Strum

"Hot hobos, sounds like a great porn movie."

"You're hilarious," I said, trying to sound sarcastic, but Tanya made me laugh.

"So...did you kiss the girl?"

I shook my head, pursed my lips and tried not to laugh. "We were going to kiss, I'm ninety-nine percent sure of it, but our roommate drank too much at the club and she woke and spewed everywhere. It was such a fucking mess, it really was everywhere!"

"Oh my God," Tanya said, laughing and squirming at the same time. "What amazing timing. So you and your bunk mate were snatch blocked and never even kissed?"

"No, and get this, she became all mean and started yelling at our roommate for being drunk and sick, even though the poor girl literally couldn't stand, and she wouldn't help either of us, but kept berating her instead."

"She sound's awful!"

"She was," I laughed. "She was awful and French and very hot."

"Ohhh," Tanya said, laughing, "You crack me up, Kim. You are a fucking hilarious bitch."

"Fuck you bitch," I said, gently kicking her leg.

"You wish," she laughed. I laughed too, what else could I do? Tanya looked to the clock mounted on the wall. "Still an hour-and-a-half till I have to go to work. Do you want to keep practicing?"

"Hmmm, maybe."

Again she changed position and turned to stare out the window for a moment, my eyes following hers to see suburbs out there in the world, so much housing, and the grey sky returning to reclaim its territory over the disappearing blue. She turned to me, catching my eye, and she said, "Kim, the mean bitch back at your hostel didn't deserve to get the opportunity to kiss you."

"Thanks," I said, looking down.

"And I'd like to help you fulfil one of the items on your pact."

"Huh?" My heart started racing.

"No need to blush, Kim," she said, smiling. "I feel we've connected over the past two days, and I'll be honest, I'm going to miss you when you go. I was so frantic when I couldn't find my phone and thought perhaps I'd never get to see you again. And so it would be more than a pleasure to share a kiss with you, at least, if you want to."

"I'm going to miss you too," I said without hesitation. "I want to stay in touch."

"So do I. And I want to kiss you, to share another great memory, in case we do never meet again."

I swallowed. "Shall we shed our skin and let's get started?"

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You're crazy." She smiled as she leant forward, eyes on mine, and I smiled too.

"You're crazy," I whispered, leaning to meet her, her cheese toastie breath mingling with mine right as our lips softly mashed together.

Our kiss was more than I hoped for. Her lips were full, so wonderfully delicious and seemingly softer than those of all the boys I'd kissed, and we pulled back ever so slightly, and I smiled, and I'm sure she was smiling when our lips met again, mouths open, tongues squishing together. I couldn't believe this was happening and wanted to savour such a wonderful moment. If this kiss was all we shared I'd be happy with the memory.

Turns out we were going to share more than a lovely kiss, my mind reeling when my hand brushed Tanya's, and perhaps she sensed my hesitation because she took my hand in hers, fingers interlocking, and she squeezed so I squeezed a reply. My heart still beat hard, but was calmer now, no longer fuelled by nervous energy, but rather by sensual kisses and caresses too. Her free hand was on my leg, softly squeezing my thigh through my jeans, and I felt tingles, a twitching throb in my pussy, and I was growing wet there too.

We stopped, maybe for a moment, a second or two, my eyes refocusing on hers, her lips slightly open, and we kissed again with increasing desperation. I felt her hand on my body, over my breasts, goose bumps on my arms, my hand caressing her cheek, up into her hair, pulling the bun free, roaming her curls.

Another long series of kisses, another momentary pause, her chest against mine now, rising and falling against me. Again our lips met, and didn't think much else but how I wanted to keep kissing Tanya forever.

It wasn't forever, but we kissed for as long as it took for Jagger to sing about waiting for a friend. My undies were soaking with my lust, every part of me wanting more of Tanya, yet she still surprised me when she fondled with my belt, trying to unbuckle me, succeeding, unbuttoning, her hand slipping down my mound, and I consented with a long deep kiss, our tongues pressing tightly. I knew where this was going and I accepted our fate, conscious of my beating heart.

Electricity shot through me when her finger found my throbbing clit, and I moaned into her mouth, and she pulled back and spoke for the first time since our mouths first met, her eyes on mine. "All right?"

"Yes," I nodded, my hand caressing her cheek.

"You're so wet."

"I'm wet for you...."

Her smile was beautiful and her finger gentle, exploring my sensitive folds, and she whispered. "I'm wet for you, too."

"You're so beautiful," I whispered, my hand fingering the hem of her top. She answered with a smile and maintained eye contact as she slipped two fingers inside me.

"Ohh," I gasped, not expecting to be penetrated, but not refusing the experience, Tanya thumbing my pleasure button at the same time, powerful sensations jolting through me.

"You like?"

Nodding, I whispered, "Very much so."

It became clear Tanya knew what she was doing as our lips resumed exploring each other, tongues joining, Tanya finger fucking me, my hands against her warm skin under her layers, unhooking her bra there, and she stopped fucking me to help remove her top layers, and remove my top too, her ample breasts pressing warmly against my comparatively smaller tits, and soon we were fully naked, my heart racing, her breathing hard.

We paused, looked into each other's eyes, and she reached out, her finger wet with my lust juice, caressing my jaw. The look she gave me was one of fascination, as if she were examining me, and a million thoughts rushed through my mind, of how amazing she looked, her amazing hair and beautiful skin, her eyes which I knew led directly to her brain, the windows to her soul.

My heart beat like crazy and my hand found her waist, drawing us together, and I leant in, and we were kissing again and again, and Tanya paused and withdrew her lips, her eyes on mine again, and she whispered, "I want you so badly."

We clung to one another, her lips on my neck, and down my chest to my breasts, and oh, when she tongued my nipples the sensation gave me goose bumps and feelings of heaven.

"Oh, wow," I gasped when she gently wrapped her mouth around my left nipple, areola and surrounding skin, sucking my tit, and I couldn't wait, wanting more of her, opening my legs to pull her on to me, urgently, and she was with me, mashing her pussy against mine, pressing hard, our wetness combining, our skin together, my arms wrapping her up, fingers through her wild hair which was everywhere, and I lost myself with her, her lips on my neck again and mouth, our kisses frantic and passionate.

She was amazing, where I swear Tanya knew exactly how to grind herself against me, her arms cradling around my face, both of us smiling. Was this actually happening? Of course, I could feel her moving against me, the grind of our lady bits, the weight of her, our sex-scent permeating the room, our sweaty bodies creating heat despite the coolness in the air, and I looked into her eyes and they sparkled, and I tasted her mouth because we were kissing again, her hand eventually slipping between us, feeling me, her fingers inside me again, touching me in the most amazing manner, our bodies finding the perfect rhythm, sensations growing inside, my pleasure spreading, and I knew I couldn't stop the overwhelming sensational building and pulsating, my moans uncontrollable, my nerves exploding with convulsing delight...

My mind must have wandered while riding the orgasmic waves which were throbbing through me, and when she took her mouth from mine I let out a groan, our eyes focusing on each other as I still throbbed around her fingers. Tanya's fingering slowed and my awareness of all other things returned, and I suspect she sensed my sensitive clit because she took her fingers from me, and I let her kiss me, ever so gently this time.

"How was your dream," Tanya said, smiling, and I was conscious of her body against mine, my fingers gently pressing into her back.

"Wonderful. I don't want to wake."

"I'll tell you a secret."

"Okay."

"I've never slept with a woman before."

"Could have fooled me. You have some rare skills."

"It takes a woman to know a woman."

"You certainly were amazing."

She sang, "I fucked a girl and I liked it."

I giggled. "I kind of let you fuck me, and I'm sorry you didn't come."

Tanya smiled. "Well, you have about half an hour to work on rectifying this because I have a shift to get to and you need to come along with me, remember."

"Can't we go to bed instead, and spend the rest of time there?"

With a smile she climbed off and I immediately missed the feel of her skin, reaching out to touch her thigh, but she took my hand instead and pulled me to my feet and led me to her room where we lay on her bed, kissing gently and caressing and rubbing one another. I kissed her neck, tasting her sweaty skin, gentle kisses down her chest, over her breasts, these beautifully fascinating round tits of Tanya's, so much more than a handful, and her dark nipples were hard and inviting me to suck them, which I did, wondering if I was making her feel good. Maybe she read my mind because she moaned and writhed and whispered, "I think you know exactly what you're doing..."

I didn't stop with her breasts, giving both nipples a good sucking and wished I could suck her some more except there was way more of her to explore, and I was on a mission and racing against the clock, my kissing continuing on a downward spiral, my lips and tongue taking a tour round her belly, my hands on her thighs, caressing back and forth, her skin so lovely and smooth and warm under my fingertips.

"I want to pleasure you," I whispered, kissing her spiky mound where little black hairs were sprouting from a recent shave.

"You're making an amazing effort so far," she breathed back, half moaning when my tongue contacted her clit. I kissed her there, tasting her tang, and she writhed some more, bringing her legs up, my face lodged between her thighs, her wetness on my tongue as I tongued her clit, giving Tanya all the pleasure I could.

My imagination made up for my lack of experience in going down on another woman, where friends told me what they like and didn't like from their experiences. David never went down on me so I didn't know from personal experience, even though I went down on him, but an older friend once said she loves when her partner flattened his tongue over her clit and moves it about, so this is what I did to Tanya, keeping the pressure on her pleasure parts, her thighs tightening against my face and her moaning increasing significantly.

Her hand was in my hair, though she didn't push me down like David did, resting it against me at first, but gripping my hair with increasing force while she panted and called my name, and she was twitching against me, and she was so very wet, her juices flowing in my mouth and on my chin, and I knew she was pleasured, which made me feel ecstatic for what I was doing to her.

Afterwards we lay together, kissing, cuddling, pulling the blankets over our cooling bodies. Her eyes rarely leaving mine and I played with a coil of her beautiful hair. "Don't you have to get ready for work?"

"I suppose so," she said, her dreamy eyes closing. "Are you hoping to get rid of me?"

"No."

She was silent for a while and we kissed and cuddled some more. However, time kept moving along and Tanya rose to take a shower, dragging me with her where we kissed some more under the warm water flowing pouring over our skin, and she finger fucked me, pushing me against the tiles, my fingers pleasuring her too. Afterwards, she said, "You're still going away on your coach tour tomorrow..."

"I am but know I'll stay in touch with you."

"I'll try and reply," she replied, smiling. "But first I need to find my phone."

"You better find it."

~0~

"Hey, found your phone," I said, taking it from the back seat of Wes' car after placing his keyboard there.

"Oh, wonderful, it must've fell from my pocket last night!"

"No shit, Sherlock," I said. "Now you have no excuse to ignore me."

"I don't need an excuse," she replied with a grin while placing her guitar in the backseat with the keyboard. She read my face and said, "What? I don't need an excuse because I'm not going to ignore you! You're my favourite girlfriend."

"I'm not your girlfriend," I said with a cheeky smile and handing her the phone. "I'm your lover."

Tanya grinned and took her phone and immediately began checking the messages she'd missed. "Shit, this Kim girl keeps sending me messages, I guess I should respond to her after I charge this thing at work."

"If you gave her a call, you might get lucky."

"I doubt it, she's leaving me for a bus tour. I may never see her again."

"Awwww, sad face. You'll have to travel the world to find her."

"Maybe I will. Maybe she'll have to find me. But right now we have to get going."

I watched her, me trying to be cool about everything, thinking the whole time, You and I kissed and made love and now we're hanging out and acting cool about it, but all I can think of is how you and I kissed and made love! And how much I want to do it with you again, and how I wish I could spend more time with you...

She drove and I sat in the passenger seat watching the blocks of flats and narrow multi-story terrace houses like out of Paddington Bear, and even a few modern looking dwellings passing by. I tried to think about things not involving making love with Tanya, my mind instead considering if there were people making love inside those houses, women and men, women and women, men and men, multiple women with multiple men, all fucking together. Surely all sorts of things were happening behind those doors, like Tanya and I recently happened together behind the door of her flat.

"Are you alright?"

Tanya's voice brought my mind back into the car. "I'm fine, how about you?"

She gave a slight chuckle. "I'm great, never better, but you're awfully quiet. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say it's one of two things."

"I bet you'd guess wrong."

"Hmmm, you're either nervous about playing to an audience at the pub or you're thinking about us sleeping together."

"I'm not nervous but I was thinking about sex, but not completely about us, sorry."

"What? Your mind's wandering already to your next conquest?"

I laughed. "No, I wouldn't dare dream of my next conquest when I can still taste you on my tongue!"

"I expect your next conquest will be on the tip of your marvellous tongue, too." She grinned, though her eyes stayed upon the road. "But if not a lover, what were you thinking of?"

"I was thinking of everyone. Like, all the people fucking each other every day, behind these doors and windows. People like us."

Tanya laughed. "I knew you had sex on the brain, I think I've unleashed a monster."

We arrived at the pub, parking out back and lugging the instruments through to a back room. Kevin helped and said, "You'll be on at six. You can practice back here if you like, but keep it down."

"Thanks," I said, playing with the keyboard's settings.

Tanya left and Kevin sat opposite me. "Everything okay? You're not nervous, are you?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so. I've played to a few audiences before and I think I'll be fine. I'm not a great singer because my voice is too soft, but I can hold my own, I suppose."

"I know you'll be fine," he replied, then stood, paused as if to say something else, but he didn't, leaving me to my devices.

Was I nervous? A bit. Like I said, I'd played to live audiences before, busking in the street, school band type stuff, piano recitals when I was little, and I've played music almost every single day since before I can remember. But what would this be like? I was in a pub on the other side of the world, where the average age would be fortyish, maybe a bit more or a bit less, so I'd mostly populated my list of songs from around my parent's era, the 1990s and 2000s. There were a few ring-ins from earlier times too, and this was a Brit audience and despite the many similarities between our cultures, I didn't know if they'd be different from Australians I knew. Oh, well, there was nothing I could do about it because there was no backing out now.

Kevin dropped in and asked me if I needed anything like a drink, and he also asked, "What was the song you were playing?"

"Pachelbel's Canon, but don't worry, I'm not playing classical music for them."

"Oh, I wasn't worried," he replied. "It was beautiful. I didn't realise it was classical, I thought it was from some pop song."

"Did you?"

"Absolutely," he said with a smile. "I'll get you something non-alcoholic like you asked."

I'd thought about having a few drinks to help with the courage, but decided I'd perform better sober. Time moved on and Tanya dropped in with a long glass with a greenish-yellow liquid and ice, and she whispered, "It's filling up out there and if I didn't have to get back to the bar I'd lock the door and fuck you right now on the table top there."

I was speechless, pretending to act cool with a shrug. "Okay, I'd totally let you fuck me if there was time."

"You would," she laughed and left. I kept revising my song list until I was tired of looking at it. At five o'clock Kevin and I relocated the guitar and keyboard to the stage, where I noted the room was maybe a third full. Conversations were loud and most patrons were attired in smart work clothes, where more than half wore suits or formal blazers and dresses, where Kevin said they were early birds who'd left work to have a pint with colleagues before going home to their families.

"Don't worry," Kevin said as we set the keyboard on its stand. "Most of these folk will clear out in the next two hours."

Of course they'd be replaced by others, and as if on cue the door opened and a group of men and women dressed for a big night out entered with big smiles on their faces and I imagine their banter was jovial. My heart was beating a little harder as I plugged everything in, guitar jacks to amp, keyboard and mic to the PA system, and when I looked around I wondered what I'd gotten myself into. And there were still more suits coming in the door!

Across the room behind the bar was Tanya. She was pouring a couple of pints for a man and she looked up and caught my eye and she smiled. The smile I gave in return was a tad weak, but I thought about Tanya and how we shared our naked bodies with one another in one of the most naturally human acts there is, and I wondered for the umpteenth time if, after tonight, if I would ever see her again?

"It's okay to be nervous," Kevin said, completely misreading the look on my face, but being correct all the same.

I gave him a smile, which was probably a nervous smile, but included a thumbs up too, and he patted my shoulder. This gesture somehow managed to calm me, and I spent the next hour hanging out in the back room, scrolling through my phone.

Kitchen staff began making meals, banging pots and pans and producing yummy smells, and several bar staff beside Kevin and Tanya started taking meals to patrons. It was all a blur and Tanya never stopped working but she gave me a smile each time I saw her go by.

I started to think perhaps she was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen and wondered if I could share this revelation with her by using telepathy. Maybe she received my message because she stopped in the doorway, looked to her left then right, and lifted her top, jiggling her boobs about. They were contained in her bra, but it was fucking awesome of her! We laughed so hard, but she had to go, fetching plates of steaming food from the kitchen to feed the masses out there.