….washcloth between her legs, removing any trace her activities. Her task finished, she set it back in the small basin on the night stand. Rose settled back under the covers and waited for Ronnie to return. In the darkness, she thought about what had happened. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought about having sex with another woman. Now, her body still tingling from the intense orgasm, Rose tried to sort out her conflicting feelings. She cared very deeply for Ronnie, but that way? Still, all it took was her thinking of the executive speaking low and sexy to her and Rose began to warm up again. She tried to think of two women having sex. Nothing. There was no interest at all. The visions in her mind were just sex, bodies and limbs mingling together for physical pleasure. She thought about Ronnie again. Long, never ending legs led to a graceful swelling at the hip then narrowed to a slim waist. Breasts that seemed neither too large nor too small for her tall frame. A slender neck led to a square jaw and high cheekbones, all accented by full lips and expressive blue eyes. But the mental review couldn’t stay on the physical. The rich voice played in her ear while the sweet scent lingering on the nearby pillow filled her nostrils. Rose suddenly became aware of her own hand moving against her breast. The sudden silence as the stereo was shut off jolted the young woman out of her new fantasy. Her hands went straight to her sides and she waited as the basement door closed and the one to her room opened.


“You awake?” Ronnie whispered as she entered the darkened room. She waited a few seconds before repeating her question. Satisfied that Rose was sleeping, she carefully slipped into bed. Their bodies were barely touching. She tried one more time. “Rose?” She waited several seconds before settling down and wiggling in close. Her face buried in golden hair, her arm resting across the small waist, Ronnie gave a contented sigh and drifted off.


Long after Ronnie’s breathing gave way to soft snores, Rose lay awake, her fingertips idly twirling across the back of the hand resting on her stomach.Her eyes popped open as the question took shape.

her eyes grew wide.






“Good morning, Maria.” Rose wheeled her way into the kitchen, following the scent of fresh baked cinnamon rolls.


“And a good morning to you too, Rose. Would you like some coffee?”


“I’d love a cup, thank you.”


“I’ll bring it over to the table.” The housekeeper reached into the cupboard and removed a mug without looking at it. By the time she realized which one she had grabbed, she’d already added the cream and sugar. “Well, I guess Ronnie will have to use another mug.”


“You gave me her favorite again, didn’t you?” Rose asked with a smile. It was another one of Ronnie’s little quirks. Her morning coffee was always served in a black mug with the words “The Boss” across it.


“I’m afraid I did. I’ll dump it out and give you another one.”


“No, don’t bother. Ronnie can live without her Boss mug for one day.” It actually amused Rose that with the dozens of mugs that filled the cupboard, her friend was so attached to that particular one.


“Now you know she likes her coffee in that cup,” Maria admonished.


“It’s good for her to change her routine from time to time,” came the playful reply as she took the mug from the older woman.


“And what are you two up to?” Ronnie asked as she entered the room. She picked the newspaper up and glanced at the headline before she noticed. “Stealing my favorite mug?” She crossed behind the young woman and sat down in the chair next to her.


“Don’t worry, I know who is really the boss around here,” Rose replied as she took a sip.


“Sometimes I wonder,” Ronnie joked back. “Think you’ll try to send me an email today?”


“Yeah, you wrote down what to do, didn’t you?”


“It’s next to the computer.” She looked up to see Maria coming over with her coffee. She looked at the mug quizzically. “Where’d this one come from?” It was a Far Side cartoon mug with two deer on it. One had a bright red bulls-eye on its chest. The caption underneath said ‘Hell of a birthmark, Hal.’ Ronnie chuckled and drank from it.


“See, change is good,” Rose said over the lip of her mug. Maria brought their breakfast over along with a carafe of coffee.


“If you ladies will excuse me, I’m going to get started on the laundry.”


“Okay, thanks Maria.”


“Yeah, thanks.”


Now alone, both women began to eat their breakfast. Ronnie had the fork in one hand and the newspaper in the other. Although she scanned the business section, the paper also had the added benefit of allowing her to peek over and study Rose unnoticed. The broken legs were hidden under the round table. With the soft blonde hair tucked behind her ears, Ronnie had an unobstructed view of the soft curve of Rose’s cheek, the slight upturn at the end of her nose, the rust colored eyebrows that rested above far too green eyes. Suddenly those eyes turned and caught her. Ruffling the pages and looking down at the paper, Ronnie hoped that the blush she felt wasn’t too visible. “Um…I’m thinking about easing some of the workload off of Laura. I have some letters that need to be updated. It’s not that hard to do but it is time consuming. You said you learned how to use the mail merge, didn’t you?” Her eyes never left the newsprint, although she had no idea what the words on the paper were.


“Um hmm.” Rose swallowed and set the cup down. “It was difficult at first but once I got the hang of it it’s really pretty easy.” Inside she was excited.“I’ll make sure it’s done right away and I promise there will be no mistakes.”


Behind the paper, the executive smiled at the enthusiastic tone. “I’ll email the files to you as soon as I get to work. I’m sure you’ll have no problems with it.” She set the business section of the paper down and poured herself another cup of coffee. “Well, let’s see who the police picked up last night,” Ronnie said as she picked up the local section. She flipped through the pages until she found the police blotter report listing all the people who were arrested or appeared in court. She spotted the name of an old high school friend arrested for prostitution. “What?” She pulled the paper closer, knocking her coffee cup over in the process. “Damn.” She stood up. The creamy yellow blouse was now covered down the front with the wet beige of coffee. She undid the first few buttons, confirming that it had seeped onto her half slip as well. “Maria!” She turned to see the housekeeper come out of the laundry room. “Coffee.”


“On silk,” Maria tsked. “Veronica Louise, I go through more Woolite with you.” She shook her head, causing Rose to smirk while sopping up the coffee on the table. “Well, get out of those wet things.” Ronnie turned to head out of the room. “There is no need to be modest right now. You’re not going to run upstairs with coffee dripping off your blouse. There’s enough of a mess to clean right here.”


“Fine.” In one quick move the blouse came off followed by the half slip. “It got the skirt too.” A tug of the zipper and the garment followed the other wet clothes into Maria’s hands.


With Ronnie’s back to her, Rose let her eyes travel up and down the tall body clad in only pantyhose and a lacy creme colored bra. She concentrated but didn’t feel the arousal that she had experienced the prior evening. What she did feel was guilty for staring at her friend’s body.She averted her eyes when the half-clothed body turned around, looking up only when she heard the dark-haired woman address her. “I’m going upstairs to change.”


“Oh, you know what would look really nice on you? Those gray wool slacks and that pale blue blouse.” Rose thought about the last time she had seen Ronnie wear that outfit and about how it highlighted her eyes. “It looks really nice on you.”


“The gray slacks, hmm?” Ronnie remembered how much Rose liked that particular combination. Goosebumps raised on her thighs. “I’d better go get changed before I freeze to death standing here.”


She returned a few minutes later, admitting to herself that the wool pants were a much better idea than the skirt on such a cold morning. “Okay, what do you think?” She asked, twirling around with the blazer folded over her arm.


“Looks great,” Rose said. The slacks hugged in all the right places and the top outlined her soft curves nicely. “You look…nice.”


“Thank you.” Ronnie looked down into sparkling green eyes and smiled. “I’ll email you those files once I get there.” She fought the urge to give the young woman a peck on the cheek and settled instead for a squeeze of the shoulder. “I’d better get going before the traffic gets too bad.”