It was our senior year in high school and it seemed that we were all finally turning 18. In fact, I had turned 18 a month before and Lori teased that I was too old to flirt with and stopped cold for almost a full week before giving in and blowing me a kiss here, pinching my butt there. It was innocent fun and we had been doing things like that for the past few years.
Lori had her boyfriends and I casually dated a few girls, but nothing ever got serious. Our parents had grown up together and our moms were best friends so we grew up together and talked almost every day; it was as if she was my sister. Thinking of her as anything other than a friend never occurred to me.
Then Lori turned 18.
We celebrated her birthday a couple of weeks late due to the weather when a group of us loaded up my truck and drove into Oklahoma City, or as we called it 'The City', to play miniature golf. It had been a favorite hobby of ours for years so it seemed the thing to do. We stopped at McDonalds on the way home, sang 'Happy Birthday' to Lori and put a candle in a cherry pie in lieu of a cake and we all had a great time.
When we got back home, I dropped everyone off with Lori being the last as she lives six miles out of town. I walked her to her door where we continued to talk and joke about how that now she was 18 and a grown up that she could do all kinds of stuff that she couldn't when she was a kid.
Finally it was time to go and I stepped close to give her a birthday hug. Lori leaned in hugging me back then pulled back. She had an odd look on her face then surprised me by darting in and kissing me. It wasn't one of the flirty kisses that we had been giving each other; it started soft then grew more intense. Suddenly she thought her tongue into my mouth and I instinctively responded. We stood there kissing for a few minutes, lost in the sensation, until Lori drew back, a shocked expression on her face. I started to stammer out that I was sorry but she pulled away and ran into the house without a word.
I stood there for a minute watching the lights inside turn off then the porch light went out. I took the hint and left. I didn't know what to think but determined that I would talk to her Saturday to see what that kiss was all about. It didn't happen. She avoided me all weekend even skipping church. I was a little worried that my best girlfriend and I had ruined our friendship with that kiss so I decided to act like it had never occurred on Monday and hope that Lori would be able to let it pass.
No such luck.
Lori avoided me for two more days! This is pretty hard to do in a high school of 380 and considering we shared most of our classes. I really didn't know what to do, I couldn't ask our friends as I didn't want the gossip to start but by not talking about it our classmates knew something was up. Lori and I hadn't had a serious fight in years; we were always talking. It was painfully obvious to everyone that something was going on. The four classes we shared were uncomfortable, lunch was awkward. But more importantly I really missed my best friend.
Finally, on Wednesday, Lori shyly said "Hi." I played it off as if the previous two days hadn't happened. She seemed relieved that I wasn't going to bring up the kiss. We talked about everything else. By the end of the day it seemed that things were back to normal.
Thursday arrived and Lori started the day off with a pinch on my butt that was sure to leave a bruise and startled me so much I banged my head in my locker. The whole thing caused her to burst out laughing so hard she actually started to snort. Once started she couldn't stop and I started laughing as well. By the time she had finally calmed down she was half way down the hall and disappearing into her first class. It continued throughout the day. Every time I least expected it she was behind me; playing with my hair, squeezing my butt, then during lunch she actually began rubbing my inner thigh under the table. I couldn't take it. I finally asked "What the hell has gotten into you?"
She calmly removed her hand and looked at me. Time seemed to stretch out then she asked "Can you give me a ride home, after school?"
I knew I wouldn't get an answer. "Sure, meet me at my truck."
"Thanks." She then shocked me by reaching her hand under the table and running it up my inner thigh until her hand reached the head of my dick. She paused, slid her hand up until it was on top of my shaft, then squeezed and rubbed it for a several seconds. I closed my eyes, trying to ignore what she was doing. This was far beyond anything she had ever tried with me and while her hand massaging my dick felt incredible, I didn't know what her game was. I opened my eyes and I caught her staring at me, studying me with absolutely no expression on her face. I started to say something but she shook her head slightly. She continued stroking as if she were measuring me then moved her hand up to the crotch of my pants and gently squeezed my balls.
"Lori..." I began.
She stopped and stood up saying "I'll see you after school." Then she was gone. I stared after her with no idea what was going on but I needed to find out what her game was, it had stopped being funny.
The last few hours of school seemed to drag by and I was so anxious to talk to Lori that I ignored several requests from other friends to do anything else after school.
At last the final last bell rang.
As I was putting my books in my locker she was behind me again rubbing my ass. I spun around and yelled "Damn it, Lori! What the fuck is going on?" and saw her studying me again. I actually began to get worried that something was wrong with her and asked "Lori, are you OK?"
"Take me home." she said then turned and walked down the hall.
I hurried to catch up and tried talking to her but she refused to answer any of my questions. She was focused on something but I just couldn't figure it out.
Unlike most days I gave her a ride home this time she didn't want to go to Sonic and get a Coke it was simply "Home."
As I headed toward her house I kept getting more worried. Her behavior since the previous Friday had been off and I didn't know what to expect. We were about 4 miles out of town when I pulled onto a lease road and stopped. I turned off the truck and got out. Lori sat there for a few minutes then followed. "Why did you stop?" She seemed genuinely surprised.
I faced away from her because her continuous staring was disconcerting. Finally I replied "I tried to pretend that the kiss didn't happen. I mean, you haven't talked to me for days. Hell, you've avoided me completely! Then, yesterday you were back. Today you...I don't know what you're doing. For years we've flirted, played, teased each other but today...I...is there something wrong? Are you feeling alright?"
She came and stood in front of me and quietly asked "Do I look sick?"
"No"
"I'm not." She paused and then quietly, "Are you still dating Shanna?"
"What? No. You know we broke up, or whatever."
"So you aren't doing anything tomorrow night?
I was confused by her sudden change of the topic but answered, "No, I mean, beyond what we always do on the weekends. Maybe see a movie, put-put, whatever the gang wants to do."
It hit me.
I don't know how I could have been so blind. "Why? What are you...?" I trailed off.
I looked at her, really looked. I didn't see a sister or a best friend. I saw a beautiful woman standing in front of me. Holy crap! I had avoided looking at her as anything other than 'Lori' for so long that I never noticed the woman she had transformed into. It seemed ironic that on the one hand I had known that she was one of the most beautiful girls in school but I never...wow!
She was 5' 10", maybe 130 pounds; her dark brown shoulder length hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She never wore makeup beyond her lip-gloss, she didn't need it. Her green eyes were staring at me with determination as I became aware of her. Then her face began to glow as she finally saw me seeing her and not my buddy.
She smiled, bit her lip then whispered "Would you like to go out tomorrow night? I mean, just the two of us? You know, like on a date?"
"What do you want to do? I mean, uh, I'd love to." How could I not?
"You need to pick me up at 6:30" she said, fully back to herself. "But first you need to do something, now."
I nodded. "What?"
"Kiss me, again. It's all I've been able to think about for days."
It felt strange as I approached her. She tilted her head up as I brought my lips to hers. It began tentatively but the heat of her lips, their softness drew me in. I pulled her to me as she grabbed me. What had started as something gentle became an eager embrace. Her tongue darted into my mouth then I reciprocated, driving mine into hers. It was as fierce and passionate a kiss as I've ever had until Lori finally pulled away.