21 comments/ 16495 views/ 72 favorites Natalie's Valentine By: BurntRedstone Author's Notes: 'Natalie's Valentine' is my entry for the Valentine's Day Story Contest 2016. Everyone deserves to love and be loved so I thought I might contribute a story which celebrates that. All characters engaging in sexual relationships or activities are 18 years old or older. ******** "Scott's a big jerk!" Natalie blushed furiously as she realized she'd just shouted that out loud on the crowded Monday morning train. On top of the terrible heartache she felt from his breaking up with her the night before, with a text message no less, now her face burned with embarrassment. There was always one lunatic in the train. This morning it was her. She leaned her forehead against her arm holding the overhead rail so she could hide her face. Her other arm clutched her shoulder bag tight to her stomach to keep its contents safe from pick pockets. In the two years she'd lived in the city she'd already discovered how clever their hands could be and she couldn't afford to replace her laptop again. Natalie looked at her reflection in the window she was facing as the train made its way through the tunnels towards the core of the city. The twenty four year old woman looking back at her was... pretty. She allowed herself that. Next to the other passengers she looked positively tiny at 5' 1". Her cheery and smart looking red overcoat hugged her body and hinted that she was maybe a little top heavy. Truthfully, she had a small amount of extra padding all over but there was just a little more in the chest area. Her mother teased her that the booby fairy had been over generous to her at puberty. Her body was otherwise normally proportioned, if petite. Finding fashionable clothes that fit her unique dimensions was a struggle. She had thick auburn hair which fell in waves to her shoulders. Her naturally long lashes and pale green eyes were behind serious but attractive dark framed glasses perched on a nose with a slight upturn at the end. She wasn't knock down gorgeous or tall and willowy like the models that continuously paraded through the office she worked at but she was pretty. Maybe cute was a better description. Or not good enough. She closed her eyes and fought back the tears. Biting her lower lip, she used the pain to push back the sadness. Natalie gave herself a shake. She had to stop this moping! She had so much to be thankful and happy about! She made it out of the small town she'd grown up in, had her own small apartment on the outer edge of her favorite city, and best of all was working her dream job! She did website production and design for Audacious!, one of the boldest and strongest voices in the fashion industry. She used her not inconsiderable skills as a web developer and graphic designer to add ease of use and more importantly brilliant style to a website that was once considered to be the least fashionable sites in fashion. When she'd interviewed for the position she'd come equipped with a demo of what their website could look like under her skillful hands. The interviewer was so desperate for change she immediately called one of the junior execs and had him sit through the demo. He in turn dragged Natalie before the other execs who were in the midst of having their regular weekly meeting. Once more Natalie ran through her demo and impressed the entire team with her ideas for bringing them into the future. She had the job before she left the building that day! Alex, her first boyfriend, had been the executive assistant of the junior exec who pulled her into that meeting. Unfortunately, he turned out to be more enamoured with her potential for upward mobility in the company than her. They'd dated for four months until he discovered she was happy with her current position and had no intention of going after the president's job. He dropped her and latched onto a new and aggressive executive who joined the company shortly after her. Natalie later heard Alex and his beau were both fired for having sex on the president's desk... and getting caught in the act by said president. Scott worked in the Operations department. Natalie had to work closely with the OPS team as her work was so dependent on the servers and the software running on them. He had flirted with her unmercifully until she'd agreed to go on a date with him. Yes, he was a nerd but so was she... to an extent. They had some common interests and the first few months had been really great. They had finally reached the physical side of the relationship and while she admitted she wasn't dazzled by his abilities in the bedroom it had been nice. Two weeks later she got the text. Coward! She was dreading the technical meeting she had to attend in the afternoon. He would be there. Natalie dabbed her eyes with a tissue fighting back new tears. No! She would be cool and professional. If the opportunity presented itself for her to speak with him as an adult to get closure she would. A shiver ran through her. She could certainly talk a big game but sometimes she regressed to her small town timid nature. Natalie came out of her daze as she'd reached her stop. She joined the crush to get out the doors and up the escalators to ground level. The February winds were biting and she was glad she only had a block to rush along to get to the front door of her office building. She went inside and took the elevator up to the twentieth floor exiting into their reception area. Sitting behind the desk was Linda, a friend she'd made at the office. She was equally petite in stature but had very pale skin and raven hair in a pixie cut. Linda was one of their receptionists and immediately noticed Natalie's reddened eyes. She shot her friend a concerned look as she spoke on the phone but Natalie just gave her a smile and wave as she slipped away to her desk at the far end of the floor. It was quieter here and Natalie was able to hang up her coat, flip on her workstation, and bury herself in her work. This was as close to bliss as she was going to get today. She surfaced with a start at 11AM when her phone began to chirp. She glanced over and saw it was the main boardroom calling. The exec team! "Good morning, Natalie speaking!" she said, as cheerfully as she could. "Oh thank god you're in, Natalie! Please join us in the boardroom!" The line went dead. That was Maggie her boss calling. Grabbing her laptop she rushed down the hall and passed the reception area where Linda was still trapped by the phone. She made big eyes at Natalie to get her to stop and fill her in but she just pointed to the corner boardroom and rushed by. Knocking on the door Natalie stepped inside. She immediately noted the glum face on Maggie and their lawyer whose name eluded her. He rarely left his office. The president was sitting back in her chair with a look that said someone's head was going to roll. Natalie hoped it wasn't hers. "Natalie, we have a problem. Two actually," Maggie said, glancing at the grim look on the lawyer's face. "Our Valentine shoot has to be scrapped. Two of the models didn't have work visas and one was underage." Natalie looked at her boss in surprise. "Then we learned the photographer got his hands on the design and layout of the article and sold it to a competitor. We have to come up with new content and have it ready for the site by Thursday night!" "That's not a lot of time..." Natalie murmured and heard a snort from the head of the table. Her eyes flicked in that direction and froze as she was trapped by intense blue eyes. Sonja Ellison was a force of nature. Gravity, the tides, hurricanes, and Sonja Ellison. Each was undeniable. Each got things done. With her 5' 10" height and her sleek, toned body she could easily be mistaken for one of the models who visited but her drive and charisma could not be contained. She actually had been a supermodel when she was just a couple of years younger than Natalie. Fresh from Sweden she was an instant success with her striking beauty and bold presence but after just two years of walking runways and gracing magazine covers she tired of being the billboard for fashion trends. She wanted to be a key player setting those trends. The name of her website, Audacious!, was based on the insult hurled at her by a famous designer when she'd abruptly left the runway at one of his shows and told him she was destined for more than he could offer. Granted, for the name she dropped the 'Bitch' part of his insult. Ten years later she was going strong and that designer wasn't more than a footnote in history. "Our Natalie has a gift for understatement." Sonja gusted out as she released her anger and ran her slim, long fingered hands through her white blond hair which she kept short and perpetually tousled. "Please take a chair..." she said looking for an open seat. The room was a little crowded this morning so she reached behind herself and pulled a chair up beside her as she moved hers over to make space. Natalie sat next to the woman and set her laptop on the table's surface. The meeting resumed with the team throwing ideas out for a replacement shoot and anchor story. It seemed to be going in circles and the ideas were getting more and more risqué. "Romance," Natalie said quietly to herself as her mind returned to what was missing in her own life. "Everyone shut up for a minute! Natalie just hit the nail on the head," Sonja barked loudly and the room went silent. The blond turned her gaze on the stunned woman next to her. "Go ahead Natalie. Share your idea with the group." Natalie looked around at the expectant faces. There was a lot of frustration and anxiety in the room. She swallowed as her mouth went dry. "I- I was just thinking it might be nice to remember romance is part of Valentine's Day." She saw some expressions turn thoughtful and took that as a positive sign. "There is so much emphasis on sex, why not slow it down and talk about how to bring romance back into our lives." She nervously glanced to her right and saw Sonja was beaming a smile at her. "Slow it down... that's perfect! That's what I want people! Let's hear some ideas!" Sonja smiled again at Natalie and reached over to give her hand a quick squeeze then sat back to listen. Natalie was so surprised by the touch her body tingled. She tried to ignore it and listened closely as the discussion around the table took on new life. People had begun to think about what they found to be romantic and shared their thoughts. Soon they had too many good ideas, and a few bad ones, and they began narrowing them down. Natalie listened and made notes on her laptop, moving the concepts around between several lists as her mind visualized how to present the topics in an appealing way. Then as the discussion circled back on itself she mocked up a few quick pages unaware of the eyes that watched her screen with keen interest. "Natalie, may we project your desktop as we talk. I think it would greatly help the others to see how their ideas are fitting into this new design," Sonja said, leaning close to speak softly as the others bounced their concepts back and forth across the table. Natalie was once again caught by the intensity of Sonja's gaze and just nodded. "Maggie, pull the projector cable down here. I want you all to see how your ideas are working. Natalie has a really good start on a new design," Sonja said with a pleased smile. Natalie blushed. Someone dimmed the lights and Maggie got the projector going as Natalie connected the cable to her laptop and shared her desktop with the projector. Soon she heard pleased sounds coming from the group. The conversation picked up energy and they began to refine the concepts. Natalie opened a new document and began to list the deliverables that would be needed to complete each section of their new project. Names and dates were linked to the deliverables and soon they had their task list to make it happen. The timeline was very aggressive. "OK people! We know what we need to do and we know how little time we have to make it happen. Natalie, please share your task list with the executive team. Here's the address," the blond said with a wide smile as she showed the address on her tablet. With a quick nod and a smile Natalie created the message, attached the task list, and hit send. "You got your orders! Let's make this happen!" Sonja said and people moved. There was a lot of positive energy in the room as they made their way to the door. Before Natalie could stand up she felt a hand on hers once more and looked to the president. "Hang back for a second please," the woman said and Natalie nodded. Once they had the room to themselves Sonja pushed her chair back to be able to face the young woman. Natalie smiled nervously at the tall beauty. "You've come to our rescue again," Sonja said with a faint smile. "What?" Natalie squeaked. "This is the second time you were drawn into an executive meeting to dazzle us with your expertise and get us back on track. I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate your efforts. The team was highly energized by your suggestion and your new design. We just may have a chance to meet the deadline but people are going to have to work really hard and put in extra hours to make it happen. Since your time is key to this entire project your hours will be affected the most. I want you to know that I'll be available for approvals at any hour. You'll find me in my office until the update goes live. Okay?" Sonja tilted her head with a smile as she asked the question and Natalie couldn't stop a smile from popping up on her lips in response. Sonja's trademark head tilt was almost as famous as the woman herself and having one directed at her made Natalie feel honored. "Thank you Ms. Ellison," Natalie said demurely. "What's this Ms. Ellison formality? You can call me Sonja." Natalie struggled to keep her smile from becoming a grin and nodded. "Thank you... Sonja." The blonde's eyes twinkled as she smiled and stood. She patted Natalie's shoulder as she walked towards the door. Natalie disconnected the projector cable from her laptop and saved her files before she left the boardroom. She was overly conscious of the light tingling on her shoulder where Sonja had touched. She was maybe a little overawed by the woman but she couldn't help believe it was justified. She really was her hero. It was lunch time so when Natalie passed through the reception area she was scooped up by Linda and dragged towards the lunch room. She tried to protest but Linda had waited long enough to hear the cause of her tears. Her friend grabbed her lunch from the fridge and led Natalie back to her desk so she could drop off her laptop. "Where's your lunch?" Linda asked as they sat in the double wide cubicle Natalie had scored when she took over the space from the previous web developers. As she was more than twice as efficient she was allowed to keep the space for herself. It also gave her space for meetings with her internal clients... or concerned coworkers. "I have no appetite. It's ok, go ahead and eat, I know you have to get back soon," Natalie said to her friend. "What made you so upset this morning?" Linda leaned forward to ask. Natalie really didn't want to talk about this as she was still riding the high from the meeting this morning and it was reminding her of the tech meeting at 4PM. It was too late. Her mood began to drop. "Scott broke up with me last night," she said quietly. Linda gasped and reached out to hold her hand. "Were you two out on a date?" "He sent me a text." "WHAT?!? THAT CREEP!" Linda screeched. Natalie put her hand over Linda's mouth to prevent any further outbursts. Her face blushed crimson and her eyes welled up as the morning's light mood was ripped away, opening the wound on her heart once more. She shook her head to force back the pain. "How could he do this to you?" Linda hissed. "I plan on asking him that question this afternoon, if possible. His text was pretty vague outside of saying he wanted to break up," Natalie sighed. She was really dreading the meeting now but she needed the closure. There were too many unanswered questions. Linda leaned forward and rested her forehead against Natalie's. "He doesn't deserve you! He's a big jerk!" Natalie snorted as she heard the words she'd used herself this morning. Linda pulled back to look at her curiously. "I may have yelled those exact words while I was on the train this morning," Natalie admitted with a blush. Linda cracked up. She had an infectious laugh and soon Natalie found herself chuckling along with her. "Crazy lady on the train!" Linda joked and Natalie nodded as she smiled. They shared Linda's sandwich and talked about Linda's last disastrous date until it was time for her to head back to reception. Natalie gave her friend a hug. "Call me tonight if you are up to it and let me know how it went," Linda said as she hustled off to her desk. Natalie turned to her workstation and drank some water to try to settle her stomach. She should have refused the sandwich. Food on a nervous stomach was not a good idea. Work was once again her salvation and she got lost in the preparation work for the new updates she was going to have to make once the deliverables began coming in. Speaking of which a file dropped into her inbox and she saw it was a draft of the text for the main story. Gabriel was one of their staff writers and she was always amazed by his gift with prose. The words just seemed to flow effortlessly from the man. She took a quick look and this piece was as good if not better than most of the work she'd read from him. Sonja would have final say but she added the document to her repository of files in preparation of building the new pages. She got lost in the work and jolted back to the present when her alarm reminded her of her 4PM tech meeting. She grabbed her laptop and made a brief stop in the washroom to refresh her face with a little cold water and a new coat of lip balm. She made her way to the next floor down where the operations offices were and managed to arrive just as the meeting got underway. She'd hoped her delay would prevent her from bumping into Scott but it seemed that he had the same idea as they met at the door. Natalie felt a painful pang go through her heart as she looked at him. He was a handsome man with a decent body. It was the grey stuff between his ears she couldn't fathom the behavior of. Once inside matters were made worse by the fact that the only two remaining chairs were back by the far wall next to each other. Dennis, the tech department head looked up at the two stragglers with an annoyed frown. "Take your places people. We have a lot to discuss today." Scott was doing his best to ignore Natalie but she could see he was really uncomfortable. Dennis took the group through the schedule for the next round of server upgrades and maintenance. Natalie was asked if there would be any conflicts with site promotions and she confirmed the new schedule was good. She felt Scott's eyes on her and looked at him but he turned away with a sour look on his face. She spent the next hour in a fog as his presence and attitude were too distracting. She was grateful that all of Dennis' questions for her had been addressed early. The meeting finally broke up at 5:30PM and she snagged Scott's sleeve before he bolted to freedom. He frowned back at her but she wouldn't release the fabric until he sat back. The room emptied aside from a few people in the opposite side so Natalie leaned toward him and spoke quietly to pitch her voice for just them. "What happened?" she asked him. "What do you mean?" "You dumped me. In a text message with no explanation as to why." "I was trying not to hurt your feelings," he said and squirmed. Natalie's Valentine Natalie looked at him incredulously. "That was supposed to spare my feelings?" Scott looked pissed and gritted his teeth. "This is what I was trying to avoid. A big emotional scene!" he growled, his voice rising. She glanced across the room and saw the other techs looking in their direction. She made her voice quieter. "I'm not making a scene! I'd just like to know why you're breaking up with me." Scott rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. "Can't we just say it didn't work out and go our separate ways," he said with exasperation. "That leaves me with no closure. I'll always wonder if I did something wrong! That isn't fair!" she blurted back at him. His expression closed up and his eyes went a little cold. "You want to know why I broke up with you?" "Yes!" "It was the sex!" he exclaimed and Natalie noticed they had an audience but Scott was too angry to keep his voice down. "You weren't fucking there when we had sex. Physically, sure but it was like your mind wasn't into it and you were just waiting to be somewhere else while we were doing it. If I wanted to masturbate I could have just stayed home." Natalie stared at Scott, reeling from his hurtful words. Her mouth opened but she couldn't speak. The pain she'd felt before paled in comparison to the injury he'd inflicted now. Clutching her laptop to her chest she leapt to her feet and rushed from the room. She couldn't deal with meeting coworkers in the elevator so she ducked into the stairwell and rushed up to the top floor, the twenty fifth. No one used the stairwells this far up so she had the area to herself. The tears burst forth and she sat on the steps gasping and sobbing into her hands. Her heart felt like it had been freshly ripped from her chest. His brutally cruel words felt like another betrayal. How she could have contemplated being in love with someone who could willfully inflict that kind of pain! The tears continued until she felt drained. She looked at the time and saw it was close to 6:15PM. She picked herself up and headed back down to the twentieth and went back to her desk. She dabbed at her puffy eyes with a tissue as she checked her messages. She saw two more deliverable items to add to her file repository. She filed them right away and updated her task check list. She sent a note to Sonja letting her know that some of the deliverables had come in already. She turned back to her design mock up and made some tweaks to optimize the code. She felt her lower lip begin to tremble again as Scott's words echoed in her mind once more. She dabbed at her eyes to catch the unshed tears. "Natalie?" She squeaked and jumped when she heard the soft voice behind her. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to frighten you! Are- are you ok?" Sonja asked with a concerned expression in her blue eyes. For some reason Natalie couldn't stop the tears from coming and she dropped her hands to her lap and hung her head as the tears fell. Her shoulders shook as sobs racked her body. When Sonja knelt before her and pulled her into a hug Natalie gasped in surprise. Then the flood gates really opened up and she clung to the woman as her body throbbed with the raw agony of her broken heart. Soon though, she began to relax in the warm embrace. Her tears stopped and she was able to catch her breath once more. Sonja pulled back and Natalie gasped when she saw the tear stains on the shoulder of the woman's jacket. "Oh my god! I'm so- so sorry I- I got your jacket all w-wet!" Natalie stuttered out in her dismay. Sonja took her hands in her own and gave them a squeeze. "Don't worry about that. Tears wash right out. I'm not so sure about the salad dressing I spilled on it earlier though," she said with a gentle smile. Natalie smiled in return. She felt so much better. She composed herself as best she could and Sonja released her hands. "I'm sure you didn't come here to get cried on. What can I do for you?" "I'm not going to ignore the fact that my star player was sitting at her desk crying. What kind of a human being would that make me much less a boss?" Sonja insisted. Natalie just shook her head. "It's not important-" "Hey! Tears like those weren't from stubbing your toe or a paper cut. Don't keep it all bottled up!" Sonja said, her voice calm but firm. Natalie felt the strength of her gaze pinning her in place once more. "My- my boyfriend broke up with me last night. In a text." Sonja scowled and Natalie nodded sadly. "I confronted him about it to find out why-" Natalie gasped as the pain rushed back. Her throat tightened and she was unable to talk. Cool, soft fingers gently held her face and tilted it up so she was looking directly into Sonja's eyes. "Take strength in the knowledge that you broke away from a bad relationship. If he could cause you this much pain then you don't need him." There seemed to be an echo of her grief in Sonja's eyes. Natalie nodded, taking enormous comfort from her touch. Her hero worship just grew stronger. Sonja paused for a moment then released her face as something flitted across her features. She shook her head and smiled at Natalie. "You- you mentioned you had some deliverables for me to see?" "Yes! Let me, uh, I'll just send you a copy of the files. If you make any revisions please send the new versions back to me and I'll add them to my repository." Natalie dragged her mind back to work mode. "There is little I can do tonight until I get more of the outstanding pieces. Truthfully, I was just procrastinating as riding the train when you're crying isn't safe." "I'll be driving you home tonight so you'll be safe," Sonja said and Natalie's hands came up. "No! You don't have to do that! It's way out of your way!" she blurted in surprise. Sonja smiled at her flustered look. "How do you know? Where do you live?" "I'm at the northern edge of the city. Way out in the burbs. In a low rise apartment complex," Natalie pressed. "It just so happens I'm living in my house north of the city these days as well. So it's on my way," she shrugged. Natalie didn't know what to say. She really didn't want to face that train tonight so the ride was welcome. She nodded shyly to Sonja who just smiled at her. "Send me those files and meet me at my office. I'm going to shut down and get my stuff." Sonja popped back up to her feet and strode away to her corner office. Natalie did as she asked and moments later was standing outside of the president's office with her overcoat on and her shoulder bag in her hands. As she locked her door Sonja took in Natalie's red coat. "You look really good in that color!" Natalie blushed and smiled. "It looks good on your cheeks as well," Sonja teased and her blush just got brighter and hotter. They took the elevator to the garage in the basement. Sonja obviously had the clout to get one of the coveted parking spots in the building. The car was as beautiful and sleek as its owner and Natalie's eyes showed her delight as she sank into the luxurious leather seat. She'd never been inside such an expensive car and her eyes were taking in all the amazing features of the vehicle. She caught Sonja watching her. "Sorry! I must seem like a country bumpkin!" "Not at all. It's truly nice to see genuine enjoyment. You like my car?" the blond asked. "I don't think I've ever felt a more comfortable seat," Natalie gushed. Sonja chuckled and got them underway. Natalie noticed the car had a standard transmission and watched Sonja work the gears effortlessly. "A standard?" Sonja frowned at her. "You wouldn't cripple a car like this with an automatic transmission!" The twinkle in her eyes showed she was teasing. They moved quickly and smoothly through the traffic and soon they were on the expressway circling the city. Natalie's face was flushed once more but this time it was exhilaration from Sonja's driving. The blond had a wide satisfied smile on her lips as she enjoyed Natalie's appreciation of her driving skills. "My soon to be ex couldn't stand my driving!" Sonja shared. Natalie looked at her boss in surprise. One, she'd shared an intimate and personal life detail with her, something she never did with anyone and two, that Sonja's marriage had failed. Gerry Ellison was a famous surgeon working in one of the major hospitals in the city. He and Sonja met at a fund raiser and had been together for seven years. "I'm sorry to hear that. I mean about the ex thing- and the driving thing too," Natalie stumbled over her words. Sonja glanced over at Natalie's innocent but flustered expression and shrugged. "Thank you." They drove on in silence and Natalie worried that she'd offended her boss in some way. That feeling eased as Sonja began asking directions as they got closer. Too soon they were at the curb outside her building. "Thank you so much for the lift home and for making me feel better earlier," Natalie said sincerely. "You are entirely welcome. I enjoyed having a passenger on the drive home!" Sonja smiled. She began leaning towards Natalie but caught herself and sat back. It was her turn to get a little pink in her cheeks. "I'll see you in the morning!" Natalie saw the blush but missed the reason for it. She smiled and got out of the car. Sonja gestured for her to go inside and didn't drive away until she saw Natalie inside the inner door of her building. Trudging up three floors to her corner apartment she locked her door and got ready for bed. It had been an emotional day with too many ups and downs. She was exhausted. She hoped tomorrow would be better. The next three days were incredibly busy and Natalie was able to push back all thought of her break up with Scott as she had so much work to keep her mind occupied. She did fill Linda in on the outcome of her meeting with Scott but restricted her response to say that he felt they were sexually incompatible. When she let herself recall the few times they'd had sex she couldn't figure out what she'd done to make him say what he had. It hadn't been great sex but she didn't recall acting bored. She worked very closely with Sonja to expedite the approval process and she'd impressed the woman with her design sense and her technical skills on a number of occasions. It seemed Sonja was beginning to feel more comfortable with letting Natalie make some final decisions about the look of the updates. The entire team had pulled out the stops and sent her the deliverables over the course of the three days. She shared take-out food at the office each night with Sonja as they sat in her cubicle reviewing the latest changes. The update was going to be the best one yet! Thursday night found them cramming to get the final revisions in place. Natalie had the update queued for promotion to the production servers. It would go live at midnight for a fresh new look for the website on February 14th, Valentine's Day! She'd run the promotion script on the staging environment and it worked flawlessly. There really was nothing left to do. But she enjoyed working with Sonja so much she was hesitant to end it. "We're done?" the blond asked as she looked over Natalie's shoulder at the promotion timer. "Uh, yes. All files are queued and ready to go. Tomorrow morning people will wake to a whole new experience using our site," she smiled gently. "Our advertising clients will love the new interface as well as it presents their ads in a much more eye trapping way and will give them far better click through." Sonja sank back in her chair and sighed happily. She looked at Natalie. "I can't thank you enough for all your above and beyond efforts! Can I give you a lift home tonight?" Natalie grinned at the thought of riding in that luxury sports car again. "Yes please!" Sonja chuckled at Natalie's enthusiasm as she'd obviously spoiled the girl. They talked the entire way back to Natalie's apartment though Sonja caught Natalie yawning broadly behind her hand on a number of occasions. The young woman needed to sleep! "Don't forget to dress for dancing tomorrow! The team is going out for drinks after work and there will be dancing!" Sonja said with a grin which Natalie returned. As they sat in the car outside of the apartment the air inside the cabin felt strangely electric. Like just before a summer thunderstorm. Neither of them wanted the evening to end but it obviously had to as they'd reached the destination. The impasse was broken by another big yawn. Sonja playfully pushed at the other woman's shoulder as she snuggled deeper into the warm heated seat. With a pitiful whimper and a pout Natalie opened the car door. It was so cold outside! She rushed into her building and waved at Sonja who drove away. Climbing the stairs she smiled to herself. Her dream job was just that much dreamier. Valentine's Day! The day love is celebrated with boxes of chocolates, cards, flowers and in some cases romantic dinners for two, hotel stays, and naughty lingerie. As Natalie made her way to the train she realized she wasn't going to be receiving any of these things today. She stopped in a florist shop on the way and bought herself a big bouquet of red roses to pick up her spirits. She liked flowers and they would look very pretty on her desk. She grinned to herself. They would look even nicer on Sonja's! She'd confirmed the website had successfully updated and felt a little thrill knowing she'd played such a large role in the new pages and functionality. It really was her baby. She smiled thinking about how happy Sonja had been about it last night. As per her request Natalie had worn her prettiest dress. The swishy swirling hem made her want to dance along the street on her way to the train. The ride in felt shorter than usual and she realized her spirits were so much better than they had been at the beginning of the week. She held her nose to the flowers and inhaled deeply, feeling the scent relax her. "DIRTY FUCKERS!" Natalie jumped as a voice yelled out to her left. She glanced in that direction and saw an old woman in a dirty winter coat with a full shopping cart had shouted at no one in particular. Natalie realized that was her earlier in the week. As they pulled into her station Natalie handed the woman a rose from her bouquet and saw the woman's face light up in delight. The old woman said something in a language Natalie didn't understand but her smile was universal. Soon Natalie was entering the office and she marched right up to Linda and handed her a rose as well. "You're so sweet! Thank you!" her friend gushed as she leaned over the desk to give Natalie a hug. She made her way back to her desk, took off her coat, and powered on her workstation. She saw several messages from Sonja and discovered they were messages the president had received. Sonja had included Natalie on her replies. Natalie began to read them and discovered they were all complimentary messages gushing about the new website update. Several were from well-respected designers and fashion pundits. Then she noticed that Sonja was giving her the credit for the design. She was stunned by the generosity Sonja had displayed. Natalie immediately jumped to her feet with her flowers and went to speak with Sonja. When she reached her office the door was closed. "Looking for Ms. Ellison?" Sonja's personal assistant, Donna, asked her. "Yes. Do you know when she will be available?" she replied. "She's not in yet. She left me a message saying she will be at her lawyer's office for most of the day and hoped to get back before 4PM. You might be able to reach her by email as she has her tablet with her." "Okay, thanks." Natalie made her way back to her desk wondering if this was due to her divorce. She wanted to personally thank Sonja face to face for the wonderful messages she'd sent out but that would have to wait. Returning to her workstation she immersed herself in her work. Before she knew it 5PM rolled around and Maggie was at her elbow. She was a solid woman with a full head of red hair so she was difficult to miss. "Hey worker bee! It's time to party!" Maggie said using her pet name for her favorite employee. Natalie looked up from her screen and blinked away the blurriness. "Is it the end of the day already?" "Did you eat lunch?" Maggie griped taking in the empty cookie packet she probably got from the lunch room. She saw Natalie's eyes move to the wrapper as well. "No that doesn't count as lunch!" The petite brunette shook her head. "I wasn't hungry." "No drinks for you until you get some food in you! Come on, let's go! They're holding a table for us next door." Natalie grabbed her coat and followed her boss towards the elevators. She'd come back to the office to get her stuff before she went home. The usual watering hole for the team was just steps from their front door. On the ground floor of the next office tower was a bar/club/restaurant called The Pink Pearl. It used to be a sushi restaurant but the new owner kept the name. Their food offerings were pretty basic, reasonably priced, and tasted... ok. It was certainly no trendy bistro. "Has Sonja returned?" Natalie asked as they stepped into the elevator. "Sonja? You're on a first name basis with the boss lady now?" Maggie looked at her with raised eyebrows and Natalie became flustered. "It's cool! Our Queen is pretty private so kudos to you for breaking through her ice!" Natalie was surprised that she'd been given special permission. She also didn't like the implied insult of Sonja being an 'Ice Queen'. She held her tongue and waited for Maggie to answer her question. "Right, well, it has been reported that Ms. Ellison will meet us at the bar. She called from the cab on her way in," Maggie continued as they exited the elevator and strode across the lobby. It was still very cold out so the two quickly made their way over to the bar. Once inside they walked to the back and the other executives were already taking their seats around a long rectangular table. Natalie noted that spouses and significant others were also in attendance. All of them. It was Valentine's Day after all. She began to feel like a third wheel and it must have shown on her face as Maggie turned to address her after she gave her husband a hug. "Most of us are only going to be here for a drink or two to celebrate the successful release of the update then we're off to do our own celebrating," she said with a grin, bouncing her eyebrows. Natalie smiled faintly and snagged a waitress to order a drink. She took an empty seat up next to the head of the table and nursed her drink when it arrived. Conversation rumbled around her but no one really made any effort to include her as this was date night. Fifteen minutes later Sonja walked into the back room and Natalie immediately saw something was wrong. The energy in those blue eyes was dimmed and her smile looked brittle. As people noticed her entry they cheered and waved and she fixed a broader smile on her lips as she greeted her guests. Once she reached the head of the table Natalie looked up at her and saw Sonja relax a little as they shared a look. The president stood at the head of the table and raised her hands to get everyone's attention. "Thank you all for coming. I have to say now, I don't know what I was thinking planning a get together for staff on Valentine's Day. I know you all probably have plans so please go have fun and celebrate the day as you want. Before you go I'd like you to know that I am very proud of you. You really pulled together as the top notch team that you are and we have an amazing new site that is drawing raves from our fans, customers, and advertisers alike. There will be a little extra in everyone's paycheque next week as my thanks! Now get out of here you crazy kids!" More cheers erupted and quickly the group began to disperse. Natalie's Valentine Soon there was just Sonja and Natalie alone in the party room. Natalie looked at Sonja's pained expression. "Are you ok?" she asked gently. "It was one of the hardest days of my life. Gerry and I are officially divorced but he went out swinging. He did everything in his power to make the transition as unpleasant and painful as possible. He fought for every penny but by the end of the day we agreed to complete financial separation. His accounts are his and mine are mine. I don't owe him a cent and he doesn't owe me. The house in the suburbs and the downtown condo, which he had to vacate this morning, were both in my name as I paid for them. He was so angry! The names he called me! The filth that came out of his mouth! If he could have gotten away with using his fists on me he would have." She visibly shuddered. Natalie placed her hand on top of Sonja's and squeezed it to show her support. Once more she saw Sonja relax a little. "Thank you for sticking around. It feels good to be able to talk with someone about this. Someone who isn't judging me," the blond said quietly. "Of course you can talk with me about this! We can talk about anything! Didn't you come to my rescue when I melted down earlier in the week?" Natalie said with a gentle smile. Sonja leaned back in her chair but kept Natalie's hand in hers. She sighed then looked at the glass on the table in front of the petite brunette. "Was that a Mojito? I need to get one of those." Natalie caught the eye of her waitress and signalled two more. The first one had relaxed her considerably but she really needed to get some food in her. Wait, did Sonja eat? "You were at the lawyer's office all day? Did you eat?" she asked. Sonja just frowned and shook her head. "Did you?" Natalie tilted her head imitating the blonde's trademark move and grinned. "No I didn't and I'm famished. This drink is going to my head." Sonja grinned and nodded. "Ok, we drink these next drinks then we take a cab over to a nice restaurant near my condo. We have dinner, my treat!" Natalie pouted then smiled and nodded. "If you wouldn't mind I'd really appreciate it if you'd come with me to inspect the condo. I'm afraid to see what he's done to it. As I discovered today, he's a vindictive prick!" "Sure," Natalie said, curious about what a downtown condo looked like. It had to be different from her apartment. After the drinks arrived Sonja made a quick call to get a table at her favorite restaurant. Then they sipped at the Mojitos. Natalie perked up. "Oh! Before I forget, I want to thank you for those amazing messages you sent out to all those people! You gave me far too much credit for the work we both did!" "I meant it when I said you came to our rescue. This update wouldn't have happened and it certainly wouldn't have been as well received without your direct efforts!" "It was a team effort. The content was brilliant and that was all the production people. The design and testing was you and I all the way! You were equally involved!" Natalie insisted and Sonja just grinned at her as she shook her head. She sucked back her drink. "Come on! I'm hungry! Natalie tossed the remaining amount of her drink back as well. She pulled on her coat and followed Sonja outside. Before the blond could flag a cab Natalie pulled her towards the office. "I have to get my shoulder bag." Sonja nodded. She waited in the lobby while Natalie made a quick trip upstairs and back. "Flowers for you!" Natalie said with a smile as she handed over the remaining roses. Sonja's face lit up. "Oh my god! It's been so long since someone gave me flowers! Thank you! They're lovely!" Natalie felt all warm and fuzzy inside and realized the booze was hitting her pretty hard. "I think we'd better go eat now." Sonja slipped her arm through Natalie's and outside they went. They took a cab closer to the center of the city and got out on a pretty side street. "My condo is just around that corner and three doors down. We can walk it," Sonja insisted. They turned and entered the restaurant which was small and intimate. They got a small booth near the back. Breathing deeply over the flowers Sonja sighed with happiness. "This was what I needed! Flowers and comfort food with good company!" "Awww! You're making me all verklempt!" Natalie teased and got a smile in return. Sonja pointed out the best items on the menu to Natalie and they placed their orders. "Do you want another Mojito?" Sonja asked. "I think I'll stick with water for now," the brunette sighed. "My head is spinning!" Sonja ordered a drink. Once they were alone she looked around and her face showed she was becoming a little sad. "What's wrong?" "I've been to this restaurant a lot and now I realize that was because I was here with my ex. That's a little sad. I spent seven of my best years married to that man and I have nothing to show for them. We never had kids as both of us were too busy with our careers. Now I'm grateful we don't have kids. Still, it was such a waste of years!" "Those years were not a waste! You achieved amazing things in that time! You've touched the lives of thousands of people! You're making young women take a second look at their preconceived notions of beauty and making them feel better about themselves! You've been instrumental in raising awareness of wife abuse and got funding for women's shelters!" Natalie's mouth dropped open and she was at a loss for words as she struggled to understand how this amazing woman could think she'd wasted her time. Sonja was looking at Natalie, obviously surprised and pleased by her outburst. Then she winced with a smile. "I meant it was a waste to spend the time with him. I'm proud of those other things!" Natalie put her face in her hands in embarrassment for her rant. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry for going off on you like that! I'm not normally this... uh, this..." "Assertive? Bold? Badass?" Sonja quipped. Natalie whimpered with embarrassment until she felt Sonja's strong hands pulling hers away from her face. "Don't cover up that lovely face of yours. I need your smile to cheer me up tonight," Sonja said to her friend. Natalie blushed at Sonja's compliment to the blonde's delight. "Listen, I want your opinion on something. I was thinking of going back to my maiden name, Sonja Hellström." "Oh my god, yes! You should definitely do that! That's such a lovely name!" Natalie sighed. "You have a lovely sounding name as well. Natalie Renaud. Is that French?" "Yes, my great grandparents emigrated from France. It isn't as lovely as Natalie Hellström though." Sonja glanced at her in surprise but Natalie just looked back curiously. The tall beauty snorted quietly. "Natalie Hellström? Was that a proposal?" she said with a wry grin. The young woman's face threatened to spontaneously burst into flame from the heat of her blush. "I'm teasing! I'm sorry but you are so delightful to tease!" Sonja grinned and patted her hand. Their food arrived sparing Natalie further embarrassment. They ate mostly in silence as both were ravenous and the food was very good. They each fed a bite of their meals to the other and Natalie felt the heat of her blush once more as she tasted the food from Sonja's fork. The blond had a third and fourth drink during the meal and she became very relaxed. Natalie was very pleased that Sonja was looking so much more at ease, her previous stress from the day draining away. Once they finished their dinner Sonja payed the bill and they made their way outside. Sonja wobbled a little as the sidewalk was slippery. Natalie quickly slipped her arm around the woman's body and pulled her close to keep her from falling over. She missed the surprised look on Sonja's face but she'd noticed how many drinks her friend had ordered. She'd make sure she didn't fall down on the way to the condo which was within walking distance. Sonja leaned against her as they made their way down the street and around the corner. Natalie tried to ignore the tingling traveling up the side of her body that was pressed against Sonja's sleek muscles. She felt absolutely doughy next to the woman. They reached the entrance to the condo and the doorman recognized Sonja and opened the door for them. Sonja led them over to the concierge. "Good evening Fredrick!" "Good evening Ms. Ellison." "Were the locks changed once Gerr- Mr. Ellison left?" "Yes ma'am. Here is your new key fob and a spare," the man said handing her two round discs connected to keychains. "Thank you Fredrick! Have a good night!" "You as well, ma'am." As she turned to go to the elevators she saw Natalie staring at her. "What?" "I- I thought... I was supporting your weight as we walked here!" Sonja bit her lip nervously. "I just slipped a little. I'm not drunk. And... it's been a long time since someone hugged me while we walked. It felt really nice!" She kept her eyes on Natalie's nervously. Natalie's face was warming up again. She was embarrassed but she was also confused. Holding Sonja had felt good for her too but she was too shy to say it out loud. She just gave the woman a smile and stepped into the elevator. They rode up to the fifteenth floor in silence, Natalie watched Sonja from the corner of her eye and noticed her beginning to tense up. Finally she reached out and took her hand. Sonja looked over at her gratefully and her shoulders slowly drained of their tension. She held Natalie's hand all the way to the door of the condo. The fob unlocked the door and they stepped into the inner hallway. Their feet made high pitched crunching sounds against the hardwood. "Don't move," Sonja said and flipped the light switch. Nothing happened. She looked at Natalie who pulled out her cell phone and opened her flashlight app. Pointing the phone at their feet she saw broken glass... everywhere. Sonja gasped. Natalie aimed the phone upwards and sure enough the light fixture was broken and none of the lightbulbs remained intact. The lovely small chandelier was ruined. Sonja moaned sadly as she saw the destruction. "There should be a broom in this closet," Sonja said and without moving her feet she leaned over and opened the door next to them. There were two brooms inside, one small and one push broom with a wide head. Sonja used the smaller one to sweep the area around their feet, getting right into the corners. She had Natalie lift her feet one at a time so she could broom the glass free from her boots and Natalie put her feet down in the clean area. Natalie returned the favor for Sonja's boots and soon they were able to sweep the entrance hall clean of the glass. It was safe to take their boots off and Natalie set her shoulder bag down as well. They went to the end of the hall and Sonja touched the light switch for the living room but once more nothing happened. "Son of a bitch!" Sonja growled out between her teeth. "Where do you keep your candles?" Natalie asked. Sonja looked at her in surprise. "Oh! Uh, in the drawer of the cabinet by the far wall." Natalie went back to the closet, picked up the wide broom and carried it back to the entrance to the living room. She pushed it along the floor as she made her way towards the cabinet and heard the tinkle of glass shards being picked up along the way. "That BASTARD!" Sonja yelled behind Natalie who turned to see the blond staring in shock at a small cabinet that once contained... she looked down and saw the remains of some glass art pieces. "I collected these on our vacations all over the world," Sonja said in shock. "I'm sorry Sonja." She took in the woman's anguished expression. "Maybe you can start a new collection with new memories?" Sonja just nodded sadly and followed Natalie on to the candles. Natalie saw the drawer was filled with candles of all different sizes and colors. "These aren't scented are they?" Sonja smiled. "No, I don't like perfume so there are no scented candles in here. Why?" "I don't like perfume either," Natalie said with a tiny smile. They pulled a few out and Natalie led the way to the kitchen entrance. Food was scattered all over the floor. "How mature was this guy?" Natalie growled and Sonja snorted in surprise and wrapped her arms around Natalie from behind to give her a hug. She pressed her cheek to the side of the brunette's head. "Thank you for being here. I think I would have fallen apart otherwise," Sonja sighed. The tingles were back with a vengeance and Natalie froze in confusion. "My- my pleasure-" She froze again hearing her words. Sonja released her and Natalie wobbled a little with the loss of the sensation. "Don't sweep in there. The floor might be wet. I'll deal with it in the morning. I can reach the drawer with the lighter if we switch places," Sonja suggested. Natalie stepped back, staying within the swept area as the other woman leaned in over the counter and grabbed a lighter from the end drawer. "OK, we're ready!" the blond said holding up the lighter with a smile. They made their way around the living room behind the push broom lighting candles and leaving them on end tables, mantles, and any surface that could safely hold one. Once they'd made a circuit of the room they looked back. "Oh! What a lovely room!" Natalie said. One wall was floor to ceiling windows and there were a number of comfortable couches and chairs around a nice coffee table. A perfect place for entertaining guests and having deep conversations. She caught Sonja's smile at her. They continued on down a hallway towards the bedrooms and passed a room with a huge flat screen TV with all the tech toys to go with it. "Nothing in this room was disturbed," Natalie noted. "During the negotiations he tried to claim this stuff was his. Obviously he didn't break anything he intended to come back for. Only my stuff," Sonja growled. They came upon a plastic bag on the floor in the hallway. Natalie opened it up and saw it contained four cans of spray paint. Black, red, gold and silver. Only the black one had its cap removed. "This paint belong to you?" she asked. "No... what did he do?" Sonja said as she guided Natalie and her push broom forward into the master bedroom at the end of the hall. There, straight ahead was a massive king sized bed on a raised step. To the left was the dresser with a large, now broken mirror above it. A jewellery box had been knocked on the floor and its contents were scattered and stepped on. But what had Sonja's attention was the huge 'BITCH' spray painted in rough black letters on her butter yellow wall above the bed. Natalie looked back at her friend and saw a tear roll down her cheek. "Sonja?" "He said I was a cold, passionless ice bitch. I've heard that insult more than once in my life. They call me the 'Ice Queen' behind my back in the office. Did you know that?" Sonja's voice was almost faint as she looked at Natalie who was looking back in shock. "They haven't share that with you? You haven't been brought into their trust?" Natalie suddenly got angry. She began to tremble. "I don't care what other people call you! They don't know you! They don't know how deeply you care! They don't know the strength of your emotions!" She looked at the word painted on the wall and got a determined look in her eye. "I can fix this!" She looked into Sonja's surprised eyes. "Do you trust me?" Sonja appeared overwhelmed by her emotions but she nodded. "Bring me four candles and give me twenty minutes alone in this room," Natalie said fiercely as her creativity was exploding in her mind. Sonja picked up the energy and hustled out to bring the candles back. Natalie gently guided her friend out of the bedroom and closed the door. "No peeking!" Thirty minutes later there was an anxious knocking at the bedroom door. "Natalie?" "Wait! Wait! I'm almost ready!" Natalie called out. She stood back and nodded then she closed the cracked open bedroom window with a thump and hustled over to the door. Taking a deep breath she opened it slowly and looked up into curious and lovely blue eyes. "I hope I haven't made it worse but please come in and take a look. It's only paint so it can be painted over if you don't like it." Sonja followed Natalie in and brought her eyes up to look at the wall above the bed. The room was cool but Sonja saw the reason for the fresh air as Natalie had been painting. The 'BITCH' was now bolder, stronger, and sharper with silver accents giving it an almost 3D effect. But on top of that, almost obscuring the underlying word, painted in beautiful bold red was 'Audacious!'. Natalie had used the gold paint to accent the letters, giving them depth and making them POP off the wall. Sonja stood frozen, eyes wide and her mouth open in shock. Natalie was wringing her hands together in worry, unable to tell if Sonja was pleased with her graffiti or about to explode in rage at the vandalism. "Oh my god Natalie... I- I don't have words. I'm in awe. This is incredible! I love it!" Sonja finally managed to gasp. Natalie burst into happy tears and the other woman pulled her into a tight embrace. "Thank you! Thank you so much for being here for me! For believing in me," Sonja cried as she held the young woman's soft body tight against hers. She kissed her forehead. Natalie was in heaven. Her hero was thanking her for being supportive. The most supportive woman she'd ever met in her life was thanking her for the same. It was crazy and her mind was spinning. She tilted her head back to tell her so but Sonja's lips met hers instead. She squeaked as a wave of pleasure coursed through her body and she instinctively held Sonja tighter, pressing her mouth harder against the blonde's. After what seemed like an eternity Sonja pulled back from the kiss and her eyes showed her confusion warring with her need. Natalie gasped as their lips parted. She suddenly wanted more but her mind reeled back in shock at what she'd done! She kissed another woman! On the mouth! She'd never done that before. Sonja stepped back, releasing Natalie who seemed dazed. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to take advantage... my emotions are all over the place and your gift... it's too wonderful. I can't begin to tell you how much it means to me." Natalie's nerves were buzzing and she didn't know what to do with her hands. They seemed to have a mind of their own and she struggled to hold them back from returning to touching Sonja. That would be totally inappropriate! "I- I need a drink. Would you like one?" Sonja asked. "YES! I mean, please," Natalie squeaked. That earned a warm smile from her friend so Natalie felt herself begin to relax. She looked back at her painting and smiled. She liked it too. They went back out to the living room and the liquor cabinet seemed to have largely avoided Gerry's rampage. "All he left was the whisky," Sonja said in disappointment. So Gerry had gotten to the cabinet. "I'll have one of those," Natalie said boldly and drew a surprised smile from her friend. "Coming right up." She poured the amber liquid into two tumblers, handing one to Natalie. They clinked glasses. "Wait! What are we toasting?" Natalie chirped before they drank. Sonja's eyes lost focus then seemed to be looking at Natalie's mouth. Natalie was struggling with her own inner demons. She tried to think of something witty to say as a toast but the only words her mind volunteered involved lips and kissing so she stayed quiet. "It's Valentine's Day. Let's raise a toast to that!" Sonja finally managed and got a nod. "To love!" they said in unison and looked at each other in shock then burst into nervous giggling. They slammed back their drinks and Natalie held out her tumbler for more as the heat of the whisky slowly made its way down her throat. Natalie's Valentine Sonja topped off their glasses and they made their way to the sofa. "It's safe. While you were creating that masterpiece in there I cleaned up this room and checked everywhere for glass shards. I'm going to call in a cleaning service tomorrow to give the place a serious cleaning and safety check. Then I'm sending the bill to Gerry. He forgot I have a hidden camera in the bookcase so I have him on film being an ass. He doesn't pay the cleaning bill, he gets a visit from the cops. Knocking out the lights and spreading all this glass around, you'd think he was out to harm me!" Natalie held out her fist and Sonja bumped it with hers. Then they broke into giggles again. They finished their drink and Sonja poured them another. "The sheets on the bed are torn as well," Natalie said sadly. Sonja got up and checked the linen closet. When she returned to the couch and plopped herself down on it she pouted at Natalie. "All he left are the silk sheets. Not my favorite for winter time." "Ooo! I've never slept on silk sheets!" Natalie cooed. Then her face went red as the implication of her words occurred to her. Sonja's face was a little red too as she seemed to be thinking along the same lines. She hid her face by draining her glass once more. Natalie held out her tumbler for a refill as well. Sonja poured for them both. They were silent for a bit, each trapped in their own thoughts. Sonja broke the silence first. "I want to thank you for what you said earlier. I've been accused of being dispassionate and aloof for most of my life. The 'Ice Queen'." She made a brittle smile. "No one, my ex included, has ever seen how deeply I do care and how strong my emotions are. Except you." Natalie was squirming under Sonja's gaze. She couldn't get her mind away from the memory of their kiss. She could swear that Sonja was thinking about it too. Natalie had heard of girls who experimented but she'd dedicated herself completely to building her skills so she could escape to the city and begin her new life there. She'd only had two sex partners, Alex and Scott, and both had ended badly. Her mood turned sour as she thought about Scott's words. Sonja saw her frown, reached out and plucked the tumbler from her fingers. "If you are going to be a sad drunk like me then we have to stop drinking. One of us must remain happy to save the other." Natalie stared at Sonja in surprise. "Oh! Sorry, I was just thinking of what Scott said to me." "Scott, he's the jerk who broke up with you?" Sonja asked, beginning to show some anger. "Yes... he said... he said... sex with me was like masturbating because I wasn't there. Mentally." Natalie squeezed her eyes closed as the pain resurfaced. She heard Sonja gasp in shock then growl and her eyes popped open. "Scott, he works for me doesn't he? Maybe I'll have words with this Scott," she ground out between her clenched teeth. Natalie was suddenly worried she had overstepped her bounds and everything would explode into a big mess that would backfire on Sonja. She surged forward on the couch towards her friend. "No, please! You shouldn't do that! It's fine. We've broken up and it's over. He was a stupid jerk and he really hurt my feelings but that isn't fatal. I'll survive." That's when she realized she was lying on top of Sonja, pinning her to the couch holding her shoulders. The blond was looking up at her with the softest expression in her eyes. Natalie felt her face slowly lowering her mouth towards the other woman's and there was nothing she could do to stop it. When their lips met Natalie whimpered with the intensity of the sensation. It was too perfect. She felt Sonja gasp as well. God Sonja's firm body felt so good under her soft one. She couldn't help herself from grinding against it, just a little. When Sonja's hands slid down to her ass and pulled them tighter together, their bodies ground together harder and both women moaned into the kiss. Sonja's tongue slipped into her mouth and Natalie sucked on it eagerly. Natalie was stunned by how good everything felt. It was so much better than it had been with Scott. Sensations felt sharper, her need felt stronger, she couldn't get enough of this woman! It finally felt... right! Sonja moved her hands up to Natalie's head and gently pulled her back from her mouth. They were both gasping for breath and Natalie looked into her eyes nervously. "I- I've never been with a woman before," Sonja said. "Me too, uh neither... either," Natalie stumbled as her brain felt scrambled. "I want to keep going but this couch is digging into my back." Natalie gasped and scrambled backwards to allow the blond to sit up. They smiled at each other and Sonja leaned forward and sucked Natalie's lower lip between hers caressing the plump flesh with the tip of her tongue causing her to moan and tremble. Sonja released the lip and they rested their foreheads together as they panted. "My god! I never thought it could be this good," she sighed as she trembled. Natalie pulled back to smile at the other woman. She was thinking the exact same thing. "Would- would you mind if I took a shower... before we did anything else? It was a really stressful day and I need to freshen up," Sonja said looking in Natalie's eyes hopefully. The brunette just smiled and nodded. "You could join me." Natalie's eyes widened as she imagined being naked in the shower with this tall blond beauty. A shot of pleasure went through her and she nodded quickly, not trusting her voice. Sonja's answering grin sent another burst of pleasure through her. They made their way back to the bedroom and stopped at the foot of the bed to gaze in admiration at the art once more. "It's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me," Sonja said and kissed Natalie tenderly. When she pulled back she looked at the bed. "The sheets! We should change them." Natalie smiled and began to pull the torn sheets from the mattress while Sonja left to get the new sheets. The duvet cover was slashed as well but only the top. They could still use it tonight. She suddenly realized she was thinking about sleeping in this bed and wobbled a little at the boldness of the idea. "Something wrong?" Natalie looked over at curious but beautiful blue eyes and felt a zing go through her. "No, not at all!" Sonja helped her make the bed with the beautifully soft sheets. Then she took her hand and led her into the bathroom. The blonde had moved the six candles from the living room into the bathroom. The light they threw was warm and intimate. "I think it's only fair that we undress at the same time. Item for item," Sonja said with a tiny smile on her lips. Natalie nodded then looked down. "I'm wearing a dress and you have a blouse and jeans. I believe these items are equivalents. The dress for the blouse and jeans." Sonja's grin was wide and her eyes twinkled. "You are a master negotiator. Agreed." Natalie just nodded with a small smile of her own as she watched Sonja's graceful fingers undo the buttons on her blouse. She reached back behind her neck and undid the hook at the top of her collar and pulled the zipper down. She didn't pull the top of her dress forward and off until Sonja was pushing her blouse back over her shoulders. "Oh, you have lovely breasts!" Sonja sighed as she took in the pretty pink lace bra containing Natalie's bounty. Natalie was in awe of Sonja's lean and smooth torso. Her breasts, gently supported by a satiny white bra, may have been more humble than Natalie's but that was only because they were in the company of a gently rippling abdomen and a trim waist. Once more Natalie felt like a frosted donut hanging out with the celery. She pushed her dress over her hips and watched Sonja undue her belt and jeans and shimmy out of the tight fabric. God, her legs were so long and shapely! Why hadn't she noticed before? Well... she hadn't kissed the woman before either. "Hey! No fair, you have nylons! That's an extra item!" Sonja complained with a playful pout. "You're wearing socks." "Oh! Right!" she grinned. Off they went and then all they had left was their panties and bras. "OK, I'm getting cold so I'm going to speed up this fun so I can get into the hot water," Sonja said as she tugged off her panties and bra. Natalie rushed to keep up. They stepped into the large shower stall and Sonja got the water going. "The reason you're cold is that you have no body fat! You have no insulation at all while I have a thick layer all over my body with just a little too much up here." Natalie looked down at her heavy breasts in frustration. Hands suddenly pulled her under the spray and she felt her tits squish against the muscles of the taller woman. "Too much is your opinion and does not coincide with the opinion of the other occupant of this shower," Sonja said with a haughty tone which made Natalie giggle. The giggle turned into a gasp as Sonja moved one of her hands to squeeze one of the large tits pressed against her. That felt so good. Sonja grabbed the soap and stepped back to quickly wash herself and build a lather on her own torso. She then stepped forward to rub her soapy body against Natalie's who sighed and moaned. Sonja's eyes took on an intense look. She slid her fingers into thick auburn hair and took a grip. Natalie gasped and looked up at the taller woman with need in her eyes. Sonja roughly took her kiss and Natalie willingly submitted to her bold tongue and firm grip. The petite woman clung to Sonja and sucked on the tongue in her mouth. Natalie was making little needful noises which drove Sonja's desperation to have her, to please her, to take her. She pulled the brunette under the hot spray once more to rinse the soap from their bodies. Then she shut off the water and pulled Natalie out to rub a thick towel over her body. Natalie was overcome with bliss. Sonja's kiss took her breath away and she felt like she was floating. Feeling her strong hands rubbing the towel over her body- OHMYGOD! Sonja rubbed the towel down Natalie's torso and over the neat little patch of hair between her legs. Suddenly the brunette was clinging to her arm and gasping. "Too sensitive!" Natalie said as she looked up into intense blue eyes. She gently pulled the towel from Sonja's hands and dried herself as the blond used another towel, though she never looked away. Natalie could feel Sonja's need. Once they were dry enough the blond pulled Natalie into the bedroom and up onto the large bed. The silk sheets were so incredibly soft but just a little cool against the skin. Natalie didn't get to feel that for long as Sonja stretched her body over hers. Once more Sonja took her kiss and Natalie was swept away on the woman's passion. When her lips moved to the brunette's throat it drew a gasp from the young woman. Sonja's lips kissed their way downwards to Natalie's tits. She stopped as she reached the soft orbs and grinned widely as she took them in her hands, squeezing and kneading them in her graceful fingers. She seemed a little mesmerized by their abundance as she squeezed the flesh and sucked a nipple between her lips. "Yessss, oh Sonja, oh Sonja, yessss, that's so good....AAAAAHHH!" Natalie cried out and clung to the woman's head. Sonja went after the other nipple with equal enthusiasm and Natalie's body shook with the jolts of pleasure as she cried out in bliss. When Sonja's lips began to travel downwards again Natalie began to worry. She'd never done this before. The two men she'd been with never did this. Her stomach trembled as the soft kisses moved downwards. The kisses stopped and she lifted her head to look downwards. Sonja was smiling back up at her. "I've never done this but I've seen it done so I'm going to give it a try," the blond said. "You've seen it done?" Natalie asked in confusion. "Models can get pretty wild after a long shoot on a tropical island. My room mates decided to have a little fun late one night. I watched but didn't join in. It looked like fun though." With that, her lips continued downwards. Closer and closer. Then the lightest of strokes from the bottom to the top of her wet lower lips. Natalie screamed and her hips came up off the bed. When Sonja sucked her clit into her mouth and stroked it roughly with her tongue Natalie's eyes rolled back and her body went into convulsions. "Oh god, oh Sonja, Oh my god- OhSonjaaaaAAAAAHHHHH!!!!" Gradually, Natalie felt the room returning to her. She'd never felt this good before and didn't want it to end. She blinked her eyes and a beautiful face came into focus. Sonja was lying next to her, smiling down at her as she rested her head on her palm. "Welcome back! Where did you go?" the blond teased. "I- I was going to say Heaven... but I can see I'm still there," Natalie sighed as she gazed into twinkling blue eyes. "Oh, you're a smooth talker!" Sonja chuckled. Natalie rolled over and gently pushed Sonja over onto her back. "You're not the only one who gets to have fun!" She dipped her face down to caress Sonja's lips with hers and the woman sighed happily. Natalie ran the tip of her tongue along the other's lips and felt her tremble with need. She dipped her tongue deeper and slid it around Sonja's tongue until the woman began to suck on it. God! That was so sexy! Before she got caught up in the sexiness of the kiss she pulled back and smiled at Sonja's look of raw need. She moved her lips to kiss along her jaw line and played with her earlobe with the tip of her tongue. Sonja gasped and clutched at her as tremors ran through her body. Natalie made a mental note that the lovely woman's earlobes were particularly sensitive. Her lips traveled down Sonja's long smooth neck and slowly made their way to her breasts. Before her lips reached their target Natalie gently raked her nails up the underside of each firm breast causing Sonja to arch her back. As she settle back to the bed Natalie closed her soft lips around one of her stiff nipples. "Oh fuck! Ahhhh!" Sonja gasped. Sensitive nipples too, Natalie noted to herself. Gently sucking the nipple into her mouth she pressed her tongue against it. "Natalie! Sweet, sweet Natalie! Ohhhh!" the blond gasped as she clawed at the sheets. Natalie squeezed and tugged on the other nipple as she ran her tongue in circles around the first. "FFFFUUUUCCCKKK! FUCKFUCKFUCK!" Sonja growled and squirmed under Natalie's lips and fingers. She sagged back to the bed when Natalie released her nipples but gasped even louder when the brunette just switched sides. When she released her once more Sonja was panting pretty hard and Natalie could feel her tight stomach muscles trembling. She dragged her fingernails down those hard muscles. "Oh fuck! Natalie! What you're doing to me!" "Just the beginning dear Sonja!" Natalie smiled wickedly up at her lover. That idea stuck in her mind. She was making love to Sonja Ellison- No! Sonja Hellström! They were lovers! The thought drove her passion even higher and she dragged her lips sensually across the smooth skin of Sonja's belly. The blonde's jaw dropped open in unbearable anticipation as Natalie's lips got closer. Then it happened. Natalie gazed in wonder at Sonja's most tender flesh and she had to taste it! Using her tongue and lips boldly she explored the swollen lips of her pussy, licked deeply into her hot depths and finally stroked her sensitive clit. Then Natalie slid a finger then two into the hot depths and began to pump them in and out as she sucked on the top of her pussy. Sonja's hands were in her hair once more. "FFFUUUUCCKK!!! CCCUUU- CCCUUUUUMMM- CCCUUUMMMMIIINNNNGGG!!! NATALIE! AAAAHHHH!!!" Sonja wailed as she held Natalie's face against her surging pussy. It went on and on until Sonja pushed at Natalie to get her to take her mouth from her overly sensitive flesh. Sonja sagged back to the bed and lay there completely spent and absolutely glowing with satisfaction. Natalie watched her lover basking in her afterglow. She slipped from the bed but Sonja didn't have the energy to open her eyes. She rushed into the washroom and quickly washed her face and brought a warm facecloth back out to the bed for her lover. Moments later Sonja gasped and jumped as a warm facecloth wiped across her pussy. Sonja opened her eyes and looked questioningly at Natalie whose face was maybe a little pink from her blush. "You, uh, sprayed me a little when you came. I thought you might like a quick cleaning," the brunette said timidly. "I'm sorry-" "No! It was very sexy!" Natalie said with a happy grin and tucked herself in against Sonja's body. She couldn't get over how beautiful the tall blond was both physically and mentally and how wonderful she felt naked against her. They rested together in silence, just enjoying the feeling of holding each other until Natalie spoke softly. "I'm sorry you had such a rough Valentine's Day." "What?" Sonja said in surprise. "I mean spending your whole day at the lawyers, battling to be free of your ex, and then coming home to see his spiteful vandalism. That was a pretty sucky way to spend the day dedicated to love." Sonja took Natalie's chin between her finger and thumb and tilted her face to look into her eyes. "I would endure today's events every day to the end of my days if each night I could be with you and feel this good. Today was the best Valentine's Day I have ever had!" Natalie's eyes welled up with happy tears. "The best? How?" "Don't you recall the points we had in our Valentine's Day Romance Checklist? You ticked almost all the boxes for me today!" She began to count them off on her fingers. "We had drinks and held hands. You gave me flowers! We went out to a quiet and intimate restaurant for dinner and we fed each other from our plates. You hugged me all the way home from the restaurant! Then you gave me the most exquisite art as a present. We had a sexy shower together then on satin sheets we made love, which was delicious by the way! It was the perfect Valentine's Day!" Natalie was overcome and kissed Sonja until they both had to pull back to breathe. "I wish I'd done something for you," Sonja lamented and Natalie was about to protest when the blond placed a graceful finger over her lover's mouth. "Could you stay with me until I can think of a way to repay you?" Sonja asked. Natalie grinned and nodded as happy tears dripped down her cheeks. "I have to warn you, it could take years," Sonja warned with a smile as she watched Natalie's joy explode. Then their lips met again. Natalie's heart filled with love for the woman in her arms. This had become her best Valentine's Day ever as well. It was to be just the first in a lifetime's worth.