Practice Makes Perfect

… K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage.”

Shaking her head and laughing, Brooke said, “Yeah, that’s not helping.”

Her best friend Aubrey grinned at her and said, “I know… It had to be done, though.”

“I came to you for advice, and this is all I get?” Brooke said, hoping to shame her friend out of teasing her more.

They were sitting on Brooke’s bed, the radio playing to keep Brooke’s parents or her nosy little brother from overhearing their conversation. Aubrey hadn’t even changed out of her school clothes before answering Brooke’s cry for help, coming straight over after school. Brooke’s mom had raised her eyebrows seeing the girl in her uniform, then had just shrugged and went back to cooking.

“Alright,” Aubrey said, shaking it off, “I got it out of my system, now. Talk to me.”

“Like I said, Danny and I have been dating for over a month now. Kelly, Annie, Stacey… Even Becky have all kissed their boyfriends, already.”

“Okay,” Aubrey said, looking at her expectantly.

“What if Danny wants to kiss me?” Brooke asked, chewing on her lip nervously.

“Do you want him to kiss you?”

“I don’t know,” Brooke said, laughing self-consciously, “I’ve never kissed a boy before.”

“I’m sure he hasn’t, either,” Aubrey said, a playful grin spreading on her face, “kissed a boy, I mean.”

“Shut up,” Brooke said, laughing. Sobering up some, she asked, “Do you think he’s kissed a girl before?”

“It hasn’t made it around school, if he has,” Aubrey said, then laughed sourly, “and you know what that place is like. I’d put money on his lips still being a virgin.”

“Huh,” Brooke said, nodding, “you are probably right.”

Aubrey gave her a weighing look, asked, “Would it matter if he had? You know, kissed another girl?”

“Maybe,” Brooke said, then went on when Aubrey’s eyebrows went up, “it’s just… It would be nice if one of us knew what they were doing.”

“What you were doing?” Aubrey parroted, still looking at Brooke for an explanation.

Blushing, Brooke said, “What if I suck at it.”

“What?” Aubrey asked, laughing, “Kissing?”

“Yeah,” Brooke said, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

“How do you suck at kissing?” Aubrey asked, clearly amused by the idea.

“I don’t know,” Brooke said, laughing at her own expense, “what if I accidentally kiss his nose… Or his chin, instead of his lips?”

Aubrey’s eyes narrowed, and she just looked at Brooke for a long moment. Finally, she broke out in a smile, asked, “You are serious? You are really worried about that sort of thing?”

“A little,” Brooke said, which was a lie. She had filled up a whole diary page about how her first kiss could go wrong. Meeting her friend’s eyes, she saw Aubrey wasn’t buying it. She rubbed the back of her neck nervously, said, “Okay, a lot. I read an article in one of Mom’s magazines about how not to be a bad kisser, and now I’m freaking out. What if I’m a bad kisser?”

“I doubt you are a bad kisser,” Aubrey said, then added when her words didn’t ease Brooke’s anxiety any, “even if it does suck, I think you get some leeway if it’s your first.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want it to suck,” Brooke groaned, then had to laugh at herself, “God, listen to me!”

Aubrey laughed, “It is kind of nice that you are the neurotic one for a change.”

Brooke was usually the more composed of the two and pretty good at taking life in stride. Aubrey, not so much. Brooke was kind of impulsive, and Aubrey agonized over every decision. It was what made them such good friends- they balanced each other out.

Sighing, Brooke said, “I don’t want to be the neurotic one- I just want to know if I’m a good kisser or not so I can get on with my life.”

“You could always take matters into your own hands and kiss Danny first. No more waiting and wondering,” Aubrey offered.

Brooke thought about it for a moment, then sighed and said, “I guess that’s an option, but I’d still rather know ahead of time.”

Aubrey looked at her for a long moment, then started laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

“Just had a thought,” Aubrey said, digging a tub of Chapstick out of her purse. Tossing it to Brooke, she said, “Your lips are chapped.”

Laughing, Brooke said, “Can you stay focused?”

“I am focused,” Aubrey said, giving Brooke a dirty look, “you can’t be a good kisser with chapped lips. Hence the Chapstick.”

Giving her friend a dubious look, Brooke looked at the tube of lip balm in her hand, then shrugged. She popped the top, then ran the medicated gel across her lips. When it stung a little, she realized how chapped her lips had become in the dry winter air. She gave her friend a sheepish grin as she put the cap back on and tossed it to her.

“And you doubted me,” Aubrey said, with a sad shake of her head.

“Sorry,” Brooke said.

“You are forgiven,” Aubrey said, taking a deep breath, “now kiss me.”

“Kiss you?” Brooke parroted, her eyes wide.

“You want a fair assessment of your smooching abilities… Well, as your friend, I promise to tell you if you suck… In the most supportive way possible, of course,” Aubrey said.

“You want me to kiss you?” Brooke said, dubiously.

Aubrey batted her eyelashes playfully, said, “It would be a dream come true.”

Laughing, Brooke said, “Smart ass.”

“So are we going to make out or not?” Aubrey asked, grinning.

Brooke looked at the girl for a long moment, trying to decide if she was serious or just messing with her. Then she thought about what Aubrey was really suggesting, and she made a face at the thought of locking lips with the girl. Even as she started to balk, she reconsidered. Who could she trust if not Aubrey? Hell, it wouldn’t even be the first time she has kissed the girl, even if the context would be a little different this time.

Still not sure if Aubrey was just having fun with her, Brooke asked, “If I say yes are you going to laugh and make fun of me?”

“Maybe,” Aubrey said, her eyes full of mischief.

“Shit,” Brooke said, indecision rearing its ugly head. She was pretty sure Aubrey was serious- well, as serious as she ever got- but she has been wrong before. Aubrey had a helluva poker face.

“Stop being a chickenshit,” Aubrey said, putting her hands on Brooke’s cheeks and kissing her.

The kiss was over before Brooke even knew it was going to begin and she could only lamely say, “I’m not a chickenshit.”

“Then why did I have to kiss you?” Aubrey asked.

“I was still trying to decide if you were messing with me or not,” Brooke said.

“How are you not a chickenshit, again?” Aubrey said, pointedly.

“Shut up,” Brooke said, laughing. Sobering up some, she asked, “How was it?”

“Okay, I guess,” Aubrey said, shrugging, “I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“Can we try again?” Brooke asked, blushing when Aubrey started laughing, “I wasn’t ready last time.”

“Think it’ll make a difference?” Aubrey asked, her amusement clear in her voice.

“I don’t know,” Brooke said, laughing at her own expense. Her cheeks burning even hotter she stammered, “Maybe… If we, um… Do it the other way?”

Aubrey just looked at her, clearly not following her. Brooke didn’t know her face could get any redder, but she managed an even deeper shade of crimson. Suddenly Aubrey’s eyes widened, and Brooke thought it had dawned on the girl what she had been asking.

“Wait! A French kiss?” Aubrey asked, laughing in surprise.

Brooke took a deep breath and nodded. Aubrey laughed harder, and Brooke was pretty sure every drop of blood in her body was now in her face. Still, the girl hadn’t said no to the idea. Brooke had to wonder about her own insecurities that she had her fingers crossed her friend would go along with her crazy idea.

I just need to know, Brooke thought, taking a deep breath.

Sobering up some, Aubrey said, “This stays between us, right?”

“What?” Brooke said, laughing, “you think I’m going to brag about it at school?”

“I guess not,” Aubrey said, grinning, “no one would believe you made out with a hot chick like me, anyway.”

“Hey,” Brooke said, giving her friend a look.

“I’m kidding,” Aubrey said, laughing, “you could make out with any chick you wanted to.”

“Damn right I could,” Brooke said, making her friend laugh.

“Assuming you aren’t a horrible kisser, that is,” Aubrey teased, drawing a punch in the shoulder from Brooke, “Ow!”

“That wasn’t funny,” Brooke said, then laughed anyway.

“You are really that hung up on this whole kissing thing, huh?” Aubrey asked.

“I just want to know,” Brooke said.

“Okay,” Aubrey said, laughing, “let’s find out if you are a good kisser.”

With a deep breath to calm her nerves, Brooke nodded, said, “Okay.”

Aubrey closed her eyes and pursed her lips, ready for Brooke’s kiss. Smiling, Brooke felt a burst of warmth for the girl. Aubrey was a great friend and not just because she was willing to do this for her. She has cemented her position as the ‘Coolest Friend Ever’ hundreds of times over. Maybe thousands in the seven years they have been besties.

Closing her eyes, she kissed Aubrey. She felt a jolt of excitement, not because she was kissing Aubrey but because her lips pressed against the girl’s lips and not her nose or her chin. Her aim was true even with her eyes closed, which was one fear laid to rest.

When Aubrey’s lips parted, Brooke slipped her tongue into her friend’s mouth. It was just the briefest of kisses before Aubrey snorted and started giggling. Breaking it, Aubrey pulled back, put her hand over her mouth. Brooke looked at her questioningly, and Aubrey blushed, said, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Brooke said, her own face hot.

“It’s one thing to say you are going to do something, but to actually do it…” Aubrey said, with an embarrassed little laugh. She straightened her spine, shook her hands to loosen up. She met Brooke’s eyes, almost lost it again, but managed to bite back a nervous giggle. Finally, she took a deep breath, said, “Okay, lay it on me.”

“You want to try, again?” Brooke asked, surprised.

“You still want to know, right?”

“Well, yeah,” Brooke said, meeting her friend’s eyes.

“Then kiss me,” Aubrey said, closing her eyes.

Brooke looked at Aubrey’s lips, then shook her head as she closed her eyes. She pressed her lips to Aubrey’s, again. This time when her friend’s lips parted and Brooke slipped her tongue into her mouth, Aubrey didn’t start giggling. They were actually kissing. Aubrey’s tongue caressed Brooke’s, drawing her further into the kiss than expected. It lingered a lot longer than it needed to.

Finally pulling back, Aubrey met Brooke’s eyes and gave her a sheepish grin, said, “I… Well… You are definitely not a bad kisser.”

Her lips tingling from were Aubrey’s had pressed hers against them, Brooke said in a husky voice, “Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure, yeah,” Aubrey said, with a little laugh, “that was more of a kiss than I was expecting. I think that was pretty amazing for your first kiss.”

“My first kiss?” Brooke parroted, blinking in surprise. She wondered, did this count as my first kiss? Rubbing the back of her neck, she said, “This wasn’t my first kiss… Just practice for the real thing.”

“I didn’t mean your first kiss, first kiss, just… Well, you know what I mean,” Aubrey said, sheepishly, “your first practice kiss.”

Frowning, Brooke said, “My first practice kiss?”

“Well yeah,” Aubrey said, meeting her eyes, “practice makes perfect, they say.”

Then Aubrey kissed Brooke, again. Brooke was surprised at first, but then she found herself kissing Aubrey back. Time got a little funny, and she didn’t know how long their lips met. It could have been seconds or hours- all Brooke knew was that her heart was racing and she was warm and tingly all over when they finally pulled back from the kiss.

Their eyes met, and Brooke saw Aubrey looked as dazed as she felt. They just looked at each other for a second, then started to smile. Aubrey cracked first, starting to giggle. Brooke wasn’t far behind, and they fell out, clutching their sides they were laughing so hard.

When the giggles finally dried up, Aubrey turned to look at Brooke, said, “You are a nice kisser.”

Smiling at her friend, she said, “You are, too.”

Aubrey shook her head and snorted. Looking up at the ceiling, she said, “You can never tell anyone about what just happened.”

“I was hoping to brag about it at school on Monday,” Brooke said.

“They’d never believe you, anyway,” Aubrey said, and they both laughed.

They were quiet a moment, then Aubrey looked at Brooke. Chewing on her lip, she asked, “Do you want to practice some more?”

Smiling at her, Brooke said, “Yeah.”

——————————-

Sitting on her bed with her back against the headboard and her knees drawn up, Brooke was looking at the picture of Danny on her phone but not really seeing it. Nor was she hearing the music she had put on as background noise. She was lost in thought, trying to make heads or tails out her own feelings. They were a mess and trying to straighten them out now was like untangling a pile of string. The more she tugged at the loose ends, the more knots of confusion she seemed to make. It seemed like every time she untied one, she found another one further down the string.

Frustrated, she set her phone aside and opened the little drawer in her nightstand, taking out her diary. Looking at the worn cover of the composition notebook, she smiled. It was the third one in her diary, two more just like it filled to the brim on the bookcase across from her bed. The one on her knees was about three-quarters full of her thoughts and feels and just general observations on the world she was growing up in. There was even the occasional short story she had written.

Brooke found writing soothing, like a balm on whatever was troubling her. With pen in hand, she could write away her frustrations and fears, could work through any dilemma and bring meaning to her hormone-addled thoughts with a few lines on a page.

This was something she desperately needed now.

Opening the notebook to the last entry, she smiled at the gibberish on the page. At least, it would be gibberish to anyone else who was trying to read it. It was encoded with a simple cipher, one of her own creation. Simple but enough to keep her nosy brother out of her personal thoughts.

Not that she had any big secrets hidden in the pages of her diary, no dirt she was worried about the little creep finding out about. Mostly, it was the principle of the thing. These were her private musings, and he didn’t have her permission to read them.

So, she had created the cipher and memorized the key so she could destroy it. The only code breaker was lodge in the gray matter between her ears. It wasn’t foolproof- she knew if her parents suddenly felt the need to invade her privacy, they’d be able to figure out her code with a little effort. Still, without the key laying around, she felt secure enough to not hide her diary.

The cipher she had thought of was rather clever, and she had been proud of what her seven-year-old brain had come up with. She had assigned the letters of the alphabet a number, with ‘A’ being 1 and ‘Z’ 26. That number was how many letters were skipped ahead to create the cipher. ‘A’ would A plus one, or ‘B’. ‘B’ would B plus two, or ‘D’. To make the code slightly more difficult, she had decided that once a letter was used in the cipher, it was marked out and not counted on the next letter. Thus, ‘C’ became ‘G’ instead of ‘F’. By the end, she was making multiple trips around the alphabet to find letters that had not been used to fill in the blanks in her code.

She had found it funny that ‘R’ ended up being R.

Using this same code for almost six years now, she didn’t see the jumbled letters, anymore, but the words they represented. She could read it like it was everyday English.

She reread the last entry she had written, the one about making out- um, practicing- with Aubrey. They must have ‘practiced’ a half dozen times since that first kiss. Each session had lasted longer than the one before it and always left her wanting more. She had written about each one of them. This one was about how kissing Aubrey made her feel- the butterflies in her stomach right before their lips met; the tingling all over her body like all of her nerve ending were responding to the caress of Aubrey’s tongue; the way her heart would race and breathing would get all funny; how time seemed to pass without her realizing the second hand was still moving.

Sighing, Brooke picked up her pencil and started writing in code:

It finally happened. Danny kissed me. It was… okay. There were no fireworks like I was expecting. Maybe I’m just a foolish girl, but I was expecting… More. More from my first time kissing a boy.

Maybe I built it up in my head, was expecting something amazing to happen when Danny kissed me. Have I been misled by those sappy love stories I’m a sucker for? Where was the magic? I didn’t even get the butterflies like when I kiss Aubrey

Shaking her head, Brooke thought, I had more of a movie moment with Aubrey. Moments, actually.

Her heart hadn’t raced when Danny kissed her like it did when she kissed Aubrey. Which was the root of her confused thoughts. Why did she respond to Aubrey and not Danny?

Looking down at her diary, Brooke sighed. Journaling wasn’t going to get it done, this time. Setting the composition book aside, she picked up her phone instead.

Aubrey answered on the second ring, “Hey.”

“Hey. You busy?” Brooke asked.

“Nah. You coming over?”

“Yeah,” Aubrey said, smiling.

“See you in ten,” Aubrey said, hanging up.

Getting off her bed, Brooke stepped into some shoes and grabbed her coat. She headed downstairs, found her mother in the living room. The woman glanced up from the book she was reading, saw Brooke with her coat over her arm, then went back to her book.

“Be home before dark?” Brooke asked.

“Yep,” her mother said.

“Love you,” Brooke said, shrugging into her coat.

“Love you, too,” her mother said, turning a page, “tell Barb I said hello.”

“Okay,” Brooke said, on her way to the front door.

Aubrey lived one street up and three over, so the winter chill barely had time to nip at her nose before she was knocking on Aubrey’s front door. Her friend greeted her with a smile and stepped aside so she could enter. The warmth inside quickly thawed her out and she was shedding her coat as she followed Aubrey upstairs to her room.

Just inside of Aubrey’s room, Brooke caught the girl’s arm, spun her around. She startled a gasp from Aubrey as she kissed her. Then her friend was kissing her back, and somehow Brooke ended up pressed against the door. The kiss lingered, deepened. Brooke felt herself responding to Aubrey- the racing heartbeat, the flush of heat all over, the curling of her toes, the breathless excitement.

What the hell, Body, Brooke thought, where was this when we were kissing Danny?

Aubrey finally pulled back to favor her with an amused grin, said, “What? Did you just want to come over to practice some more?”

Slipping from between the girl and the door, Brooke sighed and said, “Actually, no. I don’t need to practice anymore.”

“You don’t?” Aubrey parroted, frowning. Her eyes got impossibly big as what that meant sank in and she asked, excitedly, “Wait! He kissed you?”

“Yeah,” Brooke said, smiling at her friend’s comic reaction.

Grabbing Brooke’s hand, Aubrey dragged her to the bed. The girl’s eyes were alight with excitement as she said, “Tell me all about it.”

“He kissed me,” Brooke said.

Aubrey looked at her for a long moment, her eyebrows knitting together. She hadn’t missed the tone of Brooke’s uninspired answer and knew something was wrong. This first kiss was all they had been talking about for weeks, after all, and suddenly Brooke was clamming up.

Finally, Aubrey asked, “How was it?”

“It was…” Brooke said, then asked in a rush, “What do you feel when I kiss you?”

“What do I feel?” Aubrey asked, surprised by the question.

“Yeah,” Brooke said, her face hot.

“Why?” Aubrey asked, a mix of concern and curiosity in her eyes.

“Just tell me, okay?” Brooke said, anxiously.

“Um,” Aubrey said, clearly embarrassed as she looked away, “Well, I… I feel warm all over, and my heart beats really fast… Sometimes I feel a little dizzy… I’m not sure if that’s what you are talking about or not.”

She feels the same way I do, Brooke thought, not sure if that helped or not.

“That’s how I feel when I kiss you, too,” Brooke said, her face so hot it was in danger of catching fire.

“Okay,” Aubrey said, meeting and holding Brooke’s eyes.

“I didn’t feel any of that when I kissed Danny,” Brooke said, shyly, “not racing heartbeat… no tingling all over… no butterflies right before our lips met.”

“Huh,” Aubrey said, frowning. She seemed lost in thought for a moment, then something Brooke had said dawned on her. She favored Brooke with a curious smile, asked, “You get butterflies before I kiss you?”

With an embarrassed laugh, Brooke asked, “So that’s what you got from all of that?”

“So you do?”

If her face weren’t already bright red, she would have blushed as she said, “Yeah.”

“But not with Danny?” Aubrey asked, her smile slipping.

“No,” Brooke said, wringing her hands in her lap.

“Is he a bad kisser?”

“No,” Brooke said, laughing.

“I had to ask,” Aubrey said, grinning, “I thought maybe he kissed your nose or your chin.”

“I wish that was all it was,” Brooke said, looking down at her hands.

Aubrey looked at her for a long moment, then asked, “What does this mean? Are you going to break up with him?”

“I don’t know,” Brooke said, which was the truth. Suddenly she had Aubrey’s arms around her. It turned out it was what she really needed right now, and she hugged her friend back.

————————————

In bed but without much chance of falling asleep, Brooke stared up at the ceiling. Her mind had been freed of distractions when she turned off her TV and her bedside lamp, and it insisted on thinking about Danny and the kiss. She had given up on reining in her racing thoughts, just let them run around and around in her head.

It hadn’t been a bad kiss and, with a stab of jealousy, Brooke wondered who he had practiced with. She had to remind herself that just because he was a good kisser, didn’t mean he had practiced. Maybe he was just naturally skilled. Even if he had practiced, she was the last person who should be getting jealous. After all, she had practiced with Aubrey. If anyone should be jealous, it was Danny. She had practiced kissing with Aubrey on seven different occasions- well six, since that last one earlier wasn’t really practicing anymore. With a twinge of guilt, she realized she had more than ‘practiced’ kissing with the girl. At some point, she’d have to admit to herself she had made out with her best friend a bunch of times while dating Danny. The fact that she had liked it more than she wanted to admit only made her feel even more guilty.

If only I could feel the same way about kissing Danny, Brooke thought, then grinned up at the ceiling, or if only I found Aubrey as cute as I did Danny. I could just dump him and date her.

It was supposed to be a joke, but Brooke found herself contemplating the idea. More than that, she was surprised to discover the idea of dating her friend wasn’t all that ludicrous. If Brooke were to put Danny and Aubrey to a comparison, Aubrey would have a whole bunch more check marks in her column. They liked the same books, movies, and were generally speaking miserable without each other’s company.

Too bad I’m not attracted to her, Brooke thought, then reconsidered, well, I don’t think I am. I’ve never looked at her… like that.

Brooke thought Aubrey was pretty, slim and leggy, but that wasn’t her sexual opinion of the girl. Just a friendly observation. She didn’t even know where to start looking to find something appealing on another girl. She smiled, thinking about the boys her age and their fascination with boobs, but they didn’t have any sway over her.

Why am I even thinking about this, Brooke wondered, shaking her head, I’m not a lesbian, for God’s sake.

She rolled onto her side and closed her eyes. Forcing her mind to go blank, she inhaled and exhaled slowly. It took a while, but she felt herself starting to slip into sleep. The last thought that popped into her head before it completely took her was, Why do I like making out with Aubrey so much, then?

—————————————–

…Brooke found herself skinny dipping in the pool behind Aubrey’s house, again. Aubrey was in the pool with her and just as naked. Part of her knew she must be dreaming because it was still winter and there should be a couple of inches of snow on the ground from the latest winter storm that had rolled through earlier in the week. Instead, it was sunny and warm outside, the perfect weather for frolicking in the pool. She was also pretty sure it was a dream because the last time she naked in this pool, she had been seven. She wasn’t seven now, but twelve going on thirteen. So was Aubrey, her almost teenaged body just beginning to fill out. That was another way she knew this was a dream, because she hadn’t seen the girl naked since before puberty started shaping her into the woman she would become. She had seen Aubrey in a bikini this summer though, so her imagination only had to fill in the naughty bits.

Aubrey caught her looking at her naked body and smiled this little sexy smile. She came over Brooke, moved against her. Their bodies molded together in the summer sun. Aubrey put her arms around Brooke’s neck and kissed her deeply. Brooke was suddenly warm all over, and it had nothing to do with the sun on her shoulders. She put her arms around the girl’s waist, not letting her pull away as she kissed her back. Her heart was racing, and she felt a little dizzy with need. She didn’t want Aubrey to ever stop kissing her.

Aubrey did though, pulled back from the kiss to favor Brooke with a brilliant smile. Brooke recognized the smile- it was the one Aubrey wore when she had mischief in mind. Seeing it now in this context, made her heart skip a beat, then start racing even faster. It knocked around her rib cage like a jackrabbit on methamphetamines.

“Let’s go up to my room,” Aubrey said, still smiling at her like that.

“Why?”Brooke asked. The last thing she wanted to do was leave the pool and the warmth of Aubrey’s embrace.

Aubrey’s smiled turned up even more, and she said, “To have sex, Silly.”

Brooke came awake with a start, her heart racing in her breast. She knew it had been a dream, but she could still feel Aubrey’s body pressed against hers. The feeling faded slowly as the dream lost its hold on her. Although brief, the dream had done a number on her, had left her a hot and bothered mess. She blushed at how turned on the dream had left her. Her nipples were hard, straining against the thin t-shirt she had worn to bed, and there was a pleasant warmth between her thighs.

“What the hell, Brooke?” She said out loud, brushing the hair from her face.

She didn’t have an answer to her own question. She has never had a dream about Aubrey like that before, or any other girl for that matter. More than that, she couldn’t understand her body’s reaction to the dream. It had left her horny and confused.

Don’t read too much into it, she cautioned herself, taking a deep breath to calm down, it’s just your subconscious jumbling up your feelings about kissing Danny and Aubrey, confusing your body in the process. It’s just surging hormones and unresolved questions, a potent cocktail for some weird dreams, for sure.

Brooke wasn’t sure about her logic, but she was happy to accept it for now. It was easier than considering the alternative, that an erotic dream about making out with Aubrey had turned her on this much. While she had made out with Aubrey on numerous occasions and had to admit she liked it, she didn’t want anything more. It was a big jump from kissing to having sex. Right?

“I can’t believe I’m even thinking about this,” Brooke said, out loud, “stupid dream.”

Staring up at the ceiling, Brooke tried to return to taking comfort in the convoluted logic she had adopted upon waking, but the more she thought about the dream, the more hollow her argument seemed. The dream had had nothing to do with Danny’s kiss or her lack of response to it, no matter how much she wanted to make it about those things.

It was about you making out with Aubrey and liking it. That’s what you were thinking about when you fell asleep, her mind decided to remind her, which didn’t help any. The last thing she needed right now was to think about how her body responded to the brush of Aubrey’s lips against her own, but it was too late. She was thinking about it.

Shaking her head, she muttered under her breath, “Stupid dream. I’m never getting to sleep tonight.”

She glanced at her alarm clock, saw it was after one in the morning. She sighed, knowing it was too late call one of her friends, even though she could really use an ear to bend. Then again, did she really want to have a conversation with one of them about her dream and her reaction to it? It seemed like it would raise a whole bunch more questions than it would answer, questions she wouldn’t have the answers for. Like why was she thinking about sleeping with Aubrey?

I’m not thinking about sleeping with Aubrey, anyway, Brooke thought, chewing on her lip. It was still the truth, even if it was getting a little frayed around the edges. She really didn’t want to sleep with Aubrey, but she thought she was a lot closer to considering it than before they had kissed.

“I’m not considering it,” Brooke said, not liking the fact that she felt the need to keep repeating it.

The dream hadn’t even been that erotic. Other than the nudity, it could have been a TV movie sex scene. At best, it was a scene out of one of the late night HBO or Cinemax specials, the ones with a lot of simulated sex. She really didn’t understand its effect on her. Her hormone drenched mind had conjured up plenty of dreams that made this one seem PG by comparison. So why is this one stuck in her head?

Sighing in frustration, Brooke rolled onto her side and closed her eyes. This time, the self-hypnosis technique she had used earlier to fall asleep didn’t work. She couldn’t shut off her thoughts long enough for the breathing exercises to work.

————————————

“You look like crap.”

“I didn’t sleep very well last night,” Brooke said, yawning.

“I can see that,” Aubrey said, laughing, “what happened?”

Brooke found herself in unfamiliar territory- there was something she couldn’t talk to Aubrey about. Well, she could, but that seemed like an awkward conversation at best…

So, I had an erotic dream about you last night and I woke up all hot and bothered. Couldn’t get back to sleep. How about you? Have any weird dreams you want to talk about? No? You are just going to walk away and never talk to me, again? Okay. That seems fair.

She must have taken too long to answer because Aubrey was looking at her expectantly. Not wanting to lie to her best friend, Brooke said, “I had a weird dream. Couldn’t get back to sleep for a while.”

“What kind of weird dream?” Aubrey asked.

Shaking her head, she said, “I’d rather not talk about it.”

“That bad?” Aubrey asked, laughing.

“Bad? Bad really isn’t the word I’d use… Just unexpected,” Brooke said, hoping Aubrey would just let it go. She was getting dangerously close to either lying to her best friend or telling her about the dream, and she really didn’t want to do either.

“Okay,” Aubrey said, still laughing, “do you need to talk about it?”

“Not really,” Brooke said, which was kind of a lie. She really did need to talk to someone about it, but not with Aubrey. Or any of her other friends for that matter.

Shrugging, Aubrey said, “Well, if you change your mind…”

“Thanks,” Brooke said, smiling at her.

“Subject change,” Aubrey said, leaning closer, “did you figure out what you are going to do about Danny?”

“No,” Aubrey said.

“It was just one bad kiss,” Aubrey said, meeting Brooke’s eyes, “maybe it’ll get better as you go.”

“Maybe,” Brooke said, nodding. Snorting, she said, “It was pretty amazing from the get-go with you, though.”

“That’s because I am amazing. How could it not be?” Aubrey said, grinning.

“Amazing, huh? And modest, too,” Brooke said, amused.

“I try to stay humble, even with all this awesomeness,” Aubrey said, making Brooke laugh. Getting serious, she said, “Give the guy a second chance. Maybe a third. If you still don’t get the tingle in your dingle, then dump him.”

Laughing, Brooke asked, “Tingle in my dingle? What the hell is a dingle?”

“A valley or a dell, I think,” Aubrey said, grinning, “and your dingle is-”

Shaking her head, Brooke cut her off, “No, I get it. You don’t need to explain.”

“I just came up with that, by the way. I’m going to get it patented, so everyone has to give me a quarter to say it.”

Brooke laughed and said, “I wouldn’t expect to get rich off of it. I’m pretty sure you are the first person to say it for a reason.”

“You are just jealous,” Aubrey said.

“Anyway,” Brooke said, changing the subject, “why did you want me to come over?”

“I have to have a reason?” Aubrey asked.

“Well, yeah. Even if it is ‘I was bored’ or ‘I missed you’,” Brooke said.

Rolling her eyes, Aubrey said, “Fine. I was bored, and I missed you.”

“I’m glad you did, because the Monster has a couple of friends over,” Brooke said.

“Do you need to stay the night?” Aubrey asked.

“Yeah,” Brooke said, groaning. Her brother was obnoxious by himself but was doubly so when he was around his friends. Two of them were spending the night at Brooke’s house, so if she could sleep here tonight, that would be wonderful.

“Let me ask Mom,” Aubrey said, hopping off the bed.

Pulling her phone out of her back pocket, Brooke called her house. Her mother picked up on the third ring, said, “Are you avoiding the house tonight?”

Brooke laughed, “Yeah.”

“I figured,” her mother said, sighing, “don’t suppose I could come too?”

“And leave Dad alone with the heathens?” Brooke asked, smiling.

“Right,” her mother said, sighing again, “see you tomorrow, Kiddo.”

“Love you,” Brooke said.

“Love you, too.”

The phone went dead in her hand, and she stuffed it back in her pocket. A minute or so later, Aubrey returned, and she nodded. Asking was mostly a formality- neither set of parents would turn the girls away.

“Mom wanted to come too,” Brooke said.

Laughing, Aubrey said, “I don’t blame her. Your brother is a real turd around his friends.”

“Which is why you are my hero for letting me stay,” Brooke said.

“Are you going to run home for clothes?” Aubrey asked.

“Um… Do you have something I could borrow?” Brooke asked.

Aubrey laughed, “Yeah. I think you still have clothes here, anyway.”

“Probably,” Brooke agreed.

Aubrey came to the bed, flopping on her back next to Brooke. She glanced at Brooke, looked like she wanted to ask something, then seemed to change her mind. She looked away, fiddling with her shirt distractedly. Brooke was pretty sure the girl had been about to ask her something, then had chickened out.

“Something on your mind?” Brooke asked, intrigued.

“Um no,” Aubrey said, not looking at Brooke.

“Liar,” Brooke said, grinning at her, “what is it?”

“I was just wondering if… you know, since you and Danny finally kissed… if you’d still want to practice some more,” Aubrey said.

With a little laugh, Brooke said, “I don’t think it’d count as practice, anymore.”

“Yeah, you are probably right,” Aubrey said, looking up at the ceiling.

Brooke looked at her friend for a moment, surprised that she seemed disappointed. Then again, she guessed she shouldn’t be all that surprised. She hadn’t had to twist Aubrey’s arm very hard to get the girl to kiss her. In fact, ‘practicing’ had been Aubrey’s idea a couple of times.

Her heart beating a little faster, Brooke said, “We could make out a little, if you want.”

Gasping in surprise, Aubrey looked wide-eyed at her.

Blushing, Brooke said, “To be honest, it stopped being practice after about the second time.”

“I-I guess it did,” Aubrey said, sitting up.

“So… What do you think?” Brooke asked.

“I think… I think if you kissed me, I’d kiss you back,” Aubrey said, looking down at her hands in her lap.

Her heart racing, Brooke looked at the girl’s lips. They were soft and looked very kissable, but did she dare? They weren’t even pretending to be ‘practicing’ anymore. If she kissed Aubrey now, she’d be officially making out with her best friend. The difference was both small and monumental at the same time, a half step and a giant leap.

After her dream last night, she knew it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to kiss the girl. She had had some pretty confusing thoughts about Aubrey after starting awake. Kissing her now would only confuse them even more.

Then there was Danny, her boyfriend. It seemed unfair to condemn their relationship on just one lackluster kiss. She thought Aubrey was probably right about giving him a second chance, or maybe even a third to, as Aubrey had put it, put the tingle in her dingle.

Still, she really wanted to kiss the girl. Chewing on her lip indecisively, she sort of wished Aubrey had just said yes to making out or, even better, had kissed her first. Aubrey was making her decide whether to do it or not.

Then a thought popped into her head, If I’m giving Danny two and three tries, shouldn’t I give Aubrey at least one? After all, she does have more checks in her column than Danny.

Last night, she had jokingly thought if she was attracted to Aubrey, she could dump Danny and date her best friend. She had also realized she had never looked at Aubrey like that before. What if she looked now and found something she liked? She knew what she liked when it came to boys, but what about a girl?

Her heart racing, she looked at Aubrey sitting there in her snug jeans and long-sleeved t-shirt. With her cheeks hot, she remembered how Aubrey had looked in her dream, naked in the summer sun. The Aubrey in her dream had been very convincing, her subconscious dragging up memories of the girl in her bikini as a reference. The heat in her face spread between her thighs thinking about the dream and, again, she had to wonder about its effect on her.

Was it the dream or Aubrey, Brooke thought, her eyes widening, the way I feel when I kiss her… Maybe my body is trying to tell me something.

Brooke looked at Aubrey’s lips, again, and they still looked very kissable. She found herself putting her hand on her friend’s cheek. When Aubrey looked up, she kissed her. It was a little hesitant at first, like they were both very aware of the difference this time, but it deepened quickly. Brooke felt herself responding- the pounding heartbeat, the butterflies, the bated breath.

Pulling back, Aubrey said with a nervous giggle, “We are making out.”

“Um, yeah. I guess we are,” Brooke said, smiling at her.

“I like kissing you,” Aubrey said.

“I like kissing you, too,” Brooke admitted.

Their lips met again, and Brooke opened mouth to let her friend’s tongue into her mouth. Teasing it with her own, she drew the girl into an even deeper kiss. Maybe a little too deep, because time got a little funny, again. When they finally came up for air, Brooke wasn’t sure how long they had been kissing. It took it a second to register that they had gone from sitting up to lying on their sides facing each other. She wasn’t sure how they had gotten here.

Aubrey looked down at her own body, frowning. She seemed as confused as Brooke felt and when she looked questioningly at Brooke, Brooke could only shrug.

“I think we got carried away,” Brooke said.

“I guess so,” Aubrey said, with a nervous laugh, “I don’t remember laying down like this.”

“Me, either.”

“Maybe we should slow down,” Aubrey said.

“Yeah,” Brooke agreed, kissing her. She had meant to keep it slow but didn’t seem able to. The girl made her dizzy with a need for more and she couldn’t contain herself. The kiss got away from them, again.

This time, when their lips finally parted, Brooke realized Aubrey’s body was pressed against hers like it had been in the dream. Lost in the kiss, Aubrey had moved against her, or maybe she had moved against Aubrey, the space between them evaporating. Aubrey was warm and soft in her arms, smelled like shampoo and soap. Brooke liked how she felt molded against her.

Her cheeks red, Brooke said, “Maybe we should stop for a minute.”

Aubrey nodded, separating from Brooke. She brushed her hair behind her ear shyly, met Brooke’s eyes. Her voice was a little thick with excitement as she said, “What just happened?”

“I don’t know,” Brooke said, laughing nervously.

——————————————–

Brooke yawned, again.

Aubrey saw her and laughed, “Are you ready to go to bed?”

“I’m so tired,” Brooke said, shaking her head. She hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, finding it hard to get back to sleep after dreaming about Aubrey. It was only nine-thirty, but she was having trouble keeping her eyes open.

Shrugging, Aubrey said, “We can call it a night, if you want.”

“You don’t have to go to bed because of me,” Brooke said, getting off the bed, “but I think I’m going to turn in.”

“I think a couple of your shirts are in my closet or you can borrow whatever you need to sleep in,” Aubrey said, “your toothbrush is still in the bathroom.”

Nodding, Brooke headed to the bathroom. As she brushed her teeth, she wondered about what had happened earlier. It wasn’t anything new; she had been wondering about it ever since it happened. She thought if they hadn’t stopped when they did, their little make-out session might have gotten way out of control. She didn’t think she was over exaggerating when she thought they were one kiss away from whatever came after kissing. She wasn’t even sure what that was, but they had been in real danger of finding out.

Brooke met her eyes in the mirror, thinking about the dream that had ruined her night of sleep. After what had happened earlier, that dream didn’t seem as preposterous as it had then. Worse, she was about to share a bed with the girl.

“Nothing’s going to happen,” she told her reflection as she rinsed her toothbrush and put it up. The girl in the mirror didn’t look so sure.

She finished her business in the bathroom, then headed back to Aubrey’s room. Aubrey left Brooke to find something to wear to bed, taking her turn in the bathroom. Brooke went to the girl’s closet, shaking her head when she spotted more than a couple of her shirts hanging from the rod. She smiled when she thought Aubrey would probably find some of her clothes at Brooke’s, too. They shared everything.

Taking a t-shirt out of the closet, she slipped out of her sweater and bra, then into it. She kicked off her shoes, then unbuttoned her jeans. She shimmied out of them, kicking them aside. In just her panties and the t-shirt, she crawled under the covers.

A couple of minutes later, Aubrey came back. The girl went to her closet, grabbed a t-shirt to sleep in. She pulled her long sleeved shirt up and over her head, tossing it at the hamper. Popping the button on her jeans, she started to work them off her hips. She stopped, glancing at Brooke.

Blinking in surprise, Brooke realized she had been watching the girl undress. More than that, she must have been looking pretty hard, if Aubrey had felt her eyes on her. Her cheeks hot, Brooke looked away, but she couldn’t get the image of Aubrey in just her bra and her jeans half off out of her head.

She risked another glance at her friend, swallowing hard when she saw the girl in just her bra and panties. As she watched, Aubrey popped the catches on her bra, slipping out of it. Brooke looked away in a hurry, her heart racing.

Closing her eyes, she tried not to see Aubrey in just her panties but failed miserably. After her dream last night, she had wondered if she took the time to look at Aubrey as a potential partner, could she find the girl attractive. Seeing the girl now wearing nothing but a flimsy pair of panties, Brooke realized she had her answer, and it wasn’t what she had expected.

Oh God, I’m attracted to Aubrey, Brooke thought, still seeing the girl clearly in her mind. Maybe it was the dream or the intense make-out session earlier, but she was definitely looking now, and she couldn’t deny it. Aubrey had long, shapely legs; hips just beginning to fill out; a flat, sexy belly; a round, perky backside; and small, up-swept breasts. She had looked so inviting standing there, all that soft and smooth skin on display.

Brooke felt Aubrey’s body weight settle onto the bed beside her and Brooke tensed up. Her sleepiness was gone in an instant, washed away by adrenaline. Being in bed with Aubrey now that she realized she was attracted to the girl had triggered her fight or flight response. She couldn’t do either of those things, could only lie there stiff as a board.

“Brooke?”

“Yeah?” Brooke said, opening her eyes and looking at her friend.

“About earlier,” Aubrey said, shyly.

“What about it?” Brooke asked.

“I was thinking about how I ended up in your arms,” Aubrey said.

“The kissing just got away from us, is all,” Brooke said, her heart beating faster.

“I know,” Aubrey said, with a nervous little laugh, “I sort of panicked when it happened.”

“Me, too,” Brooke said, smiling at her.

“I panicked because I liked it,” Aubrey said, searching Brooke’s eyes.

“You did?” Brooke asked.

“Yeah,” Aubrey said, still holding Brooke’s gaze, “didn’t you?”

Taking a deep breath, Brooke said, “I did. Kissing you… being in your arms… All of it.”

It was the truth, but it still felt weird to admit it. A little embarrassed, she wanted to look away, but the look that passed over Aubrey’s face wouldn’t let her. The girl had never looked at her like that before.

“Do you think…maybe you’d… want to try again?” Aubrey asked.

“Tonight?” Brooke asked, searching her friend’s eyes. There was definitely something new there.

“Yeah,” Aubrey said, her voice a little shaky with excitement, “what if I turn out the light and we can make out some more… Maybe not stop this time?”

“I-I don’t know if we are ready for that,” Brooke said, thinking about how they had been on the brink of moving from kissing to whatever came after kissing earlier.

Grinning, Aubrey said, “Chickenshit.”

Brooke laughed, “Asshole.”

Aubrey just winked at her and rolled over to turn out the bedside lamp. In the dark, the girl moved against Brooke. For all of her uncertainties and hesitation, Brooke put her arm around the girl. Brooke had butterflies in her stomach as she sensed Aubrey leaning in to kiss her. She was a little scared of what would happen if Aubrey pressed her lips to hers and they didn’t stop this time. A little scared but also a little curious and more than a little excited. For all of her uncertainty and hesitation, she hoped the girl did kiss her.

Then it happened, Aubrey’s soft lips meeting hers. Brooke’s heart was knocking around her breast as she opened her mouth to let Aubrey in. The caress of Aubrey’s tongue against her own teased her into a deep lingering kiss. As she started to respond, Brooke’s hesitation evaporated, burned off by the warmth spreading all over her body. She kissed Aubrey back eagerly, once again losing herself to the kiss.

She barely noticed Aubrey’s hand on her hip until it slid up her flank to cup her breast through her t-shirt. Breaking the kiss, she laughed, “What are you doing?”

“Getting to second base,” Aubrey said.

The girl’s touch made Brooke’s nipple stiffen, and the lovely friction of her palm dragging across that straining nub made Brooke shiver. She bit her lip as a moan threatened to escape her, but she couldn’t contain it. The little sound of pleasure hung in the air between them, and Aubrey seemed to take it as encouragement or maybe permission because her hand didn’t move from Brooke’s breast.

“Do you remember what Tessa was saying about her cousin in eighth grade?” Aubrey asked.

“What?” Brooke asked, finding it hard to think with Aubrey touching her like that.

“Tessa said her cousin had dry sex with her boyfriend,” Aubrey said.

“Yeah,” Brooke said, remembering the conversation. Tessa had told them about it at lunch, all the girls leaning in for this juicy bit of information. Apparently, the cousin and her boyfriend had rubbed against each other in their underwear until they both had orgasms.

Even with her thoughts addle by Aubrey’s sweet torture on her tender nipple, Brooke thought she knew why the girl was asking. She swallowed hard, realizing her erotic dream from last night was in real danger of coming true.

“Do you think it would work if it’s… two girls?” Aubrey asked.

Brooke thought it probably would, but she was too surprised to answer. Was Aubrey really suggesting this, that they have dry sex? While Aubrey hadn’t come right out and asked, Brooke was pretty sure the girl was circling the question.

She managed to find her voice to say, “I- I think so.”

“Me, too,” Aubrey said, a nervous excitement creeping into her voice.

“Aubrey, I…” Brooke started to say something more but faltered. Taking a deep breath, she tried again, “Do you… Why are you asking about dry sex?”

Even in the dark, Brooke could see the girl blushing. The girl’s voice was shaky when she answered, “I thought maybe with the way you were looking at me when I was changing for bed… and what happened when we made out… I thought maybe…”

“Oh,” Brooke said, with a nervous laugh.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to,” Aubrey said, hastily.

Brooke thought Aubrey was holding her breath, waiting for her to answer. Aubrey did that sometimes, usually when she was hoping for something to happen. Swallowing hard, Brooke realized that Aubrey was not only serious but really wanted to have sex with her. More than that, she thought it had been on the girl’s mind for a while. Aubrey was kind of neurotic, didn’t do anything without agonizing over it for a while first. If she was asking if Brooke wanted to sleep with her now, it wasn’t a spur of the moment idea.

Maybe I’m not the only one having erotic dreams, Brooke thought, her heart racing. Thinking about the dream, she found herself saying, “The dream that kept me awake last night… It was about you.”

“Me?” Aubrey said, surprised.

“It was… God, I can’t believe I’m telling you this. It was an erotic dream,” Brooke said, her face hot.

“Really?” Aubrey said, laughing. Her eyes were shining with interest in the dark.

“We were skinny dipping in the pool and making out, when you said let’s go upstairs. When I asked you why, you said ‘to have sex’,” Brooke said.

“Then what happened?” Aubrey asked, sounding more than a little curious.

“I woke up,” Brooke said.

“That’s it?” Aubrey asked.

“Not much of a dream, right?” Brooke laughed.

“Not really,” Aubrey agreed.

“It wasn’t the dream that kept me awake last night,” Brooke said, meeting her friend’s eyes shyly, “it was how it made me feel.”

“How it made you feel?” Aubrey parroted, her eyes not letting Brooke look away.

Still not believing she was saying any of this, Brooke said, “It made me… horny.”

Caught off guard, Aubrey started laughing, “Wow.”

Taking a deep breath, Brooke said, “I think I had it because of the way I feel when you kiss me. I was confused by my body’s reaction to you and not Danny. Then this dream… I think my body has been trying to tell me something for a while, but my brain is just now beginning to figure it out.”

“What’s that?” Aubrey asked, holding her breath, again.

Brooke thought the girl might actually want to hear what she had to say next, which intrigued her. Did Aubrey have feelings of her own? Taking a deep breath, Brooke said, “Danny’s kiss didn’t make my heart race or give me butterflies in my stomach because I think I’m supposed to be with you.”

Aubrey’s pent-up breath rushed out of her, and she kissed Brooke heatedly. Pulling back, she said, excitedly, “God, I’m so glad you think so, too.”

“You are?” Brooke asked.

“It was after the second time we practiced kissing,” Aubrey said, a little shyly, “I started wondering about how I felt when you kissed me. Like you said, my body was trying to tell me something. Only, I figured it out a little quicker than you.”

“When did you figure it out?” Brooke asked.

“About the fourth time we practiced kissing,” Aubrey said, then laughed, “you are right about it not being ‘practice’ after the first time. For me, at least. I just wanted to kiss you some more.”

“I’m pretty sure it wasn’t practice for either of us,” Brooke said, smiling at her.

“You have no idea how good it feels to admit this,” Aubrey said, with a nervous little laugh, “I’ve been trying to work up the courage to tell you how I feel.”

Brooke found the girl’s hand in the dark, interlocking her fingers with Aubrey’s. If she had had any doubts that this was what she wanted, they blew away with the joining of their hands. It just felt right, like it was meant to be like this.

Aubrey kissed her then, and Brooke felt all those things that only Aubrey’s lips could bring. She felt a burst of warmth for the girl that had nothing to do with their years of friendship. This affection was something new, something more. She already loved Aubrey, but she thought she might be falling in love with her, too.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Aubrey’s hand slipped under her shirt, touched her stomach. A shiver of excitement worked through her as that hand moved higher to cup her breast. She felt another burst of warmth, but this one was more about lust than love.

Breaking the kiss, Aubrey said, “I think your dream is about to become real.”

“It’s a little cold outside for skinny dipping,” Brooke teased.

“We’ll just have to skip to the end then,” Aubrey said, kissing her deeply.

Her body starting to respond to Aubrey’s touch, Brooke thought she was about to have something in common with Tessa’s cousin. She was about to have dry sex, not with her boyfriend but her girlfriend.

My girlfriend, Brooke thought, trying it on for size. She was a little surprised how well it fit. Her heart got a little funny in her breast as she thought, Aubrey is my girlfriend.

Brooke was distracted from her thoughts as Aubrey put her hand on her shoulder, gently pushed her to her back. The room wasn’t completely dark, the myriad of electronic equipment with their LEDs cast enough ambient light that Brooke could see Aubrey get to her hands and knees. Her heart skipped a beat as the girl moved atop her, nudging her legs open with a knee so she could lay between them. Brooke couldn’t quite bite back a nervous giggle as their bodies nested together.

“Don’t we have to take our clothes off?” Brooke asked.

“I think Tessa said her cousin kept her panties on,” Aubrey said.

“That was so his thingy wouldn’t accidentally slip inside,” Brooke said, grinning, “not much chance of that happening with us.”

“I guess not,” Aubrey said, laughing. She leaned in and kissed Brooke deeply, before saying, “Do you want me to take my clothes off?”

“I think we are supposed to,” Brooke said.

“That’s not what I asked,” Aubrey said, playfully.

Laughing, Brooke kissed her, again. She sat up and urged Aubrey to get to her knees. Hooking her fingers in the bottom of Aubrey’s shirt, she pulled it up. Aubrey put her arms up, helped Brooke remove the shirt altogether. Brooke could just make out Aubrey’s small breasts in the darkness. Biting her lip, she put her hands on Aubrey’s flat stomach, slid them up until she was cupping them. They were pliant and soft, just fit in her hand. She felt Aubrey’s nipples stiffen in response to her touch and the girl moaned as she teased them.

“Is this okay?” Brooke asked, meeting the girl’s eyes.

“It feels good,” Aubrey said, her voice a little thick with excitement.

Brooke let her hands slip from Aubrey’s breasts, back down her stomach to the elastic waistband of her panties. She heard the girl’s breathing get a little funny as she pushed the underwear down around her knees. Aubrey sat back, lifted her legs in the air so Brooke could remove the panties completely. Naked, she looked at Brooke expectantly.

Looking at the girl, Brooke could just make out her body in the dark. Not satisfied, she reached past Aubrey and turned on the bedside lamp. She closed her eyes at the sudden glare, but when she opened them, she saw the girl smiling at her.

“I wanted to see you,” Brooke said. Her eyes roamed over her friend’s body, drank her in. Dream Aubrey had been shapely and sexy, but paled in comparison to the real Aubrey. She looked soft and very touchable sitting there wearing nothing but that playful little smile.

Aubrey got back to her knees, hooking her fingers in Brooke’s shirt. Pulling it up, she said, “I want to see you, too.”

Brooke put her arms over her head, and Aubrey removed her shirt, tossed it aside. She shivered, Aubrey’s eyes hot on her bare breasts. The corners of Aubrey’s mouth turned up even more, and Brooke’s heart skipped a beat. It made Brooke feel sexy, the way Aubrey smiled as she looked at her.

Aubrey slipped her fingers into the waistband of Brooke’s panties, and she lifted her backside off the bed so the girl could remove them.

“Wow,” Aubrey said, grinning as she leaned in for a kiss.

“You too,” Brooke said, her voice husky with excitement.

“We should probably turn the light out,” Aubrey said, glancing at the door to her bedroom, “Mom and Dad are still awake. They might check on us.”

“Yeah,” Brooke said, taking one last long look at the girl before reaching for the lamp.

In the dark, Aubrey moved between her legs again. This time, there was nothing between them and Brooke giggled nervously. Their bodies were nested together very intimately, closer than they had ever been before. It was a little awkward but exciting, and a naughty shiver worked up her spine at what they were doing. She and Aubrey were really going to have sex. She thought when a boy and girl did this, it was dry sex because there was no penetration. She thought when she and Aubrey did it, it would just be having sex.

Lesbian sex, she thought with wonder, this all started with one little kiss and look how far Aubrey and I have come.

A little hesitantly, Brooke ran her hands over Aubrey’s back. The girl’s skin was so warm and soft that she found herself unable to stop touching her. Aubrey’s soft sighs as Brooke explored her body only emboldened her more. Her hands slipped onto the girl’s buttocks, kneading them. Aubrey giggled but didn’t tell her to stop.

Aubrey’s hands were on her, too, and she thrilled to the girl’s caresses. The girl’s fingertips left Brooke’s skin tingling in their wake, her nerve ending crying out for her hands to come back. She shivered as heat spread across her body. Biting her lip to keep her moans in check, she thought Aubrey had her a horny mess.

Her hand on the back of Aubrey’s neck, Brooke pulled her in for a kiss. Her already racing heart beat even faster as their lips met and their tongues teased each other. She could feel Aubrey’s excitement behind her kiss, knew the girl was as turned on as she was.

Breaking the kiss, Aubrey smiled down at Brooke. She pushed her hips forward, rubbing their pussies together. Brooke gasped as it sent a little wave of pleasure crashing through her body. Her eyes wide, she laughed. Aubrey nodded, and her smile widened as rolled her hips, again. The lovely friction of their bodies coming together forced a moan from Brooke. The moan made both of them giggle excitedly.

“Works,” Brooke said.

“Yeah,” Aubrey said, kissing Brooke. Without breaking it, she started moving her hips, grinding their bodies together. The kiss was punctuated by moans and sighs from both of them, their little sounds of enjoyment filling the air above them.

Brooke had discovered the joys of masturbation when she was eleven, and this felt kind of like that, only more so. Aubrey’s body moving against hers had her clutching at the girl’s shoulders like she was holding on for dear life. In a way, she was. The roll of Aubrey’s hips was taking her to heights of pleasure she has never reached on her own. It was a little scary how good this felt. She didn’t think she’d ever be able to get enough.

She found she could push her body up into Aubrey’s thrusts and the pressure on her bud was that much more intense. She couldn’t hold in her little cries of pleasure.

“I think we need… need to be quiet,” Aubrey said, around a moan.

“I’m trying,” Brooke said, laughing, “you are making it impossible.”

Smiling, Aubrey kissed her deeply, said, “I hope my parents don’t come upstairs.”

“Me, too,” Brooke said, her eyes going to the bedroom door. She really didn’t want to get caught having sex with Aubrey. Mostly, because she was pretty sure she was going to want to do this, again. And again.

She put her knuckle between her teeth, biting down to keep as quiet as she could. It helped some, but not much. Aubrey really was making it impossible to hold in her excitement. It got even harder as Aubrey’s hips moved faster and faster. She was in danger of drawing blood, she was clenching her teeth so tight on her knuckle.

“Oh God,” Aubrey said, her eyes widening, “I’m going to!”

Brooke thought she knew what the girl meant even without her saying the word. Sex has become a common topic of conversation at school, and she knew all the words for it. Orgasm. Climax. Come. Whatever she wanted to call it, Aubrey was about to have one. Brooke was right there, too, and Aubrey’s words brought on her own orgasm. Aubrey stiffened atop her, gasping. Only half a heartbeat behind her, Brooke’s body exploded with pleasure.

Trying to catch her breath, Aubrey laughed, “Holy shit.”

“Yeah,” Brooke agreed, kissing her, “this definitely works.”

“Did you?” Aubrey asked.

“I had an orgasm, yeah,” Brooke said, sighing contently, “and a good one, too.”

“Me, too,” Aubrey said, excitedly. She rolled off of Brooke, stretching out on her back next to her. Shaking her head, she said, “I can’t believe we had dry sex.”

“Not dry sex,” Brooke said, moving against the girl’s flank, “just sex.”

“Yeah, I guess you are right,” Aubrey said, kissing her, “we had sex. That’s pretty crazy, huh?”

“A little,” Brooke said, smiling at her, “not as crazy as the fact we are dating, though.”

“We are dating?” Aubrey asked.

Brooke realized the topic really hadn’t been broached. She had just assumed after they opened up about their mutual attraction. Meeting the girl’s eyes now, she asked, “What do you think? Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

“I do,” Aubrey said, kissing her, again, “do you want to be mine?”

“I do,” Brooke said.

———————————

Brooke drifted off to sleep in Aubrey’s arms, and she dreamed about skinny dipping, again. It was the same dream as before, except when Aubrey asked if she wanted to go upstairs, she said yes. Coming awake, she looked at Aubrey sleeping next to her. Smiling, she thought her dream really had come true.

What Did You Think?