Tonight at Gabby's was rave night. Rave-light, really, the music and some of the atmosphere, but the club was still the club. Dance floor lighting was lower than usual and the DJ was playing a dark techno mix. She was a regular at the club, but I hadn't heard her play anything so heavy before. I was dancing by myself, when I saw Kennedy come through the curtain with a tall girl in a tank top with long black hair. I didn't recognize tank top girl, but I didn't feel like watching them together, so I decided it was time for a drink. Non-alcoholic, unfortunately.
Outside the curtain, there were signs all around reminding us that doing drugs here would be a Very Bad Idea, rave or not. So maybe choosing a rave theme was inviting trouble, but it was a good set. I picked up a grapefruit tonic mocktail. It was a fancy drink with slices of grapefruit and a sprig of rosemary. Then I looked around.
A girl I hadn't seen before was sitting at a table with Kayla, Anita, and others of that couple's friend group. She had blonde hair with green streaks and a green fringe, large red glasses, and was wearing a bright red crop tube top. I was moving toward the table when she looked up to see me approaching. I saw her eyebrows rise. She nudged Kayla, who looked up and smiled at me.
Kayla raised a hand, welcoming me. I moved to the table and took the free chair across from the new girl.
"Ready for the weekend?" I asked Kayla. "Last week of freedom?"
"The wedding's still on, if that's what you're asking. Anita hasn't figured out yet that I only want her for her body."
"I knew that from day one," piped up Anita, in a sing-song voice, without looking around from her conversation.
"I love your hair," said the new girl.
"Thanks," I said. "I was admiring yours."
"Mine's just a color. Yours is a statement," she said.
My hair had been colored a pale lavender for a long time, but I'd lightened it almost to white and added light blue and pink stripes a month earlier.
"It kinda is," I agreed, with a shrug. "With the hate trans people are getting right now, I wanted to show where I stand."
"I thought that might be it," she said.
The girl turned to Kayla. "Are you going to introduce us, Auntie Kay?" She smirked, as if at some private joke.
Kayla rolled her eyes. "I should, but I'm not her auntie," she said to me. "Grace, this is my cousin Tara. Piers, same as me. Tara, my friend Grace."
Friend might be pushing our connection a little, but she did invite me to her wedding. "Hey, Tara," I said. "Hasn't anyone asked you to dance yet?"
She gave a quick shake of her head. Her light brown eyes darted over to Kayla, then back to me. "Has she been scaring the girls away?" I asked her. Her lips twitched, but she didn't answer. I turned to Kayla. "Can I have her if I promise to bring her back unbroken, Auntie Kay?"
"I am an adult," Tara said, "and I don't think any boys are going to ask me to dance, here, are they?" She pushed her chair back. I hid my disappointment at being second best to a male dance partner.
Kayla sighed. "I'm her ride, though," she said, "so get her back to me at some point."
I moved around to the other side of the table to walk with Tara to the curtain. "Looks like we have a similar style," I said.
Her eyes gave me a quick once-over.We both wore crop tops, denim cutoff shorts and sneakers with bare legs. Her top was not much more than a wide band over her ribcage, while my black top didn't expose quite as much of my belly, but it was a tie front top with a deep V, so it showed more skin on the upper side. Though I think she filled hers out better than I did.
She was taller than me, and maybe younger than I'd first thought. We stood close, bouncing in place. The music was loud, and I had to lean close and look up to make myself heard. "Are you at college, Tara?" I asked.
"Not yet, but I'm starting this year. Here."
"Nice! It's a good place. I'm a senior this year. But are you transferring in? You have to be older than eighteen."
"Nope, I just graduated high school."
Not gonna lie, I wouldn't have asked her to dance if I'd thought she was under twenty. I'm not Kayla, to seduce a first year.
"Why do you call her Auntie Kay?" I asked.
"She's eight years older than me. When I was seven, she was fifteen, and a very bossy fifteen..."
"I can believe that," I said, interrupting her.
"So I decided she was too old to be my cousin. She had to be my aunt. Now I say it to wind her up."
"You're here for the wedding?" I asked.
Tara frowned. She set her hands on my shoulders and drew me closer. "Try again," she said. It was much easier to hear her over the music like this. There was a slight press of her chest to mine.
"You're here for the wedding?"
I felt her nod against my hair. "I'm a bridesmaid. On Kayla's side, of course. Will you be there?"
"Yeah," I said. "Your auntie invited several of the girls here, though I think she invited me because I was dating a friend of hers."
"Are you still?" she asked.
I glanced around quickly. "Behind me and to the left. See the girl facing us with long greasy hair, in the tank top that has a neckline around her ankles?"
Tara laughed. I felt her body shake where my bra pressed into her top. "That's her?"
"No, Kennedy's the girl dancing with her with her back to us," I said.
"So I guess you're not still with her," she said.
"Not for about ten months," I said.
"Do you still miss her?" she asked.
"No," I said, "but let's not talk about her right now. Talking about your ex when you're dancing with a cute girl is rude."
Tara's quick smile was merry. "I'm cute, am I?"
"You are," I said, "but you're also eighteen."
"How old are you?" she asked.
"Twenty-one," I admitted.
"Well, I think you're cute, too," she said. "Were you really coming over to ask Kayla about the wedding?"
She had me there. "Uh, no. I was coming to ask you to dance. But I didn't know you were eighteen. Or straight."
Her fingers slid up my shoulders, then around my neck, lacing together, pulling me closer. "I'll let you into a secret," she said, her lips by my ear. "I'm only one of those things."
She was close enough to me that keeping my hands raised while I danced, the way I had been, was likely to cause an embarrassing incident, and letting them hang at my sides would be weird, so I parked them on her waist. Under my hands, she didn't feel at all like a teenager, especially with the now-constant pressure of her breasts against mine.
"Why the charade about dancing with a boy, then? Surely Kayla won't care if you're queer."
"Kayla has been good to me," she said. "She's paying for my hotel, and she's letting me house sit for her when she's on honeymoon, so I can visit for longer. I don't want to come out to my parents quite yet. I think they'd be supportive, but these days, who knows? If they find out before the wedding I could disrupt it with family drama. And she's been an icon to me, you know? I didn't even realize I was like her until I heard she was with a girl."
Somehow I couldn't see Kayla as an icon, but whatever. "Do you want to move further through the crowd?" It wasn't a big crowd, honestly, but a few more gyrating bodies between us might make it harder to see into the dark.
"Good idea," she said, steering me through the dancers as she walked me backward. Before we hit a wall, she turned us to face me away from the curtain so she could keep an eye on her cousin. "The DJ's great," she said.
"She's a regular," I said, "though I haven't heard her play industrial or EDM before. I like it."
As always, the DJ was performing in what seemed little more than lingerie. She was a treat to the eyes as well as the ears.
"Hiding from Auntie Kay like this reminds me of the rave I went to back home," said Tara. Shouted, really.
"Was Kayla there?"
"Oh, no, the hiding part, not the Kayla part," she said. "I spent over an hour hiding in a closet with my friend Carlie so her boyfriend wouldn't find us."
"Why were you hiding?" I asked.
She didn't say "Well, duh," but it was obvious in her tone. "Because we were making out?"
"Was it worth it?" I asked.
"Well, yeah?" Tara said. "Though she wouldn't speak to me afterward."
"Did her boyfriend find out?" I asked.
"Uh, no. She decided she hadn't wanted my hand down her pants. But she didn't try to stop me at the time. And then she didn't try to stop me again." After a second, she added, "Uh, TMI?"
"Maybe. Guess you're not the innocent teen."
"I'm innocent!" Tara squawked. "Carlie's the one who lost her, um, composure."
I laughed. I may not be planning to take Tara to bed, now or ever, but I liked her. "So what are you coming here to study?" I asked.
"CS," she said, "but I want to do a double CS with Math. I think I want a job in robotics, but that will be good for any kind of animation or automation, too."
"My ex was a mathematician," I said. "It isn't an easy choice."
"Maybe I'm smarter than she was," she said.
"The arrogance of youth," I commented. "I'm in engineering, and her work seemed harder."
"Oh, cool, you might be a good person to get to know."
Not gonna lie, her enthusiasm, her obvious interest, and the way her breasts kept rubbing against mine when she leaned close to talk, were all uniting to tickle my libido. I really had to get her back to her table before either of us had more carnal ideas.
"If we're here any longer, your Auntie Kay might come looking for you," I said, "and we're not hiding in a closet."
"More's the pity," Tara said, and I felt a thrill as I considered what she'd told me about sharing a closet with her friend. "How busy are you in the next few days? Could you show me around?"
"Maybe," I said. "Let's get back to your table so we can hear each other."
Tara nodded, and we left the dance area.
It was surprising how much the heavy mesh drapes cut the sound. Back at Kayla's table we could talk almost normally.
"Auntie Kay, Grace is going to show me around the University," Tara said, as she sat. The seat opposite her was still free, so I took it.
"I said maybe," I corrected her. "Depends on the time. We only have two days before wedding activities, unless you're skipping the axe bar."
"Oh! Right, I'm not missing that," Tara said, "though I'll be around while I'm house sitting, too. How about tomorrow afternoon?"
"I could do a couple of hours after two," I said. Really, all of my time was my own right now. My summer internship had ended, and all I had to do was buy groceries and supplies, but I got the impression Tara would try to take as much of my time as she could.
"What's your number?" she asked, then gave me hers.
I left the table. I was going to pick up another drink, but tank top girl was leaning against the counter, Kennedy well within her personal space. She caught my eye and gave me a cold look. I decided I didn't really need more grapefruit tonic and headed home.
There was no trace of the green in Tara's hair when I met her the following day. Without it, her hair was medium blonde, loose and relaxed. She wore a pale blue zip-front halter, unzipped far enough to show a little bra-enhanced cleavage. The top wasn't as short as her tube top had been, but it still left her navel exposed. Her gym shorts were dark blue with white, and covered more than her cutoffs had. Her legs between the shorts and a pair of Nikes were long and lean.
With her height and build, the thinly-drawn eyebrows and light eyeshadow, I'd have defied anyone to guess her age at under twenty. She looked like my peer, not a newly-minted first year. Not yet newly-minted, that is.
I showed her around the science buildings. The computer labs that were open were also occupied with summer classes, so we couldn't see much there. We saw some of the larger classrooms. There wasn't really anything she needed to see ahead of time, but we toured some of the more attractive parts of the campus. There was a rocky pond with fountains and fish which delighted her.
"If you like fishponds, we should go to the botanic gardens," I said, surprising myself perhaps more than I did Tara. I hadn't intended to suggest any additional tours, or anything that might seem date-like, but seeing her innocent pleasure in watching the fish, I knew she'd enjoy the gardens, and I found myself inviting her.
"Sure," she said. "Are you free tomorrow?"
"I can be," I said, trying to sound less enthusiastic than I felt.
I suggested we leave campus for better coffee, so we walked a couple of blocks to the coffee shop. Her eyebrows rose at the name, "Level Grind," and she grinned at the cutesie game characters adorning the menu and coasters.
Neither of the two baristas was familiar to me. We waited for our coffees and took them to a table. "I'm surprised Auntie Kay didn't tell me about this place," she said. "We play the same games."
"Online?" I asked.
"Yeah, we have a regular group," she replied. "Kayla and Anita, then a woman they work with, and Nyssa. Do you know her?"
I shook my head in the negative.
"We try to get together weekly," she said. "And being the computer chick, I host a few private games for us. While I'm here I've been testing that I can admin them remotely. My parents can maybe find the power button four times out of five, and I'm not going to fly home if there are problems."
"So was it a successful test?" I asked.
"Pretty much," she said. "I need to tweak a few things when I get back."
"When will that be?" I asked. "You said you're going to house sit?"
"Yeah, I'll leave before they're back from honeymoon," she said. "I won't want to be around when they compensate for having non-stop honeymoon sex with non-stop at-home sex."
My response was an amused grunt. "I'd like to say that Gabby's calmed down after Anita and Kayla took each other off the market. It wouldn't really be true, but I'd like to say it anyway."
Tara narrowed her eyes. "Just what is Gabby's? It's an alcohol-free club so that youngsters like me can participate, and Kayla says it's a safe space, but she seems evasive about it."
Two goth girls had picked up their coffees and moved to a table nearby, so I lowered my voice further. "You did say you were innocent," I said. "Your aunt is likely protecting you."
Tara's eyebrows rose. "One, she's not my aunt, and two, what do I need protecting from?"
I took a sip of my latte. "She's right about it being as inclusive as it can be, and a safe space, but most of the patrons are single and not celibate, so what does that tell you?"
"That it's a hookup spot?" she suggested.
"Right. It's a hookup spot where everyone's sober, no one's going to spike your drink, and no one's going to disparage you for your sexuality. Which makes it a great place to pick up girls."
Tara looked at me thoughtfully. Her lips turned up into a sly smile. "Then when you were coming to ask me to dance..."
My face felt warm. "Like I said, I didn't know you were eighteen."
"That's why you asked if Kayla was scaring the girls away," she said.
"I'm sure she didn't want anyone to hit on her barely legal cousin the way she used to," I said. I hadn't intended to say that. At least, not that starkly.
"She did?" Tara asked, loud enough for the goth girls to give us a curious look.
"Look, it's okay," I said, "it's all consensual, and everyone's an adult. I just feel like some of the older girls... some of the older women could have been more selective. When I was your age I was hit on by girls older than Kayla. Mid-twenties, when I was eighteen. I can say no, but I felt uneasy around girls who would do that when I was an innocent teen."
"Did Kayla hit on you?" Tara asked.
Shaking my head, I said, "No, but..." I sighed. "My ex was infatuated with her for a time. She said it was entirely her choice, but Anita steered her to Kayla, and it was hard not to see it as a double act."
"How old was she? Your ex, I mean?"
"Same as me. Eighteen. Kayla was two years out of college," I said. "I wouldn't have wanted to be in that position, but she got over her crush, and who's to say it wasn't what she needed?" I frowned. "I shouldn't be telling you this, but it was a big deal between us, and it wasn't a secret at the time."
"Wow," said Tara. "My Auntie Kay was a lech. Is that why you broke up with your ex?"
I shook my head. "Nah, that was never a problem. Kennedy changed. She became a lot more confident, which wasn't a bad thing, but she... started to reject what she saw as limitations. She cheated on me. When I found out, she said she'd settled for me too soon. She hadn't had the range of experiences she could have had. College is a bad time to be monogamous. She embraces the Gabby's lifestyle now."
Tara slurped the last of her iced coffee, her straw making an obnoxious sound. She seemed to enjoy being annoying with it. "I think I'd like to go to Gabby's to meet people," she said, "but I don't think I'd want to be like that. But what do I know? And, oh God, Kayla will be there, won't she? Even when I'm independent. She's still a regular."
"It's easier to get lost in the crowd during term time," I said, "and she may not be my favorite person, but I don't think she's a hypocrite. She won't cramp your style."
She moved her left hand over the table, taking my right. I didn't resist when she interlaced her fingers with mine. "Maybe when I hit on you there you'll feel less cougary. Since I'll be a student, too."
The age difference between a not-quite senior and not-quite first year was feeling less relevant by the minute. I needed to take a step back. "I should, uh, go take care of the things I had to postpone to take the afternoon off."
It was the least convincing excuse in the history of excuses, and the twitch in her lips told me she knew it.
"Okay," she said, not releasing my hand. "So when and where shall I meet you tomorrow? I'll probably be exploring on my own in the morning."
"Uh, right." The gardens had slipped my mind. "Here? Meet me at one? I'll have my car."
"O-kay," she sang, earning us another glance from the girls at the nearby table. She released her grip on my fingers. "I'll see you here."
"How are you getting back to your hotel?" I asked.
"It's a bus ride. I know the way."
"Will you be okay?"
"Should I start calling you Auntie Grace?" she retorted. "Yes, I'll be fine."
"See you tomorrow, Tara," I said.
"A domani, Grace!" she replied.
Tara was studying the art wall when I arrived the next day. She saw me enter, smiled, and moved into line. Today's cashier was Dylan, who had cut her hours down in the last couple of years, so I rarely saw her. Cyndy, the owner, was our barista. Between serving drinks she was checking on supplies, making notes on paper.
"I think I'm going to be spending a lot of time here," Tara confided as we waited at the counter. Cyndy looked up at that and smiled. "I like to hear that," she said. "You're new? I don't think I've seen you here."
"I'm pre-new," Tara said. "I'm only visiting, but I'll be back in a couple of weeks. First year."
"Bring plenty of cash for the outrageous prices," I said. Cyndy grinned at me, knowing that I knew she worked hard to hold costs down.
"I don't care when they have these cute paper coasters," Tara said, as Cyndy clipped the cover of her iced latte in place, setting it down on a coaster with a straw.
We took our coffees to my car, which wasn't the greatest vehicle, but I rarely needed it. As I drove, I caught the scents of orange and vanilla. She may have used a little too much perfume, but it wasn't unpleasant.
Today's tee shirt reached her gym shorts. Longer than mine today, since I was wearing a pink crop top with matching skirt. But her neckline was as low as yesterdays, her cleavage still as precisely formed. Her attempts to look seductive for me may have been clumsy, but they were sincere, and because of that, they were having an effect. She seemed in equal parts cute, intelligent, maddening, and sexy. Only occasionally did she seem especially young, and sometimes that was deliberate.
At the gardens, she entered the ticket booth ahead of me, and bought her own ticket, saving me from the decision of whether I should pay for her. I'd suggested the visit, but I hadn't intended to invite her on a date, and buying her ticket would have made it seem like one. Maybe she understood that.
Still, once we were inside, she slipped her hand into mine. I looked down dubiously at our joined hands. Tara shrugged, grinned, and didn't let go. So... whatever. If I also liked the feel of her hand in mine, I just wasn't going to admit it.
"The koi pond is in that direction. Do you want to go there first, or see the ducks and the flowers and leave the fish for last?"
"Yes," she said, helpfully. I took the comment as meaning the second, and set off for the duck pond. The scents of the floral displays competed with the whiffs of vanilla and orange that drifted my way.
Several ducks chuckled toward us. I pointed at one of the "Do not feed the ducks" signs and asked the ducks if they couldn't read, which brought a merry laugh from Tara.
"But they're starving!" she said.
"They're so not starving that their poop messes up the pond," I said.
"I thought that was just the scent of nature," Tara said.
"Duck poop is perfectly natural," I agreed, "but there's too much of it for the pond's ecosystem to handle."
The walk to the koi pond took us past the coffee kiosk, where I bought her an ice cream. It was the least I could do after not paying for her ticket. Her hand was a little sticky in mine when we continued walking.
Her delight when she saw the fish in the pond was adorable. The water was quite clear, and the koi very active. She dragged me around the path looking for better viewpoints to see them. Some of them were huge. Tara pointed out each monster she saw until I acknowledged that I'd seen it.
When we finally headed to the car I asked if she'd like to stop for pizza. I was still feeling guilty about her paying for her own admission. She readily agreed, so I took her to a pizza place near the hotel.
After pizza, I drove her back to the hotel. In the parking lot she asked if she could make me coffee with the supplies in the room. "It's not great, but it's not bad. And it's included!" she said, eagerly.
"Okay," I agreed and followed her to her room.
The coffee was, as she said, not great. Not as good as she had expected, judging by her expression. She apologized.
"It's fine, Tara," I said. "It's better than the instant I have at the apartment."
"But you're used to the coffee at the coffee shop," she insisted.
"On a student budget I usually drink terrible coffee," I said. I took another sip. It wasn't bad. Her disappointment, I knew, wasn't directly from the coffee, but from feeling that she'd failed to impress me.
"Listen, Tara," I said, "the coffee's okay, but I like the company much better."
She brightened at that. "I like you, Grace. I want you to like me too, and I don't want you to think it's creepy if you do, because it isn't. I understand why you felt preyed on by older girls, but you're not like them."
"I do like you, Tara," I said, "but I remember how I was at eighteen. I remember how Kennedy was when she was fixated on your cousin."
"Yeah, but you're not even her." She frowned. "Do you think you're holding Auntie Kay responsible for Kennedy cheating on you? Because she had her first? That has to be entirely on Kennedy, and how long were you together before the cheating happened?"
"A couple of years," I admitted. "And... I don't think so?" I thought about it for a moment. "Maybe I associate her with Kennedy. They were friends, even after we started dating. Kayla hasn't shown any favoritism since the split, but I don't think I had the same antipathy to her when I was with Kennedy." I shrugged. "You might be smarter than you look."
"Hey! Meee-an!" She moved toward me. I took an involuntary step back, then realized I was against the wall when she stopped inside my personal space. She took the hem of my tee between her fingers, looking down as she rubbed it with her thumb. It was an absent gesture, not at all provocative or aggressive. "You're not grooming me, Grace," she said. "I like you." She emphasized the word more than she had earlier. "I think I could like you a lot, if you'd give me a chance."
"I see," I said. My heart seemed to be thumping a little too quickly.
Tara looked up from where her fingers were still stroking my top. "I want to kiss you."
"I don't know..." I said. I was weakening by the second. "I don't think that would be a good idea."
Tara released the hem of my top, moving her fingers to the narrow band of skin the top revealed, lightly drawing circles on my belly, then moving around to my waist. Her touch and her closeness was turning me on. I didn't move my lips to hers when she lowered her head, but I didn't stop her, and I didn't resist when her lips tried to pry mine apart.
Her kiss wasn't sophisticated. However much time she'd spent making out with her friend in the closet she'd mentioned, she didn't seem to have had a lot of experience kissing, but she was enthusiastic. Her tongue pushed into my mouth. Mine met it more as a defense against penetration than as a sensual response, but it still spiked my arousal, and hers, judging by the sounds she made, and the way she moved closer, pushing me back against the wall.
I turned my face to the side, disconnecting my mouth from hers. "Gentle," I said. "Okay? You're kissing me, not eating me."
She grinned. I guess my admission that the kissing would continue counted for more than the reproof. I turned back, allowing her lips to join mine, then parted them again, to close them around her upper lip and suckle gently.
Tara seemed to pick up on the difference in emotional intensity quickly. I heard her breath catch, and she closed her lips around mine, not involving her tongue at all. She could be delicate, when she figured out what it did to her feelings.
Drawing back, I lightly touched my lips against hers, slightly parted. I felt her breath against my lips as she matched my action. Extending my tongue, I lightly licked her upper lip. When she imitated me, I pressed my lips against hers, brushing her tongue with mine.
"Mmmmhhh..." she groaned. Her hands slid around my back, and she pulled me more tightly against her, her breasts pressing into mine.
My hands had dangled at my side for this whole time. Now I moved them to the small of her back, as our mouths moved together, a little further with each motion, the dance of our tongues becoming stronger naturally, rather than just with her thrusting into my mouth.
Moving my face to the side again, I held her close. "Better?" I asked.
"Fuck, yeah," she breathed. "You're making me, uh... well, I don't want to stop yet."
I grinned. "I think I know. Me too."
I didn't meet her lips immediately. I kissed her neck instead. She shivered against me. I spent a couple of minutes playing my lips up and down her neck, lightly drawing my teeth over the tendons that shifted when her breath caught. When I drew my face back to see her, her eyes were very dark. She still wore her glasses, so I reached up to pluck them off her face and toss them onto the bed, then met her lips with mine.
Tara moaned as our tongues met again. She was learning that it wasn't about being gentle or aggressive, but about sharing. She could push harder now, because I was firm in my response, and I felt her passion rising with mine. My own breathing was heavy now. Tingling want was making my clitoris sensitive, and my breasts felt warm.
Tara's hands explored my back and waist under my shirt. Then one hand moved up to squeeze the cup of my bra. As good as it felt, I moved my hands to her arms and gently pulled them away. "I don't want to do that," I said, my voice hoarse.
"I'm sorry!" Tara's remorse seemed genuine. "I thought..."
"It's fine," I interrupted her. "Let's not spoil this by going too fast, okay?" I detached myself from her as she stepped back.
"Okay," she said. I could read the disappointment in her eyes.
"Do you want me to pick you up for the event tomorrow afternoon?" I asked.
I saw relief cross her face. I wasn't cutting her off. "Oh, sure. Kayla was going to collect me, but I'm sure she's busy. I'll text her and tell her you'll get me to the bar."
"Don't sit on your glasses," I said, pointing to the bed. "I'll see you tomorrow."
We were among the first to arrive at the bar. Kayla was talking to Fi, who today had dark green streaks in her hair, purple lipstick, and was wearing a beautiful black gothic loli dress with a red fringe, black hose and boots. I'd always liked the way Fi expressed herself.
Tara marched right up to her, and, before Fi had a chance to react, lifted a strand of green hair. "Oh, my God," she said. "That's so gorgeous! I did a green spray this week but it's so much better on black hair."
"Tara!" Kayla snapped. "That's rude! Apologize to Fi."
"Yes, Auntie Kay," she said, snarkily, but she seemed genuinely apologetic when she turned back to Fi. "I'm sorry, Fi. I got carried away. I hate it when anyone does that to me."
"Thanks," said Fi. "It's fine. You're Kayla's niece?"
"My cousin," said Kayla, resignedly.
"Second cousin once removed!" piped up Tara, her moment of contrition entirely behind her. Then she ignored both Kayla and Fi as she looked at the bar counter. "Ooh, Grace! Look at this!"
I moved up alongside her to see a souvenir of the bar. It was in the form of an axe, the shaft being a near-naked skinny man in solid plastic, with a rubbery blade that looked like a flattened donkey head. "Auntie Kay!" Tara sang out, then skipped up to Kayla and danced around her. "I want to get a souvenir, Auntie Kay! Can I get one, Auntie Kay?"
Everyone but Kayla laughed, though Kayla just groaned. "Someone please tell me why I asked this child to be a bridesmaid?" she wailed.
"Because I'll be good, Auntie Kay!" Tara sang. "I'll be the bestest bridesmaid ever, Auntie Kay!"
"I'm going to have my own axe-throwing rules in a moment," growled Kayla.
Tara pouted convincingly. "Ooh, Auntie Kay! You're mean!"
Kayla shook her head, ruefully, then turned to Fi. "Please tell me I don't have to share a lane with my cousin here."
Fi was still chuckling at the whole performance. She looked up. "Oh. Right, no. Let's get started." She turned to a woman with blonde curly hair. "Kate, why don't you take everyone to the end lane, and show them what to do." Then, to Kayla, "You can find another lane to avoid your cousin once Kate's done."
Everyone would be the two of us, Kayla, Anita, and Ann, whom I remembered from Gabby's, though hadn't seen in a couple of years. Ann had been a senior when I was a callow first-year, and she'd been more than a little aggressive in her flirtation. She might have been younger than Kayla, but she was definitely one of the ones who made me uncomfortable there.
I think one of the reasons I pursued Kennedy in the early days was that I felt I could bond with her against the older, more predatory club members. Now here I was, the same age gap to my companion as Ann had been to me. Life is complicated.
As Kate ran us through the basics of axe safety, how to hold the axe, how to throw the axe so that it hit the target in the correct orientation. I was amused to see Ann becoming increasingly irritated by Kate's flirting and physical contact. The predator doesn't like to feel that she could be prey. Tara seemed to notice Kate's preferential treatment, too.
Tara had an affinity with the axes, her throws embedding into the target almost every time.
Women were still arriving, some of whom I knew vaguely, and most of those I knew through Kennedy, not because they were friendly with me.
"Do you want to check out the arcade for a while?" I asked Tara. "We can return later when everyone's, like, actually partying?"
Her eyes lit up. I thought they would. So we snuck out of the bar, and battled each other on prehistoric video games. Tara won most games, except that I held my own on a weird game of centipedes and mushrooms.
The entrance fee to the arcade covered unlimited plays, and we'd spent a couple of hours on different games when Tara received a text from Kayla. Tiff had been trying to find her for a party game, so we reluctantly left after the next time I was dive-bombed to death.
She did well in the ridiculous pretend strip game that Tiff had concocted, winning most of her duels against Margot, and preserving her cousin's honor by making the final winning throw. Anita, as the losing bride, had to impersonate a stripper - though still fully dressed - and perform an exotic dance for the party.
"Thank God Auntie Kay didn't lose," she whispered. "I'd have had to cover my eyes."
We ate at the bar. The party was supposed to continue to Gabby's, since it was the third Thursday of the month. Allison asked for a head count for transport.
"I'm going to stay at the hotel pool," said Tara. "I'm not twenty-one."
Right. I'd forgotten that the Thursday Gabby's was age-restricted due to alcohol sales. If I went I'd feel like I was dumping her. And I was sure Kennedy would be there, and I didn't feel much like seeing who she'd be hooking up with tonight. "Count me out, too," I said.
"Want to join me in the pool?" Tara asked me.
"Sure."
We stopped at my apartment for my swimsuit. I invited Tara inside while I changed into it and a more casual tee shirt and shorts. She took a look around. The place was tiny, but adequate. "You have a roomie?" she asked.
"Yeah, Deb," I said. "She doesn't seem to be around. She may be out with her boyfriend."
I collected my bikini and clothes and headed into the bathroom to change. When I was done we continued on to Tara's hotel.
Unlike the clothing she'd been wearing, Tara's two piece wasn't very revealing, though it was clear that she didn't need any reshaping artifice to fill out its top, and while the bottoms were modest, they couldn't hide the movement of the muscles of her butt. She was a fit girl.
We took a couple of hotel towels out to the pool and alternated between swimming and lazing under the evening sun for an hour. Away from the horseplay around her cousin, she was mostly serious. She was certainly a much better swimmer than me.
"Are you on your school swim team?" I asked. "Were you, I guess I should say?"
She shook her head. "I like to swim, but I never liked competitive sports. Mostly because they eat into study time." She grinned. "And online game time. Swimming's my favorite workout."
"Have you seen the aquatic center? It's free for students," I said, "and there are fitness programs that include swimming. So I've heard," I added, never having touched either swimming or any other exercise program in my time at college.
"Yeah, I'm sure I'll be signing up," she said.
Though the evenings stayed light until late in July, the air had started to cool, and when Tara suggested returning to her room, I agreed that it was time. We towelled off, then reentered the hotel. The air indoors was chilly on damp skin, so I wrapped my towel tight around me and followed Tara.
Taking an extra towel for herself, she motioned me to the bathroom to dry and change. When I'd dressed in the tee shirt and shorts I'd arrived in, I knocked on the bathroom door, waiting for Tara's permission before leaving. She stepped past me, carrying her damp swimsuit, dressed in a loose tee shirt and soft shorts. Probably her sleeping clothes.
"What did you do with your swimsuit?" she asked from inside the bathroom.
"I have it here," I said.
"Hang it on the shower curtain rail for now," she suggested. "You can pick it up when you leave. You don't need to head out immediately, do you?"
"I guess not," I said, joining her in the bathroom. I hung my bikini beside hers.
When I followed her out, she took the hem of my tee shirt as she'd done the night before. "Thanks for coming with me," she said. "I know you could have gone back to the club."
"I really didn't want to," I admitted. "I'd have gone home if you hadn't invited me. I've had a good day."
"It doesn't have to be over," Tara said. Her cheeks had colored. "I mean..." She trailed off, not looking at me.
"What do you mean, Tara?" I asked.
"Well, on Monday, you, um..." She seemed more nervous than I'd yet seen her. "You didn't only want to ask me to dance. You said so. You thought I was older, and you'd... umm..."
"Take you home?" I asked, gently.
Tara nodded. "Yeah," she said. "So you could, you know, stay?"
It's hard to describe how I felt. Elated, that she'd feel that way. Heartsick that I was going to have to let her down. Especially because I wanted the same. I took her hand and led her to sit beside me on the edge of the bed. "We haven't talked enough about Gabby's, I said."
"What do you mean?"
"There are... rules," I replied. "They're not in a rulebook, or anything, just things that everyone knows. Ways to avoid hurting others, and being hurt. Ways to avoid drama."
"Like not being a predator?" Tara suggested.
"Not so much," I admitted. "I suppose if there's a rule there it's that you're always free to say no. More like, don't share too much, what's between you stays between you, and, most importantly, protect yourself from catching feelings for someone. So most girls will only spend one night together, then find someone else. Maybe they'll get together again, but not until enough time has passed that they can keep it casual."
"Okay," Tara said. "I think I understand that."
"The problem is, I don't think I could do that," I said. "Not with you, Tara. I like you enough already that I don't think I could be casual. I can't do a one-night stand with you."
"Oh," she said, looking crestfallen. "Does that mean I can't kiss you?"
"I'd like to kiss you," I said, "but I won't stay. Is that okay?"
She nodded.
Reaching out, I touched her jaw, drawing her close as I moved my face to hers. She waited for me to lead, so I did, lightly kissing along her lips until they parted, then sucking each lip, releasing it as she pressed close to me. Her hand moved around my back, and I took her free hand in mine, interlacing our fingers.
I felt her breathing accelerate when I touched my parted lips to hers. She was definitely not pushing like she did the previous day, yet as far as I could tell, the kiss was affecting her more than it did then. I found her tongue waiting just behind her lips, and a breath shuddered out of her. Her fingers tightened in mine.
As gradually as I was able, I released my passion into the kiss. I knew she wanted more - so did I - but I had to know that I could control what we gave each other.
Letting her tongue touch mine, I licked it for a moment, then drew mine back, knowing hers would follow. I gripped her tongue between my lips and suckled it. Her body tightened with arousal. I continued to suckle as her breathing sped up even further, then released her. The fingers against my back caressed the skin there, and her other hand tightened in mine.
Untangling my fingers from Tara's, I held her hand in mine for a moment, then moved it toward me, prying her fingers apart before setting it on my breast. For a moment she breathed so rapidly I thought she was hyperventilating. Then her breathing slowed, though it was still heavier than it had been, and she moaned as her hand closed over my breast.
Tara's fingers explored for a couple of minutes before I lifted them away, then detached my lips from hers. Her eyes were dark with desire when I drew back. I was becoming wet, and I was pretty sure from her expression that she was at least as turned on as me. I smiled at her. "I think it's time I left," I said.
She pouted. Genuinely, this time. "I won't be able to see you tomorrow," she said. "I'm going to be helping my cousin with last minute projects and packing. And there's the rehearsal dinner."
"Packing? They're leaving for honeymoon right away?"
"Yeah, next day," she said. "Hawaii. God, I'd love to go to Hawaii. I'll move in when they leave, so I'll be checking out of here on Sunday. No more pool. You will be at the wedding, right?"
"I will," I said. "I'll find you there."
"Okay."
She looked thoughtful, but didn't say more. "See you Saturday, Tara," I said.
She nodded, brightening a little, before I left.
I arrived ninety minutes before the service. Tara was going to be busy getting ready. She might need help. Since the partners of most of the bridesmaids were also bridesmaids, they might not have many outsiders able to support them.
There wasn't really any need. Allison's friend Natalia had assistance covered. I thought I caught sight of the violet dress I knew Tara was wearing on the other side of the curtains. A moment later she backed out of the gap in the curtain so that Natalia could fasten her zip. She was carrying her violet bow, and was about to hand that to Natalia when she caught sight of me and blushed. She really was dangerously cute.
Instead of having Natalia fasten her bow, she brought it to me. Then she took my hand and dragged me into the changing area so I could stay with her while she was working on her makeup.
"I missed you yesterday," she whispered.
Aww, hell. These were dangerous waters, but I owed her the truth. "I missed you, too," I whispered in reply.
Tara's smile was radiant. Her cheeks pinked. She reached out to squeeze my hand before returning to her task.
When she was ready we waited together until it was time for guests to take their places.
Before I left, I impulsively gave her a hug. I'd only intended for it to be quick, but Tara held onto me for several seconds. After she released me, I caught up to Natalia and offered to sit with her, since she wouldn't know anyone here not in the wedding party.
Tara was the last of the bridesmaids to walk down the aisle, hand in hand with Margot, who wore red. They separated, moving to either side to form the start and end of the rainbow of dress colors. Then Anita walked with Emma, and the wedding was underway.
Maybe I hadn't been the biggest fan of that group of Gabby's patrons, but I think the ceremony made my heart grow two sizes. There was so much love within the wedding party; not just the brides, but everyone. I resolved to try to be a little less short with them.
Not with everyone. I still didn't have any respect for Ann, or Suse, or Val, or any of the others who tried to push me out of my comfort zone, but that didn't apply to anyone standing around the celebrant. Not even Kayla. Maybe I'd been jealous of her with Kennedy, and felt she'd pushed boundaries with her, but she never did with me, and I could let what resentment remained float away on the good feelings of the ceremony.
But it was Tara I couldn't stop watching as she stood with her bouquet, the silk of her violet dress subtly revealing the contours of her body.
The ceremony was over. Because the brides had a photo session in the morning, their roles were truncated, but there were still family shots and wedding party shots. By far the largest family group present was Tara's, since it was also Kayla's. Tara's parents and grandparents were present, the grandparents being Kayla's father's brother and his wife, Tara's father being Kayla's first cousin. So photographs of them, with and without Anita and with and without Tara took time. When she wasn't required for a shot, Tara stood with me. I held her bouquet for some of the shots.
After the family photos were over, Tara's parents talked with her for a moment, then headed back to the house with the rest of the family. I stayed with her, standing off to the side while the bridesmaids were lining up for their photos. Tara looked over at me, hiding her face behind her bouquet, and I grinned at her.
We walked back to the cocktail hour, where I left Tara to her family. The bar was indoors, but there were snacks on the tables outside the open French doors. I picked up a sparkling gin cocktail and moved outside. Kennedy stood alone with a drink that looked much like mine. I gave her a polite nod, but didn't approach.
Natalia was also unaccompanied, so I talked to her until Allison showed up after her MOH duties. I had a second gin cocktail, and in spite of taking some finger food I was feeling a little lightheaded when the party moved to the pavilion for the reception proper.
Seated at one of two tables of Gabby's patrons I had a merry time at the reception, through the dance, the champagne toasts, and speeches. When the more formal socializing was over, Tara said her family wanted to meet the friend they'd seen her with earlier. They made room for me, and I refilled my champagne before I took a seat.
"Take it you don't need your parents' permission for that," said Tara's dad, Corey. He was dark-haired, round-faced and upbeat.
"I turned twenty-one in May," I said, then grinned. "It's legal."
"So you're a senior?" Veronica, Tara's mother, had a narrow face and mid-blonde hair, a little lighter than Tara's. Both of her parents were brown eyed.
"I will be in a couple of weeks," I agreed. "Have you seen where Tara will be studying?"
"Mom has," said Tara. "She brought me when I visited. Dad hasn't. Are you offering another tour?"
Both of her parents looked up expectantly. "I could, if it's not too early," I said. "I'm sure I'll need to recover from the show."
"Right, the band," said Corey. "I'm tempted to stay, but if I do Veronica would think it's because I want to ogle the singer."
"And I'd be right," said his wife.
He grinned. "Probably so. How did Kayla manage to book them for a wedding?"
"The singer you want to ogle," I said. Corey and Veronica both looked amused. "Michelle. Kayla and Anita are friends of hers. She used to be a bartender at a club we all visit. I know her too."
Veronica was looking at me speculatively. I needed to change the topic.
"So maybe I could pick you up at your hotel? My car will seat four, though it will be cramped."
"We have a car," said Veronica. "If you want to come to the hotel at nine we'll buy your breakfast first."
"I'll try," I said. Then I excused myself. "I should visit the brides. I'm glad I met you both."
Tara caught up with me after I'd wished Kayla and Anita a long and happy marriage and traded hugs with them.
"Did I miss something back there?" Tara asked, catching my arm.
"With the brides?" I didn't know what she was asking.
"No, with my parents. They're giving me strange looks."
"Oh," I said. "I might have outed myself to them. I said Kayla and Anita and I are all in the same club. They might even know about Michelle, since the band's getting coverage. Even if not, if I'm in the same club as their lesbian cousin and her lesbian wife it isn't a stretch to make an assumption about me."
"And if you're gay and I'm your friend..." she said.
"Exactly," I said. "They didn't say anything?"
"No, and I won't," Tara replied. "I'll tell them when I go home."
She went back to her parents, and I didn't see her again until they left, just before the show. She was still in her violet dress. Most of the bridesmaids had changed out of theirs, other than Allison, in yellow. Her arm around Natalia looked far beyond straight-girl friendly. As did Natalia's hand on Allison's yellow silk-clad butt.
The silk was so temptingly filmy that I wanted to know how Tara felt beneath it. I slipped my arm around her, my hand finding her waist smooth and taut with muscle. She made no comment, but leaned back into my arm. God, I so didn't want her to become a typical Gabby's girl. Which I knew was hypocritical since I technically had been one both before I started dating Kennedy and after we broke up. I hadn't had many encounters, but it was more than zero. I just couldn't do a one night stand with Tara. The feelings that the rules were supposed to protect us from were already there.
For most of the time that the band was playing we were dancing and jumping with the crowd. When they played a ballad, Tara would lean back against me. I'd wrap my arms around her from behind, caressing her belly through the silk. Eventually she covered my hands with hers and remained in place even for the high energy songs. Until the encore, which had us both dancing and cheering.
The band left the stage for the last time and the crowd started to disperse. Tara was leaning against me again, and I wasn't in a hurry to move away. Also, she'd be travelling in the bridesmaids' limo, and Allison wouldn't leave until she was sure the guests had left and final band cleanup was in hand. So I was still around to see Kennedy leaving with the singer, Michelle, and a golden-haired woman whom I didn't recognize. It seemed Kennedy would have an interesting evening.
I would have tried to spend more time with Tara, but her family was all at the hotel and would be waiting for her. Instead, I said goodnight to her at the limo and booked a ride to my apartment.
I made it to the hotel before nine in the morning. When I saw Tara, I grinned. She'd colored the ends of her hair violet, enhancing the tips with some of the spray green dye she'd been wearing when I first met her. Now that wedding photos were over, she could express herself again.
"That hair would look good with your bridesmaid dress," I said.
"Yeah, I wondered about it, but wearing the dress would be weird now," she replied. "Maybe one day. This color doesn't wash out like the green."
Corey drove us to a nearby breakfast restaurant. Tara's grandparents and uncle and aunt - Kayla's parents - met us there.
My eggs benedict was far better than the cereal I usually ate for breakfast. I said that, then thanked Tara's parents for their generosity.
"It will be cereal and ramen for you for the next four years," Veronica said to her daughter.
"I knoooow," Tara whined. "You'll have to visit often to take me to breakfast," she added.
"I don't see that happening," her father said. "It's a long drive or an ugly flight."
"Are you saying I'm not worth it?" Tara continued.
Corey frowned. "Let me think about that," he said. "Hmm. Yes. Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."
"See, my parents are assholes," Tara said, turning to me.
"They're parents," I said.
Corey asked me about my parents, which was definitely a topic I didn't want to get into. There were reasons taking a local internship had been attractive. But I think I deflected politely enough.
"This club you mentioned," Veronica said. Uh-oh. "The one you and our Kayla and her wife are members of. Will you be recruiting Tara?"
"It's not a membership club," I said. "It's a night club, with dancing, but it's a safe space. No alcohol, so eighteen-plus are allowed. Mostly college kids. She'd be welcome, of course."
"I met Grace there," Tara said. I wasn't going to mention that. "Kayla took me."
"It was a good night," I said. "A rave without drugs and booze. Very safe. They have different music each week, though. During the semester they have live bands."
Conversation moved on, and I thought we'd avoided awkward questions.
After we'd finished breakfast, Tara's other relatives left for the hotel. Corey and Veronica stayed, because we were going on my college sightseeing tour together.
Veronica gave me an unreadable look, then pointed between Tara and me, looking at her daughter. "So, are the two of you...?"
Her question trailed off, but I knew what she was asking. Tara's red face made it clear she did too.
My heart sank when she shook her head. "Grace isn't my girlfriend, mom," she said. Then a moment later, she added, "But I want to ask her to be."
The feeling of elation that flooded into me at those words was hard to keep off my face, but I tried.
Veronica's look was neutral. "I see. Why have you never told us?"
"That I like girls?" Tara asked. "I just... I knew you'd be okay with it. I mean, I was sure. But I didn't want you to think the wedding was any kind of influence, or that I'd cause any drama over it. So I was going to talk to you when I get back home."
"Is dating a senior really a good idea?" Veronica asked.
"I like her, Mom," Tara said, defensively.
"It's a valid concern," I said, to both of them. "I don't know what I'll be doing in a year, and that could be a problem. But I guess I'm enough of a realist to know that most college relationships don't survive that long. If it does... I guess if it does it would be worth making sacrifices for. I like Tara too, Mrs. Piers, and I would like to be her girlfriend. Even if she hasn't asked yet." I gave Tara a mock glare.
"Call me Veronica, please, Grace." She gave me a quick smile. "I think I like you, too, Grace. And we've known Tara likes girls for a long time. We were wondering if she'd ever tell us."
"You did?" Tara asked, shocked.
"We guessed, at first," said Veronica. "But did you think we didn't know about Olivia?"
"Mom!" Tara yelped. "I was sure you didn't!"
"I didn't know about Olivia," I said. "I've only heard about Carlie."
"Carlie?" Veronica's eyes were wide. "Carlie has a boyfriend!"
"Uh, oops. Yeah, Tara said that. I guess Carlie was supposed to stay secret."
"It was only one evening!" Tara protested. "And I haven't told you about Olivia because we haven't talked about anything like that, have we?" She directed that at me. "Except for your ex, since everyone seems to know her."
"True," I said, then turned back to Veronica. "So, yes, your daughter likes girls, I like her, and I'd like to date her and see where a relationship could go."
Both parents nodded at that. They were smiling. I wouldn't say their concerns were resolved, but they seemed to think we knew what we were doing. I reached out to take Tara's hand. She turned red, but threaded her fingers into mine.
Tara's grandparents had their car loaded up with everyone's bags, since they'd all checked out, including Tara, who'd be moving her belongings into Kayla's place. They redistributed Tara's parents' cases to their rental and Tara's cases to my car. Then they each gave Tara a long hug. They'd see her soon enough, but this was a stage in her leaving home, and that meant it was a significant parting. More than that, they were leaving her with an unanticipated girlfriend. Potentially new family. Even if we were years from that, even if our relationship was only one of many that Tara might have, it was still part of letting her move on. Veronica showed she understood that by giving me a hug, too.
Kayla had taken her own key, but Anita had given Tara a key before the wedding. We carried Tara's bags up two flights of stairs. I followed Tara into the apartment, then into the bedroom. The bed was completely stripped. Kayla had texted that the bedsheets were in the dryer when they left.
"Tell me about Olivia," I said, when I'd brought the sheets and blankets through. I started pulling the fitted sheet into place.
"Uh, well, she was my girlfriend for a few weeks," Tara said. "She was in my class. We hung out a lot. She found out I thought I was gay, so we, uh, decided to see if we did like girls."
"And you did," I said, with a chuckle.
"I did," Tara said. "I liked kissing her. I like kissing you more."
I caught her by a belt loop of her jeans as she returned from hanging up her bridesmaid dress. She turned to face me and I drew her close. "Why is that?"
"You're much better at it!" Tara said. "And I like you more."
Her arms slipped around me when I kissed her. Though we started slowly, Tara's eagerness soon had me wanting to go much faster and much further than we had. I was breathing heavily when we broke apart.
Reluctantly stepping away from Tara, I resumed making the bed. She unpacked her toiletries, then closed up her suitcase and moved to the other side of the bed, helping me to finish, stuffing pillows into the clean pillowcases.
Tara launched herself at the bed, landing face down in the center, then rolled over. "This is much more comfortable than the hotel," she said. "Or than my bed at home." She tossed her glasses onto the nightstand, then patted the blankets to her right. "Try it," she said.
I didn't jump onto the bed, but I did lie down. Yes, it was comfortable. No sooner did I agree with her than she rolled toward me, finishing up against my left side. "Now I'm even more comfortable," she said, burying her face into my neck. Her arm snaked around me, her fingers curling around my waist, on top of my tee shirt. Her lips on my neck sent a surge of desire through me, and I lifted my free hand to rest on her hip, my left arm trapped beneath her.
Tara wriggled closer as she kissed my neck, her leg fitting between mine. She kissed the base of my neck, worrying the skin around my pulse point. She was a quick study. She'd picked up how I'd made her shiver by doing the same.
Leaving my waist, her fingers pressed against my stomach, then circled, sliding my tee shirt over my skin. A minute later, they moved upward, not quite avoiding my breast before reaching my jaw. She drew back as she turned my face toward hers, then fastened her lips to mine. When her tongue sought entrance it wasn't with the clumsy penetration she'd used when we first kissed, but neither was she timid. She sought my tongue with confidence, caressing its tip with her own, stoking my passion.
Tara's hand moved back down to my shoulder, but it didn't stay there long. After we'd kissed for a minute or two, my heart thumping, it slowly drifted down to my right breast. Her fingers traced around it for a moment, then she drew back.
"Last time you let me do this, you weren't wearing a bra," she said, her voice deeper than usual. "Take it off."
"I didn't let you do this now, did I? You just grabbed!" Rolling her off me, I sat up. "I spend so much time being concerned about predatory olders and not being a predator myself," I griped, "and what I should be worrying about is predatory teens."
Reaching behind, I unclasped my bra, then drew it over my arms through my tee shirt sleeves and pulled the bra from under the front of my tee shirt. Then I bunched it up and threw it at her. It travelled a few inches to uncoil against her stomach. She grinned, picked it up, twirled it around her finger, then dropped it over the side of the bed as I lay back down.
Tara's hand cupped my breast through the tee shirt even before her mouth closed on mine. Pushing my left arm further under her, I rolled her body further onto mine, freeing my hand to move to her waist. Lifting her tee shirt, I caressed the bare skin of her waist with both hands.
She made a soft sound of pleasure, then drew back, giving me a mischievous look. "This is so much more fun than making out in a closet."
"Let me guess," I said, "because you like kissing me more."
"Well, yeah," Tara said. "Also, Carlie wouldn't let me touch her boobs."
I felt my eyebrows rise. "She wouldn't let you touch her boobs, but you had your hand down her pants?"
Tara slid down my body a couple of inches so that she could lower her face to rest against my shoulder. "I didn't exactly plan that, and she didn't exactly say yes or no," she said.
Tilting my head to the side, I gave her a curious look.
"Kissing her felt good," she said. "She pushed my hand away from her boobs, but I didn't want to stop touching her. Somehow I ended up touching the front of her shorts and she jumped, so I did it some more and she started to breathe differently. The more I did it, the more she was getting into it. So I popped the button on her shorts and then unzipped them, thinking she was going to tell me to stop, but she didn't, and when I touched her undies she made these exciting sounds... and then, umm, it happened to her, and she kissed me even harder."
Her fingers toyed with my hard nipple through the tee shirt. "I wanted her to touch me, too, but she didn't. So I put my hand down inside her undies and tried to touch her like I do myself, and soon she was making those sounds again, and started bouncing against my hand. I didn't know what I was doing, but she bit my tongue when it happened to her again. It hurt, but she liked it. And then she got embarrassed and zipped up her pants and told me she had to find her boyfriend."
She sighed. "I really did want her to do it to me. I had to do it to myself."
"Still in the closet?" I asked.
"Well, yeah. I was, you know, ready."
"You've had sex, though?" I asked, though it sounded more like a statement, because of course she had. She was eighteen.
"Well, that," she said. "In the closet. So I guess so."
"I don't think getting your friend off in a closet counts," I said, "especially if she didn't get you off. What about Olivia?"
Tara shook her head. She seemed crestfallen. "We only kissed. And, you know. Umm. We did touch each other's boobs. With our bras on."
I hesitated a moment. Would going further with her be selfish? Would I be taking advantage of her? But she was eighteen. She was going to have sex. Why shouldn't it be with me?
"Do you want to have sex?" I asked.
"Now?" Tara practically squeaked. "With you? Yes!" Her voice stabilized a little as she added, "Of course I do."
"So do I," I said. I pushed her away from me, rolling her onto her back. Sitting up, I lifted her tee shirt. She let me pull it over her head. I had her jeans unzipped even before she lay back down. I tugged them over her hips, grabbing them at the ankles to pull them over her feet and off, then tossed them over the side of the bed to where her tee shirt had followed my bra.
Perching on her thighs, I looked up, admiring her athletic shape. Her face pinked under my scrutiny. "You have an awesome body," I said.
"Uh, thanks?" she replied.
Leaning forward, I curled my hands around her breasts and ran my thumb over the sides of her nipples through the cups of her plunge bra. Then I moved my hands away. "Take it off," I instructed.
Tara reached behind her to unfasten her bra. Her face became a deeper red as she drew the freed straps over her arms and dropped the bra over the side of the bed. Her breasts were pointy, the pale areolae wide enough that I was surprised they hadn't been visible within the plunge neckline.
Moving my fingers back to them, I pinched her nipples, rubbing them as they swelled. Then I leaned forward, capturing her lips with mine while still rolling her nipples between finger and thumb. She made a soft moaning sound. When I leaned forward to capture her lips with mine, her hands came up to wrap around my neck, and her kiss was hungry.
Without breaking the kiss, I shuffled back from her thighs so that I was lying along her. Taking both nipples between finger and thumb I rolled them, feeling them harden in my grasp. Her fingers tangled in my hair, holding my face to hers.
It wasn't easy to back away from Tara's lips, but I finally succeeded, then kissed beneath her chin and over her neck while I slithered lower against her. I left a trail of kisses over her collarbone as I continued down. She twitched beneath me as I kissed her right breast.
Parting my lips, I lowered them over her nipple. The pointed, almost conical shape was perfect for sliding my mouth up and down. I took in her breast, then let it slide out of my mouth as I kept up a slight suction. Tara hyperventilated for a moment the first time I gave a light tug on her nipple, then settled into a quicker, sharper breathing pattern as I kept repeating the motion.
Tara's nipple became hard within my mouth. I felt it against the back of my tongue, but also felt her pebbly areola swelling as I continued gently bobbing my head. Her body shifted beneath me. Her reactions told me that her arousal was growing. There was a small sound to each breath. Her hips occasionally pressed up into me. When I tugged on her nipple she made a sharp gasp.
I moved to her left breast, but as I began to suckle it in the same way I took the now-unyielding right nipple between finger and thumb and pinched it firmly. Tara's hips lifted from the bed and she cried out, then panted as the shock abated. Wrapping my fingers around her breast I held it in place as I stretched her nipple with my index finger and thumb. She groaned. Meanwhile her left nipple had become hard in my mouth.
"Grace... oh, God," she groaned. "I didn't know... I could feel like this."
"Like it, do you?" I asked, mockingly, as I slipped my right hand between us. I drew my finger against her pussy through her panties. "What about this?" I asked, as I pushed into her mound.
"Oh, fuck," she exclaimed, her words fast. Then she panted as I made circles with my finger, lowering my head to her nipple, bobbing up and down as I covered it with my lips.
I felt her thighs tighten in a rhythm. I didn't think she was aware of what she was doing, but I certainly was. She pushed more strongly against me with each stroke.
"You're so wet," I observed, running my finger over her panties.
"I know," she groaned. "I can't... h-help it."
Pushing her panties aside, I caressed the folds of her sex, then slowly pushed a finger into her.
"Oh, fuck!" She gasped again. Too suddenly for me to react, she bucked her hips to impale herself on my finger. She grunted in pain as the finger speared her too quickly, but panted rather than backing off.
"Don't be so impatient," I chided her. "I'll give you what you need."
"I can't..." her breath caught. "Can't help myself."
My finger was all the way into her. I pushed her back to the bed, then curled my finger forward rubbing the wall of her sex.
"Do you like this..." I circled my finger inside her, "or this?" I began to slide my finger in and out.
"Ah! Yes!" she exclaimed. "Both! Grace..." she whined.
Chuckling around her breast as I lowered my mouth, I slid my finger into her a few more times, then withdrew it and pushed two inside her. Tara began to moan, making a soft cry with each exhale. Her hips were thrusting against my fingers.
"Oh God, Grace!" she called out. "I'm going to..." She broke off to pant again. "I'm going to..."
Pinching her nipple hard, I slammed my fingers into her. Her hips rose from the bed. Then suddenly she cried out wordlessly. Her sex clenched hard around my fingers as she came. I pushed my hand against her, fingers curled forward to press into the rough wall.
Tara whimpered as rapid contractions continued to lash her body. I released my fingers' grip on her nipple, and caressed the other lightly with my tongue, fingers still curled inside her, until she began to relax.
"Oh, man," Tara breathed. "It's never like that when I touch myself."
I looked up at her and grinned. "If it was you wouldn't need me, would you?"
"I didn't know I did need you," she said. "I mean, I didn't know I needed that." She thought for a moment. "Pretty sure it wasn't like that for Carlie when I touched her."
"She liked it enough to let you touch her again," I said, "though it gets better with practice."
"Will you let me touch you?" Tara asked. "Will you show me what to do?"
"Mmm, yes, I'd like that," I admitted.
"Can we take all of our clothes off?" she asked, sounding shy.
I grinned at her, then sat upright. I took my tee shirt off without ceremony. Tara's eyes grew wide. My breasts were rounder and a little smaller than hers, but she reacted as though I was a supermodel. I added my shirt to the clothing collection on the floor, then slipped off my jeans and tossed them over the side. Then I slid Tara's panties down her legs and those joined the growing pile. Finally I added my own panties to the collection.
"Oh, man," Tara breathed as she looked at me. "Oh, fuck."
Sitting beside her thighs, I licked my finger, then lightly caressed her clit.
"Awwwww!" Tara groaned.
That was enough for me. I moved between her legs, stretching my legs out behind me to lie with my face over her pussy. I gently lapped at her clit. Her body jerked, and she gasped, but as I continued she resumed moaning. I pushed two fingers into her, curling them forward to tap the wall of her sex as I caressed her clit with my tongue.
Tara's hands descended to my head, her fingers tangling into my hair again. Soon her hips were rocking, thrusting her against my mouth. When she was close, I reached up with my free hand to knead her delicious, pointy breast. Then I suckled her clit until she cried out, her body quaking again, trapping my fingers inside her.
"Man..." she sighed again, voice thick with arousal. I moved back up the bed to lie beside her.
"How busy a week do you have planned?" she asked, without looking at me.
"I have a heavy tutoring schedule," I said.
"Tutoring?" Tara asked, surprised. "You never said anything about tutoring. What are you tutoring?"
"This girl I know wants help learning how to fuck her girlfriend," I said.
It took a few seconds, and the expressions her face ran through were comical. "Oh! Oh, I see. Yes, you will have a heavy schedule. You should spend as much time with her as you can." She frowned at me. "What's that weird look for?"
"I just realized something," I said. "My ex's first time must have been right here, on this bed. With your aunt. Cousin, I mean."
"Your ex's first time having sex was with my lecherous Auntie Kay?"
"Yeah. Anita said she could trust her, so she did," I said. "We didn't start dating for a month or two, but she said she'd have been too nervous if it hadn't been for your lecherous cousin."
Tara giggled. "And now I had my first time right here. I got a better deal. You're way sexier than my Auntie Lech. And she only got a one night stand, right?"
"It's all she wanted. All she wanted for a while, until we started dating," I said.
"But it's not what you want, right?" Tara sounded a little nervous.
"No, babe," I said. "I want you. I know it won't be easy, and the odds probably aren't in our favor, but I want more than that. Of course we barely know each other yet, so ask me again at fall break."
It was intended as a not-entirely frivolous comment. We had chemistry, but it wasn't even a full week since we'd met. Tara took the statement seriously. "Fair," she said. "Now make with the tutoring."
"Alright, alright," I said. "Don't get your panties in a twist. Oh, wait, you don't have panties."
Tara giggled again.
"Do you keep your nails trimmed?" I asked. When she showed me her fingers, I said, "Good. Hard no to having sharp things up inside me."
Tara's eyes went wide as she realized what I was suggesting. She glanced away, her gaze roaming my body. Her face colored as she studied my sex. Then, tentatively, she extended a finger and ran it around. "You're wet, too," she said.
"I'm wet for you, Tara," I said. Her blush deepened.
Her eyes held a sense of wonder as her finger explored. I exhaled sharply when it touched my clit. She stroked lightly.
"Right there," I breathed. "Not too quickly. Ohh..."
She caressed my clit until my breathing was labored and my heart was racing.
"Can I put it inside?" she asked.
"Yes," I breathed. I watched her finger part my folds then vanish within me. She curled her wrist, drawing the finger out, then pushing it back inside. "Oh, yeah," I murmured.
"I want to kiss your breasts," Tara said.
"I want you to," I agreed.
She lowered herself back down to the bed without withdrawing her finger. Then she began to suckle a breast. Spikes of lust flowed into me from where her lips sucked my breast between them. She didn't rush. My nipple was swelling between her lips, and I felt my clit becoming more sensitive.
I was panting as my desire grew. "Suck the other breast," I told Tara. "Oh yes, like that," I said as she moved, sucking my nipple into her mouth, compressing my breast below her face. "Harder. Harder with your finger. Oh God," I groaned, as her hand moved harder.
I still wanted more, but I didn't want to disrupt the amazing feeling she was already giving me. I took her free hand, then gently moved it down my body, moving her middle finger to my clit, using it to stroke the hard nub. When I released her hand she continued to caress.
The muscles of my butt tensed, pushing my pussy into Tara's hand. I gasped as I came close to overload.
Then I was there, pleasure flooding into me in quivering waves. "Don't stop touching me yet," I groaned, as the pulses of my climax continued to ripple through me. When they weakened, I said, "Okay. Okay, you can stop now," then lay gasping as Tara smiled at me, her eyes merry.
"I made you come!" she crowed. "O-M-G, I made you come!"
"You fucked me very nicely," I agreed.
"Should I take my finger out?" she asked.
"Yeah," I said. "Then come up here. I want to kiss you."
Tara removed her finger from me, but still kissed my breast, fascinated by it. I moved my hands to her waist and pulled her up my body. She pouted as my nipple was tugged out of her mouth. Then I edged my right leg between her thighs, and pushed hers down against me, adding to the pressure by hooking my left leg around it.
Gripping Tara's butt, I began moving her body against mine. Her eyes showed a little puzzlement, but I fastened my lips to hers and kissed her savagely. She responded in kind.
After a moment, her hands moved to my shoulders, her grip amplifying the motion of her body against mine. Her breasts compressed against mine, rolling as our bodies moved.
Since she'd taken over some of the power of the thrust of our bodies, I didn't need both hands on her butt. I curled my right hand around her thigh and pushed a finger against her sex from behind. I couldn't move it far in from that angle, but I could increase the contact with the thigh that slid against her. It was enough to make her moan into the kiss, and a moment later she broke her lips from mine, gasping as another climax took her.
"Don't stop," I begged, as her movement began to slow. She got the message, her lean body moving powerfully against mine until I cried out as I came again beneath her.
Our movements slowed, then stopped. I felt her body twitch, her orgasm not quite spent. Then she collapsed against me, her face on my shoulder, her breasts tightly squashing mine. "Oh God," she said. "That was... I don't know the word. Like you were part of me."
"Intimate?" I suggested.
"Yeah, that'll do," she said. "That was so intimate. I feel like I want to kiss you and never stop."
"We will have to stop," I said, "but... not yet?"
Tara gave me an affectionate smile, then nodded. "True," she said, and met my lips.
We kissed on and off for tens of minutes, mostly on. Our breasts shook together with each repositioning. I don't know if she even noticed when the shifts of our bodies began to acquire a rhythm, but eventually we were each rolling our hips and moaning into the kiss.
When I came, I only gasped into the kiss as pleasure washed through me. It took a couple of minutes more until Tara broke her lips from mine, dropping her chin to my shoulder as she moaned, her body spasming softly in my arms.
It was Friday. Tara was flying out in the afternoon, though she'd be back soon enough. I'd stayed over, as I had every night that she'd been house sitting. Stuffing the bedsheets in the washer felt like the unexpected vacation (with bonus sex) was coming to an end.
"It's probably for the best that I won't be able to see you as often as I'd like," Tara said. We were sprawled on Kayla's couch, having finished cleaning the house. "If the next few months were to be anything like the last two weeks, neither of us would get a stroke of work done."
"True," I said, "and this is going to be a tough year for me. But Deb will be out half of the time, and she won't mind you staying over even if she isn't, if we don't abuse the privilege. Sucks that I only have a full-size bed, and that it's noisy."
"Oh, yeah?" Tara turned to look at me, her eyes narrowed. "And how do you know it's noisy? Do you jump up and down on it?"
"Yeah, that's it," I agreed.
"Even though you're skeptical about first-years dating seniors," she said, "it has to be better for me than dating someone else in the dorm."
"Tell me about it," I said.
"Yeah, I guess you've been there and had to do that," she said. "But even if the odds are against us, I kinda think we'll be okay, y'know?"
"I do too," I admitted. "I think we'll be worth the effort."