Celebration

When I qualified as a teacher in 2011 I applied for several jobs, finally being accepted at a school in London. That meant moving to the big city as my family home is too far away to commute. The distance from home didn't bother me. At the time, my sexuality was something I kept to myself (I've since learned that my parents had suspicions, but were respecting my privacy) and the chance to live in London, where I could anonymously go about my life and maybe even find love was irresistible. I was worried about moving to London and trying to find a place to live, though - I knew rent in the city would be expensive, and I didn't want to end up somewhere isolated. Trust me, even in a city of 6 million people, you can be somewhere that nothing's happening. Living in the suburbs didn't appeal - I wanted to be somewhere fairly close to the centre, especially as it would mean a short trip to work each day. Luckily, my aunt came through for me - her step-daughter had been living in London for a couple of years, and knew the area I was looking in well. Jane (not her real name) and I had been fairly good friends as teenagers after her father married into our family when she was 14 and I was 13. Although we'd drifted apart when we went off to university, we still got on well when we did speak, and she was prepared to let me crash at her place while I looked for a flat of my own. A few days later, then, I met up with Jane and we were soon chatting away about old times and new, getting caught up on everything. We realised that we'd not seen each other in almost three years, which gave us a lot to talk about. We spent a few days 'doing' London as Jane taught me about the best places to go for meals, drinks, clubbing and so on both in the West End, and where I wanted to live. We looked at a few places, but mainly they were single rooms as part of house shares. Having lived in that sort of arrangement during my first stint in university, I knew that it could end badly - and there were an awful lot of men in the places we looked at. No offence, guys, but I don't want to have any concerns about losing my towel in front of someone who might get the wrong idea! We were nearing the end of the week that Jane had set aside for helping me, and it seemed that I was going to have to either compromise on sharing a house, or on how much I was willing to pay. Checking the rental website I looked for someplace that would stretch my budget, and wondered whether I would go without food or books if I had to choose. As I searched, Jane came and stood behind me, offering comments on a few places that I marked as possibilities. Resting her hands on my shoulders, she began to massage them and I nearly crumpled on the chair as just a few seconds of work saw the tension in my muscles dissolve. "You're good at that," I managed. "I hope so. I paid enough for the course I went on." "You're not a masseur, are you?" "No," she replied. "My ex suggested it - he got very knotted shoulders, being a gym instructor." "Well, it was worth whatever you paid." "He certainly thought so. It wasn't just for stress relief. Well..." she cackled, and I smiled. For a moment, a thought of her entwined in bed with her ex flashed across my mind. It didn't linger, but did spark a little jolt between my legs as her hands slipped lower, brushing across the skin below my collarbone. "Are you okay?" She pulled her hands away. "Yeah, fine," I replied quickly. I forced myself to focus on the screen. "This one looks good," I said, pointing at a photo. She leaned over my shoulder to look and I bit my lip as I felt her breasts settle on my shoulder. I'd noticed in passing that Jane was more well-endowed than I - a D to my B, I'd guessed - but hadn't thought anything more of it. She was my friend - we'd known each other for 10 years, and while I remembered fleetingly finding her attractive when we first met, that was just after I'd realised I was into girls. At that time, I was looking at every single girl that way. "It does look good. Do you want to go and see it?" she asked, standing back upright. I nodded. "Yeah, it's exactly what I'm after, and it's not too far outside my budget. If I'm careful with my spending. I'll get a pay rise after a year at school, so it should be fine." I rang the estate agent and booked a viewing for that evening. The place was a two room flat built at the end of the landlords' garden. Originally lived in by their son, they were renting it now that he'd moved out. It was perfect for me - private enough, but with the landlords close by in case of problems. I signed the lease then and there, and the pair of us looked around my new place. It didn't take long, but it was mine, all mine! Jane gave me a hug. "You look so excited!" "I am!" I meant I was excited about my new home, but at the same time... I looked at Jane in profile as she looked around my living room. Yes, she was definitely blessed with big breasts. Yes, I couldn't help staring. Yes, I'd been too long without having sex, or any kind of physical intimacy, in fact. Yes, it was probably best that I get out of her flat as soon as possible! "Well, you'll be rid of me soon. Once I get some furniture in here, I'll be ready to throw a housewarming party." She smiled. "It's not been so bad having you around." We locked up and went back to her place, about 30 minutes' walk from my new place. "I think you'll welcome your privacy, though. I must be cramping your style. You've not had any guys over since I've been here." She laughed. "That's not just because of you. I've not had anyone over since I broke up with my ex." "Really?" She shrugged. "But you'll be glad to have your own place to get some guys over." I almost missed a step. "What?" "Well, you'll have your own place. It's a bit small, but big enough for a double bed." "Well..." I stole a glance at her as we walked. Did she really... Had I never... "Jane... I'm not into guys." She stopped at the gate to her place and stared at me. "Really?" I nodded. "So you're..." "A lesbian, yeah." "Oh. I didn't realise. Well, you can get some girls over then." She smiled, and lead the way back into her place. I followed, shaking my head. One of my oldest friends, and it had never come up between us. * Jane suggested that we head out on the town to celebrate, and I was happy to accept. I was so pleased to have a place of my own that I was bright and bubbly before we started drinking. After a few drinks, I was probably close to unbearable, but to her credit Jane humoured me. As we chatted, Jane asked questions about when I'd first realised I liked girls (I was 12), when I'd first kissed a girl (15), when I'd first had sex (18), how many lovers I'd had (ask and I might tell you) and how long it had been since I'd last been with someone (4 months - I'd been studying too hard for anything else). She asked whether I'd ever done anything with a guy, and I admitted I'd kissed a couple, but had never felt anything like I did when I was with the right girl. We hit the dance floor and attracted a fair amount of attention. Jane, as I've mentioned, was blessed with certain charms, quite apart from being very good looking. I... well, I'm not the best person to judge, but I generally haven't wanted for attention. One old girlfriend said that I just 'seemed fun' when she met me, which made me more attractive than my looks alone. Maybe, who knows? Whatever it was that was attracting attention, Jane seemed to want none of it. Politely (or otherwise) fending off the attention of her admirers, she seemed happy enough to just dance with me. Meanwhile, I wasn't getting the same level of attention as Jane, but even so I defected the guys with the ease of years of practise. Not for the first time, I wondered about getting a tattoo proclaiming my sexuality... but where I'd put it I have no idea. Jane did point out a couple of girls who seemed to be in the same situation as us, one straight girl and one who was clearly enjoying the attention of the guys a lot less than us. Jane suggested that we go and talk, and I knew she was hinting I could get off with the other girl. Another night, perhaps, but I was okay having fun with Jane... and besides, it wasn't like I could take her back to Jane's for the night. Her sofa was okay to sleep on, but anything more would definitely be pushing it. Not to mention I didn't think that Jane would be pleased about me bringing some random girl back to her place! We eventually made our way home, bumping into each other as we were a little unsteady on our feet having drunk a fair bit. Each collision sent a little frisson through me, and at one set of traffic lights Jane leaned against me and snuggled under my arm, grabbing my hand and holding it against her chest to keep her upright. "How much did you have?" "Enough," she said, with a grin as she looked up at me. I wanted, then, to kiss her - but I held back. She'd had at least as much as me, and I knew I was likely to make bad decisions when I'd had this much to drink. The photos taken by an ex, for a start... Back home Jane suggested one last drink before we went to bed. We settled down with our drinks and chatted about the night out. "You should have got off with that girl," Jane told me. "Well, I wasn't going to leave you on your own... Or did you want to be free to go off and find some bloke to snog?" She laughed. "No, but didn't you want to celebrate properly?" "It would have been weird. You've only just found out I'm into girls." "Why would that be weird?" "It just would," I said. "What if you snogged me to celebrate?" "What?" I stared at her, shocked. The thought of kissing her - and more - had been on my mind all day, but I'd never imagined... "Have you never thought about it? I'm offended!" She laughed, and took another swig of her drink. Grasping for something to say, I did likewise. "You... You don't like girls." "I've never tried, and frankly, it's been a long time since-" I kissed her. It was a spur of the moment decision, no doubt fuelled by drink and the mounting horniness I'd been feeling all day, but it was clear from the first that it wasn't a bad decision - not at all. Jane didn't even hesitate, melting into my arms as we kissed, one hand entwining itself in my hair, the other clutching at my back, holding me against her. My hands roamed over her bare back, fingers brushing at the knot holding her top around her neck. Without breaking our kiss, she reached up and undid the knot, letting the top fall away. I pulled back, the top dropping down between us. My eyes rested on her breasts, full and heavy-looking, topped with pointed pink nipples. "Hey," she said. I looked up into twinkling eyes. "Let's just do this, yeah?" "You're sure?" "I'm sure I want to try this. Believe me, it's been a long time for me, and I've always wondered about being with another woman. I can't think of anyone better than you." I must have looked awfully stupid, grinning like a maniac as she pulled at my top, lifting it over my head and trailing her fingers over my bra. "Let me see you..." I reached behind me, fumbling for a few seconds before managing to unhook it. As it fell away she reached out and ran her hands over my breasts, fingers teasingly playing over my nipples as I gasped and shivered. "Hmm," she said, before leaning forward and kissing my breasts. I fell back on the sofa, pulling her with me, my hands running over whatever bare skin I could reach. After several long, intensely pleasurable minutes, I managed to break free, pushing her away and drinking in the sight of her topless once more. "Something wrong?" "I just... I want to touch you." "Well, don't let me stop you." I pushed her back on the sofa, running my hands over her body, revelling in the feel of her breasts. Leaning forward, I pressed my own breasts against hers as I kissed her. My hands roamed over her bare skin, caressing her legs, sliding over her back, into her hair, teasing, gripping, groping... At some point we ended up in her bed, almost naked. Clad only in the briefest of knickers, we sighed and groaned and moaned as we explored one another. I kept returning to her breasts, fascinated by their size - so much larger than mine. Her hands kept running up and down my legs, her thigh pressed between them, hard against me. We pressed together, and I could feel her, hot against me as I was surely hot against her. We kissed for hours, never quite passing on to the next level although our fingers sometimes brushed between our legs... but never lingering, never quite pressing down. We eventually passed into sleep, entwined with one another, not waking until late the next day. I was the first to awake, and lay there, just admiring her bare body. I wanted to reach out and touch her again, but at the same time I knew that it might be seen as an intrusion, an unwanted continuation of the previous night's 'experiment', or whatever it had been for her. At last she stirred, turning over and opening her eyes to find me staring unabashed at her. "Good morning," I said, trying not to blush. She smiled. "Good morning," she said, reaching up and pulling me down to kiss me lightly, then harder, more hungrily, and soon... * This is a story of 'almost'. Jane and I never had sex. We had a wonderful few days together, doing almost everything but that. Yes, we saw each other naked. Yes, we explored. But, for some reason, it never happened. Once I moved out, we went back to being friends - indeed, she's one of my best friends now, in part because we still live close to one another. Soon after I moved out she met a new guy, and a few months later I met someone as well. Jane and her man (let's call him Rob) are engaged now, and I was delighted to be asked to be her maid of honour when they get married later this year. I'd thought for a long time that our time together was a one-off, never to be mentioned again. I was happy with that - I never had any illusions that Jane and I were meant to be together, and I've not exactly been a shy spinster in my personal life. Imagine my surprise, then, when I got an e-mail from Jane the other day, which ended: "After the hen night, come back to mine. I want to take some photos for Rob - sort of a wedding present for him. I'll send them to him the night before so he knows what's waiting for him. Think you can help? "Oh, I told Rob about having a fling with another woman, and he loved the idea. Maybe some of the photos..." She left it there, but my mind is racing. Would I, could I, ought I... Well, I already know the answer to that. Yes, all around. Her hen night is next month, and I've all kinds of plans, but come what may I know we'll end up back at her place. And then, I suspect, it won't be a story of 'almost'...