Jennifer's Crush

by Laura Anne Turner

  So I guess I had an answer to the next bullet point on my list. Sherinia didn’t love me, nor had I ever really loved her. She was a beautiful, spoilt, rich girl and she knew it. She had said so herself; she was princess, she was beautiful, she could be very nice, and she loved nobody else except herself. I looked at my phone and found that I had missed two calls from Sherinia. I didn’t want to call her back. Not now.

  For the first time in weeks my vampire dream returned. It had changed again. I was lying on my bed – it was a large, 4 post king-size bed in a bedroom I did not know. It looked like a bedroom in a medieval castle. I woke up to a faint sound at the high gothic window. Vampiress Sherinia stood on the windowsill. She was so beautiful it hurt. I rose in my bed to look at her. The next moment I realized that Emilia stood beside my bed. She was beautiful and powerful. Like in my previous dream she held a sword and a cross in her hands. Emilia and Sherinia were staring at each other for what seemed to be an eternity. A sad smile appeared on Sherinia’s face. She turned and disappeared out of the window. Emilia turned to face me. She looked at me for a long moment, then she smiled, put the sword and the cross on the floor, and bent down to kiss me. It was the sweetest kiss I had ever had.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE – EMILIA’S RETURN

  “I have a surprise for you,” I said to Emilia during our video chat. “We are becoming neighbors.”

  “We are what?

  “Neighbors. You know that I’ve been seeking for a flat, but the market for inexpensive rooms to let is empty in this city, because of the many students.”

  “That’s why I kept my apartment while I was away,” Emilia agreed.

  “I was becoming desperate, I mean, not that I don’t like to be in your apartment, it’s actually nice to be there.”

  A big smile appeared on Emilia’s face.

  “I ran into your neighbor the other day,” I continued. “I told her that I was looking for a flat of my own. And you know what – I can have her apartment. She’s moving in with her boyfriend and I will move in over there,” I pointed towards the wall that separated the two apartments. “I have already signed the contract.”

  “Oh Jenny, that’s awesome,” Emilia said clapping her hands together.

  It seemed that she was genuinely pleased and my heart melted.

  “I can’t wait to come home. Only one more week.”

  “I will pick you up at the airport. Let me know when you will arrive. I’ll come,” I said.

  It was end of July, weeks after the summer festival. I had met up with Sherinia one last time. I had insisted to meet her on neutral ground not in her fancy apartment. I was waiting for her at a small bistro table outside under the large white umbrella of a coffee bar on the market place of the city. The weather was warm and sunny and the bars and ice cream parlors were packed. Everybody seemed to enjoy the summer weather. I was wearing blue cutoffs and a white t-shirt. Of course Sherinia was late. The waitress had already served my Latte Macchiato when I saw her sashaying around the crowded tables. She looked beautiful like always, her brown hair flowing in the light summer wind. She wore a very short white skirt that showed her toned legs and a light-blue spaghetti-strap top that revealed her cleavage. I noticed how men and women alike turned around to look at her.

  I couldn’t help but smile. She was such a flirt. It was her nature. She was a beauty queen, a princess who liked to be worshipped.

  “Hi honey, good to see you,” she said with a broad grin and pushed her huge sun glasses to the top of her head. She sat down on the chair opposite of me and crossed her shapely legs. She waved to the waitress and ordered a Cappuccino.

  “How are you, honey?” Sherinia asked.

  “I’m fine, actually very well,” I answered.

  “Why didn’t you show up at my apartment that Saturday night after the gig? I thought we had a date.”

  “And I thought you were my girlfriend,” I replied in a calm voice.

  “Of course. So why?”

  “I saw you kiss another girl. Right after our gig.”

  “Really? Who was it, a blonde with chin-length hair?”

  “There was more than just the blonde?”

  “As you know there are a lot of pretty girls in town, not just you, honey.”

  “And you must kiss them all?” Even though I tried to stay calm I became mad at her now.

  “Honey, why would you stick to just one cow if you can have them all?” Sherinia said with a smile. “I’m into girls and I want them all, I mean the pretty ones only. I’m too young for a long-term relationship and I don’t know if I ever will be able to have one.”

  “So I was just another toy – or as you like to call it - cow for you?”

  “I wouldn’t call you a toy, honey. And I would never call you a cow. You are beautiful Jenny, and I like you very much. I really do. And didn’t we have a lot of fun together? I showed you things you would never have seen or experienced without me. You were so young and inexperienced, it was amazing for me.”

  “I learnt a lot from you,” I admitted.

  “See? But at one point you became trouble, darling. You needed to come out. You learnt it the hard way though, your mother kicked you out. I saw the circumstances you were living in and I didn’t like them. I didn’t want to be involved in all this. I need my independence. That’s why I didn’t offer you to move in with me.”

  “I see,” I said. “And you will understand that I could no longer be together with you, Sherinia. You are too superficial for me. I want somebody I can rely on, somebody who is there for me like I am there for her. I don’t want to kiss every pretty girl I see. I want somebody to love and to be loved back. I want the cuddling and the kissing and the sex. But I also need a reliable partner who brings out the best in me. That’s what I’m looking for.”

  Strangely enough Emilia’s face appeared in my thoughts.

  “Dream on, Jenny, I hope you will never wake up from a nightmare.”

  And that was all that needed to be said. I still saw Sherinia every Friday evening for the band rehearsals. But it was Martin who picked me up at my temporary home.

  +++

  I entered the train to the airport and my pulse quickened the closer the train came to the airport station. In my right hand I held a large colorful bouquet of flowers, in my left my cell phone. I left the train at the airport and took the escalator to the arrival level. I checked the billboard announcing the arriving flights and made my way to the exit where she was to be expected. Of course I was too early. So I walked up and down in the large arrival building.

  Why am I so nervous?

  I remembered how sad I had been when Emilia left and how sad I had become when I discovered her relationship with Jason. Slowly it dawned on me that I was in love with Emilia. Had been all the time. She was the one who really touched my heart. I had been attracted to Sherinia’s beauty and was fascinated by her free and independent life style. But deep down in my heart I had always known that Emilia was the one.

  I stared at the automatic door that opened and closed whenever passengers left the baggage claim area. After what seemed to be an eternity I saw a familiar head with red hair. When Emilia saw me waiting, her face lit up. She dropped her suitcase and duffle bag and ran into my spread arms. She wrapped her arms around me and kissed me, first on my cheeks and then a tentative kiss on my lips. It took me by surprise, but it gave me a pleasant shiver down my spine.

  “Oh my God, Jenny, I’m so happy to see you,” Emilia beamed. She held me at arm’s length and looked me over. “Beautiful as always,” she smiled.

  I blushed. “You have become even more beautiful, Em,” I said with a shaky voice. “These flowers here are for you.”

  “Thank you so much, Jenny,” Emilia said and kissed my cheeks again. “Let’s go.”

  I took her suitcase while she had her duffle bag and the flowers.

  +++

  “Buona sera, signorine,” the waiter at the Italian restaurant greeted Emilia and me with a big grin
on his face. I had reserved a table for the two of us in exactly the same Italian restaurant where we had been before Emilia’s farewell. The waiter showed us our table and handed us the menu as we sat down.

  “Please feel free to choose whatever you like, Emilia,” I said to her. “You’re invited. What about a glass of Prosecco first?”

  She agreed eagerly and I ordered the bubbly. She read the menu, but her eyes looked at me again and again. Since I realized it, I must have done the same. Every time our eyes met I began to feel butterflies in my stomach.

  The waiter served our drinks and took our orders. I was in pizza mood today and so was Emilia.

  I raised my glass. “Welcome back, Emilia. I’m so happy that you’re back.”

  “So am I,” Emilia replied. We clicked glasses and took a sip of the sparkling wine. Emilia looked into my eyes over the rim of her glass and my stomach began to flutter. She started to tell me about things that had happened during her stay in London. I did not really listen to what she was saying. I looked at her rosy lips and her blue eyes and I could not prevent my eyes from occasionally wandering to her cleavage. When she caught me staring she gave me a wonderful smile.

  Like during our first stay here I hardly realized how our dinner was served. The pizza was excellent though, but I was caught more and more by Emilia’s charms. We had beer with the pizza and the alcohol began to take its effect on both of us. We began to giggle and laugh.

  Finally, I paid the check and we left the restaurant. Outside Emilia took my hand and we walked home together, holding hands.

  Home. I remembered we’d have to spend two more nights in Emilia’s apartment, before I could move to the apartment next door. Emilia opened the door to her apartment that had been my home for the past few weeks and would be our home for the next two days. It looked a bit messy with my cardboard boxes piled in the hallway and Emilia’s unpacked baggage on the floor of the single room. I had not folded out the couch as a bed yet. I thought it looked too obvious.

  “There’s beer in the fridge,” I said to break the awkward silence.

  “Oh cool. Can you open one for me, please? I’ll make the bed in the meantime.”

  I walked to the fridge, took two bottles of beer and opened them. I didn’t dare to look at the girl who was busy putting clean sheets on the bed behind my back. I was too afraid I’d give away too much if I looked at her.

  “Come here,” I heard Emilia’s gentle voice. I turned around. She sat on the bed and patted the place next to her. I grabbed the beer bottles and sat down next to her.

  “Cheers,” I said with a very dry voice.

  “Cheers.”

  I took a big gulp from my bottle. Again, there was silence in the room. I slowly turned my head to look at the beautiful girl next to me. Her long red hair covered her face as she was staring at a point on the floor. I heard her take a deep breath before she turned to face me. Her blue eyes were fixed on me and she bit her bottom lip.

  “Jenny, I need to talk to you,” she began tentatively.

  “Okay, Em.”

  “I guess you remember what happened before I left for London?”

  I nodded.

  “I mean you and me together.”

  I nodded again.

  “I couldn’t forget it and believe me I’ve tried hard to forget it.”

  “Jason?”

  “Yes, Jason. But I couldn’t forget you, Jenny. All my thoughts were about you. I’ve fought against it, tried to suppress it, but it was no use.” She looked at the floor again, her face hidden behind her hair.

  My heart beat like crazy and I suddenly noticed that I was holding her hand. I was unable to say a word.

  “I told you several times that I’m not a lesbian, but I think I am one. I told you not to fall in love with me, but I believe I have fallen in love with you, Jenny.”

  I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. My heart raced and there was a throbbing and tingling in certain parts of my body.

  Oh my God, Emilia loves me back.

  Emilia looked at our entwined hands on her thigh and then directly into my eyes.

  “Please say something, Jenny, please.”

  I took a slug from my beer bottle. My throat was too dry to answer.

  “I love you back, Emilia,” I croaked.

  “You love me back? Really? I’m not too late? I thought you had a girlfriend.”

  I breathed out loudly.

  “I had fallen in love with you and was really, really sad when you left. I hoped that you would somehow keep the faith and that we’d have a kind of future together. But then I realized that you were together with Jason and I became really mad at you. You remember that I didn’t contact you very often at that time. Well, and then there’s something I think you should know about anyway. I was together with Sherinia for a while, but it’s over.”

  “With Sherinia?”

  “Yes, with Sherinia. I felt attracted to her from the very first moment I saw her and she took advantage of it.”

  “Oh my goodness,” Emilia exclaimed.

  “It was exciting. She was so confident in everything she did. She took me to places I had never been to before, you know, fancy restaurants and bars. Every place we went to people looked at us like we were movie stars, we were the focus of attention. It was fun for a while, because it was new for me. I was on a kind of high all the time.”

  I took another big gulp from my bottle.

  “Money was never an issue. You know her dad is rich and she’s daddy’s spoilt rich daughter. I was only another toy for her. I saw her kiss another girl on the day of our summer festival gig even though we had a date on that evening. I guess the blonde wasn’t the only other girl she had while we were together. At the end she told me I was trouble when my mother kicked me out.”

  “My poor darling,” Emilia said and I felt her hand softly stroke my hair. I leant into it. “Sherinia is my friend, but she’s such a flirt. We have been in touch while I was away, but she never mentioned you were dating.”

  “I’m surprised that I didn’t fall apart, but I guess my heart never belonged to her. It has always been yours, Emilia. I only needed time to realize this.”

  “I was so stupid when I told you not to fall in love with me, Jenny. I was in love with you, but I fought against it. I didn’t want to admit to myself that I was into girls. So I started this affair with Jason, but it didn’t last very long. And all the time I was thinking of you.”

  The next moment our lips met. Tentatively at first like the touch of a butterfly, but then the kiss deepened as Emilia opened her mouth and our tongues began to dance. I heard myself moan as I wrapped my arms around her. I slid my hand under her top and cupped her firm breast. Emilia moaned loudly as I kissed my way down to her nipples. She didn’t wear a bra. Her nipples stiffened in my mouth as I nibbled and sucked on them. I felt Emilia’s hands as she opened my bra. We interrupted our kisses and caresses for a brief moment to take off our clothes. Within seconds we were both naked and plopped down on the bed again with Emilia on top of me. We kissed deeply and passionately and I felt her wetness on my thighs. I felt Emilia’s hand between my legs as she gently teased my pussy. I grabbed her firm butt to draw her closer and let my hand slide to her slit from behind. She was dripping wet.

  And then everything was quite easy and naturally. There was no shyness or shame. Of course I profited from my experience with Sherinia as I led Emilia to our little piece of heaven and guided her how to return the favor. We spent a night full of tenderness, passion, and love. Yes, it was making love and for the first time in my life I understood what it meant.

  We spent most of the time in bed over the next two days. We only got up and dressed to buy some groceries. We cooked, ate, and drank together, we slept together, and we made love. Emilia was back.

  +++

  The bass boomed like hell, the sound blasting out of the speakers was dark and heavy. I felt the boards of the stage vibrate under my feet as I was playing our instrumenta
l intro together with Marlon’s keyboards.

  It was early October and we had our first gig after the summer break at a small club. The band played the intro tight and loud and I looked expectantly at the point from where our singer would appear. And there she came - in tight black leather pants and a black tank top. Her dark-red hair fell freely over her shoulders and there was a big smile on her face. My heart swelled as she looked at me with her sparkling blue eyes and her smile grew even bigger. Emilia went to the edge of the small stage and curtseyed to the audience. The fans cheered in return and Emilia began to sing.

  The boys in the band had accepted the renewed change of our vocalist remarkably well. Sherinia had gone for good. In her diction, she wanted to ‘pursue her studies and professional career as a musician in Berlin where you have incredible opportunities’.

  Martin seemed to be relieved about Sherinia being gone. The revelation that Emilia and I were together wasn’t such a big surprise for the guys anymore. Of course Robin got the blame when Martin and Marlon made jokes about his poor performance having turned Emilia into a lesbian.

  “Babe, can’t you see what you do to me…?”

  Our eyes locked as Emilia sang the ominous lyrics. So much had changed since I had first written them and I had found answers to most of the questions on my bullet list.

  +++

  “There are some places that need your particular attention,” I said to Emilia as we stood under the shower together later.

  “Don’t worry I will take good care of you,” Emilia answered and I felt her hands cup my breasts from behind. I tilted my head back and closed my eyes. I moaned as she began to pinch and tug my nipples. With one hand still teasing my nipple Emilia’s other hand moved to my butt and I felt her fingers search and find my slit. I reached behind me to draw her close and she kissed my neck and my earlobe. Her fingers entered me and we began to move to our own rhythm as she let her fingers slide in and out. With Emilia’s arm holding me I lifted one leg to give her better access to my most intimate parts. She made use of this opportunity and thrust her fingers in and out. When I felt that familiar feeling build up inside of me I stopped her hand.