As always, the authors modestly proclaim their membership in their Mutual Admiration Society.

Feedback to: cephalgia@hotmail.com and/or mj_poet@hotmail.com

Part One... The conversation

The high-pitched siren of a fully functional smoke alarm chimed throughout the large apartment. As the scent of charred lasagna filled the kitchen, Wilder McNeil sprinted through the room, switching off the oven and opening both windows. Smoking cheese clouded her vision and forced a congested cough past her lips. Frantically, Wilder flapped her hands around her and looked down at the blackened remains of her supper. She grimaced and sighed deeply, running a hand through her shoulder length blonde hair.

"Just great! A night rushed off my feet and then I kill my dinner. That really is the frosting on the cake." Readjusting her short black skirt the barmaid delivered the smoldering remains one last glare of disgust before walking back into the main room of her apartment.

Rubbing eyes tired from a long shift at the bar, Wilder flopped down onto her single seated couch. The overstuffed, smooth fabric felt cool against the back of her bare legs. The blonde hated wearing short skirts and skimpy white tops but it was mandatory for all the girls who worked at 'Leather and Chains'. It was a traditionally butch club but the owner liked all her girls to look feminine and 'appear' available. Wilder really didn't mind being token 'eye candy', especially with the tips that came her way every night. The amount of dollars slipped into the waistband of her skirt alone covered the monthly rent on her apartment.

Wiggling grateful toes glad to be out of restricting heels, Wilder looked across the room to her overflowing bookcase. She considered reading until she fell asleep but decided instead upon the television. Wilder picked up the remote control from the side Quaker style coffee table and switched on the set. With little enthusiasm she commenced a lazy flick through the offerings but at three o'clock in the morning there really wasn't that much available.

Closing her eyes, Wilder's head fell back against her cream colored couch. The room's muted colors of pale cream and terracotta never failed to soothe her mind. After a night constantly serving drinks and politely turning down offers for 'company home' Wilder was more than relieved to retreat to the tranquility of her apartment.

The unexpected sound of the telephone ringing suddenly startled the barmaid. Frowning as she wondered who would be calling her at such an hour, she answered the phone...

"Hello?"

"You're the only person I know who would be up at this time of the night... or morning!"

"Hi, Darcy. So does this mean you just returned from your trip?" Wilder closed her eyes as she spoke with her friend.

"'Just' being the operative word!"

Three miles away in a plush San Francisco loft apartment Darcy Gardener shook off her black three-piece suit jacket and sat down on her luxurious black leather sofa. Ignoring the two small navy suitcases she had literally dropped upon entering her apartment the brunette kicked off her Prada pumps and swung her legs up along the sofa. Brown eyes regarded the ceiling as Darcy spoke with her friend.

"I don't know why they wanted me to go to that thing anyway. 'Innovative Techniques for the Corporate Manager'. It's not like I haven't already been running the entire West Coast Division for almost a year. It was a complete waste of my time. Three days in San Diego and what do I have to show for it? A fog delayed plane, a tension headache and probably a huge pile of work stacked up on my desk when I get back to the office on Monday."

"Oh you poor baby," sympathized Wilder. "I know just what you're going through. The owner of Leather and Chains wants to send me to one of those courses to build my skills too. I can't decide which one to go to though. Do you think I should attend 'The Cocktail Onion for Fun and Profit' or 'A Symposium on the Pros and Cons of Female Bar Patrons Grabbing your Ass'?"

Darcy laughed at the gentle teasing. "You always could make me laugh, even right from the start." She stood and headed into the kitchen as she spoke. " I remember the first day your family moved into the house next door to ours. The movers weren't even finished unloading all your belongings when I looked out my bedroom window and saw a scrawny kid with a towel wrapped around her neck trying to get a mangy old dog to play Lois Lane to her Superman." The executive plucked a bottle of water from the nearly empty shelves and realized with a frown she'd have to go shopping the next day.

"Hey, I'll have you know Trooper had great theatrical range. Lois Lane was only a small part of his repertoire. He also played Cleopatra, Queen Elizabeth and Pocahontas!" With a short groan Wilder pulled herself up from the couch and moved to her bedroom where she removed the white shirt and bra she had worn to work and dropped them into the wicker hamper in the corner.

"As I recall, Trooper would have played a virgin sacrifice in the temple of the Aztecs if a certain sharp eyed babysitter hadn't intervened," came Darcy's voice through the line.

It was Wilder's turn to laugh. "You should have seen the look on your face when you found me chanting over Trooper with a sacrificial dagger made from a plastic picnic knife. Until then I had never seen you as anything but the cool teenager my parents paid to watch me when they went out. Little did I know you were just a squeamish ball of mush! Trooper was even laughing at you I think!"

Back on the couch now, Darcy said, "Yeah, and I had never seen you as anything but an eight year old tagalong. It was then I figured out you had homicidal tendencies and a flair for the dramatic." She rubbed her feet together, luxuriating in the feeling of the silky stockings moving against each other. "It's amazing that we ever became friends if you stop to think about it."

"Not so amazing," Wilder returned. "My natural charm won you over, same as everybody else. You didn't stand a chance against it." The last of the statement was muffled as she pulled a well-worn nightshirt over her head.

"Getting ready for bed so soon?" surmised Darcy. "You still don't wear that ratty shirt I sent you when I was in college, do you?"

"Guilty as charged," noted her friend as she glanced down at the Stanford Cardinal logo. "And it's comfortable, not ratty. I was pretty impressed when I got it you know. You were my first crush." Wilder slipped under the covers of her bed and slid up as she propped pillows behind her.

"I know, but I wasn't your last. Don't any of your women complain about your dilapidated nightwear?" Darcy moved toward her bedroom, turning off the few lights that were on in the loft.

"No more than any of your men would complain about yours. Besides, it isn't on that long anyway," Wilder said in a saucy tone.

"Wilder you are such a dog, I swear!"

"What?" Wilder asked innocently. "I only speak the truth!" The barmaid ended her sentence with a musical laugh. She burrowed further down into the warmth of her bed sheets and placed her free hand behind her head.

Entering her own room, Darcy sat down upon the silk sheets of her double bed. She allowed her body to fall backwards and her slender frame undulated above the rippling waves of the waterbed. She groaned as the stress of the past few days slowly seeped from her body. "God it feels so good to be home. As much as I appreciate the company booking me into a five star hotel, there's nothing like your own bed."

"Can't take the pace anymore?" Wilder smiled to herself as her comment crept dangerously close to their long-standing joke. "It must be your age!"

"Ugh, how did I know you were going to say that? I know you far too well, Wilder McNeil, and FYI... an eight year age difference is hardly enough time to start looking through nursing home brochures!" Darcy unfastened the tiny mother of pearl buttons on her red satin shirt. "Anyway, don't start with me, Wilder. Jodie Tyler still works for me and I don't want it to accidentally slip that you didn't join the 'Peace Corps' and move to South Africa after all now do I?"

"Oh come on, what was I supposed to say? She started getting all serious and talking about us moving in together. She wasn't the one for me and I knew that." Wilder also knew that she had only ever considered one person to be 'the one' but as that person was unobtainable she had resorted to a life of playing the field. Maybe it was a shallow existence but it was all she had left to offer of herself.

Slipping out of her last item of clothing Darcy slid her naked skin into the luxuriously smooth sheets of her bed. The cool silk whispered softly over her body. "Don't you ever worry about bumping into her?"

Wilder smirked. "I did, but luckily for me she bumped into my twin sister."

"You don't have one."

"I do now!"

Darcy shook her head. She had often wondered why Wilder never seemed to find anybody special. "Have you ever heard of such a thing called Karma?"

"Of course." Wilder switched the phone to her other hand, allowing the feeling to return to her numb limb. "But this is what I figured... Coming back as an earthworm in my next life might not be so bad. Look at it this way... I get both sexes and although I do prefer the more fem to fem approach I figured at least I could have fun by myself. What would I care? I'd be a worm!"

Darcy laughed. "Is that all you ever think about?"

"No," Wilder replied. "So then tell me... Did you have fun in San Diego?"

"Fun? I wouldn't exactly call it fun. Oh, I had plans to have fun but fate directed it would be otherwise. You realize I'm blaming this time on fate and notmy own poor judgment."

"Geez, here it comes, another 'Darcy picked out a loser' story," Wilder cackled. "I can't wait to hear what was wrong with this one. Let's see...you've already dated a man who didn't tell you he was married, one who wanted a last fling before entering the priesthood, a Republican for God's sake and of course let's not forget the guy with herpes...the gift that keeps on giving!"

"Ha-ha, very funny, Wild. At least I found about them before I slept with them." Darcy clapped her hand over her mouth and muttered an unintelligible curse.

"You slept with somebody and thenfound out his problem?" Wilder perched up on one elbow. "This I have to hear!"

Removing her hand from her mouth and rolling on her side, Darcy let loose an exasperated sigh. "You know I would have told you about it anyway. We have no secrets, damn it all."

Not many, anywayWilder thought even as she was verbally agreeing with her friend.

Darcy continued. "I don't know why I trust you with all the dirty details of my life. It must be that I know if I ever did find a great guy, I'm in no danger of you wanting to poach on my territory."

"You've got that right!" Wilder confirmed. "Now, my poor straight baby, tell the nice lesbian all about your troubles." She leaned back onto her pillow, bent her knees and crossed one leg over the other bobbing the free foot up and down. "Go ahead, entertain me."

"Yes, your Highness," the brunette intoned, "It's what I live for. Well, it was during one of those dry lecture sessions that I first noticed him. He was sitting with a small group from a Seattle company we've done business with. I hadn't seen him before but I did know a few of the people he was with. He was cute in an 'I used to be a surfer dude' kind of way. You know, sandy blonde hair, blue eyes and a great smile that makes your knees go a little weak."

"Stop. Please. I'm getting all wet here," Wilder said in a dry sarcastic tone.

"Well, maybe you aren't but I sure was. He kept looking over at me, giving me this appraising look. Now you know I don't usually just sleep around but I was bored and I hadn't been with anybody in a long time so I thought to myself 'why not?' and I went over to the group. The manager of the Seattle company introduced us and after a few minutes I asked him out to dinner. I fully intended having him for dessert I can tell you." Darcy felt herself blushing a little at the admission.

"Oooh, you little tramp. Tell me more!" Wilder urged.

"Dinner was okay. The conversation was about as deep as a thimble but I didn't care. When I want conversation, I call you. I just wanted a little horizontal tango from him and by the time dinner was over it was clear he wanted it from me too. We adjourned to my hotel room."

"And?" prompted the blonde?

"And we fell right into bed. The sex was passionate and hot! He had amazing stamina. There were mind-blowing orgasms, a couple of them as a matter of fact. It was fantastic except for one little thing."

"And that was?" Wilder was curious now.

"All the orgasms were his."

Wilders eyebrows dipped in confusion. Turning onto her side she asked, "What... so you weren't really into it?"

"No I was, believe me. I mean this guy was definitely easy on the eye. I was after a quick lay and he was an ideal candidate. It was just one of those things." Darcy shrugged. "I mean... it does happen."

Still feeling confused the barmaid rolled once again onto her back. "Okay let me get this straight. I take it Mr. Selfish wasn't much into sharing?"

"I suppose... it does happen. You can't be expecting a mind-blowing orgasm every time, right? That's just the way it is." Darcy ran her manicured nails over the silken softness of her sheets. "It's easy for guys, they can get there all the time. For us women it's more of a fifty/fifty toss up... if you don't fake it that is!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Wilder shot up to a sitting position, staring down incredulously at the receiver of her telephone. Her confusion was replaced by mild bewilderment. "What fifty/fifty toss up? Damn it woman, who the hell have you been sleeping with?" Stretching out her legs, Wilder placed one hand upon her hip. "Please tell me you're kidding?" she pleaded.

The unexpected tone in her friend's voice surprised Darcy. Having no idea where this conversation were heading she answered truthfully, "No, why?"

"Why?" Wilder echoed and fell with a light thud back onto her bed; her body rocking against the spring mattress. She was suddenly unsure how to respond to that question. In her experience both partners had always been satisfied when it came to sex - often repeatedly so. What Wilder didn't understand was as much as she and Darcy had discussed personal relationships she had always been led to believe Darcy's was at least fulfilling. Had Darcy been satisfied to believe that was simply the way physical relationships were?

Diverting her mind from swarming thoughts, Wilder answered Darcy's question. "Because... well it's just that from my own experience there is no fifty/fifty chance on whether or not myself or whoever I am with hits the big one at least once!"

Darcy laughed. "Yeah, Wilder... it can be hard enough for us to get there alone, yet you expect me to believe two women together can hit the big one repeatedly? Remember, Wild, I like to think my seniority in the age difference means I'm less naive than you think!"

"You don't believe me?" Wilder asked, stunned.

"Of course not!"

Shaking her head Wilder rolled out of bed. "So you've never even wondered about it?" Wilder walked out of her bedroom and back into the kitchen. With the windows open all the smoke had now disappeared. Taking the charred remains of her dinner out of the oven, Wilder kicked the door shut with her foot and dumped the remains, tray included, into the trashcan.

"Thought about what?" asked Darcy, although she did have an inkling what Wilder was referring to.

Wilder closed her windows. "Oh I know you've thought about it. I can remember a couple of times you've questioned me on what it's like with a woman. Why don't you believe me now?" The barmaid opened her fridge and began rifling around the contents.

"I thought you were just exaggerating a little! Anyway... what are all those clanking sounds?"

"I killed my dinner. I'm looking for something to fill a hole." Wilder pulled a small carton of milk from the bottom shelf and placed it upon the side work surface. She then opened a wall cabinet and pulled out a bottle of strawberry syrup.

Darcy smiled instinctively. "So that means it's strawberry milk time."

"Oh you know me so well." Wilder opened the carton of milk and poured a generous amount of syrup into the half full carton. She then shook the contents vigorously while holding the telephone in the crook of her neck.

"You've been drinking that stuff since you were a kid."

Wilder took a sip of the now flavored milk. "And it just keeps getting better and better." Carton in hand she headed back into her room and slid between the covers of her bed. "Okay, so where was I?"

"Keeping on the same train of thought, I think you were about to explain something else to me that keeps getting better and better," Darcy informed her friend.

Instead of laughing, the barmaid's voice took on a serious tone. "Darcy, when did you lower your expectations?"

"In what?" asked the executive. "I still have high expectations of myself and my job. High expectations of life in general."

"So why not high expectations of sex too?"

Darcy thought for a moment before responding. Finding her mouth a little dry, she reached for the water bottle that had accompanied her from the kitchen and unscrewing the cap, took a long sip.

"I suppose I'd have to say I haven't expected much from sex since the beginning. Once I figured out sex wasn't the bells ringing, fireworks exploding, orgasm every time thing the movies led us to believe, I just haven't made a big deal of it."

Pausing as she lifted the carton of strawberry milk to her mouth again, Wilder clicked her tongue in sympathy. "I hate to break this to you, girlfriend, but sex is a bell ringing, fireworks exploding, orgasm every time thing for me. With me too, I might add."

"Modest little thing, aren't you?" Darcy observed as she returned the water bottle to the bedside stand. "I guess next you're going to tell me the reason for the difference in our experiences is that you sleep with women and I sleep with men."

"That's exactly what I'm going to tell you," Wilder stated and drained the last vestiges of the milk.

"And what if the truth is I'm just frigid?" Darcy challenged.

"Darce, if you ever have an orgasm you're not frigid and you pretty much said you have them half the time. What we need to do is figure out why you don't have them the other half."

Darcy laughed in spite of the somewhat uncomfortable exploration of her sexuality. "Jesus, Wild, who died and made you Dr. Ruth? I can see you're not going to let this go and I'd be lying if I said I didn't find this intriguing, so go ahead...figure it out for me. Just remember, I wouldn't be doing this with anyone else but you so you should feel privileged."

"Compliment duly noted," Wilder said. "Now, let's get down to it. You say you have an orgasm fifty percent of the time. There has to be a common thread there. What are you doing during those times when you do have an orgasm?"

"Let me see," the brunette replied thoughtfully. "I had a fantastic orgasm about two weeks ago. It was very satisfying. I only wish someone had been there to share it with me."

Wilder grinned as she listened. "Okay, that's 'Darcy-speak' for saying you can come when you masturbate. What else?"

The blush on Darcy's face was very becoming. "The other time that's pretty consistent for me is during...um...you know...oral sex."

"Giving or receiving?" her friend asked innocently.

"Giving or..?" Darcy trailed off when she realized her chain was being jerked. Well two chains can get jerked she thought. "Oh yeah...receiving definitely. Nothing like laying back with an eager partner between your thighs who enjoys being between the spread legs of a hot, wet woman."

Darcy's narrative had a jerking effect all right but it was on Wilder's libido.

"Oh really," Was the only response Wilder was capable of and it was breathily delivered about an octave below her normal range. She swallowed hard and after a second added, "Well at least it proves the point I was trying to make here."

"And that was?" Darcy inquired.

"You need to have sex with a woman."

An abrupt laugh rose from Darcy's chest. "So what are you saying, Wild? If a woman wants any chance of a good sex life they have to sleep with another woman?"

"No, I'm saying that might be the case for you. Believe me, I have absolutely no experience with guys so who am I to make any kind of judgment like that?"

Darcy's eyes twinkled as a sly smile overtook her lips. Rolling onto her side she said, "Oh I don't know... what about 'Handy Hubert' who took you to the Prom?"

Wilder covered her face with her free hand. "Ugh I can't believe you brought him up. I swear that guy had multiple appendages." The barmaid shook her head in memory. 'Handy Hubert' otherwise known as Hubert Willis was their neighbor from across the road. Wilder had never wanted to attend the Prom. She was pretty sure turning up on the arm of her then girlfriend may not have gone down well. Unfortunately when her girlfriend had opted to attend with another boy she had done so begrudgingly. Although Wilder was confident in her sexuality and had confided with Darcy even then, her girlfriend, Clare, had been less than open. There was also the fact that she had yet to reveal the truth to her parents and had delayed doing so to avoid the first combined spousal related heart attack in history. So she had attended the Prom with Hubert much to her regret as she spent the entire evening trying to avoid the boy's hands. It had taken a very believable threat of actual bodily harm to cease his actions.

"You know, until you mentioned him I was content to believe he was just the last vestiges of an annoying dream I once had."

Darcy laughed again, shaking her head. "Nope, it really did happen. I remember seeing the fear on his face as you quite successfully threatened the life right out of him. Man that was so funny to see. He must have been about six inches taller than you too."

"Yeah but you didn't hear where I threatened him!" Wilder paused. "Hold on, you saw that? I didn't realize you were visiting your parents that night. You told me you were at some conference."

The executive cringed as she realized she had been caught out in a secret she had harbored for many years. For some unknown reason she had decided to cancel the meeting she had planned and visit her parents instead. She presumed an unknown protective side of her had wanted to make sure her friend was going to be okay. "The meeting was cancelled so I visited my parents," she said. "I did think it was a little strange that you went to the Prom with him when you were with Clare." Darcy had never liked her. "I suppose I was just looking out to make sure you got home safely."

"How come you never came to see me that weekend?" Wilder asked wondering whether she should feel hurt.

"I had to get back to work." Darcy said simply.

"Oh." Wilder picked up her empty milk carton and shook it as if looking for any last remnants of liquid. Suddenly realization dawned on her. "Aww, that is so sweet. You were worried about little old me?"

Darcy rolled her eyes. "Like I had any reason! Anyway what were we talking about?" She thought for a moment, trying to get off the subject. "Oh yes! So you think if I want to enjoy sex more I need to 'do it' with a woman?"

"That's just my humble opinion."

Although Darcy had initially laughed at Wilder's suggestion, inside she was feeling extremely curious. It was something she had never fully admitted to herself but the notion had played on her mind many times before this night. There was, however, the singular fact that Darcy still found it hard to believe sex could be as good as Wilder built it up to be. Was it really an unbelievable concept or a realization she would have to acknowledge that maybe she had been missing something all these years?

Darcy could feel temptation creeping into her veins but was slightly self-conscious in admitting that fact. "I don't know, Wild. I find it hard to believe." She paused in thought. "Okay then... I believe myself to be an open-minded person. How can you convince me that I should even consider this, let alone give it a shot?"

"What?" Wilder almost sputtered. "You want me to convince you? That sounds suspiciously like an invitation to me," she teased.

Darcy laughed and teased right back, "Maybe it was."

The blonde sat up in her bed, covers dropping to her waist. "Don't play with me, Darcy. Number one, you may be eight years older than me but when it comes to sex with a woman, I'm the expert here. Number two, you couldn't handle me."

"Couldn't handle you? You're not very modest, are you? Look, I've been with enough men that one woman more or less wouldn't be a big deal."

"Maybe not," Wilder apparently conceded, "Unless that one woman was me."

Darcy was quiet a moment, considering what she heard. When she spoke it was in a low tone. "Tell me." With those two words the entire tenor of the conversation changed.

"Tell you what? Tell you what it's like with any woman or what it's like with me?"

Darcy knew in her heart which one she wanted to hear about but she couldn't bring herself to say it. "Either," she said, taking the easy option. Changing the phone over to her left ear, she adjusted to a more comfortable position.

Wilder smiled as she reclined again. Darcy wants details? That's a breakthrough. "I haven't slept with every woman in San Francisco, though not for lack of trying, so I'll just speak for myself."

Darcy felt her heartbeat pick up curiously at Wilder's statement and she used her peripheral senses to study her own reactions even as she gave her friend her full attention. Almost without realizing it, the brunette brought her free hand up and began lightly stroking the skin of her bare abdomen.

"When you're with me, you are my total focus. There isn't anything on earth but you and me and what we're going to do together," Wilder began. She spoke slowly, deliberately using a seductive tone. "I notice everything about you. I see what causes your breathing to become erratic, watch as your nipples tighten beneath your clothing and take every opportunity to touch you and communicate how much I want you."

Fascinated, Darcy listened and visualized the scenario in her mind. She had never been the object of such a single-minded seduction as she was hearing about. The men she had slept with had their own satisfaction as their primary goal, not hers. Her hand slipped down to her thigh and caused her own flesh to quiver at the touch. "Go on," she breathed into the phone.

Wilder did. "You've come to my place and you know why we're here. I lead you to the couch and as we sit I leave my hands on yours. I'm going to let you set the pace because your pleasure is what matters to me but I want you to know how excited I am and how determined I am that you are going to be absolutely satisfied. I lean into you and bring my mouth to yours slowly. Tasting you, learning you." Wilder paused here and listened to the slightly ragged breathing on the other end of the line. "Darcy?"

The older woman swallowed a groan of exasperation and said, "Yeah?"

"Do you still think a woman can't beat out a guy any day when it comes to making love?"

Darcy knew her reaction to Wilder's short narrative gave her the answer to that question but she was stubborn and didn't want to let her younger friend have the satisfaction of saying 'I told you so.' Composing herself and moving her hand away from her now slightly spread thighs, the brunette answered in a voice steadier than she felt.

"I'll admit your little tale struck a small chord in me but I have to tell you I'm still sure a man would be a better lover for me," she vowed.

"Wanna bet?" was Wilder's reply. The glove was hurled.

In becoming increasingly engrossed in their conversation, Darcy had closed her eyes as she concentrated solely upon the soft tones of Wilder's voice. Then as the challenge so unexpectedly flew towards her the executive's eyes shot open. Licking suddenly dry lips Darcy opened her mouth to answer but silence remained. What she was becoming aware of was the inner voice that was getting louder and more persistent. It was a voice that forced her to acknowledge something she had tried to resist for a long time. It was the realization that she really did want to experience that kind of intimacy with Wilder. In the past the older woman had always dismissed her close feelings towards Wilder as that of a big sister - but what if it were something more? Darcy's reaction to her friend's words had definitely been that of arousal.

Taking a deep breath, Darcy composed her thoughts as she replied to Wilder. "I have to say to me that also sounds like an invitation!"

Wilder smiled to herself as a smaller part of her wondered when their innocent conversation had turned into obvious flirting. Still, her heart pounded rapidly in excitement. "Well that would depend," she replied.

"On?"

"On whether or not you would accept." Wilder held her breath in anticipation.

There was a long pause as Darcy's mind processed Wilder's words. There was no getting around the simple fact that she did want to delve further. "What if I was to say yes?"

Wilder pushed her seated body backwards until she was against her bed's headboard. She wanted to shout 'yes' and 'anything you want' and 'I want you so much' but she needed to be sure Darcy knew what she was implying and whether she really wanted that. "If you were to say yes to me proving my point? I don't know... are you sure you have the ability to admit you were wrong?"

"Yeah, I see what you mean. You do have a point there." Darcy conceded. "I mean I know you well enough to understand you can be a sore loser." She smiled as she waited for Wilder's response.

"Hey!" came the expected outburst. "That's not what I was..." Wilder paused as her mind suddenly changed directions. "Okay. You really do seem positive that I'm wrong."

Darcy wasn't sure at all but she agreed on purpose just to see where Wilder's devious mind was heading. "Uh huh."

"Well how about we make this a little more interesting?" Crossing her legs Wilder plucked at the edge of her favorite t-shirt.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Just a little something to make this more... like I said... 'interesting'." Wilder couldn't believe what she was saying let alone what was happening. She wondered where her bravado had suddenly sprung from. It certainly wasn't alcohol induced; she hadn't accepted any drinks from customers all evening. Maybe its just overtiredness, she presumed fleetingly, as she was unable to pull herself from the possibilities of their conversation.

Darcy herself was thoroughly engaged in their - what had definitely gone way past mild flirting- conversation. "Interesting?" Brown eyes twinkled. "What do you have in mind?"

"A little wager."

"You want to make a bet?"

"Oh believe me... the outcome can be anything you desire... and I do mean anything."

That final word was spoken so enticingly low that the implications forced Darcy's body to respond before she had even thought of a verbal reply. Both her curiosity and sexuality were being sparked.

"Spit it out, Wilder. Tell me, in plain English, what you propose."

Wilder turned over onto her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows as she composed her proposition. "Okay, this is the deal. You contend you have better sex with men than you would with a woman. I say you're wrong."

"And how do you propose to prove it?"

"You and I will have sex. Better sex with me means I win but if you're not satisfied and pleasured to the point of admitting sex with a woman is better, you win."

"Satisfied and pleasured?"

"Yeah. Look, you said you only had orgasms fifty percent of the time with men. Most men can go maybe twice in an evening?"

"If I'm lucky," the executive snorted. "Maybe three times if the moon is blue."

"So you have one or two orgasms on a good sexual occasion with a man. Fine. I say I should be able to double that in the same space of time. One evening, four orgasms."

Four? Darcy thought. She's actually saying she can give me four orgasms in one night? I'm not sure my body's even capable of that. Instead of giving voice to those doubts, she said, "And if I were to agree to that challenge, what are the stakes? Make it something good because I'm positive I'm coming out on top in this one."

Wilder held back a comment about Darcy being on top, instead giving careful consideration to what would be the prize. "If you win, you not only get bragging rights over me, I'll throw in a weekend at that spa you like so much out in Napa."

The executive realized this was serious now. Two days at The Ranch out in wine country would set the barmaid back at least several hundred dollars, a huge sum for her friend. She had to give Wilder credit; she knew what strings to pull to get her interested.

Darcy knew she needed to ask the inevitable question. "What do you want if I lose?"

"Just one thing," Wilder said. "If I'm the winner, I want unlimited sexual favors."

"Unlimited sexual favors." Darcy tried out the phrase and found herself fascinated. "Tell me what that means."

"Just what it says. You and me, sex, anytime, anywhere. Think you could handle that?"

The executive's competitive nature was brought out now in full force. "I won't have to worry about that now, will I? I plan on winning this little wager. Just tell me when and where."

Wilder chewed her lower lip as she thought. "This is Sunday now so lets say next Saturday. My place at seven. That gives you almost a week if you want to back out."

"I won't need it, but maybe you will" the brunette replied. "Saturday works for me just fine."

"It's a bet then," the blonde said. "Darce, this is going to change things between us no matter how it turns out so I might as well tell you now. I've wanted you for a long time. If this is what it takes to make that happen, so be it." Wilder knew she wasn't telling the whole truth but she had to be at least partially honest with her friend.

Darcy was stunned. She had no idea Wilder had been thinking about her in that way. The way I've thought about her the executive leveled with herself.

"I'll see you Saturday, Wilder. Good night."

"Good night, Darcy. Sweet dreams."

After they hung up, Darcy reached up to turn off the bedside lamp. Unlimited sexual favors. Oh yeah, I'll have sweet dreams.