Natalie

I knew the roommate situation was going to be a crapshoot. I filled out the form the college sent me and hoped that they'd match me with someone I wouldn't kill. I didn't even hope that she would be hot. I didn't want to live with anyone I was fucking anyway. All I knew was her name, Lauren O'Dell, and that she was on the soccer team like me. I was picturing a freckled redhead who...okay I was picturing the Wendy's mascot.

I had, smartly I thought, broken up with my high school girlfriend before going off to college. She cried and I held her, but I think some of her grief was thanks to the fact that she was still very much in the closet, and I was a secret. I was tired of being a secret. I wanted to date a woman out in the open, kiss her in the sunlight, and all of those wonderful things straight couples took for granted.

Part of preparing for college was a makeover. I chopped off my long brown hair and styled it into a kicky pixie cut, then dyed it cotton candy pink. My mother rolled her eyes, but she said now was the time to do that sort of thing.

When filling out the housing forms, I was honest about myself, and I reasoned the only thing I really needed to worry about was taste in movies. This was film school after all, and if we didn't have movies in common, we'd be gearing up for a frosh year of tedious arguments.

Really, most of my anxiety over having a roommate centered around masturbation. I'd gotten into a once-a-day groove and wasn't sure how that was going to work. Or even where I was going to put my vibrator. I reasoned I could go bareback most nights and only break out the massager for special occasions. I hoped Lauren O'Dell had an active and varied dating life.

I made it into the school thanks to a soccer scholarship, and I'm guessing that's what the housing department looked at, considering that they stuck me with a teammate. Since it turned out okay, I wasn't going to complain. We had another teammate in the suite too.

I arrived on campus early on the first day, having taken a morning flight. Leaving my mother at the airport was a strange feeling. I had taken my first real steps to adulthood. I was outside, I was on my own. I liked the feeling, the way it made my heart light and fluttery. I was dancing at the edge of a rooftop with all the freedom of the sky around me.

I checked in at the welcoming desk and got a map to my dorm. The whiteboard on the door said NATALIE & LAUREN in blue marker. I snorted. Let's hope not, I thought to myself.

I found a narrow room with a pair of tiny twin beds on either side, with two desks at the foot. A closet with a mirrored sliding door ran along the left hand wall, and a sink with a mirror on the other. The room was small in a way that would feel exponentially smaller with every additional person in it. Designed as a passive aggressive way to stop parties from happening. I picked the bed on the left and unpacked my stuff, claiming a side of the closet and sink. I pulled some sheets over the hard mattress, a pillowcase over the pillow, then put my comforter over the top.

This is the entirety of my things, I thought to myself, looking around this space where I would spend the next several months. Everything else was back home in Olympia, my room, filled with my childhood, dark and quiet. Untouched until I flew home in December.

The only toy I'd brought was Egbert, a stuffed otter I'd had since, well, forever. The one part of my childhood that would come with me to this new adventure. I looked into his plastic eyes as I set him next to my pillow. Just you and me, buddy, I thought to him.

I sat down on the bed, wondering what else I was supposed to do, when I heard a young woman's voice outside in the hall. "This is it!"

The door opened right as I processed that the source was right outside my door. I braced myself to meet Wendy. The owner of the voice came in, and I got my first look at my roommate, Lauren O'Dell. She was a little taller than me, with the expected slender, athletic physique of a college soccer player. Her hair was long, straight and black, and her adorable round face was lit with an engaging smile. Her bright blue eyes would have looked more appropriate on a Disney princess. She was dressed in a tank top and shorts, white tennis shoes and low socks.

"Hi!" she said, sticking her hand out. "Are you Natalie?"

I got up, taking the offered hand. "Yeah. Lauren?"

"It's so nice to meet you!" she said. Her grip was firm, her hand soft. "We're gonna have so much fun together."

Not too much, I thought to myself, but one look at her and my resolve was already fading, Maybe dating a roommate wasn't so bad?

A handsome older man with Lauren's mouth came in, followed by a gorgeous older woman with her eyes, then finally a young man built like a football player and sporting a squarer-version of Lauren's features. He carried three suitcases.

"Where do you want it?" the guy asked. Then he saw me and puffed up his chest, trying to thread the needle between cool and flexed. "Hey."

The mother approached me with a confused smile. "Natalie Cho?" she asked. I knew the look. I got it from older people who saw the name and hadn't met me yet.

"That's me."

"You don't look..." she paused, then, lamely, "...like a Cho."

"Mom!" scolded Lauren.

"She doesn't! I just wanted to make sure you're in the right place."

"She is," I assured her. "My dad was Chinese."

"Was?"

"He passed away."

"I'm so sorry," Lauren's mom said. "I know he's with Christ now."

"Mom!" Lauren hissed.

I didn't mention that my father had been his own special blend of spiritual, taking religious beliefs with all the care of a drunk at a Vegas buffet. It was one of his best qualities. I gave her what I hoped was a genuine smile. "Thanks."

"Soccer player?" the dad asked.

"Yeah. Midfielder."

"Good. My Lolo is a striker," he said, and I had passed his test. Frankly, I preferred it to Lauren's mom's version. Her brother's version involved checking me out. He didn't try any lines, and I think I had her folks to thank for that. They helped Lauren move in. She had about five times the stuff I did and by the time they were done, it looked like I was rooming with Barbie. They kissed Lauren goodbye and left us to the first semester of our college life.

"Sorry about my family," Lauren said.

"I've gotten worse."

"Well, I'm still sorry."

"I'm not gonna hold it against you."

My gaze crawled up Lauren's body. Her back was to me, and she was partly bent over her bed as she hung postcards on the wall. Her long legs, tanned a golden brown, went up to a short pair of cut offs. They'd ridden up--not a long trip--and the lower parts of her ass peeked at me beneath a fringe of ragged jean innards. My eyes followed the peachfuzz at the base of her thighs. I tried to stop myself, but I was already imagining running my tongue over it.

I was going to need to figure out the masturbation situation. I hadn't seen her unpack a vibrator, but it wasn't like she was going to be waving that in front of her family. But if I was gonna spend the next couple months with her I was definitely going to need regular pressure releases. I forced my eyes away from those two wonderful creases.

"So, uh...you really like Paris?" I said mostly to say something.

She stood up straight, taking away the view, which was probably for the best, putting her hands on her slender hips to regard her handiwork. The postcards, most in black and white, were of Paris. "I went once, when I was thirteen," she said. "I've been wanting to go back ever since. Have you ever been?"

"My mom could never afford it."

"Oh," Lauren said, turning to me, those big blue eyes downcast.

"No worries. What's your major?"

"Undecided."

"Oh, that's a good one."

"What about you?"

"Film. Looking to go into production design."

We spent the next hour or so bonding. I learned that she was from a rich family and that she lived in the suburban beach sprawl between Los Angeles and San Diego. I kept looking for a reason to dislike her, maybe tamp down on some of the undeniable attraction that had me looking at her like a five-course meal. Problem was, she was spoiled sweet. I liked her immediately and the more I looked for things not to like about her, the more appealing she got.

We went off to the orientation activities and met the people on our floor. After dinner, we all gathered in the adjoining room in our suite. Melissa Rios was a pretty, dark-haired woman from out in the desert east of Los Angeles, while Willow Boone was a gorgeous redhead from somewhere back east. We were all asking and answering the same suite of questions, where are you from, what's your major, any brothers and sisters, the usual getting-to-know-you chitchat. Then came the question I was dreading.

Melissa asked Lauren, "Do you have a boyfriend?" The seed planted, that question would now make the rounds, leaving me with a choice to make. Saying no was technically honest, but it would be more honest to say that I was bi and more looking for a girlfriend than a boyfriend at the moment. Tell them now, and I could write off at least some of them. Or I could hide it and make friends with bigots and hope when they did find out they'd gotten to know me well enough that I'd be an exception.

"Natalie?" Melissa asked. She was staring right at me.

"Sorry, yeah. Got lost in my head."

"Got a boyfriend?"

"No. I'm actually bisexual. I had one real boyfriend back home, we broke up years ago, but most recently I had a girlfriend. Broke up with her before I got here. I'm single."

The room was silent, staring at me. One of the women in the room, her name was Farah something, raised her hand. "I'm gay too."

Everyone laughed, tension draining from the room. I guess I'd let the air out of a balloon I hadn't even known was there. I watched Lauren, who had gone quiet. She was watching the conversation unfold but she had taken a step back. Well, at least I'd come up with something I didn't like about her.

The conversation meandered for another hour before we were tired enough to all return to our rooms. Lauren and I got ready for bed in silence. I'd really stepped in it. This would make the semester uncomfortable. Maybe I could convince the housing department to move me in with Farah. We could be on the prowl together.

"I don't care," Lauren said, turning around.

"Don't care about what?"

"I don't care that you're gay."

"Bi, actually."

"I don't care about that either."

"You're sure? You seem a little tense."

She sighed, trying to relax and it just looked more tense. "I've known gay people. We have gay people in Seal Beach. It's just I've never lived with one."

"Again, bi. Queer's fine, if you're looking for a blanket term."

"Queer."

"You're okay living with me?"

"I like you," she said, then those gorgeous blue eyes widened. "I don't like like you. Like as a friend. You're cool, you're fun, we're gonna be on the soccer team together..."

"It's just a lot to get used to."

She nodded, sighing in relief as apparently I understood. "Right."

"Don't worry, Lauren. I know you're straight and I totally respect that."

"You're saying you think I'm hot?"

I had to laugh. "Do they have mirrors in Seal Beach?"

She struck a pose and preened. "Thank you."

"We're gonna be friends," I said. "That's all."

Lauren looked like she was ready to say something else, but thought better of it. She undressed over by the closet, just out of my eyeline, and returned wearing a long sleep shirt. I was already for bed, in my customary outfit of a t-shirt and a pair of soft shorts. We climbed into our beds, and soon, I listened to the sounds of Lauren's breathing softly on the other side of the room.

Ash

I first saw Lauren O'Dell at a soccer game. It was a blowout win, and the coach put in the frosh to give them some consequence-free playing time. I didn't see Natalie that day, because, I would find out later, she'd sprained her ankle in practice earlier in the week. Sometimes I wonder if anything would have been different had I seen Natalie first, or if things shook out the way they did because they had to.

It didn't matter. Things worked out how they worked out, and that was pretty well, though not without a few bumps in the road.

I'd gone to the game with my friend Elliott, as he had sensibly pointed out that we were both single, and women who played soccer were hot. I couldn't argue with that kind of logic. We were in the bleachers that fall evening when Lauren O'Dell subbed into the game. Her long black hair was pulled back into a tight braid, and though the ensemble of baggy soccer jersey, shorts, kneepads and shin guards was the least fetching thing I would ever see her wear, I was smitten. It was as though the smooth expanse of skin from the legs of her shorts to the tops of her kneepads told the entire tale.I read her name off the back of her jersey: O'DELL.

We cheered while our women put the game away. I was hung up on that mysterious raven-tressed frosh O'Dell, but I'd already written her off as out of my league. Elliott and I made our way from the bright lights of the athletic field, and my brainpower was occupied coming up with reasons I wasn't going to meet that gorgeous player who had danced with the ball.

"Party at Evans Dorm?" Elliott said.

"I don't know. I'm not great around people I don't know."

"You're not great around people you do know."

"Hey, thanks."

"Come on, you always do this. You say no, I drag you kicking and screaming, you end up having fun."

"You're not wrong."

"What's the worst that could happen?"

"You pick a fight with a mannequin and somehow get cut so bad I have to drive you to urgent care in the middle of the night."

"That happened one time."

Properly convinced, I went with Elliott over to Evans. I filed O'Dell under the heading of unobtainable goddess alongside such luminaries as Keira Knightley, Katherine Heigl, and the barista at the coffee place near my house. The party wasn't bad. Whoever had taken over the DJ booth had a hardon for cheesy '80s hair metal and frankly, I was good with that. I made my way over to the bar, which was a nice way of saying a folding table covered in solo cups, a keg of beer, and the cheapest liquor that could be bought, and wondered how I was going to poison myself.

"Don't know what you want?" asked a voice.

"Trying to decide how mad I am at my liver."

She laughed and I turned to introduce myself. O'Dell stood there, close enough to touch. She was dressed for the party now, in a minidress and some strappy sandals, her long black hair no longer in a braid. I stared at her, momentarily gobsmacked and blurted, "O'Dell?"

She blinked her big blue eyes and laughed. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry. I came from the game. I saw you..." I mimed kicking a ball and nearly nailed a guy in the shins. "Sorry," I said to him. I was already making this weird. Elliott would be so proud.

"You watched us?"

"You were amazing. I don't know anything about soccer, but the way you...handled the ball?"

"Dribbled."

"Dribbled, really? Well, you're incredible."

"Thank you." She held out her hand. "Lauren."

"Yeah, that's better than O'Dell, probably. Ash."

"Ash?" she leaned in, like she hadn't heard. I got that a lot.

"Short for Ashley."

"Oh, that's cool. My brother's name is Leslie. He does not like it."

"Yeah, it was rough until I landed on Ash."

"What should we drink, Ash?"

"The punch is called Blackout Juice, so not that. Beer?"

"Sure."

I got us some beers from the keg and fully expected Lauren O'Dell to circulate around the party once she'd gotten her drink. She was certainly getting some looks. Hard not to, with her long, golden brown legs poking from her tiny dress. But she stayed with me.

"What's your major, Ash?"

"Film. Screenwriting concentration."

"Really?" Her eyes got big. Well, bigger. "That's so cool."

"What about you?"

"Not sure yet," her eyes went down, like she was telling me a secret. They were so expressive it was easy to see what she was thinking. Aside from being gorgeous, I loved their honesty. "Thinking about acting."

"You've got the face for it," I said without thinking.

"Thank you."

I shrugged. "Hey, if I get something made, I'll call you. I have to make sure to write something for you. Gorgeous Soccer Player okay?"

She blushed, and that plus the beer was giving me some confidence. I hung out with her the entire night. She was a frosh, told me all about growing up in Seal Beach, talked about how her school had done Wicked and she'd gotten the lead. That was the tape, she was convinced, that got her into college as a promising actress.

At the end of the night, her friends were leaving. "Yeah, give me a sec," she called to them. "Ash, it was so much fun."

"We should do it again sometime."

"Let me give you my number."

I blinked in surprise and handed over my phone. She typed in the number and blew me a drunken kiss before going off with the rest of her team. I looked at the name in my phone: O'DELL <3.

Natalie

The sprained ankle had been a bummer. Missing the game was worse. Missing the party afterwards was the cherry on top. The sprain was fresh, and though not bad on its own, it could easily get worse. So I needed to stay off it for a day. Which meant while Lauren and the other girls were having a blast, I was stuck in the room. I stayed in bed with my ankle wrapped, catching up on the reading I had to do for class.

I masturbated early that night because why the hell not. I had nothing else going on. Helped sharpen my concentration too. Images of Lauren danced through my head while I held the vibrator against me. It was always Lauren. Lauren in the locker room, Lauren wrapped in a towel after a shower, even just Lauren smiling. I had it bad, and though I was obsessively looking for someone else to distract me from the impossibility of my straight roommate, no one had stepped up.

By the time Lauren stumbled in adorably tipsy, I was running out of gas. My eyelids each weighed about a thousand pounds. I had finished all the assigned reading and now my face was buried in one of those salacious Old Hollywood biographies that can't possibly be true, but you hope they are. Egbert rested on my pillow, judging the various stars whose terrible behavior haunted the life of our heroine.

"Natalie!" Lauren hissed as she shut the door behind her. I think it was supposed to be a stage whisper, but it carried.

"You look like you had fun," I said, sitting up. She was falling out of her minidress. The damn thing barely covered her when it was on straight, and it was no longer on straight.

"I had an amazing time! I met a guy!"

"Dressed like that, I hope so."

She snorted, covering her mouth and widening her eyes in surprise, then broke into a gale of laughter. "Did you hear that?"

"I heard it," I said. It was impossible not to smile.

"He's so cute."

"What base did he get to?"

"He was a perfect gentleman." She paused. "If he made a move, I'd have let him get over the bra at least."

"Daring."

"Ask me on our third date."

"Already going on a third?"

"I gave him my number."

Lauren was happy at least. I tamped down on the tiny spark of jealousy in my chest. Lauren was my friend, and I wanted her to be happy. Well, I wanted her naked, but happy was more realistic.

She turned around and bent over undoing her sandals. Her dress, which barely made it below her ass when it was hanging properly, promptly hiked up. A thong ran up between her toned cheeks. The lacy strip vanished momentarily, only to reappear below, cupping her mound. A few black hairs peeked from the narrow strip of teal fabric. I could have let her keep giving me a show, but a friend has some responsibilities.

"Lauren? You're mooning me."

She straightened up and put her hand over her mouth. "Whoops. Sorry."

"No, it was great. Just didn't think it was intentional."

"Great?" She gave a little blush, craning her head as though to see what I'd found so appealing. "I don't know great." She gave up, pulling the dress over her head and stood in the room in her bra and panties. It would be easy to think this was simply her buzzed mind not putting her on the right track, but the way she stood, it had to be intentional. She was balanced, partly turned. This was a display; this was letting me get a good long look.

I drank her in. I'd seen her in the locker room of course, and we passed one another in the bathroom more than once, and we changed in here. But those times, I tried to respect her boundaries. I kept her in my peripheral vision, never really ogling. But now, she was asking, even demanding me to.

Lauren's body was incredible. Her skin was just beginning to lose her summer tan, the golden brown fading into a smooth and healthy bronze. When she moved, her muscles would momentarily show through her taut skin, tigerish in their coiled power. Even though she was standing in a dorm room lit by a reading light, she looked like she could have been in a magazine. It was an image I never forgot.

Then the spell was broken and she went to her closet, and I watched as she shrugged her way out of her bra. Her breasts were modest, standing high on her chest. Then she pulled a Garfield shirt over her head and padded back to bed. She was no longer the lissome succubus of fantasy. She was my cute friend getting ready for bed. Lust turned to the deep affection that had bloomed between us as friends.

"Next time you have to come," Lauren said, climbing into bed.

"Assuming I'm not injured."

"Get you a girlfriend. Somebody as hot as you are."

"What?"

The room was silent save for soft breathing from the other bed. I chuckled to myself. That little slip had been the booze talking. I clicked off my reading light, laying there in the dark, staring at the stucco ceiling. Images floated through my mind. Lauren's ass, the tiny strip of cloth between her cheeks. The dark spot at the center of her, barely covered.

I sighed. My arousal wasn't going away. I wasn't going to get a wink of sleep while this lingered. I gave another look to the other side of the room, and saw only stillness. One more wouldn't kill me and Lauren was asleep. With the exaggerated care of a cat burglar, I eased my hand under the waistband of my shorts and panties. I found myself soaking wet. After Lauren's little show, that was hardly surprising. I kept going back to her standing by the bed. My reading light had given the room a golden cast, and shadows pooled in the contours of her muscles.

I brushed a finger over my pussy, a relieved sigh escaping my lips. A murmur from the other side of the room froze me. I listened for Lauren, another sign that she was waking up, but she said nothing. Just turning over. I slipped my fingers inside myself, finding my own slick moisture waiting. I ran then back up my sex, swirling once over my clit. Another sigh escaped me as I fell into my rhythm.

"Whatcha doing?" Lauren's voice, teasing.

"Nothing," I said, my hands poised over my overheated sex.

"That's not truuuuuue," she wheedled.

I sighed, pulling my hand out of the covers. The scent of my pussy was in the air now, a spicy musk. My fingers were greasy with me. "I was rubbing one out."

Lauren giggled. "I knew it. I knew it."

"If I'm gonna get to sleep I need to cum," I said. "I can go in the bathroom if you want."

She was silent for a moment. "No, it's fine." Another pause, longer than the first. I looked to her side of the room which was nothing more than deep shadow. "I kinda need to get off too."

"You really liked that guy."

"Yeah." She was sheepish.

"I won't stop you."

"What are you going to think about?"

"Don't ask a question you don't want answered."

She giggled. "Okay. Are you doing it?"

My hand returned to its place. The heat flooded through me, right on cue. "Yeah," I gasped.

"Me too," she said, her voice small and breath quick.

I wasn't thinking about anything anymore. I was straining to hear the sound of Lauren's fingers playing in the velvet folds between her legs. How wet did she get? What did she smell like? What would her fingers feel like tangling in my hair? I groaned. An answer, across the room, a giggle swallowed by a throaty moan. She liked the sound of me.

I brushed a finger over my clit. That would draw out another, and sure enough, the spark ran up my spine to spill from my mouth. Lauren answered me. Now I could hear it, a wet sound, slightly muffled, drizzled with tiny gasps and moans of pleasure.

In my mind's eye, it wasn't her finger doing that. It was my tongue. I traced over her black-maned sex, up and down her outer lips, opening her like a flower. Her taste was the enigma. My last girlfriend hadn't been much of an athlete. She was a cute, indoorsy kind of nerd, soft and sweet. Lauren was toned and tanned. I imagined she'd taste like the sun, like a hard day, like the remnants of sunscreen that had sweated off her skin to collect in the folds of her body. And her smell, yes. That would be strong and clear. She ate healthily, we all did. It would be that scent that gathered in the gussets a bathing suit after one of those days when sun and activity made the fatigue a blessing.

I would slide my tongue inside her, find where her taste grew hot and close. I would close my lips over her button as I fucked her with my fingers. Lauren, writhing under my mouth. Lauren moaning my name. Lauren needing me and me alone.

The orgasm crashed over me without warning. One second I was strumming myself to something nice and quiet, something that would loosen me up for sleep, the next, every muscle in my body turned to iron and I felt myself melting around my pussy, hot and sweet and perfect, the image of Lauren cumming at my touch like fire in my mind.

I lay there, gasping, and across the room I heard Lauren make the most adorable sound, a soft eep that I instantly knew I would need to hear again, followed by the creak of her bed and the rustle of her clothes. Then, nothing but our shallow breath.

"Wow," she murmured.

"Yeah," I said.

"Have you ever done that before?"

"Masturbated?"

"Like, with someone."

I'd masturbated someone else, in point of fact, but that wasn't what she was asking. Bringing that up would have broken the spell that hung over us. "Yeah. One time."

"Is it always that good?"

"No." I felt the words and knew I should probably keep them unsaid, but I couldn't stop them. "Helps if it's the right person."

I heard her moving in bed, and I knew she had rolled on her side to face me. I did the same. "So I'm the right person, huh?"

"Apparently. I think I am too."

She was silent, and the two of us stayed where we were, the scent of us hanging in the air, just at the edge of our senses. I can't prove it, but I think that we fell asleep at the same time.

Ash

I met Natalie not long after Lauren I started hanging out. I didn't yet call her my girlfriend, but she was definitely something. We'd kissed but nothing more, and neither of us were kissing anyone else. We could feel the oncoming sense that this relationship mattered, that it would be one that we would remember. The anticipation of this acknowledgement was a delicious chill between us, poised to bloom into something wonderful.

We'd always met on the quad, or she would come to my room. The first time I went to hers to pick her up, and Natalie answered the door. I'd heard Natalie's name, but I didn't have an image in my head, and it was not the goddess on the other side of the threshold.

All of my thoughts vanished. I couldn't remember what I was there to do. I could only stare mutely at her beauty. Her eyes were almond-shaped and so dark that her pupils seemed lighter than the irises. Her skin was a pale bronze, her face smooth and unblemished with only a single beauty mark on her right cheek. The bridge of her nose was long and slender, the tip slightly upturned. Her heart-shaped face came to a small chin. Her modest mouth had the tiniest smirk that I found completely irresistible. Her hair was in a tousled pixie cut and dyed a cotton candy pink. Her chestnut roots had only just started to grow out. She was shorter than Lauren, but had much the same figure, slender and athletic. She was dressed in a tank top and a tiny pair of shorts.

"Ash?" she ventured.

"Sorry, yeah, hi. Natalie?"

"Yeah, she said, tilting her head and smiling. My insides promptly turned to liquid. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Same. Is Lauren around?"

"She's in the bathroom." She lowered her voice. "She had the chili."

"You bitch," Lauren said without malice, stepping into the doorway. "I was putting on makeup. Hey. Ash."

"Hey gorgeous," I said. Natalie went back into the room and I tried not to stare at her ass as she walked, looking like two grapefruits wrestling. I blinked and looked at Lauren, praying she hadn't caught me checking her roommate out. As beautiful as Lauren was, I was already thinking I'd somehow managed to pick the wrong roommate.

"Where are we going?" Lauren asked.

"Annual party over at Rogers Dorm. Baja. It's this whole tropical...Natalie, you could come." That was probably the wrong thing to say but I couldn't help myself. It just spilled out.

"Thanks for the invite but I have a test to study for." She reclined on her bed with a book in her lap, her long legs crossed.

"Great! Nat, don't wait up," Lauren said, throwing a wink her roommate's way. She took me by the hand and dragged me off. I did my best not to show how much I would have rather stayed and helped that incredible sports pixie with her studying.

I spent the party reminding myself about how great Lauren was. And that wasn't difficult, since by any rational measure, Lauren was amazing. She was sweet, she was fun, and she helped me have fun, which was something everybody who knew me said I needed. Every moment with her reminded me how wonderful she was. I was reflecting on this when she went off to find a bathroom and Elliott sidled up to me.

"You should marry her."

I laughed. "We haven't even had sex yet."

"Listen to me. You need to lock that down." Elliott downed whatever formaldehyde was in his red solo cup and looked at me, his eyes bleary from the alcohol, but serious. "She's good for you."

"I think so too."

He patted me on the arm. "Now does she have a sister?"

"Brother."

"I'll need a few more drinks to make that work," he said, and made a beeline for the bar.

Lauren danced out of the crowd, a goofy expression on her pretty face. "Toxic" blared through the air, and she was already dancing. Lauren was an amazing dancer, a combination of her athleticism, natural charisma, and gorgeous looks meant she could basically do anything and make it work. "Ashley Aloysius Campbell--"

"Not my middle name."

"Are you gonna dance with your girl?"

I did my best, trying to match her movements. "So you're my girl now?"

She paused. "Aren't I? I've been calling you my boyfriend."

I wrapped an arm around her slender waist and gave her my best cocky grin. "No, it's just that I've been calling you a woman."

She laughed. "I'm your woman."

"I'm your man."

Her arms snaked over my shoulders, and I was breathing her breath, laden with vodka, fruit punch, and the strawberry scent of her lip gloss. Her waist writhed seductively under my hands. She murmured, "If you take me out of here right now, there's no telling what I'll do to you." Then her lips were on me, her tongue brushing over mine.

"You've been drinking," I said with chuckle.

"So have you. Besides, I just needed a little liquid courage." She glanced around. "Come on, let's go back to your room." A glorious purpose lurked in her big blue eyes.

I could only nod, take her hand, her fingers interlacing with mine. My mind spun. I didn't know what she had planned. I could only dance between the possibilities. We left the party without saying goodbye. She pulled me along on our trip through the late autumn night. Lauren was tall, taller than I was in her wedges, and graceful despite the booze and her choice of footwear. We crossed campus in record time, and I let us into my dorm. The heated air enfolded us. We fell into my room, and her mouth was on mine, devouring me.

My hands roamed over her body under her dress, angling her to my bed. I kept waiting for her to say something, to stop me. She fell on top of me, barely breathing. At that moment, I made a decision. I would let her stop me wherever she liked, but I would see how far she would let me go. It had been a long time since my last girlfriend, and she hadn't looked like Lauren. I was filled with the need to see what she looked like. All of her.

Her dress was a single piece. As my hands ran along her body I hunted for the zipper. She, apparently on the same page, rolled on her side. "Here," she said breathlessly.

I pulled it down, and she wiggled it partly down her body and then laughed. "Hold on." She rolled over, sat up, and undid the straps on her sandals, then stood and dropped the dress, stepping out of it. Now she stood by my bed in nothing but her bra and panties. "What do you think?" she asked, spreading her hands and doing a single turn. My eyes went to the thong disappearing between the twin hemispheres of her toned buttocks. I am not a religious man, but the sight of Lauren's ass exposed like that was enough to make me think a prayer might be in order.

"You're incredible," I said sincerely, looking up and down her tall and lithe athlete's body.

She knelt over me, knees on either side of my hips, hooked her hair over her ears, and leaned down to kiss me. "You're my man," she said.

I ran my palms down her smooth thighs, finding the soft layer of baby fat at her hips, melting away every day. "You're my woman."

She held my face in her hands, her eyes probing mine. I strained against my pants, ready to pop. A grin flickered over her face. She could see the need in me. She enjoyed it, this sense of power. I was captive to her, and joyful in that place. My lips fell to her throat, where I felt the beat of her heart through the taut skin. I caught her there, then tried to roll her onto her back, but she had all the leverage and only one of us was a collegiate athlete.

"No you don't," she said breathlessly, punctuating each word with a kiss on my lips.

My hands found her ass. Gooseflesh pimpled her skin with my caresses. My fingers found the widow's peak of her underwear. The feel of them brought a thick, churning feeling inside me. I was warm and wet already.

I reached for her mouth and she moved her head away, grinning at me. "You want me."

"Of course I want you," I said.

She reached behind her and with a snap, her bra went slack and she shrugged it off, setting it aside. Her orange-sized breasts sat high on her chest, pale nipples erect. I sucked one into my mouth. She clutched my head, pressing her breast to my face as I teased the nipple with my teeth and tongue.

She was writhing against me, imitating the motions of lovemaking. I imagined her impaled on my shaft, bouncing up and down on me. The churning in my belly was unbearable. I once gain tried to move her.

She laughed. "Nope."

"Lauren..."

"Say it."

"I need you."

Her smile was wide, her eyes dancing. She slithered off me, dropping to her knees in front of the bed. She ran her hand over the bulge in my pants. It only grew. I groaned in arousal and frustration. "You want to grab me, don't you?" she teased.

"Yeah."

"I bet if I touch you, you'll explode, huh?"

"Only one way to find out," I said breathlessly.

She undid the button of my jeans, pulling them down along with my underwear. My cock jumped into view. The scent of me bloomed over us, sweat and arousal mingling. "Oh my," she said. She looked up at me, suddenly unsure. I nodded to her, an attempt at reassurance, but I was burning with desire. I must have looked like a crazy person.

She reached out, taking me gently in hand, staring at my cock like it was a fascinating example of alien life. Threatening, but intoxicating. I was already slick. Her other hand joined the first and she began to lightly run both up and down me, throwing waves of warmth through my body. I sighed, relishing that look in her eyes, the uncertainty, the nerves, and beneath it all, smoky desire.

"Come up here," I said. "I want to touch you, Lauren."

She let me go and climbed on the bed. I knew then her panties weren't coming off that night, and I was fine with that. I stood, pulling my shirt and jacket off, then shoes and pants. I got into bed with her, nude.

She took me in hand, stroking. "You can grip a little harder," I said. "Like you're milking."

She giggled. "I haven't given a lot of these."

I kissed her, my own hand sliding down her belly to her panties. "You're doing great. You're gonna see how great in a second."

"Oh yeah? You gonna..." she paused and I felt the blush in her kiss. "You gonna cum for me?"

"I'm gonna cum on you," I gasped.

Her lips quirked. "That sounds nice," she said softly.

I slid my hand over her sex, into the sultry confines of her panties. I felt the softness of pubic hair, groomed into a landing strip. My finger parted her and she squeaked as I slid it up and into her. Her strokes were stuttered now as I matched her rhythm. The sounds, the wet, meaty, obscene sounds, filled our ears. Gasping, her mouth sought mine, but couldn't seal the kiss. We could only inhale the pleasured breath of the other. The churning spilled out of me in a molten wave. I felt myself spasming as stripes of pearly cum splashed over her belly. As the first hit, she gasped, her pussy squeezing my fingers, her body going rigid.

We relaxed, lying there in the dark together, she fitting into the crook of my shoulder. "That was fun," she said, one sticky finger running over my chest.

"I thought so. You sleeping over?"

"I don't want to walk back to my room alone at this time of night."

"I'll walk you home."

She smacked my chest. "Trying to get rid of me?"

I kissed her forehead. "I want you to stay. I was just thinking about walk of shame territory."

She stuck out her tongue. "Oh yeah. Poop."

"We don't have to leave right now," I said. Looking down at her body, the way she was on her side, all that separated her from nudity was the single strip of black material over her hip. I wanted to see her naked more than anything, but I could wait.

"Okay. Let's just be together."

Natalie

Lauren was gone all night.

I couldn't blame her. Ash was cute. He had this kind of nerd-growing-into-himself look. Lean, on the manageable edge of tall, and an open, sensitive kind of face that made it impossible not to know what he was thinking. Top that off with some green eyes and his mop of loosely-curled brown hair, and he was definitely a looker.

He'd been looking at me too.

Jealousy gnawed at me, but not as much as desire. The thought of the two of them together, that was what fueled my solo session. As the vibrator buzzed me to bliss, I kept picturing Lauren on all fours, Ash fucking her with brutal strokes, each one forcing one of her adorable eeps from her lips.

The more I thought of them, the more my fantasies crawled not just over Lauren's body--well trod territory in my fantasy life--but over his. I'd said I hadn't wanted a boyfriend and I still didn't, but I appreciated male beauty. Especially when it was railing my crush, I suppose.

I was in the midst of getting ready for my eleven o'clock class when the door opened, and there was Lauren, bright red, her hair a mess, her makeup worse, wearing the dress from last night as she stumbled in. "I know, I know," she said.

"Did you have fun at least?"

"I did!" She paused, fighting an urge to say something and it burst out. "I'm gonna sleep with him!"

"Wait, you didn't?"

"We did, you know, hand stuff."

"Hand stuff."

"I...I jacked him off and he fing--"

"I know what hand stuff means. I just figured, since you were out all night..."

"I thought it was too early. We only just made it official last night and I thought if I," she lowered her voice, "slept with him, he'd think I was a slut."

"I'd be disappointed if he cares."

"I've only ever slept with one guy."

"Me too."

"Yeah, but you've been with like...how many girls?"

I laughed. "Also one."

"Really?"

"Really. Quality, not quantity. I don't have a ton of experience. It's more that I know what I want." Which was funnier in retrospect, since it was increasingly obvious that I didn't. Call it the confidence of youth.

"I wouldn't call Tony, that's my high school boyfriend...I wouldn't call him quality. He barely got it in before he came."

I giggled. "You're gonna fuck your new guy."

"I want to. I think I'm gonna make him wait, though."

"Why?"

"I don't know. When I was with him last night, I could see how much he wanted it, how much he wanted me, and it was fun. Knowing that he'd do anything to be with me...I felt powerful. He was mine."

"I can understand that." I sat down on my bed. The thoughts were boiling in my mind, the ache of her being with someone else, but also the wonderful images running through my mind. Heat smoldered in my belly. "So, would you tell me? What you two did?"

The color returned to her cheeks. "You want a blow by blow?"

"You blew him?"

"No!" She paused, her eyes getting big. "And I realize don't have much of a frame of reference, but he seems...big."

I raised my eyebrows. Cute as hell, and he was hung. I wasn't sure if I wanted to compete with that or for that. "Really?"

"I don't know how much of him I can, you know," she opened her mouth, and shrugged.

"I'm sure you'll work it out," I said. "Now, tell me."

Lauren bit her lip. "I'll tell you tonight. When we, you know..." We had kept up our activities from that first night. A couple times a week the two of us would masturbate in the dark, pretending that this was just something friends did.

"Now you're making me wait."

She smiled triumphantly and swept into the bathroom.

Bitch," I said without malice. A moment later I heard the shower.

She was as good as her word, and for the rest of the semester, after coming home from a night with Ash, she would tell me what they got up to. That replaced our more undirected masturbation sessions, giving us fuel and engine. As I listened to her, sometimes I was an impartial observer, but sometimes I was Ash, taking Lauren. And sometimes, I was Lauren. I didn't notice it was happening, but I'd stopped looking for a girlfriend. I'd kind of found one, even if she wasn't up for touching me.

As October turned to November, hand stuff turned into oral between them, and Lauren's resolve was wavering. By finals week, and she was so keyed up she couldn't sit still, her thighs rubbing together without her consciously realizing she was doing it. Every night, the scent of her pussy permeated the room. Our sessions went from a couple times a week to every night.

"I can't wait," Lauren said to me one morning as I came out of the shower. "I'm going to have sex with him."

"What, now?" I asked, looking around, half expecting Ash to roll out from under her bed.

"My last final is this afternoon. He's already done. He's taking me out on a date tonight to celebrate."

"And afterwards..."

"We'll go to his room and I'll..." She shivered.

Heat bloomed through my belly. A familiar feeling, wonderful and comforting. The image that had been in my mind was poised to become a reality. Nerves jangled inside me and I swallowed, an impulse filling me and I couldn't stop myself. "Why not do it here?"

She smiled. "You're here."

"Right."

She looked at me, and she didn't immediately say no. "You'd want to watch us?"

"I've been getting off to the two of you all semester."

Lauren laughed. "I guess so. I don't know if Ash would go for that."

"You don't have to tell him."

"What?"

"Tell him I left for home already. I'll hide in the closet."

She went quiet again and I watched her consider it. Then she stood. "I'll think about it, okay?"

"Okay," I said, visions of Lauren being fucked dancing through my head.

She nodded to herself, then gathered her books. "I'm heading to the library for some last-minute studying. I'll see you this afternoon after my final."

"Okay," I said again, my mouth dry. She was out the door and I was alone in our room. I pulled off the towel, letting the cool air caress my bare skin. I looked over at Egbert, meeting his plastic eyes. "What do you think? Will she go for it?"

Egbert had no response. I wouldn't have trusted his advice on this subject anyway.

I was on pins and needles for the rest of the day. The funny part was I was done with finals. I had only stuck around for extra time with Lauren. I kept thinking I should take some kind of shot before I went home. Apparently this was it.

Lauren was gone forever and a day. When she returned, she looked drained. Her black hair was in a bun, a pen stuck through it. Her eyes were tired and her shoulders limp. "How'd you do?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Okay? I think?"

"But hey, you're done!"

She broke into a smile, and my insides went hot and melty. "I'm gonna take a shower, start getting ready." She started to strip, then paused, looking at me out of the corner of her eyes, her cheeks glowing an apple red. "Nat, I couldn't help but notice you shave. Your pussy I mean."

Couldn't help but notice. She'd been looking. "Yeah. I like the way it feels."

"I was thinking that'd be a fun surprise for Ash. If I shaved."

"Probably." It would be a fun surprise for me too, I thought. I looked at her, she was trying to say something, but couldn't spit it out. "Are you trying to ask me for help?"

"Yeah," she said. "Is that weird? That's weird."

"Weird, hot, whatever. Normally, I shave in the shower, but why don't you come out here and we can do it then."

She was silent. "Or you can get in the shower with me."

I swallowed, my throat clicking dry. "I can what?"

"You want me to ask again?"

I got up and followed Lauren into the bathroom. She was trembling, her back tensed like the strings of a violin. Our bathroom wasn't big, and we shared it with a suite of women, but it was quiet now. The others had already gone home, their finals done. The two shower stalls were three-sided tiled booths, the sides intended to be high enough that they would mostly block the good stuff from a neighbor. I turned on one of the faucets, keeping my hand under the spray as I got the temperature to where I wanted it.

I heard the rustle of clothing behind me, and when I turned, there was Lauren, nude, her arms folded under her breasts. She had clearly done some grooming. Her pussy was sleek beneath a trimmed landing strip. I did my best not to stare, assuring myself that I'd be getting a close look in a few moments.

"I've seen you naked lots of times," I reminded her, trying to get some of the tension from her body.

"I know," she said. But this was different. We both felt it, in the shiver of the air. This was somehow different than the two of us getting ourselves off side-by-side in our room. There was a frankness to this. Our energy was focused on the other, not some nebulous fantasy we could easily deny by the light of day.

I pulled my cami top off, undid my bra, and took down my pants and underwear.

"What are you doing?" she gasped. Her eyes were alight, though. She liked what she saw. Now the gooseflesh was on me.

"You didn't think I was getting into the shower with my clothes on, did you?"

"I guess not."

"Besides, I might as well shave too." Couldn't find a hair on me if she tried, but I wasn't going to give the game away. I picked up the shaving lotion and razor and set it by the side of the shower, then stood under the spray slicking my hair back. I opened my eyes, meeting Lauren's. "Okay, the basics."

I applied the lotion to my hands, then rubbed it into the V of flesh between my legs. The pressure sparked lights behind my eyes and a shudder in my back, but I kept myself under control. "Just like you're shaving any other part of you. Just take it easy with the razor. This isn't somewhere you want to cut yourself. Blades start to get dull, you replace them. This isn't where you skimp."

I passed the razor over my pussy, gliding over soft skin now denuded of hair. I took my time, letting her gaze crawl over my bare sex. Let her appreciate me before I got to do the same for her. When I was finished, I stood in front of my roommate, the woman I'd been carrying a torch for since the beginning of the semester, and put my hands out, more nude than I had ever been. The warmth of the water joined the fire blazing inside me. Even as I felt myself beginning to slick, I affected a nonchalant look. I don't think I was convincing. "Ta-da!"

Her eyes were fixed on the apex between my thighs. "Wow. It's so..."

"So what?"

"So cute!" she enthused, then turned red, giggling to herself. "Sorry. All those times in the locker room I never really looked."

"Look all you want," I said, trying to sound light and airy. Her attention crawled over my slit with the weight of fingers. I felt it in little shivers that radiated from my sex and ran up my back. My pussy is small and modest, keeping every secret but one. As soon as arousal hit, I was leaking my juices down my thigh, merging with the remaining suds of the lotion.

I held out the lather for her. She took it, her hands shaking, and we traded places. My wet skin brushed over hers for just a second, and I wondered if she felt the same thrill I did.

The bathroom had that wet indoor pool smell that all tiled bathrooms got eventually, but now it was joined by the hot water, the lavender lather, and the undeniable scent of me. I thought I detected something else, something soft and pungent beneath, but was that real, or my desire? Was there really a difference?

I watched Lauren squirt a dollop of the gel on her fingers, then rub them together to get a lather going. A moment of hesitation, color in her cheeks, and then she put them between her legs. I watched as she massaged the lather over her sex, and now it wasn't my imagination. My smell, sharpened by the water, caught that pungent scent I caught earlier, stronger, mingling with the water and the lavender. And, crucially, mingling with mine.

She picked the razor off the tiled wall, then awkwardly bent double and spread her legs. After a moment of consideration, she sighed, straightening. "Would you do it?" Her pupils were tiny. All I could see were the glorious Caribbean blue of her eyes. Her breath was short, shallow, her cheeks had the sun in them.

The best part was that we were pretending. Just a couple of friends, one shaving the other's pussy, nothing weird about that, no sir. But that pretending was what made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. It's what made me feel like I was melting through my sex. I wanted to kiss her, to take her right there in the stream of water, but I didn't. Because that would break the spell. I wanted the magic, needed it even. That slice of denial made everything else so much better.

"Yeah, no problem," I said.

I dropped to my knees in front of her. My senses were filled with her sex now. Her lips, tight and firm, just a bit of a pout, running up to her clit, poking gently between the apex of her folds. I longed to peel her back, to eat her like a pomegranate until her juices soaked my chin. But I didn't. The spell kept me hypnotized.

I blew softly over her, the bubbles of the lather wobbling where they clung to individual black hairs. I heard a sharp intake of breath above me and I couldn't contain the grin. I stopped, any more and we would puncture this most delicate bubble. We were friends. That's all.

Her scent made that almost impossible. The musky smell reminded me of fresh-turned soil, fertile and fragrant. I ran a hand over her outer folds. "I need to see which way the hair grows," I explained. That was true, though not the whole truth.

I placed the razor on her soft skin. "You need three passes. First with the grain, then across the grain, then against. You want to be smooth as silk."

"Are you smooth?" she asked breathlessly.

"Slick is more like it," I said.

I ran the razor over her. I heard that tiny eep that made me love her. She was moving now, unconsciously, rocking her hips against me. I put a hand on the junction between the front of her thigh and her pelvis to keep her still. She steadied herself.

With, across, against. I took my time, removing every last vestige of hair. I watched her body tremble beneath my touch, shiver as I breathed against her. Her skin was smooth and soft, begging to be touched. Rivulets of water, lather, and her juices flowed between her lips and on either side of her mound. Jealousy filled me, and with it a core of bright arousal. She was bare, her sex breathtaking in its nudity. I wanted to keep kneeling there, but I knew if I did, I would lean in for a taste.

Reluctantly, I stood. Her eyes were closed. I kissed her on the cheek. "You're done."

"Oh? Oh, thanks," she said. Her eyes had nearly rolled back in her skull. She turned around into the spray washing the last of the lather from her body. Her mound was bare now, pebbled in gooseflesh, shiny with water and musky with perfume. She hadn't cum, but she was balanced on a bubble we had made together. One touch, and it would pop. She was coming back to earth, but I knew she would be on that delicious cloud, ready to explode under Ash's touch. That guy needed to send me a thank you note.

I stepped out of the stall and put a towel over myself. Lauren followed, her skin flushed. "I'm really keyed up," she said, then laughed.

"Lucky Ash."

"Hey, I was thinking about what you asked," she said, her eyes alight. "Yes. The answer's yes."

"Really?"

"Just be quiet, okay?"

"I'll be like a mouse."

She stopped in front of me, and I could tell, she was making another decision. I wondered if she would be the one to puncture that bubble of lather we stood poised upon. Instead, she nodded. "Okay."

She wrapped herself in a towel and got ready for her date. I got dressed again, still soaking wet and a mass of nerves. I wanted to take care of myself, but I knew that if I waited until the show began the orgasm would be blinding.

She donned a little black dress and her matching heels, a leather jacket over the top. If she wasn't so damned cute I might call that jacket an affectation, what with how it was still mall-fresh, but Lauren looked incredible. She brushed some perfume on her wrists and neck, but it didn't quite mask that summery scent still threading from her sex. When Ash's knock came at the door, Lauren waved me into the closet. I slipped in as she opened the door.

"Wow," I heard Ash say.

"Thank you." I imagined her striking a little pose, emphasizing the graceful lines of her body.

All I could think of was her hairless sex pressing against the tiny black thong she'd put on, leaking that delectable juice. I knew from experience the material caressing skin that wasn't used to it would put her on edge in the most delicious way. I squirmed, my own panties giving me a lovely thrill.

The door shut. I waited, then prepared my nest. I was going to be stuck in the closet all night, so I might as well be comfortable. I put my comforter and a pillow in there, and after a moment of hesitation, Egbert went in there as well, though I turned him to face the wall. He didn't need to see what I was planning to get up to.

Ash

Lauren looked amazing. The black dress hugged her lithe body, the leather jacket was adorable, and her long legs were hypnotically bare. Thankfully, it never got that cold in Southern California, so she could dress like the goddess she was.

I drove her out neat the marina, where we ate on an outdoor patio overlooking the water. The food was California cuisine, a base of traditional Baja, hippie innovations, with a bit of Japanese fusion drizzled over the top. It was the kind of thing that I thought I'd live on when I made a life as a screenwriter.

Athlete that she was, Lauren loved the bright summery flavors of the vegetables and the lean meet with a touch of char across the tops. At the end of the date, we shared a dark chocolate brownie drizzled with strawberry syrup. Her eyes, always her best feature even considering the stiff competition, sparkled throughout.

"Ash?" she said. Her tongue collected a bit of the strawberry syrup that clung to her fork. "I'm glad I talked to you at that party."

"Me too." I laughed. "I saw you at that game and I couldn't believe you were real."

"And now I'm here."

"I'm a lucky guy."

I paid for the meal, more than I could afford, but Lauren was worth it. She took my arm and leaned over, her breath tickling my ear. "Want to come back to my room?"

"Not mine?"

"Mine," she said emphatically. Then, quickly, "It's your turn to make the walk of shame."

I could only shrug. Nat had gone home, and one empty room was the same as any other. I'd grown to crave the sight of her mouth trying to take all of my cock, and the cute way she always collected the dribble of cum that escaped on one finger like she was getting a bit of chocolate sauce off her lip.

She pulled me into her room, kissing me hard as the lights went out. She broke only once, turning on the light by her bed. "I want to see you," she said. "Undress."

She stepped aside. The closet on the other end of the room was open slightly. A narrow band of black space ran from floor to ceiling. I momentarily frowned, because she always kept it closed. In my defense, I wasn't thinking clearly. I don't think anyone could. My clothes came off my body and I stood before her, erect. This was when she would drop to her knees.

She didn't, instead coming up behind me. I leaned back over my shoulder, and she kissed me. Her hand found my cock, and she began to lightly milk. Since that first night, she had gotten better, learning how I liked to be touched, how to bring me along fast or slow. She had never done it this way, though, pressed against my nude body, her hand fluttering up and down my length while I faced that black slice of closet.

Her hand was doing its work well, a stroke up my shaft, a flick of her wrist around the head. "Are you trying to get me to cum?" I asked.

Her giggle was husky. "What if I am? What if I wanted you to shoot all the way over there?"

"I'd rather cum in your mouth." I turned on her, kissing her hard. "Take your dress off."

She obeyed, the zipper coming down and the garment falling around her feet. She stepped out of it, and then out of the heels. "I have a surprise for you," she said.

"Oh?"

She undid her bra. Her nipples were like rocks. I longed for the feel of them under my palms. Then she hooked her fingers into the narrow waist of her panties and pulled them off. She stood before me, and I felt my eyes widen as my brain made sense of what I was seeing. Her pussy was bare, nothing more than a gentle mound of soft flesh, aching for my touch.

"You like?" she asked, striking an adorable pose.

"Very much," I said, my mouth suddenly dry. I dropped to my knees in front of her, pressing my nose to her slit, inhaling the summery scent of her pussy. I ran my tongue over her smooth lips, dipping between for an instant, the taste exploding over my tongue.

She shivered, fingers momentarily ruffling my hair, but then stepped away. She turned around, showing me her back. Shadows pooled in her body, the line of her spine, the dimples over an ass sculpted by sports. Deliberately, she bent over, her hands on the bed. She looked over her shoulder, our eyes meeting.

"I want you inside me," she said simply.

I'd been thinking about this since we started dating. As much as I loved her hands and mouth, as much as she had been able to coax pleasure from me, it was her pussy I dreamed of. I almost asked if she was certain, but any other thoughts vanished as my gaze went from the dim light caressing the hemispheres of her ass. In shadow were her lips, flared obscenely open, glistening, that powerful scent pulling me to her.

I came up behind her, guiding my cock to the gates of her body. Her pussy was hot against the head of me, and I felt her reaching. I rubbed myself over her, my juices joining hers. She sighed, and then I took her. I slid into her body with a sure stroke, fucking a soft eep from her.

"Oh Lauren," I sighed.

She closed around me, hot and wet and soft. I gripped her hips, and she pushed back into me. A shiver took her body, starting in her sex and radiating through her body. With each thrust, the shiver deepened, gripping her with a surety. I buried myself in her, striking the back wall of her body. Each thrust brought another adorable eep from her. As my strokes quickened, so too did her sounds. Louder too, first a whisper, then a murmur, then she was calling out.

I was already churning. She had lost what strength she had in her arms, the side of her face now mashed into her comforter, her hands balled in her comforter. Her ass stuck up obscenely, taking my thrusts.

Then the shivers escalated into a full quake and she gave a sob. She went rigid, then loosened. I felt myself losing control, my own body quaking as I filled her. I fell against her, wrapping an arm around her waist as she sucked in air.

"Oh god she moaned. "Why weren't we doing that all semester?"

"You tell me," I said.

She disengaged, and I fell from her. I caught a glimpse of her sex, now drooling pearly strands of our love. The two of us fell on her bed and she held me. "I was scared," she said. "They always tell us, if you give him what he wants, he'll take it and go."

"Idiots maybe. Me, I'd like to spend as much time as possible having sex with my gorgeous girlfriend, thanks."

"Can I try something?" she asked.

"Just give me a minute."

She traced circles on my chest. Her fingers fell to my belly, and then they were running over my cock, still slick with the two of us. Before long, it was returning to life. She looked over her shoulder in the direction of the closet, but the doors were mirrored, so I assumed she was drinking in the sight of us. Then she dropped to her knees by the bed.

"Sit up," she said. I obeyed her, leaning back on my palms. She stroked me. "I want to suck your dick. I want to taste the two of us on you."

"I don't know what's gotten into you, Lauren, but it's awesome."

She giggled. "You got into me. I can feel you in there." Her hips were already gyrating as though she couldn't wait to get me again.

She ran her tongue up the underside of me, swirling around the head. She smacked her lips. "I think I like us."

I could only watch her. She opened her mouth and took my head inside, her eyes never leaving mine. She kept her gaze steady as she continued to swallow. I felt myself at the back of her throat, a tear wobbling on her eye then tumbling down her cheek. A small spasm took her, but she fought it, maintaining her grip.

"Oh fuck, Lauren," I breathed.

Her laugh was hot against me. She drew out, her tongue chasing our juices over me. "Tell me how beautiful I am."

"You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen," I said. Her grin stretched over her face and was gone as she took me inside again.

I sighed, and now I looked up. Lauren began to blow me in earnest, her head bobbing as she went shallow, deep, shallow, her tongue busily washing over me. My eyes went to the slice of black in the dark room. The light of her desk was behind me now, and though it didn't illuminate the closet, it was no longer dazzling.

Something moved inside the closet. I wasn't certain, and the orgasm was brewing in my belly, demanding my attention. Saliva covered me, dripping down my cock as she slurped me in and out. My heart thundered in my chest. My eyes probed that slice of dark, hunting for another sign of movement.

A sound surfaced underneath the insistent slurping. I caught it at the edge of my hearing. I strained, even as the orgasm threatened to boil over. I stared, strained, and yes, something was moving in there.

Lauren took me deep, pushing me past her throat, deeper than she'd ever managed. She constricted over me, fighting her gags, and I boiled over. My first jet was down her throat, and then she moved away, taking the next on her tongue. She sucked, licking, swallowing each pulse of cream.

A groan came from the closet. And in the post-cum clarity, I saw a shape clearly in the in the dark. It was Natalie, nude, fingers between her legs, bucking in orgasm of her own.

Lauren faked a moan in an attempt to cover that, climbing up on the bed with me, wiping her mouth. "That was amazing. I came again," she lied.

I let the deception stand. I was fascinated by Natalie's presence, but they didn't want me to know, so I wouldn't. I found I liked the idea. Play along and maybe it would happen again. Maybe it would be the new status quo.

I took Lauren's warm body in my arms, kissing her neck. "You're incredible."

She giggled, holding me. "I loved it."

I took her under the covers and soon, we slept. As for Natalie, she was going to be stuck for the foreseeable.

Natalie

Ash hadn't seen. I'd had the best orgasm of my life, and he was none the wiser. The sight of the two of them together was better than my fantasies. Lauren was right about his cock. Big yes, but not scarily so, and nicely shaped. I found myself wondering how it would feel. I waited until the two of them fell asleep, then I sneaked out and slept in Willow Boone's bed.

Winter break was long. The memory of them together kept me warm through a rainy winter in Washington. As much fun as it was to get off to that image, I missed having Lauren in the room with me. I'd gotten used to her cute sounds, the sweet smell of her, the writhing shadows on the other side of the room. I'd broken myself. It felt weird to masturbate alone.

I was bouncing when I returned to school, practically running to my dorm room. I opened it up and Lauren was on the bed, reading. Her gorgeous eyes lit up when she saw me. "Nat!" We hugged and she gave me an appreciative once over. "I love your hair!"

"Thanks," I said. I'd gotten a trim and dyed it a midnight purple. "You look amazing."

"Tell me everything," she said.

I put my bags on the bed and got to unpacking, Egbert first, of course. I told her about the trip home to Olympia, the weird way everything felt a little smaller. I mentioned missing her but tried not to lay it on too thick. I missed her like she was my girlfriend, only she definitely wasn't. She was a friend that I masturbated with, shaved, and watched have sex, and unfortunately there isn't a word for that even if there should be. Hallmark really was missing out on an interesting revenue source.

Lauren told her own story then, of a California Christmas spent poolside. "I kept wanting to call you," she confided. "Felt weird not unpacking the day with you. And...you know." Red touched her cheeks.

"Same," I said.

Her smile relaxed, relieved. Then it turned into a mischievous smirk. "Ash should be getting here in a little while."

I grinned. "I'll make my nest then. Just try to kick him out before dinner. I don't think I can sleep in Will's bed again if she's in it."

"Like you wouldn't love that."

I had to chuckle. "Just do it, okay?"

"Fine, fine. Get ready."

I was ready. So was Ash. He was all over and before long he had Lauren on her back, her long legs wrapped around him. Ash looked up, and for a moment I was certain he saw me. Somehow, his eyes penetrating the darkness as he thrust into my friend. Like he was fucking me too. The orgasm sparked in me, and I bit my lip hard to keep from crying out.

We eased into the semester like that. Some nights, it was just me and Lauren, but on others, I hid in the closet getting myself off to the beautiful sights and sounds of Ash fucking my crush. And if I was being honest, Ash was starting to become my crush too. The way he paid attention to her, treated her like the most beautiful woman in the world. The way he seemed continually fascinated by her body. I wanted that too.

It stayed in that equilibrium until the last day before spring break. Every dorm was having their big blow-out, and the three of us were going from building to building, where each dorm had put together a theme. Some went all out, some half-assed it, but the music was loud, the drinks were flowing, so it barely mattered.

Late into the night, Lauren grabbed me by the arm. "I'm going to get Ash to head back soon." Her breath smelled like disinfectant and she was wobbly on her feet.

"Got it. I'll go now."

I made a beeline home and set myself up in the closet, waiting for the night's show. I wore only a tiny cami top and an old pair of underwear, sitting crosslegged on my comforter facing the strip of view to the bed. My scent was already blooming in the air, a wet spot growing on the blanket beneath me.

Not long after, the door opened, and Lauren strode past, kicking her shoes off. She pulled her dress off over her head and crooked her fingers to the door. Ash took longer than he usually did, and a flicker of uncertainty went over Lauren's face. Then he embraced her. Her hands went to his hair, her mouth hungrily devouring his.

Ash pulled her to the bed, where the sat next to one another, kissing like teenagers. Then Ash pulled away. His voice was only slightly slurred. He was drunk, but not as much as Lauren. "Are we really just gonna leave Nat there?" he asked.

I froze, my finger in the process of tracing the opening of my pussy. The words threw a cold bucket of water directly in my face. Lauren was just as paralyzed as I, staring into Ash's face for what felt like forever.

"What?" Lauren said finally. "Nat's still at the party."

"No, she's not. She's in the closet, where she always is when we have sex." He raised his voice a little, directing it at me. "You can come out, Nat."

"Ash..." Lauren said.

But he was right. It was time to quit the charade. I slid open the door, stepping out. I gave Ash a sheepish wave. He waved back. I sat down on my bed. "How long have you known?"

"I thought I saw something that first night," he said. "Got more sure of it over the last couple months. You're not always as quiet as you think."

"It was just having fun," Lauren said.

"I'm not mad," he said. "It's just...I wish I'd been in on the fun."

"What do you want?" I asked, suddenly intrigued.

"You didn't think I'd like to watch a hot girl get herself off?"

I felt the heat returning to me. "I'm hot, huh?"

He nodded, and the way he was looking at me, I'd never seen that level of need in him even when he was inside Lauren. It was a physical force, and the heat now rushed into me and I shivered against it. We were flirting, brazenly, in front of our friend.

He nodded to me. "You've seen me naked lots of times. I think it's only fair that I see you."

I looked at Lauren. She was almost impossible to read. Drunkenness, arousal, and confusion warred on her open face. Ash was opening a door here and she wasn't exactly closing it. As for me, I wanted to know where this went. I pulled my shirt off and dropped my panties. My arousal wafted from my glistening pussy. The look on Ash's face only made me warmer. I was melting.

"Holy shit," was all he said.

Lauren stood, the mood of the room giving her some modicum of grace. Deliberately, she shed her bra and panties as she made her way to me and slid her arm around my waist. I wasn't sure if she was trying to recapture his attention or if she wanted me. I don't know if she knew either. I turned, leaping on this opportunity, and pressed my lips to hers. Her mouth opened, my tongue pushing inside, tasting the remains of her night, the sharp taste of the vodka, the sweetness of the fruit juice. For a moment, her mouth was still. Then she started to move as well.

I couldn't believe that it was finally happening. Kissing my crush and she was kissing back. My whole body was alive with heat, as though I had become liquid. And then, I felt another pair of arms around me.

Ash

Fortune favors the bold.

Or maybe fortune favors the buzzed.

Ever since I was certain Natalie had become a third partner in our sex, I had thought about confronting them. I wondered what would happen if I just pulled the plug. I didn't think I'd get dumped, but I might just kill the mood for the night.

Instead I was watching the two most beautiful women I'd ever seen in person making out not three feet from me.

Both were nude, their toned bodies intertwined. Lauren was the taller of the two, her arms around Natalie's back. Natalie sighed, spreading her legs. Lauren's thigh moved between them. Natalie stroked herself against her friend, leaving a glistening spot.

After what felt like forever, Lauren parted from her. "I can't believe I did that."

"I can't believe you're gonna do it again." Natalie leaned up and kissed her, and the two of them had forgotten I was there. I supposed this was the view Natalie had gotten all semester. I considered taking care of myself as Nat had been doing.

I undressed, growing more aroused as the two of them kissed, oblivious to everything except the other. I went to them, wrapping my arms around the two of them. Their kiss broke, and I leaned down to Natalie, who captured my lips eagerly, her tongue tracing my mouth. Then I turned to the familiar kiss of Lauren, her lips desperate on mine. They opened their embrace to let me in. Two of us, then three. Natalie's mouth, Lauren's, both of them.

We fell onto Natalie's bed, our bare skin sliding over one another in a blissful pile. I found Natalie kissing her way down Lauren's body. Lauren's eyes widened as she saw me laying by her, and realized the author of her present pleasure was Nat.

"Oh god," she moaned, halfway between aroused and panicked.

I kissed her, and she reached for me, her silky hand on my length. Her eyes met mine as she milked me, as though she needed this anchor while Natalie crouched between her legs, giving her something she could barely admit she wanted. Lauren gasped as Natalie spread her, taking great shuddering breaths, her brow furrowing, her hips rolled forward, her legs up. My cock was forgotten, save as something to hang onto.

I moved away, needing to be touched. "Ash," Lauren whispered. I should have gone to her. I almost did. But I had been thinking about Natalie since that first moment I saw her.

I stood by the bed now, where Nat was on her knees, languidly exploring Lauren's pussy. Her ass in the air, her own sex billowing its spicy scent. I couldn't resist. I stepped behind her, guiding myself to her opening.

I pushed into Natalie with a single stroke. She gasped, going rigid. Lauren's blue eyes were wide as she watched me enter her friend. I saw the hurt, but I also saw the intense arousal, arousal that showed itself in the way her long-fingered hands went to Natalie's head, twining through her purple hair.

I gripped Nat's hips, fucking deep into her body, pulling moans from her with each shuddering thrust. She gripped my cock, her insides seemed as though built for me. Soft and wet, tight and strong. My scent merged with hers, pungent sweat, with her musk.

I fucked her with long, even thrusts, each one taking my entire length. I savored all of them, building a rhythm of maddening slowness. Though it was impossible, it felt like each thrust was going deeper inside her, like my cock could only grow. Soon, I would slide past the gates of her womb, lighting her spine with electricity, only to emerge at the back of her throat.

A mad thought, but I had never been with someone like this. Never had the boundaries erased. I wanted her to feel all that she was doing for me, these silken caresses that burrowed fingers of lava into me, stirring the inevitable eruption.

She moaned into Lauren's pussy with each of my thrusts. Lauren, for her part, watched us, her lithe body bent double. Her face was an adorable mask of panic and need. Nat would find a part of her, and Lauren would sound one of her eeps and I would fuck harder, and the cycle would begin anew.

Lauren surrendered first, uttering one last, agonized eep as her body seized. Natalie's moan was ragged, as she bucked against me. That was enough, and I erupted, flooding Nat's sex as the fingers set me on fire. The pleasure held me, and I felt it linked to the other two. The three of us writhed against one another, wringing the last scraps of ecstasy form our act.

I disengaged only reluctantly. Nat crawled up Lauren and I followed, cuddling up behind Nat. The three of us held one another, our breathing slowing, our skins sheathed in sweat.

"Wasn't expecting that," Natalie sighed.

"Me either," Lauren said, though her voice was not nearly as blissful.

"You okay?" I asked her.

"Uh huh." I saw the lie, but I so desperately wanted her to be okay with this that I let it pass.

The three of us lay there in the dark. I was besotted with Natalie, my semester long crush fulfilled. I had the idea that I wasn't the only one feeling that way. I kissed her neck and she leaned back, our mouths meeting. Lauren's lovely taste, that heavy, summery flavor, coated her tongue. Nat turned from me and kissed Lauren.

"Are you up for more?" Nat asked.

"More?" Lauren asked.

"This is your first time with another girl. I know that can be overwhelming. if you want to be done, we can be done."

"What do you want?" Lauren asked, a spark in her blue eyes.

"I wouldn't mind it if you went down on me."

Lauren looked to me. "What?" I asked. "This is between you two."

"No, I want...I want you too. Would you...would you do what you did to Nat with me?"

I touched her cheek. "Lauren, I would love to."

Natalie kissed Lauren. "You're my friend. If you don't want to go down on me, we can stop. You and Ash can do whatever. I'm okay, I promise."

Lauren swallowed, eyes going from Nat to me and back to Nat. "No, I want this."

Natalie smiled. "Lay back."

Lauren obeyed, lying down flat on her back. Natalie carefully knelt over Lauren's face. Nat's pussy drooled strands of my cum. Lauren's tongue darted out, taking one, accepting it into her mouth. The daring act brought me to hardness immediately.

Nat steadied herself against the wall, bringing herself down slowly. Lauren reached up, taking her friend's ass in her hands. Her tongue was tentative, but swiftly, she found the taste for it. Maybe my cum, a flavor she knew well, helped her along. In any case, her mouth was now on Natalie, and Nat was moving against her.

"It's okay," Nat was saying, her breath quickening. "Just...oh, fuck. Never mind. Keep...doing...that."

I moved around to the other side of the bed, where I watched Nat's back undulate against Lauren't explorations. Lauren's sex was soaking, Nat's saliva and her own juices coating her. I ran my tongue up Lauren's thigh. She was a blaze, her juices soaking the comforter beneath her.

Her mouth came free of Nat's pussy for one second. "Ash, I need you inside me," she begged.

I kissed her lips once, then got onto my knees, hauling her hips up. I slid into her easily, her sex a welcoming home for mine. She held me, not wanting to let me go. I should have thought of her, but I couldn't, not with Natalie in front of me, rocking on Lauren's face. I pulled Nat back to me, and she leaned over her shoulder, kissing me. Our eyes met, and I saw the reflection of what I was feeling in her eyes. I brushed her cheek, watching as her mouth moved with unvoiced words.

Foolishly, I hauled her off Lauren, putting her on her back right next to my girlfriend. I should have never done it, but I couldn't resist. I needed Natalie. I pulled out of Lauren, my cock momentarily cold. Natalie was already spreading her legs for me, her knees up. I was inside her in an instant, fucking with the same rhythm. She brushed my hair from my eyes, nodding to me, her breath coming faster, her chest heaving. I felt a hand on my cheek, and I looked into Lauren's eyes. She was still on her back, as though hoping I would trade Nat for her. I saw pain in her blue depths, and right at that moment, the second orgasm of the night flooded from me and into Natalie. She shuddered beneath me, throwing her head back with a blissful moan.

The three of us cuddled there in the dark, but there was a distance between us and Lauren. We had become a couple and a third, but not the one Lauren had thought we were when we began. She seemed to know that something special had happened between Natalie and me. I comforted myself in the idea that it wouldn't matter, that there would be plenty of time for the same thing to happen between every other combination of us.

I was wrong. A week after Spring Break, Lauren broke up with me.

I stayed away. Natalie was still her roommate after all. As much as I thought I had a future with her, now wasn't the time. I had gone from a possible two girlfriends to zero.

"You flew too close to the sun, little buddy," Elliott told me one night while we were drinking cheap beer on the deserted football field. "But you did get to have a threesome with the two hottest women I've ever seen."

"I did at that."

My grades were a lot higher at the end of that semester. I tried to put the thoughts of Lauren O'Dell and Natalie Cho behind me. And it worked. All the way through summer, it worked.

When I returned to school for my senior year, I was ready to position myself for my career. I was going to make connections and ace every class. I wasn't going to date anybody. I'd have plenty of time when I was a successful writer.

I kept up this delusion until the second week when I saw Natalie in the library. Her short hair was sky blue and she was studying alone. I stared at her, remembering the expression of contentment and ecstasy on her face as I moved inside her. I remembered the weight between our gazes. And I could feel how my heart beat for her.

I went to her before I could sabotage myself. "Nat?" I whispered.

She looked up at me and broke into a happy smile. "Hey, you."

"I was hoping--"

"You want to take me to the movies tonight?"

"More than anything in the world."

"It's a date." She closed her book. "You want to know something funny? I wasn't looking for a boyfriend."

"I'm your boyfriend, am I?"

"Play your cards right."

"How's Lauren?"

Natalie sighed. "She's okay, finally. I don't think she'll take this well, but..." she shrugged. "I missed you."

My hand covered hers and I made a promise to myself. She'd never have to miss me again.