After returning from San Francisco, Grace and Michelle had every intention of seeing each other again soon. But somehow it never seemed to happen. Michelle got busy with school just as Grace got busier at work. While their schedules were the direct reason, neither made it a huge priority either.
Michelle met a guy at a college party shortly after getting home. Things weren't serious but most of her free time was being consumed. She wasn't embarrassed or ashamed of the time with Grace. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Once it was clear to her that this was more than just a couple of dates, she had let him know that she considered herself bi though with a mostly straight orientation. And her time with Grace had certainly opened Michelle up to being more sexually experimental in bed and other places too!
Work really was busier for Grace. There had been an upsurge in business that needed more and more of her attention. It made it easier for her to rationalize not trying to see Michelle. In truth, she knew that Michelle wasn't right for her. It had been a fun game for Michelle. Grace needed something else.
The problem was Grace didn't know what she needed. Outside of work, everything seemed to dissatisfy her. She was living a sort of half life. Her marriage was evolving into a relationship without intimacy. It wasn't all her either. Her husband was traveling often for his own job so they were spending more time apart. But when he was home, Grace found excuses to avoid his attempts to be together. She rationalized it to herself by blaming it on work.
At the same time, though, she was spending more time at Corky's bar. Sometimes she found herself just talking to Corky. They had become close friends over the months that Grace had been coming to the bar. To the degree that she could, Corky tried to help Grace. But there was only so much that she could do. Corky had come out in her teens. She knew Grace was struggling with accepting her sexuality, but it was far more complicated than it had been for her. Grace was facing walking away from most of what she had been, plus years of marriage. On top of that, Grace's sexuality was tied into her being a Domme. Corky was definitely butch and tended to be the dominate person in her relationships, but that was very different than being a Domme. Because of that, Corky listened to Grace as she talked, supported her and occasionally offered a bit of helpful advice.
When she was there, Grace found herself the object of much interest. There was a constant stream of women who wanted to be with her. For the first time in her life, she responded by being promiscuous. They weren't D/s encounters in the way they had been with Marie and Michelle. Grace was clearly in charge but she avoided going that far down the path. Being a Domme was very important to her. It wasn't some sort of game. These were random encounters that Grace didn't intend to go anywhere.
As she drove to the bar, Grace would usually already figure out what type of night it was going to be. If she was tired, she would often spend the evening hanging around Corky. On days where she was in a good mood, she would usually play the field. If it had been a hard day, it was a toss up. Sometimes she would rather talk with Corky and try to sort through things. But other days, she found she could take out a bit of her frustrations with the playful seductions offered her. Those encounters were often when she was closest to being a Domme, feeling the need to exert more control.
Corky would watch as Grace would circle the room, talking with friends while keeping an eye on her potential pickups. She knew Grace well enough by now to realize that her friend was an unhappy soul. She wished that there was more that she could do to help, but this was Grace's journey. She had to find her own path.
For Grace's part, she found the random encounters sometimes exciting, usually sexually fulfilling but rarely emotionally satisfying. This type of behavior wasn't really who she was. But she was generally unhappy with the rest of her life. Being desired and pursued was one way that made her feel better.
Grace was walking a fine line of keeping her activities at the bar separate from the rest of her life. At work, she retreated into a professional shell. She worked hard and was producing very good results. But her personal relationships there suffered. People that she used to be good friends with were pushed away. Grace felt like she had less and less in common with them. And there was no possibility for Grace to talk with even her closest friends about what she was going through. Even the two who guessed the nearest to the truth about what her struggle was didn't know how to talk to Grace about it.
The wall was completely up at home. Even when her husband was traveling, Grace maintained the fiction that her married life continued on as normal. The illusion that she was a happy heterosexual woman could not be shattered. She chatted with neighbors at the mailbox and participated in the occasional neighborhood parties.
The feeling of being a hypocrite was growing in Grace but it was at a subconscious level. She was not capable of dealing with it yet. The wall was still just too strong. Grace needed to wait for something to help make the first crack.
It started when the older couple who had been living next door since long before Grace and her husband came to the neighborhood decided to simplify their lives and moved out to a much smaller condo. A young couple who were buying their first house moved in.
Still playing the model neighbor, Grace went over to meet them with a welcome basket. They were almost like a stereotype. Rob was a handsome lawyer. He had just been hired into one of the more prestigious firms in the city. It was a big step up from the small town firm in which he had begun. He was on his cell phone talking with the office and nodded his greeting as he wandered into one of the back bedrooms. It didn't matter much to Grace since she wasn't interested in him.
His wife Lyn was another matter. Grace had to avoid staring. Lyn was certainly one of the best looking women that Grace had met. She had a heart shaped face framed with blond hair. Her skin was the light brown of a natural tan. But her stunningly blue eyes were the most striking thing about her face. They were the deep blue of the crystal clear skies high in the mountains. When she looked at Grace, it was hard not to get lost in them.
Lyn was taller than average at about 5' 9" but she seemed taller because of her long slender legs. Grace couldn't help admire her tight ass that was accentuated by Lyn's narrow waist. She wasn't overly busty but her breasts seemed to fit her body perfect. Her flat belly was shown off by the cropped top that she was wearing. The tan there matched her face.
Rarely had Grace ever met someone for whom she felt an overwhelming lust. Grace normally was able to maintain tighter control. But she had to admit to herself that she was in fact lusting after Lyn. Although slightly flustered, Grace managed to hide it well. Talking about the previous owners gave Grace an easy diversion for a while.
