CHAPTER TWO

The next morning found Shane asleep on Alice’s couch. It had been a fitful sleep. She’d been dreaming — of what had turned out to be her last day together with Cherie:
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Cherie had picked Shane up at Lather and they headed to another of those cheesy little downtown motels where there was no possibility Cherie would run into anyone who knew her. They were joking about the tacky decor before they were halfway into the room. As the door closed behind them, Cherie pulled Shane into a steamy kiss, and they were on their way. It always began like this — no preamble, no polite conversation. They were far too hungry for each other for any significant foreplay.

Shane had never known a woman as passionate as Cherie — as wild and uninhibited in bed. She fit Shane so perfectly. The sensual music their bodies played together was unlike anything Shane had ever experienced. And considering the extent of Shane’s experience with women, that was saying something!

They fell onto the bed laughing, kissing, and tearing at each other’s clothes. Cherie ripped open Shane’s shirt, sending the buttons flying, and buried her face in Shane’s soft, sensitive *****. “Hey,” Shane playfully scolded, “you’re paying for that.”

“Oh please, let me start paying right now,” Cherie grinned in reply, as she began sucking on first one luscious nipple, then the other. Shane moaned in delight as Cherie pressed her body closer. But suddenly Shane deftly reversed their positions. She then took Cherie’s face in her hands. “Allow me babe,” Shane uttered in a sultry tone that sent shivers down Cherie’s spine. She ran her tongue lightly along Cherie’s lower lip. Cherie’s tongue quickly came out to greet it. The fierce, impassioned coupling that ensued left them both breathless.

Their ***** always seemed to have a quality of desperation to it, as if they were both painfully aware of the “ticking clock” element attached to their affair.

But the reality is there’s nothing so arousing as “desperate” ***** — when each illicit meeting might be your last. Although they never talked about it, and Shane wouldn’t even let herself consciously think about the possibility of an “end,” the fact hung over both of them like the Sword of Damocles. And as threatening as that was, it was also wildly exciting.

Everything about being with Cherie was undeniably different from what Shane had known before. Even though, as a hard and fast rule, Shane would never engage in conversation with the women she went home with, she began to look forward to her talks with Cherie after they made love. And yes, she very quickly began thinking of her time with Cherie as “making love” — not just “*****.” (And that should have been her FIRST warning, she thought to herself.)

She was surprised at first that Cherie even wanted to talk with her afterwards. Surprised, and flattered. Because Cherie’s conversation was never frivolous — they spoke about the way they viewed the world and what they hoped to accomplish in it. And the most gratifying of all was that Cherie wanted to hear about Shane’s life — what she’d been through, what her dreams were — and then, as it turned out, she actually wanted to help make those dreams come true!

Shane had come so close to revealing her feelings for Cherie in that shabby little motel room. The words were getting harder and harder to keep locked away. She’d almost slipped up a half dozen times already. Like that ridiculous phone call from the Dinah Shore weekend. (And THAT should have been her SECOND warning!) Why wasn’t she paying closer attention to these signs? And where was someone to give her a good shake when she needed one?!?
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Alice nudged Shane on the shoulder one more time. “Shane, breakfast is ready hon.”
“Come on, wake up babe.”

Shane opened her eyes. But she wondered briefly if she would ever really wake up.


(to be continued)