Forbidden Threshold

Carol parked on the street and double-checked the address; it was correct. She looked again but didn't see anything resembling a store, just a two-story residential house. There was a wooden sign outside that read "Perfectly Natural."

"Well," Carol said to herself, "I guess this is it."

It was midweek on a quiet street in the quiet town of Oliver under a partly cloudy springtime sky. The light green walls of the house contrasted with the gray shingled roof. It appeared to be an older house but still in good condition, at least from the outside. It was one of the nicer houses on the street, not that any of them were shabby. That was another hallmark of the town, a generally consistent appearance of the various houses and domiciles, nothing too fancy, nothing decrepit, no mansions but no hovels either. It had been one of the things that Carol had noticed when she'd first toured the town and had been a factor in her deciding to move there. The house was on the edge of town; behind it was a creek and on the other side of the creek were foothills and beyond that, in the not-too-far distance were the mountains. It was an idyllic, relaxing scene. Nothing was amiss. She got out of her car, crossed the street, and walked up the tiny, paved path to the front door.

A small sign in the window next to the door said Open. A handwritten note on the door itself said to come on in. Carol opened the door and heard the tinkling of little chimes as she did. Inside the house there was in a small entry foyer. There were stairs leading up, a small hallway leading back, and an open entryway on either side of her. The entryway on her left led to a formal dining area, very nice but unoccupied by either people or wares. The entryway on her right led to what appeared to be the store and where her feet took her.

She looked around. The room had a rustic, homey feel and look to it. The walls were mostly covered by wooden bookcases that went most of the way to the ceiling; between the bookcases were old-style wallpaper, with faded floral patterns. On the shelves were any number of sealed containers and paraphernalia. The wooden floor creaked under her shoes as she walked around. There were three waist-high two-shelved glass display cases in the room, arranged in a horseshoe, with various plants, buds, and samples displayed within each case. She looked at the various products but couldn't see much difference between them. Lighting was provided by several lamps and was soft and natural; there was no harsh fluorescent lighting. There was one other doorway which was covered by a beaded curtain.

"Hello?" Carol called out.

"Be right there," a female voice responded from the back room. Carol waited. After a couple moments she heard approaching footsteps and then a woman brushed through the beaded curtain and took up position behind one of the display cases.

"Hi," the woman said, smiling brightly at her. "I'm Zora. Welcome to my store."

Carol didn't want to use the word "hobbit" to describe Zora, but that was the term that immediately sprang to mind. Zora was no more than five feet tall. Her dark hair was cut so short that it was almost a buzz cut. She wore a flowing lilac blouse over a long skirt that didn't hide the fact that she was overweight, maybe not obese, but not far off it either. She wore thick eyeglasses that seemed to magnify her brown eyes so that Carol found her gaze penetrating.

"Uh, hi," Carol said. "I'm here to buy weed."

"Well," Zora said, "you've come to the right place. Which ones are you interested in?"

"Um... I don't know."

Zora cocked her head to one side. "You don't know," she repeated.

"Yeah, so, my ex-boyfriend would always buy the weed, and he never said what he bought. So, yeah, weed."

"Ah," Zora said. "Well, quick lesson, then. All of it falls under one of two strains, sativa or indica. We've got several strains of sativa," she said, indicating the contents of one case with a sweeping arm. "We've got Blue Dream, Jack Herer, Sour Diesel, and Ghost Train Haze. If you're looking for Indica," she said, indicating another case with her other arm, "we have Afghan Kush, Northern Lights, and Granddaddy Purple. And finally, we have some hybrid strains," she said, indicating the third case, "such as Ice Cream Cake, Purple Gelato, Blue Cheese, and Triangle Mints. They're all laid out in the cases; go ahead, take your time and have a look."

Carol looked through the cases at the various strains but honestly had no idea which ones were better than others or which ones she'd prefer. Out of the corner of her she thought she saw Zora look her up and down as if checking her out. She thought of saying something but wasn't sure and didn't want to be rude if she was wrong.

"Anything strike your interest?" Zora asked her.

"Honestly," Carol said, eyes going back and forth from case to case, "I don't know."

"What are you buying it for?"

"I don't understand."

"I mean, are you interested in treating pain, reducing stress, or just getting high?"

"Reducing stress."

"I'm guessing that what you used before was mostly CBD. Did you want to continue with CBD, or do you want to try something heavier with a larger concentration of THC?"

"I don't know what the difference is."

"Well, putting it simply, CBD is if you want to get a little high, and THC is if you want to get really high."

"I probably just want something basic, so CBD, I guess. Although..." Carol drifted off for a moment, biting her lip as she thought about it.

"Go on," Zora said.

Carol laughed. "I guess I'm good with whatever you recommend."

"Whatever I recommend, huh?" Zora said and it looked to Carol like wheels were turning in Zora's head.

"Within reason, of course," Carol added.

"Of course, of course," Zora said. She adopted an air of thinking on it, even putting her index finger on her chin while looking down, tapping lightly once, twice. Then she said, "How adventurous are you?"

"Not so much," Carol said.

"Maybe adventurous is the wrong word. How willing are you to try new things?"

Carol thought of answering that in the negative but instead asked, "What are you thinking?"

"So here's the deal," Zora said. "I've been talking with one of my suppliers about a new strain that they have. Supposedly it's really good. Would you like to be the first to try it?"

"Um... maybe?"

"If you try it and don't like it, I won't charge you. Promise. I'll even give you a discount on the first purchase. Worst case, it'll give me an idea which type you might like best. Best case, maybe you'll love it. I bet you'll love it. It'll just be a couple days. Do you mind waiting?"

"No," Carol said, "that's fine. I'm not in a rush."

"Great." She went over to a cabinet and from one of the drawers drew out a memo pad and a pen. "What's your name?"

"Carol."

"Carol, I'm so glad to meet you." She put the pad and pen down one of the counter tops. "If you don't mind, write down your number and I'll text you when it's in." Carol did so.

"All right, then," Zora said. "I'll text you in few days. See you then. Have a good day." She held out her hand to Carol.

"Yeah, thanks, see you then," Carol said, shaking Zora's hand before she left.

She spent the next few days largely unpacking moving boxes. The little one-story place that she was renting wasn't huge, basically an upscale cabin, but it had enough space for her. There were two bedrooms, one that she made into her workspace, setting up her workbench along one wall and hanging a shelf above it for her pens, pencils, and markers. And the entire place cost no more each month than what her smaller previous apartment had cost in the city.

That Friday, Carol got a text from an unknown number that read: "Your order is in. Pick up anytime. Zora."

At 5 PM, Carol got in her car and returned to Zora's shop. It was a bright sunny day, which Carol took as a good omen. Carol walked into the store and Zora immediately came out from behind the beaded curtain to greet her.

"Hey!" Zora said. "Glad you're back." She was holding a small handcrafted wooden box.

"Of course," Carol said, "looking forward to seeing what you have for me."

"Glad to hear it." Zora put the box down on the counter and motioned Carol to come closer. Zora opened the lid and Carol saw that there were several pre-rolled joints inside. They looked no different to Carol than any other joints she'd seen.

Zora reached in and took one out. "Here," she said, holding it out to Carol.

"Thanks," Carol said. "How much?" she asked, starting to reach into her purse.

"I'll make you a deal," Zora said. "The first one's free."

"Oh no," Carol said, mockingly, "I've heard that's how they get you."

"They're entirely correct. But seriously, this one's free but you should probably smoke it here. I'm serious when I say it's strong. You don't want to be on your feet for a while, let alone driving. I have a nice little room back here you can use. Deal?"

"Deal."

"If you like, I'll join you, keep you company. Also gives me a chance to get to know the new person in town. One second." Zora walked to the front window and turned the sign from Open to Closed, then locked the front door. "Closing time anyway," Zora told Carol.

Zora led her behind the curtain and Carol followed, finding herself in a den. The walls were wood paneled, there was a gas fireplace in the right-hand wall, and the opposite wall had windows looking out into the back yard. There was a wooden fence up on both sides of the yard separating that space from the neighbors but was open to the small ravine behind the property. There were a couple of wooden chairs in the room with cushions and one dark green sofa facing the windows; none of the furniture was new but it was all in seemingly good condition. Wreaths and small hanging flower baskets covered much of the walls except for a bare portion of the slanted left wall, next to the doorway into the kitchen. The sunlight through the windows lit the room nicely. It all seemed very pleasant.

"I used to have some art work hanging there," Zora explained, indicating the bare space on the one wall, "but I traded it at a fair a few months ago. I'm still deciding what to hang up there in its place. Anyway, sit, sit."

Carol sat on the sofa as Zora grabbed a lighter off of the little side table. "All right," Zora said, "no time like the present so let's begin and see what happens."

Carol put the joint between her lips and Zora lit it. She took a hit and immediately felt her head start swimming. She blinked rapidly and even coughed a little. "Wow," she said.

"I know, right?" Zora said. "I did warn you."

"You did; you did." Carol took another hit. "Yeah, this is... something."

"Glad you like."

"I do." Carol settled back against the cushions and felt all the tension go out of her at the same time as she felt a low-level sense of euphoria wash over her. Whatever Zora decided to charge her next time, Carol thought, she'd probably end up paying it, and gratefully.

"That looks good," Zora said, "I think I'll join you." She went back in the other room and came back moments later with her own joint. She sat in the chair opposite from Carol and lit up.

"Careful," Carol said, "it's strong."

"Oh, I'm not smoking what you are," Zora said between puffs. "I have my own favorite that I partake of."

The two women sat there in the den for a while, smoking, mostly silent but occasionally chatting.

"This place is so cozy," Carol said at one point. "More like a home than a store."

"Well, that's because it is a home," Zora said. "It's my house; I live here."

"That's convenient," Carol said and giggled. "I didn't know you could do that."

"Er, you can, with the right permits. It's not easy, though. A lot of places wouldn't let me run my shop from here. One of the great things about living in this village is that the zoning board likes me."

"I've only just moved here but it does seem a great place."

"What brought you here?" Zora asked.

Carol shrugged. "I was ready for a change. I came out here for a weekend, liked what I saw, decided to put down roots." Carol wasn't ready yet to say more about her reasons for moving but luckily for her Zora had already moved onto the next question.

"There's not that many jobs out here, so I'm guessing you're working remote. What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a freelance artist," Carol said. "Nothing too fancy or outrageous but enough to pay the bills. I've got a pretty wide client base, mostly small or medium-size businesses, and I still pick up new clients from time to time. I like it. I get to be paid for being creative and largely set my own hours as well. It's a good living."

"Sounds it. Okay, next question if you're ready for it."

"Shoot."

"Why my store? There are two larger dispensaries down the highway, not too far a drive."

"I don't know. I wanted some place close by. Besides, I looked them up online and hated the look of them. All very garish, neon and fluorescent lighting, kind of seedy looking. So I asked around and the girl down at the tavern, I forget her name..."

"Louisa. She buys from me pretty regularly. She's good people."

"Yeah. She recommended your place and here I am."

"And I'm glad you're here, not just in the store, but in our village. Hopefully you'll be staying."

"Oh, don't worry," Carol said, laughing. "I'm definitely staying now. You got me hooked."

"That's what I wanted to hear," Zora said, smiling.

They continued smoking and chatting for a while.

"I see you keep looking over at the blank space on the wall," Zora said.

Carol blinked. She'd been in her happy place, not a care in the world, when Zora's statement snapped her out of it. That, and she didn't realize that she'd been noticeably staring at the space. "Yeah," she admitted.

"I've been trying to think of what to hang there," Zora said. "I've got some framed photographs, but I don't know which is right. You wouldn't mind if I hung one up and got your opinion on it would you?"

"Sure."

Zora left the room and Carol heard her walk upstairs. A minute later she returned holding a frame. She hung on the wall and stepped aside so Carol could view it. It was a color photograph of a redheaded woman, professionally shot and lit, against a silver background. The model was nude, not a stitch of clothing on her, which is how Carol could tell the model was a natural redhead. The model was standing at an angle to the camera, staring down, one hand by her hip, the other running her fingers through her hair.

"What do you think?" Zora asked.

"It's..." Carol said and stopped. She wasn't sure what to say.

"When I first saw this piece, it really spoke to me. Does it speak to you?"

"Um, no, not really. Listen, don't you think that's a bit... much?"

"Much?"

"Yeah, I mean, most people don't display paintings of a nude woman in their homes." She shrugged.

"Oh, I don't know," Zora said, appraising the piece. "I don't think there's anything wrong at all with the female form. I think it's perfectly natural." She looked at Carol. "Get it? Perfectly natural?" she said, winking.

"Yeah, yeah," Carol said, smiling despite the bad joke, "like the store name."

"Precisely." She sighed. "But, I suppose you're right..." She took it off the wall and put it on the floor, facing the wall, leaning against it.

Carol had finished her joint and the sight of a framed photograph of a nude woman had snapped her out of the trance-like feeling that she'd had. "I think I'm okay to drive," she said, "and I should be going."

"Are you sure?" Zora said, looking questioningly at Carol.

Carol's head was still swimming a little bit, but she thought she was good to drive and at any rate was ready to head home. "Yeah, I am," she said.

"Okay," Zora said. "I'll walk you to the door."

They got up and went back into the showroom. "I was thinking maybe I'd buy one or two joints before I go," Carol said.

"About that," Zora said, "I know this is going to sound weird, what with me being in the business of selling marijuana, but if you don't mind I'm going to hold off on selling you anymore for now. What you just had is strong and I'm betting you won't need any more for several days. That, and for this first time we should make sure there aren't any side effects."

"Side effects?" Carol said.

"Don't worry, I'm sure there won't be any, but better safe than sorry. Why don't you come back same time next Friday and get more then? And if you really feel like you need more before then, you can always text me or just come on over."

"Okay, deal," Carol said.

"Great." They walked to the front door. As Zora opened it, she told Carol, "I'm glad you came by. It was great meeting you. Looking forward to seeing more of you."

"Yes," Carol said, "it was nice meeting you too. Goodbye." She walked out, got in her car, and drove away. She had to concentrate a little bit more than usual on the drive, but she lived nearby so it was short.

She had herself a wonderful if not exciting night, curled up on the sofa with a bag of chips and diet soda as she watched some of her favorite streaming shows. She went to sleep that night feeling good about herself, about the move, and her decision to try out Zora's weed. That night she dreamed about the redheaded woman in the photograph; in the dream she was the one behind the camera shooting the nude model, telling her how to pose. She promptly forgot about the dream after waking.

Over the next week, Carol continued to settle in to her new community, including unpacking the last of the moving boxes (seriously, where did she get so much stuff) and setting up autopay online for her utilities with the village. She was getting to know some of the people in the community, even if she wasn't learning their names. There was the middle-aged clerk at the post office; he didn't smile but he seemed helpful enough and more than willing to tell her how the electronic payment system was more of a pain than a help. There was also the elderly grocer at the local market who always greeted with a nice smile and seemed sincere when asking how she was doing. She knew Louisa at the tavern, but Carol only went there a couple of times; she wasn't much of a drinker, it was just that there wasn't much else to do after hours. The most interaction and discourse she'd had with anyone in the town was with Zora. Thinking of Zora made her remember how much she'd enjoyed partaking of the woman's product. It was just as good as Zora had advertised and the sense of relaxation had lasted for several days, which Carol loved. By the end of the week Carol was looking forward to returning to Zora's and having some more.

That Friday, Carol returned to Zora's, with Zora greeting her at the door. The small wooden box with the joints was lying on one of the glass countertops in the showroom.

"What do I owe you?" Carol asked, remembering that she had to pay going forward.

"You can pay me before you leave," Zora said. "I was hoping that you'd smoke it here again."

"Sure," Carol said. Other than the weird moment with the framed picture, she'd enjoyed chatting and smoking with Zora last time.

Once again Zora closed up shop and led Carol back into the den. There was still the blank space on the wall with Zora not having replaced it with a new picture yet. The women sat down -- Carol on the couch, Zora in her chair -- lit up and drifted away. Carol thought it was just as good as the first time and that she could quickly get used to this. They continued to chat a little separated by long pauses. Zora told Carol about how she'd inherited her house from her folks after they'd passed away.

"So tell me," Zora asked her after a while, "what brought you to move to our little community? I mean, really. I know it's nice here but it ain't that nice."
Carol was resting her head on the back of the sofa, gazing at the ceiling. She sighed as she pondered how to respond. "I was tired," she said. "Stressed. Work had been going slow. My relationship was ending and that was a whole ball of fun let me tell you. I started seeing a therapist, which wasn't cheap. My therapist was the one who told me I was stressed out; I'd been in self-denial about it, thinking I was too strong to let things get to me. Stupid when I think back on it. She made a general suggestion once about a change of scenery and that got me thinking about why I was living in the city. I'd primarily moved there to be with my boyfriend and he was moving out. I started thinking about where I really wanted to be. I wanted a change from urban living. I researched online and found this town. It looked beautiful. It is beautiful. I liked how peaceful it looked, how tranquil. I liked how it was the anti-city -- no traffic, no crowds, no noise. I took a weekend to visit, and it was just like advertised online. I found a place that was renting and signed a lease. I went back to my apartment, closed out, packed up, moved out here." Carol paused before adding, "I'm sorry, I know that was a lot."

"No," Zora said, "I was happy for you to tell me. I'm glad that you moved here and I'm glad to have met you."

Carol smiled. "Thanks. I feel the same."

"I've picked out a new photograph for the wall. Ready to tell me what you think?"

Carol was a little trepidatious, remembering last week's photo. But she silently chided herself, telling herself there was little chance of it being as brazen as last week's photo. "Sure," she said.

Zora stepped out, came back a minute later, and hung it up. Carol took one look at it and realized that she'd been wrong about it not being as brazen. It was a professional photograph of two completely naked women. They stood against a blue background. Both were dark-haired, both were similarly young and thin. Their skin was pale and their pubic hair was dark.

"So," Zora asked her after hanging it up, not looking at Carol but appraising the work herself, "better than last week's, right?"

"Um," Carol said. "If you don't mind me asking, where do you get these photographs? I mean, you're not just printing them off in your home, are you?"

"No, I collect them. There's a few places online you can order them. I also have a couple photographers that I stay in touch with who are happy to ship a print to me every now and then."

"I don't want to be rude, but I got to say, I don't think it's appropriate to display stuff like that in front of other people."

"Why's that?" Zora asked, turning to look at Carol.

"I mean, they're nudes."

"Do you ever go to art museums, Carol?"

"Yes."

"Do you look at any nude figures in those museums?"

"That's different."

"I don't think it is," Zora said, sitting back down in her chair. Carol noted that she left the picture hanging up and didn't take it down; Carol did her best to ignore it while Zora kept talking to her, even though the picture was in her field of vision and facing her where she sat on the sofa. "To me, there's nothing more natural than appreciating the human form, particularly the female body. Women are beautiful. There's nothing wrong with a woman displaying her beauty to others, particularly another woman. It's perfectly natural."

"So," Carol said, "I don't know the nicest way to put this, or if I should even ask..."

"You want to know if I'm a lesbian," Zora said, completing Carol's thought.

"Yeah."

"I am. That's okay, right?"

"Yes, of course, I wasn't..."

"I'm only teasing," Zora said, laughing. "It was fun to see you nervous there for a moment, though."

"Ha," Carol retorted, "very funny. Are there a lot of other lesbians around? I mean, it's a small place."

"There are more lesbians around than you might expect," Zora said with a knowing smile, "but you're right, it's a small pond around here with very few fish. I haven't been seeing anyone in a few years."

"Do you get lonely?" Carol asked.

"Yeah," Zora said. "I'd like to have someone in my life. But that's okay. Besides, I've got a plan on how to meet someone."

"A plan, huh? Spill."

"If I tell you, it won't be a secret any longer."

"Okay, keep your secrets, then."

"I will," Zora said, smiling at her.

Carol paid for the weed; it was a far more reasonable price than she'd expected. "A friend's discount," Zora said as she finished processing Carol's card. Zora then saw her to the door and gave her a quick hug. "See you next week," she said.

That night Carol dreamed that she was in the studio with the two nude models from the photograph she'd seen earlier. They were waving to Carol, as if trying to get her attention. They seemed agitated. "Don't trust her," they said. Carol woke up feeling disturbed, but then the day progressed and soon enough she forgot it.

In the week after her second visit, Carol found herself starting several new drawings. She felt inspired and couldn't recall the last time she felt so good, a state that she attributed largely if not entirely to Zora's weed and companionship. She was already looking forward to her next visit. She wasn't bothered by Zora being a lesbian; she was straight, but she thought everyone should be free to love who they wanted to. Carol had known a couple of women in college who were lesbian, although she hadn't been close with any of them. At one point Carol did wonder if Zora had any sexual interest in her, but she dismissed the thought, told herself she was being silly. Besides, she thought, if she ever did decide to play for the other team, which would never happen, Zora would not be her type.

She returned to Zora's the next week, affirming the pattern of the last couple of visits. Zora greeted her at the door, sold her the weed, allowed her to smoke it in her den. Again the bare space on the wall to begin with and again Zora hung up a new picture after Carol had settled in. It was the same as before except that the picture on the wall was of two nude women kissing. It was hard to tell if it was the same two women as in last week's picture or a different couple. After hanging up the photo, Zora sat down again, but not in her chair. She sat down on the couch, at the other end from Carol, the middle cushion a gap between them. Zora didn't ask Carol her impression of the photo or discuss it at all. She didn't take it down either but left it hanging up there in clear view.

"You never told me who your supplier is," Carol said, turning towards Zora, looking for something to talk about to take her mind and attention off of the framed photo.

"My supplier?" Zora said.

"For the weed."

"I've got a couple contacts out on the coast," Zora said.

"Growers?"

"No. Old friends of mine who are biochemical experts. They work in the pharmaceutical industry."

That gave Carol. "Pharmaceuticals?" she said.

"Yeah, but nothing bad. Cutting edge stuff, really. Anyway, I've known them a long time and we try to do favors for each other when we can."

"I thought weed was supposed to be all natural."

"Oh, it is. Don't worry, what you've been taking isn't artificial in any way. It's..."

"Don't say it, I can guess."

"Perfectly natural," Zora said, completing her thought regardless of Carol's attempt to preempt her.

A little later when it was time for Carol to leave, Zora both hugged her and kissed her quickly on the cheek. Carol didn't mind. Zora was a friend and she was being friendly.

Her next visit to Zora's was more of the same, at least to begin with. She was in her deep and relaxed funk when Zora announced that she had a new picture to get Carol's opinion on.

"Let me guess," Carol said, "it's another framed picture of nude women."

"Not quite," Zora said, rising and leaving the room, "you'll see in a moment."

When Zora returned and hung up the new picture, Carol realized that she'd been wrong. The new framed photo was a close-up of an aroused vagina. The clit at the top was prominent, peeking out from under its hood. The flesh was very pink.

Zora sat down right next to Carol on the couch and put her arm around her shoulders. "What do you think?" she asked.

Carol, between hits, said, "I think you have a type."

Zora laughed heartily. "Ain't that the truth. But seriously, what do you think?"

Carol shrugged. She didn't really want to look at the picture, but she was finding it hard to look away. It contrasted wildly with the otherwise tranquil vibe that Zora had going on in the den.

"Let me guess," Zora said, "you probably think I shouldn't display something like that."

Again, Carol shrugged. That was precisely what she thought but it seemed rude to say it. "It's your house," Carol said.

"It's okay, I'm sure a lot of people feel that way. I just never have myself. To me, there's nothing more natural than a woman's sex, nothing more perfect than a beautiful woman displaying her beautiful body." Zora paused before adding, "I love cunt."

Carol winced slightly at the crude term but said nothing.

"I love everything about cunt," Zora went on. "I love how beautiful it is. I love how it looks. I love how soft it is. I love how it tastes. Don't you agree?"

Carol took a particularly long hit. "Can't say that I do," she said after a moment. Carol thought that the photo and conversation should have bothered her a lot more than it was. She briefly wondered why it wasn't.

"Oh, that's right," Zora said, "You're not a lesbian."

"Nope."

"You should give it a try sometime. I bet you'd like it."

"Sorry, not interested."

"Really? Never thought about it at all?"

"Nope."

"You should think about it. I think you'd like being with a woman. I think you'd be very happy with a woman."

"Pass."

Zora sighed. "A shame. A lot of women would enjoy being with you. You're very attractive."

Carol felt Zora's fingertips lightly and slowly stroke up and down on the back of her neck. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Zora was looking at her. She didn't return the gaze but kept looking forward, which unfortunately did mean that she was continuing to look at the open vagina displayed on the wall.

"I bet that under those clothes that you're even better looking than that model on the wall," Zora said.

Carol felt a faint nervous tingle as Zora's fingers stroked her neck. "I'm sorry," she told Zora, "That's not me."

"That's okay," Zora said, removing her hand. "Can't blame a girl for trying." She leaned over and gave Carol a quick peck on the cheek.

"I think I should get going," Carol said. "I've got a piece I'm working on I need to get back to."

"Are you good to drive?"

"Sure," Carol lied. She really wasn't sure if she was good to drive but she was going to do her best. She just really wanted to be alone right then.

"Okay," Zora said. "Can I still expect to see you next week?"

"Sure," Carol said, and immediately regretted how eager she sounded.

Zora saw her to the door and briefly kissed her on the lips before she left. When she got home, she went straight into her bedroom and undressed, peeling the wet panties down her legs. She got her vibrator out of the top dresser drawer, fell back into bed, and masturbated until she fell asleep.

That night she dreamt that she was sitting nude in Zora's den. Zora was there and was taking photos of Carol. "I love how beautiful it is," Zora was saying to her in the dream. "I love how it looks. I love how soft it is. I love how it tastes." Then, via dream magic, Zora instantly produced a framed print of the photo she'd just taken and hung it on the wall. It was the same vagina Carol had seen earlier but in the dream she knew it was hers. When Carol woke, she remembered the dream and, unlike other recent dreams, she didn't forget that one; rather, it plagued her the rest of the day.

The next night Carol stopped in at the tavern and nursed a beer until Louisa was free to talk for a minute.

"You're a regular customer of Zora's, right?" Carol asked after Louisa had finished loading the dishwasher.

"That's right," Louisa said, wiping her hands on a towel.

"Have you ever had any weird interactions with her?"

"Weird? No. Wait, what do you mean by weird?"

"Just out of the ordinary."

"No, all pretty routine. Why, did something weird happen between you and her?"

"No." Carol didn't want to talk about her last visit at Zora's or give any details about it to Louisa. She wanted to ask Louisa if Zora had ever hit on her, but she couldn't ask that; that would just open the gates on Louisa asking too many questions in turn.

"How often do you smoke at her place?" Carol asked.

"What?" Louisa said.

"You smoke at her place sometimes when you shop there, right?"

Louisa gave a weird look at Carol before answering, "No, I've never smoked there. I go in, buy my stuff, and take it home. Far as I know, no one smokes there except Zora herself. Wait, have you smoked there?"

"Only a couple of times."

"Wow. Zora must like you."

"Yeah, I guess." Carol said. She finished her beer, paid her tab, and left.

Carol kept dwelling on the whole thing over the next several days and considered not returning to Zora's. But, as the days went on, the odd feeling of it faded, replaced by Carol's craving for more of what had become, by then, her favorite treat.

So it was that the next week, at the usual day and time, she found herself driving over to Zora's almost before she had even decided to. Zora greeted her at the door wearing a sleeveless one-piece dress, similar to a muumuu. It was floral-patterned but quite shear and Carol strongly suspected that the other woman wasn't wearing anything underneath it. The outline of Zora's breasts and even her nipples was discernible through the cloth. Carol tried not to stare or show her unease.

"I hope you don't mind," Zora said once they were inside and the door closed and the sign in the window flipped from Open to Closed. "The AC's out and it's too hot in here for me, so I decided to dress down."

"That's all right," Carol said. For her part, she thought it was a tad warmer than usual but hardly hot. "Dress as you like."

"Thanks, glad you agree." Zora handed Carol a joint and escorted her into the den.

A little later with Carol in a nice, pleasant haze, Zora smiled at her from her chair. "Ready to see the next picture?" she asked.

"I don't suppose you'll just hang up a nice little photo of flowers in a vase or something?" Carol asked.

"You'll find out in a moment," Zora said, rising from her seat.

In the minute that Zora was away, Carol fidgeted on the couch. She told herself that she hoped it wasn't another picture of a nude woman or closeup of a vagina, but as soon as she thought that, she realized it wasn't true. Instead, she realized she was looking forward to seeing what risqué picture Zora would display next. The realization unnerved her.

Zora walked back into the room carrying a frame, hung it up, and stepped back and to the side so that Carol could look. It was another picture of a vagina but not just that -- it was a photo of another woman, eyes closed, licking that vagina.

"That's something, ain't it?" Zora asked.

Carol had no response to that. She stared at the photo. She wondered who took it, where, who the women in it were, were they professional models or amateur, were they paid to do it while a camera recorded them or did they want to be recorded. Carol wondered if they liked it. She realized her mouth was hanging open and closed it.

"I'm still hot," Zora said. "Aren't you feeling warm?"

"Um, no," Carol said. She was about to say she felt fine, but the truth was she did not feel fine right then.

"Well, I'm burning up," Zora said. "Hey, would you mind if I... you know..."

It took Carol a moment to understand what Zora was implying. "Oh," she said when she got it, "I mean, I don't know..."

"It's just that, we're both women."

"Yeah, no."

"Of course I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable in any way."

"No, I get that."

"So, you're my guest, so it's kind of your call. Do you mind, then?"

"I mean..." Carol hesitated. "It's... it's your home. It's your choice."

"Thanks," Zora said, "I feel better knowing you feel that way."

Zora bent over, grabbed the bottom of her dress and pulled it up and over her head. Carol had been right; Zora hadn't been wearing anything underneath. She tossed the garment to the side and stood in front of Carol, her body fully on display for Carol. Carol took in Zora's thick legs, thick arms, and big belly. She noted the pale skin and the swath of coarse black hair at her crotch. She noticed her large breasts above her belly and the wide brown nipples on those breasts.

"That does feel better," Zorah said. She sat down on the couch right next to Carol, her hip next to Carol's clothed hip. The two women sat like that for several minutes without saying anything. Carol's head was swimming. She couldn't stop looking at the framed photo and she studiously avoided looking anywhere near the naked woman sitting next to her. The whole thing felt surreal.

"What you thinking about?" Zora asked after about what felt like half an hour but was probably only a few minutes.

"Oh," Carol said, "uh, not much."

"Go on, you can tell me."

"Nothing really," Carol said. Truthfully, she'd been thinking that there was a nude woman sitting right next to her and that a growing part of her found it arousing.

"It's all right," Zora was saying, "I can tell something's bothering you. You can speak freely with me. There's no need to hold back."

"I just, it just feels a little weird right now," Carol said.

"Weird?"

"Yeah, with you being nude."

"Oh, I'm so sorry.

"No, it's okay, it's not your fault, it's just, like I said, weird."

"Because I'm nude and you're still clothed?"

"Yeah."

"Well," Zora said, drawing out the word, "there's an easy solution to balance things out."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. You should get naked too."

Carol laughed. Then she realized that Zora wasn't laughing. "Wait," she said, turning her head to look at Zora for the first time since the other woman sat next to her, "you're serious?"

"Yes," Zora said.

"Here?"

"Yes."

"Right now?"

"Yes."

"Zora," Carol said, laughing again, "I can't do that."

"Why not? No one else is here, just us two. We're friends, aren't we?"

"Y, yeah."

"I'm a woman. You're a woman. What's the problem? It's perfectly natural."

For the first time Carol started thinking that she could just, maybe, after all, undress. Maybe it wasn't a big deal. "You're sure?" she asked.

"Yes," Zora said. "I'll even help you get started."

She slid off the couch and knelt in front of Carol. She untied Carol's shoes and pulled her socks off her feet. Carol let her. Zora stood up, stood back, and motioned for Carol to stand up and step forward. Carol did so, standing in the center of the room in front of Zora.

Zora had her hands on her hips. "Go on," she said.

Carol hesitated briefly as she told herself that this was silly, that she shouldn't undress, that she should keep all of her clothes on and tell Zora that she wasn't going to undress. But she didn't say anything. Instead, she took off her shirt and tossed it onto the couch. Then she undid her belt and then her jeans. The sound of the zipper coming down sounded abnormally loud to her. She slid the denim past her hips, then past her knees, and finally past her ankles. She stepped out of them, picked them, and tossed them on the couch atop her shirt. She stopped then, hoping that was enough to placate her host.

Zora looked Carol up and down and said, "I thought you were going to undress but your underwear is still on." She tut-tutted and then walked around behind Carol.

Carol felt the tug at the back of her bra, heard the clasp unsnap, and then Zora's hands were pulling the straps down and the bra was falling to the floor. Carol instinctively covered her chest with her hands which allowed Zora free access to pull Carol's panties off her hips and slide them down her legs. And just like that Carol was bare ass nude, in Zora's house, in front of Zora. She lowered one hand to cover her crotch and tried to cover both breasts with one arm.
Zora walked back around in front of Carol, looking her up and down like a show horse. "Lower your hands," Zora told her.

Carol hesitated.

"Come on, now," Zora said, putting her hands on her hips and sounding a bit like a disappointed schoolmarm. "No false modesty here. Not as though you're hiding much at this point anyway," and snickered a little.

With a sigh, Carol dropped her arms to her sides.

"Wow," Zora said, her eyes taking in every inch of her body, "you're perfect. Natural and beautiful." She looked back up into Carol's eyes. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Kind of uncomfortable," Carol said.

"That'll pass, I promise."

"I don't know," Carol said, entirely unconvinced.

"I do." Zora stepped forward and reached up to put her hand behind Carol's head. She pulled Carol's head towards her, and she tilted her own face up to meet it. She kissed Carol, a quick, chaste kiss, lasting only a second, but she followed it with a longer kiss.

"Zora, wait," Carol said at the end of that kiss.

Zora kissed her again, this time open-mouthed, her tongue working Carol's lips open. Her tongue penetrated into Carol's mouth, once, twice, thrice. Carol instinctively met it with her own tongue, French kissing another woman for the first time.

When Zora broke that kiss, she looked down at Carol's chest. "God, these look great," she said and cupped Carol's breasts, one in each hand. She leaned in and started licking Carol's right breast, the nipple hardening under Zora's tongue. Carol started to say something, but it quickly became a gasp as Zora sucked the tit into her mouth. She released it with an audible pop and then sucked on the other tit. Carol stood there, almost swaying, as Zora went back and forth between her breasts, paying homage to each in turn.

Eventually Zora released her breasts and Carol managed to say, "I can't believe this."

"I know, right?" Zora said, putting her hands flat against Carol's upper chest. "It's like a dream."

Carol backpedaled as Zora gently pushed her backward. The back of her legs hit the sofa, and she plopped down on the cushion. Zora knelt before her, grabbed her hips, and dragged her forward until she was sitting on the edge of the seat. She then spread Carol's legs wide and lifted each leg so that Carol's feet were on the couch. She was wide open and completely exposed for Zora's viewing pleasure and it was plain by the look on Zora's face that she was both viewing and pleased by what she was seeing of Carol.

"Zora, I don't..." Carol said, but Zora interrupted her again.

"You're unbelievable," Zora said. She traced a finger along both of Carol's vaginal lips, up one, then down the other, dragging it across Carol's perineum and even briefly onto Carol's anus before running it back up the length of the exposed flesh. "Perfect." Zora put her face into Carol's crotch. "Natural," and she licked Carol's cunt.

Carol gasped and her hips lifted at the contact of the tongue on her pussy. It was like an electric shock went through her. She initially tried to close her legs but Zora's hands on her knees were holding them apart and after a few moments Carol stopped trying, caught up in the pleasure. Zora licked Carol's lips and clit, even drove her tongue inside Carol several times. When she put a finger inside Carol and kept licking, Carol had to admit to herself that it was great. When Zora put two fingers in her, she realized it was the best anyone had ever done eating her out. When Zora sucked on her clit while massaging her G-spot with the pads of those fingers, Carol came.

As she came down, Zora joined her on the couch, sitting next to her. She put one arm around Carol's shoulders and with the other drew her face towards her to resume their earlier kissing. Carol tasted herself on Zora's lips.

"Could you tell what I was licking?" Zora asked gleefully.

"What?" Carol said. She was still half-convinced that she was dreaming.

"When I was going down on you, could you tell what word I was spelling with my tongue?"

"Uh, no."

"I was spelling my name. I licked my name on your pussy over and over again."

"Oh, okay." Carol was in shock. None of this could be real, she thought.

Zora lowered her hand to play with Carol's nipples, taking turns tweaking each. "I'm not going to ask you if you enjoyed yourself because we both know that you did. I just want you to know how happy I am that you stopped holding back and opened yourself up to me."