Secret Admirer, Part Three

“What are you doing?”

Addison looked up and smiled at her sleep mussed friend, her hair in disarray and pillow marks creasing her cheek. She still thought Bethany looked beautiful.

“Good morning,” Addison said.

Yawning, Bethany said, “Morning. What’s with the notebook?”

“I’m making a list of my friends,” she said.

Bethany blinked at her a few times, then shrugged, “Am I at the top of the list?”

“Always,” she said, making the girl smile.

“I’ve got to ask,” she said, kicking off the covers and sitting up on the edge of the bed, “what’s with the list?”

“I got an email from my admirer,” Addison said.

Frowning, Bethany said, “What does that have to do with your- Oh, you think it is someone you know? Your admirer?”

“She said as much in the email,” Addison said, grinning, “signed it ‘your friend and admirer’.”

“How many girls have you given your email to?”

“Counting you,” she said, looking down at her list, “nine.”

Bethany grinned, said, “Wow, that narrows the suspect pool way down, doesn’t it?”

Giggling excitedly, she said, “Yeah, from over five hundred to less than a dozen.”

“Well,” Bethany said, going to her and sitting on her lap, “you can cross me off your list. My admiration isn’t much of a secret.”

Pulling her close, Addison grinned and asked, “Your admiration?”

“I was admiring your legs before I asked what you were doing.”

“You were?”

“You have nice legs,” she said, her eyes flashing playfully.

Her heart skipped a beat in her breast and she favored Bethany with a surprised smile. It was one thing to see desire in her friend’s eyes when they were fooling around but whole other thing for her to say something like that out of the blue. The difference seemed significant, some how.

“And you look cute with your panties on inside out,” Bethany said, laughing.

“What,” Addison said, looking down at herself. She had to laugh when she saw Bethany was right. It had been late when they got dressed last night and she had been distracted by Bethany bent over.

 Again, she thought it was important that Bethany had noticed.

And why is it so important for Bethany to notice me, she wondered, even though she suspected she already knew the answer, even if she wasn’t ready to admit it, yet.

“So, other than me,” Bethany said, nodding at the notebook, “who is on the list?”

“Emma, Heather, Sarah, Alison, Tara, Penny, Becky and Susan,” she said, reading from her list. Finished, she looked up at Bethany, saw the girl grinning at her, asked, “What?”

“Nothing. There is just a lot of cute girls on that list. Any idea which one? Did you recognize the email?”

“No. Never seen it before and I have no clue which girl it could be. The only one on the list to show a hint of interest in me is, well… you.”

“I don’t know,” Bethany said, thinking, “it took me a minute to notice you were…different. You hid it pretty well. I doubt anyone but me would have even noticed. It’s possible this girl is pining for you right under your nose and you just missed it.”

“I guess that is true,” she said, looking down at her list.

Bethany was right; there were a lot of cute girls on that notebook page, every one of them very desirable. Grinning, she said, “I just realized I have a lot of hot friends. Present company included.”

Bethany grinned back at her, gave her a quick kiss. Addison didn’t even mind her funky breath, kissed her back.

“Let’s grab a shower,” Bethany said, getting off her lap.

“Go ahead. I’ll get the second one,” Addison said.

“No, you misunderstood me. Let’s grab a shower. You and me,” Bethany said, offering her hand.

“What? Now? Together?”

“Yeah,” Bethany said, a playful smile spreading on her face.

“What about-”

“Dad is at work and Mom won’t expect us up this early,” Bethany said, still holding out her hand.

Addison looked at the hand for a long moment, then gave into temptation. Taking it, she let her friend lead her giggling into the bathroom. Her heart was racing as she watched the girl fiddle with the taps until she got the water just right.

Straightening up, she gave Addison a playful grin, said, “Why aren’t you naked?”

Laughing, Addison started undressing. Her t-shirt and panties ended up on the floor, in a pile. Naked, she couldn’t help admiring Bethany’s lean body as she undressed. More and more, she found the girl appealing, was a little surprised just how attracted to her best friend she was.

I guess I found my type, after all, she thought, grinning.

The water was perfect, wonderful as she stepped into the spray. Bethany squeezed in with her and the tiny space didn’t feel cramped but intimate. It gave her an excuse to press up against the girl, not that Bethany seemed to mind. The girl turned into her, so they were belly to belly, then put her arms around Addison’s neck. The hot water, the gentle serrations of the spray, Bethany’s body molded to hers, the feel of her lips against hers as her friend kissed her… So many lovely sensory inputs.

Reaching behind her, Bethany grabbed the bottle of body wash, showed it to Addison, “I’ll wash your back, if you wash mine.”

“Just your back,” Addison asked, playfully.

“You wash me, I wash you?”

“Sounds more like it,” she said, snatching the bottle out of her hand, “You first.”

“Hey,” Bethany said, pouting.

Laughing, Addison popped the lid on the soap, squirting a healthy puddle in the palm of her hand. Bethany stopped pouting when she put the bottle down and started working the soap into a lather. A slow smile spread on her face as she realized there wouldn’t be a shower puff involved.

Returning the smile, Addison started with her neck, began soaping every inch of her twelve year old body. She took her time, enjoying the lean, sexy figure of her friend. It was intimate and very erotic, had her heart racing as her slippery hands roamed over her legs, belly and breasts, around to cup her buttocks and up her back. She wasn’t the only one turned on, Bethany sighing and swaying under her touch.

She saved the best place for last, her soapy fingers slipping into the junction of Bethany’s thighs. The girl really was aroused, a thick moan escaping her at the first brush of Addison’s fingertips. Grinning, Addison caressed her tender bud, made lazy circles with her fingers that made Bethany’s hips sway. The girl’s face screwed up in a rictus of pleasure, her mouth slack. She put a hand on the shower stall to steady herself, her legs a little wobbly.

Addison turned her into the spray, let the water rinse the soap from her lithe body. Pressing against her back, she reached around to continue what she started, mashed Bethany’s labia under her fingers. She kissed the graceful curve of her neck where it met the shoulder.

“Oh, God,” Bethany moaned, thickly.

Bethany’s backside was rubbing against Addison’s lower abdomen deliciously and she felt a pleasant heat that had nothing to do with the shower blossom there. Her own hips began to gyrate, rubbing against Bethany’s round buttocks. She bit her lower lip and sighed.

She let her free hand roam over Bethany’s stomach and breasts, continued her exploration of her friend. She loved how she felt under her fingertips.

The girl’s backside rubbing against her increasingly sensitive sex was a delicious torture. It had her a horny mess. She’d be more than ready when it was her turn.

The girl was making those little mewling sounds of pleasure she loved. Addison had to smile, knew the girl was feeling good. Her fingers became a blur as she pushed her friend closer to the edge of ecstasy. She wanted Bethany to come.

“Come for me,” she whispered in her friend’s ear.

Bethany stiffened against her, her whole body clenching up. She cried out as her knees buckled but Addison wrapped her up in her arms, kept her on her feet. Addison held her tight as her orgasm shook her.

It took Bethany a moment to recover, for her legs to hold her, again. Finally, she turned to face, Addison, pulled her into a fierce embrace. The kiss she gave Addison made her a little dizzy, had her toes curled tight.

“Wow,” she husked when their lips finally parted.

“I’m the one who should be saying that,” Bethany said, laughing, “that was so intense! I’m like jello!”

“Well,” Addison said, grinning, “you are welcome.”

“Let me have the body wash and I’ll thank you properly,” Bethany said, holding out her hand and grinning.

Addison handed it to her, couldn’t hold in a excited little giggle. Watching the liquid soap pool in her friend’s cupped palm, she thought about how she had taken her time to enjoy Bethany’s body and a shiver worked up her spine thinking about the girl doing the same to her.

Bethany worked the soap into a lather between her hands, then grinned as she ran them up Addison’s arms and onto her shoulders, back down. The soap was cool on her hot skin, Bethany’s touch leaving her tingling all over. Her hands never stopped moving, caressing. Exploring. She met Addison’s eyes and smiled and Addison thought the girl was enjoying this almost as much as she was.

She sank to her knees to wash Addison’s legs, her soapy hands running down one, then back up the other. Her hands moved higher and Addison was more than ready when one of them slipped between her parted legs. Those first lazy circles traced by her fingertips teased a moan from her slack mouth, the first of many.

Cupping her hands, Bethany caught some water from the spray and rinsed the soap from her sex. Addison thought she was done, was disappointed. More than a little frustrated. Between the girl’s backside rubbing against her and the soapy exploration, she was so horny it was almost painful.

Then the girl leaned in and her tongue found Addison’s very tender bud. She gasped and looked down at her friend. Bethany rolled her eyes up at her, gave her a playful grin before continuing. She returned the smile, raising her eyebrows questioningly. Her friend only winked at her.

Last night had been fun and crazy, and Addison had enjoyed both giving and receiving pleasure. Still, she was a little surprised that Bethany was doing it, again. She kind of figured it would be a one time thing, or, at least, be a while before it happened, again. Apparently, she had figured wrong.

Again, she thought their friendship had taken an odd turn onto a slightly kinky, more adventurous path. It was starting to seem the more they traveled down it, the easier it was to keep going. The first time, they had been a giggling, nervous mess, a little less the second time. There was still that naughty thrill of misbehaving, the wonder of having sex so young. Her heart was racing in her breast and she was jittery with excitement, but it didn’t seem as… Weird.

Am I getting used to this, Addison wondered, looking down at her friend, having sex with Bethany?

She had to smile at how comfortable she was becoming with sleeping with her friend. There was no denying she liked being with the girl, loved the feel of her body pressed against hers, the breathless release of an orgasm.

Bethany’s tongue was insistent, demanded her attention. She couldn’t hold onto her train of thought as her friend tortured her poor clitoris, making her body writhe. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the hot, wet feel of her tongue on her bud, the hot water on her back.

She had to put a hand on the wall to steady herself. Her hips kept wanting to undulated against her friend’s mouth and the girl had ahold of her buttocks to keep her still. Biting her lip, she tried to corral the cries that wanted to escape her, only half succeeded.

It wasn’t long until she felt the first stirrings of an orgasm, felt it shake off its slumber deep inside of her. Like an angry bear awakened too early from hibrination, it worked itself into a frenzy. She cried out and stiffened as it took her in its teeth, then shook her like a rag doll.

She was a gasping, shuddering mess as Bethany stood up to embrace her. The feel good juices were running through her veins and she felt as light as a feather. She clung to the girl to keep from floating away.

“Holy cow, Bethany,” she said, laughing at how weak her legs felt.

“Your welcome. Now, let’s hurry up and finish before we use all the hot water.”

They finished up, kept grinning at each other. They couldn’t help it.

“It’s getting easier, isn’t it? Having sex,” Bethany suddenly asked.

“You noticed that, too,” she asked, grinning.

“Yeah. Why do you think that is?”

Grinning, Addison said, “Probably because it feels incredible.”

“Maybe,” Bethany said, looking away.

Addison’s heart skipped a beat as she realized the girl might be feeling the same way she was, might be developing feelings for Addison beyond the love of friendship. She wanted to ask her but she was afraid of scaring her away. Besides, she wasn’t sure about her own feelings.

Bethany killed the water, stepped out of the stall. She handed Addison a towel, grabbed one for herself. There was an awkward silence between them, both girls lost in their own thoughts. Addison couldn’t help thinking about the ‘what if’s as she dried off. There were too many of them to think about all of them and they were all fighting for purchase in her spinning thoughts.

She forced them from her mind. She’d have to take time to sort them out, but she didn’t want to do it right now.

Picking up a curling iron on the sink, she showed it to Bethany, asked, “Do you think you could show me what you did to my hair?”

Bethany started grinning, said, “Why?”

“You know why,” Addison said, blushing.

“Liked the attention, did you?”

“Are you going to show me or not?”

 ———————————————

Sitting alone in her bedroom, Addison opened the list she had made of the girls who had her email address. Nine possible candidates- well, eight without Bethany. It was better than five hundred plus but she still had no clue who her admirer was.

She sighed, got off her bed and went to her computer. Opening her email, she intended to reread the message, hoping something popped out at her. She saw another message from her admirer, opened it, instead. The subject line simply read : Contact.

She opened the message, held her breath as she read it:

I was wondering if you’d like to chat. I’m not sure I’m ready to do it face to face but there is a chat room I like to go to. I’ll be there tonight, after the sun sets, if you want to talk. I’ll be under the username youradmirer1. I hope to see you there.

As always, yours- Your admirer.

 At the bottom of the email was a link to the chat room. She glanced at the clock in the bottom of the screen, saw it would three or four hours until the sun set. Groaning, she wasn’t sure she could wait that long. She might finally get to know something about the girl who pined after her and the waiting would be torture.

Picking up her phone, she called Bethany.

“Miss me already,” her friend asked, picking up, “you’ve only been gone thirty minutes.”

Laughing, Addison said, “I always miss you when you are not around.”

“Sappy,” Bethany said, laughing, “I love it.”

“My admirer sent me another email,” she said, unable to keep playing the little game. The news was too big.

“ Wow,” she said, dropping it, “two in one day. You two are getting serious.”

“Shut up,” she said, laughing, “she wants to chat with me, gave me an address to a chat room.”

“Huh,” Bethany said, then after a second, “she’s sticking with the baby steps, huh?”

“Am I that scary? I like to think I’m pretty approachable,” Addison said, thinking her friend was right about the baby steps.

“You are about as scary as a puppy,” Bethany said, laughing, “which is why I don’t get this girl. She claims to be your friend, so you aren’t even a stranger to her. Why the secrecy still?”

“I don’t know,” she said, sighing.

“Well, when you are ‘chatting’ with her, be sure to ask. Tell her Bethany says, ‘what gives?’”

“Alright,” Addison said, laughing.

“Did you call just to tell me about the email,” Bethany asked.

“No. I need you to distract me for a few hours until I can join the chat room.”

“I can’t,” Bethany said, sighing, “I have to go to my aunt’s house with my mom. I’m actually getting dressed while we are talking.”

“Ah,” Addison said, sighing, “which aunt?”

“Mary.”

“Should be fun,” she said, laughing. She knew the girl loved her Aunt Mary, but the woman was a bore.

“Believe me, I’d rather be distracting you,” Bethany said and Addison could see her shaking her head sadly.

“I guess I’ll let you get dressed. I need to find something to do,” Addison said.

“You should think up some questions,” Bethany said, then grunted as she wrestled with something, “it is hard to put skinny jeans on with just one hand. Let me put you on speaker. Anyway, questions that will help you figure out who the admirer is. You know, interests, hair color, that sort of thing. You get enough bits of information, you might be able to guess which girl it is.”

“That seems kind of…I don’t know, underhanded, doesn’t it? I’m sure the girl will come forward when she is ready.”

“So you are going to do it?”

“Yeah,” Addison said, laughing, “I’ll start as soon as I hang up.”

 ————————————————–

 The sun was still up, if just barely, but Addison couldn’t wait anymore. She booted up her computer, set her list of sneaky questions beside the keyboard. She opened the email from her admirer, clicked on the link to the chat site. Reading the disclaimer, she realized she wasn’t supposed to be there, the site dedicated to teen girls, thirteen to seventeen. Hitting Enter, she lied about her age. Either the site really didn’t care or assumed she would be completely honest and leave if she was underage, because she was allowed to create a username without problems.

Once she was in the room, she scrolled through the latest entries. For a kid friendly site, some of the entries made her blush. She assumed it was the older girls talking but she had no way of knowing it wasn’t some thirteen year old girl posting about getting very intimate with her boyfriend.

After all, she was only twelve and she’d had sex twice- three times counting the scene in the shower. Maybe there was some horny seventh grader out there.

Giggling, she stopped reading the posts and scanned the list of users on the site. She spotted youradmirer1 in the list, clicked on her name. The screen informed her she had ‘tapped the user on the shoulder’. A few seconds later, a message from her admirer appeared on the screen:

Youradmirer1: You came.

Addison giggled, wanted to type ‘That’s kind of personal’ but she wasn’t sure about the girl’s sense of humor. Instead, she entered : I guess I was curious.

Youradmirer1: About me?

“About the girl behind the roses,” she said out loud, as she typed.

Youradmirer1: Let’s get a private room.

A message appeared that she had been invited to a private conversation with youradmirer1. She clicked yes and a new window opened on the screen.

Youradmirer1: I’m so happy you are here. I haven’t stopped smiling since you tapped me on the shoulder.

The line brought a smile to her own lips. The girl had a way with words, Addison had to give her that much. At least on paper, anyway. Would she be as romantic in person, she wondered.

She typed: What did you want to chat about?

Youradmirer1: You. Maybe us?

Laughing, Addison type: Kind of hard to be an ‘us’ when I don’t know who you are.

Youradmirer1: LOL. I guess I’ve earned that barb. I guess I’m a little leery of putting myself out there. Kids our age can be cruel.

Addison asked: Do you mean sixth graders or are you being more general?

Youradmirer1: I’m your age, if that is what you are getting at.

She picked up the list of girls she had given her email to, realized she could cross someone off the list; Susan. She was a seventh grader. With a pencil, she struck her name through.

Tapping the pencil against her lower lip, she thought about what she should type next, finally put the pencil down and entered: So you are twelve like me. Do we have anything else in common? What kind of music do you like? Books?

Youradmirer1: LOL. Why do I get the feeling you are trying to figure out who I am? This was Bethany’s idea, wasn’t it?

She groaned, couldn’t believe she had been busted so soon. She hadn’t learned anything, except that her admirer knew Bethany well enough to recognize her handy work. That really wasn’t a revelation, though; all of her friends were also Bethany’s.

Typing, she said: Can you blame me for trying? You say such lovely things about me, make my heart pitter patter in my chest and I don’t even know your name.

Youradmirer1: No, I can’t blame you but it is a waste of time.

“How so,” she said, out loud, frowning at the computer screen.

Before she could type the question, her admirer answered it:

Youradmirer1: I think I’m ready to just be your admirer, no more ‘secret’.

Sitting back in her chair, she read the line three more times, her heart racing faster with each pass. It was going to happen. Her admirer was going to come out of hiding.

Youradmirer1: That is what I really wanted to talk about. You know that ugly yellow bench by the food court at the mall?

Leaning forward, she typed: Yeah.

It was a modern art piece, its meaning completely lost on Addison. More than that, she couldn’t understand why the mall had spent so much money to purchase it. It was ugly, slopped to one side so it always felt like she was going to slide right off of it.

Youradmirer1: This Friday at six… Do you think you can be sitting on that bench?

Addison typed: Why?

Youradmirer1: Maybe I’m a romantic at heart, but I want a grand entrance.

She had no problem believing the girl was a ‘romantic at heart’. She was smiling as she typed: It’s not the location I’d have chosen for my big reveal, but it’s your call?

Youradmirer1: You think the ugly bench will ruin the moment?

Laughing, she typed: Assuming there is a moment to ruin… You better bring your A game. You’ve kept me waiting. It is going to take a lot of wooing to make up for it.

Youradmirer1: My beautiful Addison, I intend to woo your socks off. So, please wear socks.

Addison snorted, then started laughing. This was definitely one of her friends; she had the off beat sense of humor the group shared.

It dawned on her that she was flirting with one of her friends, the second one in a week. First Bethany, now this girl. Was it the beginning of a trend?

Smiling, she typed: Well, I’ll be the girl wearing socks. How will I know it is you?

Youradmirer1: I’ll be the girl with the big, nervous grin on her face.

 ————————————————

 “How did it go,” Bethany asked, answering the phone on the first ring, “did you figure out who your admirer is?”

“No,” Addison said, laughing, “she saw right through me. Knew it was your idea, too.”

“Well, that blows.”

“Not really,” she said, then dropped the bomb on her friend, “She said she is ready to just be my admirer, no more secret.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Addison said, giggling excitedly.

“I’m coming over,” she said, then line went dead.

Laughing, Addison threw her phone on the pillow beside her. She headed downstairs to let her friend in when she got here. She found her mother sitting in the living room, reading a Stephen King novel. She glanced up when Addison walked into the room and she put the novel down.

“Hey,” Addison said, sitting on the couch beside her, “Bethany is coming over.”

“Staying the night?”

“I don’t know. Maybe,” she said, shrugging.

Laughing, her mother said, “Must be some good gossip if it couldn’t wait.”

“Must be,” Addison said, grinning.

“Anything to do with the new hair style,” her mother asked.

“You don’t like it?”

“No, sweetie. You look very nice. It is just a departure in style for you and that makes my mom senses tingle.”

Laughing, she parroted, “Mom senses?”

“They are finely tuned after putting up with your shenanigans for twelve years and they are telling me there is a story behind the hair. Is it a boy?”

Addison cringed inwardly, thinking she was going to have to have a conversation with her parents someday about her being a lesbian. Not today, but some day.

“No boy, Mom,” she said, thinking, a girl, maybe. Or two, counting Bethany.

Her mother gave her a long look, then nodded, “Good. I’m too young to have a daughter who is dating.”

She had to bite back a smile, thinking about meeting her admirer Friday. Assuming it didn’t go horribly, there was a good chance she’d be dating by the end of the week. Of course, she couldn’t tell her mother that without having The Talk. Not the one about the birds and the bees but the one about her being more interested in Sally than Sam.

“That dress you wore out of here Friday,” her mother asked.

“Bethany’s,” Addison said.

Nodding, she said, “Maybe we could go shopping sometime.”

Addison sensed there was more to that statement than what was on the surface. Her mom was a bit of a girly girl, liked getting her nails done and her hair styled, had more clothes than she’d ever need. Not to mention the shoes. She had tried to get Addison interested in these things but she wasn’t as concerned about them as most girls.

She got the feeling her mother was a little disappointed, had wanted a daughter she could fuss over. Really without thinking about it, she gave her mom a hug.

“What was that for,” the woman asked, smiling at her.

“Just wanted you to know I love you,” she said.

“I know that. I love you, too, kiddo.”

“I guess I could use some new clothes,” she said, looking down at herself, “you know, to go with the new hairdo.”

“And some new shoes,” her mother asked, crossing her fingers so Addison could see.

“Baby steps, Mom,” Addison said, laughing, “baby steps.”

Laughing, her mother patted her thigh, said, “We’ll go Friday.”

“Um, I can’t Friday. I’m meeting a… Friend at the mall.”

“Is this friend a boy? You kind of paused there,” her mother said, giving her a look.

She shook her head, grinned as she said, “No, Mom. Not a boy.”

Her mother looked at her a long moment and she wanted to squirm under her scrutiny, felt like her mother would look right through her and find out about her admirer. Finally, the woman smiled a knowing smile, said, “Well, we can go sometime after school this week, so you’ll have something cute to wear for your ‘friend’ Friday.”

She shook her head, laughing. Her mother had mistook her nervousness as a sign that she was hiding a boy from her. Addison decided to let her think that because it was a lot less stressful than trying to explain the truth to her.

There was a knock at the door and she got up to let Bethany in, glad for the excuse to get away from the conversation with her mother. Her friend was breathing a little heavy, must have ran over. She was grinning brightly.

“Hey, Bethany,” Addison’s mom called from the couch.

“Ma’am,” she managed to say.

“Did you run here?”

“Yes, ma’am,” she said.

“Come on,” Addison said, laughing, “Let’s go up to my room.”

As soon as the door closed, Bethany surprised her by pushing her against it and giving her a deep, lingering kiss. She kissed her back, feeling Bethany’s body press against hers. Her heart was thundering in her breast by the time their lips parted and she felt a little light headed.

“Hi,” Bethany said, biting her lower lip in a way that Addison thought was incredibly sexy.

“Hi, to you, too,” she said, laughing. She put her arm around her friend’s waist, didn’t let her pull away before she could steal another kiss. Grinning at the girl, she asked, “Is this how we are going to greet each other now?”

“Beats a handshake, don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” Addison said, laughing.

“After an afternoon with my aunt,” Bethany said, sighing, “I needed that.”

“That bad, huh?”

“You know I love her, but I’ve never been so bored in my life,” she groaned.

Laughing, Addison gave her a quick kiss, then snagged one of her hands. She led them to the bed, toppled them onto it. They ended up side by side, staring at the ceiling. Bethany propped up on her elbows, looked sideways at Addison.

“So tell me about your little chat session. The girl is finally going to approach you?”

“Looks like it,” Addison said, with a nervous giggle, “she wants me to be sitting on the ugly bench at six o’clock Friday.”

“The ugly bench? Really,” Bethany said, grimacing, “that thing is better for inducing vomiting than inspiring romantic thoughts.”

“I know,” Addison said, giggling.

“I wouldn’t have picked the mall at all, to start with,” she said.

“Oh, yeah? If you were trying to woo me, where would you take me?”

Laughing, Bethany said, “If I were trying to woo you, huh? I’ve never had to ‘woo’ a girl before, so I’d have to think about it.”

“You can get back to me about it,” she said, making Bethany laugh.

“Actually, you know, I think I’ve got it. The gazebo at the park. I know you love that thing, especially now that the dogwoods are flowering. If I were trying to woo you, I’d take you there.”

Addison blinked in surprise, her heart skipping a beat. The girl was right; she loved the gazebo this time of year, with the ring of beautiful dogwoods making it look like something out of a fairy tale. She was touched the girl had remembered it.

“I’d take your hand and look deep into your eyes,” Bethany said, doing just that, “and tell you I think you are beautiful and funny and smart. That I’d be the happiest girl alive if you’d be my girlfriend.”

Addison couldn’t breath, her heart racing in her breast. She ached for the girl to really be saying these things to her. How intensely she wanted them to be real and not just pretend surprised her. She blushed when Bethany started grinning, realized her face must have given her away.

Taking a deep breath, she said, “I guess that would have worked.”

Bethany leaned over and kissed her deeply, before saying, “You ARE beautiful and funny and smart. Any girl would be lucky to have you as their girlfriend.”

“Alright, I’m wooed already,” she said, laughing, “stop with the mushy stuff.”

Laughing, Bethany flopped onto her back, looking up at the ceiling. Addison was glad she wasn’t looking at her anymore because she couldn’t stop blushing or smiling. When she closed her eyes she could see the scene under the gazebo, Bethany holding her hand and looking deep into her eyes. She wished it was a memory and not just a fantasy.

Perfect timing, Addison my girl, she thought, shaking her head, now you want to start have feelings for Bethany when you are supposed to be meeting your admirer Friday.

“Are you excited about finally meeting your admirer,” Bethany asked, saving her from her thoughts.

“Yeah,” she said, the excitement gone from her voice.

Laughing, Bethany looked at her and said, “Wow. Where did the enthusiasm go?”

“No, I’m excited,” she said, laughing when Bethany looked at her doubtfully, “I am. I’m just thinking, is all.”

“About what?”

“Nothing in particular,” she said, sighing.

Bethany looked at her a long time and she couldn’t help fidgeting. She swore the girl was looking right through her, could read her thoughts as clear as day. Did the girl see it in her eyes, Addison’s blossoming love for her? Did she suspect that Addison’s feelings for her had gone beyond just those of a friend?

Finally, she shrugged and said, “Well, if you want to talk about it…”

Addison hoped her relief didn’t show on her face. Looking up at the ceiling, she said, “You know, Mom thinks I have a boyfriend.”

“That’s what you were thinking about,” Bethany asked.

“No,” Addison said, laughing.

“Why does your mom think you have a boyfriend,” her friend asked.

“The new hairdo, borrowing your dress,” Addison said, grinning at her friend, “she thinks I’m trying to impress some boy.”

Laughing, Bethany said, “Little does she know…”

“Yeah,” Addison said, shaking her head.

“Probably going to have to tell her eventually,” Bethany said, grinning, “not just yet, though.”

“Why not yet?”

“You tell her you are into girls, she might not let me stay over, anymore,” the girl said, winking at Addison, “and that would put a damper on my love life.”

Addison shook her head, laughing, “Your love life?”

“Hey, I have one. So do you.”

“I guess I do,” she said, the frowned as something occurred to her, “For now, I guess.”

“What do you mean,” Bethany asked.

“Well, if all goes well Friday,” she said, propping up on her elbows to look the girl in the eyes, “I’ll have a girlfriend. We won’t be able to do it anymore.”

Bethany made a sour face, said, “Well, that blows.”

“Yeah, it kind of does,” Addison agreed, flopping back.

Quiet for a long minute, her friend finally said, “This new rule… It doesn’t take effect until you are actually dating this girl, your admirer, right?”

Laughing, Addison said, “That is right.”

“So if I kissed you right now…”

Her heart racing, she leaned in and kissed her friend. Bethany put a hand on the back of her head, wouldn’t let her pull away from the kiss. Not that she had any attention of doing so. Her excitement blossomed into desire, became a raging need. She felt the same urgency in Bethany, knew the girl was as turned on as she was.

“This is a bad idea,” she said, pulling the girl’s shirt up and over her head.

“Yeah,” Bethany agreed, shimmying out of her shorts.

“Mom is downstairs,” Addison said, stripping out of her own shirt. It went flying across the room as she flung it aside.

“She could come up at any time to check on us,” Bethany said, helping Addison out of her shorts, then her panties.

“Maybe hoping to overhear us talking about this boy I’m hiding,” Addison said, her fingers fumbling the catches on her bra in her. Taking a deep breath to calm down, she finally managed to undo them and it fell open to reveal her small breasts.

“That boy,” Bethany said, the last of her clothing discarded.

Naked, they came together, their lips meeting and didn’t part again until they had to come up for air. Gasping, Addison said, “We have to be quiet.”

“We need some cover noise,” Bethany said, breathlessly.

“Radio,” Addison said, jumping off the bed and running to her stereo. She started her MP3 player, turned the volume up loud as she dared. Too loud and it might draw the wrong kind of attention, not loud enough and it would be a waste of time.

Bethany was laying on her side, watching her, a playful smile tugging at the corners of her lips. That smile made her heart skip a beat as she came to the bed and stretched out beside her friend. Bethany welcomed her into her arms. Addison loved the way Bethany felt pressed against her, the way their bodies seemed to fit together perfectly.

“This is still a bad idea,” Addison said.

Laughing, her friend said, “Kind of exciting, though.”

“Very exciting,” Addison agreed, kissing her. None of the frantic desire that had gripped them while they hurriedly undressed had dissipated. There was no hesitation in the kiss, no nervousness. Addison wanted the girl so bad, wanted to let her hands roam over her lithe, lean body, to test the resilience of her muscles and the smoothness of her skin. She’d never felt anything like it, this need to be with Bethany.

The girl rolled onto her back, urged Addison to straddle one of her hips. Addison lowered her body onto Bethany, sighing as their bodies fit together. Bethany propped up on her elbows and their lips met. They found there rhythm, their bodies moving in perfect unison. It made Addison smile, how easy this came for them, like they had been doing it for years and not just their second time.

Her hands found Bethany’s, their fingers interlocking. She looked deep into her friend’s eyes, saw something that made her already racing heart kick into overdrive. There was desire there, a need as great as Addison’s but that wasn’t what had her so excited. Behind that lust was an affection, something deeper than just the love of friendship. Then Bethany’s face screwed up in pleasure, her eyes closing, and the look was gone.

She had caught just a glimpse but she was almost certain she hadn’t misread the look in her eyes. Had the scene earlier been more than just pretend? Had Bethany meant those things she had said while holding her hand and looking deep into her eyes? Or, was she just seeing what she wanted to see, misreading Bethany’s excitement for something more.

She was distracted from her thoughts when Bethany suddenly rolled them. Giggling, she looked up at her friend, her eyes flashing. Bethany grinned at her, leaned in for a kiss as she began rolling her hips back and forth. Addison let her eyes roam over the girl as she straightened up, liked the hypnotic thrust of her hips, the way her small breasts jiggled with every move.

“You are so beautiful,” she said, not really meaning to. It just sort of slipped out before she could bite it back.

Bethany smiled at her, a smile that was hard to read. Addison blushed, looked away. Her friend put a hand on her cheek, turned her to face her. Leaning down, she gave Addison a lingering kiss, one that made her toes curl in on themselves. When Bethany finally broke it, she was smiling. Addison couldn’t breath.

She wished her friend would say something, affirm or deny her feelings for her. That smile was a tease, confused her poor heart. It didn’t know whether to race or to stop beating.

Closing her eyes, she decided to just enjoy the feel of Bethany’s body against hers, to bask in the lovely sensations washing through her young body. The sexy roll of Bethany’s hips had her moaning and gyrating her own. The girl’s hands roamed over her, her touch leaving her skin tingling in its wake. The girl’s little wordless cries of pleasure mingled with her own, became one.

Too excited to last long, she knew she was going to come, already felt the tension enter her body. Opening her eyes, she saw Bethany’s face pinched in a rictus of ecstasy, her back arched as she continued to grind against Addison. Feeling Addison’s eyes on her, she looked down at her, saw the urgency in her eyes and nodded. She took Addison’s hands, her fingers interlaced with hers. Her grip tightened as they both were pushed closer and closer to the edge.

Addison cried out as she came, her body stiffening, then thrashing as her orgasm had its way with it. A heartbeat after her, Bethany climaxed atop her, her lithe body trying to shake itself apart. Brushing her hair from her face, she smiled down at Addison, still straddling one of her hips.

Finally, she got off of Addison, stretched out beside her. She pressed against her, their bodies molded together.

“We should get dressed,” she said, not making any move to do so.

“In a minute,” Addison said, pulling her even closer.

“I’m going to miss this,” Bethany said, sighing.

“Maybe you can get a girlfriend and we can double date,” Addison said, half as a joke and half as a test.

“A girlfriend, huh,” her friend said, laughing, “maybe I will.”

“Really?”

“No, not really,” Bethany said, smiling at her, “this was fun, exciting. I like sleeping with you. You, you understand. I’m not going to find some girl to replace you.”

“Oh.”

 —————————————————

 Sitting on the ugly bench, her weight shifted to one side to compensate for the sloping seat, Addison blotted her hands on her new dress. It wasn’t the first time. Her stomach was fluttering and her heart racing.

She glanced at her phone, again, saw only two minutes had passed since the last time she had checked. It was still fifteen minutes until six, the time her admirer was supposed to be here for her big reveal. An eternity, with time passing this slow.

She wondered which one of her friends it would be. All of the girls on her list were cute, any one of them very desirable. She should be excited about the prospect of having one of them as a girlfriend. The thought of making out with one them did kick her heart rate up a little, but not nearly as much as it should.

The whole secret admirer thing had lost some of its appeal after all that has happened between her and Bethany. She hadn’t seen the girl outside of school all week and she shook her head about how much she missed her. The girl had gotten to her bad.

Sighing, she tried to push Bethany out of her head. The girl wasn’t interested in being her girlfriend, but someone else was. She straightened her spine, smoothed her dress into place.

She groaned when she looked at her phone and saw only three minutes had passed. Her nerves couldn’t handle this much longer; the anticipation was killing her.

A group of girls walked by the bench, laughing and talking animatedly. One of the girls looked a lot like Bethany, drew Addison’s eye. She wasn’t as pretty as Bethany but the similarity between them made her think about her friend.

“Why can’t I stop thinking about Bethany,” she muttered to herself, shaking her head.

Because I love her, she thought, sighing.

“I love Bethany,” she said, out loud, words never ringing so true in her ears, “Oh, God. I can’t do this!”

She was on her feet and walking away from the ugly bench before she really thought it through. She didn’t stop walking, even as the guilt set in.

She was standing up one of her friends.

Coming to a stop, she looked back at the bench. She knew she should go back, wait for her friend so she could tell her why she had changed her mind. Namely, that another girl already had her heart. The thought of seeing the look on her face made tears sting her eyes and she couldn’t deal with that right now. She turned around, started walking.

Whatever bridge she was burning, she’d find a way to mend it. She hoped.

“Please understand,” she said, out loud. The tears that had stung her eyes, now spilled down her cheeks.

She had to get out of the mall before anyone she knew saw her crying like this. No girl her age wanted to be a spectacle, which is what she felt like, walking through the crowds with her cheeks glistening and her eyes puffy and red.

Outside, she paused to get herself under control, to wipe her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she started walking, no destination in mind. As she walked, her thoughts turned to Bethany, about the conversation she was going to have to have with the girl. She couldn’t go on pretending things hadn’t changed between her and her friend.

Her meanderings led her to the park and she blinked in surprise. She hadn’t meant to come here but she went inside, made her way to the gazebo Bethany said she’d bring her to if she were to woo her. Sitting on the slotted wooden bench under the vaulted ceiling, she felt like crying, again.

She wished Bethany was here.

Pulling out her phone, she tried to summon the courage to call the girl. Eventually, she put the phone away. It wasn’t something to be done over the phone, anyway. She needed to be looking in the girl’s eyes when she possibly destroyed their friendship.

“This is so messed up,” she said, laughing bitterly and shaking her head.

She put her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. She wished her admirer had never left a note and the rose in her locker. She could see her world imploding around her- she had probably already alienated one friend and was contemplating telling Bethany how she felt, which might alienate her, as well- and it had all started with that note and flower.

“Addison?”

Gasping, she looked up and saw Bethany looking at her, concerned.

“What-what are you doing here,” she said, straightening up.

“You weren’t at the mall, so I thought…” her friend said, coming inside the gazebo.

“You were at the mall,” Addison asked, then shook her head and gave her a sad smile, “curious about who my admirer was?”

“What happened,” Bethany asked, sitting down beside her and putting her arm around her shoulders.

Putting her head on her shoulder, Addison felt fresh tears stream down her cheeks, said, “I couldn’t do it.”

“You couldn’t?”

“No,” she said, drawing in a deep breath, which she let out as shuddering sigh, “it didn’t seem fair. I want to be with someone else.”

“Oh,” Bethany said.

“I love you, Bethany. Not as a friend. I didn’t want to, but I can’t help it,” she said, meeting the girl’s eyes. She held her breath, waited for the death of their friendship.

Bethany suddenly grinned, said, “I guess I won’t need this, after all.”

Addison watched as she pulled up the sleeve of her jacket, revealing a single red rose. She gasped, shook her head as she looked into Bethany’s eyes. Her friend smiled and nodded.

“What? You,” Addison said, dumbfounded, “you’re my admirer?”

“Always have been,” Bethany said, giving her the rose.

“But why all the secrecy,” she said, looking down at the rose in her hand.

“The first note,” she said, laughing, “I had to be sure.”

“And the rest,” Addison said, meeting her eyes.

“On the bus,” her friend said, smiling, “when I gave you the second note and you were disappointed by the lackluster effort, I realized you were a romantic at heart. I don’t know, I just wanted you to have your little fantasy.”

“Gee, thanks,” Addison said, laughing sarcastically and shaking her head, “I’ve been sitting here thinking I had hurt one of my friends and might lose you, too.”

“I hadn’t anticipated you not staying at the mall,” she said, her eyes saying more than her words ever could, “I’m sorry it turned out this way. Not the romantic idea I had in mind.”

Looking down at the rose, she said, “I wanted it to be you. So bad.”

“Addison,” Bethany said, taking her hands. She met her friends eyes and she smiled, said, “I think you are beautiful, smart, and funny. It would make me the happiest girl alive if you’d be my girlfriend.”

“Oh, God,” she laughed, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks, only these were happy ones. She hugged the girl tightly, said, “Yeah, I’m wooed.”

“I love you, too, Addison,” Bethany said, pulling back so she could see the truth of it in her eyes.

Wiping her eyes, Addison said, “I can’t believe you Tom Hanks’d me.”

“Tom Hanks’d you?”

“What was that movie,” she said, laughing, “with Meg Ryan? She owns a book store?”

“You’ve Got Mail,” Bethany said, then started laughing, too, “Oh. Yeah, I guess I did kind of Tom Hanks you a little.”

“How did you pull this off,” she said, shaking her head, “I was with you when the first email came in and you were at your aunts when we were chatting online. She doesn’t have a computer.”

“I sent the email when I went upstairs for drinks, used the dummy email I had set up,” Bethany said, grinning, “and I used my dad’s I-pad to chat with you at my aunt’s house. Smoke and mirrors.”

“You went to a lot of trouble to trick me,” Addison said, giving her a look.

“Your reaction was worth it,” Bethany said, winking.

“Uh huh,” she said, then had to smile, “It is the craziest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

“So we are cool,” her friend asked.

“More than cool,” she said, grinning at her.

Bethany and Addison’s story continues in The Dance

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