“You felt like you were drifting off and I figured your pillows were better than my boob.” Ronnie turned away again and sighed as the backrub resumed.


“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Rose replied, moving her fingers down the length of her friend’s spine. “Looks like you have plenty to make a pillow out of.” She surprised herself with her boldness and quickly tried to laugh it off. “Not that I’m particularly lacking in that department myself.” Her eyes fell upon a small triangle of skin darker than the rest just below Ronnie’s shoulder blade. “Did you know you have a birthmark right here?” She poked the area in question.


“So I’ve heard. Never seen it myself.” Rose continued to trace the mark with her fingertip, unaware of the effect her touch was having on Ronnie’s senses. “It’s um…not in a good position, even with mirrors.”


“Hmm, it’s very pretty. It’s just a little thing, no bigger than my fingertip. It’s just below your shoulder blade.” Her eyes studied the landscape of her friend’s back, noting every freckle and beauty mark. Where her eyes went, her hands followed, splaying out and running up and down.

“You have a strong back, Ronnie.”


, she silently mused.. She leaned over and spied the large hand resting on the Ronnie’s thigh.She never realized her hand had moved and was now gently stroking up and down a well-defined bicep.


“Um…I think that’s good, Rose.”


“Hmm? Oh.” Rose pulled her hands back and watched Ronnie put her T-shirt back on.


“Okay, your turn. Scoot forward.”


Long, dexterous fingers moved through her hair, against her scalp, massaging while braiding. Rose didn’t know when her eyes closed or when Ronnie started humming. She gave up trying to figure out what she was feeling and lost herself in it. She pressed back against her friend’s fingers, sighing audibly when Ronnie took the hint and began pressing her thumbs against the base of the skull. “Ooh, that’s nice,” she murmured, a lazy smile coming to her face.


“Talk about needing a massage,” the executive replied. “That’s it, relax against me.” Rose did as the rich voice told her, letting her upper body rest upon Ronnie’s. The Dartmouth nightshirt was big on her, the larger neck allowing hands to reach her shoulders without hindrance. She sighed again as the strong fingers forced her muscles to relax. She sank deeper against the larger frame behind her. Her shoulders were completely limp but Rose discovered another part of her was far from that state. She didn’t need to look down to realize that her nipples were tightening up. As Ronnie’s hands moved beneath the nightshirt, the cloth rubbed against the pink puckered skin. Eyes closed, Rose imagined those strong hands moving down. Her eyes flew open with the realization of what she was feeling…arousal.


“Hey…um…why don’t we turn on the television? I’m sure there’s something on we can watch.” She reached for the remote, hoping her voice didn’t sound as nervous to Ronnie as it did to her own ears.


Broken out of her own musings by the sudden move, the dark-haired woman could only mumble an approval. The noise of the television filled the air. It took a moment for her to realize that Rose wasn’t going to lean back against her anymore. Disappointed that the massage was over, Ronnie returned to the earlier task of braiding the blonde hair. Five minutes before she had been content, cozy, and comfortable. Now her body felt cool without the warmth of the smaller woman against her. She let out a silent sigh and resigned herself to be content with just touching the soft tresses.


Rose was also feeling the loss of their body contact. It took effort on her part not to lean into Ronnie’s fingers and start the massage over again.She tried to imagine how it would feel if someone else was touching her but an accidental brushing of a hand against her collarbone blew that thought away.She began to lean into Ronnie’s touch again and had to stop herself.She repeated the words over and over in her head until the braiding was done. When Ronnie moved out from behind her and she settled back against the pillows, Rose felt anything but relaxed. Her body was wide awake and burning with a fire that she hadn’t felt in years. In fact, the room seemed quite warm to her at the moment. Her only hope was that sleep would come quickly. “I’m tired,” she said over a fake yawn.


“Really?” Ronnie looked at the clock. “It’s still early.”


“Yeah, I don’t know, I think your neckrub is putting me to sleep. You can stay up if you want to, the TV won’t bother me.” She closed her eyes and nuzzled deeper into her pillow.


“I’m not tired yet but I don’t want to keep you up. I’ll go downstairs and work out for a while. I’m sure that’ll tire me out.”


“Oh, you don’t have to leave,” Rose protested, although an idea was forming in her mind.


“No, it’s no problem, really. I could use a workout,” she reassured, climbing out of bed and shutting off the television. “I’ll be back in about a half-hour, forty-five minutes or so.”


“Okay.”



* * *

Rose waited until she heard the music wafting through the floorboards before bending her right knee and drawing her legs apart. Self-pleasuring was not something she did often but her fingers had no trouble slipping between her slick lips and locating her excited nerves. “Ah…” Her fingers felt cool surrounded by the liquid warmth and the sensation was heightened when she drew the length of her finger across her clit. She filled her mind with erotic images while her passion grew. Her left hand pushed its way under the nightshirt and latched on to…


…her nipple became hard under the rhythmic pumping. Lying on the thick blue workout mat, Ronnie let her free hand travel into her sweatpants to cup her mound through her panties.

“Ohh…” Long fingers pushed the cotton against her wet curls, then further until the crotch was saturated. Shifting for leverage, she caused some slack to form in the panties and she used it to her full advantage, curling her fingers under the elastic edge and between her nether lips. Eyes closed, her fingers became Rose’s fingers. Imagining the blonde woman touching her so intimately caused Ronnie’s hips to buck against the mat and her breath to quicken. It was a fantasy she hadn’t allowed herself to entertain until now and she was surprised by its power. It was too much to deny anymore. She was in love with Rose Grayson; nothing could change that. Reality could never be but here, now, on a mat in her private gym, the fantasy could live. Here there was no accident, no broken bones, no shattered lives. Here was just her and Rose, loving each other. Ronnie’s fingers moved through the black curls and pink lips with old familiarity but the touches were somehow different, more intense. She was more than ready when two long fingers found her entrance and slid…


…inside to her first knuckle. Rose brought her other hand down and rubbed herself furiously. The full-length cast was the only thing keeping her hips even remotely on the bed. Her thigh muscles tensed and she felt a twinge of pain in her left leg but it paled in comparison to the pleasure her fingers were bringing. Pumping in, back, then in deeper still, her fantasy lover brought her to the edge. Rose pushed as far as she could but there was more…more that she couldn’t quite reach. That special place was so close and yet so far away. Teeth gritted, face contorted, she strained to reach orgasm. Pumping so deep that it hurt the webbing between her fingers while her left hand never ceased in its frantic efforts. Rose felt herself teetering on the brink but was unable to fall over the edge. Then her fantasy lover spoke to her. “Yes, that’s it, Rose. Let it go, that’s right.” Ronnie’s low tones rumbled through her, setting off electric charges that moved from her breasts to her clit where the final explosion came with shattering force.

“Oh…”


“…Rose!” Ronnie cried out as the pulsing waves crashed through her. Sure, deliberate movements drew out the pleasure, allowing her a few more seconds with her imaginary lover before falling limply back to the mat. Eyes closed, she lay there for several minutes, unwilling to let the fantasy go too soon. Eventually her breathing slowed and reality returned. With it came profound sadness. No matter what she did, it would never take away the truth about the accident. Nothing would take away Rose’s pain. Ronnie sat up and wrapped her arms around her legs, hugging herself into a ball.She looked at the ceiling, then slowly buried her head against her knees.At that moment there was nothing Ronnie wanted to do more than to cuddle up against the smaller woman. She took a deep breath and sat up, knowing that the longer she stayed downstairs the longer it would be before she could rest against Rose’s warm…