“How ’bout Friday? Drinks on me?” he asked.
I toyed with the idea. I wasn’t interested in getting involved with Erik. Could I handle him staring at my boobs for free drinks? Gemma pursed her lips. Could Gemma handle it? Her thinning, bloodless lips said not a chance in hell.
“What do you say?” He wrapped an arm around both of us.
Was he envisioning a threesome? Now he was really pushing his luck.
“Maybe. I’ll need to check my schedule.” I couldn’t meet his eye and instead gawped at his massive Air Jordans. Did that mean…?
“Well, let me know if you can pencil me in.” He widened his eyes suggestively before strutting off like a peacock.
“He’s interesting,” Gemma said, putting him down not in words but in tone.
“The dude couldn’t keep his eyes off my tits like every other guy I talk to. Why are men such pigs? Saving my life yesterday doesn’t give him the right to blatantly ogle me.” I looped my arm through hers and whisked us away from the crowd gathering outside the classroom. “The only one I want leering at my chest is you,” I whispered in Gemma’s ear.
“I don’t leer!” she forcefully whispered back.
“Yes, you do.” I shoved the glass door open and immediately shielded my eyes. Sunrays bounced off the mounds of snow. Gemma slid her Oakley sunglasses from the top of her head firmly into place, which simultaneously freed her flowing red locks. I pulled my Target brand shades out of my bag.
I crinkled my nose at the dirty mounds of gray snow lining the sidewalk. “How long until this mess melts?”
“The roads and sidewalks are clear, but the massive piles—not for weeks.”
“I hate snow days after a storm. Such an unsightly mess.”
“Want to know where it’s still pristine?”
I squeezed her arm.
“Walt’s Hill.”
“Yes!” I squealed. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Walt’s Hill, named after the university’s founder, was a mile or so from campus, and it’d become a sledding hotspot.
“Let’s go this way.” I gestured to the empty soccer field, where only a few had trudged through the foot of snow. “I want you to myself.”
Gemma stopped in her tracks. “Full disclosure. Jenny will be there. Have you recovered from the—?”
“Do you think Jenny suspects?” If she did, why’d she tell Michelle about Erik? Or did Michelle hear from another little bird? Alfrid was crawling with gossips.
“About us?”
I nodded.
“Not positive, but she’d have to be an idiot not to.”
“Are you saying I wasn’t smooth?” I bumped her shoulder.
“By smooth do you mean nearly dying when the word lesbian popped up in conversation?”
“Whatever.”
“I don’t think Jenny would ever say anything, though. That’s not her style.”
Gemma was right, but the thought still made my stomach cartwheel.
“There’s more.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“She invited a girl she has a crush on.”
“Not April?” My voice was three decibels higher than normal.
Gemma shook her head.
“Bernice.”
“God, what a hideous name.” I clapped a hand over my mouth.
Gemma laughed. “She goes by Bernie.”
“That’s a helluva lot better. What happened with April?”
“Nothing, I guess. Jenny said they fooled around some, but there was no future.”
We laughed.
“All this time, I never suspected Jenny was so levelheaded. Thank God she’d finally come to her senses.” I peeked at Gemma. “When did you find this out?”
“About which? The sledding or Bernie?”
“Both. You know I love gossip.” Just like everyone else in this sleepy town.
“This morning.”
“This will be like a double date, then.”
“Kinda,” Gemma stammered. “Only we’ll know, though. We can stop off at our room, change, grab lunch, and get our sleds. We’re meeting them at the top at 2:30.” She glanced at her watch. “That gives us an hour and a half.”
As soon as we entered the room, I pinned Gemma against the door and kissed her hard. “Thank you for helping me study.”
“If that’s my reward, I’ll help you study for all your tests.” She twirled a blond lock around her fingers.
“That was a teensy taste. This is your reward. Let’s skip lunch.” I stripped out of my clothes and lay on the bed with my legs spread wide. “Come and get it.”
Gemma’s eyes bulged, and she squinted at her watch again.
“Did you really check the time?” I asked, slipping my hand between my legs, skating a finger over my pussy lips. “Here I am, served up on a silver platter, practically, and you’re calculating if we have enough time.”
“Uh…”
“Stop being so logical. Now strip!” I commanded.
She dutifully complied and climbed on top of me, straddling one of my thighs. “At least not all of you is logical. You’re already slick.” I reached down and teased a finger inside. “So warm and inviting.”
Gemma’s lips took possession of mine, kissing me with a new level of passion. The type that conveyed she wanted to dominate me. It flipped my lid, in a good way. I rolled on top of her, pumping my fingers harder inside.
“Hey, I thought this was my reward.” Gemma’s closed eyes and satisfied moan muted her complaint.
I tweaked her nipple, sucking it into my mouth. “Are you complaining about being fucked? You’re already in hot water for the watch thing. Don’t push it.” I moseyed to her other nipple and gave it the same treatment.
“Or what?” She groaned as my lips started their trek down her toned stomach.
“I may never let you out of this bed.” I flicked her bud with the tip of my tongue.
“Yes. I’m complaining. Really complaining. This has to stop.”
I stilled my fingers and pulled my mouth away from her.
Gemma’s head popped up. “What are you doing?”
“You asked me to stop.” I rolled my wet lips. “Such a shame, because I love the way you taste.”
Gemma yanked my head back to her twat, pleading in her action.
“That’s what I thought,” I said.
I fucked her until she screamed into her pillow, not once but three times.
***
“Shoot. We need to hurry.” Gemma sighed regretfully. It was a little after two. “Where’d the time go?”
“I don’t know. It seems to stop when I’m fucking you.” I smacked my lips smeared with Gemma’s secret sauce.
I would have been perfectly fine staying in bed the rest of the afternoon, but Gemma was never one to let anyone down.
We dressed in snow pants and warm ski sweaters in record time.
Minutes later, we were trudging up the hill behind our dorm, which was located at the far end of campus. Hundreds of boot marks marred the winding trail.
I dropped a glove, and Gemma leaned down to retrieve it.
“Thanks!” I pulled her arm. “Come on. I’m excited to meet Jenny’s chica.” Oddly, I wasn’t wigging out. Maybe I was getting the hang of lesbian dating. Dating. “Gemma!” I exclaimed.
She spun around. “What’d you drop now?”
“Not that. I realized we haven’t been on a date yet.” I palm slapped my forehead.
“What? We’ve gone to dinner and movies.”
“Yes, but that was as friends. We haven’t been on an official date yet. Not since we kissed and then some.” I paused, straightened my sweater, and snatched my sunglasses off. “Gemma, would you go on a date with me this Friday?”
“What about drinks with Erik?” she teased.
“Erik who?” I feigned surveying the immediate area. “I want to take my girl out. If she’ll let me.”
“Is that a yes or a no?”
Still she waited.
“I see I have to do this the hard way.” I started to get on one knee.
“What are you doing? You’ll get all wet.”
“I was going to propose a date, and I like it when you get me all wet.”
Gemma laughed and pulled me up into her arms.
A copse of pine trees and quiet on the trail emboldened me, and I leaned in for a kiss.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” April rounded the corner and sidled next to us followed by Jenny and a black girl I’d never seen.
I stepped away from Gem.
“Tegan slipped,” Gemma quickly tried to cover our faux pas of kissing in public.
“That’s not what I saw.” April eyed both of us with her I caught you smirk. “Unless she fell into your mouth.”
Play-it-Safe Tegan wouldn’t have been so careless. Maybe I shouldn’t bottle her up all the time to avoid moments like this? And why was April here at all? Gemma hadn’t warned me that buzzkill was tagging along.
“Tegan, are you okay?” Jenny winked at me, but her voice was filled with concern. “You aren’t hurt, are you?” She raised my arms to evaluate the imagined damage.
“I’m fine. I think Gemma rescued me in the nick of time.” I wiggled my arms out of Jenny’s and brushed some snow off my knee.
“This is Bernie.” Jenny motioned to the woman who was the spitting image of Denise Huxtable. No wonder Jenny had tossed bitchy April overboard. Bernie was all that and a bag of chips.
“Berns, this is Tegan.” Jenny dug her elbow into my side. “She’s somewhat clumsy, so be careful.” She waved to Gem. “And this is Gemma. Everyone refers to them as G&T.”
We all shook hands.
“Tegan, if you’re okay, let’s roll. Walt’s Hill beckons.” Jenny widened her eyes.
“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”
Gemma’s eyes bored into mine as if telepathically asking, “Are you sure this is okay? You won’t choke, hyperventilate, or freak out?”
I steeled my nerves and nodded.
“Aw, you’re such a trooper!” Jenny regarded the group. “Last one to the top is a loser.” She was already running by the time she finished.
Gemma dashed off. “Not a chance!”
“Such a child!” April shouted with a hand cupped around her mouth.
Bernie and I sized the other up as if determining whether or not to join the childish chase. “Come on!” I sprinted to the best of my ability. Running in snow boots while toting a bright red sled was not easy.
I was the last of the four but well ahead of April, who took her sweet-ass time, much to Jenny’s and Gemma’s annoyance. The top of the hill was packed per usual.
“You can’t get enough of me, can you?” asked a male voice.
I sensed Gemma’s grinding teeth without having to scan her face.
I slowly pivoted to confront Erik. “It seems I can’t get rid of you.” I poked his hard chest with a finger.
He smiled, ignoring another brush-off. Boys and their egos. Of course, hunky men like Erik probably didn’t hear no very often. A Raiders baseball hat denied me a glimpse of his blue eyes.
“Join me for the ride of your life?” He elevated his fancy sled that put my plastic saucer to shame. “It’s lightning fast.”
“I think you’re barking up the wrong tree.” April inserted herself between us.
Erik tilted his head with vacant eyes. “Hi, I’m Erik.” He put a hand out. April took it. Then he craned his neck. “What about it, Tegan? You game?”
Every ounce of reason screamed for me to say no. But I had a glimmer of hope that if I went with Erik, April would somehow magically forget that she saw me swapping spit with Gemma. Play-it-Safe Tegan kicked into hyperdrive.
“Uh, sure.” I wheeled about to Gemma and mouthed, “I’m sorry,” before saying, “Can you hold this for me?” I handed her my sled.
Gemma took it without saying a word and didn’t look at me. Jenny squared her shoulders and angrily cocked her head.
“All right. Let’s go.” Erik sat on the sled and gestured for me to sit in front of him. I did. He pushed off and leaned into me, holding me with one arm. His day-old scruff grazed my cheek. Could he smell Gemma’s juices on my face?
I screamed. Erik hadn’t lied. We shot down the hill, and the image of Clark Griswold in Christmas Vacation on his greased sled shooting down the mountain flashed before my mind.
It didn’t matter if Gemma wanted to kill me. I was going to die, anyway.
I gripped the sides of the sled and belted out, “We’re going to crash!”
We did. The sled slipped out from under us. Erik and I flew into the air and bounced down another ten or fifteen feet before grinding to a halt.
Erik laughed while he had me pinned on the ground underneath him. Neither of us moved. I wasn’t positive why Erik remained still, but I was running an internal check to determine if certain parts of my body were irreparably damaged.
“Tegan!” Jenny and Gemma both shouted as they pulled up next to us.
Erik still didn’t let me up. He brushed some snow off my face and appraised me with a wicked glint in his eye that reminded me of the one my ex, Josh, had worn right before we had sex. I guessed Erik’s next step and wiggled out from under him before he could kiss me.
“Are you crazy?” I shouted at Erik, stamping my boots in the snow.
“I warned you.” He got to his feet and brushed off his jacket and jeans. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, no thanks to you.”
“Don’t be mad. Come on. It was fun. Admit it.”
I glowered at him.
“Okay. I’m sorry. Let’s do it again. I promise not to scare you.” He put two gloved palms in the air.
I shook my head.
April magically appeared. “I’ll go!”
Erik assessed her fake boobs and then nodded. “Sure.” The two of them started the climb back up to the top.
“Are you okay?” Jenny asked.
I peeked at Gemma, who was silently fuming. I wanted to say, “No, I’m in deep shit.” Instead I nodded, willing my eyes not to overflow.
“Bernie has your sled at the top.”
“Thanks, Jenny.”
I tried to say something to Gemma, but she turned her back on me.
Relationship Limbo
Chapter One
Friday morning in the cafeteria, April and I sat alone at a table.
“Hey, have you seen Gemma lately?” I tried to sound perky but kept my eyes downcast, absently stirring my Lucky Charms with a spoon.
Last night, for the first time since we had moved into our dorm room, Gem didn’t return.
“Uh-oh, trouble in G5?” April’s fake smile made me squirm. She was the last person I wanted sympathy or relationship advice from. While peeling a banana, she continued, “Jenny stayed at Bernie’s apartment off campus. Maybe Gemma joined them.” She chomped into her banana, gnawing on it slowly, before adding the kicker. “You know, Tiny T, I think both Jenny and Gemma have jungle fever. Leave it to Jenny to find the only black lesbian attending Hill University.”
I didn’t reply to her racist comment out of fear of confirming Gem and I were an item. Or had been before the Walt’s Hill fiasco. Besides, that was the last image I needed running through my head. Shit, did Gemma have pictures of me and Erik running through her tortured mind? I abandoned my Lucky Charms and fresh fruit, untouched. For two days, I’d only been able to eat half a banana. My mom would be so proud of the inevitable pounds that were sure to melt off.
“I have class,” I said, standing.
“Good luck finding your roomie.” April winked conspiratorially as she waved a cheery hand. I wanted to shove her fingers where the sun didn’t shine.
Trudging to class, I pondered my breakup with Josh over the holid
ays. It had been sad, but it hadn’t torn me up inside and I hadn’t missed one meal. As far as I knew, Gemma and I hadn’t broken up, but how could I be in a relationship with someone who wouldn’t talk to me? Since the sledding episode, she’d only said the following words to me: please, thank you, excuse me, and no thanks. Her forced politeness was like a swift kick to the gut each and every time. I would have preferred if she’d let me have it. Told me what she thought so we could begin to work our way through it. Not pretend that we were nothing more than friendly acquaintances who said, “No thanks,” when I asked if she’d like to talk.
In the grand scheme of things, my relationship woes didn’t amount to a hill of beans, as my mother would say. She’d remind me of all the children starving in Africa or some mumbo jumbo like that to snap me out of my self-pity funk. But right then, the only thing that mattered was the fact Gemma hadn’t said two words to me in four days. Being in relationship limbo was killing me.
And now I had to get through three classes before I could launch a “find Gemma” mission.
***
I glanced at my hot pink Baby-G watch my mother had given me for Christmas. Ten minutes remained in my U.S. history class, and then I would be free to start the weekend. Yeah, right. I was physically and emotionally drained. That didn’t stop the professor from droning on about Grover Cleveland’s presidency. Like any of the thirty students in the room cared, least of all me.
All I could think of was Gemma and how she absolutely refused to hear any explanation concerning the incident on Walt’s Hill.
Before Erik had tried to kiss me, Gemma and I planned on going on our first official date this evening, but I couldn’t get her to confirm or deny if she was still interested, not simply in the date but in me. Most of the time, she was absent from our room. When Gem was around, she swayed her head as the songs “November Rain,” “End of the Road,” “Black,” and “Nothing Compares 2 U” streamed through her headphones. I could only hear snippets of the songs and was sick to death of them. How could she still stand them?
“Tegan.” Someone nudged my arm.
I scouted over my shoulder.
“Class is over. What’d you do, fall asleep?” Erik waved to the remaining handful of students fleeing the room.
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