Afternoon study session

It was Friday night and as was their habit over the past few years, Timothy and Rae were lounging around in her room watching movies on her laptop. They were currently in the middle of a teen drama comedy when during the obligatory party scene Rae paused the movie and turned to Tim.

"We're both eighteen and this is our final year of high school, don't you feel that we've been missing out?"

Tim looked back at Rae with a puzzled expression. "Missing out how?" He gestured to the screen. "You mean like that? You know that isn't real, or at least that it's super exaggerated."

Rae flicked her hand dismissively. "I'm not talking about that, well not really. What I'm saying is that half of these movies involve people having sex for the first time. You've heard other people in our classes talking at school right? You know a lot of them are having sex."

Tim shrugged. "Sure, I guess. But that doesn't mean we're missing out. Being eighteen doesn't mean you or I have to be having sex. Having sex is something that should happen only when you're ready, not because everyone else is doing it."

Rae nodded. "What makes you ready though? A lot of the people who've been talking about sex at school still act so immature. Do you think they weren't ready?"

Tim had to stop for a moment to think. "I don't know, but sex still isn't a matter of comparing yourself to others to see if you're ready."

Rae tilted her head to the side. "Fair enough. So what do you think makes a person ready to have sex?"

The question had Tim somewhat stumped and he took quite some time before replying. "I guess the person has to be somewhat mature." An unimpressed look from Rae made him nod to acknowledge that his answer wasn't great. He tried to explain further. "I'm saying they have to understand what sex is and means and then want to have that experience."

"That still wasn't very clear but I think I get what you're saying." Rae smiled. "From what you said, I'd say we're both ready. I'm sure that you understand what sex is all about. And you do want to find out what it's like, don't you?"

Tim just stared at her for a moment as if he wasn't going to answer. But Rae could tell that he was only stalling, he knew she wouldn't let the question go. A moment later Tim shrugged. "Sure. Of course I'm interested in sex, most people our age are."

"I'm interested too. So maybe we should be doing something about it. That way we could actually find out what sex is like." As Rae was talking the somewhat obvious thing that she and Tim could do popped into her head and she frowned slightly as she considered the idea more.

A small frown appeared on Tim's face as well. "I'm not sure that just being interested in sex is a good enough reason to go ahead and do it. I don't think actively looking to have sex is the right way to think about it and that isn't the kind of thing I want to do." He pointed at her laptop. "The characters in these kinds of movies that are trying to get a girlfriend or to have sex always seem kind of pathetic or creepy."

Rae couldn't argue with that point, but she wasn't about to be put off by what Tim had said. "That just shows you're more mature than most of the guys at school. We won't be acting like desperate virgins and we won't be creepy pests."

Tim seemed amused by her response though his expression was also touched with disbelief that they were having this discussion. He seemed to want to argue the point further but then sighed. "Even if you and I are ready to have sex, who would we have sex with? We're not all that social." He gestured to the paused movie. "We spend almost every Friday here watching movies and we don't hang out with anyone other than Vanessa, Henry and Travis."

Rae looked at Tim as if she couldn't believe how dense he was being. "We could have sex with each other."

A shocked expression briefly appeared on Tim's eyed face before being replaced with caution. "Are you just messing with me?"

His reaction was amusing but Rae still felt a little sting that Tim thought she was joking. "No. I wasn't."

"Oh..." Tim's expression shifted to a thoughtful frown. "I uh, I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Is there a reason why you wouldn't have sex with me?"

The slight edge in her tone had Tim flustered and he tried to explain himself. "Well, it would be weird wouldn't it? We've known each other since we were six years old."

"So you don't think I'm attractive?"

"What? That's not what I'm saying. You're uh pre... good looking. It's just... "

"Is it because I'm a ginger?" The minor tension that had built between Tim and Rae broke and they both laughed.

When they were younger Rae had been subjected to some childish teasing and quite a few derisive comments about her copper red hair but never from Tim who had no idea what was wrong with having red hair. Insults weren't much of a problem any more so her being ginger had turned into something of a private joke between her and Tim for whenever someone dismissed her for whatever reason.

"Well how about me? I'm hardly a top athlete or a boy band star."

Rae looked Tim over with a considering eye. "Don't sell yourself short. I think you're quite handsome."

Tim smiled briefly but then his expression became neutral and he shrugged. "I don't know Rae, us having sex seems like it could be trouble."

"Well it was just an idea. I really think it would work out okay. Maybe we can talk about it more later."

Rae unpaused the movie and they continued watching. They made comments to each other but neither of them brought up the discussion they'd just had, even when a discreet sex scene happened in the movie.

When the movie ended it was getting late in the evening and Tim was due to go home. It seemed like Tim was going to avoid addressing Rae's idea of the two of them having sex but she wasn't about to let him go before they talked about it further. Just as they were at the front door with Tim about to leave Rae sprang a question on him. "What do you think about us having sex?"

He shrugged with some awkwardness. "I haven't given it much more thought, I was occupied with watching the movie."

Rae grinned. "Okay. We're still meeting up on Sunday right? Think it over some more. It's a good idea."

Somewhat distractedly, Tim nodded. "Okay sure. See you on Sunday."

The next day since Tim was busy with working at his part time job, Rae spent a good part of her day at home by herself. While she watched television or did chores most of her mind was preoccupied.

Her thoughts started with the question of whether she and Tim should have sex. After idly thinking it through, it didn't seem that there was a reason they shouldn't. To her the fact that they had known each other for so long and were close friends made it more ideal.

She then considered what she would say to get Tim on board with losing their virginity to each other. Tim hadn't dismissed the idea entirely, he was just being cautious due to uncertainty about what it would mean for their friendship. In Rae's mind there wasn't anything that could go wrong between them other than the sex. Even that wasn't a big deal as she expected there would be some missteps due to it being both their first time.

After thinking about worst case scenarios Rae wondered what would happen if things went well. Once probably wouldn't be enough, her and Tim could end up having a lot of sex. The real possibility of having sex was turning Rae on. She let herself lightly fantasise about what she and Tim might do together but then made herself focus on what she had to do to make it happen. Rae didn't want to let herself get too turned on so that she ended up masturbating. She wanted to maintain a level of arousal that would keep her motivated to work things out with Tim.

That afternoon, some time after Tim was due to finish work Rae sent him a message asking how his day was. His reply came fairly quickly.

(Not bad, just a typical day. There were a couple of difficult customers but nothing crazy. What did you get up to?)

(Not much. I was just at home, watching TV and some other stuff.)

(Cool. Still want to go hang out at the mall tomorrow?)

(Of course. How about you?)

(Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow.)

(See you tomorrow.)

With their message conversation over Rae frowned slightly. There was nothing in the messages that hinted that Tim was going to want to go back to the discussion about sex from the previous night. Rae accepted that she would have to be the one to bring it up. That was the usual way things went between them though. Unless he really didn't want to do something Tim was content to be passive and let things happen while Rae was more inclined to go after what she wanted, usually getting Tim to go along with her.

The next day as she was getting ready to go out and meet with Tim, Rae decided to wear some clothes that were somewhat more attractive than she would normally wear around him. Nothing too revealing so as to make it obvious that she was trying to play up her sex appeal but enough that it might help convince Tim to go along with what she wanted.

She chose some short legged shorts and a close fitting polo top that was small enough that flashes of her midriff were exposed almost any time she moved her upper body. In addition to that Rae left the buttons at the neck of the shirt undone. The open part of her polo shirt wouldn't make her cleavage visible unless she let Tim look right down her top but Rae hoped that having a bit more of her body on show would get him looking at her in a more sexual light.

Inspecting herself in a mirror, Rae saw that she looked normal with some subtle hints of wanting attention. She began to second guess whether she should try to be more obvious. During summer, Tim had seen her in clothes not too different from what she had on. While it was still somewhat early in spring, it was warm enough that her clothes wouldn't be out of place.

She wondered whether she could get away with being a little sexier, perhaps go without a bra. Rae's mother passed by her room and any thought of dressing sexier was dismissed. Her parents knew she was going to hang out with Tim and it wouldn't be a good idea to give them suspicions that something more might be going on between her and Tim.

Rae accepted that what she had on would have to do. She reassured herself that she didn't need to rely on using her body to convince Tim. The important thing was that she knew Tim deeply and they had a strong connection. She was sure that Tim wanted to go along with what she had suggested. He just needed to be persuaded that it wouldn't ruin their relationship. Rae didn't see how sex could fuck up their friendship. If it turned out that having sex with each other was too awkward, it would just be something that they could put behind them and laugh about later. If it was a good experience that would just make their friendship stronger.

Feeling resolute, Rae finished getting ready and headed out to the mall where she was meeting up with Tim.

At the mall, when Rae caught sight of Tim she waved to him and started walking toward him faster. As she got closer, Rae was sure that Tim was looking at her with appreciative interest. A sudden feeling of attractiveness gave Rae a surge of confidence and she wanted to get straight to talking about the two of them having sex.

After they greeted each other there was a bit of small talk while they walked to the mall's main hub. Rae, though, had no patience for slowly guiding the conversation to what she really wanted to discuss. "So what do you think about us having sex?"

Tim was immediately taken aback, he clearly didn't expect to be addressing this question so soon. He then smiled wryly and shook his head. "We should talk about this somewhere more private. Can you wait that long?"

Rae raised a knowing eyebrow. Tim was stalling a little but she wasn't going to push him for an answer, plus she thought it would be good to be able to speak candidly without worrying about being overheard. She nodded. "Sure but I'm not going to let you change the subject."

They went to a quieter part of the mall and found a bench. When they were seated Rae gave Tim an expectant look. Tim exhaled audibly and his face became uncertain. "Is it really right for us to just decide to have sex? Shouldn't there be some reason for us to do it?"

"Isn't it enough that we both want to?"

Tim was unconvinced. "I think there should probably be more to it than that."

Rae had thought that Tim might need some more justification and had already thought of something. "It will be like studying, we'll be learning about what sex is like in a no pressure setting."

Tim was sceptical but amused. "Yeah, but is this something that we should be so casual about?"

Rae looked at him with a curious expression. "Should we be treating it as a big serious matter?" She tilted her head to the side. "Do you think sex requires love or some kind of relationship?"

A slight flush appeared on Tim's face and then he shook his head slowly. "Well no, I mean ideally it would but it, it doesn't really need that."

"Wouldn't you say that we're close, that we have something that's kind of like a relationship?"

He started nodding but then caught himself and stopped. "It's not really the same thing, we're friends."

"I think that makes us having sex an even better idea."

A puzzled frown appeared on Tim's face. "How do you figure that?"

"We're less likely to get nervous or scared to say if things aren't working. From what I hear, a lot of the guys at school having sex are only interested in getting what they want. I know that you would make sure that I'm having a good time and I'd want that for you too."

Tim nodded and Rae was sure that he was close to being convinced. She pushed a little further, not wanting to give him a chance to think of another argument.

"Since we're both inexperienced we'll be more patient with each other and not rush things. Plus I think we trust each other enough to relax and enjoy what's happening. I'd really like for us to be each other's first."

There was a moment of silence as Tim was thinking, Rae thought she could see in his eyes that his resistance was wavering and falling apart. He sighed loudly then smiled weakly. "Do you really want to have sex with me?"

Looking Tim firmly in his eyes, Rae nodded. "Yes. This isn't some weird joke. I do want us to learn about sex with each other. Do you want to have sex with me?"

The smile on Tim's face now seemed sheepish as he gave her a small nod. "Yeah, I think I do."

Rae felt a sense of accomplishment at having convinced Tim and the reality that she would be having sex with him caused a buzz of excitement to start building in her stomach. Tim seemed quite pleased as well and then his expression turned serious. "Since we're doing this, we should think about what we might need."

Rae laughed at how Tim was now fully committed and was trying to plan things out. "I appreciate you doing your boy scout bit but what would we really need other than each other?"

Tim playfully flipped her off. "How about condoms?"

Rae frowned and thought for a moment. "Do you want to use a condom? We're both virgins so I think we should be safe."

"Well no, I was thinking more about avoiding accidentally getting you pregnant."

Rae laughed in response. "I'm on the pill. I thought you knew that."

He shook his head slowly looking a little abashed. "Maybe. I've never really thought about it, never had a reason to think about it before now."

"Okay, well since pregnancy isn't an issue, I think we can skip condoms. I kind of want to feel the real thing for my first time."

Saying out loud that she wanted to feel Tim's bare cock brought some heat to Rae's face. After hearing and processing what she had said, Tim's face became a bit flushed too. Rae quickly got the conversation back on track. "Is there anything else you think we might need?"

"Not at the moment. Where do you think we should go to do this and when?"

That was an easy question for Rae to answer. "It's probably best if we do this after school tomorrow. We can use my bedroom. My parents won't be home until nighttime and Lindsey will be out all afternoon as well. We should have a good few hours to ourselves."

Tim suddenly looked somewhat dumbfounded. "So this is actually happening?"

Rae nodded with a satisfied smile. "It sure is." She got up from the bench and held a hand out to Tim. "Now that we've agreed we're doing it, there's no need to think about it too much at the moment. Let's go see if there's anything good playing at the cinema."

The following morning Rae met Tim outside her house as he came to drive her to school. They didn't acknowledge out loud what they were going to do that afternoon but they both had knowing grins and there was an air of shared excitement.

That day at school was something of a trial for Rae. While classes provided her with a distraction, if she didn't have something else to focus on, her thoughts started to dwell on what would be happening that afternoon. She also had to be careful to not let her excited anticipation show in front of Vanessa. While Rae didn't think that her and Tim having sex had to be a secret, it also wasn't something their other friends really needed to know about.

The most troublesome part of the day for Rae was during lunch when Vanessa asked her if she had any plans for after school. A wave of tension went through Rae and it was an effort to keep her face straight. She didn't want to lie to Vanessa and simply said that she was going to hang out with Tim and maybe do some studying. There was an agonising moment where Rae wondered if Vanessa was going to invite her to do something with her instead or ask to hang out with them. To Rae's relief Vanessa had her own plans for after school and was just making small talk. That moment did make Rae think about whether she and Tim were going to keep the fact that they had sex a complete secret from their friends. Her view was that she wouldn't lie to their friends if they asked about her and Tim but she wasn't going to tell them what was happening unprompted.

When classes were over for the day Rae met up with Tim by his car. With barely concealed excitement Rae grinned at Tim and he gave her a nervous smile back. She had the urge to grab Tim's arm and drag him to the driver's door so they could hurry back to her house but she ignored it. "Is there anything else you want to do before we head to my house?"

He shook his head. "No. I think I'm all ready to do this."

"Great. Let's go then." The two of them got into his car and drove to Rae's as fast as possible without drawing attention to them.

There was a kind of unreal feeling as Rae and Tim entered her house and went to her bedroom. They had done this countless times before but the fact that they were heading there to have sex made the situation feel like entirely something else.

Once they were in her room, Rae closed the door. There was almost no chance that her parents or older sister would be home any time soon but having the door closed seemed right. When she turned around to Tim they both paused for a moment, looking at each other with uncertainty. Wanting to keep things moving along Rae decided it was up to her to take charge. "We should both get undressed, I don't want to waste time on gradually working our way to having sex. We could end up not actually doing it"

Tim was a little taken aback but didn't object. When Rae started to take her top off Tim quickly followed her lead. Once they were both down to their underwear their undressing stalled as self-consciousness kicked in and they weren't able to bring themselves to fully strip off. They stood there looking at each other's body in the new context of being about to have sex.