Double Grades

by Kristine Robinson

  I did not need my dreams to tell me that the woman's plump breasts beckoned the eye. More times than I could count, my eyes went to the curve of her hips as she moved about the office. I wondered what she looked like without all those clothes in the way.

  After my revelation, I came into work ready to show her that I was interested. Being nice and helpful would be a great start, I decided. I offered to help and complimented her ideas, her wardrobe and everything else I could think of just shy of actually holding up a sign. Tori remained stubbornly aloof and professional. She did seem to talk more to me, but there was never any emotion behind it. The woman seemed wholly focused on her job. Tori was an intense person, and maybe that's just how she coped. I funneled myself into my work when I needed clarity. She very well could be doing the same thing.

  "Hey, Tori," I said as I popped my head into her office gave the blond a warm smile. "Danny is going out to grab lunches. Do you want anything?"

  Tori did not look up as she shook her head. "No. Thank you," she said in a distracted tone of voice. Files were piled up to one side of her desk in a neat stack. Tori seemed to be focused on whatever document was in front of her.

  "Okay then," I said as I let the door close. I sighed and walked on. What did it honestly take to get the woman's attention?

  The next day I brought her some coffee with everyone else's orders even though she had not asked for any. "Brought you some coffee. It's just how you like it," I cheerfully said as I came in and sat the cup down carefully. "Two sugars, hold the creamer," I said as the woman picked up the coffee and took a sip.

  "Thank you," Tori said. The woman's eyes barely acknowledged me. "Did you need something else?"

  I said softly, "No and you are welcome. Have a great day."

  Tori mumbled something that sounded like, "You too." I left the office with my shoulders sagging. No matter how I approached the woman, nothing seemed to get through to her.

  If Tori appreciated my new warmth, she certainly did not let on. A few weeks had passed with no acknowledgment before I began to wonder if she just was not into me or perhaps was not into women at all. It was entirely possible she was not into women. She certainly had never given me any indication that she was.

  Danny and I were out at a job site when I asked him in a conspiratorial tone, "Do you think Tori is gay?"

  The man's reaction was priceless. He knew that I was a lesbian, and he had no problem with that, but the look on his face was as if his brain had blown a circuit. "Uh, I wasn't aware robots dated," he said finally with a lopsided grin.

  I had to laugh. I suppose Tori did act robotic at times. "She has to date, though, right?" I asked no one in particular.

  "Sure. I'm not sure what species that would be, but sure," Danny said with a chuckle.

  Danny was forever making jokes. Get him the least bit uncomfortable, and Danny would try pulling out every corny joke and pun he knew. I gave the man an indulgent smile. We had worked together for several years, and I considered him a friend. "Okay, no more intimate questions. Let's talk about this hot tub's dimensions," I said with a laugh.

  "Now that I can do," Danny said with relief.

  "Are you still coming to my house for TV night?" TV night was a night where Danny and a couple of other friends of mine came over to my apartment. Mostly we watched old TV shows. Each week one person in the group got to bring their favorite old TV show to share with the group.

  "I wouldn't miss it. It's my turn this week," Danny said as he rubbed his hands together evilly.

  I laughed, "Are you bringing 'Andy Griffith' again?"

  "No," Danny said firmly. "I learned my lesson the hard way last time."

  "Well, Gloria had a point. You can't show that particular show without having some dessert. They are always eating dessert," I said with a smile but patted him on the shoulder. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it will be great. I'll see you Sunday."

  We quickly turned our talk back to the hot tub that we were standing over, but I was still smiling at Danny's lighthearted antics. Did it matter if Tori was gay? No, but sadly I had begun to crush on the emotionless woman

  ***

  I had finally found it. My centerfold project of the year. I stared at the 1920s home and smiled. The owners had bought the fixer-upper as an investment and now wanted it turned into their dream home. The house had great bones. I admired the architecture. This would be several months' worth of work but worth every hour of it.

  Armed with my planning book in hand, I unlocked the front door and went inside. I had all the owner's likes, dislikes, color swatches, themes, everything they could want to be thrown onto these sturdy bones and made into a living space they would cherish. That day was spent sketching and pooling every ounce of creativity I had.

  It was late when I got back to the office. Tori's light was still on, and I could see her blond head bent over studying something on her desk. The offices were mostly glass, and I watched her work for a moment before I screwed up my courage to pop my head through the glass door to her office. "Working late?" I asked lamely.

  Tori's head came up like she had not been aware of me until then. "Yes," she said in a distracted tone of voice before looking back down.

  "Okay," I said softly. "Good night."

  Tori mumbled something that could have been "Good night." I sighed and went on down the hallway to my office where I deposited my planner before I headed home for the night. It had been a long day, and I wanted nothing more than to have a long soak in the tub. As excited as I was about the new project I was just as downtrodden about my lack of forward movement with Tori. The woman had seemed increasingly distracted as of late. I wanted to ask her about it, but I did not feel we were close enough to even going through the robbery together.

  ***

  The next day I vowed to try again with Tori. I should just ask her if I wanted to know something. I thought we had been getting a bit closer, but I felt the time I had come for some drastic action on my part. When I made it to the office, I saw Deon in Tori's office. I frowned a bit but went and looked around the building. Tori was always here at this time.

  When I could not find the blond woman, I went back to the director's office and saw Deon filling out some paperwork still. I pushed the door open, and Deon looked up with a smile. "Morning, Kate," Deon said with a bright smile as he signed off on what looked like a form for the city.

  "Morning," I said. I looked around at the room for a moment then asked, "Where's Tori?"

  Deon shook his head. "Had to send her to the office up in Vermont. It's a mess up there," he said in a tone of disgust. "She'll sort it out in no time, I'm sure."

  "Yeah," I said softly. Tori had left without even so much as telling me. Well, that put things firmly in perspective for me. Tori was not interested in me and probably was not even gay. I sighed. When Deon gave me a quizzical look, I just shrugged. "Gotta get out to the new project. See you, Deon," I said with a smile and wave.

  The spunky man gave me a wave back as he clicked his pen with determination. He was wrestling the forms when I left. Armed with my plans, measuring equipment, and sketch pad, I drove back to my project house with the determination that today I was going to get the house designs mapped out and decide on which room to start in even as I shoved Tori out of my mind. The best way to rid yourself of bad energy was to pour all of your energy into something, or at least that was my theory, so I poured all of the energy I had wasted on Tori into my project and was rewarded with the progress I made.

  Chapter 4

  The project came along nicely over that first week. I was pleased with its progression as the week drew to a close. Still pleased with myself, I whistled a soft song as I looked through the frozen yogurts and picked a couple of flavors that I thought looked nice. I made my way through the store occasionally thinking about the robbery or Tori but mostly picking up some food for the weekend and week to come.

  The line was long at the register, and I queued up behind the last person without payi
ng much attention to the person in front of me. "Long wait, huh?" A voice made me look up. A dark-haired woman gave me a smile. "Sorry, just bored," She said apologetically.

  "It's fine. It does look like we are in for a long wait," I said as I looked over the five people ahead of us in line. "I don't think I have seen you in here before. Do you live near here?"

  The woman nodded. "Just moved into a building up on East Avenue," she said as she nodded in the direction of her home. I was familiar with East Avenue.

  "Welcome to the neighborhood," I said with a smile. "I live just over there," I nodded in the opposite direction with my head.

  She gave me a smile. "We are practically neighbors," the woman said with a smile. "This will sound lame, but do you come here often?"

  I laughed and nodded. "As a matter of fact, I do," I said lightheartedly. I forgot about work and Tori for a few moments. "I'm Kate," I said as I extended my hand to her.

  She adjusted her basket full of essentials and took my hand in hers. "Lisa," she said with a smile. "I didn’t expect to meet anyone here. I'm not very good with people," she confided as we both dropped our hands back to our sides.

  "Really? You seem fine to me," I assured her.

  Lisa was about my height. Her curly locks and dusky colored skin gave her an oddly exotic look. "I love your hair," I said honestly. Lisa gave me a smile as she shyly fingered her shoulder length curls.

  "I love yours," she said as she reached out and touched my long auburn strands. "I've always admired red hair. Is yours natural?"

  I nodded and said, "Yes. I get it from my Dad's side of the family."

  Lisa let her hand drop, and we both smiled at each other. I felt a bit awkward, but I was eager not to let the conversation with the charming woman just drop as we edged forward in line a bit. "We should get together sometime. I work a lot during the week, but I have plenty of time on the weekends," I said conversationally. I felt sure there was some chemistry between us, whether that was friendly or flirty remained to be seen, though.

  She looked at me and nodded eagerly. "That would be great," she said with enthusiasm. "I've just started settling into the city. I moved here to work at an advertising firm."

  "Oh?" I asked with interest. "That sound exciting," I said as we walked forward again.

  Lisa shrugged. "It probably seems more exciting than it is. What do you do?"

  "I'm an interior designer," I said with pride. My job was a big part of my life, and it was the one part that always brought me pleasure, well almost always. There was a bit of a sting as I thought about Tori.

  "Are you okay?" Lisa asked, her hand coming up almost absentmindedly to rest on my upper arm. Her hand felt wonderfully smooth.

  I assured her, "Yes. I'm fine. I was just thinking of some work drama."

  "There is never a short supply of that anywhere it seems," Lisa said with a light laugh. I nodded my agreement. "Say why don't I take you up on that offer and extend one of my own," Lisa said with a smile. "Come to dinner with me tomorrow, or maybe lunch if that's more comfortable for you?"

  I smiled at the woman. It was clear that she was interested and I had to admit I was interested in Lisa as well. She seemed like a perfectly charming person, and she was attractive. "I'd like that, the dinner I mean," I said with a smile that I hoped showed the woman I was very much interested in return.

  ***

  Having dinner with Lisa was like falling into a conversation with an old friend. We got along reasonably well; we did not outright disagree on anything anyway. Lisa liked seafood, and we had a good time trying out a new place that served ocean delicacies. Lisa had a wonderful sense of humor and was always smiling. I admired her for it. I loved being around someone who was so carefree and light. It was one of the reasons that Danny and I got along so well.

  On our second date, we found ourselves back at my apartment. The flirting and drink had taken its toll, and we were quickly wrapped around each other on the bed. It had been so long since I had been with someone that I felt awkward and jumpy, but Lisa's easy-going manner made everything seem less serious and put me at ease. She also seemed content to direct me which took the pressure off of me having to direct the action.

  Lisa arched up off the couch and spread her legs wider as her fingers tangled in my hair. She mumbled between gasps, "Yeah. Just like that. Lick me, Kate."

  I tingled as she writhed under my administrations. Lisa was arching up into me as I moved my mouth over her clit. She was greedily holding me in place with her fingers in my hair. I did not mind it. It was nice to be able to give someone that kind of pleasure. Lisa was moving in a frantic way when I heard her intake of breath followed by the taste of her on my tongue.

  When I lifted my head, she gave me a dazed smile. "That was amazing, Kate," Lisa whispered as I eased up and laid down next to her on the couch. My hands ran up her body which was naked from the waist down. My hands slipped under her loose cotton shirt and cupped her breasts. Lisa grinned and snuggled back into me. Lisa whispered to me again, "Ready for your turn then?"

  "Unless you are too worn out," I said with a grin over her shoulder.

  The dark-haired woman gave me a smile. "Come here, you," she said as she turned into my arms. Kissing Lisa was easy to do. She had soft, pouty lips that she used to her full advantage. I found most everything about her exciting from the way she moved, the scent of her perfume, to the brush of her hair against me as she moved.

  Lisa slid a hand down between my thighs as one of her legs slipped between my legs as well. Gasping, I held the couch as she slipped her fingers into me vigorously. It had been so long; I could have crooned in pleasure. I moved against her fingers desperate for release. Lisa made noises of approval at my ferocity.

  "Wow, you do need to climax, baby," Lisa said with a sultry laugh. I could not even pretend to be embarrassed. The sensations washing over me did not make room for any such silliness. Moaning, I arched and rocked against Lisa's fingers which she braced on her leg to allow me to get myself on her. She watched me, and I put on a show for her. I wanted her to watch me. It was such a turn-on to see the slight part in between her lips as she became turned on again.

  When I did climax, Lisa let out a slow breath. "Damn, Kate. You are so passionate," Lisa said in admiration.

  I blushed and laughed, "I guess it's my artistic side showing through."

  "I like it," Lisa admitted freely.

  ***

  Lisa soon found a place at TV night. Danny and Lisa got along well, as I thought they probably would. It did not take long to fall into a lulling routine of normalcy with Lisa. Lisa and I began dating regularly. She was easy to get along with, and I found that refreshing. I never had to worry about what was on her mind.

  The only problem with being with Lisa was that she seemed content never to change anything in her or our shared life. I suggested we do try different things and Lisa refrained. It became something of a sore spot with me, but I brushed it off for the most part.

  ***

  "Hey, Lisa," I called from the other room. "Danny said that he and Megan are going to go see a play. He wanted to know if we were interested?"

  After a moment, I heard Lisa's voice from the living room respond, "What play?"

  I rolled my eyes. "I don't remember. I think it is one of Shakespeare's. They are going to watch it in the park. You know, where you bring blankets and watch the show on the grass?" I was thumbing absentmindedly through the clothes in my closet. My red hair was braided in two braids on either side of my head that bounced around as I swiveled my head. "Lisa?" I asked after a moment.

  "Sorry, I fell asleep," came her answer from the living room.

  I sighed at the ceiling. "It might be fun," I said. Lisa was staying the night with me. We did that ever so often. I finally walked back into the living room and looked at the woman who was feigning sleep on the couch. "I know you are awake," I said in a sing-song voice as I walked over to the couch. Lisa stayed still, but I saw her lips quirk. "Come on, Lis
a. It might be fun," I softly said as I leaned over the couch.

  Lisa peeked one of her eyes open and sighed, "Laying on the grass with the insects biting me? I barely can stand Shakespeare in a climate-controlled building."

  "Okay, fine. We don't have to go," I said then I shook my head at her. "Eventually you are going to have to try something new," I scolded her.

  Lisa shook her head right back at me. "Why? What's so much better than what we have right here? I love this. I love right here," Lisa said coaxingly as she held her arms open to me.