Between Boyfriends

"I'm just not good with men, that's all."

"These chairs are pretty hard," I said, rubbing my back. "Shall we move to the sofa?"

Renee nodded and we moved over.

I took her drink off her and put it on the side table next to me.

"Don't drink too quickly," I said. "Tell me, have you ever kissed another woman? Maybe just messing around?"

Renee blushed again and nodded. I put my hand on her shoulder.

"Yimei?"

"She had a first date with a boyfriend. We were talking about what would happen if he tried to kiss her and we ended up practising."

"And you suggest that or did she?"

Renee paused for a second. "I can't remember," she finally said. I doubted it.

"And how did it feel? It felt pretty good, right?"

Renee looked upset.

"It's okay to say you enjoyed it. Maybe even found it exciting?"

"It's just..." she started and then paused.

"Go on," I said.

"I mean, it was just a joke. As you said, messing around. It's not something we were supposed to enjoy. We were just seeing what it was like."

"And yet I'll bet you that you enjoyed it more than you enjoyed your first kiss with whichever boyfriend. Except, it probably hurt a bit that to Yimei it was just a bit of fun. And then when she came back from the date and told you how she'd made out with her boyfriend..."

I handed her her drink. "I'll bet you this drink that kiss was both better and worse than your first kiss with a man."

She took the drink. "You're trying to get me drunk," she said.

"Yes," I replied.

She downed it.

I rested my hand on her thigh.

"I've got another bet for you. I bet that if you kissed a woman properly, not as a joke or for fun, but a woman who was kissing you because she thought you were sexy and beautiful, I bet it'd be the best kiss of your life."

I tried to look into her eyes, but she'd turned away.

"...so far," I added.

There was a good thirty seconds of silence. She turned to her face to me, but still not her eyes.

"Of course, if I'm making you uncomfortable...," I said.

"No, it's not that..." she said and then stopped, not seeming to know what to say. She was looking at me now, which was what I'd wanted. Her big brown eyes studied my face. I touched her hair, starting at the forehead and running my hand back to just above her neck. This action drew her head a little closer to mine.

"I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to. We can stop at any time. You can leave at any time. Just view it as an experiment. To make things clearer."

I let that statement just hang there, letting her process it. I watched her face carefully for any change. Unfortunately, I didn't get what I looking for.

Consent.

I'd been playing fast and loose with it as it was, but even so, all I was getting from her was indecision. I could kiss her now, undress her, lay her on the bed, probably without any overt protest but also without any clear agreement either. I found myself less of a battering ram smashing down her ramparts, and more an SUV speeding towards the deer in its headlights.

"Look, sorry," I found myself saying. "This was a bad idea. I'll let you go. You can catch up with the gang at the KTV if you want, it's probably not too late."

She seemed surprised that I'd suddenly given up, but also relieved.

"Okay," she said. "I guess. I might just go to bed." As she stood up, she wobbled and then sat right back down again.

"Sorry," she said, reaching for the armrest on the sofa to steady herself.

"Are you okay?" I asked, putting a supporting arm around her.

"I think maybe I've drunk a little too much." Although she was speaking slowly, as before, I saw nothing her eyes to indicate any dizziness, alcohol induced or otherwise.

"Oh, you poor thing. Should I help you to your room?" I said.

"Is it okay if I have a lie down here?" she asked.

"Of course, pet. Have as long as you want. It might be better if you sleep here tonight, so I can keep an eye on you. Make sure you're okay."

"That would be good," she said. "I don't feel like being alone...not in this state."

I sensed now we were playing the game differently now. Circling round the same destination instead of rushing straight towards it. I would need to work out the rules as we went along, but the first one seemed clear enough. No more foolish openness or talk of actual lesbianism.

"Let me help you to the bed." It was actually less than a foot away and moving her over to it, just involved rotating her through a hundred and eighty degrees, so she was sitting on it facing the sofa.

I stood up keeping a hand on her shoulder.

"Would you like me to help you to get undressed?" I asked.

"That would be good," she said.

"It's warm here," I said. "Warmer than the north. Even with the air-conditioning on. I'm not sure its even working. It's probably easier to sleep naked. Your sleeping stuff is in the other room anyway."

"That makes sense," she agreed.

I knelt on the bed behind her and reached round to undo the buttons on her blouse. She raised her arms up and I lifted it off. Without a pause, I flicked off the hook of her bra and removed it. I got off the bed and dropped the items over the chair. As I returned my eyes flashed momentarily to her now uncovered top. Her breasts were not large themselves, but they had big, thick nipples and extensive around them.

She caught me looking and raised her arms to cover her chest. I didn't acknowledge that. I just returned to bed.

"Okay, skirt next," I ordered. She stood up slightly, and I pulled it down. As she kicked it off, she stumbled slightly and fell back on the quilt with a soft thump.

"I'll get that," I said. I rushed round to the front and picked up the skirt. I was careful not to look at anything this time, but I still felt a frisson as bending down brought my head down to her crotch level.

"Panties on or off?" I asked. I'd gotten into the habit of using certain Americanisms that were better understood here and this one felt right in the situation.

"Err, on," she said. "For the moment."

"Okay," I said. "I'm tired too, so I'll join you. Got a long flight tomorrow." As I quickly pulled my own clothes off, she lay down on the bed properly, without getting under the sheets. Her beautiful body was lying there right in front of me, but I couldn't drink it all in quite yet.

Without referring to it, I removed my own underwear. I then joined her on the bed, each of us with our own separate half.

Laying there, I wondered if she would provide the next gambit or if it was now my responsibility. The way I saw it was that it needed to be deniable on the face, it didn't need to be convincing.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"I don't know," she replied. "I'm okay. I guess."

"You're not used to being drunk," I said. "There's a simple test to see exactly how drunk you are."

"Really?" she said.

"I'm going to touch a part of your body and you tell me which part."

"That sounds easy," she said.

"Yeah, if you're sober," I laughed.

I reached over with one hand and touched halfway along her arm.

"Elbow," she said immediately.

I raised my hand up a bit. "Shoulders," she said.

I moved again. "Neck," she said.

My hand was actually resting across her collarbone with my fingers brushing against her left breast. Neck wasn't technically wrong.

I let my fingers gently graze against her nipple.

"Feel anything," I asked.

"No," she replied, but she squirmed ever so slightly.

I pulled myself up and, on all fours, moved myself to the end of the bed. I took her big toe between my thumb and my forefinger.

"Toe," she said.

"Ankle."

"Knee."

"Thigh."

"Still thigh."

"Still thigh."

My hand hovered over the mouth of her vagina. When she hadn't objected to her inner thigh, I'd gone for it and very gently touched the sides through her panties, in, of course, a totally non-sexual manner.

"Okay, good," I said taking my hand away. That had been a successful trip and established an important principle, but I didn't want to push my luck.

I lay back on the bed. "Now you do me. I drank more than you."

She hesitated but only for a second. "Close your eyes," She said. "No cheating."

She too started on the elbow. That was easy enough, but what surprised me was that she didn't use her fingers. Instead, I felt the unmistakable sensation of lips on my flesh.

Then she moved to my shoulder.

Then to my collarbone.

I knew where I hoped she was going next, but still could not believe it when I felt her mouth close around my nipple. The kiss could be called chaste, except that I distinctly felt the brush of her tongue against it.

"Chest," I said as neutrally as I could.

I knew that if she went to my toes next, I had her, but instead, she lingered where she was. I risked putting my arms up to stroke her hair as she teased my breast. She didn't acknowledge it, but neither did she draw away.

"That feels nice," I said. "Don't stop."

She didn't. She was barely moving, just her tongue moving fractionally. Baby steps, but our bodies were now connected. I could feel her body next to me, her chest rising and falling and her breath on my skin. I could smell her. Not a perfume. Her. She was mine. However gentle, this was unmistakable foreplay.

Still, it was best not to draw attention to it.

One of my hands went to her neck and travelled slowly to her shoulders, the other moved down the arm she was supporting herself with, reaching only to the elbow. Then I paused, in case I had covered too much distance too quickly.

Without a word, and barely raising her head, she moved from one breast to the other. I used the opportunity to let out an 'mmm', less from pleasure more from a desire to test her. She reacted by distinctly starting to suck my breast, still ever so softly but an escalation nevertheless.

Emboldened, I moved my hand further down her arm, past her wrist, and then linked my fingers with hers. She gave my hand an accepting squeeze. My other arms was now at the middle of her back, making stroking circles. I was actually quite firm here. Attempt a light touch and I risked tickling her and breaking the spell.

My eventual destination, of course, was another ten centimeters further down, but this was pleasant and every second we spent leisurely exploring would make her more confident. She must have felt my own nipples harden in her mouth and have known that she was turning me on.

I had a decision to make though. When my hand journeyed down more, I was tempted to burrow under the elastic of her panties. I wanted to feel her arse in my hand. Caution told me to play it safer though.

I split the difference, laying my palm over the fabric, but teasing a thumb around the small of her back, and then ever so slightly lifting the panties up and off her skin.

I lifted our joined hands up and placed them on my breast, the one that was unattended. Freeing our fingers, I now placed my hand firmly over hers and pushed her hand into my chest, encouraging her to squeeze.

She did and suddenly more roughly than I was expecting. This time the moan I let out was unscripted. She released, but a moment later was squeezing again, though at half the pressure.

Again I'd laid a trap. The third time she squeezed, I did too, perceptibly at her buttocks, cupping them slightly and feeling their full shape. She reacted, a slight squirm, but she immediately returned to under my hand and the status quo. Again timing my movements to hers I pressed a little more and then released a little less. With her hand now occupied at my bosom, I had a free hand and it went to keep her other cheek company.

"Why don't you take those off," I said. I made sure to phrase it neutrally -- a friendly suggestion rather than a lusty one. After all, it was hot in here.

As her hands went to her hips, I removed my own hands from her. She slipped the panties down off her legs. As she brought them up again, she paused for just a fraction of a second to look at them. I risked a further comment. "Those are nice," I said.

"Do you want to see?" she replied. She brought them close to me. In truth, they were ordinary pack-of-three supermarket pants, soft yellow with cutesy flowers. What attracted my attention though was the unmistakable damp patch around the gusset area.

She was toying with me, so much was clear. She wanted me to notice, but, I presumed, not to announce it. I suddenly wondered whether I'd gotten the full story about Yimei. The hurt had been real. Maybe they'd gone further than kissing. Or maybe, with six horny students in a dormitory and underwear still washed by hand, there was a certain game around it.

Seeming to forget she was drunk, she got off the bed and put her knickers with the rest of her clothes before jumping back in again.

Getting her fully naked had been a victory, but only at the cost of interrupting the action. We were now lying side by side and I needed a new gambit.

"So, you were going to show me how you kissed Yimei," I said as though she'd already agreed.

It turned out she had.

"We didn't really know what we were doing," she said. "We just put our mouths together like this."

Her lips touched mine. It was innocent action, lacking in passion or intent and especially wetness.

"And that was it, was it?" I said, trying not to sound too disappointed.

"Well then I tried to kiss her like this..." she said. This time our lips formed a seal and opened a little bit. This time you could definitely say there was intent.

We separated again, "...but that's when she got a fit of the giggles and we had to call it off."

"Okay," I said. "So how does Wei kiss you?"

She wasn't going to act on that one without some pushing. "Kiss me like a man," I offered. "Just for comparative purposes."

This time she attacked me with her lips, forcing her tongue into my mouth, holding my head in place with her hands while she did so.

"Sorry," she said when it was over.

"Why?" I asked. "I kind of liked it."

"I must stink of alcohol," she said. "Just like he does."

"It's okay," I said. "If we've both been drinking, it's hardly noticeable."

"I noticed yours," she said. Maybe it was an innocent comment or maybe she was letting me know that she wasn't really as fooled by my reverse spiking strategy as I'd been imagining. Still, there was no way I was backing off now.

"How about I show you how I kiss my girlfriends?"

"Well, okay."

"But before I do, I'll let you in on a little secret. It's exactly the same as you do, except much much longer."

"I can cope with that. Oh, I do really need to get back my room before the others come back from the KTV though."

I checked the bedside clock. "It's fine, they can barely have finished the first round of songs yet. We have time."

And so I kissed her properly. In truth, I started out at only a three on the Laura scale, holding back as to ease her in gently. My aim was to start with contact at the mouth and then bring the rest of her body in gently -- an arm on the back gently moving her forward till our chests met. Once that mission was complete the hand would be free to reach back down to her bum, my toe brushing up against her, then my foot side by side with hers, and then my leg coming over hers. And while I was doing all this, making absolutely sure she knew I was looking into her very soul.

I melted her slowly. Muscles that were tensed at first relaxed as the minutes wore on. Eyes that were closed, blinked open, and then stared back. It took five minutes after my hand had reached its final destination for her hand to reach the same place on my own bottom, but it got there and it stayed there.

I got lost in her tenderness and innocence.

But she was right. If we were to play it absolutely safe, we were on the clock. Much as I might want to make this the ultimate experience, I could hardly introduce her to every page of the Karma Sapphira in one night. In anycase there was no need. Even now, my job was already done. She'd had enough for her toknow, surely? This was nice and I could happily run out the clock like this.

As my leg was on top of hers, there was already a gap. Without drawing attention, to it I moved my hand to my own pussy and slowly started a stealth version of my own self-pleasure routine, leisurely circling my clit with my fingers.

I didn't expect her to follow my lead immediately, so I wasn't even in a hurry remove my leg from hers. When I did, she still kept me waiting, but eventually, her legs parted slightly and her hand went down.

The next few minutes were best told through the action of our mouths. As our excitement rose together they wrestled, getting ever more passionate. I initiated then imperceptibly started to yield as she fought back. Eventually, it was all her tongue penetrating my mouth. Our positions shifted. Here I didn't guide her, she moved her head above mine even as we remained side by side. Then without conscious movement, I was lying on my back and she was lying on her front. Her left breast my right, and our lower halves, along with the licentious touching were still separated. The shift allowed me to open my legs further and dive a little deeper with my ministrations. Her hand met mine at the elbow and then descended, not quite to where my fingers were working, but enough to hold my wrist.

And that was how we came together. I kept myself at the edge until she was ready too and we so we jumped off that cliff together, our bodies shaking in mutual pleasure. Our lips remained locked as the waves crashed around us, then finally we surfaced for air. We remained face to face, panting, with her above me, red of cheek and suddenly demure again.

"How was that?" I asked.

"That was...that was..." she replied. We both started a fit of giggles in lieu of words.

As we were lying there, her phone buzzed in her bag, then again. She leaned over to get it, stared at the message for a second and then jumped out of bed. The next thirty-seconds were a blur of activity and then she was out of the room without having said a word. I said things like 'What is it?' and 'Can I help?', but she just held up her hand while searching for the next item of clothing.

I lay there for a second and then thought to check my own phone. It had a single message from Wang.If you are still awake, have you seen Renee? Cherry is sharing her room and is locked out.

Well, on the one hand, fuck. On the other hand, I could think of ten easy lies Renee could tell without even straining myself. She'd be okay. I sent a message to her:You okay?. After five minutes with no response, I set the phone to audible notification for messages and tried to get some rest.

​3.

Sleep came only fitfully. My alarm didn't need to wake me up, but it did need to insist I get out of bed. I consoled myself with the thought that maybe this was the day I learned how to sleep on a long-haul flight. I threw my travelling clothes on and went down to the buffet.

I was the first one there and I ate with the paranoia of someone who doesn't know what the airline food is going to be like. I loaded up on both the Chinese and the faux Western selections. It was as I was getting my second bowl of cornflakes (this time being careful to add cold rather than hot milk) that my colleagues entered as a group. A quick scan revealed Renee was not amongst them.

I sauntered over as they began to examine the breakfast offerings. The trick was going to be seeing if the rumour mill was turning without accidentally adding any wind to its sails.

"Hey Wang! Have fun last night?"

"Morning. No, we didn't go. Shortly after you left Cherry got a call to say her grandmother died."

"Oh shit, sorry, I mean, I'm so sorry to hear that."

"It was quite sudden and they were close. We stayed in the restaurant while she arranged a flight back to Qingdao and then headed back to the hotel ourselves."