Chapter 11
For the briefest moment, it might have been possible to explain away the kiss as an intimate gesture between close friends. Enide and Andra, however, were no longer merely touching lips. Their mouths were upon each other's and their tongues mingled urgently. As if that weren't enough, they soon began caressing one another in ways that left little doubt that the two were well-versed in this sort of thing. They were engrossed in a make-out session β snogging right in front of me.
I was, of course, shocked and confused, but also, intensely aroused. It is not a state of affairs I would endorse. I was dumbstruck with lust yet a part of me strained to stop the two and insist on an explanation. A voice in my head demanded to know, "So, what about me and Enide!?"
The two didn't carry kissing for long, but it was long enough for a thousand questions to race through my mind like a whirlwind. Once they'd stopped, I couldn't decide if I ought to be grateful or disappointed. I couldn't help but notice how flushed their chest had become and the way their cleavage heaved enticingly.
Andra could not have been more serene or sanguine. Enide on the other hand seemed thoroughly flustered, too embarrassed to look at me directly.
Andra stood and held out her hand to Enide, then turned her head toward me. "Fayard... would you stay?" she asked over her shoulder. She led Enide toward their room but paused before entering and again turned toward me. "I won't be long," she smiled before softly closing the door.
It was as if a spell had been lifted, restoring the use of my limbs. My nerves were intensely agitated and my mouth was very dry. I stood and poured myself a glass of water then gulped it all down before collapsing back onto the sofa.
Like any red-blooded male, I harboured erotic fantasies of girls together, naked bodies entwined, touching, caressing, writhing in ecstasy and all that sort of thing. My friends and I would joke about girls, especially ones at boarding schools getting up to all manner of delightfully lewd things with one another. However, I had thought of such things as intensely private, maybe even a kind of sororal secret β never to be disclosed or openly discussed.
I pondered and wondered about the implications of what I'd witnessed. It couldn't be that Enide preferred girls otherwise why would Andra try so doggedly to foster our relationship? But then... what was going on between them? With a long, exasperated sigh, I let out a deep breath, feeling like a frustrated child.
Mercifully, Andra reappeared before I lost my sanity completely. After closing the door, she lingered with her hand still on the handle, a wry smile across her face. She swayed towards me, smoothing the front of her dress with each step. "Sorry to keep you waiting Rody. These dresses are pretty but not easy to get in or out of," she remarked breezily and sat beside me.
"Andra, what ββ" I mumbled pathetically before my words petered out. Given the confusion reigning in my thoughts, I suspect I must have looked rather slack-jawed and bovine-like to her.
Andra smiled a sluggish, inebriated smile. "It's just a girl thing β it happens all the time, really β between girls I mean," she explained. "It's not like Eni and I love each other... no, no β that isn't right," she stopped and giggled before continuing. "We do love each other. I suppose what I mean is that we aren't in love with each other," she explained. "I'm sorry Rody... am I making sense?" she asked. "I've never tried to explain any of this before. It's difficult to put it into words."
I said nothing but she must have seen some hint of comprehension and continued. "We started by just kissing and such, at first β we hadn't even turned fifteen yet," Andra revealed with a coy smile. "It was just exploring β wanting to see what it was like β what it would be like... with boys," she explained. "Although... Eni already knew the boy she wanted," Andra recalled, chuckling.
I leaned back on the sofa, watching her. Andra seemed especially radiant at that moment, filled with a kind of inner glow and loveliness. In my hazy mental state, I fancied her to be some sort of angelic being, sent down from on high to bestow my heart's desire. It was such a sentimental, fanciful notion that I laughed aloud. Andra chortled as if she was privy to my inner thoughts.
"Is this what she was talking about?" I wondered aloud. "Eni kept telling me I didn't know who she was," I clarified.
"Yes, I suppose."
I still didn't understand where this was leading. If this thing between Andra and Enide was nothing more than youthful frolics, then why did Enide believe it to be an obstacle between us?
"Andra... why is Enide so ββ" I found myself slurring, unable to get the words out. "What's Eni worried about?" I managed to ask.
"Rody... she doesn't want us to stop," Andra answered hesitantly. "Neither of us wants to," she added a little more assertively.
Suddenly, it all became clear. "She wants ββ" I stammered, and became annoyed with myself as I ground to a halt. "Eni wants to be with... both of us?" I asked once I was able to string the words together.
"Yes," Andra answered in a small voice. "I suppose that's one way of putting it."
I wasn't entirely certain how many other ways there were of "putting it" but this wasn't the time to quibble over details.
Andra heaved a deep sigh. "Eni has never been with a man... not really," she confided. "She's tried with a few but... it never took," she grinned, amused by her own odd phrasing. "It was always going to be you β she was always waiting for you... even after she convinced herself she didn't want you anymore. She couldn't bear to... you know ββ" Andra shrugged before carrying on, "Go all the way with anyone else."
I stared back and struggled to keep my expression neutral. Waves of guilt and shame coursed through me and I cursed myself for my dalliances at the brothel.
"Go and be with her Rody. She's waiting β Eni's been waiting for you a long time," Andra said in a hushed tone. "That you wouldn't accept... this β it's what she's been afraid of... why she's been holding back," she explained earnestly but then giggled suddenly, saying, "I suppose there are one or two other things but... they can wait," she added with a mysterious, knowing glint.
"If this isn't what you want, then leave her be," Andra said, becoming serious again as she spoke. "Go back to your room β forget about tonight. Tomorrow we'll wake up and go back home... just as before β still friends," she told me, her tone filled with reassurance.