Danielle

"Hey," she said in friendly way

I acknowledged Olivia with a nod of my head and she moved next to me.

"I'm Olivia," she said and offered her hand.

"Sara, glad to make your acquaintance," I said sheepishly.

I sounded like an idiot but Olivia was checking me out as much as I was her. We talked for a while and I found that she had an innocent but charming personality.

Olivia's mannerisms were graceful, unaffected and sexy. When I looked into her vivacious dark eyes, I wanted to melt into her arms.

We met a couple more times at the pool to swim laps and I asked about her physique.

"Oh, I lift weights. I was in a car accident when I was sixteen and in physical therapy they used weight training for rebuilding strength," She in a matter of fact way.

"I would say it worked for you," I said with wonder.

"I've been a fanatic ever since. I love how I feel and look," she stated with pride.

Olivia asked if I wanted to join her and five days a week we met in the undergrad gym and pumped iron for an hour or better. She had me gulping two protein shakes a day.

By the end of the fall semester, my body was very fit and toned. I was standing in front of the mirror in Olivia's dorm room admiring my new look.

"You're looking pretty hot girlfriend," she said in a sexy voice.

Since meeting at the pool, we had become very close. Although our relationship was platonic, there was a growing sexual tension between us. I had purposely restrained myself because I valued her friendship. Frequent masturbation kept my desire in check.

Olivia was a warm, sweet and loyal friend to me. We talked about everything except my bi curious desires. Lately, she seemed lost in thought about something and was on the verge of telling me what was on her mind.

"Hey Sara, have you ever had sex..." she asked timidly until I cut her off.

"Yeah," I answered too quickly.

"You didn't let me...you have? How was it?" she asked with surprise.

"Great," I answered.

"Did it hurt?" she inquired curiously.

"Nah, why should it," I said and realized that she meant with a boy.

"Most of my friends tell me it hurts the first time," she said with endearing innocence.

"Well I guess it can...but..." I jabbered.

"Chris has been pressuring me to do it over winter break. But, I don't understand why it's so important to him." She said with unease.

Chris was her boyfriend back home and I was truly at a loss for words.

"I guess as long as Chris wears a condom I'll let him," she said with a troubled face.

Olivia looked so fragile and worried that I sat next to her and put my arms around her.

"The real question is; do you want to?" I asked calmly.

"No, I don't even like giving Chris blow jobs. I do it because I'm afraid he'll break up with me if I don't," she said in a cracking voice and tears inundated her eyes.

I held Olivia close and lightly rubbed her back trying to soothe her. She was crying and clearly upset. Slowly, she calmed down and I noticed that she was hanging on to me.

"Sara, can I ask you something?" she said in sniffing voice.

"Yeah," I said quietly

"Have you...ah...liked a person other than a boy," she said in a confused way but I grasped the meaning.

"You mean a girl?" I asked and she looked at me with soulful eyes that made my heart pound.

"Uh huh," she breathed.

This was it, I was trapped and I knew it.

"Yes, I have," I said like a confession and lowered my gaze.

"Do you like me?" she asked in a barely audible way but with emphasis on the word me.

"Of course I do..." I said reassuringly.

"No...I mean...like a guy thinks a girls...cute," she said almost whispering the last word.

As I gazed at Olivia's worried and vulnerable face, my heart was beating like mad in my chest.

"Yeah, I think you're...well...hot," I stated with heartfelt honesty and hung my head. The truth was finally out.

"You do? Oh Sara!" she cried and flung her arms around me, holding me very tight and started crying again.

"I'm hope you're shedding tears of joy," I said warily.

"I think you're hot too," she stated with a charming coyness.

Olivia's comment had my insides burning with desire.

"Sometimes when I look at you, I want to kiss you...like with a guy." She said yearningly and gazed at me with pure passion.

"Want to kiss me now?" I asked with longing.

Olivia answered with her soft sensual lips on mine. The feeling was pure delight and we shared many tender kisses and soft embraces.

When we finally came up for some air, Olivia's face had a dreamy look of satisfaction.

"Gosh Sara, that's way better than kissing a guy," She purred.

We lay on her bed kissing and fondling each other for a long time. I wanted Olivia's first time with a girl to be memorable but, she was a hungry little minx and was pulling my clothes off. Olivia took to the joys of Sapphic sex like a fish to water. She was natural and even taught me a thing or two.

As time passed a genuine and abiding love grew in my heart for Olivia. When junior year rolled around, we were inseparable and she professed her love for me.

With the help of a strap on, Olivia lost her virginity and I took a great deal of pride in that. Although she liked performing and receiving cunnilingus, she preferred using dildos on both of us.

But, Olivia was skilled at tonsil hockey and kissed me like a pro. Many nights were spent making out with her hand down my panties and vice versa.

It was one of the few times in my life when I experienced bond fide happiness with another human being.

Because of the long distance between Omaha and Miami, we never saw each other during summer breaks or holidays. For me, it was lack of funds. But, as soon as we returned to college, we would spend a day or two in her apartment satisfying our carnal lust.

In spite of the stares and sometimes nasty comments, we openly held hands as we walked around campus. We were young and in love.

At the start of senior year, we discussed our future plans after graduation. I was resolute about finding a job in the Miami area because Olivia wanted to join the police force there. We would share an apartment and live happily ever after.

Everything was going along swimmingly, until she returned from Christmas break. For several weeks, Olivia seemed preoccupied and was unresponsive to phone calls. She was intentionally avoiding me and it hurt my feelings something fierce.

On the rare occasion when I did spend time with Olivia, she seemed withdrawn and moody. My attempts to draw out of her whatever it was that weighed heavily on her mind, were fruitless. The only time she appeared to enjoy herself at all was during our infrequent sexual interludes.

Finally, about a month prior to graduation, Olivia informed me that she had something very important she wanted to discuss with me.

In her apartment, I gazed yearningly at Olivia and my eyes filled with hot tears. My first big heartache was about to hit me right between the eyes and I never saw it coming.

"It's over Sara, we have to go our separate ways," she stated emphatically with tears flooding her eyes.

"Why? Don't you love me anymore?" I asked in whimpering voice.

"I do but my family won't understand our relationship and they're a very important part of my life," she said with extreme sadness.

Olivia was graduating with a Criminology degree and came from an extended family of dedicated police officers. Her father, brother, uncles and cousins were all involved in law enforcement.

"What will they do? Ostracize you like the Amish do?" I asked in an unbelieving tone.

"You don't understand, we won't be accepted by them," she stated in a high pitched cry.

"If they love you, they'll accept you for who you are," I said pleadingly

"No one at home knows anything about us. My parents' would freak out..." she stated weakly.

Olivia looked distraught and sighed with frustration.

"They think I'm in love with Chris and..." she said but stopped herself and hung her head with shame.

Olivia's slip up not only shocked me but hurt me terribly. Although she never told me in words, I had mistakenly assumed that she broke up with him when we became a couple. I felt incredibly naïve.

"Anyway, I'll most likely marry Chris when I finish at the police academy," she said in a gloomy voice.

"Why? Why marry someone that you don't love?" I asked with a voice full of distress.

"Because I have to, for appearance sake, as screwy as that may sound," she replied with regret.

"This isn't happening," my mind repeated over and over.

Olivia's face carried a look of desolation.

"Fight for her idiot. Give her every reason to stay with you!" my mind screamed at me.

My brain started to formulate counter arguments because I knew in my heart that what we shared was much more than just a bi curious fling. For several hours, we argued back and forth.

"What about me? Don't you care about me?" I asked angrily.

"Yes, but...please Sara...this is tearing me apart," she cried.

"So, just throw it all away. Our love for each other, everything about us, it never existed. Is that what you want?" I asked despondently.

Olivia was in a frightful state and buried her head in hands.

"You're deluding yourself if you believe that you can live some pretend life with Chris and play it straight," I delivered tearfully

Little rivers of tears ran down Olivia's face but she refused to change her mind. She was willing to sacrifice our love and future together. My insides were in turmoil.

"Sara, I love you and I'm probably making the biggest of my life but it has to be this way," she sobbed.

A terrible feeling of despair descended on me.

"I have to say goodbye, I'm sorry," she said weeping.

I was exhausted and emotionally drained. Ultimately, it was Olivia's decision and she made her choice. I had put up a hell of a fight but I was on the losing end and my heart ached with sorrow.

I embraced Olivia for the last time and kissed her with passion.

"Goodbye Olivia, I'll always love you," I cried grief stricken.

In the privacy of my dorm room, I bawled like a baby. For a long time, I prayed that Olivia would come to her senses. But, as the days, weeks and months flew off the calendar, I painfully realized that Olivia wasn't coming back to me.

A week before the demise of my relationship with Olivia, a Fortune 500 company recruited me and offered me an excellent starting position. It required my relocation to Los Angles and I had ten days to accept or decline the offer. I had absolutely no desire to work in LA but when Olivia broke my heart, I accepted the job proposal.

Little did I realize at the time, the impact these events would have on my future love life.

A decade after graduation, I was casually reading the College Alumni magazine when a small paragraph in the obituary section immediately caught my attention:

"Olivia Isabella Ramirez, Class of 1992, police officer with the City of Miami; killed in the line of duty."

Somewhere deep in my mind, I had harbored a tiny hope that someday perhaps by a divine miracle, we would get back together. Now, it was utterly futile and I burst into tears because I still carried a torch for Olivia.

I Love You Dad:

After my break up with Olivia, I wallowed in a depression until graduation day but snapped out of it because I was very pleased that my dad was attending the ceremony.

When my dad came up to school, I informed him that I would finish my college career with honors and he was thrilled.

"You're a wonderful daughter, I'm very proud of you!" he said with deep affection.

I thanked him a thousand times that day and hugged him with a daughter's love. For one day, I was able to forget my troubles and bask in the glow of my accomplishments.

At a restaurant near campus we celebrated and I can still see his smiling face. It was the kind of unforgettable day that I never wanted to end as we talked, laughed and joked in high spirits. But, all too soon it was time to say goodbye. I was headed for Los Angeles and a new life.

A month later, my dad died suddenly from a heart attack. It was the worst day of my life. The father I had grown to love and cherish was gone. I wept with profound sorrow for many days and was inconsolable.

In my private moments of despair, I remembered a valuable lesson he taught me. While I was at college, whenever I asked him what he wanted for Christmas or his birthday, he would say that material things meant little to him. Just knowing that I loved him and cared about him was the best gift I could possibly give him. "That's all that really matters in life," he would say quietly.

At Thanksgiving, I was sitting in my mother's kitchen looking at old photos of my dad. It was difficult for me and the tears fell liberally.

I remembered that although we were very close when he died, we had quite a few clashes in my middle teens. I asked my mother if she knew why or how he changed so much.

"It's a long story Sara but your dad had a huge burden placed on his shoulders at a young age. When he was sixteen, his dad died. Because he was the oldest with five younger brothers and sisters, he knew he had to help his mother. He quit school and got a job to support her.

He once told me that he turned to religion when his dad died because it helped him find some answers, peace and the strength to carry on.

We dated for seven years because he wouldn't leave his mother until she was financially secure.

One Sunday when you and Josiah were at Uncle Billy's, he sat at the kitchen table and cried because he thought you hated him. He said he was going to change because he loved you and he wanted you to love him.

From that day forward, your dad strove to be a loving and supportive parent. It was hard at first but he was determined. He recognized that shoving religion down your throat was a mistake.

Many times we discussed our feelings about your sexual preference but your dad was convinced that being a compassionate and devoted parent was far more important than passing judgment. He cared that deeply for you.

As the years passed, his change of attitude and loving heart made a world of difference in your relationship. He adored you and would have done anything you asked of him.

But, knowing that you loved him and told him so was what truly mattered to your dad. He cherished that the most.

You know, Sara, there were times when I was jealous because I thought that he loved you more than me.

There's more, a lot more that I can tell you. Someday, when our hearts are lighter and not filled with grief for his passing, I'll tell you stories that will make you happy and cry.

I know in my soul that your dad didn't want to leave us. He loved and cared for us too much but God wanted him for some reason.

My precious daughter take comfort in knowing that he will live on in our hearts," she said with tears streaming down her face.

"I miss him mom, I miss him so much," I bawled loudly.

"I know you do sweetheart," she cried sadly and took me in her arms.

My heart ached with sadness and as my mother held me, I sobbed with utter abandon.

The Old Lady and the Sea:

On an overcast December day, I was sitting at the airport waiting for my flight to Omaha when the idea of starting my own computer company kept invading my mind. I was tired of working for the same corporation that treated the employees like a number on a chart.

In the worst way, I wanted to have direct control over my destiny and create something that I had a vested interest in making a success. With my mutual funds portfolio and employee savings plan, I had enough capital to last several years.

After several consultations with an accountant, I calculated start up costs and first year projected revenue. In less than two months I had my own little corporation, a mini Microsoft, up and running. Sayonara, corporate bullshit!

By the end of my second year, I was making more money after taxes than my previous job. I was able to pick and choose my hours and rarely worked over fifty a week. I hired an assistant and for the first time in my life, really enjoyed going to work.

The next six years flew by and while I was moderately successful in business, my love life sputtered through a series of brief relationships that went nowhere.

After my break up with Olivia, I met no one that ignited a fire inside me as she had. I detested the thought but recognized the fact that I might end up a spinster lesbian with no significant other to share my life with.

One morning, I received an urgent call from one of my biggest clients that used my services on a monthly basis. By now, I was working strictly on a referral base and new accounts were temporarily out of the question.

I returned Barry's phone call and he pleadingly asked me to help a small photography studio in Orange County. When I checked my blackberry, my schedule was full for the next two weeks.

I was about to politely decline when something in the back of my mind urged me to accept. Call it intuition, karma or fate but I startled myself by saying "yes".

As I patiently waited in the reception area, I was fascinated by the photos of women in sexy lingerie lining one wall. They were obviously boudoir photos and featured females from young to old, lean to chubby and ordinary to beautiful.

"Good morning, I'm Danielle," a lilting voice informed me and I turned to face a very pretty young woman with brown hair and dark olive color complexion.

She extended her hand and when I clasped it, the skin had a silky and warm feel that sent little jolts throughout my body.

"I'm Sara from Computer Solutions, a pleasure to meet you," I stated in a dreamy voice as I gazed into her beautiful dark eyes.

Danielle explained the situation and left me alone to tackle the problem. But, it didn't take long. I informed her that the computers had been compromised with a lot of spy ware and viruses. I managed to clean the system but needed to return and install the latest protection software with an adequate firewall.

Danielle stood looking at me with a very serious expression as I recommended a more updated computer system for her business. She was tastefully dressed in short sleeve blouse and designer blue jeans that complimented her lean frame.

My immediate fascination with Danielle was a cause for alarm to me. Not since Olivia had I experienced such a powerful attraction for someone. The one night stands and failed relationships of the last few years only heightened my anxiety.

For the rest of the day, I was unable to get the image of Danielle and the electric feel of her handshake out of my mind. As I prepared for bed, I was acutely aware that my pussy was tingling with need and fingered my dripping slit to a whopping orgasm.

It was past five pm when I arrived at the studio to install the new software. Danielle looked annoyed that I was late but I managed to apologize in a charming way.

Danielle had an exotic beauty with oodles of sex appeal. In many ways, her physical appearance reminded me of Olivia.

While she signed the completed work order, I noticed some photos on her desk. A framed picture of a very handsome man intrigued me.

"Your husband?" I asked pointing to the frame.

"Yes, that's Conrad," she said with a smile.

"You make a lovely couple," I stated admiringly.

"You're very kind, thank you," she said sweetly and I detected a hint of an accent.

When Danielle handed the signed papers back to me, she was regarding me with a curious look. In so many ways, it reminded me of the first time I met Olivia. There was definitely a flicker or glint of attraction between us.

"Please don't think me too forward but do you have any plans for dinner?" she asked kindly.