Black Lingerie Chronicles, Part Ten

“That can’t be right.”

Erin looked at Ashley, raising her eyebrows questioningly. Ashley was propped up on her elbow, looking past Erin at something. Following her gaze, Erin saw what had caught the girl’s attention. It was her alarm clock. Or, more accurately, the time. The green numerals read nine-eighteen in the morning, which couldn’t be right. She hadn’t looked at the clock beforehand, but she was pretty certain that was around the time they had flipped over to the Place of Locked Doors. She thought maybe her clock was broken, stuck at that time. Then it changed.

She glanced at Ashley, saw the same dumbfounded look on her face. Frowning, she figured they had spent three, maybe four hours over on the other side. It should be noon or later but only thirty minutes had passed since the last time she checked the alarm clock, and she figured at least ten or fifteen minutes of that could be accounted for while they were trying to figure out how to flip over to the Place of Locked Doors while still awake.

Ashley crawled over her and grabbed her phone. She frowned when she saw the time on the display, held it out for Erin to see.

“What the hell?” Ashley said, shaking her head.

“We were over there for hours,” Erin said, sitting up.

“What are you two talking about?” Mindy asked. She was the furthest from the clock and couldn’t see it through Erin. She blinked dumbly at the display when Erin picked it up and showed her. Her brilliant blue eyes locked on Erin’s and she said, “Well, that’s new.”

“Do you think it is always like this? Hours over there only take minutes over here?” Ashley asked, sitting on the bed with her phone still in her hand.

Scratching her head, Erin laughed, “I don’t know. This is a new one on me.”

“How would that work?” Mindy asked, frowning, “It’d be like weeks passed for Natty if minutes equaled hours over there. We wouldn’t be able to talk on the phone with her.”

“What do you mean?” Erin asked.

“Think about it,” the brunette said, looking at her, “if say fifteen minutes equals four hours, could you imagine that conversation. It’d be like a word ever five minutes. I know my math isn’t right, but you get what I’m saying.”

“Yeah,” Ashley said, nodding.

“I’m sure Natty would have mentioned it if that were the case,” Mindy said, laughing.

Erin looked at the alarm clock for a long moment and finally just shook her head, said, “It’s too early for this. I need a shower and some breakfast before I can deal with the Place of Locked Doors’ strangeness.”

She got out of bed and went to her dresser for some clean underwear, then snagged her robe.

“Want some company?” Mindy asked, grinning at her.

Coming back to the bed, Erin gave the girl a quick kiss and said, “You know if we wouldn’t get in trouble, I’d take you up on that in a heartbeat.”

“I know,” Mindy said, still grinning at her, “it’s just fun to fool around in the shower.”

“Yeah, I know,” Erin said, shaking her head as she turned from the bed and left the room. All she could think about as she headed to the bathroom was Mindy all naked and soapy in the shower with her. At least it was a nice distraction from the time elapse difference conundrum.

In the bathroom, she got the water started, then slipped out of her clothes. The hot spray of the shower was lovely, both relaxing and invigorating. As she soaped up, she found herself thinking about the Place of Locked Doors. One thing Natty had said got stuck in her head, and she couldn’t get it out. She had asked Natty if she was dreaming and the girl had said yes and no.

Erin knew a good bit about dreams. While she was researching the Place of Locked Doors, one of the things she had read up on was dreaming. She had learned that dreams only lasted five to thirty minutes, even if it felt like hours for the dreamer.

Frowning, she thought about the hours they had spent with Natty and the fifteen or so minutes that had passed over here. Her soapy hands stopped moving as she wondered if the Place of Locked Doors really was just a dream. Or something like it.

But how can we email Natty or talk with her on the phone, Erin wondered, her hands starting to move, again. The dream idea made sense expect for the real-time interaction with the girl via the internet.

As she finished her shower, she kept mulling over the dream idea. By the time she turned the water off and reached for a towel, she knew they needed more information. She had an idea for a test, of sorts. Nothing too high tech but at least it would confirm something for them.

Wrapped in her robe, she headed back to her bedroom. Opening the door, she half expected to find the girl making out. She grinned because it was a real possibility with those two. When she pushed into the room, she saw it wasn’t the case, though. Ashley was sitting on the bed, with her back against the headboard and her knees drawn up. The Chronicle was on her knees, and she was busily writing. Erin assumed she was recording what had happened earlier. Mindy was at the computer and Erin saw she was Googling something.

“What are you researching?” Erin asked, going to her closet for something to wear.

“Dreams,” the brunette said, glancing away from the computer.

Leaving the closet, Erin took a peek at what Mindy was looking at, and she grinned, “You are thinking the same thing I am.”

“That the Place of Locked Doors is like a dream?” Mindy asked, turning her eyes back to the screen.

“Yes and no,” Erin said, grinning, “Natty said that to me when I first met her and asked if I was dreaming. I think she was more right than she realized.”

“The phone calls,” Mindy simply said, smiling when she saw Erin nodding.

“That’s the problem with the theory,” Erin said, going back to her closet for something to wear. Dropping her robe, she slipped into a t-shirt and went to her dresser for a pair of jeans. Dressed, she turned back to Mindy, said, “I have an idea, a test.”

“You want one of us to flip over and stay for an hour or two, to make sure this morning wasn’t just an anomaly,” Mindy said, grinning when she saw Erin’s eyes widened, “I had the same idea.”

“Great minds, I guess,” Erin said, laughing.

“Do you want to go or should I?” Mindy asked, swiveling the office chair, so she was facing Erin.

“I’ll go,” Erin said, heading toward the bed, “there are a few other things I want to try while I’m over there.”

“Like a phone call?” Mindy asked.

“Now, that’s just scary,” Erin laughed, stretching out on her bed, “stay by the computer and the phone.”

Laying on her back, Erin closed her eyes and pictured her string, her visual prompt for flipping over. She knew Mindy and Ashley had their own method, but this one worked for her. Relaxing her mind, she imagined the string stretching from here to the Place of Locked Doors. She let her mind wonder, let it follow the string.

When she opened her eyes, she was in Natty’s old room. Doing this while awake was still new enough to make her a little jittery with excitement. On legs that were a little rubbery, Erin headed downstairs to look for Natty. She found the girl sitting on the couch, with the laptop open on the coffee table in front of her.

Erin started toward her, grinning, but hesitated when she heard a voice coming from the computer she didn’t recognize. Smiling, Erin realized Natty was Skyping with someone. Probably Caroline, her internet friend.

Natty must have sensed Erin because she glanced toward the stairs and saw her. Grinning, Natty turned back to the computer and said, “Um, my friend Erin just showed up.”

“Do you want me to go?” The voice on the computer asked.

“No,” Natty said, waving Erin over.

Erin sat down on the couch next to Natty, looking at the laptop. She recognized the girl from Natty’s Facebook page, and she smiled at Caroline. The girl grinned back, flashing her braces.

“Erin,” Natty said, pointing at the laptop, “this is Caroline. Caroline, my friend Erin.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Erin said.

“You, too,” Caroline said, laughing, “I’ve, um… Heard a lot about you.”

Erin frowned, then glanced at Natty. She saw the girl deliberately not looking at her and started laughing. The girl must have told Caroline about some of the crazy times they had had here in the Place of Locked Doors. Turning back to the computer, she said, “Not too much, I hope.”

“Probably more than I should have,” Caroline said, blushing.

Laughing, Erin said, “Well, I’ve heard a lot about you, too. Don’t worry, though. Nothing too embarrassing.”

Erin noticed the clock in the bottom right-hand corner, making a note of the time. She intended to stay for two hours, then flip back over. As she watched, the time changed, answering one of her questions. Time did pass normally over here, a minute taking sixty seconds.

“You’ve got company; I’ll let you go,” Caroline said.

“You don’t have to go on my account. I sort of showed up unannounced, so finish your conversation,” Erin said, picking up the phone. She waggled it so Natty could see and the girl nodded.

Natty gave her a curious look, and Erin winked at her as she got off the couch. Phone in hand, she headed into the room that would eventually be her father’s study. Pulling the bookcase open, Erin headed down to the secret apartment downstairs. She shivered, thinking about how creepy this place was in her time. She was glad to see it looked normal, again.

Well, maybe normal wasn’t the word, Erin thought, looking around at all the photography equipment, less dusty and possibly haunted might be better.

Sitting on the bed where they had made their YMCA video, Erin called Mindy. The phone rang twice, then the girl came on the line.

“Hey,” Mindy said, excitedly.

“Hey. According to the clock on Natty’s computer, it is nine-forty-two in the morning over here,” Erin said, grinning when she heard the girl gasp.

“That’s what time it is here,” Mindy said.

“I know,” Erin said, figuring it would be.

“But how can that be? We spent like four hours over there earlier. It should be almost two,” Mindy said.

“I don’t know,” Erin said, flopping onto her back and staring at the ceiling, “I thought it might be because the computer is connected to the internet and the clock adjusts automatically, but there is a big grandfather clock in the corner that reads the same time.”

“That’s weird,” Mindy said.

“Very,” Erin said, then laughed, “I walked in on Natty Skyping with Caroline.”

“Really?” Mindy said, her grin clear in her voice, “Wait? Walked in on them? They weren’t…”

“No,” Erin said, laughing harder, “thankfully, no. I left the room to give them some privacy.”

“So what are you doing now?” Mindy asked.

“Just chilling downstairs.”

“Ugh, that place,” Mindy said.

“It’s not so bad when it’s not covered in dust,” Erin said, laughing.

“Do you want to talk to Ashley? I’m going to grab a quick shower,” Mindy asked.

“Um, that’s okay. She looked like she was in writer’s mode,” Erin said, laughing.

“Yeah, she hasn’t looked up from the Chronicle since you left.”

“Yeah, let her write,” Erin said, still laughing, “Bye.”

“Bye.”

She ended the call, tossing the phone on the bed beside her. Staring up at the ceiling, she tried to will time to pass faster. Two hours could seem like an eternity when there was nothing to do to pass the time. Minutes could seem like hours and hours like minutes, depending on the situation, she knew.

Fifteen minutes passed, and she heard someone coming down the stairs. Sitting up, she saw Natty appear, and she waved at the girl. Natty grinned at her and came over to where she sat, joined her on the bed.

“Hey,” Natty said.

“You didn’t have to cut your call short,” Erin said.

“Oh, she just wanted to tell me about Riley’s little birthday party,” Natty said, grinning, “sounds like they had a lot of fun.”

Frowning, Erin asked, “Whose Riley?”

“Caroline’s girlfriend,” the girl said.

“Wait, your internet squeeze has a girlfriend?” Erin asked, laughing, “Does Riley know about you?”

Natty grinned at her and said, “Yeah, she does. Besides, Caroline and I are just friends, now.”

“No more cyber nasty?” Erin asked, amused.

“Um, no?” Natty said, raising her eyebrows, “Cyber nasty?”

“You know, your naughty Skype sessions?” Erin laughed.

“Oh,” Natty said, grinning, “No, no more of those. Although, there is this new girl I’ve been talking to… Allie’s her name.”

“Jesus, Natty,” Erin said, shaking her head.

“Hey, it gets lonely here,” Natty said, laughing.

Erin put her arm around the girl’s shoulder, said, “You know you can call me or Ashley or Mindy anytime you want, right?”

“I know, it’s just… You all have your own lives, and I already had mine. It feels like I’m intruding,” Natty said.

“Hey, you aren’t intruding. Or if you are, intrude away,” Erin said, laughing.

“Okay,” Natty said, smiling at her.

“We can even do some naughty Skyping if you want,” Erin said, grinning at her.

“I’d like that,” Natty said, tears shimmering in her eyes.

“Actually, we might be able to do one better,” Erin said.

“What do you mean?” Natty asked, raising her eyebrows.

“We spent what, four hours here earlier, right?” Erin asked, even though she already knew the answer.

“Something like that,” Natty said, frowning, “why?”

“When we flipped back over,” Erin said, grinning at her, “only fifteen minutes or so had passed.”

Blinking in surprise, Natty asked, “Really?”

“Yeah,” Erin said, grinning at her, “then when I flipped over this time, I looked at your clock and saw it said it is only nine-fortyish in the morning.”

Natty frowned at her and said, “That can’t be right. It should be after two.”

“Look at the clock,” Erin said, nodding at the big grandfather clock in the corner. Natty followed her gaze and gasped when she saw the little hand pointing at the ten and the big hand pointing somewhere just shy of the four. Her eyes were wide with surprise when she looked back at Erin, and she gave the poor girl a sympathetic smile.

“How can that be?” Natty asked, looking at the clock, again.

“I don’t know,” Erin said, laughing, “but I’m here to test a few things.”

“A few things?” Natty parroted.

“Like if it is just a fluke, for one thing,” Erin said, looking at the clock, “but I don’t think it was. I think I could stay here all day and only a couple minutes will have passed on our side.”

“Really?” Natty asked, staring at the clock. In the quiet of the basement, the ticking of time advancing was clearly audible.

Erin watched the girl struggle with that idea and knew how she felt. While she felt she was right, Erin had no idea how she could be. It didn’t make any sense. An hour was an hour, and it didn’t matter if you were in Tokyo or Tallahassee, it was still sixty minutes. Here, an hour could be a lifetime or hardly any time at all.

Finally, Natty laughed and shook her head, said, “Just when you think this place can’t throw you for a loop…”

Grinning, Erin said, “I’m sure this place has a few more loops left in it.”

“Yeah, you are probably right,” Natty said, laughing. She looked at the clock for a long moment, then frowned and glanced at Erin, asked, “You said we could do one better. What did you mean?”

“If only fifteen-twenty minutes passes when I visit,” Erin said, giving the girl a squeeze, “there is no reason not to, nor any reason to rush off, either. In theory, I could stay a couple of days and only take a power nap in the real world.”

Natty gaped at her, and Erin winked at her. As the idea sank in, Natty started grinning, and Erin had to laugh.

“Keep in mind,” Erin said, still laughing, “this is only a theory. Untested.”

“We could have a sleepover,” Natty said, excitedly.

“We could have a week of sleepovers in one night,” Erin said, her mind reeling at all the possibilities.

“I hope your theory is right,” Natty said.

“Me, too,” Erin said, honestly.

———————————–

“Twelve minutes.”

Erin glanced at the clock and saw the girl was right; she had been gone for only twelve minutes, even though she had spent more than two hours on the other side. It didn’t make any sense, but she couldn’t argue with her own eyes. All she could do was shake her head and laugh.

“I stayed for two hours,” Erin said, grinning at Mindy, “timed it using Natty’s computer.”

“I believe you,” Mindy said, excitedly.

Erin started to say something else when her phone started ringing. Picking it up, she saw Natty’s name on the display. Thinking the girl was curious about the outcome of the test, Erin grinned and answered the phone, “Hey, beautiful. It worked! Only twelve minutes passed over here.”

“That’s cool,” Natty said, sounding distracted.

“What’s up?” Erin asked.

“What time is it over there?” Natty asked, her voice funny.

“Um, it is ten o’clock,” Erin said, glancing at the alarm clock, “why?”

“I was looking at the little clock on the screen, and I must have blinked… I swear it read eleven-forty when you left, but it says ten o’clock right now.”

Laughing, Erin said, “You aren’t crazy. It was eleven-forty when I left. I remember looking at the clock before flipping over.”

“So time just… rewound itself?” Natty asked, sounding like she was scratching her head.

“I guess so,” Erin said, feeling bad for the girl.

“But why can I still remember everything?” Natty asked.

Erin said, “Sweetie, I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe time reset, but you didn’t.”

“This place makes my head hurt,” Natty said, groaning.

“It’s probably best to just go with it, rather than try to figure it out,” Erin said, laughing.

“That’s easy for you to say,” Natty said, snorting, “your day hasn’t sprouted an extra six hours, give or take a few minutes.”

Erin had to laugh at that line. It got her thinking, though. In a way, her day HAD gained six hours, because of the time she had spent in the Place of Locked Doors. It should be almost five in the afternoon, not ten in the morning. Suddenly, she knew what Natty was talking about, the Place of Locked Doors making her head hurt, too. She felt like she had time traveled and had time lag or something along those lines.

“Good news is, the theory has been confirmed,” Erin said, reminding the girl about the test she had just done.

“Oh, hey,” Natty said, laughing, “that’s right.”

“Maybe we’ll come visit you when we have fifteen minutes to spare,” Erin said.

“Looking forward to it,” Natty said, laughing, “well, I’ll let you go.”

“Okay,” Erin said, then, “don’t forget what we talked about.”

“I won’t. Love you guys,” Natty said.

“Love you, too,” Erin said, ending the call.

“What was that all about?” Mindy asked.

Erin saw both girls looking at her expectantly, so she told them about her trip to the other side. She wrapped it up with the phone call she just received.

Ashley gave her a dubious look, asked, “Time just reset itself?”

“Um, sure,” Erin said, laughing and shrugging.

“And Natty remembers everything?” Mindy asked.

“Hey, it’s weird to me, too,” Erin said, shaking her head, “I just had a front row seat.”

“Maybe…” Mindy said, rubbing the back of her neck nervously, “maybe time stops when we flip over.”

“But time didn’t stop. I watched the time change on Natty’s computer,” Erin said.

Ashley looked at the notebook next to her, her eyebrows knitting together in thought. Erin saw it and looked at the girl expectantly. Picking up the notebook, Ashley drew a line with two dots, one at each end. She labeled these, ‘A’ and ‘B’. She held up the notebook so Erin and Ashley could see and said, “I think time flows like this, from A to B. Here and over there, but when we flip over…”

Erin watched as Ashley drew a new dot, in the middle of the line. She drew a diagonal line down from the dot and started a new horizontal line running parallel to the original. Ashley looked from Erin to Mindy, then said, “I think when we flip over, we create another anchor point, one time can deviate from. This new path continues until we flip back over here…”

Ashley drew another line back from the end of the second horizontal one, returning to the original anchor point. Pointing at it, she said, “The timeline returns to its original course.”

“So, what… When we flip over, we form a… teeter-totter in time?” Erin asked, frowning at Ashley’s diagram.

“I know my drawing is horrible,” Ashley said, giving her a dirty look, “It’s not a teeter-totter, but a temporary new timeline, one that lasts until we return here and stop messing with natural- or supernatural- order of things over there.”

“Huh,” Erin said, nodding.

“But why can Natty remember what happened?” Mindy asked, looking at the diagram

“Because time doesn’t rewind itself, it just returns to where it deviated and continues on its merry way,”

“Oh,” Mindy said, tilting her head to one side as she looked at the drawing again. Finally, she nodded and said, “I don’t know if you are right, but it sounds good.”

“Yeah,” Erin agreed, grinning at Ashley, “it’s as good a theory as any. I don’t think there is any way we could test it, though.”

“Let me think about it,” Ashley said, setting the notebook aside, “maybe I’ll think of something.”

————————————-

“This a lot harder to do on another person,” Erin said, taking one of the make removal clothes and wiping Ashley’s eyelid.  It wasn’t the first one she had used.

They had decided if they were going to an eighth grader’s party, they were getting dressed to the nines. This meant Erin was trying to do her friends’ makeup, something she had never done before. She was getting pretty good at doing her own, but this was a whole other set of skills.

Ashley and Mindy had taken turns on Erin’s computer looking up makeup styles suited to their faces. Ashley had fallen in love with a picture of Emma Stone from the movie ‘Easy A’, wanted her hair and makeup done like hers. Ashley looked enough like the actress that Erin thought she could probably pull off the look. Thanks to the internet, they had video tutorials on how to do both. The hair had turned out to be relatively easy, but the makeup was giving Erin fits.

Taking a deep breath, she picked up the eyeliner brush to try again. She hit ‘play’ on the tutorial video she had found, then tried to mimic what the host was doing. She had better luck with it, this time, picking something up from the video she had missed the first time. Working patiently, she saw the makeup start to come together. She grinned at Ashley when she had one of her eyes done, then started the other. It was a little easier on the second eye.

Ashley wanted to look, but Erin made her wait until she had completely finished. The girl sighed heavily but let Erin put some red lipstick on her lips before going to Erin’s mirror. Her eyes widened when she saw what Erin had done to her, laughing.

“I hardly look like me,” Ashley said, turning her face this way and that.

“You look amazing,” Mindy said, from her post on the bed.

Grinning over her shoulder at the girl, Ashley said, “I do, don’t I?”

“Yeah, yeah. You are beautiful,” Erin said, laughing.

Ashley took one more look at her reflection, then came over to where Erin stood. She gave Erin a hug and a huge grin. Hugging her back, Erin had to smile.

“Next victim,” Erin said, patting the chair.

Mindy sat in the chair, gave Erin a nervous smile, said, “You’ve got your work cut out for you.”

“You look beautiful without makeup,” Erin said, smiling at the girl. She turned the girl so she could look at her and Mindy couldn’t see what Erin was doing to her.

She closed the link to the modest makeup Mindy had chosen, searched for ‘blue eyed, dark haired actresses’. She hadn’t been kidding when she said Mindy looked beautiful without makeup, but she would look gorgeous with just the right look.

“What are you doing back there?” Mindy asked, starting to turn around.

“No peeking,” Erin said, then to Ashley, “make sure she doesn’t look.”

Ashley saw what she was searching and grinned, “Third picture from the right, second row.”

Erin had to agree. She wasn’t used to seeing the actress with dark hair, but she looked so much like Mindy that they could be sisters. Her hairstyle and makeup were a lot more vivacious than what Mindy had wanted, but Erin had to do it.

Mindy is going to shit when she sees this, Erin thought, googling the actress’s hairstyle and makeup. She had a lot of videos to choose from but found the one she wanted.

“What’s taking so long?” Mindy asked, getting nervous because of the delay.

“We might have changed a few things,” Erin said, trying to not to laugh excitedly.

“What do you mean changed a few things?” Mindy said, starting to turn around.

Ashley grabbed her face by the cheeks so she couldn’t turn around, “Trust us. You are going to look amazing.”

“What was wrong with what I picked?” Mindy asked, frowning.

“It was… Sunday church chic,” Ashley said, glancing at the computer screen, “this is more… Everybody stop and stare chic.”

Laughing, Mindy asked, “Can I at least look first?”

“No,” Erin said, grinning at her, “you might not let me do it.”

“Why? Who is it?” Mindy asked, looking from Erin to Ashley, concern in her eyes.

“You’ll see,” Ashley said, winking at her.

“Oh God,” Mindy said, rolling her eyes, “fine.”

Excited, Erin reached for her curling iron. Mindy saw it and started to balk, but took a deep breath and nodded. She sat stiffly as Erin put some curls in her silky black hair, looking so ill at ease that Erin felt sorry for her. Mindy had made it clear she didn’t want her hair curled, liked it straight. Still, she let Erin do what she wanted, put her trust in Erin.

With her hair finished, Erin moved to her makeup. She was putting eyeliner on Mindy’s eyelids when there was a knock at the door. The girls froze as the door opened and Erin’s mother poked her head in the room. The woman was about to say something but stopped as she looked around the room. Her eyes went from Ashley’s made up face and styled hair to Mindy in the office chair and finally to her daughter with her makeup kit in her shaking hands.

“We are doing makeovers,” Ashley said, in a rush of words.

Erin could kiss her. The redhead might have saved their butts with her quick thinking.

“I can see that,” Erin’s mother said, grinning at them, “why don’t you come down for a picture when you are done.”

“Um, okay,” Erin said and hoped her mother wouldn’t notice her voice was a little shaky.

“Your dad and I were going to rent a movie and wanted to know if you girls wanted to watch,” she said, then waved her hand dismissively, “but it looks like you are busy.”

“Yeah,” Ashley said, grinning.

“Mindy, honey,” Erin’s mother said, tilting her head to one side, “you almost look like-”

“Don’t tell her,” Erin said before her mother could ruin the surprise, “she doesn’t know.”

Laughing, the woman said, “Okay. But she really does.”

“I know,” Ashley said, laughing.

“Come on,” Mindy said, exasperated.

“Sorry,” Erin’s mom said, ducking out of the room.

“Can’t you just tell me who it is?” Mindy asked, looking from Ashley to Erin.

“No,” Erin said, laughing when Mindy rolled her eyes, “you’ll see soon enough.”

The makeup took a while, and she felt Mindy growing anxious. When she was finally done, Erin let the girl off the hook. Mindy looked nervous as she got up and went to Erin’s mirror. She gaped at her reflection, her hand coming up to her mouth in shock.

“Holy shit,” Mindy said, laughing, “I look like… Lindsay Lohan?”

“I know, right!” Ashley said, going to the girl’s side, “It is almost freaky how much you look like her.”

Erin joined them and smiled at Mindy, asked, “Be honest… Would you have let me do it if I said I wanted to make you look like Lindsay Lohan?”

“No,” Mindy said, laughing.

“But you look amazing,” Erin said.

“I-I don’t know what to say,” Mindy said, flabbergasted.

“You do like it, right?” Erin asked, frowning. She realized the girl hadn’t said if she did or not.

“You did an incredible job,” Mindy said, smiling at her, “it’s just I’ve always had a huge crush on Lindsay, and now I look like her, and that is weird, right?.”

“You aren’t going to start touching yourself, are you?” Ashley asked, grinning at her.

“I might,” Mindy said, laughing.

“This is a good look for you,” Erin said, grinning at her, “definitely not Sunday morning church chic.”

“Thanks for not letting me go small,” the brunette said, hugging Erin.

“You are welcome,” Erin said, then, “I guess that just leaves me.”

————————————

The girls stood shivering on the front porch as Erin quietly closed the door behind them. The temperature had plummeted with the setting sun, and none of them had thought to wear a jacket. Cold as they were, they didn’t want to brave the stairs, again. It had been nerve-wreaking enough the first time. Besides, Carrie’s house was just up the street, and they wouldn’t be outside long. In an unspoken agreement, they decided just to head to Carrie’s.

Erin looked at her best friends, thought they both looked beautiful. Erin’s mother had taken a couple dozen pictures of them before finally letting them go back upstairs. She wouldn’t stop fussing over how different they looked. Mature. Then she made Ashley and Mindy promise to wash it off before they went home. She didn’t want to have a conversation with their parents about why she had let their daughters war makeup without their permission.

They had turned out the lights about ten, pretending to be going to bed. In reality, they had been sitting up in the dark to keep from messing up their hair and whispering excitedly about the party. Her parents had finally turned in about eleven. Erin had listened at their door, could hear the dueling snores coming from their room.

They had risked Erin’s bedside lamp so that they could get dressed. Ashley wore Erin’s light blue dress, the one she loved to borrow. Mindy had brought a cute little black dress and borrowed on of Erin’s ribbon choker necklaces to finish it off. Erin decided to wear her favorite dress, pale yellow and seemed to have been designed with her in mind.

Their shoes in hand, they had taken the stairs one at a time, repeating the Squeaky Stair Mantra in their heads. That was what Ashley had called it, the little sing-songy rhyme Erin had come up with to remember which stairs, well… Squeaked. Goofy or not, it helped all three of them make it down the stairs without making a sound.

Erin had killed the alarm, and they had made it outside. They had looked at each other, grinning and heaving a sigh of relief.

Now, they hurried up the street to Carrie’s. Filing onto the porch, Erin rang the doorbell. She could hear music playing inside, but not loud enough to draw attention. A minute passed, then the door was answered by Trish.

“Oh hey you made-” she said, then her eyes got big, “Wow! Look at you three! Hey Carrie, come here.”

“Is it alright if we come in,” Ashley said, rubbing her arms, “it is freezing out here.”

“Of course. Sorry,” Trish said, stepping aside to let them in.

Trish was just closing the door behind them when Carrie came up. Erin laughed at the shocked look on her face. Carrie recovered some and smiled brightly at them.

“You all look beautiful,” Carrie said, hugging them in turn. When she came to Mindy, she said, “Has anyone ever told you that you look like Lindsay Lohan?”

“Thank you,” Trish said, grinning at Carrie, “I knew she looked like someone, but I couldn’t think of who!”

“Oh God,” Mindy said, laughing.

“Hey, before she fell apart, Lindsay was stunning,” Carrie said, giving Mindy a playful smile, “and so are you.”

“Um, thanks,” Mindy said, blushing.

“Come on,” Carrie said, nodding over her shoulder, “the party is in the living room.”

Erin was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of people she knew from the neighborhood. Some of them recognized her, too, smiling and waving. She even spotted a few other seventh graders in the mix. She felt a lot of her anxiety drain away and thought they might not stand out like a sore thumb after all.

One girl, in particular, caught her attention, and she grinned. Nudging Ashley, she nodded at the girl. Ashley followed her eyes, then did a double take as she finally recognized her. The redhead looked at Erin, her eyes wide in surprise. Erin grinned at her and nodded. She knew what Ashley was thinking because it was the same thing she was thinking, that they weren’t used to seeing the girl in a dress, let alone with her hair up.

She must have felt their eyes on her because she turned to look at them. Her eyes widened at the sight of them. Dismissing herself from the little group of people she had been standing in, she came over to them, grinning brightly.

“Wow, look at you three,” she said.

“Us? Look at you! I didn’t even know you had knees,” Ashley said, hugging the girl.

“You look… Weird,” Mindy said, then laughed when the girl gave her a look, “I meant in a good way. I’ve never seen you in anything but jeans and a t-shirt. You look very beautiful, Sarah.”

Sarah gave Mindy a shy smile and said, “Thanks, but you look amazing.”

“Wait,” Erin said, looking from girl to girl, “You two know each other?”

“We went to school together,” Mindy said, then added, “before I transferred to Grimm’s.”

“Yeah,” Sarah said, shaking her head, “she left me there with those heathens.”

“It’s crazy that you two know each other,” Ashley said, grinning, “Sarah, Erin and I have been playing together about as long as we’ve been out of diapers.”

“Pretty much,” Sarah said, smiling, “since we were what, three?”

“But we haven’t seen you in a while,” Erin said, giving her a look, “you don’t call. You don’t write. I’m beginning to feel you don’t love us anymore.”

Grinning sheepishly, Sarah said, “Um… It’s been a weird couple of months.”

“Weird?” Ashley asked.

“It’s nothing,” the girl said, waving her hand dismissively.

Erin saw that it wasn’t nothing, that something was bothering Sarah, but she apparently didn’t want to talk about it. Concerned, Erin thought about pushing the girl to open up, but she didn’t. Instead, she said, “You know Ashley and I are pretty good listeners, if you ever need to talk. Mindy, too.”

Sarah glanced at Mindy and looked like she was about to say something, then changed her mind. She nodded, instead and gave them a warm smile.

“If nothing else, come over so I can kick your ass at Mario Kart,” Ashley said.

Laughing, Sarah asked, “When have you ever beaten me at Mario Kart?”

“Well, I’ve been practicing,” Ashley said, grinning, “and I demand a rematch.”

“Okay, okay,” Sarah said, still laughing.

Erin looked Sarah up and down, shaking her head, “You know, I didn’t even know you owned a dress.”

Sarah was a tomboy, more comfortable in jeans than a skirt. She usually wore her long brown hair pulled into a ponytail. Seeing her now in a dress, her hair pulled up in a twist and a dainty necklace around her neck, Erin hardly recognized her.

Laughing, Sarah said, “I don’t. Well, not counting the flower girl dress from my aunt’s wedding. I was five, so I doubt it still fits. I had to borrow this from a friend.”

“You should borrow more clothes from your friend,” Ashley said, grinning, “You look stunning.”

“Thanks,” Sarah said, looking uncomfortable with all the attention. She touched her necklace absent-mindedly. It seemed to be a nervous tick.

“You really do,” Mindy said, smiling at the girl.

Sarah looked at Mindy and Erin saw a weird look pass across her face. It was there and gone, but Erin didn’t think she had imagined it. It had disappeared so fast that Erin couldn’t quite read it, but it made her frown.

“I look okay,” Sarah said, looking down at herself then back up at Mindy, “but you… Did anyone ever tell you, you look like Lindsay Lohan?”

Erin and Ashley started laughing as Mindy rolled her eyes. Sarah looked at them for an explanation, and it only made them laugh harder.

“You are like the seventh person to tell me that tonight,” Mindy said, grinning sheepishly, “and I’ve only talked to seven people.”

“Well, there are a lot worse people to look like,” Sarah said, grinning at her.

Carrie and Trish came up to their little group and said, “Erin and Ashley, can you help us with something? We’ll let you have them back in a second, Mindy.”

“Okay,” Mindy said, shrugging.

Erin and Ashley found themselves being led into the kitchen and she finally asked, “What’s up? What do you need our help with?”

“Nothing,” Trish said, grinning.

“Just playing matchmaker,” Carrie said, opening the fridge.

“Matchmaker?” Ashley asked, blinking at her.

“You know about Mindy, right? The rumors about her?” Carrie asked, delicately.

“Yeah,” Erin said, ready to bristle. She didn’t like people talking bad about her friend. Carrie saw it and held up a hand and smiled disarmingly.

“I only bring it up because I’m pretty sure Sarah might have something in common with Mindy,” Carrie said, pulling a bottle of water from the fridge.

“Something in common?” Ashley asked.

“Wait, you think Sarah is… gay?” Erin asked, looking over her shoulder at her two friends.

“She hasn’t come out and admitted it, but I think so, yeah,” Carrie said, leaning against the sink.

“Why do you think that?” Ashley asked, raising her eyebrows questioningly.

Carrie gave her a playful smile and nodded at the girls, said, “See the shy, flirty way Sarah is standing. The way she keeps touching her necklace… She is attracted to Mindy.”

Erin watched the two girls talking for a few seconds, and she saw Carrie was right. More than that, she saw it wasn’t a one-sided attraction. She knew Mindy well enough to know that the girl was interested in Sarah, too. Grinning, she met Ashley’s eyes and saw the redhead had seen it, too.

Turning back to Carrie, Erin said, “Sarah’s been our friend for years, and I’ve never noticed anything.”

“Maybe you weren’t looking,” Carrie said, sipping her water.

“Huh,” Erin said, recognizing the truth of that statement. Sarah hadn’t been to her house much since Erin had met Natty and had her own sexual awakening. Would she have noticed the change in Sarah if she had? She thought so, because the sexy dead girl had opened her eyes to many things.

Carrie’s beautiful eyes found Erin’s and Erin felt like the girl was looking for something. Her heart beat a little faster when she realized the comment had been more than just a simple statement, but a test. The girl wanted to see how Erin would react.

“No, I guess I wasn’t,” Erin said, smiling when she saw Carrie noticed the emphasis she had put on ‘wasn’t’. The girl favored Erin with a smile of her own.

Carrie wasn’t the only one to pick up on it, and Erin felt Trisha looking at her. The girl favored her with a curious look, frowning. Erin’s eyes must have given her away, because a knowing smile spread slowly on her face. Erin looked away, her face hot with embarrassment.

Pushing away from the sink, Carrie moved beside Erin and put an arm around her shoulders. She grinned and said, “Just ignore her.”

Trisha gave Carrie a sour look and said, “Hey.”

Erin noticed how close Carrie was standing, could feel the girl’s body pressed against her flank. The scent of vanilla tickled her nose and Erin realized it was the perfume Carrie was wearing. Erin had the feeling the arm around her shoulder wasn’t as innocent as it seemed. She knew from the overheard conversation in the bathroom at Brim’s that Carrie was thinking about trying to sleep with one of them, and she thought Carrie might be flirting with her.

Her heart beat a little faster in her breast, and she wondered if she would actually sleep with Carrie. She had joked with Ashley and Mindy, saying she would but now that it was a real possibility… The girl was beautiful, sexy but the age gap was a little intimidating. Plus, it would be the first time having sex outside their small circle of friends. She was familiar with Mindy, Ashley and Natty and comfortable with them, but Carrie was a bit of an unknown.

She realized even if she decided she wanted to, she didn’t know how to flirt back. She’s never had to convince anyone they wanted to sleep with her before. Natty had seduced her and Ashley and Mindy just sort of happened.

“You see,” Carrie said, smiling at Erin, “Trisha doesn’t know what she’s missing. If she did, she’d be the one over here with her arm around your shoulders.”

Oh God, she’s definitely flirting, Erin thought, realizing she was going to have to make up her mind quickly. She either needed to slip out from under Carrie’s arm or start flirting back. Or, at least, trying to. She glanced at Ashley, saw the girl grinning at her. Ashley’s emerald eyes shown with mischief, which told Erin what the girl thought she should do.

Summoning her courage, Erin put her arm around Carrie’s waist, smiling back at the girl. She forgot to breathe as the corner’s of Carrie’s mouth turned up even more. Erin knew she had made the right decisions, seeing that smile, and she flushed with excitement.

“Her loss,” Erin said, her voice a little funny.

“Yeah,” Carrie said, grinning.

“Wow,” Trisha said, shaking her head and laughing.

Carrie leaned close and whispered in Erin’s ear, “Would it be too forward to ask if you wanted to go upstairs?”

Taking a deep breath and letting it out as a nervous laugh, Erin said, “A little, yeah.”

“I’m asking, anyway,” Carrie said, her fingers lightly caressing Erin’s shoulder.

Maybe I’m a natural at flirting, Erin thought, amused, either that or Carrie really just wants to get laid.

“Um, okay,” Erin said, shyly.

“Yeah?” Carrie asked, her smile widening.

“Yeah,” Erin said.

“Trisha, can you keep Ashley company for a while?” Carrie asked, steering Erin toward the living room and the stairs leading to the second floor and her bedroom.

“Where are you two going?” Trisha asked.

“We’ll be back,” Carrie said, grinning at Erin.

Erin followed Carrie up the stairs, admiring the tick of her backside. Shaking her head, she could barely believe she was really doing this. She was going to sleep with Carrie.

When the girl opened the door to her bedroom, Erin stepped inside, looking around. Her eyes fell on the bed, and she took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Turning to Carrie, Erin said, “I like your room.”

Smiling, Carrie said, “Thanks. I’m going to put some music on. Why don’t you get comfortable.”

Erin watched the girl go to her stereo, then stepped out of her shoes. Sitting, on the bed, she looked around the room. She hadn’t been lying when she said she liked Carrie’s bedroom. It reminded her a lot of her own room.

When the music started playing, Erin frowned. She recognized the band if she couldn’t think of their name. Stereomud, she thought it was, but she wasn’t sure. Ashley had played it for her a couple of times. Carrie turned around and saw her frowning, asked, “You don’t like this kind of music?”

“Um no, I do,” Erin said, grinning, “I just assumed because of the music playing downstairs…”

“Ah,” Carrie said, coming to the bed, “I had to borrow some of Trisha’s music. If I put Slayer on, I think I might have scared everyone away.”

Laughing, Erin said, “Ashley and Mindy would have loved you for it. Sarah, too.”

“I’ll keep that in mind next time,” Carrie said, smiling at her. She started to lean in for a kiss, then hesitated. Tilting her head to one side, she asked, “There’s nothing between you and Mindy, right? Or Ashley?”

Laughing, Erin asked, “Worrying about an angry girlfriend?”

“Something like that,” Carrie said, grinning.

“You don’t need to worry,” Erin said.

Carrie looked at her for a long moment, then said, “I thought there might be something going on between you and one of them.”

“Um…” Erin said, looking away.

“So there is,” Carrie said, laughing, “which one?”

“Does it matter?” Erin asked.

“Not really,” Carrie said, still looking at her. Suddenly, she laughed, “Wait, you’ve slept with both of them, haven’t you? Like a kinky love triangle?”

Blushing, Erin thought, It’s actually a quadrangle, but I probably shouldn’t tell her that. She already thinks I’m a freak.

“At least that explains the vibe I picked up,” Carrie said, grinning at her, “you all have the ‘I’ve seen you naked’ vibe about you.”

Laughing, Erin said, “Okay.”

“Ashley and Mindy are both very pretty girls,” Carrie said, teasing, “I guess it would be hard to pick just one.”

“It’s just… It’s not a thing, you know what I mean,” Erin said, looking down at her hands as her face became hot. When she looked at Carrie, she saw the girl nodding, something akin to relief on her face. Erin raised her eyebrows questioningly, and Carrie grinned at her.

“I’m not looking for a thing, either,” Carrie said, her hand moving onto Erin’s thigh, “just want to have some fun.”

Erin leaned in and stopped with her lips inches from Carrie’s, letting the girl come to her. That first kiss was a little hesitant, unsure. Erin couldn’t speak for Carrie, but she was nervous. It was weird, but she had slept with three girls, and this still felt new to her. The second kiss was better, and Erin let Carrie draw her in deep. All of her reservations went out the window as she started to respond to the girl. She kissed Carrie back eagerly as her desire welled up inside.

Carrie got to her feet, pulling Erin up, too. Her hands slipped under the hem of Erin’s dress, pulling it up. Erin smiled at her, raising her arms over her head. Carrie gave her a quick kiss, then worked the dress over Erin’s head, tossing it on the bed. She looked Erin up and down, smiling at Erin standing there in just her panties and a bra. That smile made her feel sexy and she shivered as Carrie’s hot gaze ran over her body.

Her heart racing, Erin crawled back on the bed, stretching out on her side so she could watch Carrie undress. The girl saw she had Erin’s attention and smiled at Erin as she slowly ran the zipper down on the side of her dress. Turning her back to the bed, she shimmied out of the dress, giving Erin a peek at her backside in the cute little panties she wore. Turning back around, she tossed it on the bed next to Erin’s. She looked so lovely, tempting standing there. Erin couldn’t stop staring at her long legs, the swell of her hips and her narrow waist, her full breasts, her pert backside.

Desire tinged with a hint of jealousy welled up in Erin, looking at Carrie. She hoped she had a body as amazing as Carrie’s one day. Until then, she was eager to get the girl back in bed so she could find out if Carrie’s body felt as wonderful as it looked.

In just her bra and panties, Carrie joined Erin on the bed, moving against her. As she kissed Erin, Carrie’s hand roamed over Erin’s flank and buttocks, forward to cup one of her breasts through the thin cotton bra she wore.

“God, I’ve wanted to do this ever since I saw you naked in the locker room,” Erin said, letting her own hand explore Carrie’s body. She thrilled to all the silky smooth skin under her finger tips. Carrie was firm and soft in all the right places. She thought the girl might even feel better than she looked.

Grinning, Carrie said, “So you were looking. I thought I caught you a few times.”

“You were naked and beautiful,” Erin said, laughing, “and standing right there. Can you blame me for looking?”

“No,” Carrie said, kissing her. Pulling back, she smiled playfully at Erin, said, “I was looking, too. It’s why I invited you to the party.”

“You were planning on getting me in your bed even then?” Erin asked.

“Planning?” Carrie said, laughing, “No, not planning. Hoping, maybe, but not planning.”

Erin grinned at her, leaning in for a kiss. Carrie put her hand on the small of Erin’s back, pulling her even closer. The feel of Carrie’s body molded against her own, the scent of her perfume tickling her nose, Erin felt herself getting excited. Heat spread between her thighs as Carrie’s hand roamed over her back, down to cup one of her buttocks, before slipping into her hair. Carrie didn’t let her pull back from the kiss, not that she wanted to.

Feeling emboldened by Carrie’s admission about looking at her in the locker room, Erin rolled the girl onto her back. On her hands and knees, she grinned down at Carrie. The older girl gave Erin a curious smile, wondering just what Erin had in mind. Something about that smile made Erin want to show off. She might be younger, but she was far from inexperienced.

She gave Carrie a toe-curling kiss, then began working her way down the supine girl’s body. When she came to Carrie’s bra, she slipped a hand under the girl to pop the catches. Carrie grinned at her as she helped Erin slip it off and toss it aside. With the tip of her tongue, Erin traced the dark areola before trapping the stiffening nipple with her lips. Carrie’s back arched off the bed, pushing her breast in Erin’s face eagerly. Erin teased the nipple until Carrie groaned thickly, then moved to the other one. The girl’s breathing got a little funny as she became excited and she was making these cute little breathy moans.

Erin moved lower, following the faint muscle lines on Carrie’s abdomen with her tongue. She nuzzled the hollow of the girl’s hip, just above the elastic waistband of her panties. Carrie sighed, her lower body beginning to move on its own. Erin rolled her eyes up at the girl as she moved the panties a little lower, kissing the newly bared skin.

When Erin hooked her fingers in the panties, Carrie lifted her backside off the bed, so Erin could pull them off her hips and down her long legs. Erin spread the girl’s legs wide, looking at her pussy, at the neat little wedge of pubic hair atop the soft folds. It was a reminder that Carrie was older than Erin. That wasn’t as intimidating as it had been when she was in the kitchen. Her confidence had returned.

Carrie was holding her breath as she watched Erin look at her sex. Grinning at her, Erin lowered her mouth to the girl’s bud, tasting her with her tongue. That breath exploded out of Carrie in a moan. She propped up on her elbows as the hot, wet flick of Erin’s tongue forced another moan from her slack mouth. The girl smiled at her when Erin met her eyes.

“I take it you’ve… you’ve done this before,” Carrie said, sighing. Her hips began to move on their own, rolling against Erin’s mouth. Erin grinned at the girl.

Erin wet a couple of fingers in her mouth, asked, “Is this okay?”

Carrie raised her eyebrows, then started grinning, nodded. She held her breath as Erin eased the fingers into her hot, slick core. She moaned thickly as they slipped deep, biting her lip. Her eyes widened as Erin’s fingers found that sensitive spot deep inside. Her head lulled loosely on her neck as Erin put pressure on her g-spot, making little come-hither motions. The girl’s little sounds of enjoyment became sharper, and her hips gyrated against Erin’s hand.

“Oh God,” Carrie said, her face screwing up in pleasure. Her hands clutched at the sheets.

Lowering her mouth back to the girl’s thrashing body, she teased the girl’s clit with her tongue. Carrie lost all control of her body, the dueling sensations driving her wild. Erin didn’t let up, kept pushing the girl closer and closer to the edge of release.

“You are so good…Holy shit… at this,” Carrie said, slipping a hand behind Erin’s head to hold her to her sex. Erin smiled as her fingers tightened in her hair.

She had worked the girl into a state, had her so excited that the girl’s body didn’t know if it was coming or going. It seemed to be trying to shy away from the intense pleasure Erin was awakening in it. Erin trapped one of Carrie’s thighs, held the girl’s writhing body to her mouth.

“I’m going to come,” Carrie moaned, urgency entering her cries.

Erin had already known, had felt tension enter the girl’s body a heartbeat before she said those four words. She had the girl tiptoeing along the edge of bliss, and she tipped the girl over the edge. Carrie cried out sharply as she came, her body locking up against Erin’s mouth. Erin felt the girl’s pussy fluttering around her fingers, before Erin could ease out of her.

Looking a little dazed, Carrie smiled at Erin, husked, “Jesus, Erin!”

Erin grinned at her, stuck her fingers in her mouth to taste the girl. She had seen the move in one of the porn videos Ashley had downloaded. It was supposed to be a sexy, flirty move, she thought. Or maybe the girls just liked the taste of another girl. Erin thought Carrie tasted delicious.

“Oh, you are bad,” Carrie said, sitting up to give Erin an appreciative kiss. Finally pulling back, she smiled at Erin, said, “That was amazing. I’ve never come that hard before.”

Carrie urged Erin to trade places with her and Erin stretched out on her back. Erin grinned at Carrie when the girl hooked her fingers in the panties she wore, and she lifted off the bed so Carrie could pull them off her hips and down her legs. She shivered as Carrie’s eyes fell on her girlhood and the corners of her mouth turned up in a playful smile.

“Such a pretty pussy,” Carrie said, her hand sliding up Erin’s thigh. Erin sighed as her fingers found her bud, gently massaging it in lazy circles. The lovely pressure had her hips moving on their own, and she bit her lip against a moan that wanted to rip its way from her. Grinning, Carrie moved between Erin’s spread legs. She leaned in and pressed her lips to Erin’s bud, just a brushing of her lips that sent a shiver up Erin’s spine.

It was all just a tease, Carrie moving up her taut stomach in a series of moist kisses. She popped the catches on Erin’s bra and let it fall open. The girl smiled at Erin’s small breasts, at her nipples straining skyward. Her hot tongue ran around an areola, making Erin moan. Erin’s nipples ached sweetly under the torture, and Carrie didn’t let up until Erin didn’t think she could take any more. The girl had her so turned on, it was almost uncomfortable.

Carrie met Erin’s eyes, grinning as she started working her way back down Erin’s supine body. She took her time, driving Erin crazy with need. Still, the girl made her wait for it. By the time her mouth found Erin’s girlhood, again, she was so aroused that she moaned at just the brush of her lips on her sensitive bud. The anticipation was worth the wait, as Carrie turned out to be pretty good at this, herself. Her able tongue had Erin squirming on her back and moaning.

After a few minutes, Carrie paused to grin at her, held up two fingers. Erin’s pleasure-addled mind thought she was making the scout’s honor sign for a second, then her eyes widened as she understood what the girl was asking. She bit her lip and nodded. Carrie gave her a curious look, asked, “Are you sure?”

Laughing, Erin said, “Yeah.”

“You really are a bad girl, aren’t you?” Carrie said, grinning playfully at her, “That’s kind of hot.”

Shaking her head, Erin laughed as she thought, The girl must think I’m a straight freak. Then again, I probably am.

Carrie’s fingers pressed against the opening of her vagina and Erin moaned as her body accepted them inside of her. She was ready for them, and they slipped deep. Her back arched off the bed as Carrie massaged that spot deep inside, the one that made her go crazy. The sensation was so intense that she clutched at the sheets to keep her body from trying to get away.

When Carrie’s mouth found her bud, again, it was almost too much for her young body, so many lovely sensations competing for her attention. She lost control of her body, her hips undulating against Carrie’s hand and mouth. She closed her eyes, letting the waves of pleasure wash through her.

It didn’t take long for tension to creep into her body. Something that felt this good just couldn’t last, and she knew she was about to come. Carrie knew it, too, her eyes rolling up to meet Erin’s as they sprang open. A playful grin turned the corners of her mouth up, as the girl kept pushing Erin closer and closer to a climax. That smile only hastened Erin’s orgasm along, and she cried out as her body locked up on her. She shook as the orgasm had its way with her. It left her a panting, trembling mess of singing nerve endings.

Erin stretched like a cat in a sunny spot, savoring the delicious feeling of her body. Carrie grinned at her, moved up to give her a kiss. Wrapping her arms around the girl’s neck, Erin kissed her back appreciatively. She sighed as the girl’s body weight settled on her, loving the feel of Carrie lying atop her.

Carrie pulled back to grin at her, said, “God, I’ve needed this. It’s been too long.”

“How long?” Erin asked.

“Not since we moved,” Carrie said.

“No wonder you were so eager to get me up here,” Erin said, grinning.

“That’s not why,” Carrie said, kissing her, “you looked amazing in that little yellow dress. Even if I had gotten laid yesterday, I still would have tried.”

——————————–

“What’s wrong?” Ashley asked, seeing the look of disappointment on Trisha’s face.

“What?” Trisha asked, distracted. She shook it off and said, “Nothing.”

Ashley started grinning as she remembered the way Trisha had looked after Carrie and Erin as they left the kitchen. That look on her face started to make sense as Ashley thought about the conversation she had overheard between Trisha and Carrie. It had seemed like Carrie’s flirting had been working on the girl, that Trisha was leaning toward letting Carrie talk her into trying having sex with her.

Seeing that look on Trisha’s face, Ashley realized the girl was going to go through with it, was going to sleep with her friend. Or, would have if Erin hadn’t beat her to it.

“Funny thing happened,” Ashley said, smiling at the girl, “Erin and I were in the bathroom at school, and we overheard a conversation between you and Carrie.”

“A conversation?” Trisha asked, then her eyes widened. Her face turned bright red, and she looked at Ashley for a long moment before, asking, “You overheard that, huh?”

“You were going to sleep with Carrie, weren’t you?” Ashley asked.

Trisha looked at her for a long moment, then sighed. She looked around, but no one was in earshot, so she said, “I- I was thinking about it.”

“You looked pretty disappointed when Carrie and Erin went upstairs together,” Ashley said.

Laughing and shaking her head, Trisha said, “She’s been picking at me, wearing me down and when I finally decide to give in and try it…”

“So you don’t have a thing for Carrie?” Ashley asked.

“No,” Trisha said, shaking her head, “I don’t know… I was curious, I guess.”

“Curious?” Ashley asked, raising her eyebrows.

“About being with a girl,” Trisha said, blushing, “Carrie always made it sound so… Let’s just say she made a good argument for it.”

Laughing, Ashley said, “A good argument, huh?”

“To hear her talk about it, it is the best thing ever,” Trisha said, shaking her head.

Ashley looked at her for a long moment, then decided to take a chance. Meeting the girl’s eyes, she said, “It is pretty amazing.”

Trisha’s eyes widened, and she said, “What? You, too?”

Grinning at her, Ashley said, “Is that so hard to imagine?”

“After tonight, I’m assuming all the seventh graders are doing it,” Trisha said, laughing.

“You were thinking about doing it, too,” Ashley reminded her.

Taking a deep breath, Trisha said, “I guess I was.”

“I guess the question is,” Ashley said, favoring the girl with a playful grin, “does it have to be Carrie?”

“Have to be Carrie?” Trisha parroted, frowning. Then what Ashley was asking sank in and she gaped at the redhead.

Laughing, Ashley said, “Carrie and Erin are upstairs… Mindy and Sarah are in the corner talking…”

“Are you serious?” Trisha asked, incredulously.

“You said you were finally going to give in and try it,” Ashley said, smiling at the girl, “so I ask again- does it have to be Carrie?.”

“Well,” Trisha said, rubbing the back of her neck nervously, “no, I guess it doesn’t have to be Carrie. I just didn’t know I had other options.”

“Am I an option, then?” Ashley teased, flashing her eyes at Trisha.

“God, I don’t know,” Trisha said, laughing, “I don’t know how this works.”

Smiling, Ashley said, “Honestly, neither do I. How about we go upstairs and see if we can’t figure it out.”

Trisha looked at her for a long moment, chewing on her lower lip nervously. Ashley could see the girl considering it and her heart started racing. That Trisha was even thinking about it, was enough to get her excited. The girl was beautiful and looked amazing in the little dress she wore. Ashley thought she’d look even better out of it.

Her heart kicked into overdrive when the girl suddenly made up her mind and nodded. Trisha looked nervous, still chewing on her lip, but her eyes said she was willing to let Ashley take her upstairs. Trisha saw her looking, gave Ashley a shy smile.

“Yeah?” Ashley asked, holding her breath.

Laughing, Trisha said, “Yeah.”

“Um, okay, then,” Ashley said, grinning, “lead the way. I don’t know where to go.”

Trisha lead her through the living room and upstairs. They stopped at the door to the master suite and Trisha paused to look over her shoulder at Ashley. Ashley gave her a playful smile and reach passed her to open the door. With her hand in the small of the older girl’s back, Ashley urged her inside. Closing the door behind her, Ashley found the light switch. Ashley smiled at the big four poster bed, then at Trisha. The girl followed her eyes and started laughing.

“I don’t remember being as bold as you when I was twelve,” Trisha said, giving Ashley an admiring look.

“I’m probably ahead of the game,” Ashley said, walking further into the room. She sat on the bed and patted the mattress beside of her. Trisha looked uncertain, nervous as she came to the bed and sat beside her. Ashley didn’t fail to see the humor in their situation, the role reversal. Trisha, the older girl, should be the bold one and Ashley, the shy one.

Still, of the two girls sitting on the bed, Ashley was probably the more experienced. Well, she assumed, anyway. There was a possibility that Trisha was a raging nymphomaniac, but she doubted it.

“Can I kiss you?” Ashley asked, smiling coyly.

Trisha sucked in a nervous breath that she let out as a laugh. Meeting Ashley’s eyes, she nodded. Her eyes closed and Ashley smiled as she leaned in and kissed the girl. When Trisha’s lips parted, Ashley teased the girl’s tongue into her mouth, caressing it with her own. Hesitant at first, Trisha slowly relaxed and let Ashley draw her into a deeper, lingering kiss.

Finally breaking it, Trisha smiled at Ashley, said, “You are a nice kisser.”

Grinning, Ashley said, “You, too.”

Laughing, Trisha said, “I’ve got that Katy Perry song stuck in my head all of a sudden.”

“You kissed a girl, and you liked it?” Ashley asked, playfully.

Trisha met her eyes and said, “Yeah.”

Ashley saw she meant it. Smiling, she kissed the girl, again. Trisha kissed her back a lot less hesitantly this time and Ashley felt the girl beginning to respond. When she thought the girl was ready for it, Ashley put her hand on Trisha’s hip and slow slid it up and onto her breast. Ashley was used to fooling around with Erin, Mindy, and Natty, nothing bigger than a b-cup between them but Trisha was already a D-cup, most likely. Her breast was heavier, fuller in her hand. The girl gasped in surprise but didn’t move Ashley’s hand. She moaned into their kiss as Ashley’s gently kneaded her breast, and her kiss became even more eager.

Pulling back a little, Ashley asked, “Is this okay?”

“It’s a little late to be asking permission now,” Trisha said, laughing.

“I can stop if you want,” Ashley said, grinning playfully at her. She used her thumb to tease Trisha’s stiffened nipple through her dress.

Moaning, the girl said, “You don’t have to.”

Ashley smiled at her and asked, “Is the zipper to your dress on the back or the side?”

“Back,” Trisha said, turning slightly so Ashley could see the zipper. When Ashley ran it down, and the dress hung loosely on Trisha’s shoulders, the girl pulled it down until it pooled around her waist. Ashley drank in her full breasts, a little jealous. As she watched, Trisha reached behind her and popped the catches on her bra, slipping free of it. No longer restrained, her bosom was even fuller. She felt almost like a boy sitting next to Trisha.

“Your turn,” Trisha said, looking like she was trying hard not to cover up.

Wondering if she had anything the girl would be interested in, Ashley got to her feet and slipped the dress up and over her head. In just a bra and a pair of panties, she let the girl look at her. Fighting back her insecurities, she unhooked her bra and let it fall to the floor.

Trisha smiled at her, said, “You are in great shape. I’m a little jealous.”

“Me?” Ashley said, laughing, “you look amazing.”

Getting to her feet, Trisha shimmied the rest of the way out of her dress, tossing it on the bed. In just her panties, she sat back down. She looked at a loss of what to do now, her nervousness all over her face. Ashley urged her to move further onto the bed. Trisha started to lay down, but Ashley stopped her with a smile and a slight shake of her head. Ashley gently folded Trisha’s legs at the knee until the girl was sitting Indian style. The girl looked at her curiously as Ashley climbed first onto the bed and into her lap. Sitting facing her, Ashley wrapped her arms around Trisha’s neck and kissed her.

While the girl was distracted with the kiss, Ashley rolled her hips forward, rubbing her lower abdomen against Trisha’s. The girl gasped, pulling away from the kiss to look down at the nesting of their bodies. Ashley pushed her hips forward again, grinding against the girl. Trisha bit her lip and moaned, her eyes wide as she looked back up at Ashley.

Grinning, Ashley asked, “Feels good, doesn’t it?”

“Uh huh,” Trisha said, grinning at her.

“If you move your hips when I do…” Ashley said, moving her hips. Trisha seemed to understand, pushing forward and up into Ashley. With some practice, they found their rhythm, their bodies moving in perfect harmony.

“God, this feels good,” Trisha said, around a moan.

Grinning, Ashley said, “Did you think Carrie and I were lying to you?”

“No,” Trisha said, then grinned sheepishly, “maybe exaggerating a little.”

Ashley winked at her and said, “We weren’t.”

She gently pushed the girl backward and climbed off her lap. From her back, Trisha watched as she hooked her thumbs in the girl’s panties. Trisha hesitated a heartbeat, then lifted her backside off the bed so Ashley could remove her underwear. Ashley tossed them aside, making the girl laugh. Winking, she slipped out of her own panties, flinging them in the other direction. On her knees, Ashley nudged the girl’s legs open, moving between them. She straddled one of Trisha’s hips, lowering onto her until their bodies nested together.

Propping up on her elbows, Trisha looked at the meeting of their bodies. She was blushing when she looked back up at Ashley, and she laughed nervously, “It’s a little strange with the panties off. Never expected to be this… Close to another girl.”

“Yeah, it was weird my first time, too,” Ashley said, giving her a playful smile, “but it stops being weird pretty quick.”

Laughing, Trisha said, “I doubt that.”

Ashley just grinned at her and started moving her hips. She saw Trisha biting her lip and thought the girl was well on her way to forgetting about this being weird. The girl closed her eyes as the first moan slipped past her slack mouth.

Letting her hands slip up the girl’s taut stomach, Ashley cupped Trisha’s breasts, kneading them until the girl arched her back and groaned. Trisha’s hands came up, covering Ashley’s. Getting the message, Ashley didn’t stop, continued to fondle them as she really ground against the girl.

The girl’s hips began to push up into Ashley, meeting her counter-thrust for thrust. The meetings of their bodies had both girls moaning, their voices getting louder as they grew more excited. As their little cries began to fill the room, Ashley glanced at the door to the hallway. Grinning, she wondered if anyone was around to hear them. As far as she knew, the only other people up here were Erin and Carrie, and they were probably distracted enough with each other not to notice.

Trisha had seen her glance over her shoulder, and her eyes followed Ashley’s gaze. Seeing the door, she blushed and tried to hold her moans in. Ashley grinned at her when she failed miserably. Leaning down, she kissed Trisha and said, “Everyone is still downstairs… Probably.”

Laughing, Trisha said, “Oh God!”

“Don’t worry about them,” Ashley said, kissing her, again. Smiling down at her, she asked, “Are you ready to try something different?”

“No,” Trisha said, moaning, “this feels so good.”

“Then you will like this,” Ashley said, slipping her arm under Trisha’s neck and rolling them. She did it so fast, Trisha didn’t have time to react until she was already sitting atop Ashley. Trisha laughed, smiling down at Ashley.

Ashley ran her hands up the girl’s thighs and onto her backside. She urged the girl to start moving her hips and Trisha giggled. It took her a few seconds to figure out the motion, but, soon, she had the rhythm right. Ashley thought she looked incredibly sexy, the roll of her hips sensual and hypnotic. Fuller in the hip than the other girls Ashley has slept with, the flex and twist of Trisha’s body was almost an erotic dance. It was a beautiful visual counterpart to the lovely sensations the girl’s gyrations were awakening in Ashley’s body.

Trisha’s eyes fell on Ashley’s small, jiggling breasts and she bit her lip hesitantly. Finally, she ran her hands up Ashley’s stomach to cup them. As she gently fondled them, Ashley arched her back, encouraging the girl not to stop. Trisha teased Ashley’s stiffened nipple, drawing a moan from her slack mouth. A naughty grin came across the blonde’s face.

Ashley grinned, thinking Trisha was enjoying herself more than the girl had thought she would. She had let Ashley lead her up her to see what the fuss was all about, her interest piqued by Carrie’s insistence. Now that she was here, Ashley had won her over. The curiosity in Trisha’s eyes as she let her hands roam over Ashley’s body said as much. Her touch had been hesitant but became eager as she realized she liked the feel of Ashley’s body under her finger tips.

A new convert, Ashley thought, sitting up to kiss the girl. She felt that same eagerness in Trisha’s kiss. Grinning, she thought, The girl is definitely hooked.

Their pace began to quicken as they fed off each other’s excitement. They became almost frantic in their need, their mingling cries filling the room. The lovely sensations washing through them were too intense to last, and Ashley saw Trisha’s eyes widened as she realized she was going to come. Right there with her, Ashley grabbed the girl’s buttocks, helping her finish them off as the girl’s hips started to lose their grace.

Trisha came first, her body stiffening atop Ashley. Her fingers digging into the girl’s buttocks, Ashley didn’t let her stop moving. The girl jerked every time their bodies came together, the friction torture on her now very sensitive bud. One, two, three more thrusts of her hips and Ashley cried out with her own orgasm. She shook with the girl, and they lost themselves to the ecstasy.

After a long moment, Trisha brushed her hair from her face and gave Ashley a stunned smile. Ashley grinned at her, and the girl started laughing. Sitting up, Ashley gave her a sweet kiss that Trisha returned eagerly.

“God,” Trisha said, wrapping her arms around Ashley’s neck, “my toes are still curled.”

“Mine, too,” Ashley said, laughing.

“Shit,” Trisha said.

“What’s wrong?” Ashley asked, raising her eyebrows.

“I’m going to have to tell Carrie she was right about this,” Trisha said, lightly kissing Ashley, “and I’ll have to hear the I-told-you-so’s.”

————————————-

“Can I ask you something?”

“Um sure,” Mindy said, cringing. In her past experiences, when someone said those five words, the person wanted to ask about the rumors going around about her. Watching Sarah fidget nervously, she thought the girl was about to ask about them, too.

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” Sarah said.

Sighing, Mindy said, “Yes, I slept with my babysitter. Yes, I’m into girls. No, I’ve never slept with one of the teachers.”

“So there is some truth to the rumors,” Sarah said, chewing on her lower lip.

Mindy felt herself starting to bristle, to get upset but she hesitated. Sarah’s question didn’t seem spiteful, just… Curious. The girl seemed almost shy about asking, fidgeting with her necklace, again. Mindy frowned, realizing Sarah did that when she was nervous. But, why was the girl nervous? And why was she asking about the rumors that had circulated around Mindy’s old school.

Something had been bugging her while she and Sarah talked, something she had dismissed because it seemed just to be wishful thinking. Still frowning, she wondered if she might have dismissed the possibility too fast. The way the girl had smiled at her, the way she fiddled with her necklace… It was almost like the girl was… flirting with her.

No girl had ever flirted with her before. Well, maybe her babysitter but that hadn’t been the same. Erin and Ashley teased and played with her, but again, it wasn’t the same. Mindy didn’t even know what it was like to have someone flirt with her.

“Sarah,” Mindy said, waiting for the girl to look at her, “why did you ask about the rumors?”

“I… Well…” the girl said, blushing.

Oh God, she was flirting with me!, Mindy thought, her heart racing in her breast. Suddenly in unfamiliar territory, she didn’t know what to do.

Sarah saw that Mindy had figured it out, and she laughed nervously, said, “Um, can we find somewhere to talk?”

Nodding, Mindy let Sarah lead her through the house and into the garage. It was warmer than the air outside but not much. Shivering, Mindy looked at the girl expectantly.

Taking a deep breath, Sarah said, “God, I never thought I’d do this. You looked so beautiful, I… I had to.”

“What are you doing, Sarah?” Mindy asked, her pulse racing.

“I had a huge crush on you,” Sarah said, in a rush to get it out. She was blushing and looked about ready to run away if Mindy said ‘boo’.

Mindy didn’t say boo, smiling at the girl instead, “On me?”

“Yeah,” Sarah said, hesitantly meeting Mindy’s eyes.

“I- I didn’t…” Mindy said, at a loss for words.

“You are so beautiful,” Sarah said, taking a deep breath and letting it out as a nervous laugh, “I wanted to tell you that for a long time. I had almost worked up the courage and then you transferred to a different school. Then you walked into the party tonight…I thought this was my chance.”

Stunned, Mindy just stared at the girl. The raw emotion behind the Sarah’s words made it a little hard to breathe. She’d never had anyone talk to her like that, express such strong feelings about her before. Her brain was slipping gears, and she couldn’t react.

Sarah fidgeted nervously and looked close to tears, said, “I need you to say something because I’m freaking out right now. I don’t even care if it’s ‘I’m not interested’. Just say something.”

Mindy didn’t say anything-couldn’t- so she just moved closer and kissed the girl. Sarah stiffened in surprise, then melted against Mindy, kissed her back passionately. It lingered, deepened until Mindy stopped noticing the cold. Finally, she pulled back to meet the girl’s eyes, offering her a sheepish grin.

“Sorry,” Mindy said, her voice a little husky with excitement, “I- I couldn’t get the words out.”

Sarah touched her lips and said, “Um, it’s okay.”

The look Sarah favored her with made Mindy’s heart skip a few beats, and her knees grow weak. Her old babysitter had looked at her with lust in her eyes, and there was a little of that, but there was something else. Erin and Ashley looked at her with the love of friendship, and there was also a little of that in Sarah’s look, but there was something more. What she saw in Sarah’s eyes scared her a little bit because it was something new. Well, new to her.

Even though it scared her, she liked the way Sarah was looking at her. She smiled nervously at the girl and asked, “Now what?”

“I was thinking about kissing you, again,” Sarah said, moving closer. She leaned in, stopping with her lips only inches from Mindy’s.

Unable to resist, Mindy went the rest of the way, kissed the girl, again. This time, Sarah was ready for it, kissed her back eagerly. Mindy felt a shiver of excitement work through her as the girl moved against her, her arms slipping around Mindy’s neck. Seconds or hours, Mindy didn’t know how long they stood like that. She lost herself in the scent of the girl’s perfume, in the taste of her kiss, in the feel of her lean body molded against her own. She couldn’t remember ever being so wrapped up in just a kiss before.

Sarah pulled back a little to meet Mindy’s eyes. She must have seen what she was looking for because she started smiling, said, “You felt that, too.”

With a nervous laugh, Mindy said, “I don’t know what I felt.”

“But you felt something?” Sarah asked, a fragile hope in her eyes.

Mindy smiled at her and said, “I definitely felt something. You are a great kisser.”

“Really?” Sarah asked, some of her insecurity showing through. It dawned on her this was Sarah’s first time.

“This wasn’t your first kiss, was it?” Mindy asked, finding it hard to believe.

“Um… Yeah,” Sarah said, smiling shyly.

“Never would have guessed,” Mindy said.

That seemed to please Sarah, and she kissed Mindy. Again, Mindy felt herself drawn to the girl, everything else fading into the background. It spooked her a little, how much she liked kissing Sarah. Not even her babysitter had made her feel like this, and she had thought she was in love with her.

A little uneasy by her reaction to the girl, she pulled back a little, breaking the kiss’s hold on her. Her heart was racing in her breast as she looked at the girl. The smile Sarah was favoring her with didn’t help the funny way she was feeling. It made her want to kiss the girl, again.

What the hell did you do to me, Mindy wondered, still looking at Sarah.

“Um, would you… I don’t know… want to do something sometime?” Sarah asked.

“Something?” Mindy asked, raising her eyebrows.

“See a movie or something,” she said, chewing on her lip nervously.

“You mean like… a date?” Mindy asked, her heart beating even faster. She wasn’t sure if she wanted the girl to say yes or not.

“Um, yeah,” Sarah said, meeting Mindy’s eyes.

Holy shit, she thought, her mind racing, she’s asking me out!

The thought of dating Sarah- or any other girl for that matter- both intrigued and scared the hell out of her. She had thought about what it would be like to go on a date before. Fantasized about it, really. Now, here was an attractive girl asking her out and she didn’t know what to do. Part of her wanted to say no, to shy away from the unknown. The other part of her ached to go to the movies with Sarah, to hold hands and share a popcorn in the dark theater.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to,” Sarah said, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice but not completely succeeding.

“It’s not that I don’t want to,” Mindy said, sighing. The mean kids at her old school popped into her head, and she remembered the way they used to spread rumors about her and to torment her for sport. Being seen at the mall with Mindy would only cause problems for the girl.

“You are worried about me,” Sarah said, smiling warmly at her, “you should know I don’t care what other people think about me.”

That line made Mindy smile. The girl really didn’t care what other people thought about her, did her own thing her own way. Like the way she dressed, her tastes in music. Sarah wasn’t one for joining the crowd, to putting much stock in trends. It was one of the things Mindy had always admired about the girl. That and how her butt looked in jeans.

“So, if you aren’t too embarrassed to be seen in public with a tomboy like me…” Sarah said, playfully.

Mindy stared at her for a long moment, then shook her head and laughed, “I’d love to be seen in public with you.”

“Good, it’s a date,” Sarah said, grinning at her.

—————————————————

Erin looked at herself in Carrie’s mirror, adjusting her dress and fixing her hair. She thought it was still painfully obvious that she had just had sex. It was probably just her imagination, though. Carrie came up behind her wrapping her arms around Erin’s waist. Erin smiled at her reflection in the mirror.

“You look beautiful,” Carrie said, kissing her neck.

“So do you,” Erin said.

“It’s a shame we need to get back to the party,” Carrie said, her hand coming up to cup Erin’s breast.

Laughing, Erin pushed it away, said, “Maybe next time we’ll have more time.”

Carrie grinned playfully at her in the mirror and asked, “Next time?”

“Yeah, next time,” Erin said, turning in the girl’s arms to kiss her.

“Next time, then,” Carrie said, smiling at her.

“We really need to get back, though,” Erin said, moving away from the girl, “we’ve probably been gone too long already. You can’t be missing at your own party. People are going to notice.”

“Yeah,” Carrie said, making a last minute check of her dress in the mirror, then turned to the door.

She stepped out into the hallway and Erin waited for a couple of minutes before following her. After enough time had passed, she stepped into the hallway. She was closing the door when another one opened down the hall. She hurriedly closed it and stepped away, so whoever was coming out of the other room wouldn’t think Erin had been in Carrie’s room.

Her eyes widened when Ashley and Trisha came out of the room down the hall. The two girls froze when they realized they weren’t alone. Erin saw Trisha’s face turn bright red with embarrassment. Frowning, she wondered what they had been up to. Then her eyes widened as it dawned on her.

“Um, we can’t all go at the same time,” she said, grinning at the embarrassed girl, “they’ll think we into something kinky up here.”

“I’ll go,” Trisha said.

“We’ll be down in a few minutes,” Erin said.

Erin watched Trisha head downstairs, then turned back to her friend. She saw Ashley grinning ear to ear and had to laugh.

“Did you two have fun?” Erin asked, moving closer.

“Yeah,” Ashley said, laughing.

“So how did that happen?” Erin asked.

“Remember how we thought Carrie had almost talked Trisha into sleeping with her?” Ashley asked, and Erin nodded. Grinning, she continued, “Well, we were right. When you and Carrie came upstairs together, she looked disappointed, and I realized Trisha was going to give in and try it tonight. I talked her into trying it with me.”

“How’d it go?” Erin asked, amused.

“Pretty good,” Ashley said, then started grinning, “I’m supposed to call her, so we can do it, again.”

“Uh oh,” she said, laughing.

“Yeah,” Ashley agreed, winking.

They waited a few more minutes, then Ashley headed downstairs to the part. Alone in the upstairs hallway, Erin thought, What a crazy night.

——————————————-

“God, what an amazing night,” Ashley said, laughing.

I know,” Erin said, grinning at her, “I slept with an eighth grader.”

“So did I,” Ashley said, holding up her hand for a high five. Laughing, Erin gave her one.

“How about you, Mindy?”

“Um, I didn’t sleep with anyone,” the brunette said, laughing.

“Why do I get the feeling something did happen, though,” Ashley said, looking at her friend. She started grinning when Mindy blushed.

“I might have been asked on a date,” Mindy said, hesitantly.

“Like a date-date?” Ashley asked, her emerald eyes wide.

“Um, yeah,” Mindy said, blushing.

“By Sarah?” Erin asked, making Mindy look at her funny. Grinning, she said, “Come on, Mindy. We saw you flirting with her.”

Mindy nodded, grinning sheepishly, “She asked me out.”

“How did that happen?” Erin asked, her eyes bright with interest.

“Um,” Mindy said, rubbing the back of her neck nervously, “she apparently had a crush on me but didn’t get a chance to tell me before I transferred schools. I- I’ve never had anyone look at me the way she did.”

“So this isn’t just two friends going to the mall together,” Ashley said, grinning at her friend.

“I think she wants more than that,” Mindy said, biting her lip.

Grinning, Erin said, “I think she isn’t the only one.”

“I liked the way she looked at me,” Mindy said, blushing.

“You two will make a cute couple,” Ashley said.

“Couple?” Mindy said, testing the word on her tongue. She liked the way it sounded, even if the idea scared the hell out of her.

Continue To Part Eleven

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