Thanking the bartender for the shot of Tequila, Shane pounds it back.

What the ***** happened back there? One minute were talking about clothes, then next minute Im undressing her in public?! I should have left it alone. Besides, theres really nothing wrong with the way she dresses. Its very her. Uppity, goofy, and cute.

Shane remembers the look in Danas hooded blue eyes, that ***** hitch in her breathing I bet shes a hellcat in bed. Shane used to watch her, way back when. Dana was shy and quiet but with the occasional streak of sarcasm. She had an uptown manner about her that made Shane want to see her sweaty and out of control, her body molded under Shanes hands. Shanes attraction came and went as they became friends but in that one second it all came roaring back.

You got past this, remember? Bad thoughts, Shane, bad thoughts. Why now? Friends are a no ***** zone. Theres no clarity. Feelings get hurt. And Dana is not the kind of woman you just *****. Jesus, who took down the no trespassing sign?

Shane signals to the bartender for another shot. Drinking it, she sits back with a shiver, feeling the burn of the liquid going down. Turning around and resting her elbows on the bar, she surveys the room. The club is packed with women of all shapes and sizes moving to the music. Strobe lights and multicolored beams paint a kaleidoscope of images frozen in virtual upright *****. The heavy base beat thrumming through her, Shane takes stock, feeding off the heat in the room.

I just need to get laid, thats the problem. I havent had ***** in she pauses her mental tirade, counting, FIVE DAYS! God, no wonder. Oh yeah, and I can fix that right now.

The woman that had approached Shane earlier glides up and stands between Shanes splayed legs. Tucking two fingers under the brunettes waistband, Shane pulls her closer.

Shane, she rumbles, a whisper away from the womans lips.

Tori, she replies, tangling her fingers in Shanes hair.

Pleasantries taken care of, Shane sucks Toris bottom lip into her mouth, running her tongue across it. Taking advantage of the gasp that results, she plunges her tongue past her open lips, exploring the hardness of her teeth, the soft silkiness of the inside of her mouth. Trailing her fingers upward past the hard planes of Toris abdomen, Shane tweaks a nipple between her thumb and forefinger, forcing a guttural moan from deep in Toris throat. A tapping on her shoulder wrenches her away to turn and look at the intruder.

Marina stands beside them, an amused look on her face. As entertaining as it would be, you cant have ***** at my bar, Shane.

Shane winks at her. Ok Marina, were heading out now, anyway. Turning to Tori, she asks, Can I drive you home?

Tori wipes the lipstick from Shanes mouth. Definitely.

Shane takes her hand, walking with her back to the table. Not meeting Danas eyes she murmurs, Ah, were gonna go. Ill talk to you guys tomorrow.

Tina smirks and shakes her head. Ill call you. Were going shopping at one if you want to come with.

Shane rolls her eyes and nods, turning and leading Tori out to the truck.

***

*Beep*

Alice, its Tina. I know youre there making out with Rae. I also know that since you tore out of Radar last night like your tail was on fire, you already got some. Let the poor woman go to work and call me back

*Beep*


Leaning her head against Raes shaking chest, Alice catches her breath. Stop laughing, I swear that woman has spies.

You might have something there. Shes right though, I do have to go to work. Raes chuckles wind down.

Alice smiles up into her gray eyes. Well, if you werent so enthusiastic about our goodbye kiss, youd be there by now.

Are you complaining?

Absolutely not. Alice leans up and reclaims Raes lips softly. Ill see you later, then?

Rae does some quick calculation in her head. Yeah, I should get to Tinas around eight. Kissing
Alice again, she fumbles behind her for the doorknob.

Pushing her out the door, Alice pulls away. Go now before I dont let you. She watches Rae get into her car before going into the living room and dialing Tina’s number.

~ That took less time than I expected. ~

What, no one says hi anymore?

~ Hi Alice. How are you feeling? ~

Nevermind that. Why are we doing this again?

~ Because this is what Dana wants. Besides, even if she doesnt land Shane, its a good learning experience. ~

Why is Shane coming clothes shopping with us?

~ Shes not. I called her at 10 and she was already at work. She has a bunch of clients and doesnt think she can make it until later. If she can, shell call. Actually, it works out better. This way itll be a surprise. By the way, Bettes coming too. She thinks that shes better suited to coach Dana on seduction than we are. ~

You know Tina, she might have a point.

~ I know but I dont have to tell her that. Her heads swelled enough. ~

I hear you. Um, I meant to ask last night. What about Shanes commitment phobia?

~ Im still working on that. But the way I see it, shes already close to Dana because of the friendship. And as odd as it seems, the way to Shanes heart can only be through her pants. I swear she wants Dana. ~

Tina, should we really be meddling like this? I mean, what if they sleep together and it doesnt work out? This could totally blow up in our faces.

Theres a long silence on the other end.

~ Lets ask Dana how she feels about that. ~

Fine. Are we meeting up at your place?

~ Yeah, I figured we could just take my car since well be coming back here later. ~

Sounds good. Ill be there around 12:30, ok?

~ Ok, bye. ~

Bye.

Alice clicks off the phone. I really hope this works out or we could all be in a world of trouble.

***

Taking a break from the whirlwind shopping spree the four friends stop in a trendy bistro for a late lunch. Waiting for their food, Dana is antsy with worry.

You guys, I dont know if this is a good idea.

Tina looks at her. Ok, Dana. Tell us why its not.

Dana sighs. Well, I dont know, it seems kind of sneaky. I dont like feeling like Im setting Shane up. I feel like Im deceiving her.

Bette nods contemplatively. I can see why you would feel that way. Dana, how do you actually feel about her? Because if all you want to do is sleep with her, you might be right and this is a bad idea.

Ireally like her. Its not only about how ***** she is. And boy, is she ever. She smells so good. Her voice gets all low and gravelly and her eyes Dana trails off and shivers.

Alice snaps her fingers to bring her back.

Oh sorry. Where was I? Oh yeah, Shanes so sweet and warm and funny. If you watch her, shes always paying attention to whats going on. She cares a lot. She acts like all shes about is a new bed partner every week but shes not like that. I drives me crazy to see her treat herself like thats all shes worth. Dana looks at Alice. Ok, Alice, you might not remember, but years ago I mentioned that I really love those little ceramic houses that my grandmother used to always send to me before she died.

Alice frowns trying to recall the conversation, then brightens. Oh yeah, god that was a long time ago.

I know, Dana smiles, and every year since then Shanes gotten me a new one for my birthday.

The girls are floored.

Dana continues, And she does all these little things that you cant talk about because she gets all gruff and shy. Its just so cute.

Alice squints her eyes. Cute? Im almost afraid to ask. Like what?

Well, she got Mr. Piddles an adorable little fleece blanket with his name stitched on it for his birthday. Then when my front door lock was sticky and I was bitching about it, she just came over one day and fixed it. Oh, and remember when I got sick three months ago? Shane came by with some soup and these herbal meds that she said would make me feel better. She sat and suffered through daytime television with me. Its funny, you know, I did feel better after that.

Alice stares at Dana. I have absolutely no response to that.

Tina and Bette look at each other. Tina says to her, This might be easier than I thought.

Bette nods thoughtfully. Call her and see if she can join us for lunch between clients. Shes just down the road. We need to see how she acts with Dana. I want to see if shes just being friendly.

Alice shakes her head in disbelief. I cant believe Shane knows Mr. Ps birthday.

***

Shane walks down the street slowly, thinking about what she now calls the incident last night.

*****, how do I handle this? I dont want to be weird about it. Thats it, Ill just ignore it. Besides, Im sure I imagined that look and overreacted. She hates the way I dress and how I act, shes told me enough times. Dana would never be interested in me. And thats a good thing.

Fifteen minutes later Shane lopes in and drops into the chair beside Dana. Hey all. So how did it go? Did you slay the savage shopping beast?

Bette laughs. Oh, were not done, were just taking a break. Dana was starting to go into shock.

Dana glares at Bette. Well, I havent tried on so many things since I went shopping with my mother. Ive never worn half this stuff in my life!

That reminds me Dana, Shane interjects softly, I was thinking about what we said last night and you dont have to change what you wear. You look good. Your clothes suit you and youre comfortable in them. You shouldnt try to impress women that want you to be different anyway. Im living proof of that.

Dana is puzzled by the last part. What do you mean? You impress women all the time.

Shane looks away. Not all the time. Anyway, dont let the crazy shopping ladies make you buy stuff you dont want. She stares disapprovingly at Tina, Bette and Alice.

Uncomfortable with the rest of the group staring at Shane as if shes a science experiment, Dana shrugs her shoulders. Its ok, Shane. I havent bought clothes in a while and I did get some really neat things.

Shane raises an eyebrow. Really, like what?

Alice jumps in. Youre coming to Tinas later, right? Shane nods and she continues, Well, you and Rae will see them then. Its your punishment because I know how flexible your schedule is and how much you hate shopping with us. You dodged.

Shane smiles sheepishly. Sorry Dane, although I did have some clients this morning, I probably could have made it but Ive seen the girls shop. Its slow torture.

Tina narrows her eyes and comes up with an idea. Hey Shane, then you must have time to do Danas hair this afternoon? Dana whips her head around to stare at Tina.

Seeing this, Shane says to Tina, Easy now, its her hair. Turning to Dana, she asks, Do you want to change it? I do have some free time this afternoon. But only if its what you want.

Dana self-consciously tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. Does it need to be done?

Shane reaches out and runs her hands through Danas hair, moving it this way and that way, visualizing different styles. She rolls a few locks between her fingers. Man, you have such beautiful hair, Dana. The texture is excellent, she murmurs, her voice low and steady, Mmm, I know exactly what to do with it.

Unprepared for Shanes touch, Dana is speechless for a moment. She jerks when Bette kicks her under the table, causing Shane to look at her oddly. Even knowing the next few hours will be an exercise in restraint, she clears her throat. Um, ok, when do you want to do it?

Anytime you want, Dane. Suddenly feeling as if shes having two separate conversations, Shane leans back, taking her hand away. Uh, how much longer will you shop?

Bette ponders for a while, thinking about what Dana had bought and what she still needs. Looking over at Tina impishly, she says, Well, were almost done. We just need to get her some lingerie and a couple more things. What do you think? Danas eyes just about fall out of her head.

Well, that takes a bit of time. Six-ish? Tina looks over at Shane.

Lingerie? Shane has a flash of that perfect body, scantily clad, undulating beneath her, slave to her touch. Clearing her mind like an etch-a-sketch, she mentally puts police line do not cross tape around the no trespassing signs bordering the no ***** zone.

Shane? Tina calls, smirking.

Yeah? Shane frantically tries to remember the question. Oh yeah, six is good. You know what? I gotta go backsoIll see you guys later, ok? Dana, dont worry. Itll look great. Shane unfolds herself from the chair and heads back to work.

Bette looks at Tina. Tina looks at Alice. Dana chews her lip waiting for the verdict.

Alice says, Ok, what did you get?

Tina thinks for a moment. Well, her voice gets all low and soft when she talks to Dana.

True, Bette agrees, she was also quick with the defense when she thought we were pushing too hard. And what was that with the hair thing?

Alice smiles slowly. Shane is a texture queen. Its a sense thing she has. We had a weird talk about that one day at The Planet. Healthy hair is like something or other. I dont know, she was waxing poetic about it. Whatever. Its one of the things she loves about women. Good call on the hair, Tina.

Thanks, Tina replies, but what nailed it for me was the lingerie reaction.

Bette nods her head slowly. Yes, she did respond well to that. Dana, seriously, do you really want to do this?

Dana takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. If this works, I can have what Ive wanted for years. If it doesntI can live with just being Shanes friend. I have for this long. Yes, I want to do this.

Alice looks at her seriously. And if it is just *****?

Ill be fine. Its not like Im going into this with my eyes closed. I know the rules and Im trying to break them. What Shane decides is what Ill have to live with.

Tina pauses for thought. Ok Dana, then heres what I think you should do. Its actually just a matter of paying attention. Look into her eyes like shes the only person that exists when shes talking to you.

Bette smirks and nods, Yes, that works. Also, you might want to start casually touching her. You know, walk by and brush shoulders, a hand on her arm to get her attention. Its sort of like gentling a cat.

Dana looks like shes taking notes and growing more apprehensive by the second. Wont she notice that? Guys, Im a geek. Im about as far from smooth as I can be and still be in the same country. Ill probably fall on her.

No you wont Dana, Alice pipes up, and she might notice in the beginning, but its like sensory fatigue, shell wonder at first but then shell get used to it and accept it as normal.

Dont sweat it, Tinas calm voice breaks in, you dont have to do it all at once. I think it will be easier for you once you realize that you can do this. After operating under the assumption for so long that you cant want her, it might take a bit of time to break yourself of that habit.

But youre all going to be watching me, Dana moans, Im nervous just thinking about it.

No we wont. After today, unless you ask, we wont comment on it again. Bette turns and looks pointedly at Alice, Right?

Alice grumbles under her breath. Right.

Tina chuckles at Alice. Besides, like I said, clothes make the lez. When you put on clothes that make you feel *****, you are. Its almost matter over mind. So ladies, shall we go?