I only own my OCs. Although I do wish I owned some of Stella's wardrobe.

Chapter 14

Girls Lie Too: Terri Clark

"Don't think you're the only ones

who bend it, break it, stretch it some.

We learn from you. Girls lie too.

Other guys don't ever cross our minds.

We don't wonder what it might be like.

How could it be any better than it is with you?"

"If you could be with anyone else from work, just once, who would it be?" Stella asked the table full of women. A half carafe of white wine and a glass filled to the brim in front of her.

"With as in a sex thing?" Alexis asked, pausing mid sip of her rum and coke. Her third double in an hour.

"Answering that honestly will only do two things." Samantha said, sipping an Electric Popsicle. "Get me or someone else punched out."

"Hey, its all in good fun." Stella assured her. "Not meant to hurt any feelings or fracture any friendships. Just a little harmless girl fun. Would you rather Alexis or I saying your husband or someone like Angell?"

"Good point." Sam said.

The three of them mulled over the choices in their heads as they nursed their drinks. They'd been at the Elixir cocktail bar a block from the lab for nearly an hour. A little girls night out that they'd been planning for a few days. All the men at home doing their own thing. Danny had come over to Flack's to watch the baseball game. Mac, as usual, was putting in over time at the lab. Hawkes had decided to stay on and do a double to finish up some work.

"Sam... you go first." Stella said.

"Me? Hey, just 'cause I'm the youngest doesn't mean I have to be the sacrificial lamb. You go first. Age before beauty."

Stella grinned. "As anyone ever told you that your the female Don Flack?"

"Sure... " she replied and crunched on an ice cube "the male Don Flack nearly twice a day every day."

"You know what they say about chewing ice," Alexis said. "I heard that women who chew ice, do it because they're sexually frustrated."

"Honey," Sam said. "There ain't enough ice in the world to do it justice. Trust me. God I hate rotating shifts."

"So?" Alexis asked Stella. "Who is it?"

"Sam... don't lean over this table and smack the shit out of me," Stella pleaded. "But I can't lie. Its Flack."

"Better you than some skank off the street," Sam said. "and hey, maybe you'd get lucky before me."

"Same goes for me." Alexis said. "Flack. Hands down. Sorry, Sam. I can't help it. Its the blue eyes. Your man is a total hottie."

Stella nodded in agreement.

"If I was even half sober, I wouldn't know whether to be flattered or offended." Sam admitted. "My turn, huh? I'm gonna have to say...Danny."

Stella nearly spit a mouthful of wine across the table.

"What?" Sam asked innocently. "You said be honest. I'm being honest."

"He's your husband's best friend." Alexis pointed out.

"Oh I'm sorry. I wasn't aware of the rules of this game," Sam said sarcastically. "I can not and will not lie. And its all in good fun, right? I mean, I'd never actually do it. I can think about it and all but..."

"Oh my fucking God!" Stella shrieked. "You think about it? You and Danny?"

"I never said that."

"You did! You just said you can think about it but... but what?"

"I'd never do anything about it." Sam defended herself. "I love my husband.To death. Just, you know, sometimes I wonder what it might be like is all. I mean, come on, you two can''t sit here and tell me honestly you've never thought about other men. We're women. Its something we do. Just like they are sitting around talking about other women as we speak.Its human nature to wonder if the grass is greener. Not like I'd do it. Shit."

"Who you trying to convince? Us? Or you?" Stella asked.

She was about to respond when her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. She took it out, checked the call display and then flipped it open. "Hi, honey!" she greeted cheerfully. "Your ears must have been ringing. We were just talking about you... all good, I swear... I've only had one..."

Stella held up four fingers.

"I promise you I will not be too polluted when I get home... I promise... I know you have to work early tomorrow and can't be up all night... I'm being a good girl...I swear it... I'm cutting myself off at two, I promise...okay...I love you, too...bye.." she hung up and tossed the phone on the table. "Where's the waitress?" she asked, looking around. '"I'm running on empty here."

"Just two, huh?" Stella grinned.

"More like six." Sam giggled. "But what can I say? I can bullshit, too, you know."