Give Us a Twirl

"People suck."

"To those that don't," I countered, raising my can.

She smiled at that, the first one I'd seen since we started getting forum responses to our restaurant reviews, and tapped her can to mine. Our initial pulls off those first cans were pretty substantial, but we took the rest of the evening a bit slower. I gave Jenna a tour of my place, we talked books, leafed through some old architecture magazines, drank a couple more beers (complete with silly toasts), shared more hugs, and brought ourselves back to a better state. Maybe not quite where we'd been when we were chatting in the park, but certainly more at ease than we'd been a few hours prior.

It had been looking more and more like Jenna was going to end up crashing at my place, but I didn't want to assume, and asked her if she was okay with that. She was, and I let her know she could have her pick of where to sleep.

"I'm not feeling very frisky," she said, "but I'm also not going to kick you out of your own bed. Besides, it's a double, so there's plenty of room for two."

I let her brush her teeth first, while I dealt with the beer cans and lights. By the time I took care of all that and got myself sorted out, she was waiting in the bedroom, sitting at the foot of the bed with only the side lamp still on. There was a brief, and slightly awkward, conversation about what we both normally wore to bed. By this time of year I was usually sleeping nude, and she was fine in nothing more than a baggy t-shirt. Obviously, neither of us was in the right mood to show off that much.

"I've got boxers on under these shorts, and I'll be fine with those and this t-shirt."

"I'm okay with that," Jenna said, getting up to pull off the hoodie and drop the sweats she'd been wearing, revealing the boxers and t-shirt I'd given her with the other items.

When she was done, we were wearing the same outfit.

"Pajama twins!" she grinned.

I got in on my usual side and she settled next to me as I turned off the light. Our hands found each other as we laid on our backs, and we stayed like that for a while - resting, breathing, and giving comforting squeezes. Her hand went still after a bit and I thought she might have fallen asleep until she spoke, asking me to turn onto my side. I complied without a word, willing to do whatever was needed to make sure she slept well. It had felt really nice to hold her hand, and I was going to miss that contact.

It wasn't long before it was replaced by something much better. I felt the bed shift as Jenna moved, changing her position. Instead of turning away, as I'd thought she might, she rolled up against my back and wrapped her arm around me. There are few things I like better in life than to have a chance to be the little spoon. I took her hand in mine, pressed it against my chest, and let out a very satisfied sigh. She responded by squeezing me harder, taking a deep breath of her own, and letting it out. Pressing her forehead into my back, she spoke the last words either of us said before falling asleep.

"Thank you."

*

A habitual early riser, I was up shortly after seven the next morning. Jenna was sleeping rather deeply when I awoke, so I slipped out of bed as quietly as I could and went to the living room. I didn't know what her schedule was like for that Friday, and was worried I might let her sleep in too late. I also didn't want to get her up too early if it wasn't necessary. Either way, coffee was probably going to be needed. I started a pot and decided to check on her around eight o'clock.

The coffee turned out to be a better alarm clock than I was, because Jenna appeared in the doorway about ten minutes after it was ready. She was back in the sweats and hoodie, and seeing her like that made me keenly aware that I was still in my sleepwear.

"I should get some pants..."

"Coffee first, pants later."

Who was I to let a lack of pants get between a woman and her need for coffee? I poured mugs for both of us, and showed her where all the fixings were. I prefer my coffee with milk and caramel, while she went for sugar and cream. I made mental notes as I went to retrieve my shorts from the bedroom, hoping I'd get to make her coffee again sometime.

Now that I was suitably dressed for morning conversation, we settled on the couch and talked about what we had lined up for the day. Neither of us had planned on spending the night together that night, but we had both managed to have our Fridays open. She never had classes on Fridays, and I was off work, meaning the whole day was available to us.

While we did get on rather well, it was a little awkward. We'd only met in person for the first time a week ago, and yesterday's events went so completely sideways in a manner that neither of us was prepared for. It felt similar to the morning after what might have started as a one-night stand where both parties thought there could be some potential, except that we'd gotten to this point without any sex and with a big helping of emotional turmoil.

In the midst of our talking, the weather outside took a turn. The forecast will often call for "a chance of rain," which could mean anything from sunny skies, to drizzle, to a full-on thunderstorm. Today we got the worst of those three. After a miserable evening, both of our spirits were definitely on the mend, but going home in that mess wouldn't have done anything to help Jenna's keep going in the right direction. I offered to let her stay until the weather cleared up, at least a little, and she accepted. We didn't have to be sociable and chatty if she didn't want to. There was plenty on hand to read or watch, and she was free to use the laptop if she needed to.

Jenna did need to check her email, but promised not to go anywhere near the forum. After experiencing that level of hate - over burritos of all things - we were both swearing off online communities for quite a while.

It ended up being a very chill day, and exactly what both of us needed. We spent the morning reading on our own and drinking coffee. After getting lunch delivered - and tipping very generously for making the driver go out in such crummy weather - we snuggled up on the couch to watch a bad slasher film while pointing out all the ways we would have outsmarted the killer. Around the time the movie was over, the clouds started to break up.

We were both in a much better place emotionally by then, and knew we'd be okay on our own. Jenna got changed in the bedroom, then checked her pockets and bag to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything. She hadn't dressed for bad weather, so I offered her the use of a spare umbrella in case the clouds opened up again, which she accepted. We made our way downstairs to head to the bus stop, but she stopped before we got to the front door and handed the umbrella back.

"Don't you think you'll need it?"

"No, I do, but that's not it. We only ever communicated through DMs on the forum, so if we don't exchange numbers we won't have any way to get in touch again, what with being banned and all."

I moved to get my phone, but couldn't grab it with an umbrella in each hand. Before I could shift them both to one hand, Jenna already had hers out.

"Number?"

I told her and she texted me right then, smiling when my phone buzzed from within my pocket.

"Plus, with my hands free, I can do this."

I was about to ask, "do what?" but she was quicker than me, placing both hands on my shoulders, rising up on her toes, and pulling me down to meet her kiss.

Even if the previous day had been perfect in every possible way, that kiss still would've beaten it. After the day we'd just had, it was like an explosion of warmth washing over my entire body. Any remaining tension, bad vibes, and sad thoughts were immediately blown away, replaced with some of the purest joy I'd ever felt.

When she broke the kiss, Jenna kept ahold of my shoulders, and pulled me down further so our foreheads pressed together. That time, it was my turn to say it.

"Thank you."

She held on for a few moments after that, then let go, allowing me to stand upright again. As I looked at her face, I could tell she was feeling something similar to what I was, and I suspected my smile was probably a mirror of hers.

We didn't speak again as we walked down to the bus stop. Not for a lack of things to say, but more that we wanted to stretch that moment out for as long as we could, and worried that saying anything would break the spell we'd cast on each other. The rain wasn't too bad, but it was enough that we needed to use our umbrellas. I stood with Jenna until the bus came, then stepped out of line as she boarded and took a seat. We shared one last smile as the bus pulled away, and I waited until it turned the corner before heading home.

I stopped by Burrito Barge on the way to get dinner, because damned if some forum jerks were going to keep me from appreciating something I enjoyed. The restaurant smelled great, as always, and my burrito was ready in a flash - as always. Dinner in hand, I walked back to my place. It was only after I got home and sat down to eat that I checked my phone to see what Jenna had texted. It was just two words, but they triggered a second explosion of warmth and happiness.

"You're welcome."

Basking in that glow, I sent the only response I could think of.

"How's your burrito?"

"Perfect. Yours?" came the reply a few moments later, complete with a picture of a freshly-made Witchin' Kitchen specialty that already had a few healthy bites taken out of it.

I sent a similar photo as a reply, and she responded with a hug emoji. I sent the same one back to her, and that's where we left things that day. I finished my dinner, got cleaned up, read for a bit, then went to bed. Ever since I'd moved here, my bed had never felt empty, but it did that night. I fell asleep wondering if Jenna was feeling something similar.

***

As spring started to give way to summer, we kept up a fairly constant conversation through texts, and also called when it was convenient for both of us. That led to more in-person meetings, getting together for coffee, sharing meals, and hanging out at each other's places. It wasn't exactly dating, and things hadn't gotten any more physical than kissing and holding hands, but it felt like there was something between us. Plus, we hadn't spent another night together since that first time two months ago.

Early in June we were at her place, along with her best friend, Kenta, a Japanese exchange student who lived on the first floor of her building. They hung out fairly often, and it was becoming a regular thing for the three of us to chill at her place, talking, drinking, playing games, watching anime - or some combination of the above. The term was over for both of them, so we decided to celebrate by kicking back with a new anime that was being hyped up everywhere online.

It ended up being not much more than T&A fan service and poorly-written "will they or won't they" sexual tension between the two main characters. The only reasons we let the episodes keep playing were that the art wasn't bad for what it was, and the fight scenes were pretty creatively choreographed. The credits started rolling on the third episode and Jenna gave her thoughts on how the show was going.

"How many more episodes until they do it?"

"How many more until you guys do it?" Kenta muttered under his breath.

"What?!?" Jenna and I said together.

"We need more popcorn," Kenta said, holding up his empty bowl.

He busied himself making a fresh batch in the kitchen, while Jenna and I just looked at each other, dumbfounded.

We made it through three more episodes before calling it a night, with nothing being said about Kenta's comment. By the time he headed downstairs to his place, we weren't sure if he'd said it or not.

After he left, we fell into our usual habit of lounging in the bedroom. Jenna only had a single size bed, but she had an absurd collection of blankets, comforters, and even pillows to go with it. She explained it was a holdover habit from living with winters that were at least 20 degrees (real degrees - we were in agreement that Fahrenheit was an abomination) colder than here. Maintaining a decent room temperature would've been too expensive, so it was best to pile on as many layers on the bed as you could deal with and burrow in for the night. While that wasn't necessary here, they were great for stacking on the rug and sprawling out on top of. It may not have had the support of a proper mattress, but it was considerably roomier than her bed.

Jenna brought it up first, as we were laying on our sides facing each other.

"We didn't imagine that, right? He really did say that."

"We both heard and reacted to it, so he must have," I told her.

"But then he pretended like he didn't! I don't get it."

It was definitely weird for Kenta to say something like that, since he's typically pretty reserved, but maybe not completely unwarranted. We did spend a lot of time together, and we weren't shy about holding hands or kissing. And it's not like we hadn't talked about sex at length. We had, and we hadn't held anything back, as far as I knew.

We were both bi, and fairly experienced. We'd had more partners of our own gender (me for ease of hooking up, her for safety). We'd discussed things we'd done, things we wanted to do, and things we'd absolutely never do. And yet, we hadn't really done anything with each other.

"He's probably not wrong to assume we might eventually do it," I said.

"Maybe not, and we know a lot about each other, so it'd probably be pretty good."

"So is there some reason we haven't done it?" I asked.

"It's probably that we just haven't gotten around to it more than anything else. Things have been really great these past two months, and I haven't felt like anything was missing, have you?"

"Not at all!"

"Me either. Maybe it's just how he said it that's bugging me."

I reached out a hand and ruffled her hair. "Try not to let it get to you. Who knows? It might happen in the next episode."

"Who said this one's over?" Jenna grinned as she took my hand and moved it to her chest. "I didn't hear a closing theme."

"I certainly didn't see any credits rolling," I smiled.

Just like that, the decision had been made. Instead of the usual first-time routine of making out while slowly undressing each other, we showed exactly how in tune we were. Not a word was said and we went straight to stripping off every last piece of our own clothing, flinging it all off the blanket pile. It was thirty seconds at most before we were laying back down where we'd started, except now we were seeing each other naked for the first time.

"You look even better than I'd imagined," I told her.

"Oh? You've been imagining me naked?" Jenna teased.

"Well, yeah. I may have only seen you in boxers and a t-shirt the one time, but remembering how you looked then, combined with knowing how well you kiss, I'd say it's only natural to start imagining other things."

"Mmm-hmm. And what do you do when you imagine these 'other things?'" she pressed.

I tried to think of something to say, but was distracted by Jenna's gaze moving down my body, where something was trying to answer for me.

"I thought so."

Being well aware of what was going on down there, I didn't need to look. "Traitor..."

"You can tell me about them later. For now. we may want to get under at least one of these blankets."

"Good call."

While summer was almost upon us, the nights still got fairly cool. The blankets would not only save me from embarrassment, but they'd also protect us from the breeze coming through the window. We figured two would be enough to keep us warm, without being too stifling as things heated up.

Under the blankets, the teasing stopped, but things remained playful. Since we'd gotten to know each other, and each other's desires, before getting this far, there wasn't any performance anxiety or awkward fumbling. We focused on learning our way around one another's bodies and putting that knowledge to very good use.

The blanket pile ended up being the perfect place for all of this. As good as it was for lounging, it was even better for an extended bout of fooling around. Layers could be added or removed to keep things from getting too cold or too hot. Blankets could be folded or rolled and used for support as needed. Best of all, there was no fixed size limit like with a bed. Spread out, scoot around, shift positions - none of that mattered! The only times we needed to leave the pile were to get, and get rid of, condoms. When we needed to go to the kitchen for water, we'd wrap up in a blanket for warmth, taking part of the pile with us.

Counting the breaks we took for hydration, recovery, and just plain snuggling, it was almost three hours before we hit our limits. Worn out, but quite satisfied, we curled up together in the middle of a blanket pile that was in serious disarray. This time it was my turn to be the big spoon, and it felt just as good to be on this side of the cuddle as it had when she spooned me that first night at my place.

Jenna was the first to speak, after we'd taken some time to cool down. "Don't take this the wrong way, but please tell me you're not going to expect that much every time."

"Oh god, no," I laughed. "As long as we're spending the night together more than once every two months, my expectations will be quite reasonable."

"Mine will be as well, and I certainly don't want to wait that long to do this again."

"Neither do I."

"Are we also in agreement that we're spent enough to say this episode has reached its end?" she asked.

I couldn't see Jenna's face, but I knew she was smiling when I said it.

"Roll credits."

***

Over the next few months we began spending even more time together, if such a thing was possible. Both of our friend groups insisted we were boyfriend and girlfriend, but we didn't think so. They'd all roll their eyes when we said we were "just friends," even though that's how we thought of each other. We weren't seeing other people, not because of any exclusivity agreements, but more through what we'd taken to calling "the doctrine of mutually assured satisfaction."

Of course there was lots of sex, and many things were being crossed off each of our "want to do it" lists. We both gave pegging particularly high marks, but felt that whoever came up with "paper bondage" had never actually tried it. The idea of being restrained with crepe paper streamers, and having to control your own movements to remain bound, sounded interesting while reading it, but simply did not work for us in practice. What makes bondage so good is that you can't get free, and that the tension of struggling against whatever you're bound with adds to the excitement. We each gave the paper a few good tries, but always tore through it within seconds. We ended up tossing it all, laughing at how poorly that experiment turned out.

Unfortunately, as good as things were going for us, not everybody was having the same luck. Right before the start of the fall semester, Kenta received word that his father had fallen ill. He was an only child, and his mother wasn't able to care for his dad well enough on her own, so he had to go back to Japan on very short notice.

Of course, this left him with an entire apartment's worth of stuff to sort out. He was in no state of mind to deal with all that, so we offered to do it for him. We shipped back what he wanted returned, threw out what he didn't need, and donated the rest to charity. He'd had a really nice double bed, which he gave to Jenna in return for everything we were doing.

With his place being on the first floor, removing stuff to mail, toss, or donate wasn't too much work. Getting the bed and frame up three flights of stairs to Jenna's place was a bigger challenge (hooray for old buildings and narrow stairwells - not), but it was well worth it. Luckily, we'd been able to arrange everything so her old single went out with Kenta's donations, leaving plenty of space in the bedroom for the double.