Trimmed with darker lace, some covering her chest and disguising her decolletage, the gown had been made for a bigger-busted woman. Denise pushed her blonde waves to the top of her head. "I think I'll wear my hair up," she said.

"With pearls," nodded Jody in agreement. She came behind Denise and helped to hold up more of Demise's hair. "A rope of pearls through your hair would be just beautiful."

With her left hand, Jody touched Denise's bare shoulder, just on her bra strap. At the soft touch, Denise shivered and mo- mentarily pulled away. As she tried to relax, pushing thoughts of Eva and her soft touch on Denise's bare shoulders out of her mind, Denise became aware that Jody was eyeing her in a most strange way.

They were alone in the 'changing room', actually a bed- room in an old terrace house. "Your friend," said Jody huskily gripping Denise's shoulder a lit- tle harder. "The one you cry about losing. You loved her, didn't you?"

Denise looked at the girl's eyes in the mirror. She knew what Jody meant. "Eva and I were lovers, yes." she said.

Jody nodded, her mouth quivering. “And that's why you treat men the way you do." Denise felt Jody's hands press- ing tightly on her shoulder and

arm.

"Perhaps it is," she whisper- ed. She shook her self free of the grip and turned quickly away. She began to slip the long dress from her, feeling very uncomfor- table in her short slip in front of the inquisitive woman.

"What's it like?" asked Jody in a whisper. "What's it like to make love to another woman?"

Denise felt that one of her garters was not on right. She had to raise her lace-edged slip to tighten the attachment to her stocking. Jody eyed her and her lace-edged panties with with that strange, almost hungry look.

"It's all right if you love the other person, ," said Denise, hasti- ly putting her leg down and ad- justing the slip over the top of

her stockings and about her hips.

""

"I - I love you, Denise.' The words were so unexpected that Denise was shocked into complete numbness. Jody's fin- gers were twisting and untwisting in an agony of despair. "I've never felt this way before about a man or a woman.'

""

sex.

Denise finally was able to move. Her whole body felt the stress of feminine underthings and other female adornments. Panties seemed too tight, her bra cut into her, while stockings and garters pulled gently in constant reminder of her 'true "Jody", said Denise, wanting to tell the girl not to say any more or expose her feelings further. But she couldn't finish for Jody had followed her from the mir- ror and, as Denise was trying to smooth out her underthings, Jody lunged for her, her arms go- ing about Denise's waist.

"Our makeup," was all De- nise could gasp before Jody's soft, soft lips fell on hers. The sensation was altogether differ- ent from the 'affairs' with Rich- ard Simons and Heinrich Langer. She responded to the urgency she felt in Jody's body and it was oh, so beautiful to kiss a woman again after so long a time. They clung together for what seemed an eternity, each reluctant to let the other go. Denise gently kiss- ed Jody's wet cheeks as she bur- ied her head onto Denise's per- fumed shoulder.

"Oh, I don't know what's wrong with me," Jody whispered through the tears, but holding on tightly to Denise nevertheless. "I never thought I was this... this kind of person. I've never felt like this about a woman before."

-

Denise desperately wanted to tell Jody that it was all right, that her love was not misplaced, that Denise was as much a man as Richard Simons but the words stayed in her mouth. All she could say was, "It'll be all right, Jody," and pat the girl ten- derly. "Now," 'she' heard 'her' voice saying smartly, "We have to repair our lipstick before we leave here.'

The remainder of the day must have been a torture for Jody. Each time Denise looked at her, or brushed her with her 16

dress, or touched one gentle hand to another, her lips started to tremble. When Denise held her arm to walk back into their building, Jody clung to her so tightly that Denise was sure that her arm would be marked for life.

"Had a good day, girls?" Gabby Perez came galloping up to break them apart and put an arm through each of theirs. "Y'al ready for General Joe's shindig now?"

Denise nodded brightly. The pressure of Gabby's hand on her waist was much more power- ful even than Jody's way of hold- ing her. She wanted to say more to Jody. but the girl suddenly pulled herself out of Gabby's grip and was gone. "My," said Gabby. "She don't look well. What you girls been up to?"

* *

For the party, Denise did as she and Jody had suggested ear- lier. She carefully pinned up her hair, added soft fall the same color as her own platinum curls, and intertwined a strand of pearls about her hair. She used extra eyeliner to outline her eyes above and below in Egyptian fashion.

Richard Simons had watch- ed her performance in something like morbid fascination as she had creamed and rouged her face put on her eyelashes, painted in her eyebrows, and then had spent half an hour to get the out- line of her red, sticky lips just right.

"Jody's been sick the last two days," he said, leaning on the doorpost of Denise's bed-

room.

She nodded. Her nails were dry and so she could dress now. She added a little padding be- hind the liquid inserts in the thin strapped bra she was wearing. "Isn't that a bit much?" asked Simons cautiously from the door.

"A girl has to keep her dress up," murmured Denise, standing in just bra and panties, twisting to see how much frontage the bra now gave her.

"But if a strap breaks . . Simons shrugged.

"