***
        “No, not that one!” Joe practically shouted, putting his hands over his
face and wiping them down in an exasperated way.  His shoulders were
slumped, his eyes bright red, and his manner much different than the mild
temper Emily was used to.  “Wear that one,” he suggested, pulling out a
dress from Emily’s side of the closet.  He held it up, proudly, over her
body, admiring the dark green color against his wife’s pale tone.  “You’ll
look good in this one.”
        With a heavy sigh Emily took the hanger in her hand and went back to the
bathroom to change for the third time that evening.  Joe didn’t seem to
think that anything looked quite good enough on her, that nothing she wore
was good enough for this night.
        “This could be my big break,” he kept repeating.  “If we make a good
impression on Mr. Logan tonight I could get a promotion, do you realize
that?  It’s all about who you know, in this world, and I’ll know David
Logan.”
        “Yes, dear,” Emily chimed for the twentieth time that day, scowling to
herself.
        After pulling the dress over her head and adjusting it a bit, Emily took a
look at herself in the mirror.  It didn’t look that bad on her, not at all. 
Maybe some of the other things she’d tried on had looked better, but this
was definitely good enough for a dinner with ‘The Boss.’  The dark, forest
green fabric made her pale skin shine almost like a pearl, with her dark
black hair resting softly at her shoulders.  The dress was sleeveless, with
a modest neckline that gave a small peek of her cleavage but left quite a
bit to the imagination.  The skirt was modest as well, but not long.  It
rested slightly below her knees in an out-of-date but still elegant style. 
As an afterthought Emily reached up and pulled the hair that would have been
her bangs behind her head, clipping them there with a barrette.  This would
be good enough indeed.
        “I’m not changing again,” Emily insisted as she walked out of the bathroom
towards her closet, reaching for a pair of black strap-on heels.
        Joe didn’t protest, just sighed dramatically.  Turning towards her, his
eyes widened slightly in delight.
        “You look great, Em,” he said, smiling.
        Emily blushed at the compliment.  After a few years of marriage compliments
from her husband had become scarce, and it warmed her up a little inside to
hear any words of praise.
        “Thanks, Joe,” she said, reaching down and brushing imaginary wrinkles out
of her skirt.  “You ready to go?”
        Joe nodded and left the bedroom.  The couple got in their car and drove to
the restaurant.
        “I want you to be on your best behavior,” Joe said, putting his foot on the
gas and accelerating.  “Understand?”
        His comment frustrated Emily, who had been so pleased with him moments
before.
        “I’m not a child,” she said, irritably, mostly to herself since Joe
obviously wasn’t paying attention.  “I know how to behave in a public
place.”
        “I just want you to know that this is important to me,” Joe said, not in a
tone that would indicate he was sorry about talking down to her.  Indeed, he
went on to further insist that she not put her elbows on the table or talk
overmuch.  “And don’t tell any stories that make me look bad, okay?” he
said.
        Emily just stared out the window.  She couldnÕt believe that her husband
would be treating her this way, even on a night as important as this.  She
was supposed to be his partner, not someone he feared would ruin his chances
at success.
        “Did you hear me, Emily?” Joe asked again, drawing her attention away from
the window.
        “Yes, dear,” Emily said, with absolutely no feeling.  “I think I can behave
without disgracing you too much.”
        Joe didn’t respond, but began to accelerate even more, driving them closer
and closer to the place.  Finally they were there, and Joe slipped out of
the car.  He walked towards the building without even offering to help Emily
out of the car, but she was used to that.  It was not as though he had to
woo her or court her anymore, they were married so all his manners could be
focused on other people.
        The maitre d showed them to a table.  The Logan’s were already seated,
Tiffany to her husband’s right.  She looked up and smiled when she
recognized the couple, her eyes lighting up in a way that made Emily almost
shiver.  There was a hunger in those two blue eyes, something that said she
might just jump up and devour someone right then and there.  David Logan
stood up when he saw whom his wife was looking towards, and Tiffany followed
suit.
        “Mr. Mitchell, I’m glad you could join us,” David smiled, reaching out and
shaking Joe’s hand.  Joe smiled sappily and pumped David’s hand a little too
enthusiastically.
        “Thank you for inviting us,” he said, his voice coated with fake gratitude.
  The sickeningly cheerful tone in her husband’s voice made Emily shudder,
but she smiled when David turned to her.
        “Lovely to meet you at last, Mrs. Mitchell,” David said, taking her hand in
his large one gently.  Slowly he raised her slender hand towards his lips,
kissing the back of it softly before letting it go again.
        The man’s soft lips on Emily’s hand made her heart flutter a little bit,
and she flushed like a schoolgirl.  Next to her Joe was shaking Tiffany’s
hand, introducing himself to the woman.
        “Thank you, sir,” Emily said, shyly to David.  “And please, call me Emily.”
        “Very well, Emily,” David smiled, his face and eyes warm, “Won’t the two of
you take a seat?”
        Emily nodded slightly and sat down in the seat across from Tiffany, her
husband sitting across from David.  Almost instantly David began talking to
Joe about some person for work, and some new equipment they were going to be
receiving.  Emily hardly heard a thing until the waiter came and asked them
if anyone would like some drinks.
        After everyone had been given their drinks the men got back to their
conversation, and Emily began to fidget with her napkin, sipping her wine
every so often.
        “Boring, aren’t they?” Tiffany said.  Emily looked up in surprise, smiling
slightly and nodding her head.  “They’ll do this all night.  It’s all David
ever thinks about.”
        “What’s that, honey?” David asked, pausing when he heard his name.
        “You’re boring, dear,” Tiffany said, sipping her wine and smiling coyly.
        David gave her a puzzled look and went back to his conversation with Joe. 
Emily didnÕt feel comfortable enough to start a conversation with Tiffany. 
It was true that she knew the woman by reputation, but that wasn’t really
enough to give her the courage to dive into the conversation.  From the way
Tiffany was reclining in her seat, her wine between her fingers, and a
slight smile on her face as she nodded at this or that that the men were
saying she didnÕt want to start a conversation either, so Emily remained in
silence.  Her nerves were beginning to get the best of her, as outside of
the circle as she was, and she thanked the waiter with true feeling when he
brought the first course.
        Tiffany picked up her fork and stabbed a leaf of lettuce almost violently,
placing it between her red lips as she remained watching the men, who were
so far ignoring their salads.  With a brief glance Tiffany made eye contact
with Emily, startling the younger woman with her crystal blue eyes, which
seemed to be trying to convey something that the naive young woman didnÕt
quite comprehend.  Emily was so startled that she dropped her fork on the
floor, her face turning red with embarrassment.
        “Excuse me,” Emily mumbled, her eyes downcast, as she slipped from her
seat.  Down on the floor Emily slid her hand across the carpet, blindly
searching for her fork.  To her horror, her hand brushed against a hard
shoe, one with a pointed toe that she assumed could only be Tiffany’s.
        “Oh,” Tiffany exclaimed with surprise, above the table.  Her foot twitched
and Emily swallowed heavily, pulling her fingers away from the shoe.  She
grasped her fork and quickly rose again, sitting back in her seat, rigid as
could be.  Emily’s face flushed bright red and she could feel Tiffany’s eyes
on her again.
“Was that you?” Tiffany asked, winking.  Emily only blushed in response.
        Hesitating a moment to glance over at his wife, Joe glared at Emily as
though to remind her that she was to be on her best behavior.
        “I’m sorry, Mrs. Logan,” Emily said, formally.
        “Please,” Tiffany said, her voice thick and sweet.  “Call me Tiffany.”  As
the words slipped past her lips her foot nudged Emily’s bare leg lightly,
the side of her shoe rubbing against Emily’s calf.  Emily’s blush grew
brighter and she stared down at her salad, feeding herself some of the
lettuce.
        Tiffany joined back in with the men, adding a few words here and there,
making Emily feel awkward again.  With a burst of courage Emily tried to
join the conversation, but the look she received from her husband made her
sit back in her seat again.  In a somewhat pouty mood, she finished her
salad.  Taking her wine in her hand, she idly sipped as Tiffany and the men
continued talking.
        “Bored, are you?” Tiffany said suddenly to Emily, startling the poor girl.
        “Oh,” Emily blushed.  “It’s not that I’m bored.  I just, well, I donÕt have
anything to add to the conversation.”
        “Me either, really,” smiled Tiffany, her foot once again touching Emily’s.
        When Emily felt the cool, smooth texture of the shoe against her leg again,
she involuntarily shuddered.  A jolt of electricity seemed to move up her
spine and back down again all the way to her feet.  Blinking a couple of
times, she smiled shyly back at the older woman, who was in turn smiling
widely at her.
        “Do you get out much?” Tiffany asked, rubbing her shoe against the side of
Emily’s shoe.  “Personally, I try to get out whenever is possible.”
        “Yes,” Emily responded, having a hard time disassociating herself from the
feeling of the slick foot rubbing against her.  “I go grocery shopping twice
a week, I go to the club...” she trailed off as Tiffany’s foot began to
caress the side of her calf again, moving almost up to her knee.  Emily
cleared her throat, feeling a bit uncomfortable but at the same time
enjoying the feel of the shoe.
        “We should do something together some time,” Tiffany said coyly, winking a
bit at Emily.  Emily cleared her throat uncomfortably and shifted in her
chair.  The other woman’s foot didnÕt leave the side of Emily’s leg as she
moved her body, and changed it’s pace when Emily sat still once again. 
Slowly the foot moved up her leg, caressing her almost tenderly with the
soft side as Emily refused to meet Tiffany’s eyes.
        What was the older woman thinking?  Emily’s face was hotter than she would
have imagined the touch of another woman could make it, and her hand shook
as she lifted her wine glass to her lips.
        “Please excuse me,” Emily said softly, scooting her chair back and standing
up.  From the corner of her eye she saw Joe shoot her a glare, and then look
back at David and resume his conversation.
        “Darling.” David said, speaking to Tiffany.  He asked her a question, and
while Tiffany answered Emily practically ran to the women’s restroom.
        Nervously Emily relieved her bladder, her head spinning as she thought
about Tiffany’s foot making it’s way up her leg.  Tiffany was obviously
toying with her, but to what end?  Was it sadistic pleasure that caused her
to embarrass Emily, or was she actually implying something?  Emily’s heart
raced inside her chest as for a brief moment she thought that perhaps
Tiffany was...well...coming on to her.
        When Emily and Joe had first met, they had played under the table games
often, teasing each other behind the long tablecloths.  Now Emily wondered
if the thought would even cross Joe’s mind to play with her in such a
naughty way.  Probably not.  As she wiped herself and stood up, Emily
wondered how Tiffany would react if Emily were to start playing back.
        A knock on the door frightened her.
        “Occupied!” Emily said, loudly, walking towards the sink and washing her
hands.  Taking a deep breath she splashed some of the cool water onto her
hot face.  Looking at the mirror, Emily made eye contact with her
reflection.  It seemed to be trying to communicate something to her.
        There was another knock, this time more insistent.
        “Occupied!” Emily said again, this time annoyed.  Why didn’t the other
woman just wait her turn?
        “It’s me,” a voice said from the other side of the door.  Emily’s heart
seemed to stop.  Tiffany was on the other side of that thick piece of wood,
knocking and asking for admittance.
        Emily put her hand on the knob and hesitated.  She suspected that Tiffany
wanted something from her, something Emily wasn’t sure how to react to, and
Emily was almost afraid to open the door.  Taking a deep breath, she made a
silent decision to go along and play with Tiffany all the other woman wanted
tonight, and twisted the knob.  The door swung open, and there stood
Tiffany, all smiles as she looked into Emily’s face.
        “Hi sweetie,” Tiffany greeted, her face all smiles as she walked past Emily
into the room.  Emily forced herself to smile back despite the fear and
exhilaration she felt.  Her faces were a bit pink as Tiffany walked past
her.  “Those two are so boring,” Tiffany complained, balancing her purse on
the edge of the sink and pulling out some make-up.  Puckering her full lips
she began to touch up her face, chatting pleasantly while she dabbed on the
lipstick as if nothing out of the ordinary had been going on under the
table.
        Standing behind her, Emily watched Tiffany’s reflection as the woman
examined herself in the mirror.  Emily didn’t know quite what to say, but
felt that silence was not the best idea.  Holding her breath she brought up
the thing most on her mind; Tiffany’s foot.
        “I like your shoes,” she said, instantly cursing herself for the stupid
comment.
        “Oh?” Tiffany said, shifting her eyes in the mirror to look through the
glass into Emily’s face.  “Thank you.  I bought them when I went to San
Francisco last year.  Have you ever been?”
        Emily shook her head, pursing her lips shut.  She was determined not to let
any more stupid things slip through her mouth that evening.
        “They were quite a bargain,” Tiffany continued.  “And I must admit that I
like the feel of the fabric on them…what do you think?”
        Emily’s blush intensified, and her face felt as though it were on fire. 
She wished she had her wine to take a deep drink right now.  Perhaps if she
got a little tipsy she wouldn’t feel so awkward.
        “Yes,” she sputtered, still looking into Tiffany’s eyes via the mirror. 
“It’s quite nice, actually.”
        Tiffany’s lips spread into a catlike smile that seemed to stretch across
her whole face.  Her blue eyes sparkled like diamonds and her large lashes
only made her seem more beautiful as she winked at Emily.
        “I’m glad you think so,” Tiffany said, breaking away from Emily’s face.
        It was as though a huge pressure had been taken off of Emily’s back.  Her
lungs released the air that they had been holding fast, and she seemed to
slump with relaxation as the other woman’s eyes left her own.  Allowing
herself to break away from the mirror, Emily couldn’t help but admire the
way Tiffany’s dress hung off her curvy frame, the woman’s hips and buttocks
looking smooth under the black fabric.
        When Tiffany turned around, Emily quickly averted her eyes, ashamed to have
been looking at the other woman in such a way.  Her thoughts were dirty, she
told herself, and not something she should allow herself to be thinking
about the wife of her husband’s boss.
        As if she knew what Emily was thinking, Tiffany walked towards the younger
woman, still smiling as she took the steps to bring her directly in front of
Emily.  Tiffany was taller, and Emily had to bend her neck a bit to look the
woman in the face.  Their breasts almost touched, they were so close, and
Emily was suddenly painfully aware of her heavy breathing.
        “Do you know why you are here tonight?” Tiffany asked quietly.
        Emily shook her head.  “Your husband invited my husband to dinner,” she
said, her voice just as soft as Tiffany’s question had been.
        Tiffany shook her head in negation.  “Don’t you think it’s odd that my
husband, who hasn’t spoken once to your husband the entire time they’ve
worked together, would just invite you out?  No, it was I.”
        “What do you mean?” Emily asked, her voice shaking.
        “I wanted to get you out of the house,” Tiffany said, her arm rising and
her fingers brushing softly against Emily’s bare arm.  Emily shivered as the
woman’s soft fingers caressed her, and she shut her eyes slightly before
regaining her thoughts and opening them wide again.  “I was looking for any
excuse to see you outside of the club, and to invite you over to my own home
without frightening you.”
        “Frightening me?” Emily asked, trying to sound brave.  She was a nervous
wreck, though, and could practically feel her bone’s shaking as the woman
went on.
        “I have to admit that I like you, Em,” Tiffany smiled.  “I doubt you’ve
ever been with a woman, but I would love to try you out.”
        The way she said it almost made Emily feel like an object, but at the same
time she felt something stirring inside her that she hadn’t felt in years. 
It was arousal, and lust.  Shifting her weight to her other foot she looked
down, her eyes taking Tiffany’s body into account as they went down to the
woman’s generous chest, her firm stomach, and then back up to her face.
        “I don’t know,” Emily said shakily.  She wanted to lean in and kiss the
other woman.  Her breaths were coming in jagged chokes now, and she felt her
eyes beginning to water.  Her stomach twisted and she felt butterflies in
the back of her throat.  “I feel like a schoolgirl who has never been
kissed,” she admitted, backing away from Tiffany a couple of steps. 
Tiffany’s fingers on her arm tightened slightly, keeping Emily from backing
any further away.
        “I understand,” Tiffany whispered, “And I want to teach you.  Please…it
will be enjoyable for both of us.”
        Emily swallowed hard, trying to make up her mind.  “Okay,” she said, her
voice barely audible.  “I want to try.  I want you to teach me.”
        “First lesson,” Tiffany said, leaning her face down towards Emily’s.  Emily
closed her eyes as the soft lips touched hers, the scent of the lipstick
heavy in her nostrils as Tiffany’s lips rested gently on her own.  It was as
though a great pressure had been relieved, and while she didn’t particularly
enjoy the kiss, she nevertheless felt relaxed and as though the tension held
in her body was melting away at least slightly.  Tiffany pulled away and
Emily smiled, the first genuine smile she’d been able to conjure in the
bathroom.  “Good,” Tiffany said.  “The first lesson is to not be afraid,
just let it happen.  I think that I’m a good teacher, and you’re going to be
a fine student.  Now, let’s get out of here and go back to our husbands. 
They’re probably wondering what has happened to us by now!”
        Emily smiled again and nodded, taking a quick glance in the mirror to make
sure none of Tiffany’s lipstick had come off on her lips.  Smiling at her
reflection, she saw that the nervous girl that had looked back at her not
long before had gone, and in her place was one who’s eyes said that they
were ready.  Taking a deep breath she followed Tiffany out of the small
room, her blush coming back when a woman’s eyes widened in surprise at
seeing two people leave the one-person stall.