When Melissa arrived in Washington, her first instinct was to panic. She'd been there before, of course, but never alone. Actually, she'd never really traveled alone before. Trips from home to college, to visit friends, she'd always had someone flying with her or waiting for her at the airport. But now she was alone. But she calmed herself down and found her way to the taxi stands. In a way, being alone was a blessing. She gave a cab driver the address, an apartment she'd never been before, and she settled into the back seat.
As the car traveled into the city from the airport, Melissa thought about what it would be like to spend a summer here, or maybe more. Tomorrow she'd have interviews for positions in labs around the city, at universities and government agencies, and they'd want a good answer to "why do you want to spend a summer in DC?" Truth be told, she didn't have one. She had
an answer
, of course, but not an answer she could give them; DC wasn't St. Louis or Augusta, and that was about all she cared about. No parents, no Matt. Just thinking of him made her almost throw up in the cab. She closed her eyes and banished the thought. She sighed and settled into her seat. She had made it this far; if she could get to their apartment, everything would be ok.
--------------------------------
From the window, Leigh saw the cab pull up. Melissa would be staying with them for a few days while she interviewed for summer jobs around the city. Leigh and Melissa had only met once; she was John's friend, really, but Leigh liked her. They didn't have much in common, honestly, but Melissa was a nice girl, pretty, friendly, fun, and she and John had been close for a long time, so she had the benefit of the doubt. John and Leigh had big plans for this weekend, though, and since John wouldn't be home for a few hours, it was up to Leigh to make sure everything went smoothly at the beginning.
After the greetings and the tour, Leigh gave Melissa some time to get settled. She texted John to let him know she'd arrived and then smiled. Melissa was prettier than she'd remembered, and she was feeling even better about the plan. It had been her idea, and just like every time before, John had taken some convincing. She knew part of it was his way of making sure she was really on-board, but this was different and he knew it. There was something more than sex to this potential conquest. Before she'd thought that would make her uncomfortable, but in a way, it just turned her on more. For Leigh, threesomes weren't just about the pleasure of the sex itself, though that was of course spectacular. It was also about giving John everything he wanted. She loved him so completely, she wanted him to have everything, every woman he wanted. And she wanted to give it to him, to be there and see it with her own eyes, hear it with her own ears; she wanted to experience first hand just how turned on her fiancé could be. And when he came, she wanted it to be inside her, she wanted to hold his hand and look into his eyes, to see and feel and taste and sense that passion and that ecstasy.
She'd had her doubts about picking someone who they had an emotional connection and an actual relationship with, but there was something about Melissa that had always attracted Leigh to her. There was the physical side of it, of course; as a curvy girl with a pretty face, Melissa would already have been on Leigh's radar. But there was a youthful innocence about her, a naive misunderstanding of the very basics of sex that made Leigh want to teach her, guide her...nurture her? It was weird to think that making out with someone could count as 'nurturing' them, but in a sense, that's exactly what it felt like.
Her thoughts were interrupted by John's return home. He came up the stairs, greeted Eli, and walked over to her. He looked good in his suit, as always, and she smiled when he took her in his arms and kissed her softly. "She's in the office," she whispered in his ear. "I have a good feeling about this. She looks good." He shot her a look and a raised eyebrow. Leigh winked and ran her hand along the front of his thigh, over his crotch. He smirked at her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Down, tiger," he said to her softly, in a low, sexy voice. "Play it cool. It'll happen. And if it doesn't, you're still gonna get some tonight. I promise."
His words just flowed right through her mind, it was his voice that turned her on, made her close her eyes and melt just a little. His arms felt so warm around her, and feeling of his body against hers just added to the sensation. She was his, completely and utterly, and he knew it. In a way, it was frustrating to think how much power he had over her. It took so little for him to so completely take her away. But she couldn't fight it, and she wouldn't really want to, even if she could. It was intoxicating, that sense of being loved and owned.
Yet another series of thoughts were interrupted, this time by Melissa coming out of the office and greeting John. They hugged and made small talk; how was the flight, how's work, that sort of thing. It all washed over her, as did the first half hour of dinner. Between cooking and getting the place ready, Leigh'd had almost no time to do actual 'work' that day. But even if she'd had the time, she wouldn't have been able to concentrate. Ever since they decided they were going to go for it, she'd been unable to think of anything but. They'd done it before, but it had always been strangers or tangential acquaintances, people they'd never see again. This would be different, and she couldn't wait.
"So, elephant in the room," John said, jarring her out of her daydream. He wasn't talking to her, but it was a phrase she'd heard a dozen times that week. It was how he started every practice run of the conversation, and she knew this was the moment she'd been waiting for, they'd both been waiting for. "How are you doing with all this...Matt stuff."
There was a silence in the room and for a minute, Leigh thought they'd miscalculated.
Oh, shit
, she thought.
She's just going to close off, it's not gonna happen
. Melissa just stared at her food and sighed. Leigh almost panicked and changed the subject, but she kept her cool and waited.
"Not good." Melissa said. When she looked up, Leigh could see tears in her eyes. She felt awful to admit it, but the sight made her smile inside.
It's going to work
. "I still see him every day. That fucker." John looked at her but she didn't look back; she was staring over his head at the painting on the wall, thinking.
Leigh reached her hand across the table and put it on Melissa's. She turned to John and, as they'd planned, said "Ok, ok, let's not do this now. She's tired and now is not the time." Melissa looked at her and smiled, the connection reaffirmed. Melissa trusted her, believed she was with her on this. Oh, if her college production directors could see her now. Practice makes perfect.
"No, no, it's fine," Melissa said. "I've talked with John about it enough, I knew it was going to come up. And it's helpful, he's always good at calming me down, getting me to stop thinking in circles."
"Look," John said calmly, softly. "We've been over this. He wasn't right for you, you're not right for him. He shouldn't have done it this way, you didn't deserve it. He's an asshole, he hurt you, but you can't dwell on it, you can't focus on him. You have to focus on moving on." He was good at comforting her, it made sense he'd be good at comforting Melissa. A twinge of jealousy shot through her at that thought; it's important in a threesome situation
not
to see the other girl as taking your place, being like you. But as it had all week, that soft feeling of jealousy turned her on, made her want this even more.
"I want to move on," Melissa said, the tears returning. "I really do. It's just so hard when I've got nothing I feel like I can look forward to. Every relationship I've had has been a disaster, and they've never made me happy. I'm doomed with men, I just want to give up and become a nun."
John laughed at that, and it didn't sound forced. Leigh couldn't tell if he was acting or not, but it didn't really matter. She had to give it to him, he'd been right, this was working.
"Ok, that's one we've been over, too." John said. "You can't give up on something as important as this just because you've been burned. You've had some tough breaks, you've been unhappy, but you're not doomed."
"What's the point? Men suck. No offense." John nodded and kinda threw up his hands. "Well, maybe not ALL men, but they're not worth the trouble they cause."
Leigh didn't miss her cue. "Ok, ok. I think you've gotten a bad sample. Let me assure you, there are plenty of things men are good for." She looked at John and gave an obvious wink and smile. This was not the time for subtlety.
Melissa frowned and wrinkled her nose. "That's
definitely
not enough to be worth it."
John laughed. "Well, that's opening up a whole different can of worms, but you know how I feel about your views there, Melissa."
"What do you mean? What views?" Leigh feigned ignorance. It wasn't easy; pretending that you didn't know what for you forms the basis of a deep, passionate desire requires a lot of effort. But she could tell that Melissa couldn't see through it.
"Oh, don't get me started. John here, being a perv, loves to make fun of all the things I don't like or think are gross.
When they totally are
." Melissa said, with just a hint of a smile. She had a very pretty smile.
"Right, right," John said. "Semen is gross, anything but the missionary position is demeaning, and the word 'vagina' should never be uttered outside a doctor's office. How could I possibly forget?"
Before Melissa could protest, Leigh went into action. She leaned forward and, putting on her best half-serious, half-joking exasperated face, she said "Whhhhat? No." She turned to Melissa and, again put her hand on Melissa's. "Please, tell me you don't think any of those things."
Melissa laughed uncomfortably and looked away, but she didn't remove her hand. It felt warm, soft. Leigh felt a rush of arousal as she imagined what the rest of her skin felt like. "Can we not?" she said softly, weakly. But she still didn't remove her hand.
"Oh, honey..." Leigh said and she looked at John with a frown. Again, not going for the subtlety. "That's not ok...John, give us a minute. Go take out the trash or walk Eli or something."
Now it was John's turn to take his cue. Before Melissa could protest, he was away from the table and was headed down the stairs.
--------------------------------
This had not gone as planned. Melissa was looking forward to this weekend because she wanted to
get away
from memories of Matt and thoughts of her horrible history with men. Moving on to sex talk was only making it worse. She didn't know Leigh well, certainly not well enough to feel comfortable talking about her hang-ups. Contrary to what she may have been telling John for years, she knew that it was weird that she limited herself so much, and she wished she could break out of this mindset, to feel comfortable and natural with her body and with men, but...but...
"I know I'm not the person you'd choose to talk to about this," Leigh was saying, breaking in. "But maybe I'm the person you
should
talk to about this."
This got Melissa's attention, and she looked up. "What do you mean?"
Leigh sighed. "I've had my own hang-ups about sex, but I've worked through them. Everyone has issues with their body or with their sexuality, something. But you have to work through that, you have to get past it."
This sounds familiar
, Melissa thought. But Leigh continued.
"There is a guy out there who is right for you, who can make you feel...amazing." The almost ethereal smile on Leigh's face made Melissa pause.
This girl is serious
. She's had girls tell her about how awesome sex was, but it had just not panned out. All that talk of amazing orgasms had no relation to her experience, but there was something about the way that Leigh talked about it that was...different. Melissa couldn't help but believe her.
"Ok, fine," she said. "Maybe there is. But how many losers am I going to have to try to find him? I mean, I don't know if John told you, but I've not exactly had good luck."
