Written for the 2002 Sapphic Erotica Festival
"God, that feels good," Paulette Nichols thought to herself as she stepped under the shower and washed off the thin film of sweat that had covered her body during her just completed workout.
The five-foot four brunette couldn't remember the last time she'd been so sore and tired after using the ambulance company's small gym. The reason for her fatigue though, was as near as the next stall. The long-haired blond a few feet away was half a foot taller and eleven years younger than Paulette, to say nothing of being twenty pounds lighter. It was trying to keep up with the new trainee that had exhausted the paramedic so.
Greer Slater had worked at Pierce and McIntyre, more commonly known as P & M, for almost a year now and was only a month away from finishing her probation period. In that time, she had become pretty good friends with Paulette. Despite the difference in their ages and lifestyles, they each looked forward to the days when the duty rotation called for them to be teamed up.
Paulette was the mother of two sons. One now twelve, and the other four. They were the only good things to come out of a failed marriage. Unfortunately, her ex-husband had wound up with custody of both after the divorce. She'd had the misfortune of winding up with a judge who took a dim view of a wife who replaced her husband in her bed while they were still married.
In retrospect, she realized that it had been a mistake, especially since that relationship had gone to hell soon after the divorce as well. The only positive thing about the whole situation was that her sons were happy and living well, and regardless of what she had done, her ex never stopped her from seeing the boys whenever she wanted.
With no one really special in her life at the moment, and her sons spending the month with their grandparents down in Florida, Paulette had promised herself that this was the summer she would finally lose those few extra pounds and get back into shape.
It had been a losing battle that she had been fighting since before her first pregnancy. She'd made the mistake of mentioning her desire to Greer, who had taken it as her personal mission to see that her friend reached that goal. Where they once spent free time after a shift shopping together, they now spent at least part of it in the company gym.
They were workouts that the trainee hardly needed, but she pursued with a vengeance nevertheless. Greer was the kind of woman that men drooled over, tall and slim, with a bust that drew immediate attention whenever she walked into the room. She always seemed to have a string of boyfriends, but that didn't prevent most of the men in the office from making fools of themselves over her.
"I'll meet you outside," Greer said as she shut off the water and reached for her towel on the small hook outside of the stall.
"Okay," Paulette said as she glanced over her shoulder. "I'll be along in a few minutes."
"No problem," Greer smiled as, without even bothering to wrap the towel around her, she walked naked out of the shower and into the locker room.
It was a good ten minutes before Paulette, who definitely took the time to cover herself, followed into the small locker room that had been set aside for female employees . Greer had already dressed and was probably waiting back in the gym area. Quickly putting on a fresh blouse and slacks, the short haired brunette went off to catch up with her friend.
Sure enough, Greer was standing off on the sidelines of the converted garage, watching another of the paramedics go through her gymnastics routine. Kelly Jones was about Paulette's age, but in much better shape. In fact, she was in just as good shape as Greer.
The eyes of those men also in the gym were also on Kelly. It was hard to miss her in the tight spandex pants and tank top she wore. Like Greer, she liked to wear as little as possible when she was working out, much to the delight of the mostly male audience.
Of the six ambulance services that operated across the county under contract to the State Hospital Corp, P & M was the smallest with about thirty employees. It made both for a close knit group, and an interesting mix as well. Partly as the result of a female owner, women made up a third of the work force.
"She's really good, isn't she?" Paulette commented as she stepped up next to Greer and watched Kelly finish up the last of her routine.
She remembered the dark skinned girl once mentioning that she had been on the gymnastics team in school and had even won a few awards in competition. An injury had ruined her chances to take it further, not that you could tell from the way she moved.
"She sure is," Greer said, not taking her eyes off Kelly for a moment. "And have you ever seen such a perfect ass?" the younger woman added unexpectedly.
The question took Paulette by surprise, but she still found herself automatically taking a look at the body part in question. She had to admit, it was a perfect ass. Not that she had really spent any time checking out the backsides of any of her co-workers for comparison. At least not the female ones.
Some women did check out other women, if only to see how they compared. With a body like Greer had, Paulette assumed that the younger woman fell into that category. However, her next words totally blew away that assumption.
"Do you think she's straight?" Greer asked in a voice only loud enough for Paulette to hear.
"What?" she replied, sure she had heard the question wrong.
"Do you think I might have a chance with her," Greer expanded, leaving no doubt as to her meaning. "Or is she only into guys?"
The older woman had no idea what to say. Up until that moment, she would've assumed that Greer was only into men as well. In fact, it was her casual attitude about sex with men that shocked Paulette the first time they'd had a discussion about it.
While the brunette was as sexually active as any single woman her age, she found the fact that Greer viewed oral sex as just another part of making out and had no problem doing it on a first date somewhat disturbing. Had dating really changed in the short time since she'd been Greer's age?
"I think she has a boyfriend," Paulette finally said when she realized that Greer's question hadn't been rhetorical.
"That doesn't mean anything," Greer replied in turn. "Some women like a little variety in their lives."
