Naked Thirst Ch. 11

Friday morning Sam planned to go to Irvine to buy her remaining books and scout out her classrooms, but she remembered the promise she'd made to Beth to talk to Angela. It was only the two of them at breakfast since Rich and Arden had gone surfing together, but she still put the topic off until the end of the meal.

"Um, Angela" she didn't know why, but she suddenly felt like she was asking her parents for the key to the car. "I was wondering if it would be okay if I had Beth over tomorrow. In the house, I mean, and by the pool."

"I don't see why not. We don't have any special plans. I'll just have to warn everyone to cover up." As usual neither of them was clothed.

"Oh, that's not a problem. I told Beth about the nudist thing and she was cool with it."

Angela gave her a closed look. "Did you?"

Sam got a sinking feeling in her gut that she'd just stepped in something.

"You do remember the confidentiality agreement you signed? What happens in this house, stays in this house."

Oh shit, Sam thought. She did remember the agreement, but she'd never really thought of it applying to Beth, not in her own mind. But of course Angela hadn't written in a best friend exception. "I'm really sorry. I only told her that one thing, and she's cool, she would never spread something like that around."

"Are you sure about that?"

Something in Angela's look told Sam to think carefully before replying. Would Beth gossip? No, she wouldn't, she was sure of it. Neither would her boyfriend Garret. Beth would kill him if he did. Not that there was anyone to tell really. Most of their mutual friends had graduated and moved on with their lives, but just as a matter of principle Beth had always respected Sam's confidences. When Sam answered it was in a firm tone. "Yes, I'm sure. If I tell her something private it stays that way. She's a loyal friend and I trust her."

Angela smiled. "Good. That's what I wanted to hear. I trust your judgment. You've proven yourself to be reliable and sensible. If you vouch for Beth then that's good enough for me."

Relief washed through Sam and she felt like she'd just passed a pop quiz.

"I think Beth mentioned a boyfriend when she was last here."

"Yeah, Garret. He's a good guy. He might like to come too, if that's all right."

"By all means. I don't get the feeling that Beth would put up with someone who wasn't a good guy."

That was true, Sam thought.

"And you said they wanted to try nudism?"

"Beth does. Garret might be a little shy. But if I know Beth she'll find a way to convince him."

"Good," Angela said. "Talk to Keiko about the menu. We'll make a party of it."

Sam was thrilled. She missed her friend, but more than anything she wanted someone to get a glimpse of her new life, to share it with someone who knew her before all the monumental changes that had occurred in the last two weeks.

Sam gathered up dishes to take into Keiko. Letting her do some clearing up was a concession the young chef had made to letting Sam help. In the kitchen Keiko was sitting at the bar, looking out the window and finishing the last of the veggie omelet she had made for breakfast.

"It drives me crazy that you do that." Sam said, loading plates into the dishwasher.

"Do what?"

"Eat in here." She gestured to where Keiko was sitting, "By yourself."

Keiko shrugged. "My little quirk."

Sam turned to her and sighed, "Yeah, but why? I mean I know chefs aren't supposed to eat with their customers, but they don't usually sleep with them either." It came out a little harsher sounding than she'd intended, but it got the other woman's attention.

Keiko put down her fork and finished chewing her last bite of egg. "You may have noticed that I don't maintain a lot of personal boundaries. I don't wear clothes, I've had sex with everyone in the house, and I feed you all with milk from my body. So, if I want to maintain a little personal space and a sense of professional pride when it comes to my cooking, then I think that's my prerogative."

Sam's face fell and she felt terrible. It had been bugging her that her new lover wouldn't share meals with her most of the time. She'd been taking it personally. But she never stopped to consider that Keiko's 'quirk' was based on feelings that were every bit as valid as her own. "I'm sorry," she said. "You're totally right. All the things you do for us—"

"Are things that I want to do." Keiko interrupted. "Don't misunderstand me. I'm not a martyr. I do what I want to do, and pretty much only what I want to do. And, for the most part, I don't ever do anything I don't want to do. Not many people can say that."

Sam didn't know how to reply to that. She stood in the kitchen looking lost.

Keiko smiled and got off her stool. "Come here." She held out her arms and Sam immediately came forward to give her a tight hug.

"I'm sorry." Sam said again.

Keiko pulled back and stood on tiptoe to give Sam a quick kiss on the lips. "Don't worry about it. One of the drawbacks of living by your own rules is that not everyone else understands them." She stepped all the way out of the embrace. "Now, did I overhear something about a party?"

"Yeah, my friend Beth and probably her boyfriend Garret. Angela and Rich, of course. I don't know about Arden . . ." Sam paused, then blurted out. "Keiko, did I do something wrong?"

"What? Sweetie, I said I forgive you—"

"No, with Arden." Sam added, flustered.

"Why do you say that?"

"Ever since last Sunday, ever since we were . . . together, I've barely seen him. He stays gone all the time. Is he avoiding me? Did I do something to make him mad?"

"Ah, that." Keiko sighed. "Arden can be very mature and worldly for his age and then sometimes he does something to remind you that he's a nineteen-year-old guy. I think this is his idea of being gallant."

Sam didn't get it. "What does that mean?"

"It means that he knows I like you, and he knows you like him—"

"Have I been that obvious?" Sam interrupted.

Keiko shook her head. "No, Arden's just aware of the effect he has on women. Partly vanity, but also mostly true. He's been 'standing aside' I think is how he'd see it. Staying out of the way so you and I could get to know each other. Sweet, but—"

"Totally egotistical and condescending." Sam fumed.

"Yeah, that," Keiko agreed. "Like I said, he means well, but he's still a kid in some ways, and pretty full of himself."

Sam frowned. She was angry that Arden had ended up making her feel bad for something he was doing intentionally. She was also astonished at his level of cockiness. But then she had to ask herself. Would she feel as strongly about Keiko if he had been competing for her attention all week? She thought so, but couldn't be a hundred percent sure. Mostly, she was angry that he hadn't let her find out for herself. She didn't like being manipulated.

"When I see him, I'll tell him he can take his charm and good looks and shove them up his—"

Keiko laughed. "Yeah, I've wanted to wring his neck once or twice myself. But don't be too hard on him. He really does love me, and thought he was doing me a favor. A fucked-up favor. But still a favor."

"Did you know what he was doing?"

Keiko had the good grace to look embarrassed. "Not at first, but by the middle of the week it was pretty obvious he was staying scarce. I'll admit, I really did want you to myself. Just for a little while. Kind of takes back some of my 'no jealously, no possessiveness' stuff doesn't it? Sorry. I hope you don't think I'm a total hypocrite."

Sam narrowed her eyes and had a moment of being angry at Keiko too, but it didn't last. Then it was her turn to hold out her arms to the other woman. "I forgive you." They shared another warm embrace, and then Sam stepped back. "Actually, it's kind of a relief. It lets me know you're human, and not some super-evolved being that's above all the petty emotions that the rest of us have to deal with."

The two women parted and took up the familiar tasks of cleaning up the kitchen from breakfast. After a few minutes of comfortable quiet Sam said, "There's another thing I need to talk to you about."

Keiko finished rinsing a cutting board, put it on the drying rack and wiped her hands on a towel, turning her attention to Sam.

"Beth has been my best friend pretty much since I moved to California. I don't normally keep many secrets from her, but lately I've had a lot of them."

Keiko nodded and waited for Sam to continue.

"I told her about the nudist thing, and she's into it. She wants to try it herself tomorrow."

"Cool."

"Yeah, it is. She is. I'm not ready to tell her about the milk though. I'm too afraid it will freak her out."

Keiko nodded again. "Understandable. I'm pretty careful about who I tell, too."

"Right, so the thing I'm having trouble with is what to tell her about us. You and me. I mean I know we had the whole 'not your girlfriend' talk, but I'm not sure how to explain it to Beth."

"Why not just tell her the truth?" Keiko said it mater-of-factly and Sam was relieved that the conversation didn't seem to be making her upset.

"Because the truth is complicated. Look, Beth is a great girl, she's my best friend and I love her. But we all have flaws and one of her biggest is that she's nosey. Really nosey. I'm afraid that unless I keep it simple she's going to keep grilling me until I say more than I'm ready to, or I'll have to tell her an outright lie. Which I don't like doing, and she'll probably see through it anyway."

"Ah," said Keiko. "I see the problem. So you want me to what, pretend I'm your girlfriend?"

"Well you kind of are, aren't you? I mean not a traditional, monogamous, were-going-to-get-gay-married-and-have-babies-someday girlfriend. But we said we love each other, right?" There was pleading in her voice at the end that Sam hadn't intended, but couldn't prevent.

Keiko chuckled, but there was warmth in it. "Traditionally gay-married? Isn't it a little soon for that? So, you think me being your nudist girlfriend will be simple enough for Beth?"

"Yeah, even that isn't simple," Sam admitted. "But Beth isn't homophobic, she's bi-sexual herself, I think. She'll be surprised, but I think it's something she can wrap her head around."

"It's still a lie you know, at least partly."

"I know," Sam sighed. "But I'm not ready to tell her the whole truth and I don't think I could pull off the alternative. Pretending that we don't have a relationship. I like being with you, and I want my best friend to know it." As soon as she said it out loud, she knew it was true.

Keiko smiled and gave Sam another hug. She looked up and said, "Fine, I'll pretend to be your traditional gay girlfriend. Just remember, I expect real diamonds in my engagement ring, none of that cubic zirconium crap."

"Anything for you," Sam said bending to give the smaller woman a long, deep kiss.

***

The Paule Merage School of Business was one of the more uninspired buildings on UC Irvine's otherwise picturesque campus. Sam sighed. The window-lined, rectangular concrete box was where she would be having nearly all her classes, and after the phenomenal sense of freedom she'd been experiencing over the last couple of weeks, the thought of being cooped up inside the ponderous looking structure for hours at a time seemed particularly daunting. But she was determined to make the most of her educational opportunities and that meant being prepared. So, class schedule in hand, she scouted the building to figure out where she had to be and when.

Once she felt she was reasonably well oriented, Sam went in search of the bookstore. There was a steady bustle of activity around the dorms as students began to move in for the semester, but the campus was otherwise fairly quiet. She followed signs and the map she'd gotten with her registration packet and made her way to the student center where the bookstore was located. She noticed a few appreciative glances from some of the young guys she passed. She was wearing another of Keiko's flimsy summer dresses. Her friend had tried to get her to wear it without a bra, but she still wasn't ready for that much attention. She'd compromised and done without the panties. Of course, she would have preferred not to wear anything at all. The sun was bright and she felt a trickle of sweat forming between her shoulder blades as she walked through the wide park-like space in the center of campus. She spotted a couple playing Frisbee and though about how much more sense it would make if they simply shed their clothes.

Sam found the student center and the bookstore, which was crowded with people. It was odd, but at the ripe old age of twenty two, the incoming freshman looked like kids to her. As she made her way down the crowded rows to find her books, only two of them, since everything else had been available on-line, she realized it was not just age that set her apart. Living with Angela and the rest felt like living in another country, another reality even, like she had found her way to Neverland and Keiko was her lactating, nudist Peter Pan. She laughed out loud at that bizarre image, and got a few odd looks. She ignored them, found what she needed and hurried up to the front to get in line. She was anxious to get back home.

An hour later, Sam was in the pool doing laps, the warm water gliding over her bare skin. After she got out and toweled off, she texted Beth to let her know that she and Garret were invited for Saturday. She also asked her to call and confirm when she got the chance. Then she lay back in the lounger, closed her eyes and thought about staying a Lost Boy, or Girl, forever.

Saturday morning Sam awoke with unexpected butterflies in her stomach. She had spoken with Beth the night before and made plans for her and Garret to come over at one in the afternoon. Beth had been excited and so was Sam, but she didn't realize until that moment how nervous she was to have her friend see her new life.

Sam tied her hair back in a loose pony tail and made her way downstairs. She'd let herself sleep past breakfast and found Keiko doing the last of the morning dishes.

"Hey sleepyhead." Keiko called when she saw Sam. It was only about eight-thirty, but for the early rising household, that was late. "You want breakfast? I can fry you an egg or make a smoothie."

"A smoothie would be great." She still felt a thrill knowing it would be made from Keiko's milk. It was definitely a fetish, she decided.

She tossed a towel onto a stool and sat down while Keiko retrieved ingredients from the fridge. After drinking her breakfast, Sam hung out with her lover as the darker woman busied herself around the kitchen. The young chef was meticulous about having everything in the kitchen spotless after each meal. When that was done, Keiko started to assemble her gear for her nine AM pump. Sam watched and licked her lips in anticipation as a wicked thought formed. She waited until the pump whirred to life and the milk started to flow, then she stood up and turned her friend to face her with gentle, but insistent hands on the other woman's legs.

"Let me help you with that," she said as she knelt down and coaxed Keiko's knees apart.

Sam was still a novice at oral sex on a woman, but her technique was more than up to the task. She had Keiko calling out her name in minutes, and the little jars filled in record time. Afterward, Sam leaned into her lover and gave her a kiss with well moistened lips.

"Mmmm," purred Keiko. "Let me put my stuff away and we can go upstairs for your turn."

Sam was tempted, she was definitely horny, but she was antsy too. "I'm too keyed up to really relax and enjoy it. Can I have a rain check?"

Keiko gave her a languid smile. "Keep doing what you just did, and you can have anything you want."

Sam grinned and gave her another kiss. "I'm going out to the pool. A few laps might calm me down."

Keiko nodded and started putting away her pumping supplies while Sam headed for the sliding doors. As she slipped out of the house she tried to identify why she was so on edge. It was clearly about Beth's visit. She was excited about it, but worried too. Her biggest concern was about Beth's reaction to nudism. Her friend liked to talk big, but Sam remembered how terrified she'd been that first time stripping down in front of Keiko in the kitchen. She was worried about Garret too, although she had to admit, she was looking forward to seeing him naked. The boy was too pretty for his own good.

She dropped her towel on a chair and dove into the deep end, doing her usual morning laps. It had only been a little more than a week, but she was already starting to feel stronger in the water, and quickly fell into a rhythm. She pushed herself to go up and down one more time than usual and then rolled onto her back and let herself float. The exercise helped clear her mind and she was able to get in touch with the rest of her concerns.

She really wanted Beth to like Keiko, she realized. Beth had never been a jealous or possessive friend, and had tried her best to be nice to Dean, Sam's college boyfriend, even though it was clear she didn't like him. Beth never said anything bad about him, at least until he made a pass at her, but it was still painful to Sam for her best friend not to like the person she was dating. She didn't want that to be the case with Keiko. In fact, she wanted Beth to like everyone in the house and for everyone to like her.

Of course, with the exception of Arden, they'd all met Beth and gotten along. But she wanted them to do more than get along. In some ways the people in the house felt like her new family, and she wanted Beth to approve. That was it. The heart of her anxiety. She'd dived into this strange, new world of milk, and nudism, and wild sex and she wanted someone to tell her it was okay. She was loving every minute of it, but a little voice inside her head—one that sounded suspiciously like her mother—still warned her that she was being a bad girl, a pervert, and she was being taken advantage of by a bunch of sex maniacs. She might not be telling Beth everything, but if her friend came and joined her in just part of her new lifestyle, she thought it would go a long ways toward making her feel like what she was doing was okay.

Sam was getting out of the pool and drying off when Keiko came out to join her, holding a can of sun screen in her hand.

"Forget something? It would be a shame to get burned so early in the day"

Sam let Keiko spray her down and rub in the thin lotion, then the two of them laid back on loungers by the pool.

"So Arden said he'd definitely be here this afternoon?" He was out surfing already and Sam had missed him.

"Yes. He told you so last night and I reminded him again this morning. And we had a little talk about the 'favor' he was doing me. He apologized, and I think you can count on him today, just to prove he was sincere."

Sam had mixed feelings about that. "I don't want him to come out of obligation, if he doesn't want to be here—"

Keiko interrupted her with a sigh. "He wants to be here. He likes hanging out with you, and he wants to meet your friends. He totally admitted it when I confronted him. He thought he was helping me out and saw it as a noble sacrifice on his part. Trust me, you'll probably have trouble getting rid of him now."

"I doubt that. School starts Monday, and we're both going to be busy. Plus he's moving back on campus right?"

"Yeah, and waiting until the last minute as usual. Don't be surprised if we get recruited to help him move in tomorrow. Still, he managed to find plenty of time to drop by last year. With you here I have a feeling he'll get homesick even more often."

Sam smiled. "We'll see about that."

***

It was nearly one o'clock as Sam made her way downstairs. The time had passed quickly. She'd offered to help Keiko get ready for lunch, but the pretty brunette had insisted there wasn't much to do and had talked her into going upstairs for her "rain check" instead. The orgasm helped her relax even more than the swim had. Later, she'd showered and now she was getting dressed. Beth had said she'd be fine if everyone greeted her naked, but Sam remembered appreciating a chance to acclimatize. She'd asked Angela about it the night before and she'd agreed. So, she borrowed another of Keiko's dresses, deep green fabric with a plunging neckline and a short hem. She'd have to go shopping soon and get some of her own, as it was a style she was growing fond of. She'd debated about underwear, but finally decided that Beth could handle the no-bra look, and that it would be a good way to start out, without being too shocking.