Memories of Flight 109

Memories Of Flight 109

by Ann Douglas

(ann_douglas@hotmail.com)

Peggy Oxenberg paid no attention to the wide-open spaces far below California Air Express' Las Vegas Shuttle as it made a wide banking turn that gave the passengers on her side of the aircraft a breathtaking view. With almost as many hours in the air as the pilot at the controls, the former flight attendant had seen it too many times before to be impressed.

Instead, the forty-six year old vice-president of in-flight operations concentrated on the paperwork she had brought with her to wrap up before she could enjoy her long overdue vacation. It was only two hundred and fifty miles separating Los Angeles, where she was now based at the airline's home office, and Las Vegas, but experience told her that it would still be almost another half hour before they landed. There were always a lot of flights into Vegas on a Friday afternoon and it was normal for them to get backed up over the desert.

The light was already on for passengers to return to their seats and strap themselves in, but the short haired brunette rarely paid attention to such things. After all, since technically, she was the person responsible for all of the attendants on the plane, none of them were about to tell her she couldn't head back to the bathroom when she wanted to.

Coming back up the aisle, Peggy made it a point to mention to the senior attendant onboard how impressed she was with the way his crew went about their jobs. It didn't hurt to let the troops know you paid attention. Truth be told, Peggy sometimes missed the days when she traveled around the country doing the same job as the younger man she was chatting with. There was a sense of freedom about sometimes being in two or three different cities a week and living a carefree life. But nothing lasts forever, she reminded herself once again.

Halfway back to her seat, Peggy had to wait as a passenger got up to put something in the overhead compartment. Standing there, she made eye contact with a rather cute blonde haired woman in the seat next to the woman who had gotten up. With a slim build and long blonde hair below her shoulders, she looked to be in her mid-twenties. Bright blue eyes met Peggy's emerald green's for a moment and she returned the older woman's smile. Then the moment passed and the young lady turned her attention back to the book she'd been reading.

That was another thing she missed from those not so long ago days, Peggy mused as the woman in the aisle sat down and she was able to continue on to her seat. Back then; she could get a lot more than a smile from a pretty woman like that. Not to say Peggy lacked for company when she wanted it nowadays, but with all the changes in her life, the more adventurous aspects of it were just memories now.

By the time she sat down and buckled her seat belt, Peggy realized that there was something more about the blonde bothering her than just a reminder of glory days. The woman seemed familiar somehow, but she couldn't place her. She'd literally encountered thousands of women in her professional life, but only a few had ever made any lasting impressions. And if she'd known a woman like that on a personal level, she was sure she would've remembered.

"Must be my imagination," Peggy told herself as she packed away the last of her papers in her attache case. "Another sign I'm getting older." she silently laughed.

Yet, ten minutes later, the question was still bothering her. So much so that she got back up from her seat and went back to the attendant's station where the senior attendant was wrapping things up as well.

"Is there a problem?" Mike Boone asked when he looked up and saw her standing there.

"No, not at all," Peggy assured him, "I'd just like to take a look at your passenger manifest for a moment, if you don't mind?"

Mike hesitated for a few seconds, for which Peggy gave him credit. That wasn't the sort of thing you normally shared with the passengers. Then again, she wasn't exactly a passenger either, he justified as he took the list out of the drawer and handed it to her.

It only took a second for Peggy to run her finger down the seating chart and find the name, Barbara Owens. A name that drew a total blank to her. Chalking it all up to the imagination it probably was, she thanked Mike and handed it back to him. On the way back to her seat, she made it a point to walk up the other aisle. Taking a last look at Ms. Owens as she passed her row, Peggy still felt like she knew her from somewhere.

"That just shows me that I'm working too hard and I haven't gotten laid in far too long," Peggy grinned as she strapped herself in for the last time. Hopefully, the weekend in Las Vegas would take care of both problems.

-=-=-=-

One great advantage to being a VIP of sorts on the twice daily flight, was that Peggy was off the plane before just about anyone else, and her luggage was waiting for her by the time she got to the terminal. Along with a cab that got her to her hotel while others were still waiting for their suitcases. By the time any of them reached their hotel check ins, Peggy had already unpacked, changed into a comfortable, sleeveless black blouse and a cream colored skirt, and was heading for the casino to try her luck.

"There has to be some mistake," Peggy heard a woman's voice say as she crossed the lobby.

She automatically turned in the direction it had come from. In this case, the front desk she had checked in at a short time before. Normally, she would've just continued on her way, but Peggy found herself stopping in her tracks when she saw that the voice belonged to the woman from the plane.

Curious, and in no real hurry to lose her money at the blackjack table, Peggy moved a little closer to see what was going on. She walked up to the small display of pamphlets on the far end of the counter, picking one up about helicopter tours and pretended to read it.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but I've checked it twice," the white haired desk clerk, whose name tag read George, said as he looked away from his computer screen. "We don't have any reservation for a Samantha Owens."

"But I know the girl who does our company's travel arrangements made the reservation," Samantha insisted. "It has to be there."

The clerk gave a shrug of his shoulders, as if he believed that the woman was just another person who'd shown up without a reservation and was trying to bully her way into a room. He'd seen it too many times to give it credence, but he went through the motions and checked a third time, with the same results.

"Wait a second," Samantha said before he could move on to the guest who was waiting behind her to check in, "check under Thomas, Samantha Thomas, they might have put it under there."

The blond haired businesswoman remembered at the last minute that she'd recently informed the personnel director that she planned to go back to using her maiden name now that her divorce was final. That might be the reason for the mix-up.

"Sorry, no Thomas either," the exasperated clerk said as he now insisted that Samantha step aside and let those with valid reservations check in.

"Oh my God!" Peggy gasped as the memory she had been trying to earlier recall suddenly became crystal clear.

The name might not have hit home with the hotel clerk, but it certainly did with Peggy. The girl had only been nineteen when she'd met her for a brief moment some five years before, but she'd made a quite lasting impression.

It had been on Flight 109, the redeye out of Newark to Los Angeles, and now that she'd made the mental connection, Peggy remembered it like it was yesterday. Samantha had been one of the two women who'd had an in-flight sexual encounter in the bathroom while most of the other passengers dozed their way cross-country.

One of the reasons Peggy remembered the incident so clearly was, aside from having been incredibly turned on by them as she listened outside the door, the then senior flight attendant had given her card to the older of the two, Barbara Logan, as she disembarked. On the back of the card had been her number and an invitation to dinner. An invitation that the New York based lawyer had taken her up on.

Much more satisfying activities had followed dinner, to be repeated two more times while both of them were in Los Angeles. They had never crossed paths again, but the memory of that weekend had remained in her mind. How amazing it was, Peggy thought as she put the flyer back in the cardboard holder, to run into the other half of that daring duo after all this time.

"Excuse me," the older brunette said as she stepped up to the center of the countertop, ignoring the people that had been waiting behind Samantha. "Is there a problem?"

Normally, the man behind the desk would've been further annoyed, but he immediately recognized Peggy as being an official with an airline that put up its crews at the hotel, even keeping a room all the time for emergencies. Ignoring the man behind Samantha who was trying to hand him his reservation confirmation, the clerk gave Peggy his undivided attention.

He quickly outlined the girl's problem, and insisted that while he was of course sympathetic, there really wasn't much he could do. It was Friday, after all, and the hotel was fully booked as it was. Perhaps the young lady could try one of the lesser-known establishments?

"I think that maybe you just aren't looking in the right places," Peggy suggested, along with the thought that maybe if he couldn't find this young woman a room, which obviously someone on the hotel staff had misplaced the reservation for, then perhaps the manager might be able to find one."

"No Ma'am," I'm sure that there won't be any need to involve him in this," came his quick reply after Peggy voiced her thoughts.

Peggy let him squirm for a minute or two, using the time he checked the list of rooms again to fully take in the younger woman who now looked at her with a sense of deliverance.

"You were on the plane." she said as she recognized Peggy.

"Yes I was," she smiled back before turning again to the clerk, the look on her face now saying she expected an answer.

"Ma'am, I have looked at every room we have in this place," George said in frustration, "and we don't even have a utility closet that we could put a cot in."

Peggy hadn't really expected any different answer, although she didn't appreciate the crude imagery he used to emphasize the point. She had merely been using the time to come up with an alternative of her own.

"Does that include the rooms that were reserved for the California Air crews?" Peggy asked.

"Yes it does," he replied. "All six rooms are being used."

"Being used, or filled up?" Peggy asked, already knowing the answer.

"Well," George said, his tone reflecting the fact that he'd not taken that into consideration. "Both you and Mr. Boone have rooms to yourself, as do Captain McCarthy and Mr. Wilson. The others are all doubled up."

All three of the men he mentioned had private rooms based on their seniority. Technically, as a vice-president, Peggy could move them around if she wished. McCarthy and Wilson were pilots and it wasn't a good idea to play with their prerogatives. The fly boys were often touchy about things like that. Mike Boone, on the other hand, was in her chain of command and she was sure he wouldn't mind being put in the position where she owed him a favor.

"Well, why don't we do this," Peggy suggested, "have one of the bellhops move my things into Mr. Boone's room, then this young lady can have mine."

"Oh no, I couldn't," Samantha immediately interjected.

"Hush," Peggy said to her as she held up her index finger for emphasis.

George looked at Peggy for a moment, considering what his own manager would make of it all. Not that he wanted to call and get his opinion. He also wondered why the airline official was so willing to share a room with a male subordinate.

As he called for one of the bellhops, George came up with two possible explanations. One, that the older woman had something going on with the quite attractive young man he remembered from other visits to the hotel. Or, that the young man was a little too attractive and had no interest in women at all, making it perfectly safe for her to share a room.

Had she been able to read his mind, Peggy could've assured George that neither was the case. The last man she had been intimate with was three decades in the past, back in high school. As for Mike Boone not being interested in women, one of the reasons he liked being a flight attendant was that it allowed him to keep the large number of women he was involved with far apart from each other. His story was the modern equivalent of the old girl in every port.

It also now occurred to Peggy that Mike being Mike, and this being Vegas, he undoubtedly already had something, or someone, lined up for this evening. If that was the case, then Mr. Boone was about to learn that sometimes, one had to make sacrifices, no matter how much they hurt. It was a lesson Peggy had learned herself over the years.

"Please, Miss ..." Samantha started to say, then realized that she didn't even know the name of the woman who had come to her aid.

"Peggy, Peggy Oxenberg," she offered, pausing a breath to see if there was any recognition. A foolish thought really, since they had never actually been introduced.

"Miss Oxenberg, I really can't take your room," Samantha said, her voice reflecting the gratitude of the offer, "as much as I need someplace to stay. If you really want to be that generous, let me share it, and pay half the cost."

"The room is already paid for," Peggy said. "I work for the airline."

"Then let me show my appreciation in another way," Samantha offered.

Peggy had to bite her tongue to keep from saying the first thing that popped into her head. The mental image was bad enough to evoke a physical reaction between her legs.

"Why don't I take you out to dinner?" the blonde went on. "I don't know about you, but that snack they served on the plane really wasn't worth what we paid for it."

"You do remember that I just said that I work for that airline."

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

"That's okay, I thought it was somewhat lacking as well," Peggy grinned.

Samantha smiled back with relief.

"Okay, this is what we are going to do," Peggy said as she now included George once again in the conversation. "This young lady and I are going out to dinner, assuming of course the hotel restaurant doesn't have a problem seating us as well."

"No Ma'am," George insisted, "I'll call ahead personally."

"Good," Peggy said. "As I was saying, while we go out to dinner, you can have your bellman here move her luggage up to my room. We'll wait until we get back from dinner until we decide anything else, but I'd like you to explain what's going on to Mr. Boone when he checks in. So that if I do need the spare bed in his room, he can adjust his schedule accordingly. Is that simple enough?"

George quickly agreed, and was more than relieved when the two women set off in the direction of the restaurant, leaving him to finally take care of the small backlog that had formed behind them. Thankfully, few of the other guests seemed too put off by the delay. In fact, some had found his obvious distress somewhat entertaining.

-=-=-=-

As busy as the hotel obviously was, they didn't really need the desk clerk's call to be assured a table. Many of the guests, at least those not practically living in the casinos, preferred the low cost buffets to a sit down dinner. Knowing this, Peggy suggested that Samantha follow her bags up to the room and take the time to shower and change into something more comfortable. Which in this case turned out to be an outfit much like Peggy's, only in red and white.

The call had been enough, however, to point out Peggy as someone the hotel management wanted to keep happy. With that in mind, they were met at the restaurant entranceway a half hour later by the hostess. She quickly showed them to one of the more preferred tables, away from the noise of both the kitchen and the casino. The long haired brunette assured them that their waitress would be along in a few moments.

"This is really very nice," Samantha said as she looked around the half filled room.

"Aside from the self important nincompoop at the desk, this is really a good place to stay." Peggy replied.

"I really did have a reservation," the younger blonde said, feeling a little defensive.

"I never doubted that you did," Peggy smiled back, putting to rest any thought to the contrary.

"My, look at all these choices," Samantha said as she opened one of the menus the hostess had left. "Everything looks so good."

"Might I make a suggestion?"

"Of course."

"The veal scaloppini here is so good that it almost melts in your mouth," Peggy said. "That is if you like veal." she added, realizing that for all she knew, Samantha could just as well be a vegetarian.

"That sounds excellent," Samantha said as she closed the menu and laid it flat on the table.

Peggy followed suit, deciding she would have that as well. She was about to ask Samantha what brought her to Las Vegas when they were interrupted by the appearance of their waitress. On her tray, she was carrying two glasses of wine.

"Compliments of the house," she said as she laid them out on the table.

"That was nice of them," Samantha said.

"It's nice to see you back, Miss Oxenberg," the twenty-something waitress said as she slid the now empty tray under her arm and took out her order pad.

The use of her name caused Peggy to look up and see the woman. not just the uniform. Normally, that wasn't something she was guilty of, but she had been giving Samantha her full attention.

"Oh hi, Bridgett," Peggy said to the buxom blonde once she recognized her. "It's nice to see you again. I'm sorry I didn't realize it was you at first. I guess I was a little preoccupied."

"That's okay, I understand." the waitress replied with a knowing smile as she glanced in Samantha's direction.

Whereas many people in her profession usually remembered you by the amount you tipped, Peggy knew from the look Bridgett gave Samantha that she also recalled her by the number of times the older woman had dined here with various women across from her. While women weren't her partners of preference, it was obvious to Bridgett that they were Peggy's. Once she had realized that, the blonde made it known as nicely as she could, it wasn't the way she liked to play. She didn't have any reason to think Peggy might be interested in her, but some things were best said out front she always thought.

"This is Samantha Owens," Peggy said as she introduced her dining companion. "We sort of met on the plane ride here and I was helping her sort out a problem with her reservation."

It was important for Peggy that Bridgett not automatically conclude that Samantha fell into the same category as the other women she had seen her with. It would be wrong, she thought, to make assumptions based on a single incident so many years before.

"You're the two that gave George such a hard time at the front desk," Bridgett said with an appreciative grin, proving once again that nothing travels faster than gossip. "It couldn't have happened to a nicer asshole," she added in a lower voice. "It's amazing that they didn't fire him a long time ago."

She quickly took their orders, promising to make sure the chef gave them special attention. Peggy took a taste of the wine, after which Samantha did the same.

"By the way, it's Thomas, not Owens," she said as she put down the glass. "I guess I have to get used to that again."

"Bad divorce?" Peggy asked.

"Is there a good kind?" Samantha asked in turn.

"I guess not," Peggy replied, even though she knew of a few instances where divorce was the best course of action for everyone concerned.

"I really want to thank you again for coming to my aid like you did," Samantha said as she changed the subject and took a little more of the wine. "It still puzzles me why you did it though, me being a perfect stranger and all. Not that I'm not grateful that you did."

"How about we just say I've been in bad predicaments myself and leave it at that for now."

"Fair enough."

They exchanged a few more pleasantries until they were interrupted by the quick arrival of their dinners. True to her word, Bridgett had seen that the chef gave it his special attention, even moving their order up in front of another couple that had ordered the same meal. He had no love for the irritating desk clerk either.

"You were right, this is really great," Samantha said as she started on the veal.

Peggy joined her and, as they worked on the meal and a second refill of the wine, they learned a little more about each other. Peggy told of her life as a flight attendant and how she also managed correspondence courses that gave her a degree to go with the wealth of practical knowledge she had gained over the years. A combination that had led her to the position she held today.

Samantha had been born back East, but came to California to go to college. She had a degree in business administration and worked for a medical supply company in Pasadena. She liked the people, but was looking for something more challenging in her life.

"You never married?" Samantha asked as one of the busboys cleared away their now empty plates.

"That kind of life isn't for me," Peggy replied, thinking that was a true enough answer.

"I wish I could've said the same thing two years ago," Samantha said, her voice again shifting to a harder tone when she discussed her marriage. "I think I might've been happier."

"We don't have to talk about that," Peggy said, taking note that it was a sensitive subject.

"No, it's okay, I can't move on with the rest of my life if I keep trying to avoid it completely," she replied after taking a deep breath. "There's not much really to tell when I think of it. We met in college, got married, and somewhere along the way went from bliss to misery. I can't tell you exactly where it all went wrong, just that I woke up one day and realized that it wasn't where I wanted to be."

Any comment that Peggy might've made then was lost as Bridgett returned to see if they needed anything else. Perhaps a nice dessert, she suggested.

"I think I'm pretty full already," Samantha said, thinking that it was rare for her to eat every bit on her plate as she had just done, "but you get something if you want."

"I think I'll pass," Peggy replied. "The last thing I need is a few more pounds to go with the extra ones I already have."

"That's ridiculous," Samantha offered. "I think you look great. Too many women starve themselves to fit some fashion model concept of what a woman is supposed to look like. As long as you're healthy, who cares if you put on a few pounds. After all, you said you're on vacation, didn't you."

But even as she thanked her for the kind words, Peggy again declined the suggestion of dessert, saying maybe they'd have something later after she'd digested the dinner. Samantha handed Bridgett her credit card to pay the bill, declining the older woman's attempt to put the meal on her expense account.

"Well we have a choice," Peggy said as they exited the restaurant. "We can hit the casino and see what kind of luck we have, or take a little walk and work off the veal."

"It looks like a lovely night out there," Samantha noted.

"A walk it is then."

-=-=-=-

For the better part of an hour, the two women strolled down the famous Las Vegas Strip, taking in the sights and sounds of all the famous hotels. The temperature was in the low nineties, but the lack of humidity made it bearable. Even so, both women were glad they had changed into more comfortable attire before dinner.

They passed the MGM Grand and the Aladdin, moving up along Caesar's Palace until they turned around once they reached Circus Circus. All the while, they continued the conversation they'd started over dinner, learning to enjoy each other's company more and more.

"Look at how well we get along," Samantha said as she admired the lighting display at Bally's. "Isn't it a little silly for you to move out of your room instead of sharing it with me?"

"Well, I have my reasons," Peggy said.

"Such as?"

"Such as they're mine and not open to discussion," Peggy grinned.

"Well I'll tell you what," Samantha said as she came to a stop in the middle of the block. "Unless you can give me one really good reason, I'm not going to take that room. I don't care if I have to sleep in the lobby."

Peggy sighed and looked at the younger woman. Her heart was in the right place, but the brunette was sure that the minute she answered that question, their new found friendship was going to go right down the tubes.

"Well?" Samantha repeated in a semi-serious tone as she crossed her arms in a show of forced impatience.

"I'm a lesbian," Peggy said, unable to think of anything better than the truth to say.

"And why would you think that would make a difference if we shared a room?" Samantha asked. "Unless you were planning on trying to seduce me or something?"

"No, nothing like that," Peggy quickly replied. "I just thought it might make you uncomfortable, that's all."

"Good, cause as seductions go, this one was rather lame," the younger blonde laughed, trying to make light of it all.

"I guess I'm a little out of practice," Peggy rejoined with an equally large smile on her face.

"So do we have all of this out of the way now?" Samantha asked.

It would've been so easy for Peggy to say yes, to hold anything else back and hope that her previous knowledge of the young woman walking with her never came up. But that wasn't the person she was. Even if it cost her a lot, and many times in the past it had, she had always been totally honest with people.

"There is something else," she said, "something that you might not like."

"I'm a big girl, I can handle a lot," came her reply.

"Okay, but let's keep walking," Peggy said, gaining herself a few more moments to phrase what she wanted to say. "I'd rather people not listen in on our conversation."

Now more curious than anything else, Samantha began to again walk down the wide boulevard.

"I really not sure how to say this," Peggy confessed. "I'm usually not at a loss for words."

"Straight up is usually best," Samantha suggested.

"Okay," Peggy said, taking a deep breath. "First off, we're not exactly perfect strangers. We have met before, not that we were actually introduced or anything like that."

"Really?" Samantha said in surprise. "When was that?"

"About five years ago."

"You're kidding, right?"

"No, I'm quite serious."

"Wow, I must've been twenty or twenty-one."

"Actually, I remember it being pointed out to me that you were nineteen at the time."

"Pointed out to you by who?" Samantha asked, thinking that might help her remember what Peggy was referring to.

"I'll get to that in a minute."

"Okay, all I can say is that I must've made one hell of an impression."

"That's funny, those were almost my exact thoughts when I remembered you."

"But where did I meet you?"

"Okay, but remember you asked."

"I'll remember."

"Does the name, Barbara Logan, ring any bells?"

"Barbara Lo... oh my God!"

"My reaction exactly!"

Samantha was stunned beyond belief, the words just wouldn't come. She took a few steps in the opposite direction, trying to come to grips with what Peggy had just told her.

"How... how did you know about me and Barbara?" she finally managed to say.

"Flight 109, Newark to LA, remember?" Peggy added. "I was the senior attendant on that flight."

"You saw us?"

"Not saw exactly, but I was right outside the bathroom," she confessed. "I didn't have to be gay to know what was going on inside."

"How do you know Barbara?"

"We sort of had dinner after the flight," Peggy admitted.

"Dinner?"

"Well, dinner and then, well we kind of spent the weekend together," Peggy added, the admission needing no further embellishment as to what the admission entailed.

"I can't believe it," Samantha said, concentrating on the main point of her confession. "Do you know I can't even get on an airplane without thinking about that time in the bathroom."

"Well if nothing else, it does seem to have cured you of your fear of flying."

"You could say that," Samantha grinned.

"And you're not mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad?"

"Well I just thought if ... well just that ... I guess I just thought you wouldn't believe that I was really just trying to help a girl in need and not just trying to get you into my bed. I didn't want you to think that, especially after I got to know you a little better.

"I might've thought that before," Samantha admitted, "but not now."

Peggy smiled at that news, then reached into her purse and took out her cell phone. She asked Samantha to excuse her for a minute. Hitting a number on speed dial, she was quickly connected with the party she wanted.

"Mike, hi, it's Peggy Oxenberg," she said into the small receiver.

The blond haired girl tried to pay more attention to the people passing around them rather then the conversation. Without much success.

"Did the desk clerk give you my message?" she asked, pausing as Mike answered that he had. "Good, and I appreciate the fact that you're willing to help me out," she added, taking his acquiesce as a given.

There was a gap as Mike confirmed what she had taken for granted.

"Well I have some good news for you," Peggy beamed, "I'm not going to need that spare bed after all. So you can call back whatever lovely lady you were going to bless with your company this evening and tell her the coast is clear."

Whatever the flight attendant's reply was, it made Peggy laugh.

"Oh, one other thing," she said before bringing the call to a close. "I still owe you one, even though it turned out I didn't need the favor. Have a good night dear."

"That was nice of you," Samantha said as Peggy put away the phone.

"Just doing the right thing," Peggy replied. "It comes from having worked your way up the ranks. You remember what it was like to be on a lower rung."

-=-=-=-

Continuing their walk, Samantha and Peggy soon found their way back to their hotel. It was still relatively early by Las Vegas standards so they decided to have a drink in the bar. The ambient noise of the crowd let them continue their chat without anyone really overhearing what it was about.

"Samantha, can I ask you a question?" Peggy asked as she leaned close to her companion. "It's kind of personal so I'll understand if you say no."

"Ask away," the slim girl said as she took a large sip of her drink.

"Barbara told me the story of what happened on the flight, but I've always been curious about one thing."

"Only one thing?" Samantha laughed.

"Well, a couple of things," Peggy laughed as well as she brought her own glass up, "but I didn't want to go over the line."

"Ask all the questions you want," Samantha replied, signaling the bartender for another round for the two of them.

"Was that really your first time?" Peggy asked as she picked up the new drink.

"Actually, it really was," Samantha admitted, "and there are times I still can't believe it happened the way it did. I mean one minute I'm in the bathroom, trying to calm my nerves about flying, then next thing I know, Barbara had her tongue in my mouth and her fingers in my pussy." she added in a much lower voice.

"She forced herself on you?" Peggy asked in disbelief.

"No, that's not what I meant," Samantha quickly corrected Peggy. "I invited her to stay, and I should say that I was calming my nerves by masturbating when she came to check on me."

A wave of relief washed over Peggy, as the account now matched the version she had heard from Barbara. She hated to think, even for a moment, that a woman who had shared her bed could have done such a thing as she had imagined.

"Was that your only time?" Peggy asked, figuring that she might as well satisfy her curiosity while she could.

"No, it wasn't," Samantha grinned. "I guess what happened made me curious enough to try it a few more times while I was in college. I had been too nervous when another student actually came on to me at a party when I was a freshman. So when the opportunity arose when I was a sophomore, it was something more familiar and exciting rather then new and scary."

"Well they say college is the place for learning new things," the older woman laughed.

"Then, Ross came along, that was my husband's name in case I didn't mention it before," Samantha said, draining the second drink and signaling for a third. "We got married a month after graduation."

"So that was the end of your experimentation."

"I thought so, but, not really," Samantha said as the two now empty glasses were replaced with fresh ones.

"You had an affair while you were married?" Peggy asked, wondering if that was the cause of the divorce.

"No, not an affair," she answered as she started on the new drink.

Peggy left hers sitting on the bar as she tried to figure out the meaning of that answer. Thankfully, Samantha explained it right after.

"About a year into our marriage, after the bloom started to wear off, I made what I realized now was the mistake of telling Ross about my bi experiences."

"He was angry with you about them?" Peggy asked, thinking that some men can't handle the idea that their wife or girlfriend might be into women as well.

"On the contrary, he was excited about it," Samantha laughed as she took more of her drink. "Isn't that supposed to be every guy's dream, to have a wife who'll do him and another woman?"

"So the two of you had a menage a trois," Peggy said in understanding.

"Three of them actually," Samantha blushed, "with three different women. All of them a mistake."

"Why?"

"Because they were for the wrong reasons," she answered. "Oh I'll be the first to say the sex was good. It even gave me a little charge to watch Ross screwing a pussy that I had just been licking. But sex games just seemed to cover up other problems, and when I decided not to play anymore, those problems became worse. Until finally, I realized that there wasn't anything worth staying for."

"I'm so sorry for you," Peggy said as she watched Samantha drain the bottom half of her glass. "I'm also sorry for asking what I realize now was a painful question."

"Don't be," Samantha said as she waved off the bartender's offer of another refill. "It felt good to actually say that to someone. It wasn't exactly the kind of thing I could've said to my mother, or one of my girlfriends at work."

"It's getting a little late and it's been a long day," Peggy said, "maybe we should call it a night and we can tackle the casinos tomorrow."

"Okay." was the younger woman's single word reply as she opened her bag to get a bill to pay for their drinks.

"No, this time I pay," Peggy insisted as she dropped a twenty on the counter and took hold of Samantha's arm to lead her to the exit.

"I'm not drunk you know," Samantha said as she headed for the door under her own volition.

"I didn't think you were," Peggy replied. "I just thought it was a good idea to stop before one or both of us was."

That, Samantha agreed, was a good idea.

As they took the elevator up to their ninth floor room, Samantha waited until they were the only ones left in the car, then asked Peggy a question of her own.

"Did you really jump on that desk clerk and help me out because I was a lady in distress," she asked, "or was it that I was someone you wanted to get in the sack?"

Two more floors passed by before Peggy answered.

"I really did want to help you," she said, "but I'll be honest enough to say the other possibility flashed through my mind once or twice."

"Just wanted to know," Samantha said noncommittally as the doors opened on their floor and she stepped out into the hall, leaving Peggy to quickly catch up.

Using the key that Peggy had given her before, Samantha opened the door to the room and turned on the lights as they entered inside. She tossed her bag on a chair and sat down on the closest bed, letting out a sigh as if getting off her feet had suddenly made her realize how tired she was.

"Oh, I just remembered, there was one more question I wanted to ask you," she said as she watched Peggy close and lock the door behind her.

"Ask away," Peggy said as she turned around and dropped her own bag on the small desk.

"What the fuck are we still doing with our clothes on?" the twenty-five year old unexpectedly asked.

"Excuse me?" a surprised Peggy asked.

"Look, let me be totally honest here," Samantha said, causing Peggy to wonder what she called what she had been down in the bar. "I came on this little jaunt to celebrate my divorce now being final and to get away from everything else in my life for a few days. I planned to party a little, lose some money I probably couldn't afford to lose, and maybe, meet some guy that was totally wrong for me and wind up fucking his brains out. But now, after spending the last few hours getting to know you, I think I'd rather spend this weekend with you..."

"... and fuck my brains out?" Peggy said as she cut her off, not believing she had actually just asked that question out loud.

"It wouldn't be the worst way to spend the evening I bet," Samantha grinned.

"I have to be getting old," Peggy thought as she considered the situation. "What happened to the days when I wouldn't even have to consider if this was something that I should do?"

"What do you say lover?" Samantha asked as she rose off the bed. "Is it going to be me and you, or should I head back to the bar and see if I can find Mr. Wrong. Hey, you said that Mike guy was supposed to be really something in the sack. Do you think he might be up for a late night encore?"

Peggy was sure Samantha was just kidding about Mike, but not certain about the part about going back to the bar. She did know that just the possibility that she was serious filled her with an unhappy feeling. One that told her that she didn't want the blonde haired woman to go.

"I'm probably going to regret this in the morning," Peggy said in way of an acknowledgment.

"Then I'll just have to make sure that you don't," Samantha grinned as she stepped forward and threw her arms around Peggy, pulling them together.

-=-=-=-

Their lips met, and Peggy quickly felt herself falling deep into a whirlpool of longing. She closed her eyes, taken aback for a moment by the strength of the woman who had just taken her in her arms. Not her physical strength, although there was a hint of that, but of the power of her desire, which was clearly, and quickly evident.

Samantha pushed her probing tongue deep within Peggy's mouth, massaging the tip of its counterpart as it reached out to greet it. Peggy returned Samantha's kiss with equal fervor. Their tongues danced erotically, spreading a warmth that soon filled every part of their bodies. A second kiss followed, then a third, until it was impossible to tell when one ended and another began.

Peggy smiled and her mouth opened wide to take in Samantha's tongue once more. As they kissed, Samantha's hands cupped the taller woman's large breasts, rubbing her thumbs against the hard nipples that instantly came to life at her touch, despite the twin layers of cloth that covered them. Peggy moaned in soft delight, even as their mutual explorations grew with abandon.

Peggy sought out Samantha's mounds as well, hindered only by a single layer of clothing. With smaller, but no less rounded breasts, the blonde haired woman hadn't bothered putting a bra back on when she had changed clothes before dinner. It was an omission that thrilled Peggy to no end.

An excitement that prompted her to seize the initiative, sliding her hands down across Samantha's stomach, to take hold of the bottom of her sleeveless blouse. The younger woman was quick to catch on and lifted her arms high to make Peggy's task easier. With one quick motion, she pulled the shirt up and off Samantha, letting it fall free from her fingers as soon as it was clear.

Even before the shirt left her hand, Peggy's deep green eyes dropped to the twin treasures she had just unveiled, her focus quickly coming to rest on the small, quarter sized areola that capped each one. Never one to under appreciate a smaller bust than her own, Peggy easily covered both of them with outstretched palms, then pressed the center fingers of each hand against the dark pink circles, squeezing the tiny nipples between them.

Samantha responded with a gratifying purr. A sign of delight that grew in volume as Peggy squeezed the soft flesh in her hands, even as her mouth again sought out Samantha's, to once more share in the arousal of her kiss.

Not totally willing to let Peggy control what was happening, and fueled by an agenda of her own, Samantha moved her hands around Peggy's waist. Her fingers closed on the clasp holding the cream colored skirt and worked it free, followed right after by the zipper beneath it.

Freed from all restraints, the skirt fell free, falling about Peggy's ankles. Not even pausing in her explorations of Samantha's tiny breasts, Peggy stepped out of the skirt and pushed it to the side. No sooner had it been discarded, Samantha brought her hands back up along the older woman's legs, across the pink panties that covered the plump cheeks of her ass, and then inside the narrow elastic waistband of that undergarment. >From there they again came to rest against the rounded flesh of Peggy's ass, this time with not even that flimsy material to bar her way.

"Mmmmm," Peggy moaned as she felt Samantha's fingers press hard against her ass, massaging the flesh with the same eagerness that the brunette was applying to the equally inviting globes in her own hands.

By accident or instinct, Samantha had quickly located one of Peggy's most sensitive spots. A find confirmed by the response of the older woman's body. Acting on that cue, the blonde pulled Peggy's cheeks apart and probed the even more susceptible area between with her fingers.

"God yes," Peggy gasped as tiny electric sparks raced from between her legs, carrying the touch of Samantha's fingers across her body with lightning speed.

A touch that grew in intensity as Samantha worked her right hand across Peggy's hip, to caress the dark haired pussy from the front as well. A smile filled the blonde's face as she felt the dampness of the bushy mound against her fingers. A wetness she had caused.

Samantha's bright blue eyes grew with expectation as she probed the warm opening, working her way past the tight folds. She pushed a single finger in slowly, pausing ever so slightly to listen to Peggy's quiet sigh of delight. Then, just a little faster, she stroked the walls around her finger. After a long, breathless minute, she added a second finger and began to stroke Peggy's pussy even harder. A move that brought an instant rise in the volume and frequency of her moans.

Samantha's thumb found the hard tip of Peggy's clitoris, and began to work a similar magic on that as well. She could feel the results of her motions in the body pressed tight against her own. A body already quivering with the tremors of an urgent need. A gentle quaking that was accompanied by an ever changing mix of sounds that spilled from Peggy's lips.

Sounds that couldn't form words, but the meaning of which were crystal clear, echoed through the room. Too long without such comforts as she now enjoyed, it hadn't taken much to remind Peggy's body what she had been missing.

The skill with which Samantha worked her way into Peggy's sexual core brought with it a sudden realization. An awareness that she had judged the younger woman which a preconception that had been oh so wrong.

A large part of her, despite the intimacies Samantha had alluded to after dinner, still saw the twenty-five year old as that scared teenager in the bathroom of Flight 109. Locked in time as an inexperienced girl, unsure of herself and needing to be treated with pronounced care. It was an image she had carried for almost five years.

That view was forever shattered in one searing moment as Peggy felt the young woman play a concerto with her excited clitoris. A concert so deft as to demonstrate a well practiced hand. It was not the equal of some of the lovers the brunette had shared her bed with over the years, but it was hardly that of the neophyte she had imagined Samantha to be.

Samantha banished that appraisal forever as she slipped out of Peggy's arms and dropped down on bended knees. She slowly pulled down the brunette's pink panties, taking her time to appreciate the beauty of the dew-covered mound. Then she reached out with both hands and parted the folds like the petals of a rare flower.

Her action revealed a beauty she appreciated even more as she pressed her head forward and brought her mouth and tongue to that blossom that her fingers had just vacated. The gentle, moist touch of both was enough to cause Peggy to tremble even more, as the strength faded from her legs in one quick rush. She leaned back against the small table behind her for support, even as she reached down and placed her hands on Samantha's shoulders. A burden the topless woman freely accepted, encouraged in fact, as she intended to fill the woman before her with an even more draining euphoria.

In a short time more, Samantha had Peggy moaning like the teenage girl the latter had mistakenly imagined her to still be as the blonde woman's tongue slid back and forth, teasing her clit for a moment, then drawing circles across the equally sensitive flash around it. Then she would reverse direction and work her way back again.

Samantha inhaled deeply, taking in the fullness of Peggy's warm and musky scent, even as she licked and explored more of her most intimate places. She could feel the brunette's body quaking against her, held in place only by the support of her new lover's form pressed against her. Uncontrollable waves of ecstasy washed over Peggy with resounding force, growing more intense with each repetition.

Peggy found herself in a place she hadn't been in far longer than she liked to admit. A bliss of which, now that she had been so wonderfully reminded of, was one she didn't want to give up. But she knew all too well that it was a joy that came with a cost. An ephemeral quality that made it all the more precious. The only consolation to its passing was that it always saved the best for last.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Peggy cried out, her yell echoing off the walls of the hotel room as her body became, if only for a handful of heartbeats, the stuff of heaven indeed.

Slowly, as the waves of passion faded, Peggy managed to stand again on her own and staggered over to the closest bed, dropping down on the edge of it. As she caught her breath, she thought back for a few seconds to Barbara's recounting of her encounter with Samantha back on the plane. Time restraints had prevented her from having the then much younger woman take a turn between her own legs. If she had, and Samantha had exhibited half the skill she just had, Peggy was sure it wouldn't have been her that Barbara would've been spending that weekend with.

"It's a pity that we didn't keep in touch after that," Peggy mused as she consigned the memory back to where it belonged. "I'd love to send her a little note, telling her that her little girl had certainly grown up."

"Still think that you're going to regret this in the morning?" Samantha asked as a satisfied look, not unlike that of the cat that ate the canary, filled her face.

"Only if I'm foolish enough to let you out of here before then," Peggy grinned, her own visage filling with anticipation of what was to come.

A expression that caused Samantha's heart to race even faster as she closed the few steps between them and joined Peggy on the bed.

-=-=-=-

Their lips again met, as Peggy captured Samantha's mouth with her own, the taste of her own orgasm fresh on the younger woman's tongue. As they continued to caress the other's mouths, Samantha's hand moved down to the buttons of Peggy's blouse, expertly undoing them in quick fashion.

"I guess you have done this before," Peggy laughed softly in-between kisses.

Samantha replied with a small smile, as she pushed the now open shirt back over the brunette's shoulders and down her arms. Large, heavy breasts, twice the size of her own strained against a matching pink bra. The erect nipples outlined clearly against the tight material.

As soon as her blouse fell from her arms, Peggy reached back and undid the clasp that held her bra in place. Released from the tension that held it against her body, the undergarment fell forward into Samantha's waiting hands.

"Oh my," Samantha said in appreciation as she took in the full size and shape of the older woman's mounds.

"They're too fat," Peggy noted self-consciously as she compared herself with the thinner woman, thinking the depreciating comment applied to her whole body.

"No, they're beautiful," Samantha quickly objected. "You are beautiful." she added as she leaned forward and kissed Peggy again.

Samantha kissed Peggy on the mouth one more time, then began to work her way down. She ran her lips across the brunette's neck, as her hands cupped the large globes she had just so admired. They felt so warm in her hands, so large and different from her own.

Soft kisses reached the deep valley between Peggy's mounds, leaving a trail of wetness and quiet moans. Tilting her head to the right, Samantha kissed, then licked the thick nipple that jutted out from the wide dark areola. Then she took the hard nub into her mouth, sucking it hard while her fingers played with the surrounding flesh.

"Oh yes!!!" Peggy cried out in encouragement.

An encouragement Samantha hardly needed as she continued to suck on her breast for a few moments more, then transferred her attention to the equally large mound to her left. One that was just as sensitive and receptive to her touch.

Her experience with other women might've been quite limited, at least when compared with Peggy's, but it was enough that she knew what turned her on. In the end, it had been one of the few things she shared with her now ex-husband. They both loved women with big boobs, as he liked to call them.

Samantha continued to move back and forth between the two mammary delights, licking and sucking on the now enlarged nipples, alternating between soft kisses and small, hard bites. Her teeth and tongue became extensions of her will, spreading the lust that was slowly reaching a boil within her.

As much as Peggy was enjoying the attention, she was hardly willing to just lay back and not participate. Moving ever so slightly, as not to break Samantha's delightful contact with her mounds, the dark haired woman reached down and rubbed one outstretched palm between Samantha's legs, even as the other worked loose the skirt around them, letting it fall free once the full length zipper had become undone.

As she expected, the small patch of material that still covered the blonde's pubic mound was thoroughly soaked with her excitement. The confirmation of her expectation sent a new rush of excitement through her.

Almost as much as the one that accompanied the realization that Samantha's panties had no elastic band, but were instead held on by two small knots at each end of her waist, much like the bottom of a bikini. Peggy wasn't sure if they were the latest style, she really didn't keep up with such things, but they sure made for easy removal. Especially when you only had one hand to work with and you didn't want your partner to move off you. Samantha's choice of those particular panties to wear seem to confirm her earlier statement that one way or another, she planned to get laid tonight.

As the panties came apart in Peggy's hand, she saw that Samantha was almost bare beneath them. Only a light layer of peach fuzz remained, on which glistened shiny droplets of nectar. It proved more than Peggy could resist and she gently lifted Samantha's head from her breast and twisted their bodies on the bed so that the younger woman was now on all fours and she was situated behind her.

Parting the cheeks of Samantha's ass, Peggy pressed two fingers deep within her saturated womanhood. Such was her level of arousal that they slipped inside without resistance, but not without a cry of delight from the young blonde. Peggy quickly worked her fingers back and forth. covering them with the nectar of Samantha's stimulation, and sending a pulsing wave of pleasure across her prone form.

"Oh baby," Samantha called back over her shoulder as she tilted her head and smiled in approval of her lover's touch, "that feels so very nice."

"Then this should feel even better," Peggy grinned as she bent even closer and kissed first the blonde's right cheek, then her left, then back to the right as she worked her way closer and closer to the prize between them.

"Oh God yes!" Samantha cried out even louder as Peggy's tongue found its mark, coming to rest on the most excited part of the smaller woman's body.

Samantha's moans grew more vibrant as she felt Peggy's tongue darting in and out of her, lapping at her sex with unbridled fury. It had been months since anyone had touched her there, and that hadn't produced anything like what she was feeling now.

Peggy had started slowly, but then quickly moved to a much quicker pace, not even giving Samantha time to take it all in. The ripples of joy that spread out from between her legs began to blend together, until they seemed to be just a constant state of ecstasy.

Samantha's body now responded to her every touch, rising and falling with her every thrust and withdrawal. All the while, the fires within continued to burn and grow, racing to an explosive eruption. A release that Samantha didn't want to enjoy too soon as she never before realized just how the simple phrase, getting there was half the fun, could be.

A new realization had also come to Peggy as she savored the sweetness that her ministrations had already brought forth. In all of her encounters with other women, and there had been more than she cared to try and count in the years since she and Judy Kline had first played doctor back in junior high school, she had never before been with anyone who had also been with another of her lovers. That she was bringing the same woman to orgasm that Barbara had also once enjoyed, gave her an unexpected sense of added excitement.

Peggy paused in her efforts, lifting both her and Samantha into a kneeling embrace. They kissed once more, then she worked her way down to the blonde's small breasts. The tiny pink circles easily fit into Peggy's mouth and her tongue played with them like a little girl with a piece of candy. A candy that started out soft but quickly grew hard, as did the love bites she lavished on them.

Not to ignore the pearl of pleasure between Samantha's legs, Peggy kept it simmering with the dexterous workings of a free hand. Things began to move at an even faster pace.

Samantha lifted herself off the bed and up against the headboard, inviting Peggy to once more replace her hand with a much more pleasing appendage. The brunette was more than happy to take up that offer as she spread Samantha's legs and moved right in. Bracing her back against the wall, Samantha afforded her even greater access by bringing up her left leg to rest on the top of the headboard.

Peggy's tongue was a blur of motion, stimulating and drawing pleasure from deep within Samantha. Every flick of her tongue, every gentle caress, made the raging fires burn even hotter.

Again they shifted positions, this time with Peggy down on her back and Samantha over her, her bent legs on each side of the brunette's head. Peggy reached up and used her hands to again open wide the gates of heaven. Riding the crest of the older woman's tongue, Samantha reached down and played with first her own breasts, then the much larger versions below her.

Leaning even further forward, she slid her hand between Peggy's legs, stroking the brown haired mound within. A mound just as saturated and excited as her own. She rubbed it in a frenzied motion, working her fingers as deep within as she had done before.

Peggy now had her arms wrapped around Samantha's legs, her face pressed tight against her open sex, her tongue reaching far within. The waves of passion crashing across the woman above her were reflected in her own body as she could feel the pressure within crying for release.

A release that Samantha wanted to once again share. She dropped her body forward, held in place by the grip of the woman beneath. Her mouth replaced her hand, and in less time than she thought possible, she was again enjoying the honeyed ambrosia she had tasted earlier.

Despite her relative inexperience, at least when compared to Peggy, her skill at cunnilingus proved more than equal to the task. It was helped of course by Peggy's own already heightened state, and her slowing down her own efforts just enough to let Samantha catch up.

Back and forth they rocked, their bodies quaking and covering with the sweat of their lovemaking. Locked in an erotic rhythm, they moved as one, licking each other hard and deep, each of their bodies pressing tightly against the other. It had become a contest to see who could bring the most pleasure to the other, and which of them could hold out the longest.

A competition that had no loser as one, then the other climaxed with such force that it was later be impossible for either of them to remember who had been first. The heights they had reached brought them crashing down in a span of heartbeats. A free fall that was, for the brief moments it lasted, a journey through the gardens of nirvana.

-=-=-=-

Their bodies remained locked together till the dawn. Neither one of them ever made it to the casinos, or enjoyed any of the other enjoyments Vegas had to offer. Nevertheless, both considered it the best vacation either of them had ever had.

The best part of which was, unlike most of Peggy's encounters, this one didn't end with a kiss goodbye and separate cabs to the airport. Using her position with the airline, the vice-president of in-flight operations secured them two first class tickets for the trip back to Los Angeles on the midnight flight.

On the way, she told Samantha about a position with the airline that she was sure the younger woman was more than qualified for. That was if she was really looking for something more interesting than medical supplies. She would have to get the job on her own, she added, but a good word from her might make all the difference.

Samantha thanked her, saying that she would give it some thought, then went back to the book she had been reading. The seeming disinterest made Peggy's spirits drop. Perhaps, she though to herself, it had been too much to hope for that this weekend might lead to something more.

"People do act differently when they're on vacation," she reminded herself as she glanced out the window at the star filled sky. "I guess reality has already began to sink in."

It was a sadness that still hung over her ten minutes later, when Samantha got up from her seat. She looked about the mostly empty cabin for a second, taking note of how many of their fellow passengers were taking advantage of the late hour to catch up on the sleep they didn't get in the twenty-four hour city.

"I have to use the ladies room," she said in a casual, nondescript tone.

Peggy merely shrugged in acknowledgment, not even bothering to look up from the report she had taken from her briefcase and begun to read. She didn't even notice that, for a few seconds after that, Samantha hadn't even moved.

"I might be in there a while," the young blonde leaned over and whispered. "I'm feeling a little nervous."

"What?" Peggy said a few seconds later as she looked up, only to see that Samantha had already walked the six rows between them and the first class facilities.

Now that she was sure that Peggy's eyes were upon her, Samantha paused after opening the door to one of the two rest rooms. The twenty-five had the most mischievous grin the older woman had ever seen on her face. A look that was both impish and inviting. Then the door closed behind her, but after a few seconds more, Peggy also noted that the small in use sign on top never went from green to red.

Dropping her report back in her case, Peggy rose from her seat and started down the aisle after her. Perhaps, she thought as her heart fluttered with a renewed excitement, the vacation wasn't over after all.

END

Ann Douglas Web Page

http://www.asstr.org/~Ann_Douglas/

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