Automatically, Dana began to stroke the top of Alice‘s head, and the blonde snuggled in deeper, burrowing her face in the crook of Dana’s neck.  Alice‘s hands started to wander up Dana’s sides, tracing the athlete’s slim hips and waist lovingly.

                      “Al, are you awake,” whispered Dana.  Alice had a habit of getting a bit grope-y when she was still half-asleep, and Dana knew that she would definitely not have the willpower to put a stop to something Alice started.

                       “If I say I am, does that mean we have to move,” Alice mumbled sleepily.

                       “No,” whispered Dana, pressing her lips to the top of the writer’s messy blonde head.

                       “Ok then, I’m awake.  But I’m definitely not moving, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

                      “Nothing?”

                      “Nothing.”

                        As much as Dana loved Alice, underneath it all, she was still a competitive athlete.  A woman who knew a challenge when she heard one.  A woman who knew how ticklish Alice was, and the spots that would make her scream with laughter.  Slowly, sneakily, Dana ran her hands down Alice‘s back, lovingly stroking the Alice‘s soft skin.  When her hands were directly above the writer’s hips, she attacked.  Mercilessly, she poked and tickled Alice, using her legs to hold the blonde down.  Alice struggled to free herself from Dana’s grasp, and finally, Dana complied.  She unwrapped her legs from Alice‘s and stopped tickling.  Shrieking with laughter, Alice jumped off of the bed and ran across the room, just as Dana knew she would.

                      “So Al,” said Dana triumphantly, “NOTHING can get you to move.  Hmm, you sure about that?”

                       “Oh, shut it Dane.  You know that’s not fair”

                        “You never said anything was off-limits.  Now, will you admit that I won?”        

                        “If you admit that you just wanted to make me stand in the middle of the room totally naked,” said Alice, only half-joking  

                        Dana looked up, suddenly realizing that yes, she had gotten Alice out of bed, but that earlier that day, she had also gotten Alice out of her clothes.  The combination of those two facts meant that there was a very naked, very flushed Alice standing by the bed, her milky white ***** still trembling slightly from her great leap out of bed.  It was taking everything Dana had to not throw Alice down on the bed and spend the rest of the day (or the rest of her life) making passionate love to her.  She turned away from the blonde, realizing that there was no way for her to say what she needed to if she was staring at Alice‘s naked body

                       “Hey Al,” she began tentatively, “Can you put some clothes on?  I need to talk to you about something, and I can’t do it if you’re dressed like that”

                       “Or not dressed, as the case may be,” cracked Alice, in an attempt to lighten the situation.  She leaned over and began searching the floor for her clothing.  Finding the skirt and shirt she had been wearing earlier, she picked them up and made a face.  “Hey Dane, can I borrow something from you?  I feel kind of grody putting these back on.”

                       “Sure Al, no problem.”  Dana reached in to her dresser, pulling out a yellow shirt that said “Tennis, Anyone” and a pair of black jogging pants that she knew Alice loved.   She tossed them gently at the writer.

                       “Ok, Dane.  What’s going on,” asked Alice, pulling the shirt over her head.

                       “Well, Al.I think you’re right about a lot of things.  I think that there are things wrong with our relationship, things that we need to fix before they ruin what is, without a doubt, the most amazing thing I have ever been a part of.  But I don’t think that the solution is to break up.”

                       “What do you mean, Dana?” asked Alice, the confusion she felt showing plainly on her face.

                        “Well.,” began Dana “I think that-”