The Journey of Grace Ch. 09

After returning from San Francisco, Grace and Michelle had every intention of seeing each other again soon. But somehow it never seemed to happen. Michelle got busy with school just as Grace got busier at work. While their schedules were the direct reason, neither made it a huge priority either.

Michelle met a guy at a college party shortly after getting home. Things weren't serious but most of her free time was being consumed. She wasn't embarrassed or ashamed of the time with Grace. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Once it was clear to her that this was more than just a couple of dates, she had let him know that she considered herself bi though with a mostly straight orientation. And her time with Grace had certainly opened Michelle up to being more sexually experimental in bed and other places too!

Work really was busier for Grace. There had been an upsurge in business that needed more and more of her attention. It made it easier for her to rationalize not trying to see Michelle. In truth, she knew that Michelle wasn't right for her. It had been a fun game for Michelle. Grace needed something else.

The problem was Grace didn't know what she needed. Outside of work, everything seemed to dissatisfy her. She was living a sort of half life. Her marriage was evolving into a relationship without intimacy. It wasn't all her either. Her husband was traveling often for his own job so they were spending more time apart. But when he was home, Grace found excuses to avoid his attempts to be together. She rationalized it to herself by blaming it on work.

At the same time, though, she was spending more time at Corky's bar. Sometimes she found herself just talking to Corky. They had become close friends over the months that Grace had been coming to the bar. To the degree that she could, Corky tried to help Grace. But there was only so much that she could do. Corky had come out in her teens. She knew Grace was struggling with accepting her sexuality, but it was far more complicated than it had been for her. Grace was facing walking away from most of what she had been, plus years of marriage. On top of that, Grace's sexuality was tied into her being a Domme. Corky was definitely butch and tended to be the dominate person in her relationships, but that was very different than being a Domme. Because of that, Corky listened to Grace as she talked, supported her and occasionally offered a bit of helpful advice.

When she was there, Grace found herself the object of much interest. There was a constant stream of women who wanted to be with her. For the first time in her life, she responded by being promiscuous. They weren't D/s encounters in the way they had been with Marie and Michelle. Grace was clearly in charge but she avoided going that far down the path. Being a Domme was very important to her. It wasn't some sort of game. These were random encounters that Grace didn't intend to go anywhere.

As she drove to the bar, Grace would usually already figure out what type of night it was going to be. If she was tired, she would often spend the evening hanging around Corky. On days where she was in a good mood, she would usually play the field. If it had been a hard day, it was a toss up. Sometimes she would rather talk with Corky and try to sort through things. But other days, she found she could take out a bit of her frustrations with the playful seductions offered her. Those encounters were often when she was closest to being a Domme, feeling the need to exert more control.

Corky would watch as Grace would circle the room, talking with friends while keeping an eye on her potential pickups. She knew Grace well enough by now to realize that her friend was an unhappy soul. She wished that there was more that she could do to help, but this was Grace's journey. She had to find her own path.

For Grace's part, she found the random encounters sometimes exciting, usually sexually fulfilling but rarely emotionally satisfying. This type of behavior wasn't really who she was. But she was generally unhappy with the rest of her life. Being desired and pursued was one way that made her feel better.

Grace was walking a fine line of keeping her activities at the bar separate from the rest of her life. At work, she retreated into a professional shell. She worked hard and was producing very good results. But her personal relationships there suffered. People that she used to be good friends with were pushed away. Grace felt like she had less and less in common with them. And there was no possibility for Grace to talk with even her closest friends about what she was going through. Even the two who guessed the nearest to the truth about what her struggle was didn't know how to talk to Grace about it.

The wall was completely up at home. Even when her husband was traveling, Grace maintained the fiction that her married life continued on as normal. The illusion that she was a happy heterosexual woman could not be shattered. She chatted with neighbors at the mailbox and participated in the occasional neighborhood parties.

The feeling of being a hypocrite was growing in Grace but it was at a subconscious level. She was not capable of dealing with it yet. The wall was still just too strong. Grace needed to wait for something to help make the first crack.

It started when the older couple who had been living next door since long before Grace and her husband came to the neighborhood decided to simplify their lives and moved out to a much smaller condo. A young couple who were buying their first house moved in.

Still playing the model neighbor, Grace went over to meet them with a welcome basket. They were almost like a stereotype. Rob was a handsome lawyer. He had just been hired into one of the more prestigious firms in the city. It was a big step up from the small town firm in which he had begun. He was on his cell phone talking with the office and nodded his greeting as he wandered into one of the back bedrooms. It didn't matter much to Grace since she wasn't interested in him.

His wife Lyn was another matter. Grace had to avoid staring. Lyn was certainly one of the best looking women that Grace had met. She had a heart shaped face framed with blond hair. Her skin was the light brown of a natural tan. But her stunningly blue eyes were the most striking thing about her face. They were the deep blue of the crystal clear skies high in the mountains. When she looked at Grace, it was hard not to get lost in them.

Lyn was taller than average at about 5' 9" but she seemed taller because of her long slender legs. Grace couldn't help admire her tight ass that was accentuated by Lyn's narrow waist. She wasn't overly busty but her breasts seemed to fit her body perfect. Her flat belly was shown off by the cropped top that she was wearing. The tan there matched her face.

Rarely had Grace ever met someone for whom she felt an overwhelming lust. Grace normally was able to maintain tighter control. But she had to admit to herself that she was in fact lusting after Lyn. Although slightly flustered, Grace managed to hide it well. Talking about the previous owners gave Grace an easy diversion for a while.

After a time, the conversation shifted to talking about Lyn's interests. Grace found that they shared a love of theater. Lyn was excited about being in a more cosmopolitan area. In her old town, there was a local community theater but that only had a few plays a year, mostly with local people in it. Now she had multiple professional companies from which to choose.

As they sat on the couch discussing it, Grace touched Lyn's arm once or twice to emphasize a point. It was almost like there was a little jolt of electricity that went off each time. Grace tried to dismiss it. Over time, she had developed a fairly good sense of "gaydar", at least with women. With Lyn she wasn't getting any clear signals that told her Lyn was into women. But Grace thought that she might be detecting a slight curiosity that was buried deep in Lyn. On the other hand, Grace laughed at herself, she might really just be in lust and imagining things because she wanted to get the chance to make love to this gorgeous creature.

After an hour of chatting, Grace could tell that Lyn needed to get back to unpacking and settling in to her new home. Grace excused herself so that Lyn wouldn't have to say anything and then headed back to her own house. In the entire hour or so that she had been there, Grace noticed that Rob had been wrapped up in his work phone call and never came back out.

Grace couldn't get the lovely Lyn out of her mind. In the past when she had free time or her husband was traveling, Grace had usually been going out to Corky's bar. Now she found that she didn't want to. Instead she hung around looking for opportunities to see Lyn.

Luckily for Grace, Lyn seemed to really enjoy the company of her older neighbor. Not knowing anyone else in town, Lyn and Grace quickly developed a close friendship. Although to begin with Grace was the one who make the move to go and see Lyn, soon Lyn was checking to see if Grace was home alone. Sometimes they would be at Grace's while others they would hang out at Lyn's.

It soon became apparent that Lyn's husband was a workaholic. Before moving, it hadn't been so bad since the smaller firm wasn't so busy. Now he was gone much of the time, often working 60 hour weeks. The firm was very competitive. Just getting in wasn't enough. Now he had to compete with all the other lawyers to get in position to win one of the coveted partnerships. While he and Lyn had discussed what it would take, it was only now sinking into Lyn what it really meant.

Within a month, Lyn was feeling neglected and abandoned. Rob wasn't home much. When he was, there was always work that needed to be done. And despite the fact that they were young and had enjoyed an active sex life, now even when there was time he was often tired. Even more than the sex, he no longer was doing the little things like touching, cuddling and kissing. Lyn would get a little peck in the morning as he hurried off to work.

Into the huge void came Grace. Beyond the obvious, she was everything that Rob was not. She made spending time with Lyn a priority. She reassured Lyn that she was an attractive and desirable woman. Grace would help her in picking out clothes. And unlike Rob, Grace touched her. Despite what Grace would like to do, she was restrained. She kept her touching within very strict limits. Although it was not completely planned, Grace was trying to seduce Lyn. But she didn't want to scare her off. Grace knew that she would have to fan the little ember of curiosity in Lyn over time if she wanted the seduction to succeed.

As they got to know each other more, Lyn became more open about the issues in her marriage. She told Grace details about their past sex life. They had been quite adventurous before they were married. Now it seemed like sex was a chore for Rob. Rarely did he take time to make it an experience that Lyn enjoyed.

For her part, Grace shared much less. So much of what was wrong with her marriage had to do with her sexuality. She couldn't tell Lyn about that so instead, Grace just told her about the travel and her own work. Even without the other issues, both of those had certainly contributed to the drifting apart in Grace's marriage.

Grace didn't miss many opportunities to touch Lyn. She would always greet Lyn with a warm hug that pressed their bodies together. At first, Lyn was a little shy and reserved in the hug but as their closeness grew that disappeared. Lyn needed affection and this was one place where it was given unreserved.

As they would sit together, Grace would emphasize a point or express sympathy with a little touch to the arm or the leg. Over time, Grace started to just leave her hand there for a bit. Her fingers would rest on Lyn's arm or her leg, never moving, never giving offense. Again at first, Lyn found it a little odd but she didn't want to offend her friend by moving away. But soon she found it quite normal and enjoyed the feeling of caring that it gave her.

In the evenings when they were both alone, they would sometime watch a DVD together. This evolved over time as well. At first they would be at opposite ends of the couch. As it was getting colder as the year grew later, Grace pulled out some afghans and Lyn started coming closer to get under the warm blanket. Eventually the two of them were side by side with the blanket tightly wrapped around them.

These nights were both a pleasure and a frustration for Grace. It felt so good having Lyn so close. Often when they were watching something romantic, Lyn would rest her head against Grace's shoulder. When it wasn't too awkward, Grace would find a way to end up with a hand lying on Lyn's thigh. Grace wanted so much to move her fingers at that point, slowly sliding down her thigh. But she couldn't. Lyn wasn't ready yet.

Grace could tell that she was making headway. Lyn was herself extending the hugs. Even more, she started giving them to Grace when they said goodbye for the night. There were moments when they were talking and Grace touched her when Lyn would look at Grace just then. There was something in her eyes that showed the touch was starting to mean more. Sometimes when they would finish a movie, Lyn would stay there, leaning against Grace with her head resting. It was at those moments that Grace would go slightly beyond the boundaries by stroking the top of Lyn's thigh a few times. They never went beyond the limits of propriety, but they were intimate. And Grace could feel a slight trembling that went through Lyn. Grace sensed that if she pushed, Lyn would have quickly given in to her. But Grace wanted more than giving in. She wanted Lyn to offer herself to Grace; to not only be willing but to desire it to the point of asking for Grace to take her.

So instead of moving beyond, Grace would slowly let her fingers lift off Lyn's leg and unbundle from under the blanket. The two of them would sit there motionlessly for a moment. Sometimes Grace could hear a slight sigh from Lyn. Then one of them would break the silence with a comment about the movie. It was as if that broke a spell. The tension in the air disappeared and they went back to just being friends.

It was apparent to Grace, however, that it was no longer only friendship for Lyn. There were clear signs that she was getting aroused when they were in such close contact. Grace had been intimate with enough women to detect the slight scent of Lyn's pussy getting wet. And Lyn's nipples were getting hard, poking through her top, especially when Grace had ended with her fingers stroking Lyn's leg. Grace was careful never to bring notice to them but she did enjoy how sexy Lyn looked that way.

One day while Grace's husband was traveling, Lyn came over complaining of how her muscles were sore. She had just started working out more at one of the local gyms and had overdone it a bit.

Grace smiled. Touching Lyn's arm softly, Grace commented that she gave a pretty good full body massage. Looking Lyn in the eyes, Grace asked her if she would like to have one. There was something in Grace's voice.

Lyn blushed slightly as she tried to return the look. She found it was very hard to do so. Grace hadn't said anything beyond that of a friend. Yet somehow Lyn felt like the question was more than that. These couple of months had confused her. She was thinking thoughts that she had never experienced before; thoughts about touching and being touched by another woman. But while Grace had been affectionate and in many ways more intimate than Rob had ever been, she hadn't ever gone beyond. There were no clear signals to which Lyn could react. Lyn wanted something more. She wasn't sure exactly what but it was there. "Was this the time?" she wondered.

Trying to speak, Lyn found her mouth and throat dry. Her voice cracked a little as she said, "I'd like that."

Smiling a little more, Grace reached out her hand to take Lyn's. It was an act that had occurred numerous times. One of them was always leading the other somewhere by the hand. But this time, Grace's fingers slid in between Lyn's. For a second, Lyn didn't react then her fingers closed on Grace's and she followed Grace back to the bedroom.

After laying a big beach towel down on the bed and getting out some massage oil, Grace sat down in an easy chair she had in the bedroom. Looking at Lyn, she said "It would be best if you are totally nude. That way I don't have to worry about getting oil on anything. But if you don't feel comfortable, well it's your choice."

Lyn looked a little like a deer in the headlights for a moment. Her hesitation was clear. She weighed whether or not she was reading the situation right. Grace seemed so in control of her emotions, not like her. Lyn's heart was racing. Finally she nodded.

As her fingers went to her clothes, Lyn thought that this was perhaps the first time she would be undressing for a new lover. Maybe she was wrong, but if she wasn't then she didn't want to just hurry through it. Lyn realized that she wanted Grace to desire her. Rather than facing slightly away from Grace, which was her natural inclination, Lyn turned towards her.

Looking at Grace, Lyn felt the blush in her face deepen. But that didn't stop her. She took her time unbuttoning her blouse. Her bra underneath gradually revealed itself. Lyn was glad that she had picked up one of her pretty ones that morning. Taking off her blouse, she stepped closer to where Grace sat and carefully placed it on the arm of the chair. Without moving away, her fingers went to unbutton her jeans, then unzip them. They were quite tight and as she tried to lower them, Lyn felt herself starting to lose her balance. One hand went to Grace's shoulder to keep from falling.

It was a little overwhelming for Lyn to touch Grace while she was undressing for her. Her pussy had started to moisten the moment that Grace had taken her hand. Now Lyn realized that the moment her jeans went below her hips, the truth would be obvious. Biting her lip, she made the commitment. In a rush, her free hand pushed her jeans down.

Lyn looked at Grace. As she feared, or perhaps hoped, Grace's eyes were on the damp spot between her legs. But only for a moment, then Grace looked up into Lyn's face. Still Grace didn't betray anything of what she was thinking or feeling. Lyn felt off balance in more than one way. With guys, she had always known what they wanted. In the area of sex, there was nothing subtle about them. Now she was out on a limb without much in the way of signals from Grace. Lyn held on to the thought that at least there were no negative ones.

Stepping out of her jeans, Lyn now only had on her underwear. Trying to regain a little control, she lifted her hand and turned away.

"Would you mind helping with my bra?" Lyn asked. It was one of the things that had always help keep her in control of situations with men.

But it didn't help this time. Grace was quite practiced in keeping control of situations like this by now. And for the first time, Grace asserted her control.

"No, you do it."

While on one hand the simple command startled Lyn, on the other it was the first indication that Lyn had that she wasn't misreading the situation. Turning back to Grace, her hands went behind her to release her bra. As she peeled it off, she felt the air touch her hard nipples. Lyn knew the sight that she was now presenting to Grace. There was no mistaking her arousal.

Fingers trembling, Lyn touched her panties. Without thinking about it, they passed over the damp spot, transferring some of the moisture to them. Her eyes couldn't move away from Grace's. Lyn pulled them down, raising her legs one by one to step out of them. The act exposed her to Grace in a way that Lyn had rarely done for anyone. Now Grace's eyes moved over her body. It made Lyn feel very sexy. Grace was still in control but her own desire was evident.