The smell of freshly mowed grass assaulted Kacey’s nose as her knuckles rapped on the screen door to her best friend Samantha’s back door. It was early summer, school was just out a few days ago, and better than that, Kacey had just turned sixteen on her last birthday, about six months prior. She felt tingly and alive, and was ready to explore her first summer as a real teenager. There was an undercurrent of excitement flowing through her. This summer was going to be special, she knew. She didn’t know how, or why, exactly, but she knew. There was no doubt in her young mind.

“Who is it, Sam?” asked an older, feminine voice from inside the house. Kacey recognized the voice of Sam’s mother, Mrs. Jennifer Thomas, and smiled. Mrs. Thomas liked her, and was always nice to her whenever she came over to Sam’s house. She and Kacey’s own mother were best friends, much like she and Sam were.

Sam peeked out the window from the back room, and saw a long, flowing river of black hair, tan skin and amazing brown eyes that she envied so much. A smile lit across her lips as she recognized instantly her best friend. Kacey was about six months younger than her, since she turned seventeen last month, but those six months didn’t diminish their friendship any.

“It’s Kacey, Mom,” Sam called, racing back into the kitchen, where her mother sat, cutting up vegetables for a soup she was making. Sam’s face was alight with excitement. She always got worked up at the prospect of being able to play with Kacey, especially if they went swimming in Kacey’s huge pool. Summers were the best, living next door to Kacey. “She might want to go swimming. Can I go, Mom? Please?”

Mrs. Thomas laughed and put the knife down, looking up at her daughter. “Well, aren’t you even going to invite her in? Or are you going to make her stand out there in this unbearable heat while you guess about what she wants?” she asked, shaking her head in amusement. Sam let herself get too excited about what might happen sometimes, and today was no exception.

Sam’s fair complexion turned scarlet and she covered her mouth with her hand. “Oops!” she exclaimed, already diving towards the utility room and the back door. “I forgot all about that!” She slipped and nearly fell when her foot hit a pair of panties lying on the floor next to the dryer that had apparently fallen out of the basket, but caught herself just in time. Her hand turned the knob and she pulled the door open. “Hey, Kacey, come on in.”

The sun during the summer, even the early summer, in the south, where it was particularly humid as well, was blistering. Today was no exception to that rule. Kacey was thankful her skin was naturally somewhat tan anyway, otherwise she might have burned and blistered by now, she thought. The slight breeze that blew by billowed out the tummy of her loose tee shirt that she wore, over a pair of faded denim cutoffs. Her long, tanned, toned legs stretched down to a pair of flip flops, where her bare feet were barely contained by two feeble looking straps.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Sam was inviting her in. The rush of air conditioning struck her face like a gentle caress, and she smiled. She knew that Sam had gotten all excited, and had forgotten to open the door. It happened sometimes. Kacey didn’t mind. She was guilty of the same thing, on occasion, herself, she knew. The two best friends were nigh inseparable, especially during the summer. It’d been that way since they were really little.

Kacey gratefully stepped into the house with her excited best friend, and closed the door behind her as they both walked from the utility room into the kitchen and dining area, where Mrs. Thomas sat. The cool air helped to rid her skin of the light sheen of sweat she’d built up in the few minutes that she’d stood at the door. The Thomas household was very nice, and inviting, tastefully decorated without being ostentatious. Kacey always enjoyed looking at the pretty things Mrs. Thomas adorned their house with. She knew that her mother and “Aunt Jen,” as Mrs. Thomas insisted that Kacey call her, swapped ideas back and forth, and frequently went on expeditions to find new and unusual trinkets to dress up their houses with.

Mrs. Thomas stopped what she was doing and looked up at the two young girls, standing side by side, and grinning fit to make the Cheshire Cat blush with embarrassment. They were so much alike in so many ways, but so very different in others. They were both tall for their ages, a little over five feet tall, or so. Both were somewhat slender and athletic in build, and of course, both girls were devastatingly beautiful, at least in her eyes. The similarities in appearance ended there, though.

Where Kacey’s skin was a golden tan color, very light and the envy of every bikini clad female from age twelve to sixty that frequented the pools, spas, and health clubs around town, Sam’s skin was like polished ivory. She could tan very beautifully, but invariably, that golden sheen would peel from her skin, revealing the milky, ivory skin underneath. Instead of a black river of shiny hair, like Kacey’s, Sam’s hair was a soft sandy blonde. There were places that caught the light and reflected like highly polished gold, and it was stunning to the eye, but she was definitely not a bleach blonde by any means. Sam’s eyes were a dark emerald green, where Kacey’s where a deep, chocolate brown, so dark as to almost be black.

Their bodies were both athletic, but where Kacey’s form was highly toned and developed from her avid, and almost incessant, swimming, Sam’s body was developed in other ways. She participated in school softball, and gymnastics, and was planning on trying out for cheerleader when she hit high school. Kacey was also a gifted dancer, even at her age, and was trying to help Sam get ready by teaching her to dance, so her coordination would be more on time when tryouts came along.

Then, of course, there were the differences that age and build brought to each girl as well. Kacey hadn’t developed overtly as much as many other girls had between the ages of eleven and thirteen. Kacey’s breasts were small, an A cup, poking out behind her loose fitting tee shirt. Sam, on the other hand, had developed a bit more. Of course, she was a few months older, as well. Her breasts were fuller than Kacey’s, moving up to the next cup size, a B cup, if just barely. The line of her bust was prominent enough behind her own tee shirt that her parents silently endorsed her decision to wear loose fitting shirts as much as she wanted to. Her body was a little curvier than Kacey’s was. Of course, Sam was a little over an inch taller than Kacey, and outweighed her by about ten pounds.

Either way, both of the teenage girls standing before Mrs. Thomas were strikingly beautiful. There was no denying that fact. They were growing up, and growing into extremely beautiful girls, who would be turning boys’ heads quite rapidly. Mrs. Thomas sighed the sigh that all parents sigh when they realize that despite their wishes, time and Mother Nature prevail when it comes to gracing their daughter, or those girls that they consider like their daughter, with feminine charms. Much as she might like to, she knew she couldn’t halt that process. She was just grateful that both girls were smart, and hopefully paid attention to the talks that their parents gave them so they wouldn’t find themselves in the woeful position that so many teenage girls found themselves in someday.

Snapping herself out of her reverie, Mrs. Thomas smiled, and got up, heading for the refrigerator. “Hello, Kacey,” she said with genuine warmth, pulling two frosty Cokes from the refrigerator and handing them to the two girls, who accepted them gladly. “How are you today? Is Cathy doing well?” Cathy, of course, was Kacey’s mother, and Mrs. Thomas’ best friend, much as Sam was Kacey’s best friend. She didn’t need to ask how Kacey’s father was doing, since she saw him every morning as he headed off to work, and they’d often chat a few minutes while he was gathering his things. Occasionally, she’d see and talk to Cathy, but not every morning. She was usually busy seeing to whatever emergency it was that Kacey’s older sister, Liz, was having that morning, Mrs. Thomas knew.

Kacey took a long pull off the Coke that she’d been given, and was relieved that it brought moisture back to her mouth. The sun had been murder, the few minutes she’d been standing in it. Swallowing it, finally, she answered, “Mom’s doing good, Aunt Jen. She had a little bit of a tiff with Liz this morning, but you know how Liz is. That’ll blow over before lunch.”

Elizabeth Callahan, or Liz, was Kacey’s older sister. She was nineteen, nearly twenty, and was as headstrong a teenage girl as any that had ever lived. She frequently lamented the fact that her parents, particularly her mother, seemed determined to treat her like a child, by her reckoning, and often this would lead to little bursts of temper, or a prodigious amount of sulking, pouting or similar behavior for a little while. However, Kacey’s family were very close, and they couldn’t stand for one of the others to be upset with them for too long, especially Liz, so invariably, a truce would be called, and before long, Liz and whoever would end up hugging, with Liz crying, wailing, and apologizing, swearing to be better or more understanding, or whatever the situation called for.

Then, the next day, it would start over as if the day before had never happened. It wasn’t the most pleasant of circumstances for Kacey to have to bear witness to, sometimes, she knew, but it’s just how Liz was. No matter how hormonal or out of control Liz seemed, she genuinely loved her family, and tried her best to make it right, even if she steered it wrong twenty four hours later, once again. She didn’t know how her parents endured Liz’s behavior sometimes, except through the sheer power of love for their older daughter.

Mrs. Thomas nodded with a rueful smile, and sipped from the Coke that she’d been drinking on occasionally, before the girls came in. “I suppose so,” she sighed, knowing in her own mind how rough such instances were on her best friend. “I’m hoping Liz grows out of that before too long. I’m also hoping that neither one of you two starts acting like that. Liz has some troubles, we all know that. But whether it’s just being nearly eighteen, or a result of something else, I hope you two never have to live through it yourselves.”

Both girls nodded their assurance that they wouldn’t succumb to whatever it was that held Liz in its grip. Kacey knew that Liz had been a very popular girl all her school career. She was beautiful, smart, witty, and fun, the kind of girl everybody liked to be around. She still was, although things were different now. A couple of years before, something had changed. All Kacey knew was that she’d asked to go to some kind of party, and her parents had said no, that she was too young, especially to be out unsupervised that late. Liz, in an unprecedented act, defied her parents, and sneaked out of the house, and went to the party, anyway.

She’d come back home, sneaking back in through the window, at nearly dawn. She woke Kacey, and told her how incredible the night had been, and that she’d grown up over the past several hours. She was now a woman, and someday Kacey would understand. Liz had seemed almost euphoric, and it had confused her then. She wasn’t sure what Liz meant by it all. After some more talking through that following week, Liz had confided in her that she’d had sex for the first time that night, and other details, that simultaneously fascinated, scared and revolted Kacey. However, Kacey’s parents never knew that Liz had sneaked out, or just weren’t mentioning it around Kacey.

In any event, Liz seemed on top of the world for a couple of weeks. Then the time came, that fateful weekend, and another request to go to a party much like the one two weeks before. This time, Liz promised that the party would be chaperoned, and even gave names and numbers. Mr. and Mrs. Callahan agreed, reluctantly, and off Liz went to this second party. Kacey remembered going to bed with Liz still not home, and waking up to the sounds of quiet crying. She tried to console her older sister, but Liz wouldn’t tell her what was wrong. Her parents apparently didn’t know about this either, because after Liz had finally fallen asleep, fully dressed in different clothes than the ones she had left for the party wearing, they made no mention of it when Liz finally came downstairs.

Kacey hadn’t known what to make of things. She knew something had upset her, and she figured, most likely, the guy that she’d had such a wonderful sexual exploration with two weeks before had broken up with her to do the same with some other girl. Liz was smart, but even smart people could be fooled or tricked. Liz remained despondent for long days after that, and one night, almost a week after, Kacey accidentally discovered some of the results of what had happened. She’d been cleaning hers and Liz’s room, when she discovered something under Liz’s bed.

Pulling it out, she realized it was the pretty outfit that Liz had worn to the party that night, the same outfit she hadn’t been wearing when she found Liz crying, huddled on her bed. Only now, the outfit wasn’t so pretty. It was filthy, like it’d been dragged through a flower bed or something, and it was torn. Holding it up to her own chest, she could see that it was so badly torn that it was little more than rags now. If Liz had been wearing this, her breasts, her privates, everything would have been exposed. The cold swell of fear rose in her stomach towards her throat, and she suddenly ran for the bathroom, where Liz was getting ready to take a shower.

The door had been closed, but that hadn’t stopped Kacey. Their parents weren’t home; they were out shopping for dinner for that evening, leaving the two girls at home for a couple of hours. She burst in the bathroom door, where her older sister was standing naked, in front of the mirror, with her face buried in her hands, crying. She jumped and uncovered her face when the door exploded open, and stared at Kacey with swollen, red, tear filled eyes.

Kacey’s eyes, meanwhile, had wandered everywhere over her sister’s body, with her mouth dropped open in horror and shock. Her arms had what looked suspiciously like bruises left from gripping fingers, as well as bruises and burns from what looked like rope. Her breasts were bruised, and even cut with small cuts here and there. Her hips and ass were covered in hand sized bruises, and the unmistakable welts from a thick, heavy leather belt. The tangle of pubic hair on her mons was half missing, and the area where the missing hair had been was red and swollen, like it’d been ripped out instead of cut off. The rest of her body, which she’d kept covered all this time, was also wreathed in similar style bruises and cuts.

Kacey had opened her mouth to ask what had happened, but before she could, Liz had grabbed her in a tight hug, and slid to the floor, speaking unintelligibly for several minutes, her words twisted by sobs. Finally, after a long time of gentle coaxing and reassurance, Liz finally calmed down enough to tell her what had happened. She told her little sister about the brutal beating and gang rape she’d endured. Kacey listened, swallowing hard, and felt the cold, icy block of fear lodging itself deep in her stomach.

When it was finally over, Liz told her that she should be careful in who she dealt with and who she was around. The guy that she’d had sex with before wasn’t at the second party. It was mostly a bunch of people from her school, and slightly older guys and girls that she didn’t know. The chaperones she’d mentioned were the college age kids that had been there, a detail she’d left out when she’d told her parents. She made Kacey swear to secrecy, and assured her that sex wasn’t bad, that it was wonderful. What had happened to her at the second party was the result of bad people giving in to bad desires and inner meanness and cruelty. The one point she emphasized over and over was never to have sex with anyone she didn’t trust completely, and never to allow herself to be alone with a house full of people, or even one person, she didn’t know beyond saying hello to.

“Hey, Kase, you all right?” asked Sam as she nudged her friend. She wore a concerned expression on her face, as did Mrs. Thomas. Kacey had seemed to blank out for several minutes, and it had alarmed her best friend, and her best friend’s mother.

Kacey blinked several times and looked around the room, and at Sam and her mother. She’d been so lost in memories she hadn’t realized that Mrs. Thomas had still been talking. Flashes of those memories still lingered in her mind, along with imagined images of what it must have been like for Liz, both when she had been ecstatic about having sex, and when she’d been brutally beaten and raped. She felt herself involuntarily shudder at the memories of the described rape, her stomach turning in revulsion. But her body gave her entirely different responses to the long, detailed descriptions Liz had given her in secret about sex. The sudden conflux of feelings, both emotional and physical sensations, confused her greatly. She decided right then that whether she swore or not, she had to say something to someone, at least about part of it.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah, I’m fine, Sam. I’m okay. I was just thinking, that’s all,” she said softly, glancing back and forth between Sam and Mrs. Thomas. She was feeling really funny. She’d been getting odd feelings lately, and the memories of how Liz had described the good sex only made those feelings stronger. The memories of the rape, however, terrified her. She had to do something about this, and soon, she knew.

Mrs. Thomas didn’t look all that convinced. Her expression full of concern, she looked at the younger girl intently, “Are you sure, dear? You look like you’re going to be ill, or like you’ve seen a ghost or something.” Mrs. Thomas wasn’t dumb by any means. She knew that the discussion about Kacey’s sister had sparked something in the thirteen year old’s mind. She wasn’t sure what, but she suspected that Kacey knew more about what had happened to cause Liz’s behavior to become as it was than anybody else did. The two girls had always been close, ever since Kacey had been born, Mrs. Thomas knew.

Kacey nodded, and finished her Coke, throwing the bottle away in the nearby waste container. “Really, I’m fine, Aunt Jen. I think it was just the shock of being out in the sun so long before I came over, and then suddenly cooling off in the air conditioning with the Coke and all,” she said earnestly, hoping that Mrs. Thomas would buy into the tale she was weaving. “Listen, Aunt Jen, I wanted to do some swimming and some other stuff this weekend, and it’d be more fun with someone else. I’ve already asked Mom and Dad, and they said its okay if its okay with you. Could Sam maybe spend the weekend with me?” Even though she knew Mrs. Thomas well, and thought of her as a genuine aunt, she was still nervous about asking such a thing.

Sam nearly shot through the roof like a rocket with excitement when Kacey asked her mother that. She was literally bouncing on her toes and clasping her hands together, ready to do whatever amount of pleading was necessary. Mrs. Thomas smiled, and regarded the two girls neutrally. Inside, however, she was laughing her head off. If only they knew, she thought. The girls seemed to be ready to explode with anticipation, so she finally allowed her inner laughter to come out. “Funny you should ask that, Kacey. Your Uncle Alex has to go on a trip for work for a couple of days, and has managed to swing things so I can go along. Unfortunately, it’s not a place Sam would find very interesting at her age, so we’ve already asked your parents if Sam could stay with you…for the next two weeks, while we’re away.”

NASA would have wanted to harness the energies the two girls put out as they exploded in glee, dancing around, hugging each other, and hugging Mrs. Thomas. If they hadn’t managed to expend some of it, they’d most likely have ended up in orbit. “Oh my God, that’s so cool, Aunt Jen! Do you mean it? Do you really, really mean it?” bubbled Kacey happily, smiling so wide her face hurt. She couldn’t believe the luck. She wouldn’t have Sam at her house for two lousy days, she’d have her for two weeks!

“Mom, you and Dad are the greatest!” effused Sam, hugging her mother tightly. She met Kacey’s eyes, and the two of them knew what each other was thinking, as surely as if the thoughts were in their own heads. The next two weeks were going to be fun! There were so many things they were going to be able to do, neither girl could settle on one thought to start with. Liz would be gone most of the time, probably, Kacey’s parents would be busy with their own things, except for when it was time to go somewhere, and Sam had no brothers or sisters. It was a nearly perfect setup.

The two girls wasted no time. They hurriedly listened to Mrs. Thomas’ instructions to Sam about the house, what to turn on and off and when, and where her clothes would be, and everything else. The list seemed inordinately long, but the girls didn’t care. They were too excited about spending the next two weeks together. Sam’s parents would be leaving the next morning, so they got an extra evening, and they planned to take full advantage of it.

When Mrs. Thomas was finished, the two girls, arms laden with Sam’s stuff, dived out the back door and across the yard to the fence, then through the gate and into Kacey’s house. Mrs. Thomas smiled as she watched them, and remembered when she and Mrs. Callahan had been much the same.

*********

Kacey grabbed another slice of pizza for herself, and slid one onto Sam’s plate as well as they sat in front of the TV later that evening. Sam thanked her and dug in, her eyes mostly glued to the TV. Kacey’s dad hadn’t gotten home just yet; he was working a little late this evening. Her mom was upstairs, taking a bath in the master bathroom, and Liz was apparently getting ready to go somewhere.

Thinking this to be as good a time as any to talk seriously to Sam, Kacey scooted closer to her best friend, and whispered, “Hey, remember earlier when I told you I wanted to talk to you about something? I guess now’s as good a time as any to start.” Her plate was clean, and there were still a few slices of pizza left in the box, but both girls appeared to be full for the moment.

Sam wondered what all the secrecy was about, but she went along with it, because Kacey probably had a good reason for it. “Yeah, I remember,” she whispered back. “What’s going on, Kase?” She was chewing the last of her pizza, and set her plate aside. So far, the day had been great. She and Kacey had made plenty of plans to last the next few days, and she thought maybe this was about more plans.

Kacey’s face flushed a little, and her mouth felt a little dry. She felt kind of silly, actually, or thought Sam would think she was silly. She was older, after all, even if it was only six months older. She’d better get it out, she figured, licking her lips. Finally, it just spilled over her lips in another whisper, “Have you ever….ever…you know…done anything?”

“Done anything?” asked Sam a little louder than she intended. Her head snapped around to look at her best friend, and wondered what in the world she was getting at. Her voice returned to a whisper, “What do you mean, ‘done anything?’ Like what?” She thought she had a good idea of what Kacey was talking about, but she wanted to hear her say it. If she was wrong, she’d avoid tons of embarrassment that way.

Great, she’s going to make me spell it out, groaned Kacey to herself. How in the hell should she ask this? She didn’t want to come off sounding like some sort of trailer trash slut, because she’d never done anything. The closest she’d ever come to doing anything was holding a boy’s hand a couple of times, and that was usually in line at school. She didn’t want to sound like a complete idiot, either, though. Her whisper finally broke the silence, “I mean, like, you know…kissed anyone, or seen them naked, or anything like that. You know, done anything.”

Sam’s suspicions were confirmed. She nodded slowly and knowingly as she replied, her voice soft as well, “Oh, you mean that.” She half smirked and didn’t elaborate any further. Sam enjoyed teasing Kacey every now and then. It was always good natured, for she never meant any harm or hurt feelings by it. Kacey was so damned good at everything, she felt she had to tease her every now and then just so she’d feel like she measured up and was ahead in something, despite being a few months older than her. Feeling more experienced, even if she wasn’t, made her feel good sometimes. Besides, she knew Kacey would wring the truth out of her in a few minutes anyway.

Kacey’s jaw dropped in disbelief, and she sat there, staring at Sam for a minute in silence, with her mouth hanging open. She’s already been experimenting, or better, with sex??? was the thought that thundered through her mind. Sam’s maddening lack of an answer, one way or the other, got her going. She could feel the indignation rising because if she had been, she hadn’t said a single word to her about it! They were best friends, like sisters! If she’d been doing anything, she…if she’d been doing anything, she would have told Kacey. Kacey knew that. They never could keep secrets from each other, not that they wanted to or tried.

When reason finally won out over the initial shock, Kacey laughed sarcastically, “Har dee har har. Of course I mean that. What else would I mean, Miss Comedienne?” She couldn’t even pretend to be mad at Sam, though, and playfully popped her in the arm. “Now, out with it, have you or haven’t you?” Kacey knew that Sam couldn’t resist ribbing her now and then, though she loathed it. It wasn’t that bad, though. Usually, a few minutes were all it lasted.

Giggling with her friend, Sam finally got serious, and leaned in close, and whispered back, “No, I haven’t done anything. I wouldn’t know what to do anyway, and would look like an idiot if I tried. You know as well as I do the stuff they do in movies is usually more fake than Jessica Buckley’s blonde hair and boobs. Sadly, movies and stuff are about the only sources of information I have, not counting the books they won’t let me check out at the library, or buy at the bookstore.”

Jessica Buckley was a girl that Kacey and Sam went to school with. She was a couple of weeks older than Sam, and bleached her hair weekly, it seemed, to keep it “golden blonde” as possible, though everyone that had gym with her knew that her hair was actually a dull brown color. She believed the boys were more attracted to blondes, of course, so she kept bleaching her hair. She also tried to convince her schoolmates that she was particularly well endowed in the boob department. It didn’t take a genius to figure out she stuffed her bra, a bra she bought a couple of sizes too big, with tissue. They bounced up and down the cup size scale daily, ranging anywhere from a full A to a C, and sometimes one was a little bigger than the other. The last day of school, for example, her right breast was about a C, but her left breast was a small B, so small it was nearly an A. Kacey and Sam just shook their heads and sighed at her. She was obviously desperate for attention, and trying to appear better than she was, and like she had infinitely more experience than she actually did.

Both girls figured that as big a fake as Jessica was, she probably still had more experience than either of them did, though. She was suspended once for kissing a boy in the janitor’s supply closet, and rumor had it her hand had been down his pants. The fact that the boy was a high school kid, there to pick up his younger brother, made it even more alarming to the school faculty. Even if the thing about it being a high school boy, and her hand being down his pants, was just idle rumor and outright lie, she was still more experienced than them because she’d actually kissed the guy.

“Yeah, I know, those cheesy movies and Jessica have a lot in common,” responded Kacey with a frown. “The movies wouldn’t be any help, that’s for sure, and like you said, we can’t get at any of the books in the library or the bookstores because we’re ‘too young to be reading that kind of thing.’ Sheesh, there’s got to be some way we can figure out what’s real and what we should do, when the time comes,” she continued, totally without interest in what was happening on the TV screen before them. She’d been feeling more and more curious about such things lately, and since she’d started menstruating last year, her craving for more grown up knowledge had increased. Besides, she had odd sensations and tingles all over at the mention of certain things, or seeing certain people, and it had been driving her nuts. She couldn’t believe Sam hadn’t experienced something similar.

It wasn’t exactly a secret, Sam reasoned, but she’d never mentioned anything about having similar sensations and curiosities because she figured that it was either normal, or it’d go away after a short while, and after all, every girl had them, right? She just never had felt comfortable talking about it. She knew both she and Kacey had their period, and had had their period for a year, almost two years in her case, now, and they never discussed that. So why bother discussing this? The way Sam had seen it, it was just something every young girl experienced, like her period, and there was little need for talk about it, unless there was a problem. Maybe Kacey was having a problem?

“Maybe you, or we, could ask Liz? She’s lots older than us. She’s almost eighteen. Maybe she’s had these feelings and knew what to do about them, or something?” asked Sam finally, after giving it some serious thought. Kacey was right. There had to be some way that they could find out what they needed to know. There had to be.

Kacey sort of perked up, and looked at Sam. There was an idea! Sure, she’d sworn to Liz that she wouldn’t tell the big stuff to anybody, but surely she knew she’d have to share the little stuff with Sam. The stuff Sam would figure out by herself anyway, at least. This was one of those things. “Hey, that’s a great idea! Liz definitely knows at least some things about sex and boys. I mean, she’s got that boyfriend, Gary. She’s been dating him for almost a year now. And there were those few guys that she dated a few times before him, and the guy she wanted to go to the party with, and another one, I think. Surely, in all that, she experimented and found out something she could tell us, right?” she bubbled, her voice threatening to grow louder than a whisper, but she managed to hold it down successfully. She was rather pleased at Sam’s quick thinking. They had the perfect resource right here! Someone who’d actually done something, and that probably wouldn’t be too stuffy to tell them about it!

The doorbell had rung while they’d been talking, but they hadn’t paid it much attention. Most likely, it was either Liz’s boyfriend, or some of her friends, or both, and Liz would be down to get the door at any moment. Sure enough, during their whispered conversation, Liz had come downstairs and opened the door. Through the door stepped Liz’s friend, Amber. Amber was a very pretty girl, with reddish brown hair, and bright blue eyes. She had a light sprinkling of light freckles across her cheeks and nose which did not detract at all from her pale, but lovely, complexion. Liz looked much like Kacey did, exotic, beautiful and a little darker than average, but not very dark.

Liz and Amber spoke a few moments while Kacey and Sam spoke, and just as Sam was about to answer Kacey’s comment, they both froze dead in their tracks, unable to believe what they just witnessed. Their jaws dropped widely, and they stared as Liz moved closer to Amber, and wrapped her arms around her before pressing her lips against those of her friend’s, and kissed her fully on the lips! This wasn’t just a sisterly peck, nor a close mouthed affectionate kiss between friends, nor even the kind of teasing kiss that girls gave each other when their boyfriends were watching to stir them up, make them jealous, or whatever. Oh no! This was a full, dead on the lips, tongue twisting, tonsil hockey playing kiss! And it went on for nearly two and a half minutes! In the meantime, each girl looked like she was going to undress the other right there in the living room!

When the two girls finally came up for air, Kacey and Sam snapped their attention back to the TV and pretended like they were so deep into what was going on that they hadn’t even noticed Liz and Amber at all, let alone noticed them kissing! Liz told Amber she’d be out in a few minutes, and she shut the door after Amber went outside. For her part, Liz went upstairs, disappearing out of sight around the staircase.

Kacey lightly punched Sam’s shoulder a couple of times to get her attention. Both girls were so much in shock that the action barely registered with either of them. That sight was more than either of them could have believed. Strangely, it set off whole new fires of arousal and curiosity in both girls, who each sat there stunned for several moments, trying to figure out what and why, and how in the world they were supposed to react to such a thing. Sam finally responded with an unintelligible grunt that Kacey apparently understood.

Kacey’s mind was reeling. Not only was she now flooded with intense, insane curiosity, and an indescribable burning, she was actually wet between her legs, like she’d just lost control and used the bathroom right there on the couch. The smell rising from between her thighs was strong, but sweet and pungent as well, and she was so wet that her shorts had a massive wet spot between the thighs as well as her soaking panties. She didn’t know what to think. Was what she just saw arousing to her? Did it mean she liked women and didn’t like men? Was it simply shock she was experiencing? So many questions flooded her mind, one atop the other, with no chance to even consider the questions, let alone try to answer them.

Taking a chance, she looked over at Sam. Her best friend seemed as shaken as she was, and if her face was any indication, the same sorts of questions were blazing through her mind like a wildfire, like they were in her own. Licking her lips nervously, she glanced towards Sam’s lap and snapped her eyes back towards the TV. What in the hell are you doing? she screamed at herself mentally. You’re trying to check out Sam’s privates? What’s wrong with you? Again her eyes moved towards Sam’s lap, and her eyes rested on her thighs a moment before moving. She steeled herself, and forced her eyes to look down between Sam’s thighs. She was surprised to see that Sam’s privates were in pretty much the same shape her own were in. Sam’s shorts were soaked where her thighs met, with a wet spot easily as big as a softball, and there was a stain on the couch where she sat, just like there was where she sat. What did it all mean? There was only one way to find out, she reasoned.

Suddenly getting up, she flipped the cushion she was sitting on over, and grabbed Sam’s hand, jerking her towards a standing position. Sam was alarmed out of her momentary stupor, and looked in askance at Kacey. “What are you doing, Kase?” she asked, breathless. She was surprised she found enough voice to actually make words. Kacey was busily turning the cushion she’d been sitting on over as well.

“Now’s our chance to ask her what we want to know, and besides, we need to find out what that was all about,” she said with iron clad certainty in her voice. She was still whispering, but she wasn’t letting go of Sam’s hand either. She glanced towards the stairs just seconds before marching off towards them, dragging Sam along with her. “That was….it….I don’t know what it was. I just know I need to ask Liz to explain, along with the other stuff. If she doesn’t, my head will explode trying to figure it out,” she muttered as they marched up to the second floor, and then beyond it, up into what used to be the attic before Kacey’s dad had converted it into a bedroom for Liz last year.

Sam, being dragged along up the stairs, couldn’t argue with Kacey’s logic. She was right. Both girls were doomed to having their brains being figuratively spread over the house like so much strawberry jam if they didn’t get an explanation about what was going on, and quick. She just hoped Kacey’s sister wouldn’t be pissed because Kacey was dragging her along for the ride into what both girls hoped was enlightenment.

Kacey stopped outside Liz’s shut door and knocked. The knock wasn’t loud or obnoxious, but it was rather insistent. Sam felt her knees getting weak with fear at what may happen if Liz wasn’t in such a great mood and it started a fight. Butterflies were winging their way through her tummy as if they were on some sort of speed, and she felt distinctly ill. She hoped her face wasn’t turning green. That’d be the last thing Kacey needed in the middle of this rather delicate conversation.

The music behind the door was loud, but not deafening. It suddenly stopped as Liz opened the door with a half smile, almost as if she’d been expecting the two girls to come to her door. Stepping back, she released the door knob, and waved them in. “Come on in, girls, and close the door behind you,” she said. She appeared about half dressed, but wasn’t in a stage of dress where you’d be embarrassed to be in the same room with her. She parked herself on the side of her bed, and crossed her legs. “What’s up? What can I do for you two?” she asked. Though most might have thought her words were snide, at face value, there were no snide undercurrents to the tone.

The two younger girls looked at each other nervously, and they each seemed to be waiting for the other to say what was on their mind. Kacey and Liz were normally very close. They rarely had arguments or fights, which was a godsend to their parents, because most siblings their ages hated each other, at least on the surface. That wasn’t the case with these two. In this particular instance, Kacey was embarrassed about what she wanted to say, or ask, and it showed on her face. Brightly and vividly, it showed. What’s more, it was reflected on Sam’s face as well.

“Well, come on, Sis, what is it?” cajoled Liz gently, actually leaning closer to her little sister, but looking at both girls. “You know you can talk to me about anything, Kacey. You too, Sam. Now come on. I’m not going to get mad or something, if that’s what you’re afraid of. You guys look like you’ve got something really serious on your minds.” Sam breathed a little easier as Liz spoke. She’d always thought a lot of Liz kind of like the big sister she never had, and as close as their two families were, it made sense. But hearing it actually spoken aloud helped immensely, as far as her comfort level went.

“You promise you won’t get mad?” asked Kacey in a soft, almost meek voice. Sam had never heard Kacey sound like that, and she’d known Kacey for as long as she could remember. Kacey wrung her hands, and kept glancing up at Liz, then at Sam and back to Liz again.

Liz smiled a little more, and nodded slowly. She put her hand on Kacey’s shoulder, and her other on Sam’s shoulder. Both girls were trembling, and each jumped just ever so slightly, like they weren’t sure what to expect. Keeping her hands there, but a light grip, she whispered, “I promise, I’m not going to get mad.” She seemed to study the two girls for a long minute before she finally spoke again, this time still in a whisper, but with a knowing look, “Let me guess. It’s something to do with sex, or boys, or both, right?” She was wondering by now if they had been paying attention to her and Amber downstairs, instead of watching TV so intently, like they’d appeared to be, but decided if that was the case, it’d come up soon enough.

Kacey nearly jumped with the sudden release of most of the burden when Liz asked that. “Both, and a little more,” she said cagily, finally able to stop wringing her hands so badly. Sam seemed to sigh in relief as Kacey finally got it out in the open, at least part of the way. Both girls moved to sit on the bed with Liz when she patted the spot beside her.

“‘Both and a little more,’ huh?” asked Liz, her curiosity piqued, and her brows rose in proportion to that curiosity. “Well, since we know part of this is about boys, part of it is about sex, why don’t you give me a hint as to what the ‘little more’ is? I can’t help you or answer a question that you don’t ask.”

The two younger girls looked at each other again. They obviously weren’t comfortable with the subject, though they felt the burning need to talk about it, Liz realized. The more she studied them, the surer she became that they had, indeed, noticed her kissing Amber, and probably a little more than simply noticed, by their behavior.

Sam, without realizing what she was doing, suddenly blurted out, “We saw you kissing that girl. You kissed her like she was your boyfriend. Why would you kiss a girl? Are you a lesbian, or something?” There wasn’t any accusation in Sam’s sudden rapid fire questions, just that little girl’s need to know, to understand. Sam immediately looked mortified, and blushed profusely, when she realized she’d just spoken aloud. Thankfully, her words had been in a whisper when she asked.

Kacey looked as if she’d just awakened to discover herself tied to the front of a train at the end of its track. Her hand grabbed Sam’s and she squeezed, while giving her an expression of “My God, I can’t believe you just said that!” even though she didn’t actually voice it. The cat was out of the bag, now, though. The only thing she could do was proceed, and hopefully smooth things over where Liz wouldn’t be too upset with Sam, and by extension, her. “Honest, Sis, we didn’t mean to snoop. It was just kind of hard to miss, with you standing right there inside the front door, ten feet from the TV. We thought you had a boyfriend. You were seeing that Gary guy, last you told me. Has something….well, has something changed since then?”

Liz laughed, actually laughed, for a good minute, and shook her head. She couldn’t believe how na? these two seemed. Surely they had some experience, even if it was mild, at how things worked. Surely they’d kissed a guy, or made out or something. Looking at them, though, it became more and more apparent that they hadn’t, and that they didn’t have any sort of experience, at all, in such things. Finally, she answered, “It’s all right, girls, really. Like Kacey said, we were right there. If you hadn’t noticed us, you’d been asleep, dead or blind. No, I’m not a lesbian. I do like guys, very much. Yes, I’m still seeing Gary. We’ll have been together a year this coming Tuesday. I love Gary.”

Liz leaned back a bit and rested her weight on her hands, spread out in a V behind her as she continued, “But, to explain me kissing Amber, I guess you could technically call me bisexual. I have experimented with other girls, even so far as having sex with them. But where most bisexuals like both guys and girls pretty much equally, with a little favor maybe on one side or the other, I’m definitely more into guys.” She shrugged, and smiled again, looking at her kid sister, and her best friend.

“Amber is my best friend, Kacey,” she kept going, looking at both girls intently. “She’s pretty much to me what Sam here is to you.” Liz noticed that both girls appeared to be ready to scrunch up their noses at that comment, and the comment about having sex with girls, but they didn’t, on either occasion. “As kids, we shared everything, there were no secrets. When we started wanting to know more about boys, and how sex worked, and all that, we helped each other. We even practiced on each other, so when we finally were with a boy, we knew how to kiss, and how to touch.”

Both girls had been listening in rapt fascination to what Liz was saying. They had both been automatically turned off by some of the things Liz was saying, but that had only lasted fractions of a second. Those things started new tingles, and a thirst to understand washed over them. Their curiosity and need to know by far outweighed the normal reaction most girls would probably have had hearing that. Kacey licked her lips and swallowed nervously, looking up at her big sister. “You…practiced on each other? Practiced what?” she asked, almost afraid to know, but the drive to hear it all was all consuming.

Liz noticed that while Sam wasn’t asking any questions, she was hanging on the edge of her seat, figuratively speaking, listening to every word spoken between herself and her sister. Liz moved to lean towards them a little, taking the weight off her hands. “Either one of you guys ever kiss a guy before? Do you even know how to kiss?” she asked, watching their reactions.

Both girls shook their heads no at the first question, but at the second, they sort of looked at each other nervously for a second. “No, we’ve never kissed a guy before,” answered Kacey, checking Sam’s expression to be sure that she was telling the truth. At the second question, she waited until Sam shook her head again. “And no, we don’t know how to kiss, either. I mean, we know you put your lips together, and for the sexy kisses, you put your tongue in the other person’s mouth, and let them put theirs in yours, but why? What do you do with your tongue, or theirs, while it’s in the other mouth or whatever? What’s the point?”

Liz wanted to laugh at Kacey’s description and question, but she managed not to. She wasn’t going to make fun of her kid sister, especially when she’d been the same way around her age. It was still kind of funny, especially the whole “sexy kiss” reference. Typical of an uneducated young kid, she thought. Its better that they’re asking these questions now, before they do something stupid, instead of waiting until after it’s too late. They’re looking for advice, help, and knowledge. I can give them that. I wish I’d had someone willing to do that for me when I was their age. Maybe I can keep them from making the same mistakes I made, Liz thought as she looked both girls over.

Sam was nodding her agreement with what Kacey was saying, and even added, “Yeah, it sounds gross, Liz, but its got to do something that feels good somewhere, doesn’t it? I mean, it’s not like what they say about French kissing is it? You don’t really let the guy vomit in your mouth, then you vomit in his, and then he vomits back in yours and you swallow it, do you?” Her expression suggested she was fervently hoping that wasn’t the case.

At that, Liz couldn’t help but laugh. She shook her head briskly, and looked up with the beginnings of tears in her eyes, she was laughing so hard. “Oh, hell no!” she answered matter-of-factly at Sam’s question. “First of all, kissing is supposed to be fun and pleasurable, not fucking gross! Secondly, you’ve thrown up before. You can’t possibly hold three separate instances of getting sick in your mouth, especially if they’re full bodied spews, let alone hold it and breathe through your nose, with someone else’s tongue stabbing into your mouth too? Swallowing it is as ridiculous as trying to hold it. You’d stand a better chance of holding a five gallon bucket of water in your mouth at once.” Where did kids come up with some of these ideas they had about sex these days? That was one of the craziest she’d ever heard, and she’d heard some whoppers in her time.

Kacey and Sam both breathed a sigh of visible relief at Liz’s debunking of the myth about French kissing. They were relieved it was supposed to be fun and feel good, instead of being totally gross. They each waited to see if Liz would answer the rest of Kacey’s questions, though. They were sure Amber was wondering what was keeping Liz, but since Liz hadn’t shooed them out of her room, they figured it was okay.

Liz seemed thoughtful for a moment, and finally reached up and toyed with Kacey’s dark hair a second. “The tongue is one of the most sensitive touch organs you have,” started Liz, encompassing both girls in her gaze. “It’s very sensitive and it sends back a lot of information to your brain. Not just taste, but how something feels, too. You put your tongue in someone’s mouth while you’re kissing, and then let them do it to you, taking turns, to explore and let yourself be explored. Everyone has their own special taste, and the insides of their mouth, and their tongue, feels different. Once you do it a few times, you’ll understand better what I mean. It’s better to learn by doing than try to have it explained to you.”

Shrugging, she paused only a second, then moved on, “When your tongue is in someone’s mouth, you’re supposed to swirl it around, get the feel of the person, and let yourself go to what you’re feeling while you’re kissing. If the person is a good kisser, this can be an incredible experience. Even if they’re not a good kisser, you usually still have a little fun getting to know they’re not, unless they’re simply terrible, of course. Believe me, there are some people out there that are super terrible, but there’s also some people out there that are fanfuckingtastic.” She smiled impishly at them both, and winked. “I’ll tell you a secret, too. Both guys and girls love a good, talented kisser. It’s the jumping point, the starting position, for so many other cool, fun, and awesome things. Kissing is just like swimming, or softball, or anything like that. The more you practice, the better you get. You can have knowledge about it, and understand the general theory, but there are some things you simply can’t learn without actually doing it. Kissing, touching, and just about anything remotely sexual are all included in that group.”

That all made sense, both girls decided. Though it did raise a few more interesting questions, they felt. Liz had somewhat explained why she’d been kissing Amber downstairs. They somewhat understood the concept of bisexual, though not completely, to be sure. From Liz’s attitude, she figured they’d figure it out soon enough, and that was good enough for now. Kacey finally asked the million dollar question, though, when she spoke, “But…okay, it makes sense that we’re supposed to practice. But how are we supposed to practice? Do we get a particular kind of fruit, or something crazy like that? Do we just grab some guy at school and ask him to be our practice kiss receiver? Are we supposed to kiss our hand, making a little mouth with it, like they did in that stupid assed movie we watched the other night? Then, there’s the question of what about everything else? There’s so much we want….we need…to know. How it all works, and what’s good and what isn’t, that kind of thing.”

Movies and urban legends definitely had their affect on how kids learned about sex these days, Liz decided. It was the same even in her time at Kacey’s age, but that seemed so long ago, even though it wasn’t. She smiled and patted each girl on the shoulder, leaning in to whisper conspiratorially. “Practicing kissing is really pretty easy, in you guys’ case. Forget the fruit, your hand, or anything like that. Sure, you can snag a cute guy to be your guinea pig, if you can find one that you trust. I imagine there are tons of cute little guys at you guys’ ages that would be more than happy to fill the position, but again, the question is, can you trust them? But if you don’t want to embarrass yourselves telling this guy that you want to kiss him to practice kissing, because you don’t want him to know you don’t really know what you’re doing yet, then you’ve got the best possible resource right there, available to you. Practice with each other. That’s how I learned how to kiss, by Amber and me kissing.”

As the girls looked at her like she’d lost her mind, Liz just winked and patted the sides of their heads gently. “As for the rest of it, what comes after you get good at kissing…that’ll come to you as you go along. My advice: don’t be afraid to try something you’re both curious about with someone you trust. You trust each other, right? Do what comes naturally. I think you’ll both figure out everything you’ll need to know. It’d probably help you in your practice of touching each other if you touch yourself first, and learn what things you yourself like and don’t like. When you learn that, it’s easier to touch someone else the right way. If you don’t figure everything out that easily, or just want more information, I’ll help you if I can. Besides, if you’re practicing on each other, and enjoying it, you know you’re not going to treat the other shitty, and neither of you is going to pop up pregnant from it, and you still get what you want out of the deal.”

Though it was put in a rather abrupt way, Kacey and Sam both had to admit to themselves that Liz had a valid point, and a very good one at that. Liz was getting up and gathering things together, obviously ready to leave. “Sis, you really learned to kiss from practicing kissing on Amber?” Something about the thought of kissing Sam both excited her, and frightened her. One glance at Sam’s face told her that Sam was feeling the same thing. The other nagging question found its way to Kacey’s lips, “And you really…you know…touch yourself? Like down there and stuff?”

Liz paused, and laid her hand on Kacey’s shoulder again. “I learned to kiss, how to use my mouth and tongue on another person’s body, how to touch, caress, just about everything dealing with pleasure and sex, I learned by practicing with Amber. I learned how to touch Amber and make her feel really good from what I learned by touching myself. Yes, I touch myself even now, and yes, down there and stuff. It’s called masturbation, and it can be fun by yourself. If you have a partner, it can be even more fun, whether you’re doing yourself, doing each other, or one of you is watching the other get off. The only things I couldn’t learn with Amber were things dealing specifically with guys, like pleasuring their manhood with my mouth, or having them push it inside me, and having sex with me. We used dildos, and strapons, but since they weren’t part of either of us, we couldn’t tell the other if what we were doing actually felt right or good or not. What I couldn’t learn by practicing with Amber, we talked about ways to do it, and shared our experiences with each other afterwards. You learn a lot that way, too. But you guys don’t worry about having sex with guys until you think you’re ready.” She refrained from talking too lewdly to her sister and her friend. She figured they probably knew the popular terminology for sexual organs and the like already, but figured they’d respect her advice a lot more if she gave advice the same way their mom would, or someone similar, rather than talking like she talked with her friends.

“Wow,” breathed Sam, listening to everything Liz was saying. Kacey seemed to be doing the same thing. As Liz finished, though, a new question sprang to Sam’s lips, “You really learned all that from…from practicing with Amber? That’s so cool. But what do you mean not to worry about having sex with guys until we think we’re ready? You mean until we’ve practiced enough that we feel comfortable about what we can do?”

Now Liz was compelled, by responsibility and by her true feelings, to be the big sister, and try and give good, sound advice to both girls. “Listen, Kacey, Sam,” she began, touching both of them on the side of the face, like bookends. “Sex is a wonderful thing. It has its place in life, and in its place, sex is incredible. It’s natural for you guys to have tons of questions about sex at your age. It’s natural for you to want to find out all you can, and even experiment. It’s a lot better for you to find out what you can, good and bad, now, and make up your own minds about things. The kinds of things you two can do together, and by yourselves, are safe, and can be tons of fun. Pay attention to your own bodies, and what you find that you like. Even if you try to use some of the stuff you learn like that on a guy some time in the future, it’ll help you figure out what he likes, and if you’re lucky and you’re not stuck with a dork, he’ll pick up on the fact that you like it and do it back.”

After a brief pause, Liz continued when there was no comment from either girl, “If you guys want to learn to kiss, great, learn to kiss. It doesn’t hurt anything to practice kissing, even if you’re practicing kissing each other. It doesn’t hurt a thing to masturbate by yourselves, or to masturbate while you’re together. It doesn’t even hurt anything if you masturbate each other. Sure, some people may have a heart attack because you’re engaging in ‘wicked lesbian activities,’ but the truth of the matter is this: it’s a hell of a lot safer for you to practice kissing and masturbation and stuff with a girl friend that you trust, and gain confidence so you know how to handle yourself with boys, especially if the situation gets out of hand and you need to tell him what to go do with himself and walk out.”

Neither girl offered any comment, but instead seemed to be paying rapt attention to her every word. Glad of that, Liz kept going, “Practicing with boys can often get you raped, if the boy’s got a screw loose or is damaged goods in some way you didn’t know about before, or it can cause a hell of a mess in other ways, depending. Boys tend to gravitate towards sex more often than girls. It’s not a fact written in stone, no, but it’s true for the most part. Boys usually have less self control when sexually stimulated, especially when they’re teenagers. Not every boy is like that, not at all. If it were, none of us would have ever been allowed to date. But it doesn’t take every teenage boy to cause trouble for you; it only takes that one that can’t control himself. The same danger of it gravitating towards sex exists even practicing with another girl, but if it does, one thing is for certain. Another girl can’t get you pregnant, especially when you’re far too young for that responsibility, even though you’re physically capable of it.”

She paused again, and both girls were simply nodding avidly. She took that as that they understood what she was saying, and moreover, agreed with it. Finally, she looked each girl in the eye, and Kacey could see shadows of the look she wore the night she was raped and had talked to Kacey. “No one can tell you when you’re ready to take that step and actually have sex with a guy, nobody but you. At the same time, thinking you’re ready is not the same as actually being ready. There’s no set age that you have to have sex with a guy before you reach it, otherwise the world is going to end, or anything silly like that. You’re not going to be an ‘old maid’ if you decide to wait until you’re married before you have sex with a guy. When you’re ready for having sex with a guy, believe me, there’s going to be plenty of guys around that you can get to know and figure out who’s the right one. If you decide tomorrow that you’re ready, great. If you don’t decide you’re ready for another twenty years, great. Either way, think about it, about your decision, and what sort of affect that decision is going to have on your life, his life, and the lives of the people in your life that care about you. I’ll do what I can to help you girls make informed, proper decisions. I’ll do everything I can to make things as easy for you, and as good for you, as I can, based on what you decide. I don’t want either of you ending up in the same position I found myself in.”

Kacey hadn’t expected this level of education and help from Liz. She knew Liz wouldn’t be a bitch to her and Sam or anything, but she wasn’t quite prepared for what all she’d told them. Liz’s words rang loudly in her mind, much like they had the night Liz had told her she’d been raped, a couple of years back. They’d been close before that happened, but afterwards, they’d gotten even closer. Even though Liz’s behavior became extremely unpredictable and erratic, her “fits” never really seemed to affect how Liz behaved with her. Liz’s psychiatrist had suggested several possible problems that could explain her behavior, but Liz seemed to somehow evade exact classification.

Sam and Kacey told Liz bye as she finally left out of the room, and the girls followed. Cathy met the girls in the hallway on the second floor, and asked them if they wanted some pie or anything before bed. Both girls declined, pretty much in a haze, trying to digest all the things Liz had given them to think about. Cathy let them go about their business as she went back downstairs to spend some time with her husband, Larry.

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