Tender Mercies

Looking back on it all, I wonder how it ever happened. I thought I was happily married; in fact, I was. But curiosity can be a strange thing and I guess I had always wondered what it would be like to be with a woman. My husband had rented porno a couple times per month and we watched the movies together. It seemed like every movie had at least one scene of two women together. Not exactly a turn-on for me, but interesting nonetheless. Maybe it was the movies, maybe it was simply my curiosity getting the best of me, but somehow I gave in to my hidden desires.

Gail and I had been friends for several years. She was almost 30, cute, with strawberry- blonde hair, a bubbly personality, and, like me, a petite body. She was eight years older than me, but we hit it off almost from the very beginning. We went everywhere together and enjoyed each other's company immensely. Sometimes we talked all night. We laughed. We cried. When I was down, she had a knack of bringing me back up. Nothing ever seemed to upset her; she was one of those rare people who always seemed to be on an even keel.

We were at my house. Hubbie was playing poker with the guys. We had just come back from The Abyss, a local dive that we had gone to often to drink the night away. Gail was wearing a pair of painted-on blue-jeans; for some strange reason I couldn't take my eyes off of her nicely formed derriere whenever she turned her back to me. Her buns were nicer than mine, indeed.

I was making drinks in the kitchen when I heard her call out, "Hey, Beth, what's this movie in the VCR?"

Omigod! Bill had forgotten to take the porno movie out of the VHS player last night.

"Oh, nothing, you are much too young to watch that sort of thing," I giggled as I tried to regain a little lost composure.

I walked into the living room holding two martinis. Gail was holding the VHS tape in her hand, a wicked smile on her face. "I want to watch it. I've never seen one of these things."

"You've never seen porn? My, what a sheltered life you've led," I said, handing her the drink. "They are all the same. Seen one, seen them all."

"I'm serious, Beth. Maybe it will help my sex life." The smile on her face, like always, seemed to light up the night.

"If you insist, my dear. I hope you don't get offended easily."

I took the tape from her and put it into the player. She moved to the sofa and sat down, facing the television. I pressed the "play" button on the VCR and joined her. I was wearing a yellow cotton sundress, just perfect for a warm summer evening. The movie title appeared—"A Night to Remember. Starring Faith Hope."

The first scene was the typical boy-fucks-girl. Lacking any plot whatsoever, the young couple climbed into bed. She gave him head and did a rather nice job of it. Gail giggled excitedly. He slithered down and began chomping on her pussy. Standard for all porno movies. Before long he was playing in and out. Five minutes later he spilled his seed on her tummy.

I looked over at Gail. Her face was red as a beet. She looked back at me. "Whew! A bit inspiring I must say."

I laughed. "These movies are all the same, sweetie. The next scene is a bit more interesting, especially if you've never seen one of these things before."

Two girls in a park. Middle of the day. A picnic basket is half empty next to them. One is wearing a pair of denim shorts, the other a skirt so short it would be impossible for her to sit down without displaying her goodies. Soon they are kissing, tongue to tongue, and breathing heavily.

Gail's mouth was wide open, in shocked surprise. "Look at that! They're kissing!" she exclaimed.

"That's not all they're going to do."

She couldn't keep her eyes away from the TV. I leaned back against the sofa and slowly sipped my drink, watching the girls in the movie go through their little routine. A hand slipped into a partially unbuttoned blouse, inching its way under the lacy, white bra. Girl in skirt moaned loudly.

"Omigod!" said Gail. Without even thinking, she opened her legs just enough to bring her thigh against mine. For a moment I thought about shifting over, but decided that nothing was wrong with a little closeness between friends.

The girl's hand moved inside the oh-so-short skirt and began teasing a completely bald pussy. A finger made its way into the folds, then delved inside. The other girl's gasp was followed by Gail's.

"I don't believe what I am seeing!"

"Shall I turn it off?"

"Heavens no. This is educational!"

We both laughed out loud.

"All porn movies have a girl-girl scene or two," I said. "Bill even brings some movies home that have nothing but girl on girl."

"And you watch them?"

"It's a turn-on for Bill, I guess. And usually I am giving him head, so I don't pay a lot of attention to the movie." I was surprised by my own candor.

"I hate to admit it, Beth, but I am kind of turned on by it. Sort of gets the juices flowing, so to speak."

"I've always been curious about two girls getting it on," I said. "They always seem to enjoy it more than the guy-girl thing."

Girl in shorts was now dipping her head into the splayed legs of girl in skirt. A close-up showed her tongue dip into the honeypot. She licked it clean.

"I've read some books where two girls are doing it," said Gail, "and it seems like the girls are always so much more tender toward each other than a guy and girl."

As if it were the most normal thing in the world, Gail let her head rest languidly on my shoulder. Her forearm brushed against mine. All of a sudden I realized where this was going, but there was something inside me that told me not to stop.

"Girls seem to know exactly what girls want. Guys are more like slam-bam thank you ma'am," I said.

"Tell me about it. George just seems to want to get it over with."

Girl in shorts was now licking the entire length of girl in skirt's sex from top to bottom. Pursing her lips over the clit. Sucking. Biting. The sound of their heavy breathing filled the room.

I put my arm around Gail, just to see what she would do. She almost seemed to expect it. Without a word, she took my hand and entwined our fingers together. We were moving inexorably toward something, I wasn't sure what it was, but my heart started beating faster. I moved my head slightly and planted a soft kiss on Gail's cheek.

"Mmmmmm," she cooed.

"I wonder what it would be like to kiss a woman," I blurted.

"I think we're about to find out," she sighed, turning her head toward mine.

Her lips were so close to mine I could feel her breath. I moved my other hand to her cheek and gently pulled her toward me. There was a slight hesitation on both of our parts as we realized what was about to happen. Then, suddenly, our lips met and we kissed. It was hardly a kiss at first, lips barely brushing together. Becoming bolder, I kissed her more fully, slowly churning my lips on hers. Reflexively, she moved her whole body into mine and her breasts seemed to melt into my waiting body.

"Beth…" she whispered into the kiss.

"Gail…" I whispered back.

She was the first to use her tongue. When I felt it glide past my lips and touch mine, I thought I was going to die. Her kiss was as tender as any I had ever known. Not yet filled with passion, but somehow sweet and wonderful. The thought went through my mind that I was on a sofa kissing my best friend, but it seemed both strange and right. Like it was meant to be.

The kiss lasted the best part of several minutes. When we broke the kiss, long enough to come up for air, we were both breathing heavily.

"I don't think we are going to be able to stop this," she husked, her eyes looking deeply into me.

"Maybe I don't want to stop it," I replied in a voice almost as husky as hers.

"What if Bill…"

"He won't be home for another couple hours," I interrupted, using my fingertips to brush the hair from her brow.

For a fleeting moment I wondered if Gail expected us to do what the girls on screen doing—the real thing. Neither of us were looking at what was happening on the television, but the incessant love-panting of the movie stars made a eerie back-drop for what was happening on the sofa.

"Am I coming on too strong?" she asked, biting her lower lip nervously.

I smiled. "It takes two to tango. It felt nice."

"Very nice," said softly. "Too nice."

Gail nestled her head in the crook of my neck, her lips barely touching me there. She felt warm. IT felt right. I ran my fingers through her hair, exposing her left ear. Then, using only the tip of my index finger, I lightly encircled the inside of her ear. She moaned softly.

"So gentle…" she whispered.

Her forearm rested languidly between my breasts as her fingers played a soft tune on the side of neck. "Are you nervous?" I asked.

"Very," she replied.

"Me too. We can stop if you want and we'll just chalk it up to the drinks. I don't want you to do something you might be ashamed of later."

Her mind was buzzing. "Maybe I don't want to stop," she finally said, echoing what my own mind was telling me.

Boldly, I took the hand that had been caressing the side of my neck and rested it softly over the top of the bodice of my sundress, my breast beneath the thin cotton becoming more and more eager for her touch. At first she just let it lay there, almost afraid to take an even greater step. I knew she wanted to touch me as much as I wanted her to, so I pressed my palm over her hand and pushed it against me. Her touch was like an electric shock. Sensing that I wanted more, she cupped my breast gently and kneaded it. The feeling was wonderful!

Kissing the top of her head, her hair soft as butterfly wings, I whispered, "That feels nice, Gail."

One of the girls on screen was in the throes of an orgasm. Probably girl in skirt, if I remember correctly from the other night. I didn't think I would be very far behind. Gail moved her hand to the top of my bodice and began unbuttoning me. My heart was racing wildly. We had seen each other naked after playing tennis and thought nothing of it. This was different. So very different.

She exposed my bra. "Very pretty," she said, looking at the cleavage and the white lace that provided a provocative peek at the pink, round areolas and the already turgid nipple beneath.

I took a long, deep breath. Gail continued unbuttoning me. All of a sudden I felt ashamed that my breasts weren't bigger than they were. But, then again, Gail's would never make the centerfold of Playboy either. Wordlessly, she moved her head down and planted a soft kiss on the cleavage. Another shock went through me.

On screen, the girls were done, but we were just beginning. All of a sudden I felt a wonderful wetness forming inside my panty crotch. It was a delicious feeling. I wondered if Gail was doing the same. Her lips moved from the side of my breast to the bra itself. She kissed the lace softly, encircling, but never quite touching the nipple that was screaming for relief.

"You're such a tease," I said softly.

"What do you want?" she husked.

"Suck my nipple," I boldly blurted.

She did. Pursing her lips over the lace and oh-so-sensitive bud, she took me into her mouth and I moaned loudly. I moved my hand to the back of her head and held her in place, never wanting her to let go. She suckled me like a baby, moving her tongue back and forth over the already hardened nipple. I hardly noticed that her left hand was now gently kneading my abdomen, over the top of my skirt, only a few inches above my pubis.

I opened my legs in invitation, wondering if she would accept the bait. She did. Her hand moved to the inside of my knee, her fingertips playing a sweet melody on my skin as she slowly worked her way along the inside of my thigh, exposing more and more of my legs with each movement upward. She was soon perilously close to my sex. "I'm soaked," I warned her.

"Let's see," she husked. She covered my sex with the flat of her hand, pressing deeply into the wetness. "Wow, it's more than just a little soaked. It's VERY much soaked! I think someone is a bit turned on."

I felt her finger insinuate itself into the outer lips of my pussy, through the silk of my panty crotch, then inch upward to find the delightfully engorged nubbin. I groaned when she pressed into the very center of my being, raising my hips off the sofa to accommodate her. With her lips sucking on my nipple and her finger teasing my clit, I was too far gone to care what else might happen. Somehow I felt I had been needing a woman's touch like this all my life, and now that I had it, I wasn't about to let it go. And somehow everything seemed right because it was my best friend sharing this wonderful moment with me.

There was no holding back now. I moved my hand between us and cupped her left breast, over the top of her blouse. Her sigh was enough to tell me she wanted even more. I squeezed gently. Her breast was firm beneath a couple layers of material. I ran my thumb over the nipple beneath and Gail moaned softly.

"I want to be naked with you," she said in a thick voice.

"Let's go to the bedroom," I replied boldly.

We both arose, our faces flushed with desire, our bodies eager to do something we had hardly even dreamed about. I had enough forethought to turn off the VCR. It was guy doing girl again anyway on the screen. We held hands and giggled like teenagers on a first date as we made our way to the bedroom. I decided to leave the door open, to allow us to hear Bill if he came in early.

We stood in front of the bed, facing each other. I thought my rapidly beating heart was going to burst from inside my chest. We neither moved nor talked. We just stood there, each with our own thoughts. Part of me wanted to back off, but most of me wanted Gail next to me. Slowly we embraced, melting into each other, and kissing with a renewed passion that had been missing from our earlier embrace. Tongue fought against tongue. We were breast to breast, abdomen to abdomen. Our breaths soon became more ragged.

The feelings I felt made time stand still.

I finally broke the kiss. "Undress me," I said.

Gail smiled. Wordlessly, she undid the belt around my waist, then eased the dress off the sides of my shoulders. It fell limply in a heap at my feet. I stood there, wearing only the lacy bra, a white half-slip, and panties. She pushed the slip over my hips and it joined the yellow summer dress. I stepped out of the circle of the material and hoped she liked what she was looking at.

"You are beautiful," she whispered.

I laughed. "Shut up and get it over with. I'm nervous as hell."

She leaned forward and undid the clasp of my bra from behind my back. The straps slid down my arms, exposing my breasts. My panties were not far behind. Soon I stood there, naked and yearning, the dark hairs of my pubis contrasting sharply with the alabaster white of my abdomen. Her eyes drank me in, and my face flushed as red as a beet.

"Me too," she said, standing back. "Nervous as I ever have been. I want us to be good for each other, Beth."

My greedy hands were at the buttons of her blouse in a flash. Her bra was a light tan in color. Her breasts were not a lot bigger than mine. She helped me shed her blouse. Working the jeans off was another story altogether. She wasn't wearing a belt, so I thought it would be easy. How wrong I was! There was not a lot room between her buckle and her tummy.

"How did you ever get these jeans on?" I asked incredulously.

"Painted 'em," she replied with a wry smile.

"I believe it," I said, finally able to undo the button and pull down the fly.

Her bikini-styled panties matched her bra. It took me about 30 seconds, but I was ultimately successful in moving the jeans over her hips and down her legs. Kneeling in front of her, with her jeans at her feet, I eased my fingers into the elastic of her panty-top and pulled downward. I couldn't help but stare. Her pussy hairs were as reddish-blond as the hair on her head. Carpet matches the drapes as they say. I wanted to look at her there for the next few hours, maybe the next few years, but I knew there was more of her to see.

She turned her back to me and I unclasped her bra. But not before I stole a glimpse of her perfectly round and delightfully naked derriere. When she turned back toward me, I gasped. Although I had seen her naked many times, standing before me like this, before we were about to make love, gave her a glow that was about to light up my night. We stood there for what seemed like an eternity, drinking each other in. She might have been eight years older than me, but there was not an extra ounce of flab anywhere on her body. Her breasts were average in size, but they were almost conical in shape, capped by larger than I had remembered light-brown nipples that looked incredibly inviting. Her breasts were perfect, beyond compare.

I opened my arms in invitation, and she moved into me slowly. This time it was different. Our naked bodies fit perfectly together. She eased the soft hair of her pussy onto my thigh and I did the same to her. Our breasts were pressed tightly together. Her turgid nipples bit into me. I could almost feel her heart beating against mine.

"You feel so good," I whispered.

"You feel even better. So warm. So nice and warm…"

I hardly remember moving to the bed, but suddenly we were in it, still hugging each other like there was no tomorrow. This time our kisses were feverish, grinding, almost biting. I drove my tongue into her mouth and she accepted it greedily, sucking on it. I wasted no time in getting down and dirty—my hand quickly found the patch of soft fur between her legs. I didn't think it was possible, but she was even wetter than I was down there. My middle finger slipped easily into the warmth and moisture. She half grunted in acceptance of the finger inside her. Her vagina seemed to literally tighten around it. She undulated her hips as I moved the finger in an out. When I used her own moisture to play with her clit, she hugged me so hard I thought she was going to take all the air from me. Her breathing became more and more ragged.

She literally bit the side of my neck as I continued my onslaught. The pain from her teeth only goaded me on. My finger was now making slurping sounds inside her. She was flowing like a river onto my hand. I felt like she wanted to swallow me up with her pussy. A second finger, and then a third, deep inside her cunt, hardly seemed to assuage her. When I wiggled a soaked digit across her clit, she moaned so loudly I thought the neighbors would hear her.

She was making low, unintelligible noises against the side of my neck, even as she continued softly biting the skin. I pressed my finger hard against her clit; she pressed herself against it.

"Don't stop, I'm almost there!" she cried.

With renewed vigor, I raked my fingernail across her love button. She started making "Ngggggg… ngggggggg" sounds from deep in her throat. I knew she was coming when she bucked her hip once, high off the bed.

"Yesssssssssssss…. Yesssssssssss," she repeated over and over as the waves of a delicious orgasm coursed through her body.

I left my hand, unmoving, between her legs as she slowly came down. I was surprised to see how easily I had made her come. My hand was filled with her love juices. I felt like licking my hand clean, but thought the better of it.

When she was finally able to talk, she looked deeply into my eyes, searching my soul for a look of happiness. When she found it, she smiled. "Wow!" she exclaimed. "Haven't had one of those in a long, long time."

I smiled. "I thought you were going to die, girl. You sure came hard."

"I did. But now it's someone else's turn."

Suddenly she pushed me off of her, onto my back. She pounced on me like a preying tigress. She pinned me to the bed, then dove into me, her head between my breasts. Hardly had I time to close my eyes when her lips found my nipple once more and she sucked it hard, sometimes grazing the nubbin with her teeth, sometimes nibbling at it. She moved her head to my other breast and did the same thing. I was in ecstasy. Pure and sweet.