In all honesty, I've never been an openly accepting or versatile person. I grew up in a traditional, Christian family, and was always the pretty little blonde in the second row of pews at Sunday service. I played with my dolls, had mock tea parties, braided hair, and had sleepovers every Friday night. I was the epitome of the wholesome girl-next-door image.
I had my first kiss at 13, along with my first crush. I fell in love at 15, had my heart broken three months later, and, against my parents' beliefs and the promises I made to them, lost my virginity at 16 with my best guy friend. And through all that, I was never aware of what being captivated by someone really meant.
I went on to be prom queen my junior year and homecoming queen my senior year, captain of the dance team, and champion tennis player at my local high school, Bennet High. That was also where I met Emelie.
That term I was placed in a photography class that I hadn't signed up for; a slight mistake of the guidance office. I filed my claim with the front desk and was informed that I would have to stick with it for the first week until they'd gotten other schedules arranged. I was disappointed, until I walked into room 107 and saw the girl that would eventually turn my whole life inside out.
She was beautiful, and dangerous; dark hair that swept into her eyes and fell around her face in angled layers, piercing gray eyes lined with smudged black makeup, pale, porcelain skin, all crowning a slender, long body that would make a runway model self conscious. Her skin was littered with piercings: her lower lip, eyebrow, and a little diamond Madonna. I'd never seen such a pretty thing before. And instantly I was hyperaware of myself.
I'm around 5'7" with a dancer's physique: long limbs, sinewy muscles, slim hips, firm assets. I loved the way I looked, and never felt odd in my skin, until I saw Emelie.
She saw me staring at her from across the room, I could tell. I could feel her gaze on my back as I set up my tripod, played with filters, and thought about how my heart raced even when I wasn't near her.
This is insane, I said to myself. Why do I feel prickling sensations up my thighs when she plays with her hair? Why do I blush when she catches me staring? I'd always thought I was exclusively heterosexual. I never thought I could be attracted to another girl.
A few days went by like this. In the morning I woke up a little early and scrutinized my reflection, perfecting all my flaws. I made sure never to have bad breath, and found myself wearing the sexiest of my lingerie under my Cali-girl tank tops and ripped jeans. And while I did all this, I thought about Emelie. Every night, I'd think about her more; by the end of the week I'd fantasized her in bed with me, sweating, my hands roaming her beautiful pale body, her plump lips pressed against my own. I was never ashamed, only hopeful to see her the next day.
Three weeks into the class, we were told we'd be starting our term project: creating a portfolio of someone else in the class, using different angles, lighting, and filters. We had to find a partner for the project, the part that had me at a loss. None of my friends, the dance girls, were in this class. It was a strictly art-geek/scene-kid gathering. So I waited as friends paired up. I watched across the room as Emelie turned down her best friend and a few other acquaintances. This confused me; whom was she going to partner with?
I was almost knocked off my feet when she approached me. I could smell her hair, her perfume, as she leaned over the table and looked me in the eye. She smelled of Chanel No. 5, which surprised me: it was almost too classic to be Emelie's signature scent. Her shampoo had a peppermint and lemon smell to it; clean, and also the essence I'd come to relate to glass shattering orgasms.
My mind was wiped clean as Emelie reached out and picked up the pendant around my neck, her slender fingers just caressing the flesh between my breasts. "I love this, Kaitlyn."
I gulped. I gasped for air. I'm sure I blushed the same color as I would after an orgasm. "Uhm... thanks... family heirloom." I blinked a few times, searching her face; what was she trying to do?
Emelie perched herself on the edge of the table; when she swung her legs, her tight jeans made the same noise as wet hair rubbing against a pillow, another sound I'd add to my sex dictionary in the coming weeks.
"So, do you have a partner?" Her tone was playful... flirtatious?
"No, I don't really have many friends in this class," I replied, looking away.
Emelie laughed. "What, your little ballerina buddies don't like playing with cameras instead of their boyfriends' dicks?"