Chapter 1

Laura Robbins was leaving work one evening in a howling rainstorm when she nearly stumbled over the new secretary, Karen Washington, on the wet sidewalk in front of the highrise building where they both worked. The spike heel of Karen's shoe had caught in the sidewalk grate, twisting her ankle and spilling her to the ground. She was moaning with pain, soaked, and shivering with cold.

Laura bent down. She barely knew Karen, who had only been with the company a few days.

"Can I help?" she asked.

"God, I really sprained it, I think," Karen whimpered, her dark eyes flickering with pain.

Karen was black and gorgeous. Even Laura, who was gorgeous herself, had noticed it. I guess you always notice the competition, she had thought a few days earlier when she had caught herself looking extra hard at Karen's incredible body as the black girl had walked down the corridor in front of her.

Karen's face was exquisitely beautiful. She had high model's cheekbones and full, sensual lips; sparkling, intelligent brown eyes, a high forehead, and a swan-like neck. Her breasts were high and hard, her waist tiny, her ass a miracle of round sculpted flesh, and her legs long, shapely, and glossy black. Laura had thought that men must feel a throbbing between their thighs when they looked at her.

And she herself had looked extra-long, then turned away, half- embarrassed, hoping no one had see her.

But now Karen was helpless, and moaning with pain. Both of them grew wetter by the moment as long as they stayed there on the sidewalk.

"Maybe if I can get a cab, we can go somewhere and try to let it get better," Laura said. "I mean, I don't have anything planned for tonight. I've got it, why don't you come over to my place and you can just sit there and I'll make some dinner."

Karen smiled through her pain. "You'd really do that?"

"Of course. I insist. What else are you going to do, just sit here and drown?"

Karen managed another pained smile. Laura flagged down a cab. They were usually hard to find when it rained, but being a stunning honey-blonde didn't hurt. She took off her coat so that her figure would be more visible, then yelled and waved. Two cabs stopped. She helped Karen into one, then climbed in herself.

Now, of course, they were both soaked. Fortunately, it took just ten minutes to get to Laura's apartment house. In another two minutes they were inside, and she was turning on the heater.

"God, we're two drowned rats," she laughed, helping Karen to a chair near the heater.

"Speak for yourself, girl," Karen said. "I may be wet, but I'm no rat."

"We're both going to catch pneumonia, though, if we don't change into something dry," Laura said. "I'll get you a robe or something. Just get out of those wet clothes."

She went into her bedroom and searched through her closet. She took her best bathrobe and returned to the livingroom with it, just in time to see Karen pull her wet blouse over her head. The contrast of her stark white bra and her velvety, gleaming black skin made Laura's throat catch. Oh gosh, what am I doing? she asked herself, shaking it off. I've seen girls' bodies before.

But she tried very hard not to look at the way Karen's breasts filled the cups of her bra, or at the shadowy cleavage between them. She took the robe to the girl, then turned away quickly since Karen was unzipping her wet skirt. God, I just don't want to see her legs, she thought. Too beautiful. Why am I feeling this way? Nervous. Wanting to look at her. At her body. Why?

"I'll just... change," she murmured nervously. "Then we'll see if we can do anything about that foot."

"Okay."

"Hurt?" She glanced furtively at Karen, who was down to her underwear and had not put on the bathrobe yet.

"Not as bad as it did," Karen said. "I guess it's not broken."

Laura tried not to stare. But she could feel her blood pounding, and her cunt pulsing excitedly, a situation that alarmed and thrilled her. She could barely tear her eyes from Karen's luscious near-naked body. Oh god, she thought. What am I doing?

In the bedroom she shed her own wet clothes and put on her old bathrobe. Then she went into the kitchen, bringing out a bottle of wine and two glasses. She poured wine for each of them.

"This will make it feel even better," she winked, handing Karen a glass.

They drank and began to warm up. Laura tried not to think about them both sitting there almost naked, drinking together. She had never felt anything like this before, never even imagined it. She was not a lesbian, and she had never wanted another girl, had never even felt any curiosity about another girl. Until now.

But now... she kept wanting to look down at Karen's bare legs when the skirts of Karen's robe fell open. She couldn't stop staring at the girl's velvety black throat, or her jutting breasts under the fabric of the bathrobe. What am I doing! she screamed silently to herself. I'm not like this!

"Do you think we ought to put ice on it?" she asked Karen.

"I don't know. The swelling's gone down a little, I think."

"Can you walk on it?"

"I don't know."

Karen stood up, but she was a little tipsy from the wine. Her ankle buckled and she almost fell to the floor. Quickly Laura jumped up and caught her. It was a strong but awkward embrace. Their cheeks grazed, and their faces were very close. Laura could feel Karen's warm breath on her neck. Her blood raced.

"Oh!" Karen gasped, sagging in Laura's embrace.