"Hannah, I don't want to make you sleep upstairs in the hot loft," I shouted up the stairs.
"No, I swear! It's fine for you guys to take that bed. It's a California King and I don't need that much room to myself," she replied.
It was Hannah's bachelorette weekend and we were spending two nights at her family friend's lake house in North Carolina.
"Well," I stood somewhat crouched over in the small space above the living room and breathed in the heavy air. I glanced over at Gracie, my best friend who shrugged.
"Suit yourself," she said under her breath, snatching up her weekend bag and pillow.
Truthfully, I would have loved sharing the full-sized bed in the loft with Gracie. While her soft skin is constantly warm to the touch, I am always freezing. Sharing a bed has come second nature to us over the past few years of road trips, late nights in the dorm, and visits to each other's homes over holiday breaks. We had both just graduated college, myself only a month prior to the lake house trip and her a semester before me.
I swung my backpack over my shoulder and followed Gracie down the narrow stairwell, past Hannah who was dragging her overloaded suitcase towards the loft, and headed for what looked like the master bedroom of the house. The rest of our friends were gathered in the living room area, a mess of champagne glasses, Doritos, and four more heads giggling about a Romantic Comedy we had just finished.
"Men are NOT that responsive to sexual cues! They just go for what they think feels right." Emily, a former roommate of mine added to the tipsy conversation that had erupted post-movie.
Gracie and I exchanged amused glances.
"Goodnight guys," I interjected. "I think we're going to hit the hay so we're rested for tomorrow's adventures."
I followed Gracie into the room which was decorated in plain gray and navy blue décor. Over the bed there hung one large metal anchor.
"Jeeze, these fancy rich people sure don't know how to decorate a room," Gracie said.
Exhausted, I set my backpack down, quickly changed into my pajamas, and climbed into the bed. The large, fluffy comforter felt heavy and secure wrapped around me. Gracie did the same.
"I can't believe you're moving next weekend," I whispered into the room.
Gracie had been my best friend for four years and now she was embarking on a new adventure - to a graduate school program far away from home. I was taking an entry-level staff job at the university we had just graduated from.
"I know," she whispered back quietly. "I'm going to miss you so much more than I can tell you."
"I love you, Gracie."
"Love you too, Alex," she said as she reached her hand out to touch my arm.
I dozed off after a few moments of silence, and when I woke up a few hours later, I was snuggled up against Gracie's warm back, my cold hands tucked under my chin. I reached one arm over her torso to spoon her and drifted back to sleep.
The sun wasn't coming up, but an alarm was going off. "Noooo," Gracie moaned as she reached over to turn off her phone alarm. "I'm sorry. It's SO early. I forgot to turn it off today."
"It's okay," I mumbled sleepily.
Then, I felt Gracie's warm arm around me, her head snuggled next to mine. Her other arm touched a strand of my hair.
I opened my eyes to see her smiling at me.
"Hi," she said.
"Hi," I smiled back.
After a moment, I felt her reach both of her arms around my back as if she were going to scoop me off the bed. Her right knee swung over and pushed between mine to meet the bed and she hugged me tightly. I let out a quiet gasp. We had snuggled, but she had never gotten on top of me.
We were both very straight. I had dated many guys, and while she had only dated a few, she simply seemed to air on the conservative side. This level of cuddling was out of character for her.
Even so, I felt my body responding to every move she made. She hugged me tightly, and I reached around her and did the same, then relaxed and began tracing my fingers all over her thin, tank top-clad back.
She let out a low moan, and hearing her moan felt amazing. It was so pure and lovely.
I kept tracing my fingers all over her back while she let out several small sighs. She pushed her body into mine, her arms next to my head and her hands pushing up towards the headboard. I could feel my nipples beginning to harden, and since we both slept without a bra on, I'm sure she could, too.
Was this really happening? Was I dreaming?
Gracie's knee was digging into my inner thigh. I wanted to moan loudly as she wiggled on top of me.
I felt her body snake up towards the headboard. Her breasts were very close to my face and I could feel her leg start digging into my pussy. I moaned.
I glanced up at her and our eyes met. She paused, thinking carefully about what she was doing. I could see a tiny bit of fear through the lust that burned in her bright blue eyes, but she began grinding her lower thigh into my pussy through my athletic shorts. Her chest came down and rested on top of mine, near my neck, and she would often raise up and dig her warm, soft face into the side of my neck, but didn't yet dare to kiss me.
I felt my entire body catch fire under her warmth as she straddled one of my thighs and began grinding into me as hard as she could.
My mind and my body were so confused, but the late-night sleepiness mixed with sudden burst of lust kept any words from escaping my lips. I tugged at her tank top, tracing my cold fingertips on her bare lower back. She paused to pull her shirt up and over her head, pulling the comforter over both of us and letting her perky bare breasts dangle in my face.