Juicy Secrets Forbidden Tales of Lesbian Love

Affirmation

By eloquent delinquent

Mom and Sophie are out front still visiting on the driveway when Nicole meets them, and the two mothers have an awkward goodbye of their own. On the drive home, she and Mom don’t talk hardly at all. The ten year old is too wrapped up in her own thoughts. It takes her a while to notice that Mom is just as quiet and preoccupied as her. For a silly second, she wonders if Mom and Sophie have been girl-hearting, too.

At home, dinner whizzes by as well. Abbey teases her a bit about how distracted she is, but it’s only because her little sister wants attention. Soon, Mom and Auntie Roo are entertaining enough so that she leaves Nicole to her thoughts.

Auntie Roo’s real name is Ruth-Anne, but Abbey called her that when she was two and it stuck. Part of why Mom moved here was to be closer to her sister, who lives like half an hour down the coast with Uncle Dan but no kids. Mom considers Roo a hippie, like Cassidy’s mother, even though she doesn’t dress funny like Cassidy’s mom does, and she doesn’t live on a farm. She does computers and loves electronic gadgets. Either there’s something about hippies that Nicole doesn’t know, or Mom’s definition is a little broad.

Mom’s kinda taken aback when Nicole tells her about swimming with no clothes on, but Auntie Roo calls it ‘skinny dipping’ and seems impressed by her daring. Maybe that’s what makes her a hippie. Mom seems more concerned with what Katie and Mrs Greenberg thought, but telling her they weren’t upset seems to soothe her nerves.

Eventually Abbey wanders to the living room to watch TV, and Auntie Roo opens another bottle of wine and she and Mom go out to the porch to drink it while they watch the sunset. Nicole finally finds herself unsupervised, and she immediately heads for the bedroom she shares with Abbey, flopping on her bed with a great big sigh.

The memories of her day dance through her head, and as she recalls the sensations it’s like her body relives them, little thrills and shivers wash over her. Especially when she remembers being naked in the water or those kisses – oh god Lena kissed me, so cool! And so did Mrs Greenberg! – her skin seems to shimmer. And that soft, hot feeling under her skirt, the one that got her on the bike and shot through her when Lena’s lips were on hers, it hasn’t gone away. Remembering just wakes it back up again.

She’s never really thought much about her puss, except as the part you went to the bathroom with, but in the weeks she’s been hanging out with the Scouts, she’s felt compelled to think about it a lot. Jenny showed Nicole hers that first day, under the table at the market. And now she finds out that none of them wear panties at all when they’re dressed for Scouts. She can’t help but think about it. But what about them? By never having panties on, and being naked in front of each other like it’s no big deal, does that mean they think more about their girly parts? Or less?

It must be less, she decides, because if their little pusses felt the way hers did right now, they’d be too mixed up to ever get anything done. At this moment, like so many times today, hers feels swollen and tender and almost pulsing, and it’s almost like an ache but it doesn’t hurt. So weird. Is there something wrong with her?

She thinks, Well, it’s only a matter of flipping up your skirt to find out, haha, it’s not like you have any panties on! And then she’s reminded that oh geez, Hanna still has her panties. She’ll have to get them back before laundry day and Mom finding out. And she thinks about seeing Jenny’s naked muff all pink beneath her Forest Explorer skirt, and little Joy rucking up her dress to her waist revealing her bare body to her mother, and Fawn’s smooth crease next to her at the pool right there at face level, close enough to kiss and — oh my god why did I think that?!?!

That puffy, simmering ache-that-isn’t just gets stronger, and it occurs to her that obsessing like this means that somehow she likes it. And it’s plain to her now that she does. She was as happy in that pool as if she’d been in a room made of fudge cake. She’s fantasized about Lena snuggling and being affectionate, and seeing her nude body today only compelled her to get closer, wanting to touch, to feel her pale supple body in the water. She adores seeing Fawn and Cassidy flirt and smooch, and getting kissed (twice!) today was the most crazy happy thing she’s ever felt. If it leaves her muff feeling this way, maybe there’s a reason.

Her thought about how simple it’d be to look at her privates just keeps echoing even as she’s thinking of this other stuff. And now, almost without planning to, she’s pulling a couple pillows over to prop up her back. Once that’s done and she’s squished them enough to be comfortable, she parts her knees wide, the soles of her sneakers touched together, and reaches down to lift her green pleated skirt. It’s light and flips right up, revealing her bare, non-pantied puss to her curious gaze. It’s as smooth and petite as it ever was, but now it really does look a little puffy and bright pink. Not normal like the girls at the pool, but more like Jenny that first day, showing her under the table. A pink Nicole’s always thought of as a happy color, the pink of a birthday balloon or strawberry hard candy.

Did Jenny feel the way she does now?

On top of being all pink, her puss looks shiny, and the air hitting it now makes it tingle with the cool. How is she still wet? It can’t be from the pool. Oh no, did she pee a little?! At this point she’s so confused anything seems possible. She checks her skirt in a panic, but there’s no wet spot there, and none on her legs. So, wondering even more about herself, she reaches down with both hands to investigate. She wipes some of the wetness off her mound near the crease, and it’s so sensitive there that she goes, “unh,” and her hips twitch. The fluid is more oily than watery, and it’s left a sticky spot all around her girly area. As her fingers explore the insides of her thighs and the little valleys where her legs join her butt, she realizes how much there is.

While she’s doing this, the round base of one thumb accidentally brushes her crease, and her body’s response is so intense that she gasps and snatches her hand back. It takes a second to process the feeling. At first she thought she might be hurt, but as the sensation zings through her, it’s not like being hurt at all. It’s kinda the opposite!

Curiosity gets the better of her and she brushes her muff again, a little more deliberately, and this time there’s a surge of unprecedented but undeniable pleasure down there. And then it’s like more than just down there! It’s all over inside her, spreading like a tingly wave all the way to her scalp and the arches of her feet. And this time, she’s sure that she’s the source of the wetness. Between her legs, she is slick with something that isn’t pee.

With the lightest of touches, Nicole explores herself lower down where she can hardly see, slipping over the delicate folds of little lips that are only exposed because she’s parted her legs so wide. Each little touch and slide and press gives her more of those mysterious good feelings, a sparkle of blissful lightning that zips all through her. Getting a bit more comfortable with it, or maybe just wanting more, she runs a finger all the way along her slick little groove, and the wave of pleasure is so strong and wonderful.

She lifts her knees and tips her hips up. Her skirt flops onto her belly, her bare lower half lifted into the air, legs still spread wide, and now she can see what she’s touching a bit better. Who guessed her puss would suddenly be so fascinating? But it is, and she rests one hand on the inside of her little thigh, using her fingers to open up the crease. It makes a creamy sound as it parts, she is so wet and bright pink there! And it seems crazy even to think, maybe it’s just the sensations she’s having, but it looks so pretty to her right now.

Nicole starts touching inside the lips of her puss, in the hot wet pink of it, and it’s even more intense, even the daintiest of contact makes her quietly go, “ah, ah,” and she squirms a little from how sensitive she is. Breathing fast now and feeling hot all over, she gets bolder and cups her hand over her whole girly area. She sighs, her legs quiver, and her eyes slip shut. The warmth of her palm and the heat from her puss combine and trap the feeling there, making her glow with excitement. She’s can’t seem to catch her breath now, and feels damp sweat breaking out all under her blouse and socks.

She nestles her two middle fingers deliciously into her soft wet puss, and gives it just the fondest little squeeze. It’s amazing! Her thighs buck and her tummy clenches, forcing a happily surprised grunt out of her. Panting, she lets up the pressure and lets her body relax from that vivid shock of pleasure.

And as soon as she’s settled down, she squeezes again, getting the same blissful jerk as before, and this time her moan ends in a soft chuckle. This feels so good!

Nicole lays there for she doesn’t know how long, squeezing and jolting and contentedly unwinding only to repeat the joy. The sensation is pure pleasure and she can’t compare it to anything else she’s ever felt. She happily gives in to it. Her eyelids flutter, but they’re rolled up to the whites and she’s not really seeing anything. Her ten year old mind is matching images to the sensations she’s experiencing – each Scout undressing, Mrs Greenberg looking down on her, Fawn’s exposed muff, Hanna climbing dripping naked from the pool, Lena sliding against her, Lena’s mouth on hers – and she drifts in this dreamlike state of excitement.

That is, until she hears footsteps on the stairs and is whipped right back into reality. Her eyes snap open and look to the door, and in a panic sees that it got caught on some of Abbey’s things on the floor and is still about half open. She feverishly pulls her hands away from their sweet little treasure, flips her skirt back down, tries to sit up as her body tingles and protests.

It’s only as she focuses and gets her breath back that she realizes that the footsteps she heard were going downstairs and not up. Oh god, somebody was already up here! Did they see? Her face blazes in a furious blush as she imagines if Mom, or Abbey, or Roo saw her touching herself. Would she be in trouble? Was she doing something wrong? She’d never heard anyone even talk about doing this, or how good it felt. What if she’s a freak?

Nicole sits there, guiltily wringing her sticky hands, before she takes a deep breath and forces herself to go downstairs. When she gets there, Auntie Roo is getting ready to go, Mom is clearly a little woozy from the wine, and the combined goodbye hugs are just enough to tempt Abbey away from My Little Pony. Roo embraces Nicole, tells her again how smart she looks in the uniform, and gives her a peck on the cheek. But nobody seems to surprised to see her, or suspicious that she was gone for however much time that was. Everything’s normal.

It stays that way after Roo leaves, too. Mom seems really relaxed and a little out of it, so Nicole offers to be nice and do the dishes. The thanks Mom gives her for it is kind of over the top, so grateful it’s kinda stupid. She sits at their little kitchen table and watches as Nicole scrubs and rinses and racks them up. They had take-out, so they didn’t cook anything and there’s really not that much to do.

As she starts toweling them dry, Mom says to her back, “It’s quite a change, isn’t it?”

Nicole muses, “Yeah, but it’s good.”

She can practically hear Mom nod when she goes, “Mm-hmm.”

“So you like it too?”

“I think so. I’m still adjusting, that’s for sure, but there’s a lot here I’m starting to like. At first, it seemed so strange. But now, I think maybe I’ve been a little set in my ways. It’s kind of a challenge, being here, don’t you think?”

“I dunno. Everybody’s so nice. I mean, there’s a lot to learn and stuff, but if I can get in the Scouts, I think they’ll help and it’ll be… I dunno, better. Just, better.”

Plates and glasses clink for a moment before Mom says, “I think moving here makes me realize how grownup you are now. You’re not just a little girl, you’re a person with your own mind and needs and goals. I didn’t think anything good would come out of me and your Dad… you know. But now, it’s like it’s only made you more independent, stronger.”

She gets a pang thinking about the divorce, but she still hears what Mom’s saying. “Thanks.”

“Y’know, you’re getting to be that age when things are really gonna change, grownup things are going to start to leak into your life, little by little. And though I’m sure…” she slurs that word a little and corrects herself, “…certain, you can handle it, I want you to know, I’m here, right? If anything happens that makes you confused, or worried, or even scared, you can just ask me, okay?”

Nicole puts the last glass in the drying rack and turns, wondering where this came from, but still responds, “Okay.”

Mom’s face gets serious, “I mean it. Life is… well, really weird, so we have to look out for each other. Anything.”

The ten year old nods somberly, and she thinks she has to ask something, anything, just to show that she gets it. And she has such a welter of questions she wants to ask, so many mysterious things going on in her life and in herself that she could really use a clue about. But looking at Mom, having to confess this stuff to the most important person in her life, it’s so hard. It, like, catches in her throat, struggling equally hard to come out and stay hidden.

So she hangs the dish towel up, and while her back is still turned she shrugs a little and hesitantly forces out, “Can… you get a, a crush, like, on another girl?”

Mom chuckles, “Oh wow, yes. Yes you can. Can you ever.”

“Is that weird? Liking a girl that way, instead of a boy?”

“No. It’s fine, it happens all the time. Especially at your age.”

“What does that mean?”

“You’re just finding out about all these feelings, all these amazing, scary feelings, and they’ll come at you out of nowhere and feel really strong. Sometimes they’ll pass, sometimes they’ll stay. You should just let it happen. Getting to know your heart’s like learning to ride a bike. At first, you’re all wobbly, and you just try to figure out how to do it and not fall over. But later, you figure it all out and all you think about is where you want it to take you. Okay?”

Nicole feels relieved and amazed and thankful that her Mom is so smart, even if she is a little drunk. A bright smile crosses her face and she nods sharply, “Okay!”

“Good.” Mom wants to ask more, she can tell. Or maybe she wants Nicole to ask more. But talking about that was hard enough, it’ll have to do for now.

Mom seems okay with it.

For the next few days it’s like that, kinda normal but with this new kind of dimension opening up that’s totally new, as new as the town. It’s like in a book, where you start another chapter and you realize how much is different from where you began. She and Mom feel a little more like a… team? She feels more grownup, especially compared to Abbey who is so, like, seven, and Mom is treating her a bit different. Kind of respecting her.

She still worries about the Scouting thing. What if they don’t take her? Will she still be friends with the girls? It seems so awful to imagine losing them after everything was going so well, such a lonesome place, like where she was before she walked up to their cookie sale at the market. She doesn’t want to go back there.

And they’ve opened up a new chapter in Nicole. Without them, she never would’ve had these feelings, not just in her heart but in her body, too. Wow, it’s less like a chapter and more like a whole other book!

Call it, The Mystery of How Can This Feel So Good? And she solves it every time she can.

It’s crazy how obsessed she is with thinking about touching her muff, or actually touching it. She does it a couple of times a day. Now that she’s experienced those exquisite, gushy sensations, she wants them more and more. It’s almost like that time she ate a whole bag of Hershey’s Kisses, only better and without feeling gross after.

She’s squeezed down there when she’s in bed a few times, but last time Abbey groaned and sleepily murmured, “Are you okay?” And even though she was way past okay, she settled down and hadn’t since. Whenever she finds herself alone, she’s tempted, and usually she can’t resist, unbuttoning and unizpping and slipping a hand between her legs. It feels good to squeeze even over her panties, but it’s better to wriggle her fingers under the waistband and feel the damp, happy heat of her puss right against her hand. She wants more skirts now, though; she only has a couple, and the pants thing takes too long. She’s done it while she’s watching TV, or leaning back against the counter in the bathroom, even sitting at the kitchen table with Abbey right across from her, eating her Apple Jacks. The best is in the shower, though – it’s so hot and slippery and she’ll soap and soap until there’s this great mound of lather, suds sliding down the insides of her legs.

Squeeze, and release; squeeze, and release. Ah.

When she does it she has to be careful, because once she gets going she can’t think of anything else, the thrilling pleasure becomes everything, and all she wants to do. She feels like an animal maybe, like a dog that once you start rubbing its belly it never wants you to stop. And there’s something more, driving her to keep going, like she’s heading toward something but she never gets there or even knows where to go. She doesn’t even know if there’s anything to head for. It’s still a little frustrating, despite the bliss, because it feels like she’s never done. When she stops, it’s only minutes before she starts to consider when she can do it again.

That weekend, there’s two phone calls. Mom gets one Friday night, and when it rings late Saturday afternoon, Mom’s barely handed it to her before Lena’s yelling, “Nicki! Nicki! I’ve gotta see you can you come over?!”

Nicole doesn’t like that nickname but Lena’s so excited that she laughs, but has to say, “It’ll be dark soon and Mom’s making dinner, I don’t think I can ride that far this late.”

“Hmm,” Lena goes on the other end, and Nicole can envision her friend’s dark eyebrows knitted in that scheming look she gets sometimes. Then she asks, “Can you meet me at Pinewood Park?”

That’s a huge woody park about halfway between her place and Lena’s. It’s on a hill next to a golf course and covered in trails that runners and dog-walkers use. Lena’s showing her how all the paths join up together, but Nicole’s still learning her way around.

“It’s only for a few minutes,” Lena presses.

“I guess so, but where?”

“Do you remember how to get to the split rock?”

The split rock is this huge sandstone boulder, twice as tall as them, that’s kind of hidden off one of the side trails. It’s cracked down the middle wide enough for the girls to walk or ride through. There’s a whole bunch of ferns growing on the top and kinda down the sides and it makes a kind of canopy overhead. She puts the map together in her head and replies, “Yeah, I think so.”

“Meet me there!”

Nicole can’t possibly refuse, so a few minutes later, she’s leaning her bike against the split rock. Lena’s not there, and it’s very still. The cooling air smells woodsy and nice. The sun’s setting and there’s no clouds so the huge pines and cedars are just these massive shadows surrounded by blazing orange light. She muses, plucks at the hem of one of her two skirts, wonders if she’s got time to squeeze for a minute while she’s all alone here. The thought of seeing Lena again has her so excited, she’s tempted, but she decides not to. It’d be embarrassing to get caught doing it, even by her.

A few minutes Lena comes clattering up, wearing her daywear uniform for some reason. She just drops her bike and dashes over to Nicole, wrapping her in this hard, bracing hug so fast Nicole barely has time to hug back.

Lena pulls away and takes Nicole’s hand in both of hers. Her dark hair is loose, it’s the first time Nicole’s seen her that way, and it slides and drapes over the girl’s shoulder in this pretty, silky way. Lena just stares at her with a bright, expectant expression and says, “So?!”

“So what?”

The girl actually squirms when she clarifies, “So aren’t you excited?!”

It dawns on her what Lena might be telling her. “About what?”

“Didn’t Tender Katie call your mom last night? I heard my Mom saying that she did.”

“Yeah.”

“And aren’t they going to meet and talk?”

“Well yeah, on Monday night. Roo’s coming to babysit.”

Lena lets go of her hand. “Well? don’t you get it?! Katie talks one-on-one to all the moms right before the girls get sworn in. To let them know about everything we do, even the things we can’t talk about outside the troop.”

There! There it is, there were secrets all along. She knew it!

She tries to keep her cool when she asks, “Like what kind of things?”

Rolling her eyes, Lena says, “Then they wouldn’t be secrets! But it’s not giving it away if I said that not every mom lets their girl join after the talk. I heard my Mom saying that she wasn’t worried about your mom, though. She really likes her.”

Nicole takes this all in, but she’s still hung up on what Lena said before. “Oh, come on. Tell me one. One secret, just so I know what it’s like.”

“We’re really not supposed to. I already showed you girl-hearting.”

She turns on the charm. “But I came all this way just to see you. Pleeease?”

With a little pout, Lena folds. “Oh, okay, but just one. And you can’t ever tell I showed you.”

“I promise.”

“Okay.” She gets that scheming look again for a minute, then she perks up and tells her, “We can do the affirmation, that’d be all right.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s something we do at the start of our meetings on Fridays. Katie thought it up, just like girl-hearting. An affirmation is like this thing you tell yourself so that you can stay focused, and not lose sight of important stuff.”

“How does it go?”

Lena blushes enough that Nicole can see it, even as the sunset fades from orange to pink. “Well, it’s a little strange…”

“I don’t care. Show me.”

Lena shrugs in this you asked for it kind of way, and steps closer, almost as close as girl-hearting, and she says, “You don’t have to remember what to say now, just listen. You’ll have to memorize it later, though.”

Nicole nods, anticipating.

Setting her chin, Lena goes, “Okay,” and reaches out toward Nicole down low. Her hand tosses Nicole’s skirt up, reaches underneath, and in a second Lena’s fingers are snuggling between her legs, hand cupping her muff the way she does herself when she squeezes. Nicole gasps, stiffens in surprise at the contact.

“It’s all right it’s all right, don’t be nervous,” Lena soothes in a rush. “This is just how we do it.”

Do what?! Nicole thinks, her breath heaving. The sensation of Lena’s warm hand through her panties makes it nearly impossible to concentrate on anything else. Is she going to squeeze her? Does she do it too? Do ALL of them?? On some absurd level Nicole’s suddenly convinced that everybody knows she does it, and this is the start of her being mocked for being so bizarre.

Instead, Lena watches her face for a second before she says, “You have to pull your panties down, though.”

No panties in Scouts, Nicole thinks. Wasn’t that a secret, too? So after a second’s hesitation she does it. Lena moves her hand back just far enough so that Nicole can duck and slip them down to her knees. But as soon as she straightens Lena cups her puss again, and it’s just as hot and alarming and delicious as it was before. Oh god oh god, can Lena feel her getting wet?

Assuming a bit wider stance, Lena tells her, “Now you do me too.”

Wide-eyed, Nicole forces her hand to extend. She fluffs aside Lena’s green pleated skirt, and thrills as underneath it she skims her fingertips up the smooth warmth of Lena’s thighs. And when she reaches the top, she’s actually trembling to feel the silky heat of her bare little puss and it’s so so soft and amazing. She can’t believe she’s touching Lena like this. And as she wiggles her fingers along the tender flesh of her crease, cupping her palm over Lena’s mound, imitating her friend as best as her addled mind can manage, she’s astonished to feel that familiar puffy slickness between her friend’s legs. Lena shivers and lets out a breathy giggle to feel her down there.

Maybe she’s not the only freak, after all.

Lena’s eyes light up with every adjustment Nicole’s fingers make as she settles in. When that’s done, Lena tries to collect herself, chuffing out a little sigh. Nicole herself is trying hard to restrain the inexplicable urge her hips have to thrust themselves into Lena’s snuggling hand.

“Ready?”

Nicole thinks maybe she’s able to nod.

So then, with a tiny exciting wiggle of her hand down there, Lena tells her, “This is you. You’re a girl, and this is what makes you one. Others will expect you not to talk or even think about this part, the one so important to who you are. But we are girls, and we are Scouts. Within the comfort of this troop, we will experience and celebrate every part of being a girl. Together, we’ll share our joys and our secrets.”

Affirmation. Nicole’s green eyes stay open wide, her mouth open, a little slack. She’s stunned – by what she’s feeling, by what she’s just heard. She feels like a sky has cleared of clouds to show her the stars, and the constellations she might make of them. She isn’t the only one who’s discovered the hidden joy that waits between her legs, it’s all of them. All of them. And she’s so close to learning what they know but can’t tell.

Lena leans toward Nicole’s astonished face, foreheads touching, girl-hearting. Catching Nicole’s dazzled gaze, holding it, her dark hair streaming forward and draping them off from the outside world, Lena whispers, “There’s so much I can’t wait to do with you.”

She tries to think of something to say, but before she can she’s being kissed, hard, hungrily. Nicole feels like she might go up in flames, like there’s this live cable between where Lena’s lips are plushing against her mouth and where her hand tenderly captures the keen tingling heat in her muff. Their mouths open again, like before, and Lena’s kissing her so eagerly that Nicole’s head is tipping back, surrendering. And then she feels Lena’s tongue brush her own, and it’s electric! If she wasn’t pinned by her passion, she would pull back. But it brushes again, wet and hot and agile and so thrilling that her own tongue twitches and rises in response, seeking more of that feeling.

They tease tongues, sharing sharp breaths. Nicole’s fingers twitch excitedly against Lena’s sultry puss and the dark haired girl shivers and groans into Nicole’s mouth. Wow it’s so exciting to hear Lena make noises like that! Her ten year old body overloads with the circuit of pleasure they’ve created.

With one last, fervent press Lena ends the kiss, removes her hand, and steps back. She giggles breathlessly, shaking her head to clear it, her hair swishing around. Nicole tries to stop quivering, holding her hand gently to her tummy. She looks wonderingly at her friend.

“That last part doesn’t normally happen,” Lena says.

“The kissing part?” Nicole responds. “But I liked that part, a lot!”

Lena smiles, “Me too. But promise you won’t tell.”

“I already did. I super promise.”

“Okay.” For a second, it looks like Lena is going to approach her again, Nicole’s heart soars in anticipation, but then she starts to back reluctantly away, toward her bike. “I should probably go.”

“You sure?” Although Nicole can see the sunset fading just fine.

“Yeah,” Lena says apologetically. She rights her bike, climbs on. “Call me as soon as you find out, okay? Promise?”

“I promise,” Nicole assures. At this point she’d promise Lena anything. “See you tomorrow!” she calls as she watches her ride off, then ducks down and draws her panties back up, straightens her skirt. Ambling to her own bike, she touches her lower lip, pausing thoughtfully, then starts pedaling back down the trail.

She gets about three quarters of the way through the park, within sight of the street that ends the narrow trail, when she looks behind, sees no one in either direction, and swings off the path to the left, crashing through ferns and bushes for a few yards. Leaping off and carelessly dropping the bike, she scurries over to the largest cedar in sight and circles it, putting its massive trunk between her and the trail.

Backing up against its rough layered bark, Nicole sets her feet wide, and lifts her skirt with one hand while the other plunges into her panties. Closing her palm between her legs, fingers forming to the shape of her desperately excited muff, she squeezes, and lets out a shaky moan as all that bliss gushes into her body. She squeezes again and again, hardly pausing in between, the sensations carrying her away, reveling in the memory of what just happened with Lena. She can’t see the expression of almost pained ecstasy on her ten year old face, unaware of the quiet sobs that escape her as she pleasures herself. More than ever before, she senses in the thrilling wash of sensations that somewhere in her is an edge, a peak, and she struggles to reach it, the feelings getting stronger, winding her up, up.

Headlights sweeping the woods to her right, the sound of a car rushing past nearby, startle her out of her joy. Her head’s tipped back, scalp touching the cedar’s trunk. and opening her eyes she only sees the palest violet of light sketching the tangled boughs overhead. Although her hips pump enticingly, she forces herself to stop, heart pounding. She straightens out her clothes, brushes bark flakes off her rump and shoulders, and by the time she picks her way back to her bike, she’s almost breathing normally.

She walks back to the trail, sets the bike on it, and mounts. As she reaches the openness of houses and pavement, the ordered streets, the streetlights begin to flicker on.

Continue on to Chapter 6