Irony

(Thanks to PinkPlaidPanties, WhiteWave48, and MissZ who commented on an early version of this story.)

The party was in full swing. The music blared, couples danced and there was a buzz of people having a good time.

In one corner, Brenda and Sally, her friend and colleague, had holed themselves up, talking quietly.

They had been there for some time, their heads close in a conversation through the loud beat of the music. To make themselves understood, they were talking animatedly, reading looks and lips, and now and then one of them would lean right across to make a point as if it were a secret whispered into the other's ear.

At first their friends had teased them, accusing them of talking about work, but these barbs had simply been ignored. When it became clear that the two were determined to have their own way, the party went on without them.

This was for the better: their friends would have been shocked if they had heard the conversation. As they spoke, their bodies and hands made frequent contact, and as they leaned closer, each one taking turns to lift the other girl's hair and speak a message close into her ear, they began to get a real thrill out of it, laughing and enjoying the breathy sounds of those low feminine tones. They were feeling very mellow indeed, and on one of those lip to ear adventures, Sally reached out with her tongue and licked Brenda's ear with a quick, firm, wet motion. Brenda laughed and gave her friend a quick hug.

The talk had been very provocative, moving from men and their quirks to how they liked sex to a frank discussion of their previous boyfriends compared in the sack.

"None of my old boyfriends match up to my fantasies," Brenda said sadly.

"What is your favorite fantasy?" Sally asked giggling.

"Most of my fantasies are sweet, romantic times with a man that loves me," Brenda said carefully.

"But those aren't the ones that you get off on?" Sally laughed knowingly. "Me too. My favorite fantasy is that I am mercilessly being raped by a randy, strong man that cannot resist me. It does it for me every time."

Brenda gasped in shock. "I thought I was the only one with that fantasy," she said in surprise. "Of course I would hate it if the scene ever really happened."

Sally spoke fervently. "I think I would die if I were to be raped for real. But at least we have something in common."

Brenda giggled under the alcohol and then decided to take a chance and confide in her friend. "My favorite fantasy has been completely different."

"What is it? You can't say something like that and then not tell me."

Brenda rolled her eyes. "My fantasy has been to make love to a girl."

Sally laughed. "I have that too. Do you fantasize about any specific girl like Britney Spears or Paris Hilton?"

"Yes, I do fantasize about a specific girl. I have been secretly in love with her for some time."

Sally gaped. "I never imagined."

Brenda nodded. "Yes, Sally. Ever since I met you I have been struck by your beauty. I think you are very sexy. Is that weird?"

Sally smiled. "Actually, I must confess that you have been on my thoughts too. I would love to get very close to you."

They looked at one another, knowing something was about to happen.

Brenda spoke from her heart. "I wish I could kiss you now."

Sally giggled. "I've never done it with a girl before. You are so much more fun than the guys. They only have one thing in mind. They have no idea how to treat a girl. You do."

Brenda agreed. "My boyfriend Dennis is very sweet, but sometimes he just goes for broke, without time for romance. Don't guys know we need a little loving?"

Sally nodded sadly, and then blinked in surprise. Brenda's hand was between her legs and slowly moving as if making for a destination.

The women looked one another straight in the eye. After what seemed like an eternity, Sally nodded. Both women knew what had been agreed, and both eagerly desired it. They just wanted a little more time preparing for the moment.

Sally put her hand on her friend's and slowly guided it higher up her thigh. The movement was hidden to outside observers by the low light and the angle they were seated.

Brenda carefully stroked Sally, remembering a previous love. She had never told anyone of the magic night with Lisa. That woman had taught her exactly how to love another woman. Brenda had never used that knowledge before, but now it all came easily and naturally. Every move was aimed at seducing her colleague. Every moment was a success.

Sally closed her eyes in pleasure, and said dreamily, "I have worked with you and known you so long I couldn't help starting to like you." She opened her legs ever so slightly so that her friend could continue her exploration. "You always seemed so, feminine and-" She stopped in confusion. "I thought that you only went for guys."

Brenda giggled slightly drunkenly, and ignored Sally's comment.. A new aspect of her situation was so good she could not hide it. "It is so ironic: I have always been scared that Dennis might fall for you if he got to know you better. Now I am falling for you instead."

"I would never steal your guy, Brenda," Sally protested. "I don't do things like that."

Brenda silently and seductively played with Sally's panties.

Sally closed her eyes in pleasure. "You are pressing the right buttons, sister," she whispered. "Don't you dare stop."

"Why don't you touch me too?" Brenda asked softly, her heart beating wildly.

"I thought you'd never ask," Sally said eagerly.

Sally began to gently caress her friend's thigh. Brenda felt her body responding eagerly as Sally slowly made her way upward.

"That's good," Brenda murmured encouragingly. They looked one another deep in the eyes, the angle odd, but with a deep shared secret knowledge.

Despite her mounting excitement, Brenda kept up the pressure on her new lover's vagina and started moving her fingers backward and forward. "I am so glad that Dennis has to go away for the weekend. Now I can have you all to myself and do fun girlie things with you."

"I'd love to," Sally groaned. "You must be a fantastic lover."

There was a long silence as the women explored one another's bodies. The pleasure was good, but they had to be careful not to be seen touching like this. They both wanted more; the time had come to take things to a new level.

"Your place or mine?" Brenda asked.

Sally shook her head, trying to knock the alcohol cobwebs out of her system, and failing. She gave up, and decided to leave it to Brenda. "Take me where you will," she said, "Tonight I will follow you to the ends of the earth."

Before they could get up, Brenda heard a familiar voice near by. It was Dennis, her boyfriend. He had already spotted her, and was coming towards her like a freight train. There was no way to avoid him, and so she gave him a stiff welcoming smile. Inside Brenda was furious. All her schemes for sleeping with this sexy woman had to be placed on hold.

"Great news!" Dennis shouted across the room. "The conference has been cancelled, and I am going to be able to spend the whole weekend with you!" He was happily oblivious that Brenda was a little cool towards him.

Brenda had no choice but to ask Dennis to join them. Sally quickly adjusted; there was no chance of an illicit encounter with her colleague, but she could still enjoy the evening. Soon Dennis and Sally were merrily talking.

Brenda's frustration was too much for her. She stayed out of the conversation and acted the wet blanket in every way she could. Every now and then Dennis tried to coax her back into the discussion, but Brenda was not interested. At midnight Brenda said that she needed to leave. Both Dennis and Sally asked her to stay, but she said she had a headache. Dennis left at the same time. As they had arrived separately, they drove the short journey to their shared home separately.

Brenda did not speak to Dennis at all, but immediately went into the shower and from there directly to bed. When Dennis tried to suggest that they celebrate his unexpected time at home with a little lovemaking, Brenda told him her headache was still bothering her. As she lay down, she calculated that it would not be possible to see Sally over the weekend, and that she would have to make her move on Monday at work. She went to sleep dreaming of Sally's sexy body.

Dennis lay down equally disappointed. He had been looking forward to being reunited to his girl, and had to go to sleep unsatisfied. He got no nookie the rest of the weekend either.

All of Saturday and Sunday, Brenda looked forward to the Monday because then she would be able to see Sally again. She wondered what it would be like having a sexual relationship with her, and her knees felt weak at the very idea. Her head danced with the things the two of them could do. She tried to imagine every touch, every kiss and every movement in their lovemaking. The idea that she was being unfaithful to Dennis simply didn't occur to her. The fantasies exerted a power over her that was beyond anything that she had ever known before.

Dennis noticed that she seemed a bit preoccupied, but he let her have her space. He did not know what was bothering Brenda, but he was sure that everything would blow over soon.

Brenda was delighted when Monday rolled on at last. She dressed excitedly, each detail tuned to catching Sally's eye. She was blissfully unaware of how the events of the day would set off a chain reaction that would change the course of her life.

The morning was a rush, and somehow there was hardly time to draw breath. There was no opportunity to chat Sally up. At lunch, Brenda was disappointed at the lack of progress but she was still hopeful that the day might still be a success. All she needed was a little time with Sally.

The afternoon started on a promising note. Brenda was scheduled to do a presentation to the customer. At the last minute Sally was also requested to attend. At first Brenda was delighted to find that Sally was sitting next to her. Brenda hoped that she would be able to have a private word with Sally. She studied her friend's body out of the corner of her eye thrilled that nobody in the room knew about their little secret.

As the meeting progressed, however, Brenda found that she could not think further than the sexy woman next to her. Her presentation started losing focus and her points were not coherent. The customer started fidgeting. He asked a few questions and then furiously stormed out of the room.

Brenda and Sally held a quick discussion about how to control the damage, all sexy thoughts forgotten.

Brenda went back to her office feeling nervous. She knew it had not gone well. She knew that she had been somewhat distracted by Sally. The customer's fierce reaction had caught her unawares, and she had not known how to handle him. When she had tried to address his concerns she had come across as flippant and totally unconcerned with his problems.

Brenda suppressed a pang of guilt. She told herself that this was a long-standing customer, and that she would be able to soothe his ruffled feathers the next day.

Brenda still did not understand the full extent of the disaster. Just at that moment, Mr. Otsteen, her boss, stormed in to the office, followed closely by Sally. He spoke angrily without greeting. "Brenda, do you realize that you have completely blown the Lightfoot account! They have canceled all orders, and made it clear that it will take a long time before they consider us again."

Brenda was stunned.

Her boss pointed at her. "And do you know why?" he demanded. "Because of you! Just when I thought I had built them into a loyal customer, along comes Mad Miss Mayhem, and destroys all the goodwill we have so painstakingly built up."

"But I didn't do anything!" Brenda protested, trying to avoid being humiliated in front of Sally.

"Didn't do anything!" Mr. Otsteen exploded, "Sally has told me everything that happened at the meeting today. First you informed Mr. Lightfoot, owner of our biggest customer, that our processes are none of his business, and then you told his deputy that he must take care of his own problems. And those are just the Quotes of the Week. In between you must have broken fifty more rules for dealing with customers."

Brenda quickly sized up the situation, and tried to do some damage control. "Don't worry," she reassured her boss, "I will phone them and explain. What you are hearing is out of the context of the meeting. Everything will blow over quickly and easily."

"I don't think so," her boss replied loudly, "Mr. Lightfoot specifically requested that you never speak to him or his people again. You have no idea how much you have damaged this company. You are fired!"

"What can I do to make a difference in the notice period?" she asked, "Maybe if I brought some new customers in, it would make up for it."

"Notice period?" her boss yelled, "You don't get no stinking notice period. I'm giving you five minutes to be out of the building, or security will carry you out!" He turned to Sally. "Sally, as of this moment you will take charge of all Brenda's customers. And call security in to escort this miserable lump of incompetence out of here." He stalked out leaving the two women alone.

"You bitch!" Brenda blustered, "Why did you run straight to Otsteen and rat on me? You didn't have to backstab me like that. I thought we had a friendship going. I thought that I could trust you."

"I did not rat on you," Sally retorted, "He came to me and asked some straight questions. Can't you see that if I hadn't given him straight answers I would have been fired too? I tried to cover for you, I really did."

"I don't believe you. I will get my revenge, bitch," Brenda hissed, "and you will be sorry you crossed me."

"But I didn't, Brenda," Sally answered plaintively, "Please visit me tonight and I will find a way to make you feel better."

"Never," Brenda hissed furiously. "You are now my enemy."

"I'm sorry about that," said Sally, "I just hope something will come up for you." She left the office quickly before Brenda could reply.

Brenda watched Sally go, fuming. All that she could think was that the person she had fallen in love with had betrayed her. She could not place herself in Sally's shoes, but could only think of the irony of the situation. As she at her desk for the last time, she swore to herself that she would have her revenge.

After a few moments of dire thoughts, Brenda quickly removed her few personal possessions from her cubicle. In the process she spitefully broke two drawers and spilt glue over the desk. Then she left the office without looking back. As she marched out, she noticed that people were staring at her. They were whispering to one another as she passed, and she could imagine what was being said. This just increased her desire to get her own back on the person who had, in her view, caused her fall. That she had planned to have a relationship with Sally only made things worse.

As she reached the staff exit, the security personnel stopped her. "Sorry, miss," a burly guard said. "We need to search you to ensure that you are not removing company property."

Brenda had no choice but to submit to the search. The guards had a field day making sure there were no concealed objects on her person, fondling her nipples and patting her between her legs. They knew that they were safe from any possible complaint that Brenda might lodge.

As the guard took one last tug at her breast before ushering her out, Brenda told herself that she had one consolation. Her revenge would be sweet. Very sweet. She thrust her previous passion for Sally away, and fervently told herself that she had been betrayed. Sally was her enemy, not her lover.

The next few weeks were extremely frustrating for Brenda. As she went around from employer to employer looking for a new job, she found that word of her misdeeds had carried far and wide, and that in most cases she could not even get an interview. In remote corners of the industry that had somehow been spared the news, she was somewhat surprised to find that her previous salary had been very good, and she would be fortunate to get even half of what she was used to.

Every evening, as she bemoaned her fate, Dennis would listen sympathetically, and then assure her that he would support her.

Somehow this added to Brenda's anger, and with every failed attempt at finding new work, she became more obsessed with the idea of avenging herself on Sally. That Sally might not have done anything wrong never crossed her mind.

After a while, Brenda became despondent, and her efforts slowly dwindled. After about six weeks, Brenda had stopped looking for work entirely, and spent her time brooding. How could she get her own back?

Brenda wondered how she could ever have thought of Sally in a sexy way. She thought back how Dennis had responded to Sally. He had not showed any signs of being attracted to her, and they had just chatted in a friendly way. Maybe Sally was a hard core lesbian.

If that was the case, Sally would want to stay away from men, wouldn't she? But what if a man was forced onto her?

Brenda felt giddy. Not only did she have the perfect plan, she had the perfect man as well. All afternoon she thought about it, and was certain that there could be no flaw in it. All that she had to do was talk Dennis into it.

When Dennis arrived, Brenda immediately gave him a welcoming kiss. She was dressed seductively and paid attention to all the stresses of his day. The perfect supper was ready at the time he wanted it. In short, she served him hand and foot.

"What is the special occasion tonight?" Dennis asked suspiciously after supper.

"I just want to please you," Brenda answered submissively.

"I know you," Dennis persevered, "I think you want something from me."

Brenda decided that she might just as well make her request. "Would you do me a favor?" she asked boldly. "I will help you with it too."

"If I could, I'd give you the world, honey," Dennis said gallantly.

"Would you help me get my revenge on Sally?" she asked.

Dennis sighed deeply, reflecting on how much Brenda's fixation on Sally's imagined misdeeds was hurting her. "You must stop blaming Sally and get on with your life," Dennis advised gently, "If she has done wrong, she will suffer for it."

"But will you help me?" Brenda insisted. "I know exactly how to do it."

"It's not a good idea," Dennis answered roughly.

Brenda's jaw was set, and she was pouting like a toddler. "If you don't help me, I'll find someone else that will," she threatened.

"Maybe you should tell me what you have in mind," Dennis suggested.

"Do you think Sally's pretty?" Brenda asked suddenly.

"Whoa, is that a trick question?" Dennis asked, thinking that Brenda wanted him to tell her how ugly Sally was to him.

Brenda put on her seductive look again. "I'm sure you'd like to have your way with her, wouldn't you? You men love sowing your seeds-"

"What are you driving at?" Dennis asked, feeling insulted that Brenda should imply that he had looked at Sally with anything except the purest motives. In fact, he had been drawn to the woman, and had fantasized about her often recently. He justified this by Brenda's coldness to him, but this did not abate his guilty feelings. His voice had an added edge.

Brenda's eyes blazed with passion. "Let's lure her into a lonely place. I will hold her, and you can do what you want."

Dennis went white with shock. "How can you even think of that?" Dennis asked, "We'll be in big trouble if we get caught."

"She fucks with me, I fuck with her," Brenda replied angrily, "I'll see to it that we get away clean."

"I will have nothing to do with it," Dennis said firmly to settle the matter once and for all.