Excerpt – First Kisses

“Apartment 1C: Borrowed Plumage”

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Joyce waited until they were standing awkwardly in the little space behind the closed door to say, “Looking at you in that outfit, it’s hard to believe you’re vanilla.”

She’s taller than I am, was all Carmen could think. She’d never kissed anyone taller than she was, though why she was focusing on that was beyond her. Joyce would think she was daft. “It’s not like I’ve had a lot of practice lately.”

“Me neither.”

The silence that fell tingled all around Carmen’s ears.

“So…” Joyce finally said.

“The jacket.” What you ought to do, Carmen told herself, is go into the bedroom and take it off. Put on a ratty old T-shirt, a chastity belt, and bring the jacket out to her. “Do you want to take it off me?”

“God…” The sharply indrawn breath made Carmen even more aware of Joyce’s curvy, tanned bare shoulder. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

Shock and raw lust spun in her head as Carmen watched Joyce’s fingers close on the zipper pull. For a moment she thought she heard her upstairs neighbors going at it again, but realized it was her fantasy of the sounds she wanted to make with Joyce, right now.

Maybe she really liked leather after all.

The low burr of the zipper sent a shiver along the backs of Carmen’s knees. She heard Joyce catch her breath.

“Oh, look at you.” Joyce left the zipper most of the way down and one fingertip trailed over the hollow between Carmen’s breasts. “Not at all what I expected under such a butch jacket. Can I take this off of you too?”

The moan that escaped Carmen sounded like it came from someone else. It was deep and needy and ready. Joyce’s finger coiled around the clasp that kept Carmen’s lacy bra closed. “In a while,” Carmen murmured. “You wanted the jacket, didn’t you?”

“That’s not all I want.” Joyce leaned close and a very small part of Carmen felt a wave of relief that the several inches between their heights were no impediment at all to a good kiss. The rest of her got lost in that kiss and the sensation of Joyce’s tongue parting her lips.

It felt wonderful. Carmen fancied she could hear a unlatching lock for every year since she’d been kissed like this releasing in her brain, springing open in response to Joyce’s tongue, her cologne.

She kissed Joyce back with a fever in her mouth. Joyce’s fingers were at the jacket zipper again, and then Carmen felt blessed cool air across her shoulders.

She stepped back with a gasp and Joyce’s gaze was on her with a greedy edge. She wanted to strip both of them naked and wake up all the neighbors. “I think,” she said as steadily as she could manage, “you should try the jacket on.”

Joyce finally looked down at the garment in her hands. “Sorry, I was distracted. You’re beautiful.”

Carmen was starting to love that soft drawl. “I think you should try it on the same way I was wearing it.”

“Does that mean you want me to take my blouse off?”

Carmen moved closer to Joyce again, wondering where her courage was coming from. “No, I mean that I want to take your blouse off.”

A flush rose along Joyce’s neck. “I thought you were vanilla.”

Surprised, Carmen answered, “I am.”

“You sounded, right then…like…”

“Hmm? Like what?”

“Like a top.” The flush deepened to an outright blush.

“Do you want me to be a top?” It was getting too complicated, Carmen thought. She didn’t want to be a top or a bottom or a middle. She just wanted to be who she was. Sometimes aggressive. Sometimes putty. The butterflies in her stomach stopped fluttering.

“Do you want me to be a bottom?”

They stared at each other for a long minute, then Carmen swallowed hard. If it was the wrong thing to say, so be it. “I just want to go to bed with you. Can’t it be that simple?”

Joyce let out a long sigh. “As long as we both get…what we need.”

“Just tell me.” Carmen unbuttoned Joyce’s blouse and couldn’t help a little smile as the butterflies came back in full force.

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Minor edits have been made to maintain a PG-13 rating for the Web.