From Friends to Lovers

Beth and I have known each other literally forever. We met at infants' school, and I can truthfully say I have no earlier memory than her smiling face asking my name as we stood on the school playground waiting to go into our first lesson. We were inseparable through that school and into the next, somehow always ending up in the same class, sitting on the same table for reading and drawing when we could. The fact that she was a girl and I was a boy generated mild comment, but the consensus was that these days it was all to the good that kids -- especially so young -- didn't seem to discriminate when choosing friends.

When we went up to secondary school, it wasn't even a question whether we'd do homework together every night, and our parents just shrugged their shoulders and agreed who'd cook on what day, Beth's eyes lighting up when my mum produced her favourite spaghetti sauce.

We talked about everything -- TV, our other friends, music we liked, school work. Sometimes our families went on holiday together, the usual places -- Spain, Italy -- but when our trips were separate, the first thing we did when we got back was breathlessly bring each other up to date with what we'd done, seen.

Of course we'd gone through the "I'll show you mine, if you'll show me yours" phase, playing doctors and nurses, but somehow it had never translated into any more experimentation, and Beth and I never really touched, except for the frequent hugs of celebration, comfort, commiseration, depending on what life brought us. Beth confided in me when her periods started -- school sex education lessons had made sure we knew how things basically worked -- and I could tell that her body was changing, breasts and hips more noticeable, but she was always my best friend above all else, and somehow it never occurred to me to think of her in any other way.

Of course we had to think about what would happen after A-levels, but the problem solved itself -- a town with two universities, one that had a good reputation for Beth's chosen subject, the other that offered a top-notch course for mine. We'd celebrated our eighteenth birthday parties -- I'd cried unashamedly, brushing away the tears running down my cheeks, at the heartfelt speech Beth made at mine. I tried to reciprocate at her party, then sobbed my heart out again when she chose Westlife's 'Safe' for us to dance to at the end of the night.

What people thought of us by then didn't really trouble us -- from overheard comments, those who didn't really know us assumed we were boyfriend and girlfriend, 'obviously' sleeping together, but by then our friendship was so well-known that it wasn't even a matter of jealousy. Perhaps envy; but we tried -- Beth especially -- to be gracious, generous to everyone, so only the most petty minds could find anything to complain at.

Of course we'd talked about sex -- after those embarrassing classes at school, I'd admitted to Beth that I masturbated, and with pink cheeks she'd confessed the same. We even went as far as to look at a porn site on my laptop, and Beth raised her eyebrows, pretending to fan her face at the scene playing out on the monitor. "But it's all staged, right?" she shrugged. "It's bound to be more clumsy and messy for real." The conversation moved on to something else, and the topic didn't come up again for a while.

The months rolled round to August -- lazy days after exams, too soon to make serious plans for university, and Beth and I were sitting in her bedroom as usual. Beth was sketching something on her art pad, and I was picking photos from our last trip to put on our blog. But something was niggling at me, something I couldn't quite put my finger on. I glanced across at Beth, and her pencil stopped moving. "Tim?"

"Hmm?"

She closed the pad, put it on her desk. "Can we talk?"

I blinked. "Since when did you ever have to ask me that?" I shifted my chair closer. "Something bothering you?"

She nodded. "I'm thinking about freshers' week."

I gave her a puzzled look. "Cheap beer, kids away from home for the first time going a little crazy, uni clubs touting for members. What's the problem?"

Beth twirled the pencil distractedly in her fingers. "Well, I'm thinking, there'll be a lot of boys there, perhaps I'll get chatting to one, maybe he likes me, I ask him back for coffee --"

"I get the picture," I nodded. Something unexpected stirred in my emotions, but I pushed it down. "You know guys will say anything to get into a girl's panties, right?"

Beth smiled wryly. "I know. But let's say I think he's genuine, I can trust him -- at least for a night, anyway."

"So you take care," I reminded.

She nodded. "I have my pills, and Mum's already given me a box of condoms, bless her."

"But..." I prompted. "You said you wanted to talk, right?"

Beth looked up, a pink tinge suffusing her cheeks. "Tim, if I had a girlfriend -- I mean a friend who was a girl -- half as close as you, I'd talk to her about this. But I really don't. I want to talk about, well, what I might like, when it comes to it."

I gave her the most reassuring smile I could manage. "I can handle that. And there's a definite upside -- I can give you the male perspective on the whole thing."

She glanced at me sideways. "OK."

"So where do you want to start?"

"Well," mused Beth, her eyes taking on the faraway look that I knew meant she was creating a scene in her imagination. "Let's assume we've done the kissing part, and somehow -- how does this even work? -- he's asked me if... and I've told him Yes. I think I'd like him to undress me."

She chuckled. "Of course I'd make sure I had decent knickers on, and a bra that hadn't gone grey in the wash."

"So he'd be fumbling with buttons, and those fiddly clips," I teased.

"A little bit of clumsiness would be reassuring," Beth shrugged. "I wouldn't want to think he'd had too much practice."

"Would he take everything off at once?" I wondered.

"Well, maybe everything except my panties -- he ought to wait till last for those."

I couldn't help the image that formed in my mind -- I had a fair idea what Beth looked like without her clothes, we were quite casual around one another when we were changing. "As a man, I'm pretty sure he'd be entirely distracted by your breasts."

She grinned. "Fine by me -- I'm rather hoping he'll pay them some serious attention."

"Tell me how."

Beth breathed in. "Well, he could touch them, stroke them --" unconsciously her hands demonstrated her meaning, though without touching herself -- "and maybe just ever so gently pinch my nipples with his fingers."

She shivered with anticipated pleasure. "But what I'd really want him to do is to put his mouth on them, I can almost feel what it'd be like for my nipples to be surrounded by warmth, wetness, and then to be suckled softly..."

"Wow," I breathed. "And then?"

"That would really get me turned on. I'm so -- I mean, I'd be so wet, and I'd want him to slide his hand up between my thighs until he was touching my panties. He could -- oh, god -- press against me with his fingers while his mouth was still busy on my breasts."

Her face was definitely flushed now, but she kept her eyes fixed on my face. "It wouldn't be long before I'd whisper, 'You can take them off'. So he'd hook his fingers through the elastic, and I'd lift my hips for a moment while he slid my panties down, then past my feet."

"Are you ready for him to go inside you?" I breathed, starting to lose myself in Beth's fantasy.

She looked down shyly, shaking her head. "What I really want -- I'd do anything if he'd go down there, his tongue, really take his time..."

"Anything?" I raised one eyebrow.

Beth nodded. "Once he'd made me a soaking mess, he could do anything to me he wanted."

I chuckled. "Most men would probably want you to use your mouth on them in turn."

Beth nodded. "As long as he was clean --"

She paused, frowning slightly. "Not everybody's like you -- I mean, what's it called?"

"Circumcised," I supplied, and she nodded. "I think I'd prefer that. So yes, if he wanted me to I'd kneel and put my lips round him, let him fuck my mouth."

I blinked at her choice of words -- Beth absolutely never swore, but she was obviously carried away with her fantasy, deliberately choosing a provocative phrase for what she was describing.

She shifted in her chair. "After a while I'd pull my knees up, open fully to him, and he'd move his body between my thighs, maybe I'd need to use my fingers to guide him into the right place."

I raised my eyebrows. "What about that condom?"

"Wups," Beth caught her lower lip between her teeth. "Thanks for reminding me. So I get one from my bedside drawer, tear open the foil, and roll it onto him with my fingers. Then what I just said, and he pushes slowly into me."

Her expression turned slightly apprehensive. "I guess it might hurt, the first time. But I'm sure he'd be careful."

Her face resumed its faraway expression. "Then he'd be moving in me, and I'd flex my hips just a little to help him."

I smiled wryly. "After what you did to him, I can't imagine he's going to last very long."

Beth tilted her head. "I suppose not. But remember, it's his reward for giving me what I needed... So I'd be watching his face, and I'd be able to tell when he was nearly there, and I'd let him know it was ok -- 'yes, come for me, don't hold back...' Then he'd cry out -- I hope not too loud -- and I'd feel him stiffen inside me, then he'd thrust hard, once, again..."

She frowned again. "I suppose with the condom I wouldn't really feel his stuff."

"Much safer that way, though," I reminded her.

"True. So then I guess he'd start to soften, so he'd have to come out of me, make sure the condom didn't slip."

She grinned. "I suppose he'd tie it, or wrap it in hankies or something, throw it in my bin. Maybe I'd take it out later so the cleaners didn't know."

"They'd know if they changed the sheets," I pointed out, and Beth looked startled, then nodded. "Oops, of course."

"So when he's finished, what would your lover do then?" I queried.

Beth looked thoughtful. "Well, I suppose I'd hoped for a cuddle."

I nodded. "Would you want him to stay the night?"

She looked puzzled. "I'm not sure. This is where I can't really imagine it -- would I want us to wake up together -- what would we even say? Or would I want to be alone, and deal with how I felt about him, the next time I saw him?"

I reached across to put my hand on hers. "Well, if it helps, maybe in some alternate reality you and I didn't meet till university, and the guy you meet at freshers' fair is me -- I would definitely want to wake up next to you."

I wasn't prepared for her reaction, her fingers tightening almost painfully on mine, her face crumpling as though on the verge of tears. "That is the sweetest thing you've ever said to me."

She took a deep breath. "Tim, what if -- what if that reality could be this one?"

My entire world seemed to turn upside down in an instant, every image of the life she and I had shared since that first playground meeting flashing through my mind. "Beth...?"

Her gaze was locked on my face, something incomprehensibly wild yet soft in her eyes. She drew me closer, and our lips touched, clumsy but somehow right. The kiss deepened, and Beth closed her eyes, lost in the sensation.

After a few moments she moved back, lips still parted. "Tim, I want this, and I promise --" she put her hand on her heart -- "that it will not change what we have."

I nodded, blinking back tears of my own. "But what about --"

I glanced at the open door of her bedroom. "Your parents are just downstairs."

The confident glint which I loved so much returned to her eyes. "Easy -- watch."

She stepped onto the landing. "Mum?"

Her mother appeared from the living room. "Yes, dear?"

"Tim and I have to record something for our video blog, we need to close the door for a while."

"OK, darling, we won't disturb you."

Beth came back into the room, closing the door firmly and standing with her back to it. "See -- problem solved."

She held out her arms, and I came into them, pressing her against the door. "Mm," she murmured. "Kind of nice to feel trapped."

I covered her mouth with mine, gently but insistently pressing my tongue between her lips, and she gasped, her breath catching in her throat. The wild look returned to her eyes, and she put one hand behind my neck, surprising me with the force of her response. After a few moments she broke away, her lips trembling. "So I think we can say we've done the kissing part," she breathed, echoing her words from a few minutes earlier.

"And I think what you said before counts as a Yes," I followed suit.

She nodded solemnly. "So..."

She was wearing a t-shirt, so no buttons to fumble with, and I tugged it free from her jeans. She raised her arms above her head, letting me lift the t-shirt off, drop it over the back of the chair. Underneath, her bra was soft peach, skin showing tantalisingly through the lace, and I bent to place a kiss on her covered nipples, feeling them hardening under my lips. I slid a hand behind her back seeking the fastening of her bra, and felt a moment of satisfaction as my fingers released the hooks on the first attempt. "I could almost suspect you of having practiced," Beth's voice was teasing.

She slipped the now-loose straps from her shoulders, letting the cups fall into her palms, then draped the bra on top of her t-shirt. "As distracting as you expected?"

I nodded wordlessly, my first clear sight of her bare breasts overwhelming. "God, Beth, you're beautiful."

"Thank you," she smiled shyly. "You are permitted to touch, you know."

I reached out a tentative hand, caressing the curve of one breast. "So soft..."

I leaned down again, teasing her by circling one nipple then the other with soft touches of my lips, and she made a quiet sound of impatience, using her fingers to move her breast so that the nipple was placed between my lips. I relented, and suckled softly, thrilling at the moan I drew from her. I moved to the other breast, and Beth gasped, fingers pushing at the waist of her jeans. I knelt to undo buttons, the zip, then helped her slide them down. She stepped out of them, standing with her arms by her sides, one knee bent a little. She glanced down at her nipples again, and I chuckled softly. "Greedy..."

I suckled her again, placing my hand flat on her stomach then moving it down gradually until I met the top of her panties. I teased her by dipping fingertips inside the elastic to touch the soft fur I found there, then withdrawing again and cupping her mound through the cotton.

I slid my fingers downwards, surprised at how damp she was. Beth's expression was sheepish as I looked at her with one eyebrow raised. "I -- I was wet the moment we started talking," she confessed with a glint of mischief in her eyes.

I pressed my fingers against her a little more firmly, and she moaned. "Oh god, Tim, just take them off."

I slid her panties down, and she stepped out of them, then glanced towards the bed. "Can I...?"

I nodded, and she lay down, hands behind her head. She parted her thighs, opening to me like a flower, and I felt a sensation almost of awe as I knelt at the foot of the bed.

She didn't have to tell me what she wanted, and I leaned forward until my lips were brushing her soft fur. I breathed in the musky scent of her, hardly daring to believe I was in such an intimate position with this beautiful, sexy young woman.

I glanced up, seeing her watching me as I began to explore with the tip of my tongue. Beth tasted like nothing else, musky like her scent but with a hint of honey. She made a satisfied sound as my tongue slid over the soft folds of her entrance, then gasped as I brushed the tiny hardness I found. "Mm -- oh yes -- there."

I watched as her hands sought out her own breasts, touching her nipples still damp and erect from my mouth on them. I used my tongue a little more insistently, then slid a fingertip inside her until I met the expected barrier. Beth moaned, flexing her hips against me, and I saw the muscles under the smooth skin of her stomach start to tense. I slowed down a little, knowing that she would want to prolong this part of our shared pleasure, and I heard the smile in her voice. "Oh... that's perfect..."

Her voice was dreamy as she spoke again. "I can't wait until you're inside me, it'll feel so good, and your body on mine, holding me down, like when you pushed me against the door but so much better... and your mouth on my breasts again, but when you're nearly there, you let me watch your face..."

She pushed her breasts together, then gasped as she rolled her nipples between her fingertips. "And then you'll move in me faster, harder, and I'll feel myself getting closer too..."

Beth's voice petered out, her hips pushing against me more urgently, and I judged that she was ready for me to take her past the point of no return. My tonguetip flickered on her most sensitive place, and again I saw her muscles begin to tense, her hips lifting slightly. She started to moan softly, and I fervently hoped that the sound of the television downstairs would mask the sound of Beth's increasing pleasure. Then a sudden gasp, and Beth put a hand over her mouth to muffle her cry of ecstasy as she tipped over the edge, her hips bucking against me, thighs tightening almost painfully around me. I felt a spurt of warmth against my lips, then another, running down my chin, and I strained to keep my tongue moving against her until she suddenly broke, panting, her hand sliding down her stomach to press fingers against her opening. "Ohh..."

I moved up to lie alongside her, folding her in my arms, her face buried in my chest. Finally she looked up, still flushed, breathing heavily. "Oh, my goodness, Tim..."

I chuckled softly. "Think we did OK there."

She took a deep breath and nodded. "What did I say I wanted? To be a soaking mess -- I think you could say you managed that."

She propped herself up on one elbow. "You still have way too many clothes on, you know."

I stood, hastily shedding my clothes, and Beth reached out to touch me with curious fingers. "So that's what it's like when it's hard..."

She looked up at me. "Ready for me to return the favour?"

I wrestled with the thought. "Beth? I know it's what we imagined, but for us, this time, can we leave that part out?"

Beth nodded. "I think I understand."

She grinned, lying back, hands behind her head again. "So you want to go straight to...?"

I looked around the room. "Ah, where have you stashed those condoms?"

Beth reached for me, drawing me closer. "Tim -- I have my pills, and there's no-one in the world who I know is safer for me than you are."

I felt an unexpected thrill run through me. "So you're OK if...?"

Beth nodded. "Now..."

She drew her knees up, her eyes fixed on mine as I slid between her parted thighs. "Need a little help?" she murmured, her fingers careful as she positioned my tip against her so-wet entrance.

Even now when we seemed to have passed the point of no return, I held back for a moment, waiting for the almost imperceptible nod, the lift of her hips, that invited me to continue. She caught her lower lip between her teeth as I pressed a little further in, and I saw a brief flicker of pain cross her face, then her expression cleared and she relaxed, releasing the breath she'd been holding. "I'm OK."

I dared to flex my hips forward again, and Beth closed her eyes, a blissful expression on her face as I reached my full depth in her. "Remember, this is for you, don't hold back," she whispered.

I took her at her word, starting to move in her, already feeling the beginnings of the irresistible urge that I knew would culminate in my release. But this was different, not a solitary exercise, but utterly intimate, with someone who I could sense was enjoying our closeness as much as I was.