra, but Dana's voice stopped her.

"No, don't," Dana crocked, her voice husky. Forcing herself to go slow, take her time, she walk over to stand in front of Karen. Their eyes locked on each other, Dana eased her hands behind Karen and carefully undid her bra. She took her time easing the bra straps down Karen's arms, then pulled the bra free and threw it over her shoulder.