The cast party was going great.

Daisy was loving it, her first cast party since she joined the drama department at the Community College. What a thrill! Each of the four nights of the performance had been a smash hit, and now it was time to celebrate with the rest of the cast and unwind. She gently tossed her long, silky chestnut hair to one side and sipped her wine cooler (she wasn't a big drinker, and it was already making her feel light and giddy), and enjoyed hugs with several of the cast and musicians who were still streaming in. She felt light and sexy in her pale shell colored toga-style dress, cut off one shoulder and slanting down across her slender body, the hem high on her pale, smooth thighs. She was proud of the fact that she never needed to wear pantyhose. A pair of matching heels set the rest of her off perfectly, and it seemed that Daisy had another admiring audience tonight.

"Wow, Daisy, you look beautiful!" Wendy Harper said to her as she clasped both her hands. The short, squat girl who had played the part of a shopkeeper where Daisy's character works.

Her part, the second biggest part in the play, had been a big hit, and had gotten praise in two local newspapers, even overshadowing the performance of the lead actress, Olivia Walters. In the story, Olivia and Daisy are small town girls who are both vying for the love of a handsome and very eligible bachelor who is about to enter law school. In one scene, Olivia's temper flares when Daisy is trying to get the coveted "Daniel" to dance with her. Seeing her outside the party in this scene, Olivia asks to speak with her, and instead pulls Daisy into the shadows behind the building and gives her a savage beating.

The ironic story ends when neither girl gets her catch, as Daniel is sent off to war and marries a German girl before coming home.

Daisy charmed the audience during her several scenes, most of which were in the shop, confiding her love to her boss, the matronly shopkeeper. Though Olivia was billed as the leading lady, it is safe to say, juding from the applause at the end of each performance, that the lovely and quite talented Daisy upstaged her.

Olivia walked over to them just then, with a couple of the younger actresses trailing behind, Daisy gave her a hug. The response she got was colder than she expected, but she just shrugged it off, barely noticing it in the revelry of this great night. Maybe Olivia was tired, or on the rag, who knew? The blonde actress wore a stunning short set, with tiny red sequins, that her body looked poured into, it fit her lush curves so tightly. The long sleeved, low cut top was filled impressively with her 34dd breasts, and even with the sequins, a pair of thick nipples announced clearly that there was no bra constricting them underneath. She wore a pair of red boots that put her already tall frame at about 5'10, and her gorgeous long blonde hair flowed like spun gold over her shoulders, framing a pair of liquid gray eyes. She was, as always, a sight to see.

A guy from the orchestra wandered over to the group as they talked by a table full of finger foods.

"Hey, Daisy," the young man said, "I'm Jerry. I play trombone in the orchestra. I just wanted to say your performance was great... congrats... helluva job..."

The boy was a bit nervous, but very sincere, and Daisy gave him a hug too. "Aww, thanks Jerry! That's sweet."

Olivia rolled her eyes, and Daisy thought she caught the tail end of that. Wendy saw something, Daisy knew, because she watched Olivia for an extended moment before looking at Wendy and then announcing she was going to the rest room. Several others were hanging out by the food when Olivia kind of took Daisy by surprise with a statement that was only half-joking.

"Now, Daisy, keep stealing my thunder and I'll have to kick your pretty butt just like Margaret did to Linda," she said, referring to their one-sided fight scene in the play.

Daisy looked at her, then laughed softly. "Ah, c'mon, Olivia, just because it was written in the script doesn't mean it could happen in real life." She popped a chip with some bean dip in her mouth and crunched on it happily, and giggled at one of the other actresses, who was laughing at her comment.

Olivia was trying to stay calm and unaffected, but there were daggers in her eyes. "Don't bet on it," she smiled sweetly, leaving Daisy slightly confused. Was Olivia really so upset about the attention Daisy was getting?

Throughout the night, Olivia suffered hearing compliment after compliment being heaped on her dark-haired counterpart, and what made it all the worse was that Daisy was drinking it all in so sweetly, and so humbly, like a little angel.

Olivia was just coming out of the rest room and was walking by the kitchen when she heard the hostess ask Daisy to please bring out the vegetables and dip.

"Where do you want them?" Daisy asked the other girl.

"Oh, way out on the side, near the pathway that leads to the orchid garden, there's a table that's empty. It's kind of away from everything, but it's the only place to put these. Oh and by the way, Daisy--what a brilliant performance last night... Olivia's character might have beaten you up, but--" the hostess hid her mouth as if to whisper conspiritorially--"you beat her out in the end!! You were great!"

Oh god, Olivia grumbled to herself, when does it end? She gritted her teeth as Daisy thanked her and pecked her on the cheek. Then Daisy dutifully took the tray of carrots, celery and squash slices in one hand, the bowl of creamy dip in the other, and wiggled out through a side door.

Olivia waited a moment and followed her out. She noticed that this portion of the property jaunted away from the patio at an angle, and was almost hidden from view. She came out just as Daisy was setting the first tray down.

"Need some help with that, hon?" Olivia asked sweetly. Daisy looked startled to see her.

"Oh, hi 'Liv," Daisy said, "no its ok I got it."

"Only my close friends call me 'Liv, and you're not a close friend, so it's Olivia, ok?"

Daisy stared in amazement. "Whatever. No problem. What's the matter?"

"Just back off, girl, and stop trying to take the limelight. I'm the leading lady in this play, and you keep sucking up all the sugar from everybody without giving any credit to me. That's low class, but I guess that's what you are."

Daisy stood there dumbstruck, as Olivia inched closer, her hands on her hips, eyes sparkling with intensity as they bore into hers.

"My God, Olivia, I never knew you felt--"

"Oh cut the shit, Daisy. You're just trying to show me up! And then that ridiculous comment about fighting me."

"Why are you acting this way, Olivia?"

"You just have to beat me, don't you?" Olivia stepped closer, and Daisy had to look up slightly at the tall blonde, and could feel the exhalations from her flaring nostrils on her face. "You secretly felt humiliated in the play, at that scene, and that's what this is all about. Making up for being the loser in the fight in the play. Right?"

"Oh fuck," Daisy said, shaking her head, "I think I've heard enough of this crap, Olivia, I'm going back to the party." The slender brunette started to move away and towards the patio, where there were several people just twenty feet away.

"The hell you are," Olivia hissed, catching her by the forearm. "You know what?"

Daisy was half listening, frowning at Olivia's grip on her arm, and trying to shake free.

"I was wrong," Olivia smiled with venom at her."You weren't really humiliated in the play, but now you need to be."

"Let go!"

"Upstaging bitch!" Olivia delivered a vicious slap to Daisy's face and the brunette staggered, holding her face. She looked at the blonde with tearful shock, and then swung back. It was just what Olivia wanted. The determined blonde in the tight shorts caught Daisy's swing in mid air and now she had both forearms in her grip. She pushed the stunned Daisy backward into a stand of dark bushes, where the trunk of a banyan tree curved up and housed several orchids, hanging from wires. Before Daisy could even fathom how to respond to her forced backpedaling, Olivia hooked her fingers in the top of Daisy's toga dress and yanked as hard as she could. The dress came off the other shoulder easily and ripped at the waist, leaving Daisy's braless breasts to the evening air.