Secret Admirer, Part One

A single red rose.

 Addison Melborne blinked in surprise at the flower sitting atop the stack of textbooks and notebooks in her school locker. Adjusting the books in the crook of her arm, she picked up the rose, careful of the thorns. It was a brilliant red, so lovely.

 She looked around the bustling hallway but no one seemed to be more than a little interested in her, no one standing out as the giver of the flower. Frowning, she looked down at it, wondered who it was from.

 Looking back in her locker, she noticed a folded piece of paper. The rose had grabbed her attention when she had opened her locker and she had overlooked the note. Setting the flower back in the locker, she picked up the note. In elegant penmanship, someone had written ‘Your Admirer’ on the back of the paper.

 “My admirer,” she said, out loud, blinking in surprise. If she went to a co-ed school, such a gift and note might not have been such a shock, but she went to an all girl school. Another student here at St. Micheal’s had given her what appeared to be a love letter.

 A girl.

 Again, she looked around the hallway but couldn’t spot anyone who might be the giver of the rose. Looking down at the letter in her hand, she felt her heart beat faster. Her stomach fluttered at the thought of a girl here at St. Micheal’s liking her.

 Recently, she has been doing a lot of thinking about herself, trying to figure out these thoughts and feelings she’s been having. The other girls in her grade were beginning to talk about boys and the prospects of dating. She tried to seem interested, but she didn’t share their excitement. Maybe the fact that she had to try so hard to be like them should tell her she was not.

 These feelings… She hadn’t told anyone about them, not even her best friend, which she was a little ashamed of. She knew Bethany wouldn’t stop being her friend if she told her she thought she might be a lesbian. Still, she was afraid to admit she didn’t feel an attraction to boys because she found the female form more appealing.

 Now, a girl had sent her a rose and she felt that nervous energy the other girls talked about, felt like giggling and dancing.

 She didn’t, of course. She didn’t want to draw attention to herself. Putting her books in the locker, she pulled out her backpack. She loaded it up with what she needed for homework, then slipped the note the front pouch. Looking at the rose, she didn’t know what to do. It would be crushed if she put it in her back pack and she couldn’t just carry it. People would wonder where she had gotten it and why. She just didn’t need that kind of attention in her life right now.

 Sighing, she left the rose sitting atop her books, closed her locker. She wished she could bring it with her, glanced over her shoulder at her locker as she hurried to catch the bus home.

 She found Bethany sitting in their usual spot, slid in beside her. The girl grinned at her, then narrowed her eyes as she saw the look on her face. She was trying not to smile but she couldn’t help it and her cheeks were flushed with excitement.

 “What are you so happy about,” Bethany asked.

 Addison glanced at her friend, knew the girl could read her like a book. It was a curse of friendship. She felt herself blush and scrambled for something to tell the girl. She sighed when Bethany started shaking her head. The girl knew she was trying to avoid telling her something.

 She took the note from her backpack, showed Bethany what was written on the back. The girl frowned, then her eyes got big as the ramifications of the note really sank in. Laughing, she said, “Wait, you have a secret admirer at St. Micheal’s? Then…”

 “Yeah,” Addison said, grinning sheepishly, “there was a rose, too.”

 “Some girl gave you a rose,” Bethany said, laughing, “What does the note say?”

 “I don’t know. I haven’t opened it, yet.”

 “Why?”

 “I didn’t want to do it in school,” Addison said, looking down at the note in her hand.

 Bethany grinned at her, said, “Afraid it would make you blush and someone would notice?”

 She knew her friend was joking but that was pretty much the truth.

 “You need to get over being embarrassed and just be yourself,” Bethany said, smiling at her.

 “Myself,” Addison asked, her heart racing. The statement from her friend scared her a little bit. Did the girl know?

 “Come on, Addie,” she said, meeting her eyes, “I’m your best friend. Do you really think I didn’t notice the changes in you?”

 Her palms began to sweat and she was a little shaky with adrenaline. Had it happened? Had someone finally noticed she was different?

 “Then there was the grin on your face when you sat down,” Bethany said, still holding her gaze, “I haven’t seen you grin like that in a month.”

 Oh, God, Addison thought, swallowing hard, she knows!

 “You don’t have to talk about it, if you don’t want to,” she said, smiling, “but I’m always available if you do. Whenever you are ready.”

 She nodded, couldn’t breathe. She wanted to open up to her friend, but she couldn’t get the words out. Embarrassed, she looked away.

 “Read your note, silly girl,” Bethany said, affection thick in her voice.

 Finally drawing in a deep breath, she held it as she opened the note. The handwriting was very neat, almost frilly. Definitely a girl’s handwriting. Her heart was racing as she began to read:

 My Dear Addison,

 I wish I had the nerve to tell you in person but please know this note is my heart put on paper. Your beauty is almost too much to bear, takes my breath away and leaves me weak. You are always on my mind and in my heart…

 The raw sentiment of the letter startled a gasp from her, her heart skipping several beats in her chest. She put a hand to her mouth, couldn’t believe some girl felt so strongly about her. She’d never been so happy or excited or scared.

 Oh God, she thought, what if…

 There were just too many what ifs to even think about right now. There wasn’t much left of the note and she finished reading the rest in a hurry:

 … I don’t know if you could ever be interested in a silly girl like me, but I pray you might. This rose is a token of my affection but also an invitation. Leave it on the trophy case by the rear exit and I’ll take it as a sign, a ray of hope. As always, yours- your admirer.

 She felt Bethany’s eyes on her, glanced at her friend. She blushed when she saw her grinning at her, managed a sheepish one of her own.

 “That good, huh,” her friend asked.

 “Pretty good, yeah,” Addison said, with a nervous laugh.

 “Figured,” she said, grinning, “you got that look on your face you always get when you eat an Oreo blizzard.”

 Addison laughed, her cheeks getting even redder. She knew what her friend was insinuating with the statement. She loved the frozen concoction from Dairy Queen, ate them with such relish her friend usually made fun of her.

 ——————————————

 “You think?”

 Addison saw the amusement on her friend’s face, felt her face turn scarlet. Her heart was racing in her breast and she felt a little sick to her stomach, she was so nervous. She felt kind of guilty, being so anxious about talking to Bethany. Up until recently, they could talk about anything and everything.

 She had invited the girl over to finally tell her that she was a lesbian. She had psyched herself up for it, rehearsed what she’d say, but when the time came she had hedged. She had said ‘I think’, like she was unsure. That wasn’t the case, anymore. Her reaction to the letter and rose from her admirer was proof enough.

 Bethany laughed and put her arms around her shoulders. Giving her a reassuring squeeze, she said, “Well, my might-be lesbian friend, shame on you for waiting so long to tell me.”

 Grinning sheepishly, Addison said, “I guess, I was a little scared.”

 “Did you really think this would change anything?”

 “I don’t know. It’s just… It is a little scary to be different. Do you know what I mean?”

 Giving her another squeeze, Bethany said, “You’ve always been a little different.”

 “Ha ha,” Addison said, laughing at her own expense.

 “It’s why we make perfect friends,”she said, grinning at her, “we are both a little off.”

 “You more so than me,” Addison said, laughing.

 “You wish you could be off as me,” Bethany said, winking at her.

 Laughing, she felt some of the tension drain out of her. They were going to be okay. That was the one thing that kept her quiet about her attraction to other girls for so long, the thought of losing Bethany as a friend. She loved the girl too much to let that happen.

 “All jokes aside,” Bethany said, meeting her eyes, “I’m here if you want to talk about it. Any of it.”

 Giving her friend a warm smile, she said, “Thank you. You know, for being such a good friend.”

 “Don’t get all mushy on me.”

 Laughing, Addison said, “I won’t.”

 “Good,” Bethany said, giving her one more squeeze before letting her go, “now, tell me about this secret admirer of yours.”

 “What do you mean?”

 “What did the note say? Do you know who it is,” her friend asked.

 “It didn’t say,” Addison said, grinning. She couldn’t help it, always had to smile when she thought about the letter from her admirer.

 “Then what did it say,” Bethany asked.

 Addison looked at her friend for a long moment, then got off the bed and went to her desk. She returned with the note. Hesitating, she looked down at the folded piece of paper, wondered if she should show her friend. It was kind of personal and not just for her. Her admirer had poured her heart out on the page, expressed her feelings for Addison, and Addison alone. She seemed a little shy about putting herself out there, hence the note and rose.

 Seeing her pause, Bethany said, “I don’t want to read the note. That is between you and your admirer.”

 Relieved, Addison said, “I didn’t feel comfortable showing you. The girl, whoever she is, seems kind of shy about this. Do you know what I mean?”

 “You mean, because she sent you a note instead of coming to you in person?”

 “Yeah, that.”

 “Maybe she is scared like you,” Bethany said, then shrugged when Addison looked at her, “maybe she is feeling you out, seeing if you might be interested.”

 “Huh,” Addison said, looking down at the note, “you are probably right. She wants me to put the rose in the back display case at school if I am.”

 “If you are,” Bethany asked.

 “Into girls, I guess,” Addison said, blushing when Bethany grinned at her.

 “Are you going to? Put the rose in the display case,” her friend asked.

 “I don’t know,” she said, feeling her pulse quicken. The thought of admitting she might be interested both scared and excited her.

 “If you don’t, this secret admirer of yours might retreat back into her shell and you’ll never hear from her, again.”

 “I know,” Addison said, sighing, “It’s just…”

 “No, I get it,” Bethany said, smiling sympathetically at her.

 “Do you think I should do it? Put the rose in the display case,” Addison asked, chewing on her lower lip.

 “I can’t tell you what to do, Addie. This one is for you to decide.”

 —————————————-

 “What do you think of her?”

 Addison frowned, a spoonful of potatoes half way to her mouth, “Who?”

 “Sarah Jenson,” Bethany said, nodding at something behind Addison.

 She really didn’t intend to but she looked over her shoulder, saw Sarah at the table behind them. The girl was standing, leaning in to show her friends something. The shorts she wore were snug on her round backside and her long legs were tan from time in the early spring sunshine.

 Turning back, she saw Bethany grinning at her. She raised her eyebrows questioningly.

 “She has a cute butt, don’t you think,” Bethany asked.

 Snorting in surprise, Addison said, “What?!”

 “Hey,” Bethany said, laughing, “a girl can admire another girl’s butt without it being weird.”

 “No, I think it is still weird,” Addison said, shaking her head.

 “Fine, it is weird,” her friend said, grinning, “she still looks good in those shorts, though.”

 “Hey, I’m the lesbian here,” she said, laughing.

 “Fine, what’s your lesbian opinion of Sarah in those shorts?”

 Blushing, Addison said, “She does look pretty good in them.”

 “There you go,” Bethany said, winking at her.

 “What are you playing at,” Addison asked, giving her friend a weighing look. The girl was up to something.

 “Can’t a girl ask her friend’s opinion of another girl’s butt without having an ulterior motive?”

 “You, no.”

 “Fine,” Bethany sighed, over exaggeratedly, “I guess I’m trying to figure out your thing.”

 “My thing?”

 “Your type.”

 Laughing, Addison said, “My type, huh?”

 “Hey, I’m trying to be supportive here,” Bethany said, grinning, “or nosy. I’m not sure which.”

 “I think you can manage to be both.”

 “It is one of my many talents,” her friend said, laughing.

 She thought about it a second, then shrugged, “I don’t have a type. Or, at least, I haven’t figured it out, yet.”

 “Fair enough,” Bethany said, nodding, “do you think Sarah is cute?”

 “Yeah, she is pretty,” Addison said, then gave her friend a weighing look, “why are you asking?”

 “Trying to have girl talk,” she said, laughing, “we can’t talk about boys, so…”

 “You want to talk about girls,” she asked, laughing.

 “Come on, Addie,” Bethany said, winking at her, “this is your chance to get all googly eyed liked the other girls. So flip your hair and finish this sentence, ‘Oh my God! You know who is totes hot…’

 Laughing, Addison said, “Are you serious?”

 “Come on. Play along. Who do you think is cute?”

 Her cheeks on fire, Addison said, “I’m not telling you.”

 “I’m your best friend. If you can’t tell me who you are crushing on, then who can you tell?”

 “Oh God, fine! Larissa,” Addison said.

 “The chunky girl in our English class?”

 “What? Oh,” she said, then laughed, “no, not her. The eighth grader.”

 “Oh, the cheerleader,” Bethany said, grinning, “so you are into older, preppy chicks.”

 “Ha ha,” Addison said, shaking her head.

 “Was it the uniform or her…” Bethany asked, holding her hands out from her breasts, “pompoms that got your attention.”

 “Jesus, Bethany,” she said, laughing.

 “I’m just saying… A fourteen year old shouldn’t be stacked like that.”

 “Why are you looking at her breasts, again,” Addison asked, still laughing.

 “They are hard to miss. They enter the room a good two steps before she does.”

 “Come on, now. Don’t be hating.”

 “I’m not hating. I’m jealous. I can’t even stuff an a-cup,” Bethany said, looking down at herself.

 Laughing harder, Addison said, “Oh God!”

 “It’s not funny.”

 “I think you’ll be okay,” Addison said, grinning at her, “you have a few years before you need to start worrying.”

 “I don’t know. I think I take after my mom.”

 “What does that mean?”

 “All the women on my dad’s side of the family, big boobs,” she said, sighing, “but Mom… Mosquito bites, like me.”

 Laughing, Addison said, “Yeah, but your mom is gorgeous.”

 “Checking out my mom, huh,” Bethany said, giving her a look.

 Blushing, she said, “You know what I meant.”

 “I know. I’m just messing with you,” Bethany said, laughing.

 Addison gave her a look, then had to smile.  Talking to the girl was never boring.  She was so unpredictable.

———————————————

 The weather was fairly mild for the time of year but Addison had worn her light weight jacket to school, anyway. It had nothing to do with the temperature outside, which was in the lower seventies. She would have been comfortable without it. No, she had worn her coat because its long sleeves were perfect for concealing something.

 Like a rose, for example.

 The last three days, it had been into the eighties and she would have looked suspicious in a coat but the temperature had dipped this morning. It seemed the weather was on her side.

 Now all she had to do was make up her mind whether to go through with putting the rose on the display case or not. She had spent all of her last period class thinking about it, didn’t have a clue what Mrs. Brown was trying to teach her about history. By the time the bell had rung, ending the school day, she was still unsure.

 Part of her wanted to take the plunge, to put herself out there, if only to one anonymous person, but another part was scared to death of getting hurt. What if this was some mean girl’s idea of fun, to make her oust herself?

 Standing at her locker, her coat already on and her homework loaded into her backpack, it was time to make the decision. She stared at the rose, couldn’t breath.

 “Shit,” she muttered, looking around. The crowds were thinning out as the girls headed for their buses. Before she could change her mind, she tucked the rose up her sleeve and closed her locker door. One of the thorns scraped across her forearm, surely drew blood.

 Her legs were a little rubbery as she headed for the rear entrance of the school and the display case that could either be the beginning of a relationship or the end of her life. Her pace slowed as she saw the case mounted to the wall, her heart racing in her chest. She came to a stop in front of the glass box and she realized she still wasn’t sure she wanted to do this.

 I could still walk away, she thought, looking around, no one has seen the rose. No one knows anything, yet. I could just walk away, go catch my bus and go home… And stare at my rose, wondering what could have been.

 Jittery with adrenaline, she slipped the rose from its hiding place and place it on top of the display case, so only someone looking for it would see it. She had to fight the urge to grab it and run, forced herself to walk away. She glanced over her shoulder, thought the rose stood out like a neon sign but she knew it didn’t.

 “Oh, God,” she muttered, made herself keep walking.

 When she slipped into her spot beside Bethany, the girl gave her a look, then grinned, “You left the rose.”

 It wasn’t a question but Addison nodded, a hesitant smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

 “Good for you,” Bethany said, patting her thigh, “I thought you might chicken out.”

 “Oh, I thought about it,” she said, with a nervous laugh, “did I do the right thing?”

 “Who knows,” Bethany said.

 ——————————————–

 Her text books were open but not a lot of studying was getting done. She spent more time looking through the pages then at them, her thoughts elsewhere. Finally, she gave up, pushed away from her desk.

 She flopped on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Raising her arm, she looked at the inch long scratch on her forearm, where the thorn had indeed drawn blood. It had stung when she ran it under water, then put some antibiotic ointment on it.

 She hoped it was the only pain that came from putting the rose on the display case. Not for the first time, she wondered if she hadn’t set herself up to catch a lot of grief. She cringed at the thought of walking into school tomorrow and getting turned into a spectacle by some mean spirited girl. Middle school was hard enough without that stigma hanging over her head.

 There was a knock at her door and she frowned. Getting up she opened it, saw Bethany standing there, a duffel bag in her hand and her school backpack on her shoulders.

 “What are you doing here?”

 “I thought you might need some company, so I asked your mom if I could stay the night,” Bethany said, smiling at her.

 “I’m glad you are here,” Addison said, hugging her friend.

 “You alright,” her friend asked, pulling back to look at her.

 “Honestly,” Addison said, with a nervous laugh, “I’m a mess.”

 “Yeah, I thought you might be,” she said, stepping into the room and closing the door.

 “What if it goes bad tomorrow,” she asked, looking at her friend.

 “Then I’m going to have to beat up some girl,” Bethany said, pounding her fist into the palm of her hand, “you don’t mess with my friends.”

 Laughing, Addison felt some of the tension leave her. Bethany always seemed to know how to put her mind at ease.

 “But forget about all that nonsense,” Bethany said, grinning, “I have a good feeling about tomorrow.”

 “I wish I did.”

 “Trust me,” her friend said, taking her hand, “some day, you and the misses will be sitting on the porch and you’ll look back at this and laugh about it.”

 “The Misses,” Addison parroted, laughing, “I think I should probably meet this person before you start talking about marriage.

 “All I’m saying is, tomorrow is going to be a momentous day,” she said, winking.

 “I hope so.”

“Have faith. You’ll be holding hands and smooching with some girl by the end of the month.”

“Smooching with some girl,” Addison said, frowning. She really hadn’t thought about what it would mean if the girl finally approached her. Would it be like Bethany said, all holding hands and kissing? She had been so busy freaking out about it going bad tomorrow, she had forgotten to be nervous about it going well.

 I could end up with a girlfriend, she thought, her stomach fluttering in her gut, Oh God! I could be someone’s girlfriend!

 She wasn’t sure she was ready for any of this.

 “Hey, breath, Addie,” Bethany said, laughing, “relax. You are freaking yourself out, again.”

 “It just dawned on me that I might have a girlfriend after tomorrow,” she said, sitting on the bed.

 Sitting beside her, Bethany put her arm around her shoulder, said, “That’s a good thing, right?”

 Laughing, she said, “I don’t know. I’ve never had a girlfriend before, never even been one, even though Billy Huggins asked me out once. I’ve never held hands. I’ve never kissed anyone before.”

 Bethany took one of her hands, grinned at her, “There. You can cross this off your ‘I’ve never’ list.”

 “I don’t think this counts,” Addison laughed.

 “Fine,” Bethany said, then suddenly kissed her.

 Her lips still tingling from where her friend’s had brushed hers, she looked wide eyed at Bethany, said, “You kissed me.”

 “Yeah,” she said, grinning, “now you have one less thing to freak out about.”

 “Yeah, but you kissed me.”

 “It wasn’t much of a kiss,” Bethany said, shrugging.

 “True. You could have put a little more effort into it,” Addison said, grinning.

 “Hey,” her friend said, laughing.

 “I’m just saying that was a weak kiss. What an embarrassing story it will be? ‘ How was your first kiss?’ they’ll ask and I’ll have to say, ‘Nothing special’.”

 Bethany laughed, then leaned in to kiss her, again. While she had been teasing her about the first one, Addison really hadn’t expected her to kiss her a second time. When she gasped in surprise, Bethany’s tongue touched hers, teased her into a much deeper kiss. She kissed her back without really meaning to.

 Pulling back, Bethany gave her a sheepish grin, said, “Better?”

 Her voice a little husky, Addison said, “Wow!”

 “You are a nice kisser,” Bethany said, laughing.

 “You kissed me, again.”

 “What, is it weird for a girl to kiss her friend?”

 “A little when you stick your tongue in their mouth, yeah.”

 “Hey, you called my kiss weak. It sounded like a challenge,” Bethany said.

 “The second one was definitely not weak,” Addison admitted, then blushed when Bethany grinned at her.

 “I liked it, too,” Bethany said.

 “Really?”

 “Yeah,” Bethany said, laughing.

 “Huh,” Addison said, surprised.

 “Like I said, you are a nice kisser,” she said, shrugging. Suddenly, she grinned, said, “I just realized my prediction already came true.”

 “What?”

 “I said you’d be holding hands,” she said, raising the hand holding Addison’s, “and smooching with some girl. Admittedly, I hadn’t meant me when I made the prediction…”

 Laughing, Addison said, “Oh, God!”

 Releasing her hand, Bethany said, “Now that we’ve made out a little, what else do you want to do?”

 Winking at her friend, Addison said, “You mean, like get to second base?”

 “I was thinking watch TV or something more along those lines,” Bethany said, laughing.

 ——————————–

 “What are you doing,” Addison asked, her eyes widening.

 “Getting ready for bed,” Bethany asked, shimmying out of her jeans. In just a pair of panties, she looked at Addison, “What?”

 “Nothing,” Addison said, blushing and looking away.

She could still see her friend’s small breasts in her mind’s eye. For all of Bethany’s jokes about her ‘mosquito bites’, she thought the girl had looked pretty good standing there in just some panties. She felt kind of bad about eyeballing her best friend; it seemed like a line she shouldn’t cross.

 “Come on now, Addie,” Bethany laughed, shaking her head, “you’ve seen me naked a million times.”

 “I know. This is a first since I admitted, you know…” Addison said, not looking at her, “seems kind of weird now.”

“You can turn around now,” Bethany said, crawling onto the bed.

Addison glanced at her and laughed, “That isn’t much better.”

She wore just a t-shirt and panties, her long legs bare. Again, she felt guilty about admiring her lean body, but those legs just drew her attention.

 Bethany looked down at herself and said, “What’s wrong with this? This is how I always sleep.”

 “Nothing, I guess.”

 Suddenly, Bethany grinned, “Are you nervous because you think I’m cute?”

 “No!”

 “You answered too quick,” Bethany said, laughing.

 Addison gave her a dirty look and said, “I did not.”

 “Did.”

 Laughing, Addison shook her head and got off the bed. She went to her dresser, found a sleep shirt. As she started undressing, she felt eyes on her, turned to find Bethany watching her. The girl laughed when she waved her off, rolled onto her back. She hurriedly changed for bed, thought about adding a pair of shorts to her wardrobe but didn’t. She slept in much the same thing as Bethany and any change in outfit would earn her a ribbing from her friend.

 Still, she felt a little funny being so under dressed in the same bed as her friend. After all, she had lied when she said she didn’t think Bethany was cute.

 She slid under the light cover, reached for the bedside lamp. In the dark, she stared up at the ceiling, wondering if she’d ever get comfortable enough to sleep tonight.

 “Addie,” Bethany said.

 “Yeah?”

 “I think you are cute, too.”

 Laughing, she said, “Shut up.”

 “Good night, silly girl.”

 “Good night.”

 She felt her friends weight shift as she rolled onto her side to go to sleep. She didn’t even try, just stared up at the ceiling. Free of every other distraction- well, save from the half naked girl beside her- her mind wanted to turn to her admirer. She saw two possible outcomes tomorrow and both of them scared her for different reasons.

 “You are freaking out, again,” Bethany said, rolling to face her in the dark.

 “How could you know that?”

 “Years of friendship,” she said, finding Addison’s hand in the dark, “do you want to talk about it?”

 “Not really,” she said, laughing, “I just want to go to sleep but I can’t seem to turn my mind off.”

 “That’s understandable. There is a lot to think about.”

 Sighing, she said, “Yeah.”

 Bethany was quiet a moment, then said, “Did you like kissing me?”

 “Technically, you kissed me.”

 “I’m pretty sure you kissed me back but fine,” Bethany said, laughing, “did you like when I kissed you?”

 Addison was glad her friend couldn’t see her blush, said, “I guess. Why?”

 “I was just thinking about it,” Bethany said.

 “Really?”

 “It was my first kiss, too,” she said, shyly.

 “Really? I wouldn’t have guessed,” she said, then, “it was a nice kiss.”

 “It was nice, wasn’t it,” she said and Addison could hear the smile in her voice.

 “Why are you smiling?”

 “I’m thinking about kissing you, again.”

 “Oh,” Addison said, feeling her heart race in her breast. She could still remember the feel of Bethany’s lips as they pressed against hers and the thought of another kiss kind of excited her. She rolled onto her side, facing her friend. She could just make out her face in the back light of her alarm clock.

 “Or, maybe you could kiss me this time,” she said, biting her lower lip.

 Taking a deep breath to muster her courage, she leaned in and kissed the girl, felt her lips part to let in her. She let herself be drawn into a deeper kiss, her toes curling. A little dizzy with excitement, she closed her eyes and let herself go.

 Only when their lips finally parted did she realize that the space between them had disappeared. While lost in the kiss, they had come together, Bethany’s body molded against hers, her hand on the small of Addison’s back.

 Bethany seemed almost as surprised by the turn of events as she was, “I think we got a little carried away, that time.”

 “Maybe a little,” Addison said, laughing.

 “It was nice, though,” Bethany said, making no move to pull away.

 “Yeah,” Addison agreed.

 “I like kissing you,” her friend said.

 “Me, too. We better stop, though,” Addison said, feeling herself getting excited by Bethany’s body pressing against her, “before it gets weird.”

 “Let it get weird,” Bethany said, kissing her, again. Again, she felt that dizzying excitement, felt herself responding to Bethany.

 Breaking the kiss, she said, “This is the last chance to stop. One more kiss like that and I’m not sure I’ll be able to.”

 “Who said anything about stopping?”

 “Bethany, we shouldn’t be doing this,” she said.

 “Why?”

 “Somethings can’t be taken back,” Addison said.

 “You don’t want to do this,” Bethany asked, her eyes meeting Addison’s in the gloom.

 With a nervous laugh, she said, “I didn’t say that.”

 “Then what is it?”

 “I don’t want this to get weird,” Addison said, sighing, “I can’t lose you as a friend.”

 “Do you think our friendship is that fragile? That any little thing can break it?”

 “No.”

 “Like it or not, you are stuck with me,” she said, grinning, “now, kiss me, silly girl.”

 “This is a bad idea,” she said, but she kissed Bethany, anyway. She shivered as a delicious heat blossomed between her thighs. The kiss lingered and she felt her friend’s excitement growing. It fueled her own, her heart racing in her breast.

 Bethany took one of her hands and placed it on something soft, pliant. Lost in the kiss, it took her a second to realize she was cupping her friend’s breast. She thought she should pull away but Bethany’s hand was on top of hers. The nipple poked her palm through the thin cotton on her t-shirt, begged for attention. With a shiver of excitement working up her spine, she teased the nipple. Bethany groaned into her mouth, pressing against her hand. It was an invitation she couldn’t pass up, forgot about feeling weird about feeling up her friend.

 She sighed as Bethany’s hand roamed over her back, onto her shoulder. A nervous giggle escaped her as her friend found her breast. The giggle became a moan as her turgid nipple drug across her palm.

 This is getting out of hand, she thought.

 When their lips finally parted, Bethany asked, “So, what’s next?”

 “Next?”

 “You know, after second base,” Bethany husked, her voice thick with excitement.

 Addison’s eyes widened as what that question implied sank in. Her friend had more than just kissing on her mind. She bit her lip nervously, both scared and excited by the thought of going even further with Bethany. She couldn’t deny the idea was interesting.

 Swallowing hard, she asked, “Are you sure about this?”

 Bethany laughed, “When have I ever done something I didn’t want to?”

 “You really want to do this,” she asked, meeting her eyes.

 “What, can’t a girl make out with her friend without it being weird?”

 “Not really,” she said, laughing, “I’m pretty sure we crossed the line into weird a long time ago. I think if we go much further, we’ll have passed through making out into… Something else.”

 “Something else,” Bethany repeated, like she was trying the words on for size, “What, exactly, is ‘something else’ for two girls? Do you know?”

 “I might know a few things,” she said, blushing as Bethany gave her a look, “when I realized I might be a lesbian, I did some… research.”

 “Research?”

 Her face getting even hotter, she said, “I just wanted to understand the… feelings I’d been having. I looked up what it meant to be a lesbian online. One site I came across talked about having sex. I guess curiosity got the better of me…”

 Bethany laughed, “I can see you blushing even in the dark.”

 “Shut up,” she said, laughing at her own expense.

 “Anything… interesting on the site?”

 “Interesting?”

 “You know what I mean,” Bethany said, laughing, “anything you want to try?”

 “Wait,” she said, propping up on her elbow, “are you being serious, right now? You want to have…Sex?”

 “Do you?”

 “We are only twelve!”

 “Is that a no,” her friend asked, amused. There was a challenge in her tone, one she used to goad Addison into doing something stupid in the past. Even though she recognized it, she still let it get the better of her.

 “I didn’t say that,” she said, hating herself for rising to the bait, “it’s just… It would be my first time.”

 Bethany sat up, met her eyes, and said, “It’d be mine, too. Like you said, we are only twelve, after all.”

 “But you still want to do it,” Addison asked.

 “Yeah, I do. I think it’d be kind of cool, don’t you? You’re my best friend, Addie. I love you to death. I can’t think of a better person to be my first.”

 Well, when you put it like that, she thought, feeling like she might cry. She pulled the girl into her arms, kissed her deeply.

 “Wow,” Bethany said, looking wide eyed at her when their lips parted.

 “Sorry,” Addison said, laughing.

 “Was that a yes?”

 “Yeah,” she said, giving her a quick kiss, “that was a yes.”

 “Um, okay,” Bethany said, with a nervous giggle, “do we have to… take our clothes off?”

 “No. You can do it with them on,” Addison said.

 “If we are going to do this…” Bethany said, grinning at her.

 “…we should do it all the way,” she finished the sentence, returning the grin. Her hands were shaking a little as she slipped out of her shirt. She tossed it aside, felt her friend’s eyes on her in the gloom. The dark wasn’t perfect, ruined by the myriad of LEDs on the her electronic devices, so she knew Bethany could see her. She shivered.

 Bethany took a deep breath, then hurriedly stripped out of her own shirt. Addison admired the pale swells of her small breasts, remembered how one of them had felt in her hand. Her palm tingled at the memory of the turgid nipple pressing insistently against it. Then her mind flashed to Bethany getting ready for bed, standing there in just her panties. She had looked away in a hurry because she hadn’t wanted to admit she had like how her friend had looked in just her panties.

 She is back in just her panties now, she thought, grinning. She kind of wished the lights were still on so she could see her better.

 “Panties on three,” Bethany asked, hooking her thumbs in the waist band of hers. Addison could just make out her smile, thought it was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen.

 “Panties on three,” Addison agreed, getting ready to shuck her underwear, “One… Two…Three!”

 Both girls were giggling as they wriggled out of their panties. Again, Addison felt her friend’s eyes on her skin, her gaze hot. It sent a shiver of excitement through her.

 “Turn the light on,” Bethany said.

 “What?”

“I want to see you,” she said, giggling.

Addison found the lamp, turned it on. The sudden glare hurt her eyes, made her squeeze them tightly shut. It took a long minute for her to get them open and keep them open, but when she finally did, she looked at her friends lean, naked body. She drank in her long legs with their knobby knees; her flat belly and hips just beginning to flare; her small, up swept breasts. She looked amazing sitting there, so soft and inviting.

Bethany bit her lip, her own eyes roaming over Addison. She saw interest in those eyes, was a little surprised by it. After all, she was the only admitted lesbian in the room. Still, there was no denying what she saw- her friend found her desirable.

 Tucking her hair behind her ear, shyly, Bethany asked, “Now what do we do?”

 Taking a deep breath, Addison moved in front of her, sat facing her. She put her right leg over Bethany’s left, then urged the girl to put her right over her left. Bethany laughed when Addison scooted forward and their bodies came together. Her eyes were wide as she looked down at their girlhoods mashed together.

 “Now, roll you hips forward,” Addison said, showing her what she meant. A shiver of pleasure worked through her as their bodies rubbed together.

 “Oh God,” Bethany laughed around a moan, doing what Addison had said, “like this?”

 “Yeah,” she said, a little breathy with excitement. This was really happening. She was having sex with a girl- her best friend, no less.

 With a little practice, they found the perfect rhythm. Every time their eyes met, they started giggling, the nervous energy between them almost too much to bear. Addison’s face felt hot but she wasn’t sure if she was blushing or was flushed with excitement. Probably both.

 All she knew for sure was that Bethany’s body rubbing against her own had her so turned on. The site she had found had talked about becoming aroused, what the female body felt like when it was sexually excited. She had all the symptoms in spades.

 “This feels nice,” Bethany said, moaning. When her eyes found Addison, she bit her lower lip and smiled, nodded. The meeting of their bodies was sending little shock waves of pleasure through her. Each one forced a moan passed her slack mouth.

 Bethany leaned in and Addison met her half way, their lips meeting. Her hand found the back of her friend’s neck, didn’t let her pull away from the kiss. Not that Bethany seemed to want to, her kiss as eager as Addison’s.

 When their lips finally parted, Bethany was grinning at her. Addison smiled back, then put her hands on the girl’s shoulders, pushed her onto her back. Gasping in surprise, she looked wide eyed up at Addison as she climbed on top of her, her thighs straddling one of Bethany’s hips. She winked at the girl, settled her weight onto her. Bethany’s surprise turned to excitement as she realized Addison’s intent. Their bodies nested together, again, fitting together like they were meant to. Her friend moaned thickly as Addison rolled her hip’s back and forth.

 Grinning up at her, Bethany asked, “Learn this from your ‘research’?”

 Laughing, she said, “Shut up and roll your hips.”

 Bethany met her counter thrust for thrust, their bodies grinding together deliciously. Their little wordless sounds of pleasure mingled in the air between them, a beautiful song of their growing excitement.

 Looking down at her Bethany’s supine body as it writhed against her own, she couldn’t keep her hands off of her. They wanted to explore her, to know all of her, from her flat belly to the the swells of her small breasts to the baby hairs on the insides of her thighs. She thrilled to the soft, smooth skin under her finger tips. Her touch made Bethany moan and sigh, her body twisting and arching as her caresses set her nerve endings tingling.

 Propping up on her elbows, Bethany teased her into a kiss, her playful smiling beckoning her lips. She was breathless and little dizzy when she finally had to break it.

 Bethany smiled at her, bit her lip around a moan, then said, “It’s my turn to be on top.”

 Happy to oblige, Addison, slipped an arm under her friend’s neck, pressed her body against hers, then rolled them until she was on the bottom and Bethany sat astride one of her hips. The deft move seemed to impress the girl and she grinned appreciatively down at Addison.

 “Are you sure you’ve never done this before,” Bethany said.

 “Pretty sure,” Addison said, laughing.

 “I really need to see this website, then,” Bethany said, winking. She leaned down to kiss her as she began to rock her hips back and forth.

 Really without thinking about it, Addison’s hands found her friend’s hips, helped her really grind against her. Her back arched off the bed as it made those little shock waves slam into her harder. Her cries kept wanting to get away from her and she had to bite her lip to keep quiet. Bethany was struggling herself, her face pinched in pleasure.

 “Oh God, this is good,” Bethany said in a breathy moan.

 “Yeah,” Addison agreed.

 “Why did we wait so long to do this,” Bethany said, arching her back, her hair just tickling Addison’s thighs as her head fell back.

 “Wait so long,” Addison said, laughing, “I can’t believe we are doing this already.”

 “If I’d know it felt this good,” she said, smiling down at her friend, “I’d have been doing it a long time ago.”

 Addison thought about that a moment, then had to grin, “I think I would have, too.”

 Bethany laughed, leaned in to kiss her, then said, “Well, I’m glad we are doing it now.”

 Meeting her eyes, she said, “So am I.”

 As their lips met, again, and their tongues teased each other into a passionate kiss, Bethany’s hands roamed over her body. Everywhere she touched, her skin was left tingling. Addison thrilled to her touch, loved the feel of her hands as they explored every inch of her.

 Her breathing quickened as she felt a curious tension building in her body. As Bethany’s hips continued to rock back and forth, grinding their bodies together, her cries became harder to restrain. Her body was alive with pleasure, every nerve ending screaming for… Something. She didn’t know what, but something was about to happen.

 “It’s- Oh God… It’s going to happen,” Bethany said, her eyes getting wide. Addison realized her friend sensed it, too, but she thought the girl had an idea what it was. She wanted to ask her friend what was going to happen but she couldn’t get the words past the moans that were ripping from her.

 Then it happened. There was an explosion deep inside of her, her whole body clenching up. It squeezed a cry out of her, then her body went crazy. She trembled as intense pleasure crashed through her. She saw Bethany stiffen atop her, her lithe body bending almost in half as her back arched. Even as her thoughts turned fuzzy, she knew the girl was feeling the same thing she was, had felt the explosion that had rocked Addison.

 “Oh, God,” Bethany said, laughing as she brushed the hair out of her face, “that was… I can’t believe we… You did, didn’t you?”

 “I think. What was that?”

 “I don’t know. It happened to me once in the shower,” she said, then blushed when Addison started laughing.

 “And what were you doing in the shower when it happened,” she teased.

 “Um, washing my hair?”

 “Some how I doubt that,” Addison said, laughing.

 Bethany crawled off of her, then stretched out on her back beside her. Staring up at the ceiling, she said, “I’m still shaking all over.”

 “Me, too,” Addison said, shaking her head, “that was amazing.”

 “Amazing,” Bethany agreed.

 Shaking her head, Addison laughed, “We just had sex.”

 “What, can’t a girl have sex with her friend without it being weird?”

 Turning her head, she grinned at her, “You can have sex with me anytime, Weirdo.”

 Continue to Part Two

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