Less cautious now, Vera lowered her head until their cheeks touched, almost by accident. They brushed again. And then once more, at last maintaining the delicate contact. All accidentally on purpose, of course. She even managed to use her breath to further the cause, her warm breath tickling a sensitive ear. Their shared excitement burgeoned. Beyond the point of no return? Too soon, too soon! Better safe than sorry. She was glad when the interruption came a break in the music, then a more demanding tempo glad to seize upon it as an excuse to sit down and consolidate her gains. And to guzzle some more of that potent wine between them, a wine as conducive as any romantic atmosphere.
"Delicious. I envy you your winecellar. But aren't you drinking, my dear? I just poured for you. Hey! Honey? Is that a blush on your cheeks? Because of our dancing together? It's sure pretty, whatever it is kind of an overlay of rose on ivory. Alison, you are one gorgeous doll-baby."
"I know, I know. Just keep on like that and I may never stop blushing. But you were wrong at first, it wasn't a blush. At least I don't think so. I just felt a little bit warm, that's all."
"Oh? Stupid me. I misjudged you. Just a little bit warm, was that it? And here I've been thinking something else, something quite different. I figured maybe you liked what we did, only now you're ashamed of it. Ashamed of your own feelings, mostly. And it's just too silly. You'll soon have me ashamed of mine, I liked it, too, I enjoyed holding you in my arms and dancing with you. Trying to recapture my girlhood impossible but lots of fun. And if that makes me a fugitive from an analyst's couch… "
"No, really can't I just feel warm? I'm sorry. Such a little thing to argue over, that's what's silly. I'm ready to compromise. Or capitulate. Or choose up sides and start over again. Or none of these, if that's a right answer. Multiple choice, okay? You'd rather mark your ballot in private? Sorry, madam, the private voting booth just closed. Regulations, you know. No, we can't open it up just for you. Not even in a democracy. So don't ask. You want us to lose our license?"
Vera grinned. "I'll compromise. Before you snow me under. Now let's see, where were we? Ah! I remember. I had just finished pouring the wine. Uh-huh. Your glass is still full. Quitter. Now you expect me to drink alone? Shameless hussy. What kind of multiple choice is that? Come on, drink up, don't let me down. A little glass of wine never hurt anybody."
"I I'll probably get giggly."
"So what? Giggly is fine. Even giddy. You're too serious most of the time, especially for such a pretty girl. Maybe you just don't giggle enough. Something is sure as hell wrong, wouldn't you say? Alison? You could have a date every night in the week. A pretty baby like you. With that face and figure stunning, simply stunning you'd have your pick of the available males. And some of the other kind, too, the sneaky ones. Oh shit, this room ought to be carpeted wall-to-wall with men just for you to walk on. Barefoot. Or in stiletto heels, if that's your mood. A harem of men, all handsome, all the big handsome bastards you'd ever "
"No! No men. I'm not going through that again. You can keep your big handsome bastards, thanks."
"Aw, they're not all bad. You got stuck with a lemon. I do understand, though." Secretly exultant, Vera leaned close enough to make physical contact there on the sofa, fondling a dimpled knee sympathetically. "It must have been rough on you, expecting sweet thrills and winding up with a lot of bruises."
"I'll get over it. That one, anyway. But there's more to it, I'm afraid since then I've worked up a grudge against men in general. They're all alike. Every guy I meet undresses me with his eyes. To say nothing of strangers, just fellows on the street. Those obscene looks! The dirty leers, dirty, dirty. Afterward, I can't wait to scrub myself clean under a hot shower."
Vera nodded her understanding, her sympathetic accord. No leer on her face, certainly. But she was doing it just the same, undressing this chaste vision with her eyes. Peeling the garments away from that luscious young body, those delectable young breasts, the shapely length of leg, all soft and velvety. Lips atingle, she pictured the sweet little creature naked in bed, the velvety thighs parted and trembling, yielding to her touch shyly but ever so sweetly, opening upon the soft pubic cleft, the sweet cunt-lips, all soft and velvety and steeped in sweetness. Sweet, infinitely sweet. Everything. But then, well, it really wasn't necessary to leer like a dirty old man to have similar dirty thoughts. Dirty, dirty. Obscene! Deliciously obscene…
Chapter 4
"Mustn't blame them too much, darling. It's your own fault for being so beautiful. So darn attractive… " Vera's casually caressing hand went tense. "Hey, look at me. I couldn't even keep my paw off your legs." Snorting in self-derision, she slackened her grasp and let her arm go limp.
Alison stopped the hand in its slide. "That's different. It's just being friendly when girls touch each other. No lust. Just a way of showing affection."
"Thanks. I'm glad you're not embarrassed. Like you might have thought it was a pass, you know? I just hope you don't think I'm taking advantage of your friendliness because I do enjoy touching you like this. Even here, just like a horny old man, isn't that awful? Pretty thighs. Skin is so silky-smooth. I must be a real sensualist, huh? Or else maybe very affectionate. But as long as we both know it's not a gay pass… "
"A g-gay pass?"
"Come now, you can't be that innocent. Haven't you ever had a woman try to get fresh with you?"
"Oh. That."
"You're familiar with it, then. Tell me something, Alison didn't you ever experiment a little yourself? Fool around with another girl? Or maybe just let a girl like that "
"No! Never. And I never want to. But that doesn't mean I can't have an open mind on the subject. As a matter of fact, I'm just dying to hear more about those parties. When you were just a kid the slumber parties, the girls dancing together, remember?"
"How could I ever forget? You want to hear more, eh? Better have some wine first, you'll probably need it. Makes a wild tale sound even wilder." Vera's silky-smooth caress tightened playfully, squeezing hard enough and high enough to elicit an instinctive squirming reaction. "Oh, you're mean to make me go back that far. I don't even know how to begin. Ah well… "
Dredging up ancient memories, she launched into a haphazard account of the all-girl pajama parties that somehow always seemed to get a bit bawdy. It never failed: one of the girls would start imitating a boy for laughs, and pretty soon everything they said and did had a kind of sexual connotation. As if the fake boy-of-the-moment constituted a threat to precious virginity perhaps even a welcome threat, considering the imitation circumstances.
Recounted with more respect for accuracy, the bits and pieces would still have amounted to an interesting personal narrative. But she soon recognized the noticeable effect on her audience, sufficient reason surely to stretch the truth here and there. What was the harm in a wee bit of embroidery? She deliberately tossed in a few heated episodes, including her own participation in one. Although to be on the safe side she kept the details of that one rather vague and shadowy. Just in case…
"Vera? I'll bet you were the wildest of the bunch. Weren't you the leader? Weren't you aren't you kind of gay yourself?"
"Such a question!"
"You're right. Dumb question. I'm sorry. I guess it's none of my business, huh?"
"Oh, it's not all that bad. I'm not worried about incriminating myself. Some crime. In show business it's almost normal for a girl to swing that way."
"And did you… uh… "
"Hush. Let me keep my secret."
"Aw, you're just teasing me. Can't you be serious?"