There was a faint light shining through the blinds of my ground level bedroom window, and I could tell it was the pale yellow light of dawn weakly filtering through. I drifted into awareness as I lay on my side, immediately feeling the entirety of Erin’s body which pressed against my back. We were both still naked as her arm was draped across my torso, and her steady breath warmed my neck. Our legs were a tangle of grittiness from last night's perspirations.

  I was never a morning person and it usually took me until way past breakfast to come to life properly. However, today I woke up more refreshed than I could remember. The room was quiet aside from our breathing, and there was a warmth from deep within me as well as emanating from both of us from under the blanket. I felt Erin shift behind me, her legs untwining from mine as I instinctively rolled over to face her, and slid my arm over her hip.

  Her eyes flitted open, a smile forming on her lips as her hand moved possessively over my shoulder. “Morning,” she whispered sleepily, but not too sleepily.

  Our breasts touched as our legs interlocked once again. “Morning, you,” Erin whispered. “How are you feeling?”

  I sighed. “I think that’s the best sleep I’ve had in months.”

  “And we didn’t even get that much sleep!” she joked.

  A sense of relief washed over me. I was half afraid that either of us would feel guilty or regretful when we woke up, but when I thought about it we knew exactly what we were doing. Well, what we intended to do; we fumbled a lot last night in our inexperience. While I remembered what sex was like for Matthew, I had no idea what it would feel like for me, and it was unlike anything I had expected. Perhaps it was because we were both girls; it felt very soft and mutual unlike Matthew’s experiences with women. I had explored myself for some time, and while it felt amazing it was nowhere close to as overwhelming when someone else was doing it to me.

  “I feel so relaxed right now,” I murmured as my hand roamed her hip.

  “Me too,” said Erin as her fingers did the same as mine. “I think you’re definitely ready for Jake!”

  I covered my face. “Oh my god, if he knew…”

  Erin shook her head. “It’s just practice, remember? Besides, if it’s with another girl it’s not serious. It’s just playing around.”

  It wasn’t the soundest of logic, but honestly I felt so relaxed that I didn’t think deeply about it for once. It felt really nice, and I was glad we tried it. We were best friends in every sense of the word; why not take it to another level? I was sick of avoiding sexuality or feeling guilty about what my body had been screaming at me since puberty.

  “It’s still early. I’m not even sure why I’m awake.”

  Erin smirked. “Well, I’m game for a little more practice if you are.”

  We giggled into each other's mouths as they met and began yet another round, thoughtlessly assuming the house had woken up yet. A couple of hours later we joined my parents and my sister at the breakfast table, no one the wiser. In fact, I was surprised at how nonchalant we were once we were out of bed and cleaned up; it was just another night over as far as everyone was concerned, and that afternoon we went to the mall like we usually did on Sundays when she slept over.

  For the next couple of weeks, everything was pretty normal between us and we never went into any deep discussion about what we did. However, we did have a brand new way of alleviating the stress we were both going through with the end of the year coming so quickly. There were a handful of times driving home from school where we had a simple code: “Are you game?”

  Without further discussion, we would go to either of our houses before our parents got home to have a quick tumble to blow off some steam. It was quite welcome, because the end of year finals were approaching as well as our mutual responsibilities wrapping up. Not only did one of the more capable juniors step up to take the reins of the Investment Club, but the following Saturday was our year-end banquet for the varsity cheerleading squad where our uniforms were officially retired. Erin received an award for her leadership as captain, and it was a tear-filled evening as we posed for pictures and celebrated our time as cheerleaders. Suffice to say, when I slept over at Erin’s that night there was a lot of stress relief required.

  My role as the official owner of my LLC also began in earnest, though I was thankful that Thorne was able to respect my time. The domain name sales had begun probing for buyers, which was pretty much out of my hands save for occasional updates. What was more pressing were the prom arrangements for the end of May; my last responsibilities as member of the student council was to help plan our senior prom. I reported there had been an anonymous and generous donation that exploded the budget, which allowed us to hold it in one of the nicer event halls in the area. I figured I could cheat just this once when it came to gathering funds for a school event.

  On top of the event planning, I decided to take the initiative and initiate arrangements for my private plans for prom. My dalliances with Erin had made me eager for more; I was addicted to the feeling of release that sex provided and I wanted Jake after so many years of pushing it aside. To that end, I contacted Thorne to have him make arrangements for prom night. I had already purchased a dress, but I had him hire a limo for a group of my friends as well as reserving a hotel room for Jake and me. He asked no questions, and that day he confirmed a booking for an excellent hotel.

  “I don’t know about this, Maya,” Mom responded when I was upfront about my prom night plans a few days before the night in question.

  “Mom,’ I explained, “It’s something I want. You know how responsible I am; Jake and I have been dating for all of high school, and we’ve never done anything like this. Besides,” I added, “we are eighteen after all.”

  Mom sighed. “I suppose it was inevitable. Yes, you are legally an adult and yes, you could have snuck around me. I suppose I don’t have any choice. You have the number for where you will be?”

  “Yes, Mom.”

  “And you will use protection?”

  “Of course I will!”

  Mom leaned in. “I know you don’t want to discuss…anatomy…but you are certain everything…will work as intended? This isn’t exactly something we ever discussed with the doctors.”

  I blew out my cheeks. “As far as I know, my equipment will work as well as any other girl.”

  Mom raised her hands defensively. “I had to ask. I’m your mother. And an exceptionally cool mother, since I’m agreeing to this while you’re living under my roof. I will cover for you as far as your father is concerned.”

  “Yes, I’m pretty sure this is not the normal mother-daughter conversations most mother-daughters have.”

  Stolen story; please report.

  “You are the most wonderful daughter that this cool mother could possibly hope for. And Jake is a very good boy.” Mom reached in and gave me a sturdy hug.

  The Saturday of prom was a whirlwind. I didn’t get a chance to pay for my hair appointment; Mom and Mrs. Burgess sprung for the full salon treatment for their respective daughters. Erin and I spent the afternoon fixing up our makeup and doing our nails, and occasionally giggling about our plans afterwards. Apparently Erin’s newfound confidence had her throw caution to the wind and decide to take the plunge with her date, a football player named Sam that she had dated on and off this spring. We helped each other into our gowns before going upstairs to pose for pictures from our parents.

  After Erin returned to her house, I waited nervously upstairs for Jake to arrive as I endlessly rechecked my appearance in the bathroom. Eventually I saw him, tuxedo-clad and corsage in hand as he walked up the driveway, as I clutched my little sister Janie in her bedroom nervously. I heard Dad greet him in the entry way, and after waiting a full minute to build the anticipation, I went to the staircase to make my entrance. My heart went a mile a minute as I slowly descended the stairs, with Jake grinning stupidly under my spell. He placed the corsage on my wrist as Mom and Dad fussed and took more photos.

  Right on cue, the limousine pulled into the driveway. With a final farewell, and a whispered assurance from Mom that my overnight bag would be placed on the front porch, we boarded the limo and sped off. We picked up Erin and Sam down the street first, and did the same for my friends Carla and Danielle who were being picked up with their respective dates. The eight of us instructed the driver to wander the town for an hour as we laughed and partied in the back. No one seemed to know who actually paid for the limo, but the energy was too charged to pay attention to little details like that.

  The venue for our prom was a couple of steps above the usual high school quality, since the budget we had for prom was surprisingly robust. Us girls walked to the entrance on our dates’ arms, and it was endless mingling as I said hello to nearly everyone there. I never had the reputation of being stuck up that many of the popular girls were accused of since I got along with nearly everyone. The dance floor was lit with the contemporary sounds; copious numbers by the Backstreet Boys and TLC and no one was immune to dance. Even Jake and I decided to set aside our music snobbishness and get down.

  The night sped away, and eventually the lights dimmed and slow dancers filled the floor. I held Jake close to me as we swayed to the music, blissfully content to be held in his arms. Soon the hall started to empty as the evening came to a close, and Jake and I made the rounds to say goodbye to everyone we said hello to and gathered up our limo party for the pre-arranged pick up. We were muted but not unhappy as the driver dropped us off in reverse order, and after a quick hug to Erin it was just Jake and I as the limo pulled into our driveway.

  The lights were off in the house as Jake walked me to the porch, where, as promised, my bag was waiting for me. Jake swallowed heavily as I picked it up. He cleared his throat. “You, erm, still want to do this?”

  I said nothing as he stood awkwardly and I slowly approached him, keeping eye contact with him. “I really do,” I whispered, before raising up and kissing him.

  “Okay,” He nodded hurriedly as we returned to his car. He didn’t say much on the drive to the hotel; Jake was always very shy and reserved, especially when it came to intimacy. It was one of the reasons we dated for so long and had never succumbed to hormonal urges. Tonight though, it was going to happen, and I sat quietly to make him comfortable as we drove downtown. The Marquette Hotel was just about the nicest place you could reserve in Minneapolis, and Jake was sort of floored when the valet took his Toyota Corolla at the front door.

  “This is way too fancy,” said Jake as he goggled the interior of the hotel, “how did you get this place?”

  “I managed,” I answered simply and I hung onto his arm as we rode the elevator to the top floor. We were led to the room by the bellhop, and both of us were floored by the size of the room. The bellhop waved off my attempt to tip him as he assured me it was taken care of, and I noted that there was serendipitously a bottle of wine tucked in a corner along with an assortment of condoms buried with the toiletries which earned me a blush. Thorne apparently thought of everything.

  Jake was staring out the window as I softly sashayed across the room in my gown and demurely sat on the edge of the bed. I waited for him to turn, giving him an assured smile which I hoped disguised the nervousness I felt as a woman about to do what I desperately wanted to do. Hesitantly, he stepped towards me, and took his place next to me. He was staring at the floor, and I scooted closer to him, placing my hand on his leg.

  “Are you…nervous?” I asked.

  He lifted his gaze to meet mine, but his focus felt distant, like he was looking past me at the expensive wallpaper. His easy, playful confidence from earlier in the night was gone, replaced by an unsettling solemnity.

  “It’s just a lot,” Jake replied quietly. “I…I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, I guess.”

  I summoned my courage and turned away from him. “You can unzip my dress, if you want.”

  I held my breath as I felt him hesitantly pull down my zipper, my stomach exploding in a thousand butterflies. He gently pulled down the straps from my shoulders, and I stood off the bed a little as I stepped out of the dress. I quickly stepped out of my heels, wearing only my panties as I turned to him. His eyes were glued to my body, and despite feeling exposed that a boy was seeing me like this, I knew I needed to take the initiative with him. I knelt in front of him, fumbling with his belt and trying my best to slide down his pants. He was exposed as well, not to mention ready to go as I took him into my mouth without a thought.

  There was a part of me that felt degraded that I was on my knees servicing him like this, but somehow that made it exciting. Nothing in Matthew’s memories had prepared me for doing something like this, but then again they hadn’t helped with any aspect of my sexuality. He would have felt a measure of shame in this particular act, but for me it felt so good and so right. Soon he pulled me up gently and kissed me hard, my hand still stroking him as we kissed passionately. He eased me onto my back on the bed, fumbling with the buttons on his shirt as he held himself over me while we kissed.

  Once he tossed his shirt to the side, I felt his hand go to my panties. I lifted my pelvis off the bed, as he pulled them down to my toes. My mind scrambled; I felt exposed tenfold as he looked up at my nude body, and he settled on top of me. I sighed, loving his weight on top of me and his bare skin on mine. Somehow, I managed to come to my senses for a moment as I held his lips off of mine.

  “There are condoms in the bathroom,” I managed to eke out.

  Jake nodded quickly, dashing into the bathroom. I heard things crashing about as he searched through everything. As I lay there, naked with my legs spread on the bed, I realized that this was it: a man was going to make love to me. I felt so hot and empty, desperate to be filled. Finally, I thought to myself, I get to have sex as a woman. With Jake!

  I could see him in the bathroom struggling to unroll the condom and put it on properly, and I reached behind my head to pull out whatever hair pins I could in an effort to give myself something to do as I wrapped my mind around about what was going to happen to me. Jake finally sprinted back to bed, resuming his place deliciously on top of me. I spread my legs to either side of his hips, feeling him adjust himself to my entrance as I shook uncontrollably. He looked down at me, and I held my breath as he took me.

  I moaned as I felt him fill me up. He felt so big inside of me, and I felt myself stretch as my body accommodated him as only as a woman can for a man. I gasped as he bottomed out on me, and he dropped his head to kiss my neck as he held himself in me. I was mewing and making noises I didn’t even know I could as he slowly started thrusting inside of me. It took my breath away each time, and it wasn’t long before I was moving against him, trying to take him deeper and squealing in delight. The feeling cascaded in intensity as he went harder and faster, and the world dissolved into white light.

  It was much later that I found myself curled against him between the sheets. For much of that time I merely lay staring at the ceiling as the ecstasy washed over me, even after I felt him finish inside of me and he stood up, exhausted, to remove the condom. I still shook sporadically, as the feeling subsided only marginally as I lay with Jake next to me. It was…exquisite. I only had distant memories of Matthew’s sexual encounters as a man, but they felt hollow and incomparable to how it felt as a woman. It was liberating to just be able to settle back and have Jake ravage me the way he did. I knew the moment it was over I wanted more.

  Jake rested back onto his pillow, and occasionally I would raise my head from the comfort of his arm to look at him. He had an odd expression on his face; satisfied, yet contemplative. I would have figured he’d be more elated, but maybe he was just tired. I nuzzled against his chest, hugging him close to me and loving the feeling of being a woman held by a man. Maybe I could go down on him again and we could go a second time, or maybe we could try from behind. Heck, maybe I could be on top! My mind raced with possibilities.

  The one thing I knew for certain was glowing. I was happier now than any moment I had ever been since waking up in the past. I was a woman, and I had satisfied a man.