by Radclyffe
“She’s all yours, have at it.”
Gianna watched the girl stomp out the door without bothering to close it behind her. Shallon Thompson, star freshman point guard and Elle’s new roommate, walked out of the bedroom reading a magazine. Gianna was so relieved Elle wasn’t in the room that she forgot her natural propensity for shyness and spoke first.
“Hi, Shallon.”
Shallon looked up from her magazine long enough to scowl at Gianna. “Who are you?” she asked, and continued into the living room where she dropped on to the couch insolently.
“Um, I’m Gianna?” Since the look on Shallon’s face clearly said “so?” Gianna explained, “Elle’s tutor?”
“You’re her tutor? Oh yeah, I remember now. Your name came up in a conversation the other day.”
Gianna flushed at the thought that Elle might have mentioned her, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask what they had been talking about.
“Have a seat. I heard Elle get in the shower. She should be out in a few. You want something to drink? I have some coolers in the fridge.”
“No, thank you.” Gianna thought about pointing out that it wasn’t quite noon yet, but based on the stories she had heard about Shallon, the time of day probably didn’t matter.
Shallon unwrapped a grape sucker and put it into her mouth in an oddly sexual gesture that left Gianna queasy. Shallon shifted her feet and slouched lower on the couch, her legs open and one hand stuck halfway into her waistband. Gianna reluctantly sat down across from her and tried to avoid looking up the leg of her shorts.
“So, how old are you?” Shallon asked around her sucker.
“Eighteen, why?”
Shallon smiled, shrugged, and switched the sucker to the other side of her mouth. “Just asking.” Her Southern drawl sounded more pronounced for some reason. Her gaze settled on Gianna’s breasts and stayed there until Gianna was forced to look down to see if she had food stains on her chest.
Gianna was relieved when the bathroom door opened and Elle walked out. Like Shallon, Elle wore shorts that went to her knees, but Gianna was having a hard time ignoring the still-glistening skin, the damp hair, and the perfect fit of Elle’s tank top. Gianna looked away, but not before the image of Elle’s dark areolas, confined beneath the sheer fabric, burned into her mind.
“Oh hey, is it eleven already?” Elle said.
Gianna noticed the bags under Elle’s eyes as she walked into the living room. “You look like you’ve been up all night.”
Shallon snickered and took a loud slurp of her sucker.
“If you want me to come back tomorrow, I can.” Gianna hoped so desperately that Elle would turn her down that the few seconds it took Elle to say “no” felt like a lifetime.
“Let’s study in my room. I’m sure Shallon won’t mind.” The last sentence was spoken louder than seemed necessary, but Shallon just chuckled and picked up her magazine.
Gianna followed Elle toward her bedroom but was brought up short when Elle stopped in the doorway. Gianna had to peer around her to get a look at the chaos inside. Clothing was strewn across both beds, almost every square inch of the floor, both desks and their chairs.
“You out of laundry detergent?” Gianna cursed herself for finding the nerve to crack a joke with Elle when she was so obviously annoyed. “Sorry, I’m guessing Shallon is a little on the messy side.”
“You’re guessing right.” Elle jerked one of the closet doors open so violently that clothing fell off its top shelf, revealing a couple of shoe boxes, three large canisters of protein shakes, a video camera, and a case of noodle soup. “I’m trying real hard not to act like her mother. I understand what it’s like to be on your own for the first time and wanting to have fun and stuff, but this messiness and this senseless need of hers to party constantly is starting to get on my nerves.”
Elle kicked a pile of clothes into the closet and shoved others on top of Shallon’s flat of dehydrated noodles with no apparent regard for whether the clothes were dirty. “It’s a good thing I fell asleep on the couch last night. If I had come in here to this I would have been pissed.”
“You slept on the couch after that game you had last night?” Gianna said, horrified. “I bet your body is screaming at you.”
Elle stopped shoving clothes into a laundry bag and gave Gianna her quirky little half-smile.
“You watched the game?”
“Didn’t everybody? You were brilliant.”
“I didn’t think you were a basketball fan.”
Gianna shrugged rather than admit she had only started watching after she had started tutoring Elle.
“I don’t know how I got stuck with a freshman, anyway.” Standing there with dirty clothing gripped in one fist, her hair still damp from her shower, Elle had never looked more beautiful. Gianna could think of no place she would rather be or person she would rather be with. Stop it, Gianna, look at her. Why would she want to be with you?
Elle must have misinterpreted something she saw in Gianna’s face because she dropped the clothes she was holding and walked toward her, hand out, but stopping short of touching her. “Oh hey, listen, I didn’t mean anything by that.”
“No, it’s cool. I get what you’re saying. Maybe they put you two together in the hopes that you would help her to grow up a little.”
“That’s what Coach said. But I think all she worries about is sex.”
This was a new side of their relationship. Gianna had been tutoring Elle all quarter and they hadn’t entered into any kind of personal conversations. Unlike most of the other players on the team, Elle seemed to like to keep to herself. The newspapers had called her driven and wise beyond her years. Gianna thought it was a very accurate description of Elle despite the fact that she had hardly known her at the time.
“Can’t you just talk to her? Maybe she doesn’t know how much it bugs you.”
“I’ve tried. She thinks I’m trying to be her mother. Do you know she had a girl in here partying last night?” Elle tossed the remaining laundry into the closet and sat down in the now-cleared chair.
“Can’t blame her for wanting to celebrate after the game you guys had last night.” Gianna opened a book and pretended to look for the right section.
“Huh, I guess. She treats them like shit the next day, and most of them look at me like I should have warned them or something.”
“I’m guessing you are going to have one more entry into the former fans of Shallon club.”
“What makes you say that?” Elle picked up a rubberband and yanked her hair back into a ponytail.
Gianna stifled her sigh of regret before it became audible.
“Oh, I heard arguing when I came in. The girl she was in here with nearly knocked me over when she ran out of your room. I thought you were busy. I almost left, but Shallon told me you were in the shower.”
“You thought that girl was in here with me?”
“Well, she was running out of your room.” Gianna laughed in the hopes of dispelling the serious look on Elle’s face.
“Yeah, but not from my bed.”
“I know that now, but even if she had been here for you, it’s none of my business.” Elle looked confused and slightly embarrassed. Something told Gianna not to probe deeply. “We should probably get started.”
Elle agreed and Gianna pretended to look at her notes from their last session. She was finding it hard to concentrate because she kept feeling Elle’s eyes on her.
“Hey?” Elle’s expression was still too serious. “I hope you don’t think I’m like that. Maybe a few years ago, but I’m too old for that now. Shallon is a kid.”
“Shallon and I are the same age,” Gianna pointed out.
“You know what I mean. I would never sleep with anyone just for the sake of having sex.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Oh my God, she knows! How could she possibly know?
“I guess…I guess I kind of hoped you’d care.”
The answer stunned Gianna
into silence.
“Did I make a mistake?”
“No.” Gianna felt as if her vocal cords and tongue had turned to stone.
“I’m so sorry, I thought…I hope I didn’t offend you.”
Elle looked so mortified that Gianna hurried to explain. “I meant you didn’t make a mistake. I like you a lot, but…”
“But what?”
“I just figured, I’m a freshman same as Shallon, so you wouldn’t be interested.”
“Shallon has never been away from home and she’s compensating by acting like a kid given free rein of the playground. Look, can we stop talking about Shallon?”
“Sure, sorry. Do you want to open your book to…”
“I want to talk about a different story.”
“A different story?” Gianna asked, taken aback by the intense look on Elle’s face. “It’s not in the syllabus?”
“This one isn’t in the syllabus.”
“What’s it called?”
“The author hasn’t titled it and it’s not finished,” Elle said in a voice so low that Gianna found herself leaning forward to hear it. Elle still regarded her intently, but she had taken the book from her and turned her chair to face her.
“What kind of story is it?” Gianna asked.
“A romance.”
“From what era?”
“Present day.”
“And this is something you’ve been assigned in class?”
Elle slowly shook her head. “It’s something I came across in the library by chance.”
“You picked up a romance at our school library?” Gianna felt confused. Elle didn’t seem like the type to seek out a romance to read for pleasure. “What drew you to the book?”
“I liked the way the main character professed her love for the other character. No game playing, just a lot of honesty and passion.”
“Passion? Was it…were the two characters gay?”
“Yeah, lesbians. At least one of them was for sure. They were a lot like us. One was a basketball player and one was a…”
Gianna went cold. “Elle, I…”
Elle opened her desk drawer, pulled out a sheaf of papers, and laid them on the desk in front of Gianna. “Did you write this? Is this story about us?”
Gianna couldn’t answer either question because her teeth were locked together in a fight against tears and rage at her own stupidity. She’d been so angry with herself for misplacing the story when she realized it was gone, but had soon forgotten about it. Never once had it occurred to her that the manuscript would make its way into Elle’s hands. Never once did she even consider that Elle would recognize herself as the love interest or Gianna as the author. “Yes, it’s mine, but it’s just fiction. How did you get it?”
“I found it on the floor in the library after one of our sessions. You had already rushed off for a class. I intended on asking you about it when I saw you again, but it slipped my mind. I brought it back here and put it in my desk and forgot about it. I didn’t intend to read it.”
“But you obviously did.”
“Shallon was going through my desk looking for something. She read it and thought it was a love letter from a fan. I thought it might be from you, but I wasn’t sure.”
“You told her, didn’t you?” Gianna started packing her things, her eyes blurry with the effort of holding back her tears. She grew even more embarrassed as she remembered Shallon’s knowing smirk when she had introduced herself as Elle’s tutor.
“I mentioned that we were studying in the library when I found it, but that was before I had read it. I wouldn’t have told her anything if I had read it first.”
Gianna grabbed her bag and headed for the door, unable to bear the humiliation one more moment. She hadn’t expected to be caught at the door and pulled back against those breasts she had only ever fantasized about feeling.
She had written about kissing Elle, but she had never really imagined it would ever come true. Her fantasy had nothing on the reality of Elle’s lips pressing into hers. Elle cupped the back of Gianna’s neck as she urged her mouth open and her head back to accommodate her much taller height. Elle steered them both toward the bed. Gianna didn’t protest when her back hit the mattress, but she did groan when Elle’s weight settled atop her for the first time. She opened her legs thinking Elle would settle into the V between them, but Elle had other ideas and Gianna was lifted a full inch up the bed as Elle thrust against her. Gianna cried out with equal parts surprise and pleasure. Gianna’s hands roamed Elle’s back, encouraging her despite her nervousness. She had never felt anything so delightful, so wickedly good.
“We’re going too fast. Maybe we should study in the library today,” Elle said between kisses.
“Not yet.” Gianna rode Elle’s thigh, boldly slipping her hand under Elle’s tank top to explore the nipples that had been tantalizing her since Elle had come out of the bathroom.
This time Elle let out a raspy moan. “Gianna, let’s go get something to eat. Let’s go for a walk, we need to get out of this room.” Elle’s eyes were closed and there was no force to her words. She had caught on to Gianna’s rhythm. Her breathing, although still uneven, had taken on a more determined quality. She rested her head on Gianna’s moist brow. “Open your eyes. Look at me.”
Gianna obeyed. Elle’s lips were parted and swollen from the kissing, her eyes were a storm cloud waiting to burst, and yet she was telling Gianna without words that what happened next was up to her. Gianna slipped her hands beneath Elle’s shorts, cupping her buttocks, pulling her closer.
“Are you sure?” Elle asked.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
Elle sat up quickly and whipped her shirt off.
Gianna’s eyes had no sooner rested on Elle’s breasts than they traveled to an area of Elle’s muscled body she had never dreamed of seeing. By the time Elle lay naked on top of her, Gianna had grown light-headed.
Elle fanned the flames with searing kisses. Soon Gianna was moving without restraint and Elle was panting with a struggle greater than the act of just keeping up with her. With a low growl, Elle lifted up and pulled Gianna’s shirt from her pants. In quick secession, Gianna’s shirt and bra were gone, followed by her shoes and pants. Then warm, silken-smooth skin glided over hers, a thigh pressed between her legs, and she was riding it toward a pleasure that was kept just out of reach. She could no longer keep her voice down. The sound of their skin gliding together, her own soft gasp, and the harsh sound of Elle’s breathing rent the air. A cataclysmic explosion nearly choked Gianna as the first orgasm she had ever experienced from other than her own hand destroyed any resolve she had of being quiet. She screamed Elle’s name, begging her for something that Elle seemed to understand, because while she was still shuddering, Elle slipped to the side of her. Watching the whole time, Elle slipped a finger through lips drenched with silky passion. She whispered something in Gianna’s ear before parting her and claiming her with one small thrust.
Gianna cried out, pulling Elle closer despite the slight pain that seared through her. She opened her eyes to see the wondrous look on Elle’s face, but Elle started a rhythm that forced all rational thought from her head. The pain long forgotten, she arched her hips, urging Elle on, and when a second finger stretched her endurance, she opened her eyes to see Elle’s mouth moving. She couldn’t hear past her own rasping breath and pleading voice, but she could make out the concern mixed with the arousal. She didn’t have to hear to know what Elle was saying and it brought tears to her eyes. Why had it taken them so long to find each other? When her body tightened for her next orgasm she saw Elle close her parted lips, and in the seconds of silence that followed she heard Elle’s soft breathless whisper, “oh my sweet love,” before Gianna was lost to her own pleasure.
*
Gianna took a deep, shuddering breath and blinked away the vision of their hours of lovemaking before all hell had broken loose. Elle had pleaded with her to go out, but she had been the one too blinded by passion, too c
aught up in the pleasure to realize they were moving too fast. Funny how that little fact had faded over the years.
She reread Elle’s handwritten note, shaking her head but knowing with a certainty that Elle was telling the truth. She’d had no idea that Shallon had been filming herself having sex and had inadvertently caught Elle and Gianna’s moment of passion. Elle also wrote that she had been as shocked as Gianna when the rumor mill had informed her that Shallon was bragging about a tape of the two of them making love.
Elle had forced Shallon to give her the tape, but Gianna had already heard about it and refused to see Elle. Elle had finished her last year and a half at State, then had played basketball overseas until she’d been injured. She claimed to have never forgotten Gianna, a fact that was easier for Gianna to believe when Elle confessed she’d held on to Gianna’s first amateur attempt at a romance.
Gianna spent much of the drive to the address printed on the card telling herself that it was a mistake to allow Elle back into her life. That regardless of whether she believed Elle, the past was the past. As she’d pulled into a parking spot half a block from the address, two things intrigued her. First was the fact that Elle was already there, waiting outside the building. Elle glanced at her watch and then up the street in the direction Gianna normally would have come. And second was the fact that Elle had asked her to meet her at a pub theater, which according to the marquee didn’t open for three more hours. It was already five minutes past two, and Elle looked agitated. Gianna decided to get out of the car. Elle spotted her almost instantly and jogged across the street.
“Hey, you came.”
Gianna studied her seriously. “Did you think I wouldn’t?”
