"I'm a dancer," she replied.

"Oh? Ballet?"

Crystal snorted and shrugged her shoulders. "Something like that." At that moment her beeper went off. Retrieving it from her waist, the stripper held it up and frowned at the familiar number on the display. "I need to use the phone."

"In the living room next to the couch," Laura said. When Crystal turned around, the writer was treated to the sight of tight-fitting jeans framing welltoned cheeks and thighs. It was then that she was able to figure out why the blonde woman looked so familiar. The stripper. Oh Peter, you are really in for it this time.

The call lasted only a few minutes but it was enough for Laura to finish her pizza and put her plate in the dishwasher. "I have some writing to do so I'll say good night now," she said as Crystal hung up the phone. "Please make sure all the lights are off and the doors are locked." "Night."

Crystal watched as her new roommate went upstairs, leaving her alone for the evening. Retrieving her pizza and beer from the counter, she picked up the remote and settled down on the couch. She flicked through the channels while nibbling on her pizza, eventually settling on an inane comedy. The show failed to keep her interest and she was soon channel surfing again. "Fuck." The remote landed on the coffee table and the beer can was quickly emptied. A cigarette was lit without thought and only after several drags were taken did she remember Laura's rule. Cursing again, Crystal walked into the kitchen, picked the up last two cans of beer, and opened the sliding glass door.

Settling down into one of the white plastic chairs, the stripper put her feet on the railing and stared out at the night sky. What the hell am I doing here? I can't live with Miss Straight-Laced. She thew the cigarette away and opened a beer. Off in the distance an owl hooted its greeting to the other creatures of the darkness. Swallowing quickly, Crystal guzzled half the can before setting it back down. Good night to get drunk, she thought sourly. She decided that Laura must have had the door to the balcony open upstairs because she could hear the other woman typing away at the computer. Draining her beer, Crystal stood and went inside.

Laura heard the sliding glass door close, followed soon after by the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Her door ajar, she saw the blonde woman walk past with a can of beer in her hand. Great, she's probably got a drinking problem. Sighing audibly, she shook her head and turned her attention back to her story. She typed a few sentences before the sound of furniture being moved about distracted her again. I'm not going to get any work done with all that noise. Pushing away from the computer, Laura stood and walked over to Crystal's room. "Do you need any help?" she asked through the closed door.

"No, I got it," came the reply.

"Okay, night then." She waited a few seconds for a reply before giving up and returning to her own room. Once inside, she shut the door and picked up the phone. Dialing the familiar number, Laura waited through several rings before the answering machine came on.

"Hi, this is Peter and Michael. We can't come to the phone right now, please leave a message beep."

"Peter, this is Laura, I know you're home so pick up the phone." She waited a moment, then continued. "Fine. Call me when you get in. It's very important." She pressed the receiver down for a second, then released it and dialed another number. This time she was greeted with a pleasant voice.

"Hello?"

"Hi Jenny, it's Laura."

"Hi hon, what's up?"

"You busy?"

"No, not really, just watching TV. What's going on?"

Laura looked at the door. "I can't talk about it over the phone. Can I come over?"

"Is something wrong? Laura, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Jen, I just need to talk."

"Okay, come on over. I'll be here."

"Thanks, I'll see you in about fifteen minutes or so." Laura said her goodbyes and hung up. She thought about letting Crystal know she was going out but decided against it. She'll figure it out when she hears the door close, she thought as she tied her sneakers and changed out of her T-shirt in favor of a light blue short sleeved one.

Laura pulled her Jeep into the driveway, smiling when she saw the outside light come on and Jenny open the front door. Their breakup two years before had been an amicable one and the two women enjoyed a closeness that only ex-lovers could share. Jenny was a therapist and as such always a safe place for Laura to go and get things off her chest. "I'm glad you were home. You wouldn't believe what's been going on," she said as she approached the door.

"What on earth happened between lunch and now?" Jenny asked as they entered the house.

"I'm going to kill Peter." She sat down on the couch, tucking one leg beneath her to face her ex-lover, who sat at the opposite end. "You won't believe what he did."

"I thought he found you a roommate?"

Laura snorted. "A roommate? A roommate from hell, maybe. She smokes and like to take beers into her bedroom at night." "A smoker?" Jenny shook her head. "What was he thinking? Didn't you tell him that you needed a non-smoker?"

"Of course I did. I gave him an explicit list of rules." She ran her fingers through her dark hair and sighed. "She's a stripper." "A stripper? You mean a take-it-all-off, money-down-the-crotch stripper?"

"Exactly," Laura said.

"And this is what you're so upset about?"

"This just isn't going to work out."

"And you know this from one day?"

"Don't you start that psychology stuff with me, Jen," the writer warned. "It only took a few minutes, actually." She reached over and put her hand on Jenny's knee, an old, familiar gesture between the ex-lovers. "She never says please and it's like pulling teeth to get a thank you out of her."

"So she's not little Miss Manners. Does she know you're gay?"

Laura shook her head. "I don't think so unless Peter told her."

"So does this roommate from hell have a name?"

"Crystal."

"Well, look on the bright side. If Crystal is a stripper, maybe she'll give you a private show." Jenny's teasing earned her a playful swat on the thigh. "Don't you start. It's been too long."

"For me too," the therapist agreed, letting her fingertips lightly brush over Laura's forearm.

"You know there's no law that says that ex's can't sleep together once in a while."

"True," Jenny agreed. "But do you really think it's such a good idea?"

"Oh, I think it's a splendid idea," Laura said huskily, scooting forward on the couch until her lips were near her ex-lover's ear. "Consider it rekindling old memories."

"Consider it you're horny, you mean," Jenny replied.

"Well, lack of sex was never a problem in our relationship, if I remember correctly." The writer continued to press for her side of the argument by nibbling Jenny's earlobe. Her voice took on a smoky timber. "How about sharing your bed with me tonight, hmm?"

"Damn, I hate when you talk to me in that tone of voice," Jenny replied, arching into the wandering lips.

"Yeah, I can tell," she murmured, moving her fingers down to undo the buttons of Jenny's shirt. Soon the two halves separated, revealing creamy white skin, her breasts too small to bother with a bra. Laura pressed her down on the couch and began running her lips along the exposed collarbone. She felt Jenny's fingers sink into her hair and guide her lower. "A bit eager, Jen?"

"Stop teasing me !" Whatever else the therapist might have wanted to say was lost when soft lips closed around her nipple and began suckling.

Laura moaned against the breast she was playing with and pressed her hip against the body squirming beneath her. "I miss this," she murmured, kissing her way across Jenny's chest to lick and kiss the other nipple. Feeling a tugging on her shirt, she sat up and stilled the therapists wandering hands.

"You're not gonna fold it, are you?"

Laura stopped unbuttoning her shirt and looked down at her ex-lover. "You know I don't like wrinkles." Removing the shirt, she folded it neatly and set it down on the coffee table. The bra came next, the cups folded one within the other. Jenny tugged her own top off and let it go sailing across the room.

"You know I hate that," Laura said, looking pointedly at the rumpled shirt.

"And I hate the way you have to fold everything." Jenny let her fingers comb through Laura's black hair.

"I am a bit neurotic about that, aren't I?" She leaned down and let their lips brush together. "How did you ever put up with me?" "Well, you could have worse faults than being an obsessive compulsive."

"Is that like being anal retentive?" the writer teased as she pressed her thigh between Jenny's legs, pleased with the resulting moan. She planted kisses along the therapist's jaw until her lips found an ear framed by soft brown hair. "I think we can find something better to do than bring up each other's faults, don't you, my little analyst?" Laura flexed her thigh muscles to further her point.

"Y-yes, I think we can," Jenny agreed, her breath coming in short pants. "Don't tease me."

"I thought you liked being teased." Laura grinned devilishly before lowering her lips to her ex-lover's breast. "And teased and teased "

Crystal whimpered and thrashed about in her bed for several minutes before the nightmare became too great to bear and she scared herself awake. Heart pounding, she looked around in the darkness, momentarily confused by the unfamiliar surroundings. The red numbers of the alarm clock glared at her, taunting her with the later hour. Fuck, not tonight, she silently pleaded as sleep continued to elude her. Frustrated, she sat up and reached for her cigarettes and lighter. Seconds later the bluish gray smoke swirled around her head. It's just because it's my first night in a new place, she told herself. The thought failed to give Crystal any comfort and she found herself turning on the lamp, letting the pale yellow light cast away the shadows and help dissipate some of her fear. She looked at the clock again. Guess Laura isn't coming back tonight. Setting her cigarette in the ashtray, she opened the drawer of her night stand. A small metal pipe and film canister were removed along with an incense cone and holder. After making sure the incense was lit, Crystal filled the pipe with the marijuana hidden in the film canister. The urge to numb out her feelings was too strong to resist. As her body finally relaxed under the pot's influence, the images from her nightmare eased in their intensity. Her vision blurred and she wiped her the back of her hand angrily across her eyes as the tears began to fall.

It had been almost two months since she last had a nightmare and there had been a tiny sliver of hope that they were gone forever. Should've fucking known, she thought sourly as she repacked her pipe. The bad dreams, the memories that caused them, had been with her for over twelve years now and Crystal feared they would never leave her. The drug kicked in hard after her third bowl and when sleep finally reclaimed the stripper, it was without the nightmares.

Laura arrived home the next morning to find Crystal sitting on the deck, smoking a cigarette and reading the morning paper. "Good morning." "Morning," the stripper replied, setting the paper on the table.

Laura frowned at the haphazard way the sections of the newspaper were stacked. Doesn't anyone believe in putting things back the way they were? she silently mused. "Are you done with this?"

"Yeah." Crystal took a long drag of her cigarette and flicked the butt over the railing. "Hey, you mind if I get a new shower curtain? I don't like the one you have."

"Um sure." Laura shrugged her shoulders. "That one's only a few months old."

"Yeah but I can't stand all those frilly flowers and stuff." The stripper stood up and tucked her cigarette pack into the pocket of her jeans. "I'll pick one up this afternoon on my way to work."

Looking at the bust straining against the cotton shirt, Laura flushed at the memory of Crystal swaying her breasts for the crowd at the Tom Cat Club. "So where is it that you work at?" she asked, hoping to start something resembling a conversation between the two of them. "Downtown," Crystal replied, swallowing down the rest of her coffee.

Laura let the deliberate evasion slide, sensing that the topic was not a comfortable one for the younger woman. "I'm picking up tacos tonight for dinner. Would you like me to pick some up for you as well?"

"Naw, I don't do rabbit food." Crystal glanced at her watch. "Gotta go."