The Open Door

"I thought you didn't like men," Olivia said in surprise, "at least sexually."

"I don't," Kathleen replied, "I mean I did once but not anymore. I just thought that if anyone was going to have to pay to get me out of trouble it should be me."

"Maybe you should be sleeping with me then," Olivia said, wondering as soon as the words came out of her mouth where they could've come from.

Kathleen looked as surprised at hearing what she said as Olivia was in saying it. The older woman tried to quickly recover by saying she was only joking of course.

The expression on Kathleen's face said she hadn't taken it as such.

"Oh my God," Olivia thought, "she thought I was serious."

There was a long moment of awkward silence that followed, until Olivia tried to defuse what she'd said.

"Kathleen, I'm sorry, that was a poor joke on my part," she said, "How anyone could imagine that a beautiful young woman like you would have any interest in an old lady like me?"

"You're hardly old," Kathleen said, her eyes lighting up as she spoke, "and I think you're the one who's beautiful."

"I really don't know what to say," Olivia said after another long pause.

At that moment, the loud buzzer from the dryer in the basement went off, giving Kathleen the chance to excuse herself to go and get her clothing. She reappeared a short while later, changed into her now clean outfit from last night.

"I'd better be going," Kathleen said as she gathered up her bag and a few other things she had with her. "I really want to thank you again for everything you did for me. If there is anyway I can ever make it up to you, please just ask."

With that, before Olivia could again say it had been nothing that Kathleen should be concerned about, the younger woman was out the door. Olivia watched from the window as she crossed the street and after a few minutes wait, caught the bus on the corner.

-=-=-=-=

All the rest of the day, regardless of how she tried to occupy herself, Olivia couldn't get Kathleen and what had happened out of her mind. Where in the world did that line about sleeping with her come from?

Kathleen was hardly the first lesbian she'd ever met. There had been Norma Curtis back in high school. Of course no one knew she was gay until almost ten years after graduation so that probably didn't count. Then there was Mandy Norris, one of the EMT's at the hospital who was quite open about her sexuality. Yet despite an open invitation to take on all comers, Olivia had never had the slightest thought of taking her up on it. Of course the fact that Mandy was more masculine than most men she knew, Ray included, could've been a factor there.

Olivia was barely familiar with the terms butch and fem, but knew enough to say that Kathleen definitely belonged in the latter category. The girl was beautiful, and when she thought about it, greatly resembled her mother back in their high school days. A girl like that could get any man, or woman in her case, which she wanted. And while, if Olivia let her fantasies run amuck for a moment and admit that if she were interested in a lesbian fling, a girl like Kathleen would be a heavenly partner, the big question would be, why would a girl like her want anyone like Olivia?

It was true, she thought, that despite almost twenty years of marriage and a hard pregnancy, she still had a decent body and a pretty, if ordinary face. Okay, she was a little chunkier than the younger version that had married Carl Stone, but overall, she considered herself in better shape than many of her peers. Even the generous bust that had been the object of attention of many of her classmates back in school had held up rather well. It still caught men's attention and other women's envy.

Then it hit her like a thunderclap, the answer was right in her face and she hadn't seen it. The teacher Kathleen had first been caught with, according to Carol, had to be at least fifteen years older than her former student, and while Olivia had no idea who it was that she had met last night, the woman had been married and had to have been so a while if she had been separated, contemplating divorce. That wasn't something that usually happened if you've only been together a short time. If some women were attracted to older men, and vice versa, then why couldn't Kathleen be attracted to older women as well.

"Well, that explains why she might be interested," Olivia said to herself, "but not what, if anything, I should do about it."

Part of her mind, the logical part, gave her the easy answer. That she should do absolutely nothing. That she should leave things well enough alone and just go on. But the other part of her, the one that tended to act more in impulse, urged her to take a good long look at the situation. At an opportunity, that perhaps, she didn't want to let go by.

What if the situation were a little different, she asked herself. What if that had been Martin Reid, the boy Carol had dated back in high school that had called last night. If he were the one who showed a sexual interest in her, how would she have handled it. Again the rational part of her tried to say she'd have acted no differently. But that was counterbalanced by the emotional side that, remembering what a hunk Martin had been, was sure she'd have been down on her knees with his cock in her mouth long before he had a chance to walk out that door. And it was an impressive cock, she remembered, having once almost walked in on Carol and him when she was doing that very thing.

"Come on be sensible, Olivia," she said to herself as she tried to put the matter to rest. "Even if you wanted to do something about it, you don't even know where she lives now. You can't exactly call up Carol and ask for her phone number without having to explain why you wanted it. And any excuse you came up with would undoubtedly blow away the privacy you'd want to keep about it."

However, her more precipitate side already had the answer to that small obstacle, reminding her that since Kathleen had called the house phone from her cell last night; the number would still be in the caller ID.

"I should at least let her know that I'm not upset about anything we said to each other," Olivia justified. "She did seem a little troubled when she left."

Dialing the number, Olivia was actually disappointed when it rang a few times and then dropped into voice mail. Not having any idea what kind of message to leave, she simple hung up. Circumstances had decided the issue. Or so she thought.

Not two minutes later, the phone rang and when Olivia looked at the caller ID, she saw Kathleen's number. In her haste, she'd forgotten that it would work both ways.

Trying to think of a believable, innocuous reason as to why she called, Olivia came up empty other than saying she simply wanted to make sure the girl was alright. Kathleen assured her that she was and thanked her for being so concerned. About to hang up, she asked Olivia if there was anything else and was told, no, she just wanted to check on her .

"No, wait a second," Olivia said before Kathleen could hang up, "there is one more thing. I was wondering if you don't have any plans for the evening if you'd like to come over and have dinner. Nothing special, just the two of us. I'd love to hear more about school and how you're making out."

There was quiet on the other end as Kathleen thought about it for a few seconds. Then, much to Olivia's delight, she said she'd love to come over. They spent another minute or so discussing what she might like, then the older blonde hung up the phone.

"It's only dinner," Olivia reassured herself, not wanting to let her flights of fancy run away with themselves. "Dinner and nice company for what otherwise would've been a lonely evening."

-=-=-=-=

The doorbell rang at half past six and Olivia opened the front door to find an apologetic Kathleen standing on the steps. It had been a while since she'd rode the bus, she explained, and it had taken longer to get to Olivia's from her apartment on the other side of town.

"I should've told you to call for a cab," Olivia said, "I'd have been happy to pay for it." she added, thinking that perhaps the cost was the reason she hadn't.

"I thought it might be better if I just took the bus," Kathleen said as she stepped inside, handing Olivia a paper bag with a bottle inside. "I brought this for you."

"Oh you shouldn't have," Olivia said as she lifted the bottle out of the bag and was surprised to see that it was a rather expensive vintage.

"Don't worry, I didn't have to pay for that," Kathleen said when she saw the look for surprise on her hostess's face. "It was a gift from my boss last Christmas that I never had the occasion to open. I figured it was the least I could do to thank you for last night."

"Well we'll drink it together then," Olivia promised.

She led the younger woman into the living room, telling her to make herself comfortable as she went to put the wine on ice. Dinner would be ready in just a minute Olivia said and if she wanted to take a minute to freshen up, she knew where the bathroom was.

Kathleen took her up on the suggestion and as she walked out of the room, Olivia was slightly embarrassed to find herself staring at the young woman's ass.

"Well it is a nice ass," she laughed silently, thinking how nice Kathleen looked in the white blouse and blue skirt she was wearing. Since she herself was only wearing a simple, flower patterned dress, Olivia was glad to see her guest hadn't dressed up for the occasion.

Dinner was as simple as the dress, lamb chops, mashed potatoes, cream corn and biscuits. As she had with breakfast earlier that morning, Kathleen practically devoured everything on her plate. It made Olivia feel good to see her meager efforts so appreciated.

"Did you call the garage about your car?" Olivia asked as she more slowly ate her own dinner.

"Yes, I spoke to Mister Peterson himself and he told me not to worry about it," she replied between bites. "He said he'd already spoken to Mr. Franklin, he's the man I bought my insurance policy from, and got the okay to make the repairs. I should have my car back by the middle of next week."

"That's good," Olivia said.

"Actually, I think that's pretty incredible," Kathleen laughed, "that they got an okay already and went right to work on it. I would've thought it would've taken at least a week just to get the insurance company to say it wasn't my fault and that they'd cover the repairs."

"Well, Josh Peterson and Charlie Franklin are both good guys," Olivia observed. "I went to school with both of them a hundred years ago."

Kathleen laughed at the weak joke as Olivia remembered another thing Charlie and Josh had in common. Back in their younger years, both had dated June Freeman. She wondered if the remembrance of her charms had accounted for their quick service for her daughter.

"Why don't you have a seat on the couch while I clear the table," Olivia said as they both finished. "I'll get a couple of glasses and we can try out that wine you brought."

"I insist on helping," Kathleen said as she picked up both her own dishes and one of the serving plates.

"Okay, just drop them into the dishwasher then while I get those glasses," Olivia smiled.

-=-=-=-=

"Hmm, this is good," Olivia said a short time later as the two of them sat on the couch, enjoying the wine. "It was nice of the Parsons to give it to you."

"They've been so nice to me," Kathleen replied. "Not only giving me a job but making sure that I could work around my class schedule. In a way, they almost treat me like I was their daughter. Certainly a lot better than my parents ever did. At least since, well you know. They didn't even have a problem with that."

Olivia had only been to Parsons Bakery a few times, preferring one much closer to her house. She remembered the couple that owned it as nice enough people who she guessed were in their late sixties by now.

"How did they know what happened?" Olivia asked aloud, not realizing at first that she had since she thought it none of her business.

"Well right after I started working at the bakery, my mother made it a point to stop by one day when I wasn't there and tell Mrs. Parsons just what kind of girl they had taken in," Kathleen answered, not finding the question inappropriate at all. "She further pointed out that even though they didn't belong to the same church, she was sure a God fearing woman like Mrs. Parsons wouldn't want to expose her family or her customers to such immorality."

"And what did Mrs. Parsons say to that?"

"Well, I don't know exactly," Kathleen grinned, "but Don Williams, who also works there part-time on the days I don't, said that my mother stormed out of the store like someone had set fire to her bible."

"Well not everyone is as narrow minded as your parents," Olivia said, only partially managing to hide her reaction to the image of June that formed in her mind.

"I notice that you don't seem to have a problem with my being a lesbian either," Kathleen said, the L word coming into conversation for the first time.

"Well, I like to think I'm a little more opened minded than most people," Olivia noted.

"Do you think you'd have the same reaction if it was Carol that night instead of Carrie Reynolds?" Kathleen unexpectedly asked, feeling a little of the wine's effect.

"Do you know something that I don't?" Olivia asked in return, wondering if the question was anything more than hypothetical.

"No, as far as I know, and even though she's not my type, I think I'd know, Carol is one hundred percent into guys and guys only," Kathleen said with a laugh. "I was just curious, that's all."

"Well, I hope I would feel the same way about a lesbian daughter as a straight one," Olivia answered. "That I love her and the most important thing to me is that she was happy with her life."

A sad look on Kathleen's face greeted that answer, brought on by the thought of how her own mother had answered that question.

"I'm curious," Olivia said, feeling the wine and looking to change the subject. "Am I allowed to asked exactly what your type is?"

The question caused Kathleen to hesitate a few moments as she wasn't sure how exactly to answer. Finally, she said that the answer was a little embarrassing, even strange.

"Oh come on," Olivia smiled, "I've already admitted that I've fucked Ray Hickman. What could be more embarrassing than that?"

Kathleen took a deep breath, then decided that she at least owed Olivia an honest answer. Another deep breath followed and she gave it.

"You remember I told you that I was meeting someone last night?"

"Yes, of course."

"Well you know Sally Parks right?"

"Certainly," Olivia answered automatically, it taking a long few seconds for the implication to sink in. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed when it did.

"So now you know," Kathleen said as she drained the last of the glass.

"I can't believe it," Olivia said, the image of the two of them in bed together appeared unbidden in her mind. "You and Sally being lovers."

"Well, not exactly lovers," Kathleen said' "more just like girlfriends."

"I don't understand," Olivia said, "what's the difference?"

"I guess you could say we never really got past second base," Kathleen explained.

"Which one of you wanted to wait?" Olivia asked curiously.

"She did," Kathleen answered, "if it was up to me, she could've hit a home run the first night we went out. I guess that must make me a tramp in your eyes?"

"No, not at all," Olivia quickly assured her, thinking how easily and quickly she had opened her legs for some of the men she'd dated since Carl left. In the case of Ray Hickman, she would definitely be ashamed to admit that she'd even let him fuck her ass and he didn't even have to get her drunk first as Carl used to do.

"Now can I ask a question?" Kathleen asked.

"Of course," Olivia replied.

"Why did you invite me to dinner?"

"No special reason," came a too quick reply. "Just to have some company, that's all."

"Are you sure?"

"What other reason could there be?" Olivia asked, a touch of defensiveness in her tone.

"Oh, I don't know," Kathleen answered, then offering a suggestion to the contrary. "Maybe because you wanted to fuck me?"

Olivia turned almost pale as her mouth opened to offer a denial. But no words were forthcoming.

"Before you answer," Kathleen said, cutting off the words that she thought were about to appear. "Let me say something."

Closing her mouth, Olivia nodded her agreement, acting as if she had indeed something to say.

"First of all, I apologize if I've got this all wrong," Kathleen began. "That I'm making way too much of what might very well have been a stupid joke this morning. But I have to say, I hope I'm not. I'm hoping that maybe you were and still are having thoughts in that direction because I have to tell you something."

Olivia took a short breath as what she only half considered as an idle fantasy quickly became all too real.

"I have been infatuated with you almost from the first day Carol brought me home to meet you, long before I even knew why. Then, when I realized the why, you became the object of almost all my fantasies. You can't imagine how my heart stopped this afternoon when you made that joke. At the very possibility that you might be interested."

Olivia was still searching for what to say. Up until a few minutes ago, this had all been just a flirtatious game. A what might be that she could look back on. Never did she imagine it could really happen.

Lost in her own thoughts, it took a few moments for Olivia to realize that Kathleen had stopped talking and was waiting for a response. The problem was, the older woman wasn't sure yet she had one. Part of her said yes and part said no.

"Kathleen, I'm not sure what to say," Olivia confessed. "I'll admit that yes I did have some thoughts in that direction, but I'm still not sure I really intended to act on them."

"Then answer me a second question," Kathleen said. "What if it had been Martin Reid who called Carol last night instead of me and everything else was the same. That he had told you that he'd had sexual fantasies about you since he was a teenager. Would you have as much trouble making up your mind?"

Having Kathleen unexpectedly come up with the very same argument she herself had postulated tossed Olivia for a loop. At first it made her more confused, but then, after considering it for a few moments, it seemed to make her decision more clear.

"Olivia, I apologize, that was out of line," Kathleen then said, the tone of her voice changing greatly. "In fact, maybe I'm being way out of line about the whole thing. It might be better for both of us if I just went back home. I'm sorry if I offended you, especially after you went out of your way to help me."

"Kathleen," Olivia said in a hushing tone, "do please shut up."

"What?"

"I do think that your mouth, pretty as it is, would be much better used if you were kissing me right now," Olivia said, her own lips forming a smile as she leaned closer to the other woman on the couch.

-=-=-=-=

Kathleen's kiss proved to be as soft and enticing as Olivia imagined it would be. A second and third kiss quickly followed, each more urgent then the last as a shared passion quickly grew. Olivia felt her body shiver as she felt the dark haired girl run her fingers across and then up her back until they reached the bare flesh of her neck.

"Oh Olivia," Kathleen gasped as she paused for the briefest of moments. "You can't imagine how many times I'm thought about something like this. I'm almost afraid that I'm going to wake up any moment and discover it's just another dream."

"This is not a dream," Olivia responded breathlessly as she pressed her lips once more against Kathleen's, surprising even herself at how quickly she had fallen into what was happening.