Building the Family

by Amy DeMeritt

  Sam: I love making you moan. Have you been with my replacement yet? Have you danced with her?

  Me: Not yet – to either.

  Sam: Good.

  They call Shane’s number and a second later they call mine. Shane takes both trays and starts walking to an empty table. I follow, and as I sit down, she glances at my phone in my hand with irritation.

  “I’m telling her I have to go.”

  Me: Hey, sorry, food’s ready so I have to go now. Damn, if you could see the look I’m receiving right now for texting. I’ll talk to you later, baby.

  Me: Shit, sorry.

  Sam: For what? Calling me baby? I never want you to stop calling me that. I wish I could smack that weird bitch across the face for taking you away from me right now. I’ll text you later.

  Me: You wish you could smack every girl that talks to me. Talk to you soon.

  I put my phone away and Shane’s attitude immediately changes back to her happy self again. Damn, she really is weird about the phone.

  Chapter Eight

  “Hey, V-tag. What’s up?” I look up from my psychology book just as Josh is plopping down in front of me. He has a cheesy grin on his face and is looking scruffier than ever. “V-tag?”

  “Yeah, you know…” he makes a ‘V’ around his lips with his first two fingers with a smile and thankfully spares me the rapid snake tongue that typically pairs with the gesture. “Got it. What’s with the facial hair? Trying to look like a caveman?”

  “I’m trying to grow in a thigh tickler. I hear the straight girls love it. So, where have you been? I haven’t seen you in over a week.”

  “Been busy.” I try not to, but my face just won’t obey me and it splits into a huge smile. He laughs and pulls his knees up, wrapping his arms around them. “Who is she?”

  “Hey.”

  We look up and Madison is standing just to the side with her bookbag slung over one shoulder and looks uncertain if she should join. Josh smiles like a goober and opens his arms to the grass around him.

  “Hey, it’s the damsel! Join us.” Madison looks at him in an odd way and hesitates to sit. He smiles and explains, “You’re the one that Kayla blocked the puck for, right?” Her face transforms with recognition and she laughs a little as she sits down next to me. “Yeah, that’s me.”

  She sits down right next to me against “our tree” with our arms touching and her legs outstretched next to mine.

  Josh grins as he looks between us.

  “Is this her?” Madison looks at me with a curious grin, making me blush. “Am I what?”

  “He wants to know if you’re the reason I’ve been so busy and he hasn’t seen me in over a week. By the way, this is Josh, a friend from high school. Josh, this is Madison.”

  “Well, in that case, yes.” Josh laughs and shakes his head in disbelief. “How you manage to snatch up the hottest girls all the time, I don’t get it.” I cross my arms over my chest and pretend to be offended. He laughs and holds up his hands. “Hold up. That’s not what I meant. Look, you’re hot and all, but you’re gay, so I can’t look at you like that. But, Sam wasn’t fucking gay and she was the hottest girl in school.” He looks at Madison, and asks, “Were you gay first, or did she turn you?”

  “Oh, my god. Really, Josh?”

  It’s only been a week since Madison and I started calling each other “girlfriend” and we haven’t really discussed Sam yet. She knows I have an ex that I had sex with, but we haven’t discussed it any further. I don’t want Madison to feel weird or uncomfortable.

  “You know I have no filter or couth or whatever you want to call it. I’m curious about something, I say it.”

  “Yes, I was already gay when we met.”

  “Well, that makes me a little more hopeful. Jeez, I thought Kayla had some kind of magical power or something and was going to convert all of the pretty girls to the dark side.”

  “The dark side?”

  “Yeah, haven’t you seen the flyers up everywhere? Some Jesus freaks club in orange tee shirts has been posting them up everywhere. The shit people write over them is great. Someone drew a cartoon of Jesus and Moses doing it next to a burning bush. Here, look.” He pulls his phone out and shows us a picture of the flyer with the cartoon. “Wow, that’s disgusting. Not the cartoon – that’s funny. But the flyer is bullshit. I can’t believe they’re allowed to post those. I thought anything that promoted hate wasn’t allowed to be posted around the campus?”

  “Professors and students have been tearing them down. There’s a guy on my team that has a gay older brother, and when he saw the guy taping it up on the wall outside our locker room, he punched him in the jaw.”

  “I haven’t seen any of this.” I look at Madison and she shakes her head. “I haven’t either.”

  “Probably because you two have been stuck up each other’s…”

  “Don’t even finish that sentence.”

  I cut him off because I am pretty sure he was going to say “cooters” or “pussies” because that’s just how he talks sometimes. Madison giggles a little bit, but is blushing so brightly red that its adorable.

  “Ok, too soon for pussy jokes, got it. Anyway, what are you two doing tomorrow night? My house is throwing a big party. You both should come.”

  “A house full of sweaty hairy hockey players? Not sure how appealing that sounds. What do you think, Madison?” Madison laughs and shrugs a shoulder. She looks very relieved for the change of subject. “I think its required in the college student handbook to attend at least one really bad party a year.”

  “That’s right. I’m offering you a guaranteed fulfilment to your contract as a college student – a night full of memorable disappointments. And if you dance like you did in high school, the night will be even better.”

  “You can dance?”

  “Yeah, she can dance. I still can’t get prom night out of my head when you and Sam tore it up.” I try to give him a meaningful, “shut up”, look, but he just laughs. “So, its settled. The party starts at eight; see you both tomorrow night.”

  After he’s a good distance away, Madison nudges my arm gently to get my attention. I look over at her and she scans my face as if she’s trying to read me.

  “We don’t have to go.”

  “No, we’ll go. It will probably be a good way to unwind after my psychology test tomorrow.” Madison lifts the book off my lap and smiles. “Need help studying?”

  “Sure. Wait, why aren’t you in this class if you’re majoring in psychology?”

  “Well, this course is more of just basics that’s required for any major. The ones required for me are bit more…” She pauses as if she doesn’t want to insult me or something, which makes me smile and laugh a little. “A little more in depth?” She smiles and nods. “You mind taking this indoors so we’re not interrupted again?”

  “Nope.”

  We decide to go back to my dorm since my roommate’s usually never there and Madison’s is less predictable and tends to be very moody. Thankfully, my roommate is true to her typical habits and she’s not home when we get to my dorm. Madison takes my book and sits Indian style facing the foot of my bed and instructs me to sit with my back against hers so I can’t try to peek at the book while she drills me questions. Before I sit down, I give her the test study guide and my notes so she knows what to ask me. Before she starts, she reaches behind herself and grabs my hips.

  “You need to press against me so I know you’re not peeking.”

  I laugh a little and scoot back some. With our backs completely pressed together, she starts asking me questions. Being pressed against her feels so good – my whole body is tingling. It’s very hard to concentrate and I find myself taking longer than I should to answer her questions.

  She gets to the last question and I’m at a complete loss for the answer. I just can’t remember it at all. My mind is too distracted with focusing on the tingling bursts that are exploding throughout my body and making me feel warm and numb.

>   “Do you want a hint?”

  “No. I know I know this.”

  She waits, but after a couple minutes, it just won’t come to me. In frustration, I plop backwards along the side of her. She looks down at me and smiles affectionately.

  “Still don’t want a hint?”

  I look up at her with a grumpy face and try to take the book from her. She laughs and pulls it back out of reach. While she holds it out of reach with one hand, she playfully smacks my stomach as if I’m a naughty child. She smiles and rubs her hand over my stomach, sending sparks of electricity all through my body.

  “Damn, you have abs. Can I see them?”

  “Sure.”

  After our first make out session a week ago, Madison has been a little more reserved and hasn’t tried to really explore my body much. I can tell when we kiss that she’s struggling with the desire to, but she wants to try to take things slow. We both agreed we want to date for a little bit before we go down that road. She’s worried if she touches me anywhere that she won’t be able to stop.

  She sets my book down and lifts my tee shirt with both hands till my entire stomach is showing.

  “Are you flexing?”

  I shake my head and flex my abs. She lets out a small sound that I’m not sure is a gasp of awe or a moan of pleasure. I’ve always been very proud of my stomach. I have enough definition that you can actually see a shadow between the raised and segmented muscles when I flex. Madison runs her hand down the muscles and traces her fingertips between the segments. I watch her face and recognize a look of arousal in her eyes. I feel heat rising up my chest and neck as she runs her hand over my stomach. I want so badly to pull her down into a kiss, but I don’t want to escalate things beyond what she’s comfortable with. She drags her fingertips down my abs more firmly and then palms up them, resting her hand on my stomach with her fingertips just reaching my bra.

  “These are so nice. They feel amazing. What do you do like a million crunches a day or something?” I put my arms behind my head to try to appear casual, but mainly to lock my arms under me so I can’t pull her down on top of me. “I have a routine I do four times a week.”

  “I’ve never been able to get mine to have much definition, no matter what I try.” She runs her fingers down them again and the heel of her palm slightly brushes just above my center as she presses down to palm up my stomach again. “Oh, my god. I can’t stop touching them. Do you mind that I’m totally groping you right now?”

  “You can touch me all you want.”

  She looks in my eyes with a huge smile and her cheeks blush slightly. While holding her hand on my stomach, she gathers my book and papers and leans over the side of the bed to drop them on the floor. She lays down on her side next to me and continues to trace her fingers around my stomach. I bite the inside of my cheek and try to control my breathing. I’m ticking between the legs and want so badly for her hands to travel the remainder of my body.

  “So, are you going to dance with me tomorrow night?”

  “Are you going to grope me if I do?”

  “Probably.”

  “Then yes.”

  Madison looks in my eyes and scans down to my lips a moment before looking back in my eyes.

  “What kind of dancing will we do?”

  Her hand palms firmly up my abs and my arousal is getting so strong that I slightly inhale and close my eyes a moment as a sharp spark lights me up between my legs. She runs her fingers down my stomach again and rests her hand on the waist of my shorts while her fingertips glide side to side over my stomach.

  I swallow hard and quietly say, “Whatever kind of music they play.” She moves a little closer to me and quietly asks, “Fast or slow?” Madison moves her hand out to my hip and applies a little pressure, pulling me closer to her. I turn over onto my side and our eyes lock. I whisper, “Both,” and she smiles as she moves in to kiss me.

  Just inches from our lips touching, the door to my dorm swings open and my roommate comes bursting in.

  “Oh, shit. Sorry. Hey, can you take that to her dorm? I just had a bad fight with Darren and I just need to sleep it off. I’m really sorry.”

  Madison and I look at each other a moment and slowly sit up. I feel a pang of disappointment between my legs as we slide off the bed.

  “Fine, we’ll go. But if you make up before I get back, you better not lock me out again. I have a test in the morning so I have to be able to sleep here tonight.”

  “Ok. I really am sorry.”

  She genuinely does look upset, but I’m just too frustrated to try to care about what petty fight she had with her boyfriend. Whitney and her boyfriend are high school sweethearts that didn’t want to do a long-distance relationship, so they applied to the same schools as each other. They’ve had at least four “bad fights” since we got here.

  Madison grabs my book and papers off the floor and hands them to me before grabbing her bookbag. She takes my hand and we leave Whitney to wallow and sleep.

  When we get outside, Madison stops along the short stone wall that lines the sidewalk. She wraps her arms around my neck and looks in my eyes smiling, but she also looks nervous.

  “Kayla, I really want to kiss you right now.”

  “What are you waiting for?” We actually haven’t kissed outside of our dorms yet. I think she’s been too scared. She smiles and bites her lip, moving in closer to me. “You wouldn’t mind if I kissed you right here on the sidewalk?”

  “You are really killing me here.” She giggles and presses her body against mine. She inhales and swallows hard at the contact. “I’m going to kiss you now.”

  Her eyes close and she presses her lips against mine. Our mouths part and our tongues slide against each other. My clit tugs hard between my legs and heat climbs up my chest and neck so fast that my face feels like the sun is baking it. Madison lets out a small moan and wraps her hand around the back of my neck, holding me close to her. After a couple minutes, she pulls back gasping for air. Her cheeks are red and her eyes are glossy. She licks her lips and swallows hard.

  “You are really good at that.”

  I smile in a proud way and she immediately pulls me back into another kiss. This time, I put a little more into it and gently tug her bottom lip with my teeth. Madison moans and grips my hair firmly. When I release her, she slowly opens her eyes and smiles.

  “I wonder if my roommate is home. I want to touch you in places that I don’t think would be appropriate right here on the sidewalk.”

  I smile and slowly trace the side of my forefinger under her jawbone and Madison’s eyes slowly close. With my knuckle under her bottom lip and with my thumb on the top, I gently tug her lip, pulling her into me. Madison moans and grabs my hip as our mouths press together and our tongues glide over each other. While we kiss, her hand creeps up my shirt and presses against my clenched stomach muscles.

  “Get a room!”

  I hear the loud remark as people shuffle passed us, but Madison doesn’t seem to care and doesn’t even flinch or hesitate. I hear them snicker as they walk away, but they don’t say anything more. After a couple minutes, Madison pulls back breathing hard.

  “Fuck, it feels good kissing you.” She swallows and tugs me closer to her. I can tell she’s very aroused and wants more. “I’ve never felt like this before. I want to…”

  She trails off, but her fingers slightly dip into the waist of my shorts and she tugs me in hard against her. She looks in my eyes and palms up my stomach. Her hand is still firmly holding me behind the neck. I’m completely locked in this moment. Nothing around us matters. If she was to cup me between the legs, right here on the sidewalk, I don’t think I could stop her to suggest a private place. Her fingertips just barely graze along the underside of my breasts, making me inhale and feel a fresh spark between my legs.

  I lean in and pull her back into another kiss. As our tongues move together, my book slips from my other hand and I wrap my arms around her. With each pass of our tongues and sucking of ea
ch other’s lips, the kiss becomes more urgent and hot. Madison slides her hands under my shirt around my back and digs into my back, holding me pressed as firmly to her as possible.

  I can’t believe how amazing it feels kissing Madison. I’ve kissed a few other girls, but this tops them all. Sam was a really good kisser and I loved making out with her, but kissing Madison is something different. It’s better.

  I hear a noise close by my ear, but I ignore it. A second later, the noise is repeated louder. It’s someone clearing their throat. I still don’t stop. This time, as they clear their throat again, the person taps my shoulder.

  “Excuse me?”

  It’s an annoyed sounding female voice. Madison and I stop kissing, but we don’t pull apart. We look at the intruder and she blushes beet red. It’s a girl that looks about our age, maybe a couple years older. She has blonde hair and a plain look. I almost laugh when I notice that her bright orange tee shirt reads, “I speak for Jesus.” She must be a part of that club that Josh was telling us about earlier.

  “Do you, now?”

  She looks at me confused and I nod my head down at her shirt. She looks at her shirt and then back up at me a deeper shade of red. She clears her throat and tries to hand me a pamphlet that no doubt tells me how evil and corrupt I am for what I’m doing.

  “You should read this.” I smile and slowly turn to face her, but keep one arm around Madison’s waist. “I’ll read that, if you kiss a girl.”

  Her jaw drops and she stutters to try to answer. Madison lets out a small giggle next to me. Before she can answer, another voice chimes in.

  “I’ll do it.” We look over and Shane is walking up with an amused smile on her face. “Hey, Kayla. So, does this baby need converting?” She eyes the girl up like she’s a delicious dessert and the girl lets out a small nervous sound. “I promise I won’t bite, unless you like that.” Shane licks her lips and takes a small step closer to the girl. “I, uh, that’s not how this works.”

  “How what works? You think you have all of the answers and that we’re just supposed to stand here and listen to them? You think we have to just fall in step with what you say without countering your arguments? Maybe you are wrong and we are right. Maybe you don’t have all of the information you need to make an informed decision on how you really feel.”