Kate's Journey to Discover Herself

Kate's journey to find herself and others.

Part one - The Cabin

Damian walked over to Kate who was struggling with the spreadsheet she'd been given.

He smiled, "Hi, it's Kate isn't it?"

It was the first time he'd said anything to her in the six months since she'd started at O'Neil and Proctor.

She knew who he was though, the youngest partner at the firm, mid thirties, good looking, single and considered by the girls working there as the ultimate, if unobtainable, catch.

"I need to ask you something Kate," a smile playing round his lips.

"Yes?"

"Are you doing anything tonight?"

Kate felt butterflies in her stomach.

Kate's Friday night schedule was, as usual, pretty empty, telephoning mum for a chat and watching TV.

Since she'd moved to the city Kate had struggled to make new friends, she knew that several of the firm's staff went out together on Friday nights, but she had yet to be invited into that exclusive club.

She smiled back

"Nothing I can't get out of, why do you ask?" her heart beating faster.

"It's just...erm...do you drive Kate?"

"Yes," she replied, too quickly, calm down and try not to blush, she told herself.

His smile widened

"Great, I need to get a contract to Jayne Simmons, she needs to sign it, and I need it back here on my desk, by Monday at 9:00 latest."

Kate feeling foolish, nodded and forced herself to keep smiling.

Damian continued "Trouble is Kate, she's left for her cabin by the lake already, so I need you to drive over tonight and get her to sign it."

"Couldn't we just use a courier?" Kate suggested.

"Christ no, the last time we did that the idiots lost the documents, by the time they found them we'd missed the deadline and almost lost the client."

He leaned in touched her arm and quietly said, "Look, I'd really appreciate it if you'd do this for me, and as you've not got anything on tonight?"

His smile now seeming slightly less charming to Kate.

"Don't have a car."

"No problem Kate," his smile as bright as ever "Alex can get you a pool car, one of those electric things, I'll get her to sort it now and give you the address of Jayne's cabin for the GPS, you'll need it."

He looked round and gave a wink and thumbs up to one of the other partners, who was looking nervously on.

"Oh and don't let that lesbian bitch seduce you," he laughed.

Kate wondered what he meant by that, but didn't ask.

Alex did indeed sort out an electric pool car for her, one of two Nissans the partnership had procured to highlight their support for the environment to one of their larger green energy clients.

The two cars spent most of their time unused in the basement car park, the partners preferring to drive their company supplied Range Rovers and Aston Martins, unless seeing that particular client.

Kate looked at the dashboard in front of her, nothing like her old Toyota used to be.

In the centre of the dashboard the energy management panel proudly boasted that a range of 174 miles was available, caveated with the notice, 'Range is subject to vary accordingly to driving conditions.'

She put in the address of the cabin she'd been given, shit, according to the GPS the cottage was 108 miles away, she would need to charge it at some point, just so she could get home.

The car was easier to drive than Kate had imagined, two pedals, stop and go, ideal for the rush hour traffic she found herself sat in.

Within 10 minutes of leaving the underground garage it started to rain, she peered through the windscreen into the dark of the winter night and turned on the heater.

The local radio station warned her of storms for the next 8 hours.

Half an hour and 4 torturously slow miles later the dashboard told her she had 160 miles range remaining.

She had only glanced at the laminated instruction sheet she'd been handed with the car keys, but remembered it had mentioned something about extending the car's range by not using the heater, radio and lights unnecessarily.

Kate turned the heater down and the radio off.

The sound of the windscreen wipers and occasional blast of someone's horn was the only sound she heard while waiting for the traffic to move.

Her mind wondered to what Damian had said earlier, "Don't let that lesbian bitch seduce you".

She'd never met Jayne, but had heard she could be hard to work for, in her head she imagined what she might look like.

Feeling a little happier once on the highway, the traffic, still Friday night heavy, was at least now moving.

Ninety minutes later the GPS 60 showed miles to go and the car displayed an available range of 75 miles, she began to worry.

She pulled off the highway onto a service station forecourt, only to find two out of the three 'fast charging points' out of action, the third had a queue of four cars already waiting to use it.

Kate checked Google, there were a couple of other charging points advertised but both were at least five miles out of the way, which could mean a ten mile round trip only to find the same thing, she felt nervous but decided to push on.

Not long afterwards the GPS informed her to take the next exit.

Once off the highway the road seemed to close in on her, only painted lines and the occasional sign illuminated by her headlights kept her company.

By the time the GPS showed her there was 10 miles to her destination the range was down to 16 miles.

A final turn took her down a much narrower road.

"You have reached your destination, the destination is on the right." the GPS finally announced.

Kate couldn't see a thing, just a wall of trees.

She drove on until told to, "Turn around where possible."

Kate did this twice before finally noticing an opening in the dark wall of trees, guarded by a gate leading to a single track cinder road.

The range was now showing as two miles, she stopped and got out of the car. The cold rain biting into her office clothing, in the distance there was a flash of lightning followed by a low growl of thunder.

She shuddered, the gate was bolted, but had no lock.

Well, she'd come this far, it must be down there and if the worst came to the worst she would sleep in the car and either sort it in the morning, or be found frozen to death she laughed grimly to herself.

She opened the gate, got back in her car and drove carefully down the track.

A few hundred yards later her headlights picked out the back of a black Porsche parked where the track temporarily widened, its registration plate read J4YNE S, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Kate parked next to the Porsche, grabbing her briefcase as a makeshift umbrella, got out of her car, rushed down the path, up four steps and onto the porch of the cabin.

The smell of burning wood and music quietly playing confirmed that someone must be inside.

Kate took a few seconds to tidy herself up, composed herself and pressed the bell. Somewhere inside she heard a corresponding chime.

The porch light came on followed by a woman's voice,

"Who is it?"

"It's Kate from O'Neil and Proctor, I've got some paperwork to sign."

She heard the bolts on the inside of the door being slid back, the door opened revealing Jayne, nothing like Kate had imagined her looking earlier.

Jayne was stunning, about ten years older than Kate, dressed in tight jeans, lumberjack shirt and apron. Her jet black hair curling softly around her shoulders setting off her green eyes perfectly.

"What, they've sent you out in this?" Jayne asked, looking over Kate's shoulder.

"I must admit I didn't realise the weather was going to be this bad." she nervously replied.

"You better come in then," adding, "I bet it was that idiot Damian, trying to prove a point."

From what little Kate had seen in the dark, the outside of the cabin had appeared to be a classic wooden cabin, the sort seen in 1950's movies with some collie dog waiting on the porch for a child to come home from school, but the inside was far from 1950's.

A large open space with a kitchen and island down one side surrounded by six bar stools, a large king sized bed and two sofas facing each other a wood burning stove in between.

There were a couple of doors off the main room to one side, and one wall made entirely of glass presumably over looking a view masked by the darkness of the night.

A few seconds later the view was confirmed by a flash of lightning which lit up a long lawn running to the banks of a large lake and boat house.

"This is a lovely cabin," said Kate, starting to open her wet briefcase to retrieve the paperwork.

"Sit down a minute Kate," Jayne gestured to a sofa while taking off her apron, "I was just cooking some pasta if you'd like some?"

Kate had to admit the sauce smelled delicious, the fact she hadn't eaten since lunchtime probably didn't help.

"I'm sure Miss Simmons you have other things to do, I wouldn't want to put you to any trouble."

"Jayne, and I'd love you to have some. I don't get many visitors at the cabin and you've come so far tonight, it's the least I can do,"" She smiled, putting Kate at ease.

They ate at the kitchen island, the pasta tasted even better than Kate had expected.

Jayne poured herself a large glass of red wine and asked Kate if she would like one.

Kate declined saying she needed to drive later.

She then explained the situation with the car and asked if she could possibly charge it from the cabin?

"I'm not sure Kate, I've haven't got an electric car charging point, but there is a normal plug socket on porch you could try?"

Jayne lent Kate a coat and between them, in the rain, they worked out which cable adaptors to use feeding the cable from the porch to the car.

Kate checked the dashboard and was shocked to be informed that the estimated time to fully charge the batteries using the connected power source would be fifteen hours!

They returned to the cabin absolutely soaked.

"Well then you're not going to be able to make it home tonight Kate, where are you going stay?"

Kate had passed a hotel about 12 miles before reaching the cabin and suggested she'd try there when there was enough charge in her car to get her there.

"There's no chance they've got a room at The Lodge on a Friday night Kate, that place gets booked up months in advance, you'll just have to stay with me."

She caught the look of concern on Kate's face adding with a smile, "Don't worry, you're not my type".

Kate reddened, "What do you mean?"

"Don't tell me Damian didn't warn you?" She said with a straight face, which then broke into a perfect smile.

"Damian and I have a bit of history, let's just say he can be a little bitter at times," still smiling.

"You can stay in the spare bedroom if you want, just bunk beds I'm afraid, got them for when my nieces stay over, you go and get your stuff from the car."

Kate explained as she had come straight from the office she didn't have any overnight stuff with her.

"Well you can't just sit there in your wet clothes, let me find you something."

It was at that point Kate realised how wet she was, even with the coat Jayne had given her, the bottom of her skirt, leggings and shoes were soaked.

Jayne went through one of the doors, a couple of minutes later Kate heard the noise of a shower being turned on.

Jayne returned.

"I've put you some clothes in there and set the shower running, feel free to use any of the soaps and shampoos."

The shower was steamy and inviting, she took off her clothes, hanging them on the heated towel rail.

Jayne had left some pyjamas and a comfy looking robe on a chair in the corner, luckily Kate and Jayne were a similar size.

She got in the shower, enjoying the sensation of hot water cascading over her naked skin and reached for the shower gel, it was expensive, she recognised the make from advertisements she'd seen in Vogue and promised she'd try for herself, when she could justify the cost. Clicking open the bottle she inhaled, it smelled of luxury and decadence.

She rubbed a small amount of the gel over her body, under her arms, over her breasts, her thumbs catching her nipples, erect, she lingered, then moved lower, stomach and sides, between her legs, her lips, fingers stopping to lightly circle her pearl, just for a second she shut her eyes in a moment of pleasure, then on down to her legs, she stood letting the hot water rinse the foam off her, washing away the stress of the journey.

Finally, she turned the shower off and stepped out drying herself on an incredibly fluffy towel, still warm from the rail.

Once dry she put on the pyjamas and robe, and returned to Jayne who had a glass of wine waiting.

Handing Kate, her mobile phone, Jayne said, "Put something on you like while I get a shower myself, it's already connected to the sound system."

She took the phone and scrolled through Jayne's music collection, moving an album to the playlist, as she heard the shower turn on, she quickly tapped the photographs icon, thumbnails of photos showed, some obviously work related, some personal. Kate suddenly felt bad so couldn't look any further, she locked the phone.

The phone's home screen showed a smiling Jayne with her arm round an equally beautiful, slightly darker girl, both relaxed, both with a cocktail in their hands.

Kate felt as guilty as she did intrigued, wanting to delve into Jayne's private life.

When Jayne returned she was bare legged wearing a similar robe to the one she had given Kate.

They sat down, Kate a little surprised that Jayne had chosen to sit right next to her.

Jayne smiled and ran a hand through her damp hair, "So what did Damian have to say about me exactly?" she asked teasingly.

"Not much," Kate replied carefully.

"Did he tell you we were engaged to be married once?"

Jayne enjoyed the incredulous look Kate gave her.

"Erm,,,,no he didn't,,,I mean, he didn't say anything like that"

Jayne touched her arm lightly, "Relax, was a long time ago," she said kindly.

Kate wanted to hear more but thought rude to ask, but that couldn't have accounted for the thrill she got when Jayne had touched her, could it?

Kate was pleased when she continued,

"We met at law school, both of us A plus and all that, we did loads of stuff together, ski holidays, trips to Europe, we were great friends, he wanted more and I didn't know what I wanted really, just went along with it I guess."

She took a sip of wine,

"Before I knew it I had a ring on my finger and the families were looking for venues, wedding planners and a dress."

She folded her legs up under her on the sofa,

"That's when I met Sophia, a chance meeting at an art event, a meeting that would change my life."

She went on to explain how the sexy Brazilian had walk up to her in her short black dress, beautifully tanned legs and said brazenly, in a slight accent that made it sound even sexier, "I want to be in your life forever."

Jayne had thought at first it was a joke or maybe business related, Sophia was working for the charity Jayne's company was representing, but Sophia's smile had her entranced.

They began to see as much of each other as Jayne's busy diary would allow.

Business lunches, the odd night out that Jayne would explain to Damian was just old friends catching up.

Sophia never tried to hide her sexuality and the feelings she had towards Jayne, but Jayne had told her from day one that while she loved being in her company, she was marrying Damian in the next few months and would never be unfaithful to him.

"Is that why it ended, the engagement, because of Sophia?" Asked Kate quietly.

Jayne looked at Kate carefully before answering.

"Oh god no, that was all Damian's fault, he and his crew, as he called his friends, had a stag weekend booked in Las Vegas.

He brought me back a saguaro cactus as a present, but unfortunately was it wasn't the only prickly thing he brought me back from 'Vegas, the antibiotics lasted longer than the engagement after that." She laughed.

Sophia had helped her get over the breakup and the embarrassment of having to tell the families it was over.

Sophia was respectful, a true friend, staying with Jayne while she grieved her relationship, sleeping in the same bed as her, comforting her when she was crying, understanding her when she was frustrated and angry, but never crossing Jayne's boundaries.

That was until the night she did, when she showed her love for Jayne and ignited a passion in her only she could quench, a lust that Jayne didn't know she had inside her, urges she never knew existed.

A whole weekend of sex ensued, sometimes tender, loving and gentle, other times, hot, urgent and sweaty, always orgasmic, the best sex, best physical connection, Jayne had ever felt.

Her affair with Sophia so intense, she experienced many wonderful things, learning much about herself, things she never knew she wanted but inside desperately craved.

Their flame burned so bright, but was extinguished so quickly, so cruelly, nearly four years earlier.

Sophia needed to return home for a relatives funeral, Jayne had wanted to go with her but had a work commitments. Sophia was fine with that, saying she didn't really know her uncle but wanted to go to support her mother.

On the way from the airport Sophia's taxi had a collision with a truck carrying iron ore, the taxi had been crushed killing her and the driver.

Jayne was in a meeting when Sophia had left a voice message from the airport where she had landed, telling Jayne how much she loved her and how soon they would be back together.

That was the last time she had heard her voice.

Jayne had been lost for two years, taking a break from work, she had journeyed far both physically and mentally.

It had taken a lot of learning about herself, to get to where she was now.

That was all too much to share with Kate right now, so Jayne she kept it to herself.

"We became close and she taught me things about myself I must have hidden or didn't even know about, but she is no longer in my life."

She paused, bringing her wine glass up to her lips, taking a sip and looking at Kate over the rim,

"Anyway Kate what about you? What's your story?"

Kate explained while having a number of relationships with guys, none of them had really seemed right and when the chance to move to the city for her job came up she had jumped at it.

Jayne nodded then asked, "Have you ever thought about different type of relationships?"

"It's more common than you might think," she added, smiling and staring into Kate's eyes.

Kate blushed, she hadn't told anyone about this for years, the memory now just a dull ache rather than the gut wrenching pain she had felt at the time.

Strangely it seemed right to tell Jayne, the person she had only just met.

She took a breath.

"Once I kissed my best friend when we were at school, final year, I loved her and wanted to show her, it went badly, she screamed, the teachers came, she called me some awful names, the teachers phoned my parents, in the end, I had to change schools for the last six months."

Jayne touched Kate's shoulder, "I'm so sorry".

"It was just a timing thing, I was too young, didn't know what was going on", she placed her hand on Jayne's and smiled, "I stuck to boys after that."

Jayne smiled back.

"I did see her a few years later though, I thought she would be still angry, I was scared, but she came up to me and asked if we could go for a coffee, we did and she apologised for all the hurt it had caused me, nice, but too late."

She squeezed Jayne's hand.

Kate suddenly had an overpowering urge to touch Jayne, to run her fingers through her hair, to bring her close and kiss her, she felt a warm tingle between her legs.

Jayne interrupted her thoughts, "Do you want a top up Kate?, mine's empty."

As Jayne leaned forward to get up off the sofa her robe opened slightly and Kate got a glance at her perfectly shaped breast, Jayne caught her looking at it and smiled, slowly closing her robe.