Forbidden

Jane knew the type... Hell, he even almost looks like Thom, all charisma and charm, until he gets what he wants. She thought.

She didn't know why she flashed to that, other than she saw the look of utter revulsion on Susan's face as this looser tried to stroke her arm and cop a feel in a clumsy maneuver. The next second, she saw the trapped in the headlights look come over the woman's face and knew she had to act.

Jane promised herself she would never be a victim again and spent three years learning martial arts just for these occasions. She got up and told the ladies she was going to help Susan, as she tossed her cell phone on the table top next to her purse.

She tried to control her temper like her Sensei had taught her. She muttered, "Anger clouds the mind. No man is worth going to prison." As approached the scene, she saw the look of relief on Susan's face.

"Hey Susan, are you coming back to the table?" Jane asked quietly. "We have to get back soon, and you haven't finished your lunch."

Susan latched onto Jane's statement and tried to get passed the annoying man again. "Sorry, I have to go. I have friends waiting for me." She tried.

"So, give me your number, and I'll let you pass. I'm not letting a hot thing like you get away that easy. Maybe you can bring your friend and we could have some real fun." The man slurred, looking at Jane's tits. Jane could smell the two Martini lunch on his breath as she put her hand on his arm.

"Hey asshole, let go of my girlfriend. She's tried to be polite, but you're being a jerk." Jane said with force.

"Girlfriend...!" He hissed loudly. "No fucking wonder you're putting me off. Fucking dyke bitch. All you need is a good stiff dick to set you straight, and I have just...!"

"Bill," a guy close by said as Jane struck. She hit him in the plexus and kneed him in the groin in a blink of an eye.

As the guy fell, Jane said. "I said hands off." Looking at the face of the friend, who was trying to catch the groaning man, she told him.

"Take your friend here and teach him some manners. When a woman says no, that means No!" Jane grabbed the startled Susan and pulled her back to their table.

The other women all looked shocked at their approach. Jane sat back down and waited for the hammer to fall. She knew it would. It always did, but it was worth it. She listened to Susan's thanks as she watched the waitress come to their table.

She leaned down to Jane and told her in her ear. "Lunch is on the house. We've had problems with him before. The manager said she knows where you work if the jerk calls the police. Not that he wouldn't get busted for being drunk in public, she'll let you know. So don't worry it, and have a nice day."

Jane just nodded her head and told the others. "It's time to go back girls. If John sees us coming back late there will be hell to pay." They all got up and left a nice tip and exited the crowded diner to go back to work.

Susan, who made sure to walk next to Jane, said. "Remind me never to piss you off. What did you do to him? Once second he was being an ass, then he was on the ground moaning. Can you teach me how you did it?"

"Yeah!" the other girls agreed. "That's one handy trick." Carole, the oldest of the group said behind her.

"Sure. It's not hard. My instructor called it the equalizer. You don't have to be accurate and they still go down. The trick is surprise. Asshole back there never thought I'd hit him, so he left himself open. Being drunk didn't help him either." They laughed and chatted the rest of the way back to the office. It was the first time Jane had actually felt accepted by the office coffee klatch.

The next morning, Jane found a single long-stem rose and a thank you card on her desk. In the card, she also found an invitation to dinner from Susan. Jane really didn't think about it, she put the rose in her water glass and the invitation in her desk drawer and went to work.

It wasn't until later, when she visited the ladies room, that Susan had the chance to talk to her. She had finished her business and was washing her hands when Susan came in. Jane saw Susan's cautious glance and wondered what had the pretty woman so nervous.

"Hi Jane, umm, I hope I wasn't too forward. I would've sent the invitation to your house, but I don't know your address. I hope you don't mind." Susan said in a rushed whisper.

"It's okay Susan. I liked the rose...."

"So, I can take you to dinner? Just as a big thank you..." She rushed on. Susan had been thinking about how her stomach jumped when Jane called her 'Her Girlfriend' and wondered if just maybe...?

"Umm sure... When...?" Jane replied. Jane wondered why Susan was jumpy. It wasn't like they were planning a hostile takeover or anything.

"How about Saturday night...?" Susan asked hopefully

"Um, I have to be at my folk's house. Friday or Sunday would be better." Realizing the rumors might be true, and facing the fact that she was interested in the stunning redhead in front of her, Jane wanted her to know she was at least willing to go to dinner with her.

Susan would have said more, but another woman came in and all she could say was. "I'll get back to you on that," as she softly brushed her hand down Jane's arm and headed out the door and back to work.

The rest of the morning, Jane battled back and forth the Pro's and Con's of getting involved with someone at work. Then she would think about 'what ifs' or if this was just a simple dinner. It wasn't like either men or women were breaking down her door to take her out. Jane tried to be honest with herself. Susan was way out of her league.

She sighed and buried herself in her work. It wasn't the first time she used work to numb her problems. Work got her through missing Reyna so bad it hurt. Sighing again, Jane looked at her pictures then shook her head and dove into the computer screen to block it all out.

Little did she know, across the room, Susan was boiling with need and uncertainty. She had quietly been attracted to Jane for awhile now, but didn't know how to approach her. Susan hoped Jane wouldn't rebuff her. She didn't know if Jane was interested in her that way.

It had been well over a year since she had lost her lover and she was ready to move on. She didn't want to go to any of the bars or clubs. She was tired of being hit on by both men and women. She knew it was no secret her last lover was a woman. It really didn't bother her anymore.

She had learned to accept her sexuality. It didn't make her any less of a woman. She didn't go militant or anything like that. She still loved the feel of silk, leather and lace. Susan knew she received a lot more fulfillment from Gail, than any of the guys she had tried during her inquisitive years.

Susan was attracted to Jane's simple natural beauty. If she didn't miss her guess, Jane didn't even know how good she looked. Her only worry, she didn't want to mess up a good potential friendship over her attraction for the shorter woman.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." She coached herself. She took another small envelope from her desk and wrote a simple note and her phone number. She watched until she knew Jane was gone from her desk, and as invisibly as she could, placed it next to the flower.

"No sense in branding her a lesbian if she isn't." She muttered to herself as she went and asked their boss an inane question, knowing he would ogle her tits again. "It's worth it if I find friendship or even love out of this." Susan told herself as her skin crawled.

That night, Jane was pacing across her living room as her cat watched and flicked his tail in time to her steps. "Come on Jane, she just wants to thank you for getting her away from the idiot during lunch. It's not like she wants to jump your bones. Not that some bone jumping isn't interesting." She chided herself

"This isn't getting me anywhere." She huffed as she grabbed the phone and punched the numbers. After the third ring she heard Susan's voice.

"Hello?"

"Um Hi Susan.... It's me um, Jane. I um, got your note and...."

"Oh, Hi Jane...! I was hoping you would call. I don't want to sound like a broken record, but...." Susan's voice brightened.

"It's okay, really. I've been there. That's why I learned martial arts in the first place."

"Oh, I didn't know... Anyway about dinner, which is better, Friday night or Sunday evening?"

"Um, where did you want to go? Friday is usually a zoo, but Sunday's can be a bit...."

"Yeah and John isn't going to let us off early Friday so, um how about we make it a late lunch early dinner on Sunday. That way we can be rested and enjoy ourselves. I know the perfect place."

"Um, okay. Sunday's best or casual?" Jane asked confused.

"Oh, casual is okay unless you go to church or something."

Jane laughed. "No, I go to Temple on Saturdays, if I go. My family is Jewish.... Is that okay?"

"Oh, I didn't know...? Mine are Catholics, but it's been years since I've been to mass. I'm not even a holiday... anyway...? Sunday afternoon about two then...?" Susan asked in a rush.

"Sure... yeah, um... where...?" Jane asked feeling the beginning of butterflies in her stomach. Was she really setting up a date with the office bombshell? She asked herself.

"Um, one other thing,' Susan said. "It's not as if I'll ignore you or anything, but I'm rather a private person, so...?"

"Yeah, so am I. So...? Work as usual?"

"Yeah Thanks. I'd hate giving those gossip mongers anymore ammunition."

"Susan, its lunch..." Jane chuckled, petting her cat's back.

"I know, but if they hear about it, they'll have us doing the mattress rumba before dinner." Susan explained. "If a guy or a girl looks at me sideways, they think I'm... Well I'd never get out of bed if I did all of what they say. It's not fair..."

"I don't listen to them anyway." Jane reassured the nerves she heard over the phone, wondering where this was all leading.

"Okay, I'd better go before I make a fool of myself." Susan giggled.

"Um okay, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah tomorrow" Susan breathed as they said goodbye and hung up.

Luckily for both of them, the rest of the week was one mad dash to get things done. It kept their equilibrium. The nerves didn't hit until Saturday night.

In Susan's case, she worried if she was ready to take the next step. She knew she was too young to constantly mourn the loss of her lover. It wasn't like they had a deep romance before the accident. Hell they had only made love twice... But what a twice...!

In Jane's case, it was due to her father's attempts to find a suitable suitor for her. It came to a head when one of the guys, who had too much to drink, hands started wandering into no man's land. Jane was able to keep him at bay until she could give her father a piece of her mind after they left.

"Dad, I love you, but if you ever set me up again I will not show up. I am capable to find my own...!"

"I know sweetheart, but you work so hard and never go out." Her father apologized. "I'm just trying to help." He took off his yamaka and put it on top of his Torah.

"I know, but it's not helping. I'd like to get to know someone before their hands go for an exploratory search of my body. I'm not desperate you know."

"Who did that? I'll..."

"Don't worry dad. I cooled his jets. Please trust me. I like coming home every now and again, but...."

"Listen to your daughter Karl." Her mother said behind them. "I told you so!"

From there the argument got heated. They'd always felt secure enough to air their differences in an open and honest manner. Yes, sometimes it got loud. It would usually end when her father would start swearing in Hebrew.

"Dad...! Dad... I'm Goy! Remember... So, swearing at me in Jewish isn't going to get you anywhere. Remember... you raised me that way. You said after my Bat Mitzvah I'd have the choice. What choice are you giving me?"

"But you're going on thirty and still not married."

"Yeah and so...? It's my choice remember?"

"What would your Grandma Rivcah say?"

"She'd be cheering me on and you know it. I'm going home. I've got a date tomorrow."

"A Date...!" Her father exclaimed excited.

"With a woman friend... I did her a favor and she is taking me out to lunch...."

"Oh, okay...." He deflated.

Jane kissed her parents and told them she loved them, but no more set ups, as she left. All the way home she wondered why she told her parents she had a date. Was it just a slip of the tongue or...?

***

Her mood wasn't any better the next morning as she tried to figure out what to wear. It wasn't like they say about girls and clothes. She just wanted to look nice, but with the heat and humidity, she needed something that would stay looking nice.

She found a light green sleeveless shell with a nice spring flower print on the front, with loose white shorts. At least she'd be comfortable. She made sure her legs were smooth as she slipped into her sandals.

For better or worse, after she applied what little makeup she allowed herself and she was ready. She drove to old town and parked in the covered secured parking lot. She didn't know where they were going, but the lot was close and they could always get to it quickly. They ate a quick lunch and toured the downtown shopping spots. They laughed, giggled and started to get to know each other better. It was a good day.

Jane drove them to an out of the way Mexican restaurant. They knew they held the interest of most of the male population, but they didn't care. For them it was fun. One thing was for sure, they never had to worry about service.

It wasn't until after Susan had her second Margarita and working on her third, when her restraint relaxed. Then things got really interesting. They were seated in a secluded corner of the patio garden quietly talking when the slightly tipsy Susan blurted.

"I'd love to pluck those daisies." She was looking at the flowers sprinkled across Jane's chest. There were these two perfectly placed... As soon as she realized she had vocalized her inner thoughts, she blushed redder than her hair.

"Oh shit! Did I say that out loud?" She covered her mouth with her hands.

"Um, yeah... what daisies...?" Jane looked around until she followed Susan's gaze and her nipples instantly responded. "Oh, those..."

"I'm sorry... I didn't... I...." Susan blushed more if that was possible. She had been getting more and more aroused the longer she was in Jane's company. If Susan had her wish...! She pulled her wayward thoughts back in before she made a bigger fool of herself.

"It's alright..." Jane giggled. "I didn't know you like picking flowers." She knew she was teasing the poor woman, but it made her laugh. Jane had never seen someone blush so hard in her life. It wasn't like she was adverse to the idea. Her nipples couldn't get any harder at the thought.

"It would depend on from whose garden" Susan said before she could stop herself. Jane just about choked on her drink when she heard the remark. It was the break they needed to get over the gaff. They both burst out laughing as everyone around them looked to see what was so funny.

They were still laughing when Susan called for the bill so they could leave before making a bigger scene. She playfully bumped and staggered out on to the street as Susan felt her body ignite from Jane's soft touch. Susan wondered why she was reacting this way. It wasn't this bad with...?

"So, what do you want for Dessert?" Jane asked her still blushing companion.

"You...!" Susan gasped. "Damn, me and my mouth. What did you put in my drink?"

Jane's body clenched and she knew the dampness in her shorts wasn't due to the weather. She had been mentally undressing Susan out of her summer dress most of the day. She had to catch herself from wondering if the hair down below was as red as up above. Not knowing what to say, Jane made a joke instead.

"Hey, I might be cheap, but I'm not easy." There was something in Susan's eyes that made her sober up.

"I'm going out on a limb here and wouldn't want to spoil the day. But if we go there, it would be neither cheap nor easy. I..." Susan put it all out on the line.

"I know... But, here isn't the time or place... Want to go someplace quieter?"

"Yeah.... The park is still open we can talk there."

"Okay, I'll race you" Jane said as she smacked Susan's ass and ran towards her car, acting like an uninhibited child.

"Hey, no fair, I'm in heals." Susan called after Jane, taking off her heals and hiking her dress over her knees to catch up. They laughed as they climbed in and headed to the park.

They hadn't said a word until after they found a bench under a huge Magnolia. Susan was chewing her lip and Jane's hands were sweating. Finally it was Susan who broke the tension.

"I'm going to do something I've wanted to do for a long time. If you don't like it, I'll never try again." She leaned down as Jane leaned up.

Jane's heart was beating against her ribs as she saw Susan start leaning into her. She was about to say something... anything then she felt Susan's soft lips meet hers. She felt the jolt from her head to her toes making her moan as she deepened the kiss.

As the kiss went deeper, Susan felt the burn in her soul. She didn't grab onto the woman who was spinning her head. She only softly touched her so if she wanted to, Jane could escape.

They both forgot to breathe as time stood still in their first kiss. Neither one of them had experienced its like before. They finally had to break apart as the spots from hypoxia danced before their eyes. They both were gasping for air as they came out of it.

"Wow!" Susan gasped as she tried to drag air back into her pounding chest.

"Yeah..." Was all Jane could vocalize, before she leaned back in and kissed Susan again...? She wanted to be sure it wasn't a one off.

It wasn't. By the time they could stop, they were breast to breast and their hands were sliding up and down each other's backs and arms as fire trails followed the path of their fingers. As they separated, their pupils were dilated and they could see matching pulses in their necks. Jane was the first to be able to speak.

"I've never... That was... Wow!"

"Yeah, me either... I was worried you'd..."

"Never..." they were completing each other's thoughts since they were the same ones. Jane saw the intent in Susan's eyes and placed her hand on her chest between her breasts, stopping her.

"We can't, if we start again, I don't know if I could stop." She breathed. "If, what I think is happening, is happening, I don't want to rush it. I think, with you, I could." Susan was about to say something when they heard some teenagers call out.

"Get a Room!" and "Can we watch? Damn Dude, that was hot!" Susan changed her mind.

"Yeah, I see what you mean. Let's go. We can talk while you drive. I'll sit on my hands if I have too." She smiled and grabbed Jane's hand and pulled her up off the bench, holding her hand as they walked back to the car. When they got back, Susan was again hit by a bad case of nerves.

"I didn't plan on trying to seduce you today. I mean I've been interested for a while now, but I didn't know if you'd be receptive." She fumbled with her hands to keep them from reaching over....

"You have? I never knew." Jane said shocked.

"Yeah, that's the point. Ever since I came into the unit I've noticed you. You're the only one there who's real, you know. Then again you've kept your nose to the grindstone as it were. I knew right off you earned your promotions through extreme hard work. If you smiled, it was genuine."

"Speaking of work, how do we deal with being around each other all the time? You know what they say about getting involved with a co-worker." Jane asked out of reflex.

"I know... I'll stop now if you want me to. But, now I know you are interested... I don't... I plan on seeing just where this can go. Do you want me to stop...? I've never been kissed like that before." Susan said with a dreamy look in her eyes.