Piercing Desire Ch 01

"Teri!"

Teri looked up from her laptop and scanned for the source of the sound. She was sitting outside her favourite coffeeshop, surfing the local WiFi access while enjoying a sweet raspberry cappucino. Since she'd moved back into her hometown 3 weeks ago, she had been running into a lot of old friends. Some didn't recognise her, at first -- in the 3 years she had been gone she had changed a lot. The shy bookish girl with the light-brown pageboy and wire-rimmed glasses had given way to a slim, confident young woman with short black hair and piercing green eyes, and she had long ago abandoned the demure school clothes for a functional, boyish style of dress. Today, a tight white tanktop clung to her rounded breasts, while a baggy pair of olive-green cargo pants completed the ensemble. Though it was early fall, and a chill had begun to creep into the air, the warm coffee had caused her to abandon the heavy wool coat she had arrived in.

"...Teri?" the voice said again, from much closer. Teri swivelled her head around and found herself looking into a pair of warm green-gold eyes. She blinked. Who was this who had recognised her so quickly? And why was the face so strangely familiar, and not, at the same time? She refocused her eyes, taking in the entire face. Streaky blond-brown hair swept back from a round, tan face -- the nose was straight and delicate and her lips were small, yet full. And those eyes, which had first gotten her attention... still unable to place the face, those eyes were hauntingly recognisable.

"It's Emily!" the girl said, smiling broadly, and with the wide sunny grin, the whole picture snapped into place. Teri gasped and spontaneously rose from her chair to wrap her high school friend in a warm embrace.

"Emily! I thought you left town!" she said, after a long minute, releasing her hold and stepping back a pace. Now that she had placed her, Teri couldn't understand why she hadn't known who the girl was just a moment ago. A little thinner, a little taller perhaps (though to the diminutive Teri, everyone looked tall), and the hair that had reached down past the middle of her back was now cropped to shoulder-length, the top half twisted and secured at the back of her head. (If she knew Emily at all, she thought, that hair would be fastened with the complex silver celtic knot clip that she had worn all through school.) Yes, some things had changed about Emily, but the girl who stood before her now was clearly the girl who had shared her secrets, dreams, and even a boyfriend or two...

"Well," Emily countered, "what are YOU doing back, anyway? L.A. get boring? Or did you just miss our great weather?" She wrinkled her nose at the sky, which was beginning to dim with wispy greyish clouds.

"I'm going to school," Teri sighed. "L.A. is wonderful, but I got tired of just sitting around doing the same things. Felt like I should go do something with my life."

"Going to school... here? At Stephenson?" Emily named a nearby university.

"Yeah, I'm taking Literature and Information Systems."

"But I go there too!" Emily nearly shouted. "And I'm a Lit major!"

"You're kidding," Teri said, laughing. "I started the term late, I just got there a week ago, but I haven't seen you..."

Emily pulled up a chair, and still laughing, they compared class schedules. As it happened, they had a class in the same building at the same time on Wednesdays. They agreed to meet and spend some time catching up. Meanwhile, each girl gazed at the other, trying to get used to all the changes they had undergone.

"I like these," Emily commented, pointing to Teri's earlobes. From the right one hung a heavy steel ring with a bead trapped between the two ends. The left was pierced with a slender barbell which sat flush with the front of the lobe, and extended delicately back down the side of her neck, ending at the angle of her jaw.

"What, these?" said Teri. "This one used to be in my tongue," she indicated the left side of her head, "but I moved it when I put in a bigger one."

"Teri!" Emily said. She had always been the more traditional of the two girls; raised as a strict Catholic, she had often raised an eyebrow at Teri's senior year antics. "When did you get your tongue pierced?!"

"Oh, a few years ago," Teri answered, sticking it out a bit for Em's inspection. She had always enjoyed shocking her friend a little. "Here, look at this one." Not without pride, she hooked a finger in the front of her tank top and pulled down a little, giving Emily a little peek at her smooth cleavage. In the centre of the space between her breasts, two steel beads sat on the skin, connected by a 1" steel bar.

Emily gasped and blinked. "Girl, you're crazy," she finally announced. "I didn't know people even DID that!"

"Most people can't," Teri explained. "I just have the right kind of skin. My body likes metal as much as I do. I have a couple of other ones, too..."

The conversation shifted to other topics -- people they had known in high school, what had gone on in town, and how L.A. had been -- and Teri left the piercing conversation unfinished. For now.

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"Emily!" called Teri, running along the wet path. It was her turn to try to get Emily's attention. Just before the end of their last class, the skies had opened up. Now, through one of the area's famous nor'easters, she saw her friend slogging through the rain ahead, sans umbrella. "Emily, wait!"

Ahead, she saw her friend start to turn. "Wait up! I have an umbr- ack!" Teri's shout was cut off abruptly as she slipped on the soggy ground. *SPLASH!* She got to her feet, unharmed, but a muddy stain had printed the entire front of her pale yellow t-shirt.

Emily came back, stifling laughter. "Teri, you're filthy! Give me the umbrella... you're not going to get any wetter, and the rain might at least rinse you off." Teri, admitting the logic of the situation, handed over her umbrella. Together, they took off at a headlong sprint for the safety of the literature building.

Dripping, they finally arrived at the rear entrance of the academic building. Emily reached out and pulled the door. *CLUNK!* The door moved half an inch and stopped. Locked.

"This is unreal," Teri wailed. "We're already both late!" There was nothing to do now. Sharing the umbrella this time, they ran around the massive structure to the front doors. Meeting with success this time, they tumbled into the lobby, sodden and shivering.

Teri looked down at her shirt front. The rain had done very little good -- the bits of sand and earth had mostly gone, but the yellow fabric still bore an irregular dark stain. "Well, Em, you go to class," she said. "I'm already late enough. Dr. Steen would kill me if I barged in now."

"Ugh," Emily agreed. "You have Laura the Bore-ah? You'd better just skip today... anyway, look at you."

"Yeah," Teri grimaced. "I'm just gonna go clean up and then I guess I'll head home. This is my last class today anyway." She picked up the bookbag which had fallen to the floor and headed for the ladies' room. She had almost reached the door when she heard Emily's footsteps close behind her. She stopped.

"Don't you have class to go to?" she asked the taller girl. Then she noticed the umbrella in her hand. "Oh," she said. "Hang onto that. You'll need it when you get out. I'm wet enough already."

Oddly, Emily didn't move. "I... well," she said awkwardly, "I think it's too late for my class too, I mean, it's on the second floor, and I wouldn't... want to go in late. I sit in the back..."

Teri looked back at her friend. Something seemed amiss here. Emily wasn't the sort to miss classes. 'Oh, well,' she thought to herself. Whatever Em was up to, it probably wasn't any of her business. With a slight shrug, she pushed open the door to the ladies' room and held it for Emily to follow.

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Getting the stain out of the shirt proved difficult. Teri tried various combinations of water, hand soap, and paper towels, but the brown splotch of mud steadfastly resisted her attempts at removal. Finally, with a glance around the empty room, she peeled the soggy t-shirt over her head and tossed it into the sink. "Guess I'll have to do this right," she remarked to Emily. Then she did a slight double-take.

Emily's eyes were riveted on her chest.

Emily had seen Teri in various states of undress before. They'd had sleepovers all through high school, had changed into band uniforms together, helped each other dress for prom. They'd taken naps on the bus together, shared beds, and even kissed a couple of times on a dare. It had never crossed her mind that she could find another girl attractive. People just didn't work that way. But at the coffeeshop, when Teri had hooked down her shirt collar to show her the piercing, Emily had had to catch her breath. She had always thought piercings were a little bit gross, but something about the way the steel balls sat in Teri's cleavage, suspended against gravity, had been strangely...

Teri's thoughts were also racing. She'd never made any secret of her bisexuality, and during their senior year, she and Emily had actually managed to convince several people that they were a couple. It was just a lark, though, and Teri had always ignored the grains of desire that lay deep beneath the surface. Emily was straight as a fence post. Right?

Emily seemed to shake herself. A blush started to spread across her face. "I was just looking... at the piercing," she added hastily. "Does it... does it hurt?"

"No," Teri said, a little distractedly, "it only hurt a little bit when I first got it." She moved the jewelry slightly in the hole, absently.

Slowly, Emily reached out a hand, trying to still its shaking. Teri twitched at the coolness of Emily's slender fingers as they touched her skin, but stayed where she was. Both pairs of eyes stayed locked on Emily's fingertips as she traced the outline of the bar under the skin, exploring the metal embedded in Teri's smooth flesh. Teri shivered a little at the delicate touch, feeling her knees weaken. 'Calm down,' she thought to herself. 'She just wants to see it.' This line of reasoning was shattered a moment later, as Emily leaned forward, slowly, dreamlike. Teri felt her breath for a moment, and then an impossibly warm, gentle tongue glided over the space between her breasts.

All the metal in her body seemed to resonate as if struck like a tuning fork. The air went out of her in a rush, and she grabbed at the sink for support. Emily drew back, staring, worried. 'What have I done?' she thought. Shame, fear, and confusion rushed at her in a hot flood. Blushing furiously, she tried to think of something to say.

Teri watched the leaping panorama of emotions flicker behind Emily's eyes. 'She's going to leave!' she thought, suddenly desperate. Recovering herself quickly, she fought her voice into something near her normal register. Forcing nonchalance, hating the cliche, she said "Guess where else I'm pierced?"

Emily stiffened. 'Now or never,' Teri thought, and taking a deep breath, she reached back and unhooked the clasp of her bra. "This is all wet anyway," she said, as lightly as she could manage, peeling the damp garment from her skin and tossing it into the sink. Two horizontal barbells gleamed in the overhead light as the secret of her eternally perky nipples was revealed.

Em shook visibly, and her eyes grew wider. Teri could swear she saw green-gold sparks issue from their depths. An internal struggle painted itself on her face, and she seemed to be trying to force herself to speak. Teri waited.

"Can I --" she stopped. Suddenly she seemed smaller, younger, as a line of defenses came crashing to the ground. Teri wanted to reach out and hold her then, remembering suddenly the confusion she herself had felt as a young teenager as her body responded to... but then was not now. Emily had to do this on her own, and Teri stood still, not even daring to breathe.

"Would it be all right if I touched them?"

Focused as she was on the thoughts running through Emily's mind, Teri was unprepared for the raw rush of desire released by those words. Again she reached out for the edge of the ladies' room sink. "Yes," she said, marvelling at how distant the words felt in her ears.

Emily's fingers brushed her left nipple, and raw lightning ran through Teri's veins. She clutched the sink more tightly, willing her knees to support her. Emily brought her thumb to rest on the center of the nipple, and with her fingers, right to left, she slowly slid the bar through the hole. Teri couldn't help it any longer -- she leant her hips against the counter, letting her breath out in a soft moan.

The ball, Emily realised with a slight shock, was now in her court, but she had no idea what game she was trying to play! Here was Teri, her high school friend, topless in a public bathroom, and Emily, yes, there was no other way to put this, she was playing with Teri's breasts. And even more disturbingly, a heavy slickness was growing between her legs. In spite of her soggy clothes, Em was acutely aware of the very different moisture her body was producing. Playing with Teri's piercings was turning her on in the worst way.

Unbidden, the sensation from a few moments earlier returned to her mind. The smooth softness of skin, her mouth, the unyielding metal -- Emily felt her heart race even faster, and a strange tension was growing in her belly. Like some fever dream, she bent once more at the waist and took the pierced nipple in her mouth. The effect on Teri was instantaneous. Her whole body stiffened, and she sucked in a shallow breath, letting it out in a thin high sound that Emily could not identify. Her arms reached out of their own volition, one caressing the side of Emily's body, the other wrapping around the back of her neck. She pulled Emily to her, needily, but her short stature caused Em's mouth to lose contact with her breast. Both girls gave a small disappointed sound, and suddenly the awkward tension was broken. Emily was the first to start laughing, and the release of shame and worry was enchanting. Teri joined in, still breathless, and they held each other, giggling like teenagers again. Suddenly Teri felt Em's hand again, brushing delicately along the barbell in her left ear, then resting behind the angle of her jaw. She lifted her face to Emily's, her green eyes frank and questioning.

Emily hesitated for a moment, breathing gently. Was this right? Was this good? Years of catechism class swirled in her mind, along with more recent memories, 16 years old with a bag of Swedish Fish, I dare you to eat this from my mouth! and girls laughing and clapping as their lips met, then, now. Emily was once again struck by the softness of Teri's mouth, the full lips not too wet or dry. The smell of her friend's breath stirring the air between them as they came apart, together, eyes shut and mouths careful. They kissed gently, slowly, enjoying the closeness, getting used to the jumble of new thoughts, new possibilities. Slowly they drew apart. Teri was the first to speak.

"You're wet!" she said.

Emily blushed.

Teri blinked, confused, then began to laugh uproariously, so loudly that Emily was sure the bathroom would be invaded. "Your SHIRT!" she choked. Emily turned redder and began to giggle, then stopped. Teri's hands, still behind her back, had grasped the hem of her light sweater and began carefully to pull it over her head. "This too," she added simply, unhooking Emily's bra in one smooth motion. Emily gawked.

The corners of Teri's mouth quirked down in a silly smile. "Practice, practice, practice..." she quipped.

The 1st floor ladies' room in the literature building did not open directly onto the hallway, but into an anteroom, and it was this which saved them from discovery. A footstep sounded in the hall, and from the end of the room came the heavy creak of the outer door. The girls looked at each other in alarm, and without a word, dived for the nearest stall. Teri hopped up onto the toilet, hiding her feet from view, and Emily stood in front of her, facing the door. The inner door of the bathroom creaked open, and heeled shoes clicked on the tiles, closer and closer. They stepped into the neighboring stall, and the door bumped shut and latched. Emily turned her head and the two looked at each other in consternation.

The realisation was simultaneous. In their hurry, a very important factor had been forgotten. The girls were inside the bathroom stall, hidden from view. The girls' shirts, however, were not.

Emily didn't think about this for very long, though. Teri's mischevious nature was quickly recovering from the recent assault on her nervous system. From her crouched position on the rim of the commode, she slowly reached her arms around Emily's waist. She kept her fingernails fairly long, and now she let them touch lightly on either side of the other girl's belly button, then slowly drew them apart. Emily clapped a hand over her mouth and shivered all over. She shook her head, 'Don't!' but her body betrayed her, pressing back against Teri's shins.

Teri ran her hands lightly up Emily's body, coming to rest just beneath her fabulous breasts. She let her fingers trail up and around, meeting in Em's cleavage. Gently with her fingernails she pressed a spot high on Emily's chest, then an inch lower. Then, reaching forward, she pinched both nipples hard.

The toilet paper roll spun in the neighboring stall, covering the sound that Emily could not stifle. Teri smiled into her back, then ran her tongue all the way up Emily's spine. Her "victim" twisted, trying to stay quiet, and smacked her elbow hard against the partition.

Sounds on the other side stopped. Both girls froze.

"Everything OK in there?" asked the voice of Dr. Laura Steen.

Teri and Emily looked at each other in a panic. Teri shook her head. 'She'll know it's me!' she tried to say with her eyes.

Emily jumped into the breech. "Uh.. fine. Just hit my elbow."

"All right," said the voice, "just checking..."

Silently they stayed, hearing her exit the stall and walk to the sink. Shirts. Oh my. The girls held their breath and waited.

After a very long time, the sink sounds ceased, and they heard the heeled shoes exit, the doors thudding softly shut behind them. Emily moved to turn the latch on the bathroom door. Teri, however, was too quick. Emily found herself spun by the shoulders and backed against the door of the stall. She found herself distantly amused by her total lack of resistance.

Teri spoke quietly now, the recent close call fresh in her mind. "You still haven't found them all," she said.

It took Emily a few seconds to figure out what that meant. Teri watched understanding seep in, and could almost feel the increase in the heat pouring from the other girl's body. A wicked idea crossed her mind. "How about I give you some hints?" she offered.

Standing on tiptoe, she kissed Emily deeply, parting her lips gently with a skillful tongue. Expertly she let Em feel the steel beads of the barbell that lived there, brushing first one, then the other across the girl's soft mouth. She felt Em's body weaken under her, muscles slackening, opening. "One," she said.

Kissing gently up Emily's neck, she could taste the thin sheen of sweat that had begun to spring out on her body. Gently she captured the unpierced earlobe in her teeth, teasing it with her tongue. She drew her tongue back and forth along the flat underside of the lobe, sucking gently, and Emily pressed forward, breathing thickly. Suddenly Teri let go. "Two."

She repeated the treatment on Em's other ear, drawing a fingernail gently down the back of her neck as she lavished attention on the tender piece of flesh. She let Emily feel the breath on her ear as she whispered, "Three..."