by K. Aten
The next day I slept in, nursing a slight hangover and still feeling sorry for myself. When I finally did get up, I only made it as far as showering and putting on some boxers and a t-shirt. I made myself a sandwich and watched an old episode of South Park. It was only when I saw that her car was gone from the parking lot that I got brave enough to go check my mail. Yes, I was avoiding Jen. My plan was shot to hell when she walked in the door just as I was heading back up the stairs. I stared at her like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. I didn’t know what to say to her. I didn’t even know what exactly I was feeling. The spell was broken when she walked up to me, still standing on the bottom step.
I saw a hurt look flash across her face before she gave me a once over. “I see you’re still all in one piece. You took off so fast from the bar that I thought maybe there was something wrong. That or maybe you got a better offer from someone else.” She gave me a little smile that I don’t think she meant and added, “Oh yeah, and thanks for the drink.”
I winced at each comment. I deserved every single one but I was a little pissed that Robin didn’t bother to tell her anything. She didn’t do me any favors, that’s for sure. I knew in that moment that I could either lie to her or just avoid the entire conversation. Those were my only two options because I sure as hell wasn’t ready for the third. I went with honesty and avoidance, or at least I tried to. “I didn’t leave with anyone else, I just left. I’m sorry, Jen.”
She stood there looking at me, obviously deciding what to say. One of our other neighbors came in the door and Jen and I backed away from each other to give her room to pass. When she was gone Jen looked back up at me and I was lost in her blue eyes. I almost groaned aloud at her next words. “Annie, we need to talk.”
I just nodded my head in acceptance, conceding defeat. I tried to lighten it up a little with a joke. “Okay, my place or yours?”
She gave me a little smile acknowledging the attempt but otherwise remained serious. “We’ll go wherever you feel more comfortable.”
I sighed and led her into my apartment. She followed and shut the door quietly behind her. We sat on the couch facing each other from opposite ends, like we’ve done many times before since we became friends. She began the conversation. “Why do you keep running away from me?”
I tried to deny it. “I’m not—” The look on her face stopped me cold and I sighed.
She finally chose the path that I wasn’t yet brave enough, or honest enough, to follow. “I’m not going to beat around the bush. I like you, and I’m pretty sure that we’ve become good friends. I’m also pretty sure that you like me too?” She made the last part into a question and when I nodded she continued. “But I sense that you’ve been keeping me at arm’s length and I want to know if that’s really what you want or if Robin has said something to make you stay away from me.”
I looked away from her piercing blue eyes, unable to handle the stark truth staring back at me. Finally I admitted, “It’s a little bit of both, and for the same reason.”
“Why?” She wasn’t going to let me off easy.
I finally looked back at her. “Jen, you know how I am. Why do you even need to ask me that?” I looked down at my clenched hands and said quietly, “I just don’t want to hurt you.”
She growled a little under her breath. “That has to be one of the lamest excuses I’ve ever heard! First of all, I’m an adult and I can make my own choices as to what is best for me. Second, it sounds more like you’re protecting yourself than me.” She gave me an unsettling look. “Tell me Anne, are you more afraid of hurting me, or are you afraid putting yourself out there and not having your feelings returned. Huh?”
I stood from the couch in anger, uncomfortable with the questions and I did something I was ashamed of. I lashed out. “Of course I’m afraid of hurting you! How can you even ask me that?” Energy and anger spent simultaneously, I sat back on the couch a little closer to her. I whispered, “I’m afraid I can’t give you what you want.”
In a low voice she leaned toward me and asked, “Do you even know what I want?”
Fearfully, I shook my head and waited. I sat frozen as she moved closer and ran a silky fingertip across my bottom lip. My heart raced as I watched her with hooded eyes. Then before I could say or do anything else, she kissed me. It wasn’t tentative in the least. It was hard and hungry. It was the kind of kiss that steals your breath away and makes your insides throb. We broke apart gasping for air only to find her hands under my shirt and my hands tangled in her hair.
“Jesus!” I took a shaky breath and attempted to disentangle myself but she clearly wasn’t finished. I’m not sure how long we spent making out on my couch but it drove me crazy. She was on top of me and the thigh between my legs had me on the verge of exploding.
Jen stopped all of the sudden and leaned close to my ear. “Take me to bed.” I was going to protest and try to slow things down until she raked her tongue up my neck and gently took my earlobe between her teeth. My undoing was when she whispered, “Please.” I could only nod and wait for her to get up.
She took a detour to use the bathroom and I brought us each a glass of cold water from the pitcher in the fridge. I was more than a little nervous by the time we stood together in front of my bed. We slowly undressed each other, kissing and sucking different body parts as we went. At one point I tasted the inside of her belly button, tugging the cute little ring with my teeth. When she gasped I had to squeeze my thighs together to slow myself down. Little spots were dancing in front of my eyes and I paused to bury my face against the baby soft skin of her stomach. I could feel her shudder as she kept a maddening grip on my hair.
When I was able to continue I took a deep breath to calm myself but that was also a bad idea. The unmistakable scent of her arousal hit me instantly and I found myself rushing to get her underwear off. I wanted to taste her then and there while kneeling on the carpet but she gently grabbed my wrists and tugged me to stand. Jen helped me finish undressing and we slowly climbed onto the bed, kissing and caressing.
When I finally settled myself on top of her I opened my eyes and rose slightly while looking down at her. I couldn’t help the smile and open admiration I directed her way. “Darlin, you are absolutely beautiful.”
In a quick move she rolled us until she was on top. She gave me a look that said more than words ever could. When I attempted to gently stroke the nipples that were hanging above me, she shook her head. The denial was emphasized when Jen grabbed my hands and held them above my head. That single move made me hot, but the gentle stroking of her body against mine had me burning up. She moaned as I groaned out, “Oh God!”
Our pace had begun to increase when suddenly she leaned over and took one of my hyper-sensitive nipples into her mouth. The feel of her tongue and teeth had me going off like a rocket. “Aahhh!” She kept riding me, and by the time she was ready to come I was going off again. She collapsed next to me and we both lay there panting. My sex was still twitching with the aftershocks. I closed my eyes and tried to slow my breathing. When I finally looked at her again, I was met with her gentle blue gaze. I laughed quietly. “Good God woman, are you trying to kill me?”
Jen propped herself up on one elbow and slowly traced a fingertip across my other breast and around the neglected nipple. She gave me a sexy grin. “I would have never guessed you were so sensitive, but I think I’m going to have some fun with it.” I watched her mouth move closer to the object in question and felt my heart rate pick up again.
When she closed her lips around the hard bud I used my hands to hold her head against me. I groaned and changed direction. I gently pulled her head away. “Oh no you don’t sweetheart, it’s my turn now.” I pulled her up so I could kiss her, thoroughly exploring her mouth with my tongue. When she was panting as hard as I was, I pushed her over on to her back. I started at her neck, while my hands were busy everywhere else. By the time I was sucking on her nipples, she was thrusting her center into my stomach. I kne
w what she wanted, and I was going to give it to her. I looked up at her face one last time after I positioned myself between her legs. She gave me a pleading look so I winked at her and obliged.
The first taste was oh so sweet and she just about threw me off the bed with her reaction. However, it wasn’t the nearly continuous groaning that had me thrusting my own center into the bed. It was the amount of wetness that greeted my fingers upon exploration. I circled her nub a few times before moving on to taste the source of her treasure. It was both tangy and sweet and the sound of her moaning had me wanting her to come more than anything else in the world. I pulled away and she whimpered. “Slow down there. Not yet, baby.”
When I looked up again, blue eyes were filled with insane arousal and more than a little desperation. That was the look that made me swipe my tongue from the back all the way up past her clit. On the second pass with the flat of my tongue, I buried two fingers into her soaked entrance. She rode me, making noises I don’t think I’d ever heard before. I finally took pity on her and started circling with my tongue slowly. I knew she was close when I felt her legs start to tremble. It was in that instant that I took her entire nub in to my mouth and started lashing it with my tongue and sucking gently.
Jen crashed hard and with a yell that, I’m sure, left the neighbors wondering about our no pets policy. I just kept firm pressure on her clit and let her ride me as far as she wanted to go. Each contraction squeezing my fingers made my own clit throb. I don’t think I’d ever been so close to coming just from getting someone else off before and I’d gotten a lot of women off. It wasn’t bragging if it was a fact. But Jen…she was absolutely intoxicating. When she was finally still, I gently pulled my tongue away. I attempted to remove my fingers but she reached down and held them in place with her own hand. Shuddering she said, “Wait, please.”
I relaxed and tried to ignore my own pulsing sex. My Cheddar grin was hidden in the soft skin of her thigh. A few minutes later I looked up at her and got a satiated smile in return. “Ready, Darlin?” She nodded and I slowly pulled my fingers free, dragging more shudders from her in response. Sheepishly I whispered, “Sorry” before crawling up the bed to lie next to her.
I was still throbbing and tense but when our eyes met… I don’t know. Something just clicked in that instant. She gently cupped my cheek and leaned over to give me a deep, probing kiss. When Jen pulled back licked her lips to taste herself, I was sure. “Thanks.” She must have seen something in my eyes, or maybe she could feel my body trembling from arousal, because she gave me a very naughty look. “I hope you’re ready because I’m not going to let you off so easy.”
I groaned and arched into her and she rolled on top of me, putting her weight squarely against my soaking wet center. Humming, she ran her hands across my chest before squeezing both my nipples at the same time. She began to thrust into me with the exact same rhythm that she was squeezing. At that point I was panting, barely able to catch my breath. “Oh God, oh God, oh God…” I trailed off as she suddenly released my nipples with a final tug and moved lower. She gently blew across my trimmed sex and I trembled. “Jen—” I called her name to get her attention. When she looked up I whispered, “I won’t last long.”
I knew I was in trouble when she got that evil little glint in her eyes. I watched as she reached out with the tip of her tongue and lightly touched it to the end of my clit. “We’ll see.”
The light touch provoked an almost autonomic thrust from me, pushing up into her as far as I could but she was fast. Before I could even get anywhere Jen was urging me to turn over. Breathless and shaky I complied. When she had me on all fours she leaned her sex into my ass. I groaned but didn’t start shaking until she began running her hands up and down my back and thrusting into me. Suddenly the pressure was gone and I could sense that she was right behind me. I swear my head just about flew off with the first touch of her tongue. Though I wasn’t normally one to swear, I couldn’t help the things that were coming out of my mouth. “Oh fuck! Goddamn it that feels so good…” When she pulled her tongue away I was reduced to pleading. “Oh god, just let me come, please.”
I was so close but she refused to touch me where I needed it the most. All I could do was bury my face in the pillow and clench the sheets in my fists. I think maybe I started to cry when she began rubbing my tight ring with her thumb as she nibbled and bit both my ass cheeks. I could feel her spreading my wetness, massaging it in with little maddening circles of pressure. By the time she turned me back over my entire body was twitching and I knew what was coming next. With slow licks to my clit, she worked the middle finger of her left hand into my ass. I knew it was her left hand because she had two fingers from her right hand already filling the other hole. Once she had worked her way completely in and both hands were moving in rhythm with each, she attacked my clit in earnest.
I closed my eyes when the little white lights in my vision started but it didn’t help. I was moaning and pumping, my body working its way into overload. When it happened, it was a complete surprise. Never in a million years had I ever felt anything so incredible. As a matter of fact, I think I went blind. Actually, I must have passed out because when I came to, she was coming back from the bathroom. I couldn’t move, only look at her with a stupid grin on my face.
She smiled at me. “Was that okay?”
I looked at her in disbelief then grunted and mumbled some gibberish. Apparently my brain wasn’t working yet either. Finally I attempting to verbalize how I felt as I felt another aftershock roll through me. Jen lay down next to me and gently ran her fingers through my hair. She smelled like lavender hand soap and just a little bit like sex. A few minutes later I got my first words out.
“Jesus, you are trying to kill me!”
She laughed. “How do you feel?”
I laughed with her. “Like a limp noodle and fan-fucking-tastic!” I looked over at the clock. It was late afternoon. We had been going for more than an hour. She gave me a lazy, half-lidded look and I said, “Nap time?”
Jen nodded then reached down to pull the sheet up over our naked bodies. Snuggling close, she whispered “Nap time”.
A few hours later I woke starving. Jen must have been awake too because she giggled when my stomach growled. We hauled ourselves out of bed then turned on the TV and ordered Thai Guys takeout. It was a strange feeling sitting there, laughing and sharing food like best friends. It had been a long time since I’d experienced that with someone I’d been so intimate with. It was nice, yet at the same time a little strange. I felt a little scared and lost and it must have shown on my face because she stopped mid bite.
“What?”
I placed my carton on the coffee table and looked at her seriously. “Where do we go from here?”
Jen put her own carton down and moved closer to me. Giving me a direct look she said, “Well that depends on what you want.” She gave me a gentle smile and caressed the palm of my hand with her fingertips, the sensation making me shiver a little. “What do you want, Anne?”
I looked into her beautiful blue eyes and squeezed her hand gently in mine. “I treasure our friendship, you know that?” When she nodded I continued. “But, I really like this too.” I leaned over and kissed her gently, savoring the flavor of Mongolian beef on her lips. I looked down, a little ashamed of my next admission and tried to hide the tears that gathered in my eyes. “I’m just not sure what I can offer you in the way of promises. And, Darlin, I…I don’t want to let you down or hurt you.”
She moved closer and took me into her arms, giving me a needed hug. “Shh, it’s okay.” She kissed me then pulled back to look at my face. “Let’s make a deal right now, okay?” I nodded and waited for her to continue. “I need this to be just us, no fooling around. If for any reason you don’t think you can do it any more, I need to know.” She put her finger over my lips when I started to protest. “No, I’m a big girl. I’ll worry about what I can handle and what I can’t. You can’t live your life worrying about what i
s going to cause pain, sometimes you just have to take that leap and hope you have a parachute.”
I smiled at her bravery. “Ok, you have a deal.” Chinese food forgotten, we sealed it with a kiss and much more.
THINGS PROGRESSED SLOWLY for the next two weeks. We had stayed at each other’s places a few more times but we were purposely trying to take things easy. I hadn’t told anyone about my new relationship status yet. It really hadn’t come up until the next ladies night rolled around at Kipper’s.
We were walking to work that Friday morning when I brought it up. “Hey.”
She looked over at me curiously. “Yeah?”
I gave her a Cheddar grin. “Would you like to go out with me tonight?”
She gave me a serious look while we were walking. “Are you sure?” She knew that I had wanted to keep the relationship between us for a bit.
My heart pounded, worried she might say no. “Well yeah, of course I’m sure!” I reached over and took her hand to tug her to a stop. “I’m ready to kick up my feet on the dance floor and there is no one I’d rather dance with than you.”
Jen smiled and after a quick look around, gave me a kiss on the lips. “Thank you. And the feeling is mutual.”
There was a push in my chest, some deep emotion telling me to be completely honest with her. “I’m really happy with what we have, Jen. You know I think of you as my girl, right?”
I think I surprised her with my admission and she froze as the sounds of the waking city happened around us. We both startled when car alarm went off a somewhere on the next block. Her bottom lip trembled and I grew nervous. “Is that okay?”