Just a Chance Ch. 01

This is a slow burner lesbian story. It is also my first publication on this site and the first time to branch out in my writing.

Thank you for giving this story a chance and I hope you enjoy the first chapter.

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"Ow! Hey! Quit Chloe!"

Dog food was spilling all over the floor as the great pyrenees' large body tried to squeeze into the small laundry room to get to her large bowl of food.

I was sweating from the struggle to get around the massive dog when I finally managed to leave the small room.

"I swear Michael owes me big. He is the one who promised to feed Chloe until Lora made it home."

Lora had been overseas for a little over a year and had sent her dog, Chloe, ahead of her before she arrived in town sometime this week.

Thinking about Lora and the idea of seeing my best friend again after so long filled me with excitement as well as anxiety. Anxiety because my heart wouldn't stop telling me I was in love with her.

Even after knowing her for 20 years I never found the courage to tell her how I felt. At times it even felt wrong to love my best friend because it as if I was tainting our friendship and the trust she had in me.

I was even more afraid that if I were to tell Lora how I felt not only would I ruin the friendship we had, but also affect the relationships we had with our mutual friends Michael and Ben.

We, Lora, Ben, Michael and I, had been friends since childhood and that friendship had continued into our adult lives, but we were more than just a group of friends we were family. So, I had no choice, but to suppress the feeling I felt and call it a simple crush.

Lora's job was what lead her to leave the country for so long and we all had the suspicion that it also involved a woman, but none of us really knew the truth. No matter how easy going she seemed it was always hard to get her to talk about what was going on in her head. Nevertheless, we supported Lora as her friends should and waited patiently till she returned as we always did with any of her other film jobs.

Lora's job was as exciting and outgoing as we all knew her. She was a stuntwoman for some of the top action movies that had come out these past few years.

Her beautiful physique and job allowed her to quickly develop a list of beautiful and exotic woman that seemed to be a mile long, but none of them ever lasted. Lora didn't seem interested in a relationship and managed to break several hearts along the way.

I suddenly felt Chloe nudged my leg with a squeaky toy.

"Chloe, I can't play I have a busy day today. Now if you were you're Mama I would totally take the time to play," I said with a chuckle as I took the toy from her mouth and threw it before I turned back around to head out the door.

I immediately tensed up and stood there shocked when I saw the handsome woman standing in the doorway with a cocky grin.

"So, what does 'play' include cause I might be interested."

I stared at her as I noticed how different she looked from a year ago. Her long brown hair had been cut into a bob that showcased her strong shoulders and alluring neckline. I couldn't stop my eyes from traveling down her blue tank top and black shorts that hardly covered her beautifully tanned skin and sculpted body. I would definitely love to play with her.

With that thought my face began to burn red hot. I was even more embarrassed when she caught me checking her out. Our eyes met briefly, but not before I saw a gleam of mischief in them.

"I...I... meant..."

Lora's smile widened before she interrupted me.

"I would like to play with me too, so I don't blame you," she said with a wink.

She spoke so nonchalantly that it made me wonder if she thought I had been joking.

She set her luggage on the floor as Chloe ran and obediently sat in front of her.

"Hey girl, I missed you so much," she said as she hugged her dog.

"Hey, Amelia, would you like to eat some dinner with me?"

I was still in a shock of the sexually tense subject from earlier that it took me a second to register what she had asked.

"Oh, ummm..."

Lora then picked up the bag of our favorite Chinese takeout place in town and in that moment my stomach decided to growl.

"If it makes you feel better I was about to call you."

Her smile melted away my shyness and I nodded.

"Good, cause I'm starving," she said as she led us to her table in the kitchen.

She set the bowels of noodles down then briefly walked over to a cabinet to pull out a bottle of wine.

As she popped the cork she looked over at me with bright and excited eyes.

"I almost forgot I wanted to congratulate you on your article in the engineering magazine. I always seem to forget what a genius you are," she said as she filled two glasses with wine.

I took the glass she handed me and took a long swig. I needed something to calm my racing heart.

"Thank you, but I'm no genius."

Lora gave me a stern look as she sat in front of her bowl of noodles.

"Yes. You. Are. Seriously Amelia I was showing that article around set all week making sure everyone knew that we were friends."

I felt my cheeks warm again at her praise and honestly, I had hoped she would have read that article even though I knew she wouldn't quite understand it.

"So, Amelia, how's it going with..." She tapped her fork on her chin as she thought.

"Meredith? Ben sent me a pic of both of you a few weeks ago."

I sighed as I took a bite of my noodles.

"Well, sadly I got dumped. I apparently work too much and I'm a selfish asshole."

Lora almost choked and took a drink of her wine before being able to swallow her food.

"Seriously what did she expect from the CEO of Reid Engineering? You are a very important woman whose time is very valuable. She was lucky to even get a fraction of it. Anyways, I always thought she wasn't your type."

"I do think I acted like an asshole sometimes, so I give her that, but what do you mean by not my type?"

Lora shrug her shoulders.

"There always seems to be something missing from the women you date. I can hear it in your voice when you talk about them. I just get the feeling you haven't found the woman you are truly into yet."

Because I am beyond into you, I thought in my head. I looked at the empty glass next to me and decided maybe another refill would help this conversation.

"What about you? Model? Actress?"

Lora's face saddened.

"Actually neither. I have been going solo for about three months now."

By the way her body shifted in the chair I knew she was uncomfortable about the subject.

A year ago, I would have known every detail of what happened between Lora and her possible ex. We couldn't go a day without speaking to each other or at the very least messaging each other, but when Lora went overseas that changed.

Lora and I had slightly grown apart and it made me wonder what had happened to my composed and cool best friend to have her fidgeting like that.

Instead of asking I grabbed the wine refilling her glass.

"Well, I have an interview tomorrow and I can't seem to get my lines straight. Amanda is breathing down my neck."

I refilled my glass again before taking a nervous bite of noodles.

"Amelia, you are the smartest and most poised person I know. You will be fine."

I didn't blame her for thinking that way. Anyone looking from the outside in would see a strong, independent, and ambitious CEO, but like any other person in their twenties, I was still struggling to find myself.

I was nothing more than my father's top engineer and student when he passed and then I was suddenly thrown into a world of business I felt I had no right to be in.

Luckily, with Amanda's, my newly appointed COO, help and her connections with two influential board's people I got the backing I needed to make the transition of power go smoothly.

My head was beginning to spin when I looked back up towards Lora and noticed the wine bottle was empty.

When had that happened?

Lora stood and swayed a little as she picked up the empty bowls. I took the chance to look down at my watch and sighed.

"I got to head out and go over the script Amanda made."

As I stood Lora grabbed my arm.

"No, you've drank too much. Just stay here until you sober up. I missed you."

Her sad eyes almost caused me to melt right in front of her. She was right. I had drank a little more than I had wanted to and I was definitely in no shape to make my way home or trust a stranger to get me there.

"Ok."

We made our way back to the living room both of us plopping onto the couch giggling.

As always Lora laid on her side placing her head on my lap, my fingers automatically going through her hair.

I looked down at her as she used the remote to turn on the tv.

Did she not know what she did to me? How even this little bit of interaction seems to cause an inferno of attraction and desire to engulf me?

"Man, I missed this, Amelia. I'm so happy to have my best friend back."

For a moment my fingers stopped, and I tried to ease the ache in my chest.

"I missed you too," I said trying to keep the boiling emotions of hurt out of my voice.

It didn't seem long before I heard the soft and even sounds of Lora's breathing.

Looking down I saw her beautiful sleeping face. Slowly I leaned down inching closer to her and kissed the top of her head resting my lips against her short hair.

My heart seemed to be beating hard against my chest, but at the same time it felt as if it was filled with a sense of peace. I had forgotten how good it felt to have Lora next to me and how I wished we could stay like this forever.

I leaned my head back and let the alcohol-induced drowsiness take over my senses. For a moment I wanted to feel Lora's warmth against me. Just for a moment.

"Hyena! Hyena!"

"My name is Amelia!" I screamed at the girls through my tears, but they wouldn't listen.

Pushing and shoving me they kept calling me by the nickname they gave me. I wanted them to stop I wanted them to leave me alone, but no matter how hard I tried to get away all I could hear was "Hyena". I shut my eyes and covered my ears, "My name is Amelia."

Suddenly it all stopped. The voices quieted, and I heard another voice.

"I'll punch you too Kathy if you both don't shut up."

I opened my eyes and removed my hands from over my ears and that was when I saw her.

A girl in blue with her fist clenched in front of me. Across from her were my tormentors Ruth and Kathy. Ruth was holding her bloody nose as tears ran down her face. In a matter of moments, they both ran away crying.

I was still staring after them when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Are you ok?"

I looked up into her clear blue eyes and saw the worry in them. I wiped my own tears away and stood a little straighter.

"Th..thank you."

She smiled widely as two boys came up next to her.

"You want to be our friend? We promise we won't let those girls tease you anymore."

I nodded and followed the trio.

I felt the morning rays hit my eyes and I thought it was weird I had dreamt of the day I met Lora. The same day I fell in love with her even if my five-year-old self didn't quite understand it.

I felt movement underneath me as a slight a pang of pain rang through my head.

My eyes fluttered open and I took in the scene around me.

Apparently, the small nap I had decided to take had turned into me completely falling asleep on Lora's couch. Worse than that, both of us must have shifted during our sleep that now Lora was practically underneath me with her arms wrapped around me holding me to her.

I slowly began to rise trying not to wake her when I felt her arms twitch around me and for a moment bring me closer.

I looked into the now open blue eyes as she studied me intently. She quickly released and looked away, but not before I saw what I thought was a small blush on her cheeks.

"Sorry. You know I love to cuddle."

I was finally able to lift myself from her and sat at the end of the couch examining her.

Yes, she was a cuddler and I had known that since we were kids, but never had she held me like that before.

She too sat up and for a moment there was an awkward silence. I wanted to ask her if she was ok when suddenly my phone buzzed.

I looked down at the message from Amanda reminding me of our schedule today. No matter how many times I told her she wasn't my assistant she felt the need to make sure I kept my tight schedule. The way she handled employees and even me was one of the reasons I chose her as my COO.

"I'm sorry Lora. I have a meeting I have to get to."

Lora snapped out of whatever trance she was in and turned quickly to face me.

"Do you have plans for tonight? A few friends came to New York with me and I want you to meet them."

I probably should look over some contracts I had waiting on my desk, but I could see Lora was eager for me to meet these new friends.

"I don't, and I'll be happy to meet them."

Her broad smile gave me butterflies before another buzz reminded me I needed to leave now if I was going to have time to get home and ready before the meeting.

As the driver opened the door in front of Reid Engineering Amanda was already waiting for me on the curb and by her side was my assistant, Stacy.

Amanda began talking as Stacy began to hand me papers.

"AMG Inc. is on the move to win the bid for the Northridge build. If we are going to win this contract, we need to make sure our presentation is rock solid."

I looked over the documents. This build was very important for me cementing my place as CEO.

"Ok, let's get the team together as soon as the meeting and interview are over and discuss what we can do so AMG Inc. doesn't steal this one away."

Both women nodded and head off in different directions by the time I hit the elevator.

As the doors close I take a deep breath.

It's going to be a long day.

I was still reviewing the discussion I had with Northridge project team when I heard a soft knock.

"Amelia it's already late and if you're going to go meet up with Lora you need to stop working."

At the sound of Lora's name, I looked up and saw Stacy already dressed in a beautiful green dress in my doorway.

"Don't worry I already checked all your messages and verified with Amanda that everything has been handled for tonight. So, get up before Ben gets mad at me for being late."

I smiled at my friend's girlfriend.

"Sometimes I wish I hadn't introduced both of you and I could have my assistant to myself without having to listen to him whine about overworking you."

She giggled as she brought in the dress I had delivered for the dinner.

"You know I love my job and you're a great boss."

She placed the dress on my desk and set the shoes down.

"I'll see you at dinner.... soon."

I look over one last thing before I place the paperwork down and started getting ready for the dinner.

I ran into Michael as I entered the restaurant.

"Elegant and beautiful as always, Amelia," he said.

I fixed his red tie before lightly placing my hand into the crook of his arm.

"And you're quite dashing tonight. How's the life of a private investigator treating you?"

Michael was lean, but well-built man. He had a hundred-watt smile that would make any man or woman fall in love with him, but his passion was his work. He had short brown hair and was a little taller than me, but his brown eyes had a quality to them. Best way I could describe them was that they were an investigator's eyes always analyzing and never missing a thing.

Since Michael became a private investigator the time we spent together had slowly dwindled. He was either on a case or I was buried in some project.

"There is a lot of adultery in this city, but it beats a desk job any day."

We were led to a table where Lora, Ben, Stacy and a couple I didn't recognize were sitting.

Lora stood as she finally noticed us approaching and her radiant smile was infectious.

"Amelia these are friends I met overseas, Travis and Mel. Guys these are my other friends Amelia Reid and Michael Johnson."

They both stood, and I shook hands with Travis then Mel.

Travis was quite handsome and built like linebacker. His blonde hair was slightly shaggy, but accented his strong jaw and blue eyes. Obviously, he was an actor Lora had met, but no matter how handsome he was there was no comparison to the beauty next to him.

Mel had beautiful light caramel eyes and they seemed to glow against her tanned skin and beautiful long dark brown hair. She was a shade lighter than Lora, but their eyes had the same awing effect and beauty.

"It's a pleasure to meet both of you," I said meeting Travis's eyes then Mel's.

I noticed that Mel held my hand a little longer than appropriate before she smiled sweetly and released.

"Mel is the leading role is this last action movie while I played her stunt double," Lora said as we all sat down.

Mel smiled at Lora before turning to us, "I hadn't expected us to look so alike after makeup that is was a little like looking in a mirror. My stunt doubles usually don't look so alike and looking back at the scenes she even had the way I ran down."

I looked at both women and was surprised that even with their slightly different skin tones and colored eyes they did seem quite alike. The only true difference was that Lora was slightly more built compared the softness Mel held.

The dinner conversation went nicely as we spoke of our adventures during the year we had been apart and how Lora became friends with Travis and Mel, who were both gay.

After hearing Travis was gay I couldn't help but giggle at the small looks he was giving Michael, but what caught my surprise was the looks Mel was giving me.

Lora seemed oblivious to it all and continued to entertain us and make jokes.

"So, Ms. Reid," Mel began.

"Please, call me Amelia."

Mel smiled before leaning on her hand towards me.

"So, Amelia, how does a successful and beautiful woman like yourself keep the pesky dogs away?"

I nearly choked on my drink with the direct question.

"What do you mean by dogs?"

"You don't have to be so modest. Someone with your achievements and beauty probably have men lining up to date you?"

"I don't know ab..."

Michael came to my rescue when my nerves begin to slightly show.

"Our Amelia is beautiful, but no man in town has a chance. Women on the other hand, now that is a different story."

I turned and swatted him.

"Michael!"

He smiled innocently, and I snuck a glance at Lora who was in too deep of a conversation with Ben to notice mine.

Mel smiled warmly at me before she changes the subject, but after that moment I noticed how much closer she had gotten to me as the dinner progressed.

No matter how beautiful and alluring Mel was Lora was the one I truly wanted.

Watching her, seeing her smile, and laugh I began to wonder if I was just setting myself up to fail.

After all these years I have been waiting for a chance, a sign that Lora felt the same way, but I never saw it. Maybe it's time I gave up this stupid crush and tried to find happiness elsewhere.

I felt something slip into my hand as we all stood to leave the table.

I looked at Mel curiously as she leaned over to whisper in my ear.

"If men don't have a chance I hope you can give me one."

I looked down at my hand to see a number written on a piece of paper before we all left the restaurant.

I didn't know how I felt about Mel giving me her number. I knew my feelings for Lora would never be returned, but could I go as far as dating one of her friends? If there truly couldn't be anything between Lora and I, as I keep telling myself, then I shouldn't feel guilty about it, right?