Kelly tells Alison about her employment problems. "Every job in the paper is degrading & low wage," she sighs "I want to buy a computer to find a job on the internet, but if I spend the money on that & then can't find a job, I won't be able to pay the rent." "Well, if you don't think it's too degrading, my boss Byron Palisades, needs someone to walk his dog everyday....you could do that until you find something better," Alison offers.

Kelly doesn't think it's a degrading job at all, in fact "It's a GREAT job, I'd love to work for a celebrity's dog," she gushes. Kelly is so grateful she just about falls in love with Alison right there.

"Hey," Kelly says suddenly, while they're having a drink at the rave club, "What's that on your tongue?" Alison sticks out her tongue and wags it a little, showing off her piercing. "Wow, did that hurt?" Kelly asks, her voice breathless with awe. "Sure, it hurt," Alison says with a shrug, "But it pays off," she continues with a sly smile, raising her eyebrow suggestively. "Pays off how?" Kelly asks, her face so sweet & innocent, Alison just wants to wrap her up & take her home.

Alison sweeps Kelly up & nuzzles her neck, kisses her ear, using her tongue stud to gently tease Kelly's earlobe until she groans with desire. "That's how it pays off," Alison says as she gently puts Kelly back on her feet. "Wow," Kelly says breathlessly, her cheeks all red & her eyes wide, so adorable & innocent, Alison thinks. "You're new at this, aren't you?" she asks.

They sit down for another drink & Kelly unloads her whole life story, her repressive parents, her ex-husband (yuck!), about Ester & Luz & her confused feelings about her sexual identity. (Alison tries not to check out the barmaid, but she has a real problem with her roving eye & it has cost her big time more than once.) But she pays full attention to Kelly's story, especially about Luz, because she was getting ready to ask Kelly about that herself, before gets herself too entangled, and she is thoroughly relieved to hear that is over. "I feel like I don't know who I am, or something," Kelly finishes, as she picks the label off her beer. Alison leans across the table & takes Kelly's hands. "I think you should worry less about 'who' you are & worry more about being with people you like to be with & doing whatever you want to do," she says. "I like you," Kelly says, so quietly Alison almost doesn't hear it. "LAST CALL" the bartender bellows & Alison sighs.

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO HOME BUT YOU CAN'T STAY HERE" the bartender bellows some more: they all love that one. Alison kisses Kelly deeply, giving her just a taste of how good she is with her tongue. When she lets her up for air, Kelly invites her back to her place, but "All I have is a single bed," Kelly sighs. Alison strokes Kelly's hair & gazes into her soft dark eyes: Kelly's youthful innocence awakens tender feelings in Alison that she didn't know she was capable of. Alison would love to take her home & make a real lesbian out of her, but the poor girl has been bopping drunkenly from one girl to the next & Alison thinks she'd better help her slow down & get a grip on herself. "Why don't you let me romance you for awhile before I take you home," she suggests, taking herself by suprize: Alison is not the romantic type & never passes up opportunities like Kelly is offering her. Kelly's cheeks blush pink & her eyes shine as she hugs Alison. "I'd really like that," she half whispers, half giggles. Alison thinks, it's going to be worth the wait, she will make it worth it.

She goes back to the shoebox she lives in & tries to relax in the tub. Alison's lived in this apartment since she moved to L.A. & she hasn't thought about looking for better...she tells herself it's temporary anyway, that she's going to back to NY someday. It's a lot of years, she thinks, to be living in temporary conditions. it's Kelly that's making her think like this....because like her apartment, her relationships have only been temporary, filling the time until she can make her own films & move back to NY, & find her 'real' girl. She's never been so innocent as Kelly, but even a city bred girl like Alison can have naive dreams that time & reality crush....Alison is not as sure as she once was that she can 'make it' & 'go home'....What then? What if she ends up living in L.A. forever....does she want to spend it in this crappy bachelor apt., by herself?

After she introduces Kelly to Byron the next morning & gets she gets started in her new job, Alison is too busy all morning & is lucky to run into her in the bathroom of all places to tell her she has to go to the studio for the rest of the day. She'll have to work until pretty late, but she'll try to give Kelly a call tonight. Alison loves her job & it pays well, but the hours are grueling, sometimes 80 or more hours a weeks during production. She rarely gets away from work until after midnight during shoots, & her hours make maintaining relationships difficult....sometimes a brief hug in a bathroom is the romantic highlight of your day, if you're that lucky.

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