Jeffrey's Murderer

"Yeah, Mom. I've got a lot going on. My friend Emily is having a big Halloween party at her house, so I've been helping with the decorations. I've been staying there on the weekends."

"Your father's birthday is in two weeks. Don't forget. He'll be disappointed if you don't make it."

"I know. I know. Mom, I'm at school. I'm going into the lounge. I gotta go."

"Call home once in a while. We miss you."

"I know. Love you. Bye." I hung up, probably before she was done talking. She was right. I hadn't been home since I had broken the ice with Emily. I had a lot on my mind now though, and I certainly didn't need my mother's input.

Emily was at our table when I got there. She had a Pumpkin Cappuccino for me this time.

"Hey," I said, sitting down.

"Hey."

We sat in silence for a moment. I could see her gauging my reaction to what happened in her room the other night.

I smiled and said, "Thanks for the coffee."

"Are you still OK about everything?"

"Yes. I'm alright. I'm not ready to shout it to the world yet, but I'm really happy that we've met," I replied in a low voice.

"You're coming over this weekend, right?"

"Yeah. I wish I could see you after school during the week too, but I just got a work-study job in the library. I have to work for a couple of hours every night this week," I said.

She looked at the time on her phone. "Crap. Time for class. I wish we had even one class together."

"I know."

I felt my anxiety level rise as soon as I slid into my seat in my first class. I felt my mind searching for the source of the knot in my stomach and my pounding pulse. Emily popped into my mind, and I felt my stomach lurch. That was it. I willed myself to relax, taking deep breaths and trying to clear my mind.

I couldn't concentrate on anything going on in class. All I could think about was Emily. Her soft skin, her mermaid hair, her hard nipples. I had never thought so much about any boy.

At the same time, I was torn. I had never pictured myself having a controversial lifestyle. I didn't know if I could handle being the target of ignorant hate, being a disappointment to my parents, getting funny looks from the people around me. My mother had been planning to be a grandmother ever since I could remember, and I was an only child! How could I break her heart?

And maybe this was just a phase brought on by extreme loneliness. What if I was rushing headlong into something that I would regret later?

But her kisses were so sweet, and her touch was so soft. I didn't think I could stop myself from being with her again. I was already imagining what next weekend would bring. Would she want to touch me between my legs? Would I let her? Would I touch her?

Suddenly, I remembered Jeffrey and his beady eyes and fangs. I shivered in my seat, and I was grateful that this was a huge class, and I was unlikely to be noticed by the professor. I made up my mind at that moment to arrive at Emily's house well before dark. That way we could be safely locked into her room before dusk.

~~~~~

Gran answered the door when I knocked. Emily wasn't home yet.

"Come in. Come in. Come sit down. You want some ginger ale?"

"That sounds great." We sat down at the kitchen table.

"So how's school, Corey?"

"Good, I guess. Classes are fine."

"It's nice to see you and Emily getting along so well. You both needed a friend."

"Yeah." I nodded, not sure where this was going.

"Listen. Did Emily happen to mention anything to you about...You know...?"

"Do you mean did she tell me that she's a lesbian?"

"Well, I didn't realize that she had officially labeled herself, but yes. That's what I mean."

"Yes. She told me."

"And are you...?"

"This is embarrassing," I said, blushing. "Well, I wasn't before, but now, I'm not so sure."

Emily came in through at that moment, saving me from having to explain.

"I brought Chinese," she announced.

We finished dinner without further discussion of my sexuality. As soon as Gran finished eating, she left to meet with her travel group. Emily and I went upstairs. I didn't even risk a glance into the living room on the way by.

Since it was early, we sat on Emily's bed playing Xbox. We talked and laughed, and she kicked my ass at Guitar Hero. As soon as the game was put away, she wrapped her arms around me and kissed me deeply.

"I'm going to take a shower. Would you like one too? You can go first, if you like."

I took her up on her offer, not knowing exactly how close we'd be getting that night.

~~~~~

Clean and smelling of lavender, we sat on the bed and watched the goldfish. I felt timid all of a sudden. We were both virgins. I had more sexual experience, but she had more experience with girls. There was no obvious leader here, and we'd be fumbling like any heterosexual virgins.

"I don't really know what comes next," she giggled. "We've already been to the end of my experience."

"Don't ask me," I said, shaking my head. "I've never done any of this before."

"Tell me what you did with that boyfriend."

"Oh, no. I don't want to talk about that," I groaned. "It wasn't any good, and he was an asshole."

"How did he touch you?" She paused, waiting for an answer. When she didn't get one, she pressed on. "Like this?" She reached out and put her palms on my breasts. I could feel the coolness of her hands through my t-shirt. I was dressed for bed, so I wasn't wearing a bra. I put my hands on hers and demonstrated how Chad had groped me.

"This is what not to do," I said. "He would just kind of squeeze them. It usually hurt."

"Show me. Touch me the way you want me to touch you."

"Take your shirt off." I helped her pull it over her head.

I ran my palms against her nipples, feeling them harden in my hands. Running my hands under each rounded breast, I lifted them gently and brought them to my mouth. I flicked my tongue across the right and then the left. Emily moaned out loud.

I closed my lips around her nipple and sucked lightly, making her squirm. I switched to the other nipple, and used my fingers on the first. She began to pull at my shirt, and I let her take it off.

Once again we sat topless, looking at each other. My tiny titties couldn't compare to her heavy, full bosom, but she quickly moved her mouth to my nipples. I lay on my back as she leaned over me, her tongue flicking across them. She licked and caressed and pinched and even nibbled on my hard nubs.

I touched her face and her hair, looking her in the eye and trying to catch her lips with mine. When I thought I had her, she surprised me by moving her hand down to my hip. My body tensed as her hand slid between my legs. I was wearing booty shorts, so it wasn't long before her hand was sliding up my thigh into my shorts. I felt her hand on my mound, and I moaned.

"Pull down your pants," she said. I felt a hot rush through my pelvis.

I hesitated for a moment before I slid my shorts and panties down over my hips. Emily pulled them off my legs and cast them aside.

Her hand returned to my mound and began to travel lower. When her long middle finger slipped into my slit, I gasped loudly.

"You are so wet." She put her finger between my lips, and began to stroke me gently.

"Please go easy," I begged. "Chad used to rub so hard. He hurt me every time." I was so nervous.

Emily began to run her finger from the top of my slit to my opening, swirling from side to side as she went. I could feel the slipperiness of my pussy as her finger slid back and forth.

"How's this?"

"Really good. Move your finger higher, up near my clit."

"Here?"

"Mmhmm...Not too hard."

She began to circle gently on the top of my clit. "Go around my clit. Not right on top."

She swirled in a larger circle, and the heat in my pussy started to rise again. "Just like that."

She swirled and swirled with her delicate fingers, never once causing pain. It was just as I thought. A woman would know what a woman would like.

"Oh, Emily. That's so good. Don't stop. A little harder."

That did the trick. I felt the warmth and pressure building in my pussy, and this time I knew what it was. "I'm gonna cum soon. Please don't stop."

"Really?" She sounded surprised. "I've never cum before."

"A little faster. And a little harder," I moaned. She had the perfect rhythm and the perfect amount of pressure.

"I'm getting close. Don't stop. Don't stop. Keep rubbing my clit," I was muttering almost incoherently as my feet flexed and my head thrashed from side to side. I felt a flash of heat through my pelvis, and my whole body went rigid.

"Oh, Corey. You're so swollen down here," she whispered.

"I'm cumming. Omigod. I'm cumming." I tried to stay quiet, but wasn't really successful. It didn't occur to me until much later that we might not be the only ones home, and that someone probably heard us. As my orgasm relaxed, I told Emily to slow down and ease up.

"That was fucking incredible," I said, still out of breath. "Thank you."

She looked stunned. "I can't believe I did that to you. Was it really that good? You weren't faking, were you?"

"No way. That was awesome."

I lay still, panting for a moment.

When I finally recovered, I sat up and kissed her again. "Your turn," I murmured into her mouth. "Take off your pants."

I pushed her gently back on the bed, and looked at her naked body. She was beautiful. Soft in all the right places. Where I was skinny and flat, she was voluptuous. She had a landing strip of ginger-colored pubic hair right above her slit. My own was dark and trimmed, but not shaved. I put my hands on her tits, and ran them down her body toward her pussy.

I used my fingers to separate her lips, and I looked curiously at her anatomy. I never thought I'd be so close to another woman's privates. I leaned closer and inhaled her heady aroma. I put my fingertips against her clit and began to rub in circles, just as she had done to me. I rested my head on her thigh, and set to the business of giving Emily her very first orgasm.

The more I rubbed, the wetter she got. "You're so turned on," I crooned to her.

"I've never felt anything like this before," she panted. "Omigod. This is amazing."

I kept rubbing and soon she was clenching her thighs together over my hand. "Are you getting close?"

"I don't know, but don't stop. Keep rubbing." I continued to rub as I lifted myself up to her chest and put her nipple in my mouth. I could see the beads of sweat across her chest, and I knew it wouldn't be long.

Two minutes later, her body became as stiff as a board, and she yelled out loud, "Omigod. I think this is it. I think I'm cumming. Don't stop!" she shouted. I rubbed until she stopped moaning. We lay quietly, side-by-side for a long moment.

"Corey," she hesitated before finishing the question. "Can I taste you?"

Arousal shot through my already swollen nether-regions, but I was terrified. "I don't know. This is all so new."

"Please," she said, barely audibly. "Please, just a little taste?"

I slowly relented, spreading my legs again for her. In my head I heard a little voice telling me I was crossing over—that I was becoming a full-fledged lesbian. I took a deep breath, and did my best to silence that voice.

She licked tentatively at first, just barely touching my swollen flesh. When her tongue reached my clit, I jumped, unable to suppress a moan.

I felt her tongue in my opening, and I wondered what it tasted like as she scooped out the wetness left over from my orgasm.

"You are so wet. You taste so good, just a little bit salty."

I shuddered a little bit, loving the way her tongue felt, but hating that I was one step closer to losing my heterosexual identity.

Her tongue reached my clit, and began swirling, just as her finger had done. This felt different. I felt her saliva lubricating me. Her taste buds felt just a little rough, and when she closed her lips over that nub, I felt the gentle pressure as she sucked on my clit.

Her long hair tickled my thighs, reminding me that it was her head between my legs. I felt the first stirring of an orgasm building, and I moaned out loud. I felt the sweat breaking out all over my body as my hips started to buck, and my toes began to curl. I knew I would cum much faster this time.

"Are you close? Are you gonna cum again?"

"Uh-huh. Don't stop."

"God, you're swelling even more!"

I felt her finger slide gently into my pussy as she continued working her tongue in circles, just on the sides of my clit. I didn't know what she did once that finger was inside, but as she moved her finger, she sucked my clit gently again, and I came so hard, I didn't think I'd be able to regain my senses. I felt the spasms in my pussy, in my stomach, in my asshole, and I thrashed around on the bed.

Suddenly, her bedroom door burst open. We both jumped a mile as Hunter entered her room. We scrambled to cover ourselves.

"What the fuck?" he shouted. "I thought somebody was getting killed in here. Couple of dykes. Invite me next time you get the urge to lick each other's cunts. I want to watch." He laughed with that leer painted all over his face. "Crazy cunt-lapping dykes."

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY ROOM, YOU ASSHOLE!" Emily chucked a book at him, nearly hitting him in the nuts.

He stormed back out of the room sucking all of the joy out with him.

I started to cry.

"Don't listen to him. He's just an asshole." She pulled me close and stroked my hair.

"I know," I sobbed. "I don't know if I can do this. I don't think I can handle people calling me a dyke."

I cried myself to sleep, my tears trailing down Emily's breasts.

~~~~~

For the first time since we began to talk, it was awkward between the two of us at our table in the lounge. I looked around, feeling like everyone was staring at us. Like everyone knew the truth.

"Corey," she started.

"I don't want to talk about it right now. I'm just really confused." I felt myself starting to tear up. "I need to think."

"My cousin is an asshole. Please don't let his opinion influence you. I want to be..."

I cut her off right there. "Shh," I hissed. "I don't need everybody in the lounge hearing what we did."

She looked stunned, like I had slapped her across the face.

"Let's just cool it, and try to pretend it didn't happen," I said. "We can still hang out here in the mornings. We can still be friends."

"I don't want to pretend it didn't happen," she said in a low, but angry tone.

"Can we please discuss this later? I have to go to class," I said, ending the conversation. I tossed my things in my bag walked away. I spent the rest of the day rehashing every word of our argument, trying to justify what I had said to my friend.

The rest of the week was tense. We continued to share a table, but we were back to the days of plugging in our ears as soon as we said hello. On Friday Emily finally spoke to me again.

"Look. I know you're uncomfortable with me. I can deal with that, I guess. I'd like my friend back though. Gran's party is tomorrow night. Are you going to come? Please?"

She was right. It was lonely without her. I paused for a moment before answering, trying to make sure it came out right. "Yes. I'll come. But I won't be staying over. I'm just not 'that way', and I don't think it's a good idea."

"I can live with that. See you tomorrow? Party's at seven."

~~~~~

Gran answered the door in full Marie Antoinette regalia when I rang the bell. Instead of inviting me in, she pulled me over to the porch swing and sat me down. I looked sadly at the glowing ghosts Emily and I had made together.

"Corey, I have to tell you. I don't know what happened between you and Emily, but you two need to fix this. She's devastated."

"I haven't had a very good week either, Gran. I'm just...I'm just scared."

"Do you have feelings for my granddaughter?"

"Yes," I whispered. "But I don't want to be gay."

"You don't have to 'be' anything. Go back to being friends. That's all Emily wants. If you decide down the road that maybe you two can be something more, so be it. Just be friends."

She put her arm around me and hugged me. I spotted the stuffed crow looking down from its perch over the door and shivered.

"Thanks, Gran."

~~~~~

When I walked into the crowded entryway, I saw that the house looked even creepier than I expected. I recognized a stuffed raccoon and some of the other decorations from the attic, but the way Emily had put it all together made the house look like the set of a horror movie.

She had wrapped all of the lights in the house with gauzy, blood-red fabric, which gave the house a dim, eerie glow. She had done a superb job of making the fake spider webs look real, and the house looked like it hadn't been inhabited in years. I wondered if the bloody handprints on the walls were decals or paint.

Emily had not prepared me for the quality of the costumes, and I was a little embarrassed by the thrown-together appearance of my own. I was a witch, as always. I wore the little black dress that I had bought over the summer for my cousin's wedding with a witch's hat. That was it. I wished I had thought to grab a broom.

I saw exquisite princesses, a dragon that hardly fit through the entryway, three past presidents, and half-a-dozen zombies. Most of the costumes looked like the ones I saw in the rental shop window in town, so I knew that these guests had spent a lot of money to come to this party. I wondered if they knew that the run down appearance wasn't part of the décor.

I tugged nervously at my dress, feeling my anxiety level rising. I wasn't great in social situations, and I could feel my heart pounding and my palms sweating. I was genuinely nervous about seeing Emily on top of everything else that was stressing me out, so I started to consider heading right back out the front door.

The door to the right of the entryway was open for the first time I had seen. I hadn't even realized that there was a dining room in the house. I could see snacks and a giant punchbowl on the long, wooden table.

I stepped into the dining room and saw the stuffed owl perched on top of the china cabinet. It looked just as spooky in the reddish light of the chandelier wrapped in gauze as it had in the dimly lit attic. Thinking of the attic reminded me of the spider in my hair, and I shuddered again.

I helped myself to some punch. I didn't see anyone I knew. The guests around me were mostly in their fifties and sixties, but I did see some of the younger guests that Emily had told me about. I scanned the room nervously, looking out for Hunter.

I found myself draining my cup quickly, not because it was super-delicious, but because drinking it gave me something to do. I felt less anxious when I was hiding behind the Red Solo Cup, and before I knew it, I needed a refill. I parked myself in the corner of the dining room, and looked around.

The living room was crowded, and from the hallway, I heard occasional yelps from guests as they discovered Jeffrey. I took another gulp of punch, remembering my own encounter with the monster. I heard Hunter's mocking laugh, and I knew that they were in there together.

After a third cup of punch, I needed to use the bathroom. I climbed the stairs, figuring that the downstairs bathroom would have a line. I stumbled a little bit on the stairs and cursed the heels I was wearing.

I almost crashed into Emily when I met her in the hallway.

She took my breath away.

The mermaid tail was obviously from the costume shop, and it looked every bit as expensive as she had told me it would be. Where I had expected chintzy, metallic fabric, there were individual scales, lined with silver sequins. Her fins were made of turquoise feathers, cascading over her feet. I wondered how she had made it down the hallway without breaking her neck.