Chapter 2

“A stupid accident. One of those one in a million things and I lost him,” Sarah replied and fell silent. The memory of that accident still haunted her.

“That’s alright, Sarah,” said Dee. The older woman leaned over and patted Sarah’s hand. “I don’t need, or want, to cause you any heartache.” She became brisk. “Now, I have a proposition for you. I’ve seen you work. You work hard and steadily and you don’t need supervision. You know how to use the store computer. I need someone to make a complete inventory of all the stock on hand. I know that you’ve tried to keep it up, but I doubt those others did. Items were swapped, or returned or sold and not scanned properly. I’ve looked over some printouts and its a mess.

“Here’s a key and the new code to the alarm. You can work when you want and whatever hours you want. I’ll pay you a dollar an hour more than Mr. Kleigeman did and I have no objections to overtime. I know you’ll give me honest work for honest pay.”

Sarah clutched the key and stared at Dee. “Thank you. This means a lot to me and I promise I’ll work hard for you.”

“I know you will. That’s why I picked you.”

Sarah plunged into the job the very next day. She worked hard. It turned out that Dee was more correct than Sarah had thought. Things were a mess. Items with no tags, item with wrong tags items balled up and thrown in boxes. She started with the sales floor and worked her way into the back room.

During that time Dee called her every couple of days, usually at the store but twice at her home. A check arrived every Monday for the previous week’s work. It was much larger than Sarah had ever made before. She was carefully honest in her time keeping and gave a hundred percent effort for her new boss.

Once a week Dee stopped by in person. Twice she took Sarah out for lunch. Both times were very enjoyable, Dee was a wonderful conversationalist and insisted on paying for the meals both times. “Just another job benefit,” she laughed. “Besides, its tax-deductible.”

The last time Dee came by it was late afternoon. When she invited Sarah to an early supper, the younger woman explained that she though another few hours would see her finish the job and she asked it she could stick with it. Dee nodded and complimented her at her “stick-to-it-ness”.

“I really thought this would take you another couple of weeks at the very least,” the older woman commented. “Have at it then.” She started to leave and then turned around.

“Sarah, if you finish at a reasonable hour, would you bring everything by my hotel? I’ll have dinner in the restaurant and than probably a drink or two in the bar. Join me there. If you don’t find me there then I’m in Room 172, at the back corner.”

As it turned out, it was just short of 9 PM when Sarah had everything wrapped up. She gathered all the printouts, locked the door, set the alarm and left. She arrived at the hotel in a few minutes. The dining room was closed so she peeked in the bar. Sure enough, Dee was there. Sarah smiled and went in to her boss.

“Well, there you are Sarah,” Dee greeted her with a smile. The older woman was comfortably perched on a high backed stool at the bar, her legs crossed and a drink in her hand. She patted the empty stool next to her. “Here, sit down and have a drink. Please,” she added when she saw the hesitation on Sarah’s face.

Sarah slipped into the offered seat. She laughed, a bit uneasily. “I really shouldn’t,” she began.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Dee. “I didn’t think. You need to get home of course.”

Moved by a sudden impulse, Sarah spoke up quickly. “No, its not that. My mother is there and already plans on spending the night. In fact,” Sarah laughed again, this time more comfortably. “She’d probably say a drink is just what I need. Its that I feel woefully underdressed for here.” Sarah indicated her outfit, shorts and one of Rick’s old shirts with the tails tied under her breasts. She was wearing old comfortable moccasins on her feet.

“Nonsense,” declared Dee. “Its a weeknight and the place is about empty anyway. “Scotch and water okay?”

“Light on the water,” Sarah answered. Dee laughed and passed the order to the bartender. When Sarah fumbled in her pocketbook Dee held up a hand. “No, my treat. Consider it as another job benefit.”

After two drinks Sarah felt much more comfortable. The bar WAS pretty empty and the lights were low. The juke box was playing continuously and Sarah had been flattered when a guy asked her to dance. She had refused, as she was thoroughly enjoying her talk with Dee, but it had been nice to be asked. The two women talked, first about the store and what Sarah had accomplished there, then about pretty much everything and anything, Sarah told all about her struggle to keep her family’s head afloat financially and what a God-send this extra money was going to be. Dee was very sympathetic, taking and squeezing Sarah’s hand. Sarah grew so chummy that she let slip to Dee about her frustration in having to take sexual matters into her own hands. She blushed deeply when she realized what she had said.

During the conversation Sarah had felt Dee’s knee brush hers several times. She had thought not much of it, although the touch on her own bare legs by the pantyhose Dee wore felt, well, very nice, Sarah admitted to herself. Almost sexy in fact. Sarah stopped for a moment. Where had THAT thought come from? She had never thought about another woman being sexy. She knew Dee had mentioned she had never been married, but that didn’t mean anything. Did it?

They kept talking. They were facing each other and Sarah had braced her foot against the rungs of Dee’s stool. Slowly, so gradually that she never could have said that there was a single moment that it happened, Dee’s legs had closed against hers. The two women had slid forward on their stools and Sarah finally realized that Dee’s knees had worked their way a good third of the way up Sarah’s thighs. It felt warm. comforting in a way. Sarah hadn’t been touched in so long that every little gesture of Dee’s felt nice in fact. Dee had leaned forward to make a point and her hand had come to rest on Sarah’s other thigh, just below the hem of her shorts.

Surely these touches were accidental. Surely they didn’t mean anything. Sarah shifted a bit. Was it her imagination of were Dee’s fingers moving on her thigh? It felt like little strokes but it was so fleeting, so gentle she couldn’t be sure. She squirmed again, shifting her weight.

At that moment Dee pushed herself up and told Sarah she needed to run to the Lady’s Room. “I’ll be right back. Would you watch our glasses and make sure no one steals my seat?”

Sarah nodded but her thoughts were elsewhere. Specifically, they were on how Dee had braced herself on Sarah’s leg when she stood up and how those fingers had shifted just for an instant to the inside of her thigh and slipped under the hem of her shorts. The touch had caught Sarah off guard, and had been so fast she had not had time to say anything about it before Dee was gone. She sat there and thought, sipping her third drink.

Was Dee well, seducing her? The idea seemed absurd. Sarah didn’t have any false impressions about herself. She was plain, an average run-of-the mill woman. She fumbled out her compact and checked herself. She did look a little less washed-out than usual she noted to her surprise. Was the possibility of being flirted with by another woman making her flushed even just a bit?

Sarah had no real experience with other women. Right after high school she had married Rick and they had dated since the 9th grade. She just really had nothing to judge these feelings on. Nothing, except that she had felt strange, uncomfortable perhaps but also just a little bit excited when Dee’s hand had slid up her leg, accident though it might have been.

She replaced the compact in her pocketbook. She took another sip of her drink and sensed someone was beside her, even as Dee said “I’m back. Pass me my drink would you please Sarah?”

Dee stood beside and slightly behind Sarah, who could not turn to face her unless she twisted in her seat. Dee was chatting with the bartender, whom she apparently knew from previous stays. Sarah was aware of two things though. The first was that Dee’s breast was pressing against her arm. The second one was that Dee was holding her drink in her right hand and her left rested on Sarah’s shoulder. Once again, Sarah could not decide if it was her now hyper-sensitive imagination that made her feel tiny brushes of Dee’s fingertips on the back of her neck.

Sarah thought she was going to have to do something to break this tableau. After all, she was straight, she didn’t want this. She didn’t, did she? If not, then why was her heart beating so fast and her breathing so rapid?

Just then Dee sat her empty glass on the bar and told the bartender thanks and it was time to call it a night. The older woman swayed just a bit, pressing her breast tighter against Sarah’s arm as she announced “Sarah, I think I’ve had a bit too much. Could you help me back to my room?” Sarah finished her own drink and stood, swaying just a bit herself. The two women giggle and wrapped an arm around each other. Sarah was very conscious that Dee’s arm touched her back and side underneath her tied up shirt and on her bare skin.

Sarah was by no means drunk, but she was just tipsy enough to be a little unsteady on her feet. Dee’s arm around her kept her from wandering back and forth on the walkway. She stiffened just a bit as once more Dee’s fingers seemed to be gently brushing against her. this time it was against the side of her breast. She reminded herself that her hand was firmly holding Dee’s hip. Indeed, the base of her palm rested on the curve of the older woman’s bottom. It all didn’t mean a thing, she firmly told herself, ignoring the growing ball of excitement. It didn’t. Then Dee’s hand shifted again and Sarah felt the older woman’s fingers cup her breast and one fingertip stroke her nipple.

Oh God, Sarah breathed to herself. Dee WAS making a pass at her. And, and, she was responding to it. Sarah felt her nipple harden to Dee’s touch. And her own hand, Sarah could barely believe it. As though it had a mind of its own, her own hand had slid sideways and was running over the older woman’s rounded bottom.

Now they were at the room. She remained leaning against the older woman as Dee produced her room card and opened the electronic lock. Still touching, they went in and Dee pushed the door close. Light from the parking lot filtered through the window as Dee released Sarah to flick on a small table lamp. The younger woman had time only for a single moment of loss before her boss swept her up in her arms and kissed her deeply.