Unexplored Territory

"Audrey, can I ask you a question?" Ellie said as they finished the last of the appetizers.

"Of course, you can ask me anything," she assured her.

"What made you think that I would be interested in going out with you in the first place?" she asked. "I mean, I'm so glad that you did, but what was it that made you even think I might be receptive?"

"You mean, were you giving off some sort of signal that said you might like girls?" Audrey smiled.

"I guess something like that," Ellie smiled back.

"An old friend of mine lives by the notion that every woman is only so many drinks away from being a lesbian," Audrey offered, "and the trick is to figure out how many drinks that is."

She paused to let Ellie consider that.

"But I've never really believed that." she continued, "although I think a considerable number of women are curious enough to experiment with it, as long as they can later blame it on having had too many drinks."

Blaming it all on having had too many drinks was an excuse that Ellie had heard girlfriends use all too often in reference to waking up with the wrong person on the other side of the bed. It was an excuse she herself had used on a few occasions, with it having actually been true two or three times.

"My own theory has always been that in a neutral setting, as opposed to say being in a lesbian bar or club, you never really know who might or might not be interested. So, if you meet someone you find interesting, why not give it a shot and see what happens?"

"Is that what I was," Ellie asked, "a shot?"

"More like a hope," Audrey said, again reaching her hand across the table and placing it on top of Ellie's. "I was taken with you the moment I saw you, and once I got to know you I was even more so."

They were interrupted again by the return of the waitress with their soup and salad, followed a short time later by the main entree. Each course surpassed the one before it and it was only with great reluctance that Ellie left a small portion on her plate, pushing it away lest she give in to the temptation to put away that as well. It was rare for her to eat so much at once, but the food had been that good. In a tone mixed with both satisfaction and regret, she remarked that she'd be paying for that meal all weekend with extra time on the treadmill.

"Oh, I'm sure there are more fun ways to work off those extra calories than just running in place," Audrey offered, as the waitress appeared once more to inquire if they'd like dessert or coffee.

"I think we're good," she said to the server, with Ellie nodding her agreement.

While Audrey waited for the check, Ellie excused herself to use the ladies room. It was only as she worked her way around the scattered tables that she realized what she hadn't noticed earlier. All of the couples at them were made up of women. There wasn't a man in sight. How had she not seen that before? The answer was, of course, that she'd only had eyes for Audrey on their way in.

Curious to see if the same held true for the other booths, Ellie couldn't resist an unobtrusive glance into the ones she passed. In one of them, the salesgirl had spotted a woman who bore a striking resemblance to the middle-aged anchorwoman of her favorite news show. She couldn't be a hundred percent certain it had indeed been her, but wasn't about to take a more obvious second look.

On her way back from the bathroom, which was decorated in the same old fashioned style, Ellie was stunned when she saw a woman walking toward her whose identity was unmistakable. After all, she had only met her the week before. The girl the brown haired woman had her arm tightly wrapped around was a mystery, however, but even in the dim light there was no way the diminutive Asian girl could ever be mistaken for "the lovely Cassandra."

Dorothy walked right by Ellie without a glint of recognition, her attention solely focused on her latest conquest. As they disappeared into the ladies room, Audrey's comment about her ex-lover came back to Ellie. "Being friends was never the problem."

Their waitress was just handing Audrey her credit card when Ellie got back to the table. In the short time it had taken her to return, she'd decided that what she'd just seen was really none of her business and best forgotten. Certainly it was nothing worth mentioning to Audrey, especially on the slim chance that it might upset their evening.

"So what's next?" she asked instead.

"Well, you did say you needed to work off some calories, didn't you?" Audrey said, a touch of the mischievous in her voice.

"I did say that, didn't I?" Ellie replied, remembering how many of her dates over the years had ended in calorie burning workouts.

"Well then, I have just the thing," Audrey said as she dropped a generous tip on the table before picking up her bag.

"Would that be something that I might enjoy?" Ellie further asked, her tone now suggestive and hopeful.

"I know I always have," Audrey smiled for a very long moment before adding, "I'm going to take you dancing."

-=-=-=-=-

They exited the restaurant, hand in hand, and were lucky enough to catch a taxi that had just dropped off another fare. The driver was definitely male this time, and despite the temptation the two of them acted with a bit more decorum during the ten minute trip northward. Ellie now paid more attention to the streets passing by and, based on the partial intersection she had heard Audrey give the cabbie, wondered if they might be going to the Chelsea Piers. That thought proved wrong, however, when the taxi abruptly came to a stop just a few blocks short of them.

Glancing out the window as Audrey paid the driver, Ellie saw a long line of people on the other side of the avenue. Once they were both out of the car, she saw the two story structure out on the old pier that had once been a warehouse, and concluded that was where they were headed.

Crossing the street, Ellie got a better look at their destination and was suitably impressed. Whereas D'Antonios had been a trip to the distant past, Lilith's Garden, which was what the bright neon lights identified the dance club as, was a journey, if not into the far future, then at least to the day after tomorrow. It took up nearly the last third of the refurbished pier, with glass walls made almost transparent by the interior lights. The line became more identifiable once they approached it and this time Ellie wasn't surprised to find it was entirely made up of women.

"Look at how far back this line goes," she said to Audrey as they stepped out of the crosswalk and she saw how it looped around the corner, "we'll never get into this place."

"Trust me," Audrey said with a smile, before turning away to survey the crowd by the entrance, appearing to be looking for someone.

Ellie did a double take at the phrase, her thoughts jumping back to it being used by one of her best friends back in high school, Cindy Marinelli. The fun loving redhead had convinced Ellie to go with her and a few other girls to what was at the time, Brooklyn's hottest night spot. The line in front of that club hadn't been half as long as the one here and Cindy had been just as certain that they would get in.

Ignoring the loud and descriptive complaints from people who had been waiting on line for more than an hour, Cindy had led her small entourage to the front of the line where she caught the attention of a large black man standing behind the velvet rope. She whispered something to the man, then told her friends that she would be right back.

When they emerged a few minutes later, the tall man walked right to the velvet rope and opened it for them to get in. As they passed inside, Ellie noted a satisfied look on his face.

Later on in the evening, when it was just Cindy and her at the table, Ellie decided to satisfy her curiosity. She asked Cindy how she had convinced that man to let them in. Had she given him money?

Cindy had just laughed at the suggestion and then, without hesitation, told her that all it took to get them all in had been one of her world class, at least in her mind, blow jobs. Ellie at first thought her friend had been joking, but then realized she was totally serious. It was one thing to meet a guy at a club, hit it off and wind up doing that by the end of the night, but this was something totally different. Even back then, Ellie was far from innocent, but that, to her, had been way over the line.

That memory quickly fading back into the past, Ellie watched Audrey mimic Cindy's actions and step right up to the VIP entrance, catching the eye of a tall, quite muscular blonde. Dressed in black jeans and boots, the thirty-something woman had a full bust barely restrained by a matching black top. At first she had a look of annoyance when Audrey called out to get her attention, but that quickly turned to recognition and a smile once she got a better look at who was calling her. The blonde exchanged a few words with Audrey that Ellie couldn't make out, then lifted the barrier to let the two women pass. They'd only walked a few feet before Ellie knew that this time her curiosity wasn't going to wait.

"Okay, I have to ask," Ellie said as they walked the carpeted path between the street and the club's entrance, "how did you do that?"

"It wasn't hard," Audrey smiled as she handed Ellie one of the VIP passes that the gatekeeper had slipped into her hand before opening the barrier. "Jennifer," she started, giving a name to the tall woman, "just happens to have a nephew in my third period class. It sure as hell beats bringing in an apple in for the teacher, don't you think?."

With the "A List" badges now around their necks, Audrey and Ellie were spared the prospect of squeezing their way onto the overcrowded dance floor in front of them and were instead able to glide past the two equally imposing women that guarded the staircase leading up to the second floor VIP area. Once at the top, they saw that the upper level was a smaller version of the floor below, but occupied by only about a third the number of women.

"So what would you like to do first," Audrey asked over the din of the music, "have another drink or try out the dance floor?"

Still feeling a buzz from the wine they'd had at dinner, Ellie didn't really need to think about it. She took Audrey's hand and led her out onto the dance floor. For a brief moment, as they started to move to the music, Ellie worried that the older woman might not be able to keep up with her. It didn't take long for her to realize that it was the reverse that she should actually be worried about. Audrey moved with the dexterity of a woman half her age, and with a vitality that caused Ellie to give pause.

They danced the entire set of songs, covering a playlist that reflected the multi- generational scope of the participants. Glancing around them as she moved, Ellie noted that there were just as many women older than either of them as there were younger on the dance floor. One or two even seemed familiar, but moved out of view too quickly for her to be sure. The last dance was a slow one older than either of them, and that was the one Ellie enjoyed most, mainly because during it Audrey held her tight against her, close enough for her to feel both their hearts beating.

When the music finally ended, they left the dance floor to catch their breath and have a drink to cool off with. Audrey ordered a tall mixed drink that sounded so refreshing, Ellie said she'd have the same when the bartender looked at her.

"This place is really amazing," Ellie said as both drinks quickly appeared and she took a taste of hers, giving it a soft purr of approval.

"It does have its advantages," Audrey replied as she sampled her own drink with similar result.

"Are all the women here..." Ellie started to ask, but then paused, thinking it might be an inappropriate question.

Audrey evidently didn't think so and answered without hesitation.

"Not as many as you might think," she replied, pausing long enough to take a much longer taste of the multicolored concoction. "A lot of the women here are as straight as can be. They come here with their girlfriends to enjoy a night out without a lot of guys trying to hit on them. Then there are others who might be just a bit curious and come here to explore that curiosity. It depends on the night sometimes."

Lifting her own tall glass to her mouth, Ellie looked at the variety of women all around them and wondered which category each of them fell into.

They talked a bit more as they finished their drinks, then took another turn on the dance floor. As before, they shared a few kisses between songs as well as the occasional touch of each other's hands. As they walked off the floor for the second time, Ellie asked Audrey what was behind the curtain draped doorway that she'd noticed off to the side. While they had been dancing, she'd noticed several couples disappearing behind through it.

"I was wondering if you had noticed that," Audrey laughed as she took Ellie in hand once more. "It really doesn't have an official name, but some ladies call it the maze, others the parlor. I like to think of it as the privacy zone."

"Privacy zone?" Ellie asked, her curiosity aroused. "As in a place where you might want to do something that requires a bit of privacy?"

"Pretty much so," Audrey grinned.

In some clubs that Ellie had been to, there had indeed been certain areas that a couple could sneak off to, where, while they might not have been as private as you might have liked, no one seemed to pay too much mind to what you were doing. Her curiosity about what might be beyond that curtain was too much to resist.

"Think we might check it out?" she asked, hoping that the answer would be in the affirmative.

"Certainly," Audrey said with an eager smile. "If you really want to." she added.

The look on Ellie's face said she definitely did.

-=-=-=-=-

As they passed through the curtain and down a long hall, they passed from a world of brightness to one of shadows. Small, low powered recessed lighting dotted the ceiling, and along the walls hung a single strand of rope lighting to guide the way. Following the path, they stepped into an enclave of four foot room dividers; within each sat a plush love seat. Even in the muted lighting it was obvious that all of them were occupied, and it was also quite noticeable, at least in the case of those closest to them, that the intertwined bodies on those sofas were missing various articles of clothing.

"Okay, I get the parlor part," Ellie whispered as quietly as she could, "but why the maze?"

Audrey held an index finger to her lips and simply led Ellie through another curtain and then down another corridor. This one, however, only went about a dozen feet before it made a ninety degree turn to the left, then, in the same distance, it changed direction again.

Silently, Ellie questioningly turned to Audrey, and was answered not with words but a pointed finger to another even smaller curtain along the wall ahead of them. Taking a good look at it in the dimness, Ellie realized that the curtain was covering a small alcove. Now that she knew what she was looking for, she glanced up and down the hallway and noticed two more, one on each side of the corridor. They reminded her, if nothing else, of the confessional booths in her neighborhood church. As they quietly passed the one Audrey had pointed out, Ellie realized that not only was the niche occupied but the sounds behind the curtain were more in tune with the type of things you normally confessed in those booths come Saturday afternoon.

After two more turns, they came across a recess with the curtain still open. Opportunity and desire, the latter of which had been building within Ellie for the past two weeks, suddenly intersected. Giving in to that longing, Ellie impulsively grabbed Audrey and pulled her into the opening, sliding the curtain closed behind them.

"I think this one is ours," she softly laughed, a mischievous glint in her eye.

The cloth panel was barely in place before Ellie's mouth was pressed against Audrey's, her tongue slipping past her lips and seeking out its counterpart. The older woman was quick to respond, the tip of her own tongue also reaching out. Ellie felt Audrey's body press against her own, soft hands pressing against equally soft flesh. No larger than an old style phone booth, the dark enclosure brought to mind the first time Ellie had played seven minutes in heaven at a friend's birthday party. Thinking back, she couldn't remember being as excited with Chris Pike, the most popular boy in her class, as she felt now with Audrey.

Ellie might have initiated the encounter but it quickly became clear that Audrey was taking control of it. Pressing Ellie against the back wall, she cupped the brunette's left breast even as she tilted her head to kiss her neck. Moving onto her earlobe, she softly asked the younger woman how far she wanted her to go.

"As far as you can," Ellie whispered back, her eyes tightly closed as she tried to take in all the sensations that Audrey's touch had produced.

"I hoped you would say something like that," Audrey purred as she brought her lips to Ellie's one more time.

Ellie felt Audrey's hand slide around her to her back, to grasp the zipper of her dress. As it slid downward, her outfit became loose around her body, allowing the older woman to shift the palm of her hand beneath the material and onto the bare flesh beneath. The dress had come with built in half cups, avoiding the need for a bra. Her fingers closed around the brunette's excited nipple, causing Ellie to let out a soft, satisfying moan.

With only slight difficulty, mostly due to the fact that she was working in the dark, Audrey managed to work Ellie totally out of the dress, at least down to her waist. Her mouth replaced her hand as eager lips closed around the hard tip. It was becoming increasingly difficult for Ellie to keep her voice low, and as Audrey continued to suck at her breasts, moving back and forth between the two, she found that she no longer cared that there were two other couples not five feet away in each direction. After all, hadn't she once given Jimmy Kirkland a blow job in the front seat of his car while her cousin Patty did the same to her date in the back seat, and never felt the least bit embarrassed about it?

Even as she continued to feast on Ellie's bounty, Audrey slipped one hand under the hem of the brunette's dress and ran her fingers across the cheeks of her ass, moving upward until she had a grip on the elastic band of her panties. With a powerful tug, she ripped the thin material until the fine cloth came apart in her hand. Then it was just a matter of relaxing her grip and the now useless undergarment fell to the floor. It mattered little to Ellie at that moment that those had been her favorite pair, or how much they had cost. She had worn them for Audrey and right now they were just in the way.

Fingers extended, Audrey moved her hand up alongside Ellie's legs, caressing her flesh as it moved ever closer to the lightly haired mound between them. With a skill born of countless hours of practice, they found their goal, and the softness of their touch sent a jolt of pleasure racing through Ellie.

Starting with just a finger, Audrey effortlessly penetrated the barrier to the younger woman's sex, a passage already moist with anticipation. A second finger soon followed, with the third right behind it. In and out they slid, probing further with each thrust. All the while the two women continued to trade kisses long and deep.

"God, that feels so good," Ellie moaned, tremors of passion reverberating across her body.

"If you think that feels good," Audrey whispered into her ear, even as she slid her tongue inside it, "then you're really going to love what comes next."