Julie was sitting on the couch next to Ann, watching a lesbian porn video and making out. As Ann slid her hand under Julie's shirt, she leaned in and kissed her. Julie felt herself responding and kissed her back. She heard a low moan and realized it was coming from her. Encouraged by the sounds, Ann squeezed Julie's breast harder and pushed her tongue inside Julie's lips, which had parted. Their tongues swirled together and tasted the other one.

Her other hand slid between Julie's legs. Even through her jeans, she could feel the heat building and a spot of dampness already forming. Julie unconsciously opened her legs a bit wider to give Ann's hand better access. Their kisses became more intense and frantic. Julie reached out and gripped Ann's arm, pulling her closer. Finally, Ann stood up and took Julie by the hand, leading her to the bedroom. Soon they were lying naked on top of the bed, embraced in a passionate kiss and their hands roaming over each other's body. A fleeting thought passed through Julie's arousal filled brain... how did I get here?

Ann and Julie had known one another since grade school when Julie's family had moved next door to Ann. They became best friends and were almost inseparable during high school. When they had boyfriends, they were happy for each other and double-dated. When one of them broke up, they consoled each other. After they graduated from high school, they went off to different colleges, but always talked to one another once every week or so.

During breaks and summer vacations, they spent as much time together as they could. Eventually, they each fell in love with a man and stood up at each other's weddings, but remained best of friends. Even though they lived about fifty miles apart, they still did things together as couples a few times a year, but also managed to have a couple ‘girls night out' every year. One day Ann told her that her husband Paul had gotten transferred and they were moving four states away at the end of the month.

After Ann moved away, Julie got pregnant and had a baby girl, then had twin boys eighteen months later. With three kids under two, she had her hands full, and the two friends talked less frequently and finally lost touch when Ann and Julie Paul moved again. Several years passed by, and Julie had another baby during that time.

One day Julie's phone rang, and she did not recognize the number, so she let it go to voicemail. When she listened to her messages and heard Ann's voice, she called her right back. They chatted for a few minutes, but she told Ann the kids were due home from school any minute but that she would call her back after the kids were in bed.

When she called back, they talked for two hours catching up on the highlights of the years. Ann told Julie she would be back in town in a couple of weeks and she had a lot more to tell her, but wanted to say it face to face. They made plans to meet up one day when the three older kids were in school. She might even see if her mom could take the youngest for the day, but Ann said it would be ok.

Two weeks later, Ann showed up at Julie's door with a toddler in tow, about a year younger than her youngest. The two women hugged and kissed.

"This is my son, Paul Jr. or PJ, and he will be three in a couple of months."

"Just a little younger than my Carly. But why didn't you say something about having a child? Is he your only one?"

"Well, it isn't the best of stories, and I didn't want to talk about it over the phone."

"Why don't we get the kids together to play, then we can sit down and talk?"

They introduced the two kids, and Julie told Carly to show Paul all her toys and to share. Julie poured them some coffee and put out a plate of pastries. The two women sat down in the kitchen where they could see the kids, then Ann started.

"You might remember that Paul said he didn't want kids, and I was okay with that. I was neutral on the subject and was interested in pursuing my career. I got on the pill when we still lived here, and Paul was happy with that. Shortly after we moved, I got pregnant, and Paul was furious, accusing me of stopping the pill. I hadn't, but he didn't believe me. It turned out that it didn't matter because I miscarried at about three months."

"I'm so sorry. Ann."

"It was for the best. The doctor said the baby had a problem and would never have lived longer than a few months at the most. Anyway, after that, Paul got more distant and started working long hours. He got a promotion and began traveling more, and when he was home, sex was perfunctory and infrequent."

Julie leaned over and gave Ann a big hug.

"So, what happened? Did you get pregnant again? He looks just like Paul."

"A little over three years ago, Paul comes home and tells me he has been having an affair with a woman in another office that he traveled to regularly and she had gotten pregnant. He said he was going to leave me and move in with her and then he packed up his clothes and left. He continued putting money in our bank account and paying the mortgage, and I was making a decent salary, so I was ok financially.

"Oh, god, Ann. You should have called me."

"I thought about it, but I just threw myself into my work. I kept expecting to be served with divorce papers, but they never came, so I held out hope that he would come back one day. And then he did, about seven months later. But he was not alone. He came with this tiny little blue bundle. It turned out that after his girlfriend got pregnant, she got sick. They delivered the baby early, and she passed shortly after that. The baby spent two months in the NICU before he could bring him home."

"That was pretty damn nervy of him. He just showed up?"

"Yes, knocked on the door one day and asked me to at least listen to what he had to say. She had no family. She was an only child, and her parents were both gone. He contemplated giving the baby up for adoption, but decided to try and patch things up with me first."

"I agreed to take him back and care for the baby, but he was going to have to earn his way back into my bedroom. For a while, things seemed to be getting better, and we even had sex a few times, with him eventually moving back into our bedroom. I became quite attached to PJ, so when he suggested I adopt him officially, I consulted a lawyer and finally decided to go ahead with that."

"My lawyer put some provisions in the adoption papers ensuring that Paul would continue to support the child no matter what. And that turned out to be an excellent idea. I found out about a year later that she had not been the only one he had been seeing and that he had started seeing someone new shortly after he had moved back home. I also found out he had had a vasectomy after his girlfriend had gotten pregnant."

"What a cheating bastard! What did you do? Are you still together?"

"No. I went to my lawyer to see if I could get sole custody of the baby if I divorced him. It turned out, Paul didn't give a damn and was happy to be rid of PJ and me. He signed the paperwork giving me sole custody, and at first, tried to get out of paying any child support. But thanks to my lawyer, he was stuck. So I get alimony and child support every month, and he lives in a crappy little apartment with his new girlfriend. Every time he gets a raise, so do I."

"Hahaha… serves him right. So what are you going to do now?"

"I have decided to move back here. My folks are letting me move back in with them until I get settled in and find another job. They want to get to know their grandson and mom has decided to take early retirement so she can babysit him once I find a job."

"That is awesome, Ann. It will be great to have you near again. It will be like old times. When are you moving back?"

"As soon we get the details of the house worked out. Paul thinks he wants to buy me out and move back into the house with his girlfriend. If he can get approved for a new loan and gives me the amount I want, I have agreed to a lower alimony amount. He will likely have to put his girlfriend on the mortgage to qualify though, but that will be his problem. Once that has been settled, I will pack up what I want to take with me and move."

"If he can't get a new loan, then we will put the house on the market and sell it and split the profits. So it may take longer that way, depending on how long it takes to sell."

"Well, I am just happy you will be back."

"So you have four kids now?"

"Yep. Two of each.

"And you and Jim are doing ok financially with you not working?"

"Well, we have to watch our money, but we manage pretty well. Once Carly is in school, I am going to look for some part-time work. They do get more expensive as they get older. The boys have started playing several different sports, and my oldest is into dance and gymnastics. They keep me pretty busy running them to practices and games."

"And Carly is showing some musical inclinations, so we have already started her on lessons. They have some programs where they try young kids out on different instruments to see if they like one more than others. So far she has taken piano and violin and has done well on both. So now we are looking for a second-hand piano at a reasonable price."

"That's good. And what about you and Jim otherwise? Everything good there too?"

"Well, like any couple, we have our ups and downs, but there have been a lot more ups than downs. He was not thrilled when I got pregnant with Carly, but she has him wrapped around her little finger now."

The two women sat and chatted until lunch when they stopped to feed the kids and then put them down for a nap.

"So I take it you aren't dating or even looking since you and Paul separated?"

"Well, no. not exactly anyway."

"Not exactly?"

"Do you remember when we used to sleep over at each other's houses, and when we got older we had pajama parties? And a couple of times we ‘camped out' in the backyard?"

"Sure. Those were always a lot of fun."

"Well, as I got a little older, even though I liked boys and dated them, I felt some attraction to girls as well. When I got to college, I slept with a few girls and had a six-month relationship with a senior girl in my sophomore year. I stopped sleeping with girls after I met Paul, and we fell in love. But when he left me for his pregnant girlfriend, I hooked up a few times with a lesbian friend of mine."

"Oh my god, Ann! I would never have guessed that."

"Well, the feelings didn't blossom until I was in college, but when I looked back and thought about it, I realized I probably crushed on a few girls in high school too."

"Wow!"

"Didn't you ever think about it? I mean, don't you remember the sleepovers; the ‘practice' kisses to see if we were good kissers or imitating how some of the boys kissed? Or when we compared new sexy bras?"

"Wait... are you saying you had a crush on ME, Ann?"

"This is all in retrospect, Julie, but maybe I did. Not that it matters now, of course. That was years and miles ago, and we have both grown and maybe changed since then. I'm just happy to be coming home and hoping to reconnect with some of the old crowd that might still be around."

The two women talked until the kids woke up from their nap, and Ann had to get going. She promised to stay in touch and let her know when she would be moving back with her parents. They talked at least once a week and about a month later, Ann told Julie that Paul was approved for a loan and should be closing on it in about two weeks. Ann had been going through the house listing what she would be taking, and already started the packing process, and negotiating with him on a few items.

Once she got the word that he would be getting the loan, she got serious about packing the stuff she was taking. All of PJ's clothes, toys, and furniture, of course as well as her clothes and some family heirlooms. She figured she would stay with her folks for the better part of a year, so she did not need much of the other furnishings or kitchen utensils, and nothing was brand new anyway. She had never really cared for the bedroom set as it had been a wedding present from his parents and was far too masculine for her liking.

After she left that first day, Julie thought about what Ann had said about liking girls and some of the things they had done in high school. As she thought back, she recalled a bit of tingling when they had kissed and maybe had even wondered what it might have been like touching another girl. But the thoughts had been fleeting, and she had long since forgotten about them.

Two weeks later, Ann called her and said Paul had closed on his loan and had allowed her a week to move out. She said she already had most of her stuff packed up or tagged for the movers, so as soon as the pick-up was scheduled, she would be heading home, probably in three or four days. Two days later, Ann called and said she was on her way. The movers had been able to pack everything up the day before, but it had been too late to get started home.

She left the keys with a neighbor and expected to arrive at her parents sometime the next evening if all went well. The movers would likely have arrived before that and unloaded her stuff, and her dad would set up PJ's room before she got there.

"Do you think we can meet up this weekend, Julie? Mom said she would be happy to watch PJ and Carly too if needed."

"I think the boys have a game on Saturday, but Jim can take them, and he can take Judy to her gymnastics practice first, and one of the other parents will drop her off at the boy's games after. And if your mom will take Carly, then we can have some time to ourselves."

The next evening Julie got a call from Ann saying she had arrived safely. Julie would meet at Ann's parents and drop Carly off Saturday morning. They could go to a forest preserve where they could chat and walk then have lunch at some point. The two women drove off in Julie's car for the woods. They parked near one of the walking/bike paths and headed out on the trail.

"I hope you weren't upset when I told you I might have had a little crush on you in high school."

"Not at all. I was a little surprised when you said it, but It did make me think back to some of those times, I hadn't thought about any of that in years. But I do recall some feelings when we kissed and compared boobs. I never gave it much thought because we both had boyfriends, and by then, I had already let a guy touch me and had given out a few handjobs. It just seemed more normal to like guys, and I put it out of my mind after a few days."

"Do you think if I had been more aggressive about it with you back then, you might have responded? Cause I thought about it back then, and have been thinking a lot about it lately."

"I I don't know how to answer that, Ann. Like any married couple, we have had our issues, but overall, we are really happy. We have a great family, Jim helps out when he can, he's never strayed, and he is good to me. He's never pushed me to get a job; he supported me after the twins were born, and I said I wanted to be a stay at home mom. I don't know if I could do something like that to him."

"I understand, Julie. I just had to ask, though. I just always wondered what it would have been like if we had gotten together. If maybe I hadn't dated as many boys and gotten more into girls in high school. Maybe I would never have married Paul, although I did get this great little kid out of the deal."

"So what's it like... being with a woman I mean? Do you use toys or what?"

"Sometimes, sometimes just fingers and tongues. And it's amazing! I never met a man that could lick my pussy better than a good woman could. A few that may have come close, but not one better. I've had a man say the same thing about a guy sucking his cock. Besides... a woman doesn't have a stubble like a guy does. You really should try it just once. What if Judy or Carly ask you about it someday?"

"Oh, god. I hope not! I mean it would be ok with me if they turned out to be gay, or the boys for that matter, but I don't think I could talk to them about it."

"Well, you certainly can't if you have no idea. Other than to support them, of course."

The two women finished walking the path, then went to lunch. They got caught up on a lot of subjects and made a play date for the kids for later that week. Julie drove Ann back to her parent's home. Julie got Carly settled into her car seat, and they kissed goodbye. Over the next month, they met up a few more times and both families went to the zoo one weekend. Every time they met, Ann made a few subtle references to the two of them hooking up, and Julie was actually beginning to consider it.

to be continued...