Chapter 209

     The evening with Deshona was exhausting and thrilling.
Apart from nearly killing one another with fucking, they
again melted together emotionally, deeply in love and wildly
happy in each other's arms.  Laura returned home, singing
again all the way in the car, unable to believe her good
fortune.  She even half-pledged to herself to curtail most
of her other relationships, for two reasons.  One, Deshona
loved and trusted her, and she had to live up to the trust.
Two, she felt so guilty lying about all of them that
something had to be done.
     But she was unfortunately put to the test immediately.
Yvette had been promoted again, this time to an executive
director reporting to (who else?) Rhonda, and Rhonda was
throwing her a party.
    "I can't come to that," Laura said to Rhonda.  "I've
slept with you both.  It's so embarrassing."

     "You have to," Rhonda said.  "I insist.  April will be
there too.  Even though," she deadpanned, "we both know you
never slept with her."

    Laura shot daggers from her eyes at Rhonda.  "Nor did
you," she spat.

     "You just have to be a grownup about it," Rhonda said,
contemptuously.  "Easy come, easy go.  Maybe you'll get
promoted someday, if you don't burn your bridges."

     "You mean if I let the right person-"

     But Rhonda fixed her with a fierce stare that cut this
off before it could get out.

     The party was held at Rhonda's house, an expensive
Tudor-style place in the Forest Hills neighborhood, far too
big for one person.  It was, Laura thought, like Deshona's,
though Deshona had been married and had the house as a
result.  Rhonda had no excuse but ostentation.

    She had decided only to put in an appearance, to duck
in and duck back out, and so she arrived late and had to
park about a block away.  Inside the house, she immediately
realized that she should have made any excuse not to come.
Not only was Yvette there, of course, looking stunning as
usual in a slinky dark blue dress cut all the way up her
thigh.  Her husband Arthur was there too.  That made three
people Laura had slept with, though Arthur had raped her.
In the ass, too.  She could feel her ass
clenching in fear as she spotted him across the
room.

     A few minutes later she ran into April in
the kitchen. They looked at each other, and both
averted their eyes. Laura knew April was now
sleeping with Rhonda, and April knew Laura knew
it.  Neither one wanted to risk a word.

     Worse, Laura saw the gorgeous Tamara Taylor
in the dining room, surrounded by men.  She knew
Rhonda loved to surround herself with pretty
black girls, and so it shouldn't be surprising
that she was after Tamara too.
Laura had lusted after her from afar for weeks
but not dared to pursue her, already having her
hands full with Deshona
and the others.

     And then, drifting out the French windows
onto the lawn as if to avoid possibly painful
encounters with the people inside, Laura ran
into Chanitra, Yvette's sister.  For a moment,
Laura found herself thinking it was the tennis
star Venus Williams.  She had spent so many
Saturday and Sunday mornings in front of her TV,
watching Venus's beautiful, powerful young body
in action, hungering desperately to fuck her
over and over, that the sight of the tight
beaded braids and glossy black arms nearly
bowled her over.

     Chanitra wore-and had always worn-her hair
in the same style.  But though Venus didn't have
an especially appealing face, Chanitra's was
gorgeous, and more so now than ever. Let's see,
she must be nineteen, Laura thought, counting
the years in her mind.  God, she just keeps
getting more beautiful.  When is she going to
stop?

     "Laura!" Chanitra grinned, turning away
from a couple of men who were apparently
hypnotized by her fresh beauty and sex appeal.
"'Scuse me, fellas," she said to them, taking
Laura's arm and pulling her off toward a shadowy
area of the patio.

    "Laura, you look so good," Chanitra said,
                    admiring
Laura from top to bottom, which gave Laura a
rush.

     They had experienced some pretty hot
moments together. The last time, over a year
ago, she and Karen had fucked Chanitra (and
themselves) mercilessly with two double dildoes
until the three of them had nearly incinerated
Laura's bed on the spot.  It was a stirring
memory, and she could see from the glint in
Chanitra's eyes that she still remembered it
too.

     They talked for several minutes alone,
feeling the sexual energy that had always flowed
between them, clearly wondering how they had
remained apart for over a year.  But it was no
mystery to Laura since she could see the way the
guys devoured Chanitra with their eyes.  They
were interrupted by Yvette herself.

     "Laura . . . how great to see you!" Yvette
bubbled, taking Laura's hand and turning her
physically away from Chanitra.  "Gosh, it's so
good to see you.  Where've you been?"

 "At work every day," Laura said, sarcastically.
                        
     "Oh, I guess I've been flying off so
frequently to New York or Chicago that I just
haven't had the time to stop by and visit."

 "I guess that's what goes with success," Laura
                      said
flatly.

     "We've got to talk."  She drew Laura away
from Chanitra.  "Chan, you don't mind if I talk
to Laura privately for a moment, do you?"

"I gotta go find Cynthia anyway," Chanitra said.
                       "My
friend Cynthia is here with me," she explained
to Laura. "We're headed for another party."

     Yvette drew Laura further into the shadows.
"If Arthur
sees us together, he'll kill us both," Laura
warned her.

     Yvette's face froze in fear.  Rarely had
Laura seen that expression.  "I know.  Just a
second.  I know what you think of me and . . .
this promotion."

     "I'm very happy for you," Laura said with
deadly irony.

"But I miss you.  I need you.  We haven't been
together in .  . . months.  It's just not the
same with Rhonda."
   "Why, I think she rewards your loyalty very
                     well."
     "Look, call me, okay?"  Her dark eyes
suddenly throbbed with hot, unmistakable
meaning.  "Remember that `lunch' we had in the
hotel across the street from the office?"
 "I can never forget it," Laura said truthfully.
 Yvette squeezed her hand, imploring her.  "Call
                       me.
Please call me, Laura."

 They both looked around nervously, as if Arthur
                      could
overhear them.  "I will," Laura said, almost
inaudibly.

She watched as Yvette walked away from her.  The
                      blue
dress was cut low in the back, and Laura could
feel a hot, excited tingle deep in her pussy as
she looked at the fantastic, smooth, black skin
of Yvette's half-naked back, which she had
kissed and caressed so many times.

     Upstairs, looking for a non-occupied
bathroom, she ran into Chanitra again.
Literally.  It was semi-dark, and Chanitra came
around a corner carrying her coat.

  "Not leaving, I hope," Laura said.  "God, you
                      have
turned into a rare beauty, darling."

     Now the old Chanitra Laura knew came back.
She crinkled her nose and smiled.  "You
flirting, you nasty thing you?"

     Laura took her hand and pulled her into an
empty bedroom.  She had slept with Rhonda and
knew the house well enough.  She closed the door
behind them.  It was very dark. Her lips found
Chanitra's quickly, and they kissed hungrily,
drinking each other, more passionately than even
Laura had expected.

     Chanitra wore a midriff blouse, showing off
her delectable smooth black tummy and lower
back, and Laura's hands roamed all over the warm
flesh.  She raised them to Chanitra's small,
hard breasts, squeezing them through the bra
cups.  Chanitra broke off the kiss, panting.

     "You better stop that before we get carried
away," she whispered.

     "I'd like to carry you away," Laura panted
back, biting her earlobe.

"Ouch!  God . . . Laura, I wish we could do it."
                        
     Laura pulled her over to the small day-bed
by the window and drew her down onto it.
Without speaking, she pulled up the midriff
blouse and also pulled Chanitra's bra
cups up from the bottom, exposing both beautiful
jutting young breasts.  Chanitra's protruding
black nipples gleamed in the moonlight that
poured through the window.

     Laura began squeezing and sucking and
pinching Chanitra's naked breasts passionately,
and Chanitra succumbed completely to the sexual
assault.  She began moaning softly, watching
Laura's mouth on her sensitive
     nipples, throwing her head back as Laura

     sucked her harder. "Ohhhnnnn!"

     "Don't make too much noise," Laura

cautioned.

     "Can't help it."

     "I want your pussy."

     Chanitra giggled softly between moans.
                   "Everybody
wants my pussy."

     "Not as much as I want it," Laura said, her
fingers scrabbling at Chanitra's jeans, trying
to find the zipper.

     "Here, I'll help you," Chanitra said
calmly, reaching down and unzipping them slowly
while her eyes lingered on Laura's.

  "Better not take them all the way off," Laura
                      said.
"We have to hurry."

     Chanitra pulled her jeans down below her
knees so that she could open her sleek thighs
wider.  "How's this?"

    Laura had rarely seen a more entrancing,
                    seductive
sight in her life.  Fully clothed, Chanitra was
wildly desirable, the white beads in her braids
glimmering, her glossy, smooth, perfect skin
glowing in the moonlight.  But now, with her
midriff blouse and bra scrunched up around her
neck, revealing her exquisite breasts, her
nipples stiff and wet with Laura's saliva, her
jeans pushed down around her calves, her white
bikini panties still on, she was enough to kill
for.

     Laura was overflowing with lust.  "Honey,
how could we have stayed apart so long?" she
asked rhetorically, as Chanitra busily opened
her, Laura's, shirt and unfastened her bra cups.
"Oh!" Laura cried out softly as she felt the
girl's wet, sensual lips closing over one of her
nipples.

     From this moment on they went after one
another like two wild animals.  Laura had not
had such hot sex since her catfight with Randi.
She quickly unzipped her slacks and pulled them
down.  They kissed, pushing their naked breasts
together, hands descending.  Laura pulled down
Chanitra's flimsy bikini panties and slipped two
fingers up into the girl's sopping-wet slit,
opening her fingers enough to lodge Chanitra's
hard little clit between them, then rubbing it
hard.

     "Ungghh!" Chanitra gasped, overcome.

     She had her hand in Laura's crotch too, and
even though she was wildly aroused by the quick,
hot fucking Laura was giving her pussy, she too
managed to get two fingers into Laura's flooding
cunt.  She began to fuck Laura's just as
heatedly, both of them gasping and whimpering
uncontrollably.  In the middle of this frantic
fucking, they slipped off the day-bed onto the
floor, squirming and groping, kissing and
sucking.

     "Ohhhhh . . . baby, oh baby!" Laura panted,
crushing Chanitra's half-clothed, beautiful firm
young body to hers, pumping her hand hard into
the girl's hot wet furrow.

     "Laura . . . oh god, Laura!  Ungghh!"

     "Come on, baby, come on!  Come with me . .
. now now!"

     "Anngghh!  Oh . . . oh shit oh yes oh yes
Laura unghh! Ungghh!"

"Oh baby . . . unhmmngghhmmeee!" Laura screamed,
pushing her face hard into Chanitra's gleaming
round shoulder as a hot uprush of coming
engulfed her.

     They both came at the same instant.  It was
a thrashing, groaning, tumultuous shared orgasm
on the floor. Laura couldn't believe how hard
she came, a sensation like rockets of fire
squirting up into her pussy as she and Chanitra
kissed in a fierce frenzy and whimpered through
successive shocks of jolting pleasure.

     It was over as quickly as it had started.
They pulled apart, dazed, their clothes
disheveled and open, their eyes still glazed
over from the sudden finish, the excruciating,
intense pleasure.  Chanitra caressed Laura's
cheek with one finger, a tender gesture unlike
anything she had ever done before.

     "Shit, Laura, I forgot you really know how
to fuck," she said softly, as if in awe of what
they had just done. "Just threw me on the floor
and raped me."

Laura smiled.  "I don't really think it happened
                      that
way."

     "Well . . . I sort of helped, I guess."

     "I guess you did."

     They helped one another to their feet,
rearranged their clothes, and then inspected
each other to make sure they were presentable.
Chanitra crinkled her enchanting nose at Laura,
smiling like a pixie.

     "We gotta do this again."

     We sure do, Laura thought.  I didn't even
get my hands on this gorgeous, hall-of-fame ass.
She looked at Chanitra's magnificent bottom with
renewed lust.  "Let's go to my place."

 "I can't.  Got Cynthia with me.  We're going to
                        a
party.  Tell you what, I'll call you."

     "They all say that," Laura pouted.

     "I will!"

 Laura got to meet Cynthia downstairs as she and
Chanitra were leaving.  Also nineteen, she was
also
ravishing.  She was thinner, less well-built
than Chanitra but with a lovely face and
dangerous eyes, her complexion deep brown-red.
She was what some blacks called a `redbone' and
had an enchanting deep bronze glow to her smooth
skin. Her expression was very bold and
inquiring.  Laura wondered what she might know
about her relationship with Chanitra.

     Laura saw them off, then circulated slowly
through the crowd, trying to figure out a good
excuse to leave.  Again she ran into Yvette, in
the kitchen.

     "Meet me upstairs for a minute," Yvette
                   whispered.
                        
     "We can't do that.  Rhonda will see us.
Your husband's here!  He'll kill us."

     "Just for a minute.  I'll go.  You follow
in a minute."

     Laura wanted to and didn't want to, but
Yvette quickly disappeared, leaving her no
choice.  A minute later she went back up the
stairs, trying to appear as casual as possible.
Yvette was waiting at the end of the hallway and
drew her into Rhonda's bedroom, the master
bedroom.  All the guest's coats were on Rhonda's
bed.

     Laura looked at it.  Both Yvette and I have
made love in that bed, she thought, but not to
each other.  How odd.

     But Yvette was still pulling her hand.  She
pulled Laura into the adjoining bathroom and
shut the door, locking it.

     "God, we can't do this!" Laura gasped.

     But, with a kittenish smile, Yvette had
already dropped the front of the sexy blue
dress.  She was completely naked from the waist
up.  Laura looked at her marvelous breasts and
puffy, glimmering black nipples, her sculptured
clavicles, her smooth chest, her flat midriff.
Yvette had been only her third girl, the third
one she had gone to bed with after Karen and
Rina.

    No wonder I can't live without her, Laura
                    thought.
Anyone would kill for her.  Look at her
beautiful body!

 "Are you going to do anything but look?" Yvette
                      asked
softly, ever the coquette.

     With a soft, muffled groan of defeat, Laura
closed her hands over Yvette's small, perfect
breasts and kissed her heatedly.  "I can't
resist you," she murmured into Yvette's even
white teeth.  "It's been too long."

     "Ummmm . . . much too long," Yvette
murmured back, busily unbuttoning Laura's
blouse, which her own sister had helped Laura
button back up only a few minutes earlier.

     Together they got it off, and Laura's bra
too.  She and Yvette now embraced, purposely
pushing their naked breasts together and
watching their excited nipples brush and kiss.
Laura kissed her smooth black neck, her peerless
throat.

     "God, you are so beautiful."

   "We better hurry," Yvette panted.  "Before
                    somebody
comes up here to get a coat."

     "Yes."

     Yvette held Laura's face in both hands,
gazing deep into Laura's eyes.  Her own dark
eyes watered.  "Laura . . . I've missed you.  I
know it seems like I'm ambitious, and I'll do
anything for my career."

     "You mean like Rhonda?"

 Yvette nodded and looked down briefly, ashamed.
                      "But
no one in my life makes me feel the way you do."

     Laura leaned close and kissed her
unbelievably smooth cheek, her ear.  "I want to
lick your beautiful pussy," she whispered.

  "I don't think we have time for that," Yvette
                     panted
softly.

 But Laura had already cradled both of Yvette's
                      naked
breasts in her palms and was patiently licking
her bulbous black nipples, then sucking them
hungrily.  She was torn between two imperatives.
She and Yvette had not fucked for a very long
time, and Laura wanted to draw it out, enjoy it
fully, completely, lengthily.  But they could be
surprised in here, and they had to get it over
with quickly.

     They were not exactly in a comfortable
situation either, standing up against the closed
door in Rhonda's private bathroom.  Yvette was
beginning to moan and mewl uncontrollably as
Laura devoured her hard, rubbery, wet nipples,
pinching them between her thumbs and
forefingers, nipping them passionately with her
teeth.

     "Oh god . . . Laura!  Unhhhh!"

     Yvette's knees sagged, and her eyes rolled
up.  Knowing they had to hurry, Laura dropped to
her knees, pulling up the expensive dark blue
fabric of Yvette's dress and tugging her panties
down until they dropped at her ankles.  The
skirt of Yvette's dress was draped over Laura's
head like a tent.  It was dim in the bathroom
anyway, and under the skirt it was almost
completely dark.

     But it was easy for her mouth to find the
warm, wet crease of Yvette's beautiful pussy.
It was all buttery and warm and sweetly
odoriferous, as if Yvette had dabbed it with
perfume before coming to the party, in hopes of
this happening.  Maybe she had, Laura thought,
giddily.

    "Unhh!" Yvette gasped sharply as she felt
                     Laura's
tongue slip up into her slippery crack.  "Oh
shit!"

 "Hold on, honey," Laura said, her voice muffled
                      under
the skirt.  "It's going to be a quick ride."

     Yvette's pelvis was already quivering in
anticipation of an exciting climax.  Laura
pressed the flat of her tongue against her clit,
rubbing it harshly up and down, feeling fresh
fuck-juice bathe her lips and hearing tight
little whinnying sounds come from deep inside
Yvette's throat as she started erupting in a
long, convulsive orgasm.  Leaning back against
the door and clutching Laura's head under her
skirt with both hands, Yvette gyrated her groin
up into Laura's mouth, ramming her ass back
against the door at the
same time as she came.  This made violent
knocking sounds

     Laura realized that Yvette, in the throes
of a wrenching orgasm, had totally lost control.
As if hammering the closed door with her
gyrating ass were not enough, she began to moan
loudly.

     "Ahhnnngghh  . . . oh god auungghhh!  Oh!
Ungghhh!  Oh . . . Laura!"

  "Shhhh!" Laura tried to quiet her, awkwardly
                    slipping
out from under Yvette's skirt and standing up
again, embracing her as the aftershocks waned.

     Yvette, trembling and mewling, almost
crumpled in her arms, sagging again, sighing in
a surfeit of bliss.  "Oh god . . . Laura!"

     "Yes, yes," Laura responded, kissing her,
enraptured as well by the experience, wishing
they could stretch out on a bed and fuck
repeatedly.

  Yvette kissed her back, wild with gratitude.
                     "God, I
came so hard.  Nobody ever makes me come so
hard."

     "I wish we could go somewhere."

     "Let's go to your place."

  Laura grinned ruefully.  "You're the guest of
                     honor.
And your husband's here."

     Yvette's face fell.  "I know.  Arthur will
probably want to take me home and fuck me.  He
doesn't know that nothing could ever top this."

     Laura raised one eyebrow.  Arthur had raped
her, a couple of years ago, at the beginning of
her affair with Yvette.  He had kept up a
running commentary throughout it, taunting Laura
with insults about how lesbians fucked.
Laura wondered if he didn't suspect she was
giving Yvette more pleasure than he was.

  Yvette fondled Laura's naked breasts.  She
                    nuzzled
Laura's neck.  "I want you to come too."

"It's so dangerous.  What if Rhonda has to use
                      the
bathroom?"

     Laura was already on Rhonda's shit list
over the Stevie Archer affair, and for April
too.  She didn't need this, since Rhonda had
always been hotly jealous of her and Yvette.
     "Then we have to do it fast," Yvette
smiled.  "Do you want me to use my hand or my
mouth?"

     Just the thought nearly made Laura reel.
This beautiful girl, asking how I want her to
fuck me! she thought.  She and Chanitra,
Yvette's own sister, had handfucked each other
into a frenzy only minutes ago in a room down
the hall.  Now Laura was dying to feel Yvette's
exquisitely sensual lips on her pussy.  She
knew she would come in a few seconds with
Yvette's tongue on her clit.

     "Mouth," she half-croaked, fighting back
her moans as Yvette dropped her mouth to
Laura's breasts and began
teasing and sucking her nipples hungrily.  "Oh
god, hurry!" she gasped, pushing Yvette's head
lower with both hands.

     Together they hurriedly unfastened Laura's
belt and buttons, dropping her slacks to the
floor.  Yvette's slim, dark hands quickly pulled
Laura's panties down to her ankles.  She dropped
to her knees, pulling Laura's thighs open with
her fingers, assaulting Laura's open, festering,
wet, warm pussy with her mouth more directly
than she ever had, just sucking and tonguing it
frantically and wildly, slipping two fingers up
into Laura's greasy furrow too, plunging them in
deep while she sucked Laura's clit.

     Laura was overwhelmed by the quick,
scorching loveattack.  Her knees sagged, as
Yvette's had also moments ago, and she slumped
back against the door, tilting her hips up and
holding Yvette's head in both hands.

  "Unnhhgg . . . unnhhggg!" she groaned, nearly
                     coming
apart at the seams as Yvette rapidly brought her
to a fierce, convulsive orgasm.  "Oh!
Auungghhh!"

She came in furies, ramming her ass back against
                       the
door too, until the wild, erratic hammering
sound it made reached her ears, and with all her
might she forced herself to stop swirling her
ass back into it.  Yvette's sensual lips were
fastened on her clit, sucking it lovingly, and
though her fingers had stopped upthrusting, they
were still embedded deep in her throbbing cunt.

     For a second Laura thought she was going to
lose her balance.  She was woozy from the
overpowering spasms of her climax, and could not
get her breath.  But, smiling, Yvette stood and
pinned her back against the door, kissing her
mouth soulfully while her hand still gently,
tenderly rubbed Laura's still-pulsing slit.

"I love fucking with you in Rhonda's places when
                       she
doesn't know it," she murmured.  "Her office . .
. her bathroom.  Remember when I left a puddle
of pussy juice on her desk?"

 Still flushed, Laura blinked at her.  "Remember
                      when
she caught us?"

Yvette pursed her lips in acknowledgement.  They
                       had
made a fearful racket and were in great danger
of being overheard.  In almost desperate haste,
they helped each other back into their clothes.
As usual, Laura watched mournfully, though
briefly, as Yvette's lovely naked body partially
disappeared again under the sexy blue evening
dress, though there was still lots of her
delicious black skin showing.  Quickly she re-
buttoned her own blouse.  They checked each
other's hair.

     "You leave first," she whispered to Yvette.
"I'll follow.  Looks bad if anyone should see us
both coming out."

   "I know."  Yvette looked sad.  "I miss you,
                     Laura."
                        
  "Kiss me and go.  Call me tomorrow.  Maybe we
                       can
meet."

It seemed she had never seen Yvette look so sad.
                       She
looked back longingly at Laura as she slipped
out the door, and Laura shut it behind her.  Oh
god, I hope no one is
outside in the bedroom or the hallway, Laura
thought.  It must have sounded like two
buffaloes were humping up here.

     But she still had a sweet tingle deep in
her pussy from recalling it.  Finally, she took
a deep breath and left the bathroom herself,
after giving it the once-over to make sure they
hadn't left any telltale traces.  She was
relieved to find no one in the bedroom or
hallway.  Downstairs, Yvette gave her a veiled
look from across the room, and Laura smiled at
her.

     Rhonda, she saw, was busy talking with the
gorgeous Tamara Taylor in the corner.  The witch
is trying to get that darling, shockingly
beautiful girl into bed, Laura thought.  Doesn't
she ever give it a rest?

But she couldn't help staring at Tamara herself.
                       And
the girl felt Laura's eyes on her, as people
mysteriously often did.  She turned her face and
glowered at Laura, as if Laura's eyes had been
trying to rape her.  And Laura, looking away,
wondered if they had been.  She hoped to have
better self-control than that.

Having grabbed her sweater off Rhonda's bed, she
                       was
trying to make a getaway when she ran into April
on the front steps.  Oh great! she thought.
Wild fucking upstairs with the hot sisters.
Arthur lurking somewhere, Rhonda flirting like a
slut, Tamara Taylor ripping me up with her
hostile glance.  And now April, who seems to
have decided to hate me.  Counting Arthur, whom
she would have rather forgotten, that made five
people in this house at one time with whom Laura
had shared a bed.  And some bodily fluids, she
thought, wryly.

  I'd like to share more with April, she mused,
                     finding
April just as attractive as she had at first.
Having come face to face, they could hardly not
say anything.

 "Hi," Laura said, smiling.  "Long time no see."
                        
     "Hello, Laura."

     April was wistful, slightly distant,
uncomfortable.
She thinks I think she's screwing Rhonda, Laura
realized.  I wonder if she is.

    Even though she had had thrilling sexual
                   encounters
with both Chanitra and Yvette within the hour,
Laura realized she could make love to April in a
second.  It was her charming face, her shy,
quiet demeanor, her resentfulness of Laura for
being so promiscuous, a distant aloofness that
Laura was again challenged to overcome, as she
had twice overcome Deshona's remote distrust.
It was also April's body, her incredible tar-
black areolas that spread over more than half of
each breast, so large you couldn't get one
completely inside your mouth.  Her `big' ass,
not so big, Laura thought as she glanced
furtively at it, but just chunky and fine.

     She wanted all of April, and April knew it.

  "I'd love to talk to you," Laura said softly.
                       "We
could go to my place."

     April shook her head.  Her eyes watered
briefly.  Laura was touched.  She wants to, she
thought.  She can't let
herself.
     "Rhonda won't know," she prompted.
  April caught her full bottom lip by her top
                    teeth.
"Don't think I better.  Thanks, though.  You go
on."

     "I wish you'd come too."

     April shook her head.  "Not this time."

     Did that mean next time?  Laura felt her

heart race. Maybe it did.  "Okay," she said

calmly.  "The invitation is open, okay?"

     April smiled, wistful again.  "Okay."