After the Party

I was sitting in my living room that Sunday morning, working on the broken clasp of one of my anklets, my favorite anklet. The most expensive piece of jewelry I owned, it was a silver chain studded with diamond chips given to me by an ex-girlfriend. But the price tag was hardly the reason I cherished it. She gave it to me last year for my twenty- fourth birthday and I considered it a sign of how she felt about me. I was in love with her and it was her way of saying she felt the same.

Frustrated, I tossed aside the anklet and the pair of needle nose pliers I was using to fix it. I needed to lift my spirits. My eyes found the small bong sitting on the coffee table and my mind thought about watching some Saturday morning cartoons stoned. A tempting idea until I remembered the ex and I used to do that together. I looked at the windows and decided to let the exhibitionist in me take a shot. I opened the curtains wearing nothing but a pair of thong panties, giving an eyeful to anyone watching, but to my dismay even the voyeur in the apartment across the courtyard wasn't home. I left the curtains open and sat down on the couch, picked up the anklet and the pliers and tried working on it some more. The one bit of consolation I had was that it broke in the throes of passion last night, and for the first time in four months and I'm proud to say I wasn't alone for it. I kept fumbling with the pliers trying to reach the piece that was bent. It was tough because I was still swimming in a semi-hangover, trying to gather the troops in my head while keeping my eyes focused on the small clasp area.

I heard keys rattling in the lock of my front door. It scared me at first, until I remembered I'd given Amy keys to the apartment before she left. By the time I reached the door she had the deadbolt open and was working on the doorknob lock. I opened the door and yanked her halfway inside with her hand on the knob. "Hel-lo!" she said. "Sorry, thought I'd give you a hand." "I'd prefer the tit," she said as she patted my left breast. I shut the door and took in the vision before me. Amy is 5'5" and 125lbs, I know this because her size and body type are almost identical to mine. Her breasts are a B cup, also like mine, but while I have brown curly hair down to my shoulders, Amy's coal dark hair is chin length.

She wore a red halter-top that exposed her belly, giving me a nice shot of her deep bellybutton and the silver waist chain sitting below it. A pair of black jeans and flip flops finished the outfit, along with the silver toe ring on her right index toe which was the first thing about her to catch my eye last night. "Well?" I asked. "I got some coffee," she said. I noticed the cardboard tray in her hand with two cups from the coffee place down the block. Amy flashed her pearly white smile and walked over to the couch, setting the tray down on the coffee table. I wasn't sure if she understood what I was asking, so I tried again. "How'd it go?" "Fine." Her eyes darted to the table, where she noticed the anklet and picked it up. "I'm so sorry about this.

I'll pay to have it repaired." Okay, she was avoiding it. "Don't worry, that's not important. How'd it go?" She took one cup out of the tray and took a sip. "It went fine," she said, her eyes looking at the cup instead of me. "I told her and that was that." "And she's okay with it?" She held the broken anklet in her hand and nodded. "Absolutely.""Are you okay?" She looked up at me and smiled, but her eyes were sad and I saw tears in the corners. The smile faded from her face. "No." she croaked, looking back at the anklet. "She said it was okay and no problem and all that." Tears started running and her voice was choked up. "Fuck. I saw it in her eyes. As soon as I said the words her face just.dropped. I mean, I knew she'd be shocked at first, but after that it was like, like she was disappointed." I sat next to her and pulled her to me. We hugged as she started to cry. "I'm sorry." I said. And I really was, because I had brought all of this on her.

Thirteen hours earlier I walked into my friend Mario's apartment. We've been friends since college and he now lives in the building down the block from me. A year ago he'd been looking for a place to live and I saw the vacancy sign in front of what would become his new address. The apartment was a two bedroom, so one of his old frat buddies moved in with him. Even in school Mario was a neat freak, bordering on obsessive compulsive (as a psych major I noticed these things), but his friend played the Oscar to his Felix and when the lease was up the friend moved out. Last night was the first party with his new roommate, a girl named Cynthia. Mario isn't involved with her, at least not yet, but since the boy has perfected his suave chick magnet routine I was taking open bets on the change in status. Of course with his track record, any involvement would be short lived and invariably end up badly. I made my way to the kitchen, pausing to talk to the occasional friend I saw along the way.

There were plenty of people I didn't know, Mario's co-workers or Cynthia's friends, and I felt more than a few male eyes checking me out. In the kitchen Mario was working the blender, mixing one of his alcoholic concoctions that could melt steel. "Whatever it is," I said "it's not going to turn you into The Incredible Hunk." "Hel-lo lez-bo!!!" he yelled and gave me a hug. "Here." He stuck a plastic cup filled with a purplish liquid in my hand. I took a whiff and was able to imagine the hangover already. "What's in this?" "Just try it!" he yelled. I took a sip and felt my tongue shrivel. "Well?" "Now I know what turpentine tastes like." A girl standing by the stove laughed. Mario grabbed her and pulled her towards me. "Cynthia, I want you to meet my best friend in all the world, Tanya." I shook hands with Cynthia. A thin, willowy blonde, she could have been a model except for a slightly large, misshapen nose.

"I've heard a lot about you," she said. "Then you've gotten your first lesson in how you can't trust this idiot." I told her. Cynthia laughed again, a little too hard this time. She'd probably have laughed even if it weren't funny. We talked about Mario and I gave her some stories that he hemmed and hawed and made excuses for. I busted his chops a little about his reputation with women. "I wouldn't talk," he said "you're dressed like you're on the prowl tonight." I had dressed provocatively, a tight orange tank top that showed my belly button ring, dark jeans that stopped mid-calf and sandals. I wore a gold armband on my left arm and my favorite anklet around my right ankle. "Sorry to say you won't find too much here tonight," Cynthia said, "all of my friends are straight." There was something about the way she said it, a hint of arrogance so natural she probably didn't even notice it. Like the way a sheltered rich girl might tell you she'd just shopped at an outlet for the first time in her life. As the night progressed I got a better idea of Cynthia. Most of her friends were male and she enjoyed flirting with them, liked getting attention. I talked to a few and found many of them had met Cynthia at dance clubs. When I told one guy I was a lesbian he did the usual- asked questions like a cop interrogating a murder suspect. I watched Mario work the few girls who were there. I've always wondered what he sees in me as a friend, aside from the fact that I'm the only white person he knows who speaks Spanish.

We enjoy the obvious- checking out girls together, making bets which one of us would get a phone number. I think he likes having a girl pal who can call him on his bullshit and see him for who he really is. And me? I like having a guy friend who never treated me like a specimen, some enigma he had to figure out. As much of a dog as he is, he never tried to get me into bed. I told him I was a lesbian who didn't sleep with men and he accepted it. There isn't much to respect Mario for, but the little that's there is worth putting up with the rest of it. I was still debating my sexual preference with the guy I'd just met when Cynthia walked over to us. "You two getting along?" she asked.

"This girl is something else," the guy said as he pointed to me. "She's a lesbian, but she's never been with a guy before." "I don't understand what you don't get about it." I said. "You say you're not attracted to men, but how do you know if you've never tried it?" "Have you ever slept with another guy?" I asked. "Hell no." "How do you know you don't like it unless you try it?" "Shit," he said in a drunken slur "that's not the same thing." I looked at Cynthia, who laughed as I leaned my head forward into my hands in frustration. My eyes were facing the floor and I saw a pair of beautiful, feminine feet in flip-flops with a silver toe ring on the right index toe. I realized I hadn't noticed someone standing next to Cynthia. The guy was babbling something while my gaze traveled slowly up the girl's body. When I got to her face I realized she was looking me right in the eye. She'd noticed me checking her out. "Tanya," Cynthia said, "This is my friend Amy. Amy this is Tanya, she's a lesbian." Amy extended her hand and I took it. There was a little lingering to the handshake, but nothing to indicate anything more than what I was wishing.

"Yeah, but I'm a closet tennis player." I added. Amy laughed. She had this smile that lit up her whole face. "You're pretty funny too." Cynthia grabbed Amy. "Let's get you a drink." They went into the kitchen and I followed. Mario was at the blender, mixing something that was trying to be green but falling short by a few shades. I grabbed him on the arm. "Hel-lo lez-bo." I said. His head shot up from his work. "Who?" I spoke in Spanish. "See the girl with Cynthia at the fridge?" I asked. When we looked over I saw that Amy was looking right at us. Suddenly, she winked. "You mean the one who just winked at me?" he asked. "Idiot, she winked at me!" "Uh uh, she winked at me." "Excuse me, I just said 'Hel-lo lez-bo'" "You think every hot chick is gay." "She could be." "You mean you want her to be." Mario said as Cynthia and Amy walked out of the kitchen. He switched back to English. "Listen, Cynthia says they haven't been friends long, but Amy is her new buddy for going out to pick up guys. They go to clubs all the time and according to Cynthia they score."

I felt all my excitement turn to frustration and anger. I'm sure Mario saw it in my face. "Hey, I'm not trying to bring you down. Maybe she's bi." "Yeah," I said "that's all I need, get involved with another girl who will leave me for a guy." "So what? Because of that bitch Kristen you're never going to have casual sex again?" "I've got nothing against casual sex, I just.really like her." "You just met her," Mario shook his head. "Now I know that rich bitch did a number on you." "It's got nothing to do with her." I said a little too defensively. "Uh huh. That's why you came out to score wearing a certain piece of jewelry she gave you? The one that, what did you say to me back then? 'Solidifies our relationship.'" "Fuck you." I said as I stormed out of the kitchen and across the living room. I stood by the bay windows and stared out into the night sky, trying to calm down. The plastic cup of Mario's concoction was still in my hand, so I downed half of it in one shot. The burn down my throat was followed by pain in my stomach. I may as well have swallowed a grenade.

I lit a cigarette hoping I wouldn't explode. The door to my left was open and I looked inside. Cynthia and Amy sat on Cynthia's bed looking at pictures. I put out the cigarette in an ashtray, took another swig of death juice and stepped in. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything, I just wanted to see what you've done to the place. The last guy that lived in this room used freon as air freshener." God, I was babbling already. Cynthia smiled, but the look on her face was anything but happy. Amy laughed. "Well that's a cheap way to get a high," she said. We both cracked up while Cynthia gave her fake chuckle. Amy's eyes squeezed shut when she laughed out loud, and it just struck me as really cute. "Actually I'm glad you walked in, you reminded me of something," Cynthia said as she got up and walked over to a dresser. She opened the large jewelry box, took out a few pieces, then walked over and handed them to me. "They're anklets. I noticed yours and figured you liked them," she said. "Yeah, wow, thanks." Okay, maybe she wasn't so bad. I looked through them and noticed a few nice pieces.

"You sure you don't want these anymore?" "Definitely. They're so last summer." The arrogance I'd heard before in her voice was there again. She's lucky anklets aren't that long otherwise I might have used one to choke her to death. Instead I just said "Thanks", walked out, and went back to pretending to enjoy the view at the bay windows. A few minutes later Cynthia and Amy came out. Cynthia walked off to talk to some guy and Amy walked up to me. "Hey." she said. "Sorry about Cynthia. She can be annoying sometimes." "No worse than a car alarm." Amy smiled. "Are you kidding? I don't think her brain and her mouth have met yet." We both laughed. When we stopped neither of us spoke, a silent moment that wasn't entirely uncomfortable.

Amy broke the silence first. "So," she said as her eyes looked around us to make sure no one could hear "do you toke?" "Oh yes." I'd left my stuff at home because Mario is usually well stocked, but Amy had some in her purse, which she grabbed out of Cynthia's room. "We can't do it in Cynthia's room, she'd freak." she said. "Where should we go? The bathroom?" "Let's go to Mario's room." I said. "You sure he won't mind?" "I'm sure he won't notice. He smokes a pound a day." We made our way to Mario's room at the other end of the apartment. Amy sat on his bed and packed a small bowl while I searched Mario's CD rack. I found the Beck album I'd loaned him and put it on. Joining Amy on the bed, we each took a hit from her bowl. "So I guess you like body jewelry." she said. "Yep. I was into it long before it was a fad and I'm sure I'll be wearing them long after its past." "Hasn't been that long for me, but I like wearing them. They look sexy." "Cool" I said. I couldn't think of anything else to say. There was something I felt between us, but wasn't sure if it was mutual attraction. I wanted to bring it up but everything I thought of sounded awkward in my head. Had she heard what we said in the kitchen? Did she even know I was gay? "Any tattoos?" she asked. I pulled up my shirt and showed her the black cat on the small of my back. "How about you?" She had the bowl in her mouth when I asked. Without taking it out she stood and pulled down her jeans. Amy wore a pair of white thong panties, exposing the tattoo of a fairy on her right butt cheek. It was one of the sexiest things I'd ever seen, at least until she turned around and showed me the tattoo of Minnie Mouse next to her pussy.

I just wanted to lean over and lick it. When she pulled up her pants I felt like an eight year-old whose parents just drove past Disney World on the way to the swamp. She sat down and as she passed the bowl to me, used it to tap my belly button ring. "Got any more of those?" I stuck out my tongue to show her my tongue stud, then took a hit and passed the bowl back to her. "Cool," she said. "That's a lot closer to the tip of the tongue than I've seen before." That was my in. "Depends on the sexual stimulation you're looking to give. For blowjobs on guys they usually put it further back on the tongue. Close to the tip, like mine, is for eating pussy." My body actually tensed up for her reaction as my eyes searched her face for it. But her eyebrows didn't raise, there was no frown and no shock followed by a fake smile. "Well," she said, "I'll just have to make sure that's where they put mine then." I know the people downstairs heard my jaw hit the floor. Amy laughed so hard she fell back on the bed. I just sat there and enjoyed the shock. "Oh my God!!" she said when she caught her breath.

"I wish you could see your face!" "Wait- you like women?" "Well, I thought it was obvious. Between the way we looked at each other when we met and my little wink at you I figured you'd get it immediately. But when we were talking by the window I realized you still weren't sure, so I figured I needed to get you alone." Amy was still lying on the bed and I crawled up on my side next to her. "So, you're gay right?" She leaned up. "Exactly how dense are you?" "Like mercury. What I'm asking is- are you gay, bi..." Amy sighed. "Okay. You know when you were telling Brian you've never been with a guy because you're not attracted to men?" "Yeah?" She put her face right in front of mine. "All I could think was I'm glad I'm not the only one." Amy leaned in and gave me a soft, light kiss on the lips. I leaned in for more but Amy stuck the bowl in my mouth and laughed. I took it out. "Is this you're way of telling me I look better stoned?" "No silly. I just don't want to get into anything here." She hesitated. "There's a problem." I guessed, "You're friends don't know your gay."

"No, I'm out. Actually, the only friend I have at this party is Cynthia, but she doesn't know." "I meant to ask about that. Mario told me that you two go out and pick up guys together." Amy turned somber. "It's a long story." "Throw in a car chase and I'll be hooked." She slapped my arm. "If you must know, I graduated from college last year and most of my friends moved away or lost touch. When I got together with one of them I met Cynthia and.I don't know, I guess we hit it off. I knew she wasn't gay, but she was between groups of friends at the moment too. She started calling me and we'd talk a lot. I mean, we don't have tons in common, but that's what's kind of cool. I've learned all kinds of stuff from her and vice versa. I keep meaning to tell her about me, everybody else knows." "But the right time just hasn't come up yet," I said sympathetically. "Yeah, exactly. We started to hang out, going to bars and clubs together. Guys would buy us drinks, hit on us. Cynthia loved it. She said we made a great team for getting guys. It got harder to tell her because.I don't know, it just got harder to bring it up." "Cynthia also told Mario you guys score a lot." I said. Amy frowned. "I'll take their numbers and just never call. Those guys are lucky compared to the ones that try for Cynthia.

Watching her work pisses me off sometimes- leading them on, playing them against each other. She loves fucking with them more than she loves to get fucked. I forget what the guys call it." "A cock tease." "Yeah." she said, and looked at me. "Just so you know, I'm not like that." "Oh yeah?" I said as I leaned into her. "Prove it." I kissed her lips passionately as my hands moved from her shoulders to her sides. My tongue found its way into her mouth, formally introduced itself to hers and they got along just fine. I expected her to break it off in case someone walked in, but she surprised me by wrapping her arms around my back and pulling me closer. My hands moved down her body and under her top as my fingertips lightly roamed the surface of her skin making her moan in my mouth. Amy squeezed my breasts through my top, starting at the base and moving up to my nipples, which were rock hard already. Suddenly she pulled my top up and tried to get it off of me. I broke the kiss. "Moving a little fast, aren't we?" I said with a smile. Amy said nothing as she pulled my top over my head. "You know-" I started before her face went to my right nipple and took it in her mouth. Every time she sucked on it I almost lost my train of thought. "Ahhhhhsss I was trying to...oh...say, I was just kidding uhhbout you having tooo prove it." Amy laughed with her lips still attached to my breast. She let go when I put my hand to the back of her head. "I'm serious," I said.

Amy looked up at me with this sweet, innocent look on her face as her fingers played with my nipples. "I haven't had sex in eight months, and the last three with Cynthia I haven't even been able to try. I'm looking for someone to help release all my pent up sexual tension. I mean, I could probably go all night and most of tomorrow. But if you want me to stop..." In a comically serious voice I said "You poor creature!" I pulled her head back into my breasts and said, "Super Lezbo is here to save you!!" Amy laughed hard. I liked being the one to make her laugh- it gave me this huge burst of self-confidence. My whole body was somewhere between warm comfort and tingling excitement. Not to mention the exhibitionist in me was getting off on having sex in a small apartment full of people partying obliviously on the other side of the door. Amy switched her oral attention to my left breast while her hand felt around my crotch. Her tongue licked the super sensitive outer flesh of my globe, slowly circling in to my nipple. When she got there she licked it once, then hovered over it while she pursed her lips. The cool air of her breath made my sensitive nipple almost hurt from pleasure. She sucked on it a little more and then licked down along my left side.

With her tongue still pressed to my skin she moved to my belly button, stuck her tongue inside and moved it around, came out and hooked her tongue into my ring, pulling on it a little. "I like this," Amy said. "It looks really sexy on you." Before I could respond her hands unbuttoned my jeans and started to slide them down. Her eyes bulged at my lack of panties. "That's sexy too," she said. Amy was on the floor, sitting on her haunches between my legs. As much as it pained me to, I finally said "Listen, this may not be such a hot idea if you're trying to keep Cynthia from finding out." She looked up at me. "Are you really that worried about Cynthia right now?" "I'm worried about you." Amy smiled. "That's sweet." Suddenly her face was between my legs. Amy's fingers opened my folds and the feeling of her tongue sticking inside my wet hole almost caused an immediate orgasm.

I opened my mouth. "Ho-ly shit!" That wasn't my voice, not unless it dropped a few octaves. Amy turned her body towards the door too fast, lost her balance and fell backwards. Her hands grabbed out for something to hold onto and found my foot, but her right hand grabbed my anklet and I felt it come off my skin. "Owwww!" Amy called out as she fell on her back. The guy I'd been arguing my sexual preference with stood in the doorway, and the look on his face was somewhere between shock and glee. "Could you please shut the fucking door," I said sternly. He closed the door, but failed to remove himself from the room before doing so. Amy sat up, looking at him with a mix of confusion and fear. "Excuse us please!" I was annoyed because I knew what was coming. "Don't stop on my account," he said. "This isn't the Playboy Channel. Get out." "Hey, after us talking before, I just want to get a better understanding, you know, of what you get out of a woman that you don't.can't see, or get, in a man." This guy was good and sauced. He was talking over his own words trying to speak, probably because he had to concentrate so hard on standing. His hands were very animated as he talked, and I was sure the cup in his right hand was empty otherwise it would have spilled something by now.

Apparently the initial shock had worn off because Amy got up from the floor and walked over to him slowly. "Brian, I really need you to do me a favor," she said. "Yeah, get lost," I said. Amy moved her hand behind her back and gave me a 'cut it' signal. "So I guess this is why you didn't call me," Brian said to her. "Yes. I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to lead you on, but Cynthia doesn't know I'm gay and I need to keep it that way for a little while. I'm gonna tell her, but I haven't worked up the courage yet. And I need to tell her because I don't want her finding out second hand." When Amy put her hand on Brian's upper arm he looked at it, then back at her. "So could you please do me a favor and just go back out there and keep this a secret? I really need your help." It was the way she did it that was truly impressive. Her voice sounded sincere and the hand on the shoulder was a nice touch. I couldn't see her eyes but they must have had the desired effect because Brian's face softened and he lost the wicked, hungry look that had been in his eyes since he shut the door. I was blown away. "Okay," he said while his head nodded up and down. "Thanks. You're really saving me here. I owe you one," she said. Brian turned, opened the door and slipped out like a disciplined third grader whose teacher had taken it easy on him. Amy walked to the bed and stood in front of me. I just sat there and continued to be blown away. "Fuck." Amy said. "Actually, I think that went better than it could have.

I figured we'd have to put on a show for him just to keep his mouth shut. You played him like a violin and put him away in his case." "I wasn't playing him. I really felt bad about leading him on. And I knew keeping this from Cynthia was going to bite me in the ass eventually." Amy looked to her left hand and realized she had something in it. "Oh shit. I broke your anklet." "Don't worry about it." "Are you kidding? This thing looks expensive." "The only thing I paid for that is measured in emotional cost," I said as I took it from her hand, found my jeans and put it in the pocket. I started getting dressed. "I'm the one that should apologize, I got you caught." "Bullshit." she said as she adjusted her top. "I could have stopped it anytime." "You did. I kept pushing and I had an unfair advantage, you've been celibate for eight months." "You didn't know that until I took charge. Look, it doesn't matter. I don't want this to end tonight." "Me neither." We embraced and shared a passionate kiss. She broke it suddenly. "Just help me out here, what part of the wink didn't you get?" "I was standing next to Mario when you winked at me and he thought you winked at him." "Okay, nothing against the guy, but ewwww." "I'll tell him you said that," I said. She slapped my arm again and I smiled briefly.

"Right after that he told me about you and Cynthia being pick up buddies, and I was afraid he was right." "Jeez, I really need to put a stop to this. But not tonight, I want to spend the rest of this evening learning about you." "My place is just up the block, if that's cool with you." "Definitely. But do you mind if we go back out to the party for a few minutes?" "No prob, you haven't told her yet. We should leave separately too. I'll take off in a few minutes and wait for you in front of my building. You get your car, there's a lot behind my building." "Cool. Thanks for understanding." She flashed her thousand watt smile, gave me a quick kiss on the lips and we went back out into the party. Amy went looking for Cynthia and I walked into the kitchen looking for Mario. He wasn't there, but Brian was, and he proceeded to give me an apology spoken in fluent Drunk. I was horny and in no mood, but being stoned usually raises my level of patience and he seemed sincere. While I stood there, Amy appeared in the hallway outside of the kitchen and saw my predicament.

She smiled, stepped into the doorway so no one in the living room could see her, unbuttoned the top of her jeans, quickly slid the zipper down and flashed me her bush. Apparently she hadn't put her panties back on. She buttoned back up, smiled again, and disappeared. I interrupted Brian. "Listen, no offense, but I gotta go. Do me a favor, though- lay off the sauce a little, I think a girl would find you a lot more interesting if you were closer to sober." I patted him on the cheek, walked out of the kitchen and found Mario in the living room. "Can I talk to you for a sec?" I asked. We walked over to the windows. "Listen, I'm sorry. I was possessed by the evil spirit of Dumped Girl and I know I shouldn't have taken it out on you." "Yeah, me, the guy who got you drunk the night after Kristen split and had to listen to you ramble on about how great in bed she was, what a great cook she was, how well she wiped her ass after taking a crap..." I laughed. "I know, I'm sorry. But if you forgive me I promise not to tell Cynthia any more embarrassing stories about you." He folded his arms across his chest. "Not much of a deal, but I'll take it. This whole thing could have been a lot worse." "Yeah, I could have ripped some of your limbs off."

Twenty minutes later I stood in front of my building having a cigarette. My buzz from the pot and the booze was still going strong, probably because my libido assisting them both. But, as good as I was feeling, my experience with Cynthia had left a bitter taste. She was one of those people who thought they were better than everyone else and it bugged me that I didn't use my sharp tongue to cut her to shreds. I held back at first because I didn't want to make waves for Mario with his new roommate, and later because I didn't want to alienate Amy. But I couldn't help feeling like Cynthia had gotten away with something, like I let her get the best of me. It was starting to kill my good mood, not to mention my favorite anklet was broken. That's when the idea hit me. I took the anklets that Cynthia had given me from my pocket and chose two. One was a white shell anklet, the kind I like to wear at the beach, and the other was a thick braided brown leather piece. I put one on each ankle and shoved the rest in my pocket. Little did Cynthia know I was going to use the jewelry she gave me to turn on her "pick-up buddy".

It may not be much revenge for some people, but it made me feel better. Fuck her. Amy drove up in a brown Toyota that looked almost as old as me. I directed her into the driveway and jumped in. The car surprised me by making it up the steep hill and Amy pulled into my space. "No offense, but this thing's a relic." I said when we got out. "It's an '82, but it's in good shape. Where's your car?" "In the shop." "Mmm hmm" We walked up the stairs in my building, Amy following behind me.

She pinched my right ass cheek, then the left. "Hey! Behave yourself!" I said. She pinched the right one again. "Why? You afraid of someone seeing us?" "Actually, I'm hoping someone does." Amy started to grab for the left cheek but I ran up the stairs and she chased me. When we reached my floor I ran to the door of my apartment and put my back against it. "Can't get to them now, can you?" I teased. My legs were spread rather wide, and Amy leaned in close as her hand reached between them. "Guess I'm going to have to find another route then." Her fingers pressed hard against my shorts as they slid over my crotch and down between my legs until they came against my butt crack. She squeezed and started moving her hand back out until she stopped over my crotch, her face now inches in front of mine. "Mmmm, what do we have here?" she said in a sultry voice. I could feel her warm breath against my face and it smelled like stale pot and mint, probably from some kind of gum or breath candy. Her hand pressed hard against my crotch and I let out a low moan. Amy quickly unbuttoned my shorts and I felt them drop to my ankles. I was now exposed from the waist down. Her fingers began to move lightly over my pubic hair, her other hand roamed under my top and her mouth was showering mine with little kisses.

Amy pulled her head away while her hands stayed on the job. "From what you said in the stairs," she said, still speaking in the sultry voice, "I guess you're an exhibitionist." "Uh huh." I managed to say. "So what we're doing right now is turning you on?" "Uh...huh..." "Well get ready, cause it's going to get a lot better." And with that her mouth went to my neck, her tongue licked down to my left nipple, teasing it through my top, continuing to my bellybutton where she appreciated my ring again. She moved slowly down to my neatly trimmed mound and began poking through the hairs with her tongue to tease the sensitive flesh underneath. My hands were on her head, fingers stroking her hair as she teased me. I closed my eyes when she blew her warm breath on my mound, letting the hairs there do her dirty work for her. Suddenly, her tongue stabbed into my folds and my hands tightened up in her hair. "Owww!" she yelped. "Sorry," I moaned. "It's just you're driving me...,Oh God." Her fingers spread my lips apart and her tongue explained how over it she was.

A finger from her other hand found its way to my opening and eased in without a problem, thanks to how wet I was. This was bliss. I was standing in the hallway of my apartment building being sucked and fingered by a pretty girl- at any moment someone could walk out of the elevator or see through the glass door of either stairwell on the way up to their apartment. I was moaning so loud that anyone could hear it through the paper walls of this place and come out of their apartment to get an eyeful. It was an exhibitionists' dream. Amy's finger pumped in and out of my pussy for a while before she removed it. I moaned in protest before I felt it moving up my ass crack, looking for another opening. She found it and the tip of her cum soaked finger pressed into my rosebud, easing its way in until she began pumping in and out while still eating me. I didn't last long. "Ohhhh! Fuuuuck Yessssssssssssss!!!!!!! Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!" I believe those were my exact words as I came all over Amy's face. She let me come down from my high- for about two seconds. I thought her tongue was simply lapping up my juices, but another finger joined the one in my ass and they began pumping in and out. I felt another orgasm building quickly and started moaning loudly again.

That's when I heard something hit against a door. Looking around, I saw a light under the door of the apartment across from mine. There was as shadow blocking part of the light and I realized the girl who lived there was watching through her eyehole. I smiled and decided to give her a little more. My hands left Amy's head and pulled my top over my breasts. I licked both my fingers and started playing with my nipples. The shadow under the door shifted for a few moments and then fell back into place. I figured she had just slipped her hand to her pussy and started masturbating. So now two of us were getting off, although I doubt my neighbor was getting as much pleasure as I was.

I continued to rub and pinch my nipples while Amy licked and sucked my clitoris and had two fingers pumping in and out of my ass. I began to moan louder, partially for my neighbors' benefit, but mostly because Amy was bringing me over the edge. A door down the hall opened and the short, plump middle-aged woman who lives there poked her head out and spotted us. She saw me standing against my door, exposed from the top of my breasts to my ankles, a girl on her knees eating me out while I played with my nipples. Even from down the hall I could see the shock on her face as her eyes bulged from their sockets. Her head darted back into the apartment and her door slammed.

That threw me over the edge. I came so hard that I gritted my teeth and pushed my back into the door. Standing on my tiptoes and breathing a mile a minute, my face was covered in sweat. Amy looked up at me. The lower half of her face was so coated in my cum that little droplets were hanging off of her chin. She pulled her fingers out of my ass, stuck them in her mouth and sucked on them. "You're a very naughty girl." I said as she pulled the fingers from her mouth. "You have no idea how naughty I can get." Without fixing my clothes, I picked up my purse and fished out my keys. "Why don't you come inside and show me?" I held out my hand and helped Amy up, opened the door and was about to walk in before I remembered my neighbor. I turned around, grabbed Amy by the shoulders and swung her around so she could see both of us and kissed Amy passionately.

Her arms pulled me tight as my tongue invaded her mouth. There was something about that kiss, something much more than the show for my neighbor it was intended for. Maybe it was the things we had in common or all of what we'd been through that night; maybe it was just plain happiness that we'd found each other. But there was something magical about that kiss, and writing with hindsight as a collaborator, I do know it was the moment I realized this was much more than a one- night stand. It wasn't the moment I fell in love with Amy, because I know exactly when that happened, but I knew something more was going on here.

The kiss lasted for almost a minute, and we held each other so tight I thought we were going to melt into each other. When we finally broke we just stared into each other's eyes. It took me a moment to remember what I intended to do in the first place. "I just love the taste of my cum in another girl's mouth" I said, then turned to my neighbors door, waved and said "Hope you enjoyed the show!" Shuffling as fast as I could with my shorts around my ankles, I pulled Amy into the apartment and closed the door. "What the hell was that all about?" she asked as I kicked off my shorts. "The woman in that apartment was looking at us through her peephole," I said. Amy's eyes widened. "Oh my God! That's so cool!!" "At least I don't have to worry about her complaining to the Super." I leaned down and took off my sandals. "I'll be lucky if the old bat down the hall doesn't call him tonight." Amy looked puzzled. "What old bat?" I pulled my top over my head. "The one that opened her door and saw us going at it." Her face was in shock. "When the hell did that happen?!!!" I walked up to her, stark naked except for body jewelry, and put my arms around her. "When you were hard at work," I said as I started licking cum off the bottom half of her face, "and you were very dedicated to your work. But right now you've got entirely too many clothes on." "Right now I have to go to the bathroom, really bad," she said. "Okay, you go enjoy my bathroom while I pant for you out here."

Amy smiled, and for the second time tonight I realized what I love more than seeing her smile is being the one to make her smile. As soon as she shut the bathroom door I raced into my bedroom and turned on the lava lamp, lit some incense and a few candles around the room. My bedside lamp provided just enough light to see by without being too harsh. Now comes the hard part- finding the right music. Looking through my CD collection, I tried to figure out if we were going to fuck like animals, which meant Daft Punk, Soundgarden or maybe even Slayer (hey, don't knock it until you try it), or make slow passionate love, which called for Mazzy Star, Jimi Hendrix or Sade. I finally decided on Barry White because his music would work either way.

The toilet flushed and I jumped on my bed to lie in a seductive position. I heard the door open and waited. Her naked leg moved into the doorway, then around the doorframe to settle against the wall. As that happened, Amy slid her naked body over the doorframe so that only half of one side was visible. Her arm followed, positioned against the wall reaching up towards the ceiling. I can't properly describe how sexy she looked with her body leaned up against the doorframe like that. It looked like the pose for some erotic photograph or painting. I'd cum twice in the last fifteen minutes and I was wet again. "Ready for Round Two?" she asked in her sultry voice. "Bring it on, baby." She walked towards me slowly, swinging her hips adorned with the belly necklace, to the beat of the song. Amy climbed up on the bed and, struggling to keep her balance, stood over my head. "You said you like body jewelry, so I'm sure this caught your eye." Amy put her hands against the wall and lifted her right foot, positioning it over my face and pointing her toes down. I could see the first thing about her that caught my attention- the toe ring. She lowered her foot to my face and I took her toes into my mouth, sucking on them gently. Looking up I saw her smiling. A naughty thought hit me and I pulled her foot out of my mouth. "Got an idea! Stay just like this!" I said as I slipped out from under her and ran into the kitchen. I found what I was looking for in the fridge and ran back into the room.

Slipping under her again, I opened the top of the squeeze bottle and took her foot in my hand as I poured some on her toes. "Ohhh that's cold! What is it?" "Caramel," I said. "My favorite topping." I put down the bottle and resumed licking her toes. "Mmmmmm" I licked off all the caramel and then used my tongue to play with her toe ring. "Get down here," I said. Amy lay down on the bed next to me. I pushed her onto her back, grabbed the bottle and started pouring caramel on her breasts. "Still cold!" she said. "Don't worry, it won't be on you long." I put the bottle down and started licking her right breast. Amy moaned as I worked my way from the outside of her globe towards her nipple.

I took it into my mouth and sucked until it was rock hard, then began scraping it with my teeth. "Ohhh, yeah, oh, that feels so wild," she said. I moved over and gave her left breast the same treatment, enjoying my caramel covered treat. Leaning up on my elbow, I grabbed the bottle again and aimed for her bellybutton. She had one of those large, deep bellybuttons and I filled it until the tan gooey stuff was leaking off to both sides of her body. I licked up each of the streams and then stuck my tongue into her bellybutton, swirling it around inside while my hands squeezed her breasts and my fingers flicked her nipples. When I finished sucking all of the sugary liquid out of her bellybutton I moved lower towards her other two holes, until I got to the Minnie Mouse tattoo. I gave Minnie a quick lick and a kiss. I had her flip over and gave the fairy tattoo on her ass a quick lick and a kiss (wouldn't want it to feel left out), then spread her cheeks and caressed her anus with my tongue. "Ohhhhhhh," she cooed "and you said I was a naughty girl." I poured caramel all over her ass, sucked on my middle finger until it was good and wet and eased it in her rosebud. While my finger pumped in and out I proceeded to lick the rest of her bottom clean. Amy arms gripped my pillow tightly as she moaned louder and louder.

I made a mental note about how sensitive her ass is. When I was finished I turned her over again and kissed the thin strip of dark pubic hair between her legs, pausing to feel those hairs against my lips. I pushed her legs up and back as Amy grabbed her knees and pulled them towards her face. Lowering my head to her spread lips, I swiped my tongue the full distance along them. "You're not going to sweeten the pot?" she asked, indicating the caramel bottle. "This honey pot is sweet enough," I replied. My tongue took another swipe and then I started licking in earnest, moving all around her lips and occasionally taking a shallow dip into her hole. Amy started pinching and rubbing her nipples. I let my fingertips roam lightly over Amy's buttocks as I ate her out, causing her to breathe audibly and in short gasps. "You like that?" I asked. "It's that tongue stud. I didn't know it would make such a difference." I dove back in and found her clit sticking out, looking for attention. I gave it and Amy yelled as my tongue and the metal stud licked and teased her love button. My left hand held her folds open as I coated the fingers of my right with her juices. I slid my right index finger into her pussy as the middle finger eased into her ass. Amy took in a loud, sharp breath. I began pumping both her holes as my tongue continued on her clit. All this attention soon worked her into a frenzy, Amy's back arched and her hands grabbed and twisted my bedspread so hard that I worried about them finding my head.

I kept waiting for her to climax, but every time she approached the summit she managed to ride it out a little longer. Finally, she let out a long yell. "Ohhhhhh pleasssssseeeeeeee!!!" And after taking in another breath she screamed, "MAKE! ME! CUM!" I realized she was over-stimulated by all this attention. I pulled out my fingers and simply clamped my lips onto her clit and began sucking. Her legs began shaking and I managed to close my eyes just before she exploded all over my face. Amy let her legs fall onto my back and we lay there for a while. I thought she was asleep until her feet began to caress my skin. Revenge is sweet, so I started to lick her juices from the inside of her legs until I'd worked my way back to her sex. Acting like I was cleaning up, I spread her folds and slowly licked the whole area, innocently pressing my nose here and there, until I heard her moan. When she pushed her hips into my face I knew I'd accomplished my mission. I began licking with renewed vigor as Amy brought her knees back to her face again. In grammar school, the other kids used to tease me by saying there was a snake living in my mouth because I had a long, thick tongue. Back then I hated my tongue for all the grief it caused me, and being able to touch my nose with it was little consolation. But a few years later, when I first had sex with a girl, I realized some of the more important advantages to having a snake in my mouth. And it was because of these advantages that Amy cried out when I plunged my tongue into her hole and began fucking her with it. She moved her body back and forth to meet my stride, mashing my nose into her clit and inebriating my sense of smell with her sweet musk.

Her gasps became grunts as she came closer and closer to orgasm, those grunts working in time with our strides and causing her body to move with greater force. I moved my fingers up to her folds and played with them when I could catch them, her body was moving so violently. When my right index finger was good and wet I managed to move it along her crack and find her rosebud, position it slightly inside and on the next thrust I pushed it in. "OH GOD!! OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD!!!!!!" she yelled, following it with a scream that I'm sure the lady in the next apartment, the couple upstairs and maybe even the deaf old man below heard. Amy exploded onto my face again, covering it with her cum as her body went into convulsions. I tried lapping up as much as I could, but most of it still ended up on me. We were both breathing heavily and, as I crawled up beside her, I realized my body was covered in sweat. Between breaths Amy managed to say "Never...I've...never...uh...wow." "Couldn't have said it better myself," I said. She leaned over and kissed me softly on the lips. When Amy leaned back I noticed her eyes looked glassed over, almost wet. She looked so vulnerable at that moment. "You okay?" I asked.

Amy smiled, not her usual face-lit-up smile, but a giddy smile. "I'm way okay." I laid back and we hugged each other, her body was just as coated with sweat as mine. We stayed there quietly until our breathing slowed, listening to Barry White sing about the relationship between love and sex. After a few minutes I got up and went into the kitchen. "Getting the whipped cream now?" Amy called out. Her eyes lit up when I walked back in the room with my little bong. "Well well, someone has a hankering for happiness," she said. "Hankering? What farm did you grow up on?" "Shut up and pack the thing!" We sat on the bed talking and passing the bong back and forth. I just felt so comfortable around her, like we'd known each other for years. Every subject one of us brought up the other had input on. The load in the bong was just about finished when we noticed there was no music. We were so engrossed in conversation (not to mention very stoned) that neither of us noticed the CD had ended. "Go ahead and put something on," I said. "What do you want to hear?" she asked. "Surprise me." She got up off the bed to look through my CD's, and as I took one last hit from the bong I admired her naked form. Three hours ago I'd met her and could only dream about seeing her naked.

Not long after that was when I first saw the fairy tattoo on her butt and could only imagine what it was like to lick it. Now here she was, naked and looking through my CD's during the break of a very intense lovemaking session. And I'd licked a whole lot more than that fairy tattoo. "What did you choose?" I asked when she changed the CD. Amy just peered over her shoulder with a smile and a sly look in her eyes. "Only one song," she said. Amy turned around just as Donna Summer's 'I Love to Love you, Baby' started up. She sashayed towards the bed with the rhythm of the music. I was pretty sure I'd cum the second she touched me. Amy kneeled on the bed and leaned down towards me. I raised my head to her, our mouths were about to meet, close enough where I could feel her breath, when her head ducked away quickly. Before I could see what she was doing I felt her warm lips on my left nipple. She sucked on it hard, causing my nipple to stiffen. Amy moved over my right nipple and licked the areole. Then she blew lightly on it until it got hard, kissed it, and then licked her way down to my belly button. "You really do love playing with that thing." I said as her tongue worked between my skin and my ring. "It turns me on." Amy kept licking down towards my mound, pausing to tickle my lower belly, until I felt her tongue lightly moving over the top of my pubic hair. She spread my legs and planted a kiss on my pussy. Moving away, her tongue trailed down my right leg and licked my ankle.

When her tongue passed over the anklet I heard her give a little laugh. Had thoughts of Cynthia and what we were doing entered her mind? I was about to ask, but she began to suck on my toes and I decided this was no time to concern myself with Cynthia. When she licked the bottom of my foot it ticked, so I tried to pull my leg away, but her hand had a hold on my ankle and she continued to torture me. I tried to kick her with my left foot but her other hand grabbed it and kept it away. "Stop it!" I managed to say between laughs. I finally managed to bat her on the head with the foot she was licking. She smiled and let go of both my feet. "For now," she said. "But now I know you're ticklish." Lying between my legs, Amy's fingers spread my lips and sucked them between hers. Switching back and forth between each side, she managed to get me good and wet by the time her tongue came out and licked every inch of my pussy- every inch with the exception of my clit, which she sadistically avoided. I moaned when I felt a finger slip into my hole, followed by another.

I put a leg over each shoulder, rubbing her back with my feet. As she began pumping in and out, her lips closed on my clit and sucked it hard. My moans turned to yells and that spurned her to increase the speed of her fingers and the pressure of her lips. My heels dug into her back as I felt my internal roller coaster go over the hill. I remember screaming, "I'm cummmmiiiiiiinnnnnnnnggggggg!!!!!!" as I was brought to another shuddering climax. Amy's tongue licked up my juices while my body spasmed with every touch. I lay there in post-orgasmic bliss, looking up at the ceiling, when I realized I was seeing faint spots from shutting my eyes so tight when I came. Wow. But this still wasn't the moment I fell in love with Amy. The stereo moved to the next CD, which was Mazzy Star. I felt her hands on my hips. "Turn over," she ordered. I complied and felt her tongue on the globes of my ass.

She licked them all over, eliciting moans when she reached the sensitive spots where my legs connect to my butt. But they were nothing compared to the sounds I made when her hands spread my cheeks and her tongue licked the length of my crack. She did that two more times before narrowing her attack down to my rosebud. I felt her tongue move back and forth over my anus, and combined with the post-orgasmic bliss it created an oddly calming sensation. She gave my ass a little kiss as she finished and crawled up beside me. I rolled onto my side, pulled her to me and softly kissed her on the lips. Our tongues wanted in on the deal, and the kiss grew in passion as our hands traveled to each other's breasts and tweaked the nipples. At the same time our pelvises ground into each other and I felt myself getting wet again. I broke the kiss and said, "I have an idea." I positioned the two of us so our legs scissored each other and Amy and I began to grind our pussies together, the wetness lubricating each other's lips like a French kiss. "I saw this in a porno," I said. "Ohhhhhh" escaped from her mouth. I looked over and saw her eyes were closed and her lips were slightly parted. She leaned up on her arms while I lay on the bed. It felt so sexy doing this, grinding her pussy up against mine. She bent her knee and suddenly her foot was in front of my face. I don't know if she did it purposely or just to get more comfortable, but it was an invitation I just couldn't resist.

I pulled her foot to my face and began to lick her toes, playing with the toe ring again, and worked my way up to her ankle and back down again. When I started licking the bottom of her foot, Amy pushed against me harder and moaned louder. Her clit must have brushed up against my wet folds because she cried out, so I moved my hips to try and find it again. When I did she cried out again, I stopped licking her foot and closed my eyes as she grinded into me. I felt her shudder and realized she was cumming. After she was done I got between her legs and licked up her honey. I lifted my head and said, "I just realized I'm a horrible hostess. I haven't offered you anything to drink yet." "I've had plenty to drink, thanks." As she said it, she used her thumb to wipe a drop of her cum off of the corner of my lip and licked it off. "Well, I could certainly use something." We went to the kitchen and she was surprised to see I had Kool-Aid. We sat on the couch in the living room and turned on the TV. "I guess you don't mind if people can see in," Amy said as she pointed to my windows.

The drapes were pulled back and we were still naked. "I'm a born exhibitionist. There's a guy who lives in the building across the way who I'll give a show to every once in a while." "You're evil. Either he's gone to bed or he's not home 'cause his lights are out." "Guess he's missing the show," I said. Late night TV isn't what it used to be, but we had a good time making fun of the infomercials. Lying on the couch, I noticed we always managed to keep skin contact somewhere, and it added to the warm glow I was basking in. It also gave me a reassuring feeling that I wasn't the only one who felt like this was more than just great sex. About forty minutes later I looked up and noticed the light in my voyeur's apartment was on. I walked up to the window and, squinting my eyes, I could see him standing by the window holding his binoculars. He's rarely ever shy about showing himself, probably figured out that when I know he's there I'll get really wild. "My buddy's back," I said as I walked back to the couch. "You ever worry that he thinks you're leading him on?" she asked. "He's seen me with girls before. I think he gets the idea I'm not into men." "You don't think he's dangerous, like maybe he'd attack you?" "The guy gets plenty of women. I've seen him with them in front of his building and I can see into his place when he brings them home. One time I was here with a girl and I noticed him looking over here, and he had a girl with him and she was looking too.

And he's very respectful, always closes his blinds when he goes into the bedroom with the ladies and he's never tried to take pictures. I think he's just thankful for the view." "Well, since he's looking, I don't think we should disappoint him." Amy leaned in and kissed me and we started playing with each other's nipples again. "Do you have any whipped cream?" she asked. I went to the kitchen and brought out the kind with a spray nozzle. She tipped the can back and shot some into her mouth, pulled me to her and started frenching me. I shot some cream onto her nipples and slowly licked it off, and then she did the same to me. Amy kneeled on the floor and spread my legs, sprayed some onto my pussy and ate me out. I did the same to her and we ended up in a sixty-nine. I think Amy was as turned on about being watched as I was, her pussy was really wet and she was very responsive. I fingered her anus and she did the same to me. I'm pretty sure Amy was ready to cum before me, but I think she held off until I caught up and we came together. When I felt strength return to my limbs I got off the couch and walked to the window. My voyeur had already abandoned his post, but after a few seconds he walked into his kitchen and poured a glass of something.

He looked out the window and saw me standing there. I waved at him and he waved back. I closed the drapes and Amy and I went to my bedroom and lay there talking for a while. Somewhere around five in the morning we finally passed out in each other's arms. After what we went through I figured we'd sleep until noon, but I woke at 9:30 and found myself alone. Just when I thought she'd left I heard the sink in the bathroom turn on. Pulling the covers back around me, I snuggled in waiting for Amy to come out.

I heard Amy talking, but I couldn't make out what she was saying through the bathroom door. "I can't hear you!" I called out. She continued talking and turned the sink off. The door opened and Amy walked out with all of her clothes on, talking to her cell phone. I mouthed "sorry", but she smiled and waved it off. "Okay, yeah. Twenty minutes. Bye." She turned it off and put it in her purse. "Off to see your next girlfriend?" I said in mock jealousy. "You got me. I have to come clean. I'm a hooker." "I should have known with that outfit." "Hey! You weren't exactly wearing a habit last night yourself!" "So, off to see one of your clients?" "The first of my many janes for today," she said. "Any more room for me in there?" Amy sat down on the bed, leaned over and put her face right in front of mine. "I think I can fit you in between the housewife and the sorority orgy." She pressed her lips to mine and we engaged in a soft, wet kiss that could have lasted the rest of the day for all I cared. When it was over we just stared into each other's eyes. I broke the silence with "You were just kidding about the hooker thing, right?" Amy shook her head. "Like mercury." "Hey, I warned you." "That was Cynthia on the phone." "Uh oh." "I called her. We're going to meet in that little diner down the street. It's about time I came clean."

"You sure?" Amy rested her elbows on her knees and her hands propped up her chin. "I laid here watching you sleep for...I don't know how long. And I kept thinking about how this was going to work out. It's not just me lying to Cynthia anymore, now I've got to drag you and Mario into it. And that guy Brian, he's like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off." Amy sighed and shook her head. "It sounds like the plot of some stupid romantic comedy, except no one's laughing." Her eyes turned from me to some far off place. "It's ridiculous. I've come out to every other person in my life. Why the hell am I so scared of Cynthia?" "Because you haven't known her that long and you're not sure how she'll take it." But deep down I knew that wasn't true, she had a good idea of how Cynthia would take it- Amy knew she was going to lose her as a friend. That was her dilemma. Amy was dealing with it by putting off telling her, and if she was still in the closet that would be fine. But being out to everyone but one person, living in fear of running into an old friend while with Cynthia (like how she described Brian, "...a ticking time bomb waiting to go off"), even putting her love and sex life aside. This was how she was living, and it was no way to live. That's why I didn't argue even though I knew she'd come back crying. And when she did I told her I was sorry, because I let her go meet Cynthia knowing this. Because I let it all happen.

So there we were on my couch, Amy crying as I hugged her tight to my naked form. Being an exhibitionist, there are very few times in life when I feel uncomfortable naked, but this was one of them. Maybe if we were both naked I'd feel better, but I was hardly about to- I pulled Amy away from my chest. "Let's go take a bubble bath." I drew the bath while she got undressed and we got in facing each other. My skin was touching hers, but I didn't as much as play footsie with her. I had no intentions of doing anything until she was ready, and that looked to be a long way off. Every time her tears dried a new set would follow. Cynthia's reaction hit her harder than I thought it would. I scooped up some bubbles into my hand and blew them her way. She forced a weak smile, but the tears continued. I said, "I suppose now's not the time to bring up how it might be a bad idea to tell Cynthia the truth." Amy's smile improved. "You're dense and you're timing's off?" "I know. Send me back to the factory." Her foot caressed the inside of my thigh. "Well, you have some redeeming qualities." "Yeah, call the caramel industry, I have a new ad campaign- 'Caramel and Pussy, Perfect Together.'" Amy's face-lighting smile returned. "We should shoot a commercial." "Oh yeah! You and me and a bathtub full of caramel!" We laughed for a while and made more jokes. At one point, Amy looked at me with tears still in her eyes, but she was smiling. "Thanks," she said. "Hey, all I did was come up with an ad campaign."

After our bath I stood naked in front of my bathroom sink brushing my teeth. Amy came out of the bedroom wearing one of my T-shirts and leaned up against the doorframe watching me. I looked at her and she smiled, but it was a weak smile. "What's wrong?" I asked through my toothbrush and a mouthful of toothpaste. "Nothing's wrong, I just...I want to tell you something and I don't know how to say it." I spat into the sink. "You can just spit it out. I promise to be gentle." I smiled and went back to brushing while she thought. All of a sudden Amy was standing next to me, she turned me towards her and put her hands on my arms. I dropped my hand from my toothbrush, letting it sit in my mouth. "I need to know that I'm not the only one in this room who feels this way. I need to know last night wasn't just some fling for you, that I'll be lucky if you remember my name next week.

I need to know that I wasn't the only one who felt something the first moment we laid eyes on each other, that you weren't missing all my clues because you're not that attracted to me. I need to know that when we kissed in the hall last night it was as magical for you as it was for me. I need to know that we kept having sex because we couldn't get enough of each other. I know it's selfish, but I need to know all those things, and it's not just because I've gone so long without someone, but because I've never been with anyone who makes me feel like you do." I took my toothbrush out of my mouth and kissed her. It was a kiss as passionate as the one in the hall last night, except there was toothpaste this time. This was the moment I fell in love with Amy, and it was because of one word. Magical. She used the same word I had thought of last night to describe the kiss. That's when I knew. It was that simple. We went out to a jewelry store that afternoon and sold my expensive (but no longer favorite) anklet and used the money to buy two cheaper ones, one for each of us. Two months later Amy moved in with me. Mario threw Cynthia out after he got sick of her playing head games (and leaving dirty dishes in the sink all the time). He's looking for another roommate, if you're interested.