Chapter 9

Cass hurried across campus to the softball complex and rushed into the locker room. She fumbled with her locker combination and was finally able to open the door.

"You better hurry up or you'll have to run the field four times." Brooke reminded when she ran by her friend towards the door.

"I know, my freaking instructor let us out of class late!"

"I'll see you out there." Brooke opened the door and ran through.

"I'll be right there!" Cass shouted out as the door snapped shut behind Brooke. She hurriedly dressed into her practice uniform. She grabbed her glove and jogged towards the door, hopping on one foot as she put her cleat on. She stopped at the door and slipped on her other shoe. She pushed the door open and sprinted out of the locker room towards the field.

"You better beat me to the dugout, Storms!" Her coach yelled out when she exited her office near the locker room.

"I will coach!" Cass shouted and sprinted past her, narrowly beating her to the field. Cass walked to the opposite side of the field from Brooke and slipped on her glove.

"Just in the nick of time!" Brooke teased with a laugh and tossed the ball to her.

"Aah, I had more than enough time!" Cass shrugged her shoulders nonchalant and tossed the ball back.

"That's what you think. You're shirt is on inside out!" Brooke giggled and caught the ball.

Cass looked down at her shirt. "Shit!" She sighed in disbelief. 'I just can't win. If I'm not having trouble with my schoolwork, I'm late for practice, workouts or I miss them, or I make a fool out of myself constantly.' She caught the ball and fired it back to Brooke, hoping it would ease her anger.

Brooke threw the ball back and Cass caught the ball off to the side one handed, showing off.

"No showboating ladies! I don't care if you are just warming up!" Coach Wills yelled from behind Cass, pacing back and forth as she watched her team. "I want everyone to look the ball all the way into your gloves and use two hands to catch it. Remember, you play in a game the way you practice. If you practice sloppily and you showoff, that's how you will play in a game. Sloppy play can cost us a ballgame and I will not have it on my ball field!" Her tone was stern and convincing.

Cass inhaled deeply and blew out the breath forcefully. 'I can't catch a break. What is wrong with me?' She watched the ball all the way into her glove and used two hands to catch it.

"Okay ladies, take a trip around." The coach barked out.

The group dropped their gloves and took off in a jog towards the right field fence.

"Nice fashion statement Storms!" Michelle teased when she passed by her.

Cass rolled her eyes and brushed her disheveled hair off her face as she jogged behind Brooke.

"Storms make two trips around for your uniform violation and make sure it doesn't happen again!" The coach yelled when she passed by.

"Damn it!" Cass fumed under her breath and sprinted past the group. She was furious with herself and even worse, humiliated. She ran past Dakota, as she pulled her shirt out of her shorts.

"Don't let her get to you." Dakota commented as encouragement when she passed by.

Cass ignored her. She pulled her shirt off as she made the first turn at right field and turned the shirt the right side out.

The sight of Cass with only her sports bra on and her abdominal muscles rippling as she sprinted peaked Dakota's interest. She didn't remember ever being so excited about the warm-up run. 'Wow! She is freaking hot!' Dakota admired watching Cass intently, who fumbled with her shirt. 'Leave it off a little longer, please!' She smiled hopeful and sighed, disappointed when Cass put the shirt back on. 'That was very nice! Thank you so much!' She smirked and picked up her pace.

The team finished the lap as Cass was working on her second one.

"Take your positions ladies!" Coach Wills called out.

Dakota walked over and grabbed Cass' glove. She sprinted out to the shortstop area and walked over towards second base. She watched as Cass finished her lap and looked for her glove. She whistled and held the glove up when Cass looked her way.

Cass sprinted over to her, out of breath. "Thanks." She mustered.

"Don't feel bad, I have done the same thing a few times." Dakota was smoothing out the clay with her foot in front of the bag. She gave Cass a sideways glance and grinned.

Dakota's grin put Cass and her foul mood at ease. "Listen, aah thanks for helping and staying with me last night. I really appreciate it." Her eyes flicked everywhere except on the woman before her, finding it hard to look at Dakota.

Dakota looked up and narrowed her eyes from the bright sun. She tugged on the bill of her baseball cap and pulled it down to shade her eyes. "You're welcome. I'm glad I could help. We'll find a way for you to get through gross anatomy." She smiled and winked, then jogged over to her position.

She was caught off guard from the look and her heart raced. She inhaled and exhaled, deeply. 'Why does she do that? I'm so drawn to her. Stop it!' She tapped her glove and jogged over to her position.



***

After thirty minutes of the coach hitting grounders, fly balls and going over various situations she gathered the team around home plate.

"Okay, a little treat for you all today." The coach grinned mischievously when she heard groans from her team.

"I don't like the sound of that coach." Dakota grumbled out loud.

"Everyone is so suspicious of me."

"That's because we know how you operate." Dakota quipped sarcastically and laughed when everyone else did.

"Ouch! Okay, considering the fact that you all think I'm so horrible, I'm going to go easy on you. We are going to scrimmage today. The team that was just on the field is going to be the blue team and the others are the orange team."

"Yes!" The group shouted enthusiastically.

"Coach you are slipping in your old age! You're not quite the ball buster you used to be!"

"Very funny Colby! Seeing as how you think I'm losing it in my old age I'll throw in a twist." She grinned sardonically.

"Shit!" Dakota groaned under her breath.

"Thanks a lot Kody!" Penny whined and nudged her.

"The losing team has to run one lap around the field for every run they lose by. We'll play five innings. Blue team you are home, let's go!" She called out and clapped her hands to motivate them as she walked towards the dugout.

The blue team, led by Dakota, moved towards the pitching mound as the orange team walked to the dugout.

"You all are going down!" The orange team taunted from the dugout in unison.

"You better conserve your energy for your marathon later!" Penny retorted as the rest of the blue team laughed.

"Alright, let's beat these sissy's!" Dakota encouraged and slapped hands with all of her teammates.

They shouted, 'blue team' and headed out to their positions.



***

The teams battled back and forth for three innings. The orange team managed to get a base hit with one out and was threatening to go ahead by a run if they could move that runner around.

Dakota tapped her glove with her hand and looked over at Cass. "Let's turn two and get out of this inning!"

Cass nodded in agreement when she looked at Dakota and turned back to focus on the batter. She readied into a crouched position and watched as the pitcher threw the ball.

The batter hit a ground ball to Cass who easily fielded it and readied to throw. She looked up and saw Dakota coming towards the bag to time the throw from her. She fired the ball to the far left of Dakota who threw her body around to catch the ball. It was out of her reach. Dakota put her hand down on the ground to steady her balance and jumped back up.

Cass grimaced when she saw the ball sail into left field. "Shit!" She blurted out as she ran towards second base. She watched as the left fielder picked up the ball and ran to the infield to hold the runner on second base. She tossed the ball to the pitcher when she was sure the runner at second base was staying put.

Dakota stood behind second base with her hands on her hips, shaking her head in disbelief. She walked towards Cass who was moving the clay back into place with her foot. "Cass you're killing me. Just killing me!"

"I'm sorry." Cass cringed at the scolding.

Dakota moved closer to her. "Cass, you have been doing this all along. What is wrong with you? Why can't you just throw the ball waist high over the bag so it's easier and faster for me to turn two? It's really simple. It's something you learned when you were in the little girl's league many moons ago." She was exacerbated with the woman, but tried mightily to control her temper.

"I'm used to throwing it to that side of the bag."

"I don't know who taught you to do it that way, but its wrong. We will never be able to turn a double play if you keep it up. Get out of it and do it right! Come on!" Her tone was more encouraging than admonishing.

"Okay, I'm sorry." Cass sighed disappointed with herself and walked back to her position.

"Don't be sorry, do it right and try to get us out of this predicament." She walked over to Cass when she saw the frustration in her green eyes. She felt bad for laying it on her and tried to lighten the situation. "Bring on the leather." She looked at Cass with a smirk as she held her glove out.

Cass chuckled and slapped her glove against Dakota's. Dakota laughed and ran back to her position.

Dakota looked around at her teammates and held up one finger. "We've got one in the boat and two a float. Let's turn two and get out of this!" She shouted encouragingly and looked at the batter who was settling into her stance in the batter's box.

The third basewoman Brandy broke towards home plate when the batter took a bunting pose. Dakota ran towards third when the runner attempted to steal that base. The batter faked the bunt and hit a fly ball to mid center field. Dakota stopped and lost her footing in the loose clay. She fell to the ground with a thud and looked up from her prone position towards where the ball was hit.

Cass took off to her right at an angle towards center field and sprinted faster when she saw the ball just out of her reach. Brooke was playing deep in center field and sprinted as fast as she could towards the ball. "I've got it!" Cass yelled to alert Brooke she would make an attempt for the ball, diving head first with her body fully stretched out in the direction of the ball. She caught it in mid-air and fell to the ground, sliding head first.

Dot, the pitcher, ran towards second base when she saw Dakota fall to the ground near third base.

Cass sprung to her feet and fired the ball to second base for the double play as the runner who tried to steal third base scurried back unsuccessfully.

Dakota was flabbergasted by the play Cass had just made and pushed up from the ground to stand. She stared at Cass who smiled happily when Dot ran over to congratulate her. Dakota stood upright and brushed the clay off her uniform. She watched Cass, and replayed the outstanding play she made in her head as the rest of the team had congregated around her. Cass chuckled when they all slapped her on the back and ran off the field. 'That was a great catch. One I've never seen an infielder be able to make. Hell, I don't think I could do that!' Dakota slowly jogged off the field to their dugout in disbelief. Dakota walked down the dugout past the other players who were getting ready to bat and sat next to Cass. "Great play." She smiled when she looked at her.

"Thanks, it felt great!" Cass chuckled excitedly.

"Have you ever played outfield?"

"Nah, no aah why?" Cass looked away from Dakota when she answered and nibbled on her lip anxiously.

"Oh, really, the way you tracked that ball down I thought you might have played in the outfield before."

"Maybe I just got lucky." Cass looked at her and smiled hesitantly. She stood up and walked to the opposite end of the dugout from Dakota. Cass grabbed a cup and put it under the water cooler. She poured a cup of water and drank it. 'Why is she questioning me?' Cass was unnerved as she watched the batter hit a ground ball to the first basemen for the third out.

Dakota sat watching her, with one eyebrow raised, unconvinced about Cass' words. 'Why are you being so evasive about the question I asked Cass?'

"Let's go ladies, take the field." The coach called out.

Dakota was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even see how the team got three outs so quickly. She grabbed her glove and walked to the exit of the dugout. She grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and stuffed them in her mouth before running out to her position. She worked them to the side of her mouth and crunched one between her front teeth waiting for Sandra, the first basewoman, to throw a ground ball to her for warm up. She broke it open and took the seed out with her tongue, then spit the shell out as she fired the ball back to Sandra. She smoothed out the dirt with her foot in front of her position and turned towards the outfield. "Let's go ladies. It's a tie ballgame. We need three up and three down so we can go in and win this game!"

"You know it! No running for us!" Jen, the left fielder called out in agreement.

The first batter up flied out to Brooke in center field for the first out. The second batter received a walk and the third batter hit a ground ball to Cass. She ran towards the ball to field it and glanced up at the runner who passed by. She looked back down to see the ball shoot right through her legs into the outfield. 'Damn it!' She cursed inwardly and turned towards the outfield. Brooke tossed the ball to her and she looked back at the runner who was standing on second base. She tossed the ball to the pitcher and walked back to her spot, dejected for missing the ball.

"Keep your eye on the ball Storms! Come on tighten up!" Coach Wills encouraged, clapping her hands.

"Shake it off Storms!" Sandra called out encouragingly and tapped her glove with her hand.

'What has happened to me? I used to be so confident of my skills and now it's like I haven't ever played before. It's probably from all the pressure. I mean hell; I'm playing next to the best softball player in the nation it's no wonder I can't do squat!' She looked over at Dakota who was in a crouched position with her arms resting on her legs, just looking at the ground. She watched as she picked up a handful of clay and tossed it back down, then looked up at the batter who stepped towards the batter's box. 'She is beautiful.' She was lost in the reflection of Dakota's blue eyes in the sunlight. She snapped out of her thoughts and swung her head around when she heard the pop of the catcher's glove when the ball was pitched. 'Concentrate!' She pounded her fist into her glove to psych herself up for the play.

Dakota looked back at the outfield who weren't playing very deep. She held her finger up diagonally, signaling that they should move deep for this batter. "She can crank it if she gets a hold of it! Don't let her burn you!" She shouted and gave the thumbs up when she saw the outfielders move closer to the fence. She turned back to the batter and readied for the play.

The batter moved into her swing and brought the bat around with all her might, but hit under the ball. The ball was a looping fly ball between the first basewoman who was playing near the bag and the right fielder. When Cass saw the ball leave the bat and head that way, she turned towards right field and sprinted to the outfield, knowing Sandra, first basewoman, had no chance at catching it. She stared over her right shoulder at the ball intently as she sprinted faster and deeper in the outfield to get under the ball to catch it. She swung her head around to the left and shifted her body when the wind blew the ball that way.

The runner at second ran half-way between second and third and waited to see if the ball would drop in safely.

Cass stuck her glove out where the ball was heading and watched as it fell securely into it. She squeezed the ball in her glove and stopped quickly. She shifted her body towards second base and took the ball out of her glove all in one movement and fired the ball to Dakota who was standing on second base.

Dakota caught the ball for the double play and stared at Cass in disbelief once again. 'Sorry Cass that was not luck. You should be an outfielder, not a second basewoman.' Her concentration was broken when she felt the clay hit her leg after the runner slid into the base. She looked down at Ann. "You may want to consider staying closer to the bag until you're sure the fly ball drops in."

"Maybe." She smirked and jumped up. "That was a fucking awesome play man!" She called out to Cass who ran past her.

"Thanks." Cass said softly and ran towards the dugout.

Dakota watched Cass pass by her. 'No outfield experience my ass!' She grumbled and jogged to the dugout. 'Why are you being so evasive about playing the outfield?' She ran into the dugout and grabbed her bat. She stood near the on deck batter's box putting on her batting gloves.

"Would you please end this game with one swing of the bat?" Penny chuckled when she walked up next to Dakota.

"What, you don't like the excitement of a tied ball game?" Dakota laughed when she looked at her and back down, securing the Velcro strap of her batting glove over her wrist.

"Aah, no not when running is at stake. You know how much I hate to run laps." Penny shook her head no and laughed.

"I'll see what I can do just for you." Dakota smiled arrogantly and winked, then walked to the batter's box. She watched two pitches go past her for strikes and reared back for the next pitch. She moved the force of her coiled body into the swing of the bat and smiled when she heard the loud thud of the ball against the bat. She tossed the bat to the ground and slowly trotted to first as she watched the ball sail over the fence for a homerun. She looked at Brenda, the pitcher, who was staring at her. "Thanks for that beautiful pitch." She blew a kiss to her and looked down at first base, touching it on her way to second.

"You arrogant bitch, I'll get you next time." Brenda chuckled and walked off the field.

Dakota laughed as she rounded second base. "Ooh, promises, promises." She teased and laughed when Brenda flicked a bird at her. She chuckled as she ran down the line towards home plate when she saw her teammates waiting to greet her with smiling faces. She touched home plate and was mobbed by the women, slapping her back.

"Yes! No running for us!" They all chimed and laughed as they all walked off towards the dugout.

"Okay, orange team one lap for you all!" The coach called out and watched as the orange team took off running.

The blue team stayed at home plate and watched as the orange team ran their lap. As the orange team made the turn at left field the blue team began to cheer them on and shouted out encouraging comments. The orange team picked up their pace and all sprinted towards home plate where the blue team waited. Once there, they slapped hands with the members of the blue team. Both teams walked off the field together towards the dugouts. The players grabbed their belongings and headed to the locker room.



***

Dakota ran to second base where the ball was waiting waist high for her, she grabbed it with her bare hand and fired it to first for the double play.

"Beautiful play ladies!"

Dakota looked at the counselor. "Thanks!" She grinned proudly and walked towards Cass. "Nice play." She slapped hands with her and turned back when Cass held her hand.

"We make a great duo. As long as I know you will be there, the throw will be perfect every time." She smiled arrogantly.

"Oh, I'll be there." Dakota smiled conceitedly and felt her heart flutter when Cass winked at her.

"Why are you sitting here alone?"

Dakota sat staring at the field and lost her mental image when the coach spoke to her. She looked up confused. "Huh?"

"Is everything okay? You were just staring off in the distance."

"Oh, aah I was just thinking about turning two, coach. Sorry…" She stood up and looked at her, flustered.

"What's on your mind about turning two Dakota?" The coach knew by the look on her face something was bothering her.

"You know me too well huh?" Dakota looked at her and grinned.

"Yes, unfortunately."

Dakota chuckled. "Did you see the two plays Cass made in the outfield? I've never seen an infielder track balls down like that. I don't think I could make those plays."

"Yes, spectacular catches." Her smile reflected how impressed she was with Cass.

"She told me she has never played the outfield before, but I find that hard to believe."

"What are you getting at?"

"Something is not right. She has had outfield training before no matter what she says. The way she turned and tracked those balls down are techniques I've seen you all use for our outfielders. I guarantee she could easily beat out our starters in the outfield. Besides, she is clueless at second. I don't know how she made it through playing at PBCC at that position. She constantly screws up the plays at second."

"So what if she plays like she was trained in the outfield. Are you jealous that someone else can actually do something you are not perfect at? Maybe I should incorporate those techniques for the infielders so you can get your butt to them too." Coach Wills was contrite and stared her in the eye, growing weary of her questions.

Dakota pursed her lips angry with her comment and crossed her arms over her chest. "No, that's not it. She's unsure of what she should be doing at second."

"Why don't you stop to consider this then? Maybe she's nervous playing next to you and terrified you'll yell at her. You are downright nasty to her. I've let it slide, but no more. If I see it again on my team I won't be as nice as I am being with you now."

"I want our team to be better coach, you know that. I want things done right." Dakota's tone turned defensive.

"That's fine, but you are harder on her than anyone else. Give her a break and treat her like the rest of the team. She's a hell of a player so give her more encouragement. I'm sure you'll see a difference." The coach began to walk away and turned back. "Get used to her at second, because that's where she's staying." She smirked and walked away.

Dakota stood staring at her coach as she walked away. 'I thought I was being nicer.' She sighed and walked across the field towards the locker room. 'Alright, I'll try to be more understanding on the field with her. She just better get the double plays right!'



Chapter 10



Cass had changed out of her uniform quickly and hurried out. She jogged across the campus to the main training room. She hurried through the door and dropped her bag on the floor. "Hey, David!"

"How's it going Cass?" He looked up from the foot he was taping and smiled.

"As usual, I'm late." She chuckled and stood next to him. "What do you have for me to do?"

"I need you to do some range of motion on Mary's ankle and tape it before she has track practice." He looked up at Mary so Cass knew who he was referring to.

Cass looked across the room towards her. "Okay." She walked over to the table. 'Hmmm, very nice looking.' She reached her hand out and smiled.

"Hi, I'm Cass. I'll be working on your ankle."

Mary stared at her and smiled as she shook her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Cass. Hopefully, you'll make my sprained ankle feel better."

Cass released her hand and moved to the end of the table. "Let's see what I can do with it." She smiled and sat on the rolling stool. She took her foot and began moving it up and down for range of motion exercises.

"It feels better already." Mary smiled flirtatiously as she looked at Cass. 'She's gorgeous.' She enjoyed the contact Cass had with her, despite the pain she felt from her injury.

"Great." Cass smiled and continued her work. 'She's cute and has very nice legs. Slender and very muscular.' Cass stole glances of the woman's anatomy and began to move her ankle in the opposite direction.

"You play on the softball team right?"

"Yep." Cass looked up at her and stared at the blonde woman who had her hair pulled back into a pony tail. She was lost in her striking hazel eyes.

"I read about you in the school newspaper. You're quite the softball player I hear. I think I'll have to check out a few of your games this year."

'I think she's flirting with me. I like it!' Cass smiled, embarrassed slightly that she had read about her in the newspaper. "That would be fantastic." She walked to the cart behind her and inhaled deeply then exhaled to calm her excitement from Mary's flirtation. She grabbed the supplies she needed to tape her ankle. She placed them on the table and moved Mary's foot into the position she wanted to begin taping it.

"You have very healing hands unlike some of the ogres in here who crank on my ankle." Mary laughed as did Cass.

"I look at it this way, that I wouldn't want someone hurting my ankle. So, I'm going to try and be as gentle as I can!" Cass chuckled and leaned her head to the side as she wrapped the tape along the bottom of her foot.

Mary stared at Cass and was smitten with her beauty. She inhaled deeply and felt her heart race when Cass moved her reddish-brown hair that draped down in front of her face, behind her ear. She watched intently as Cass quickly taped her ankle and smoothed out the final piece of tape.

"There, you're good to go run a marathon." Cass stood up smiling, happy with her work. Her eyes met Mary's and they gazed at one another.

"You have the most beautiful green eyes I've ever seen." Mary said softly.

Cass blushed and looked away, smiling. She looked back at Mary. "Thank you, that was very nice of you to say."

"It's true." Mary smiled and swung her legs over the edge of the table. She put her sock and shoe on, and then stood up. "It feels great." She smiled after moving her foot around testing the stability of it.

"Good luck with it." Cass smiled and turned to pick up the mess she had made.

Mary walked around to the front of her. "Cass, aah I was wondering if you might like to have dinner with me this evening." She cringed when she saw the look of surprise on Cass' face. "Shit, I'm sorry I just assumed that you were gay. I apologize if I offended you." She whispered nervously.

"No, it's okay. Yes, I am. I would love to have dinner with you this evening." Cass smiled.

"Whew, great at first I thought I stuck my foot in my mouth. Excellent, great aah, how about if we meet at seven in front of the O' center. It will save us some time. I'll be there for practice and I can shower there."

"I'll be there. Thanks." Cass smiled happily.

"Great, see you then!" Mary chuckled nervously and walked out of the training room.

'Wow, I have a date and she's hot, and nice!' Cass giggled quietly and felt a nervous tickle in her stomach. She threw away the trash and cleaned the table Mary had been sitting on. She turned around when she heard Dakota's name mentioned.

"What's going on Kody?" David smiled when he looked up at her.

"I have skinned my knee so I'm going to clean it up." Dakota walked to the counter and opened the cupboards. She looked inside for the supplies she would need to clean and dress her wound.

Cass looked over at her and felt her heart skip a beat when Dakota turned and looked at her. They both smiled when their eyes met.

Dakota walked over to the table and sat down propping her leg on it. She poured peroxide on a piece of gauze and placed it over the open skin that was bleeding. She winced from the stinging pain she felt and dabbed the gauze on the wound.

Cass walked over and grabbed a pair of rubber gloves from the box, pulling them on as she approached the table. "Let me take a look at that." "It's okay. I can clean it."

"Come on, don't be chicken. Let me look at it." Cass teased with a grin and put her hand on Dakota's that held the gauze. She felt a jolt of electricity course through her from the contact and looked at Dakota.

Dakota's heart raced from Cass' touch. She stared at Cass.

After coming to her senses, Cass turned her head and looked at Dakota's wound. She leaned down for a closer look and glanced back up at Dakota. "It has clay caked inside; I'm going to have to scrub it a bit." She frowned, knowing how painful strawberries can be.

"I was afraid you'd say that." Dakota smirked and inhaled deeply, trying to ready for what was to come. "Okay, my well being is in your hands." She teased and lay back on the bed.

Cass poured more peroxide on the gauze and began to lightly scrub the wound. She glanced over at Dakota who had moved her arms over her face and clasped her arms tightly.

'Fuck! It is freaking killing me!' Dakota screamed inwardly and bit down on her arm hoping that would make her forget about the pain she felt in her knee.

"Are you okay?" Cass' tone was soft and soothing as she looked at Dakota.

"Yep, fine." Dakota mustered, trying to put up a brave face in front of Cass. She inhaled deeply to quell the nervousness and nausea she felt in the pit of her stomach, trying to forget about the pain.

Cass smiled slightly and shook her head side to side in disbelief. 'I know it's killing her, but looking like a wimp would kill her more. Some people are just too proud to show their emotions. I'm so full of shit that it isn't even funny. I would be doing the same thing!' She looked back down with a snicker and continued to scrub until she was satisfied it was cleaned. She put ointment on the wound and covered it. "There, hopefully I didn't hurt you too much." She smiled when Dakota sat up.

"You were great, I didn't feel a thing." She lied; there was no way she was going to admit to Cass how badly it hurt.

'Yeah whatever.' Cass smirked when she turned her back to Dakota and removed her gloves then threw them in the trash. She reached into the candy bag and grabbed a lollipop. She walked back over to Dakota and held it out to her. "Seeing as how you were such a good patient you get a lollipop." She smiled and giggled.

"Thanks, my favorite flavor, grape." Dakota smiled and pulled off the wrapper, then stuck it in her mouth. She climbed off the table and winced when she felt the pressure on the wound.

"Normally, I would expect you to know how to do your own proper wound care, but I know how we are by not practicing what we preach. So, I'm going to reiterate that you keep it clean and put the ointment on so it will heal. You better watch out because at any moment I'll do a spot check on it to make sure you're doing what you've been told." Cass teased and walked over to the sink to wash her hands.

'I would love for you to clean it for me every day and place soft kisses around it to make it heal.' Dakota watched her, lost in her thoughts of Cass. She felt drawn to her even more and loved being in her presence even if Cass' reluctance to remember what happened at camp hurt her. 'She makes me feel like I'm sixteen all over again.' She blinked her eyes to snap out of her reverie when she saw Cass turn and look at her. She walked towards her. "Thanks aah do you want to meet later tonight at the lab to try again with anatomy?"

Cass' heart pounded in her chest and it wasn't because of Dakota, but because of the thought of seeing the cadaver again.

Dakota saw the fear in her eyes and how blanch her face turned. "I know it's terrifying, but we have to find a way to get you through it or you won't pass the class. I have a plan that might work, just trust me." She smiled soothingly as she stared into fear filled green eyes.

"Okay, you're right I have to pass this class. So, I have to tighten up!" Cass smiled tentatively and inhaled, then exhaled, trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach.

"Great. I'll meet you out in front of the hospital near the outpatient entrance at eight."

Cass was lost in her thoughts of what had happened the last time and the time echoed in her head. "Oh, wait I aah have something else to do, but I can meet you at nine. Is that okay?" She looked at Dakota.

"Sure, I don't have anything else going on this evening." Dakota smiled and licked her lollipop. "See you later and thanks, my boo-boo feels much better." She smirked with a wink and walked towards the door.

"Bye." Cass watched as she disappeared around the corner. 'Why does she have that effect on me? I get nervous, I can barely do anything right and I get total amnesia. I almost forgot my date with Mary?' She mulled the questions over as she walked across the room to help David. 'I can't keep reacting like this around her. I don't want to be that way with her. As much as I'm attracted to her, I have to push my feelings deep down. She's just not right for me.'



***

Cass finished her required daily hours working in the training room and rushed back to her dorm room to change for her date. She entered her room and blushed when she saw Michelle and Brooke lying in bed together kissing. "Oops! Sorry." She chuckled and walked to her side of the room. She grabbed a clean towel, her clothes and went into the bathroom.

Brooke broke the kiss and looked up when she heard the shower. She looked over her shoulder towards the bathroom, then back down at Michelle. "When did Cass get here?"

"The hell if I know, I was preoccupied with an adorable blonde. Come here." Michelle grinned flirtatiously and pulled Brooke down for a passionate kiss.

Brooke chuckled and sank into the delicious kiss bestowed upon her. She moved her hand under Michelle's shirt and moved it on her breast. She gently caressed her breast and deepened the kiss when she heard her moan in delight.

Michelle pulled Brooke on top of her when she rolled onto her back. She slowly moved her hands up and down Brooke's back. She broke the kiss and stared deep into Brooke's alluring brown eyes. "I want you to make love to me Brooke."

"I will, just as soon as Cass leaves." Brooke whispered and leaned down, lustfully kissing her. She broke the kiss when she heard the shower turn off. She lay on her back and breathed heavily.

Michelle laughed and moved onto her side facing Brooke. She smiled and leaned down to kiss her. She slid her tongue past Brooke's lips for a moist kiss and moved her hand under her shirt. She slid her hand down Brooke's taut abdomen and stopped between her legs. She dipped her finger between Brooke's folds and moaned when she felt how moist she was.

Brooke tightened her legs and gasped. She broke the kiss and held Michelle's hand to keep her from going any further. "We have to wait. She'll be gone in a few minutes."

"Oh, but this is so much more fun." Michelle chuckled and leaned down for another kiss.

Brooke laughed and gave her a fleeting kiss. She moved Michelle's hand and sat up. "It won't be long." She smiled and rubbed Michelle's leg with her hand.

"Promises, promises." Michelle purred sultrily and slowly sucked the fingers she used to touch Brooke.

Brooke's mouth fell agape and she felt the wetness between her legs escalate. She smiled as she looked at Michelle, and then snapped her head around when she heard Cass open the door. "Hey!" Brooke inhaled deeply when Michelle put her hand on her stomach.

"I didn't mean to interrupt you two, I'm sorry." Cass blushed. She walked to her bed and sat down to put on her shoes.

"Don't worry about it. You didn't know we would be here. Where are you heading?"

"I have a date!"

"No shit! Who is she?" Brooke's interest was peaked.

"Mary." Cass chuckled at her evasiveness with Brooke as she sprayed on perfume and picked up her backpack.

"Mary?" Brooke shrieked and walked to Cass' side of the room.

"Yep, I met her today. She's on the track team. She asked me out and I accepted." Cass smiled excitedly, flattered that the woman was interested in her. She walked towards the door followed by Brooke.

"That's great! I'm so happy for you. What does she look like?"

"Why do you need to know that?" Michelle teased and looked at her with an arched brow.

"You have nothing to worry about. I was only curious." Brooke grinned and moved towards Michelle. She sat down on the bed and held her hand.

"She's about an inch shorter than I am, she has really muscular legs, a firm body, blonde hair, hazel eyes and she's very sexy. She has a soft, soothing voice and was very flirtatious with me." Cass grinned widely as she spoke of the girl.

"Oh, we hope you have a good time. You'll have to tell me all about it!" Brooke giggled excitedly.

"If you're a good girl, I'll consider it." Cass winked with a smile and opened the door.

"I will guarantee she'll be good." Michelle smiled flirtatiously and wiggled her eyebrows seductively.

"TMI." Cass laughed and walked through the door.

"Have fun!" Brooke called out as the door closed.

"I intend to." Cass smirked and winked when she stuck her head back in the room. "You too!" She grinned and closed the door behind her.

"Now, where were we?" Brooke smiled seductively and lay on top of Michelle.

"That's a good start." Michelle smiled and pulled Brooke down into a passionate kiss.

Continued…

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January 2005