"50% OFF EVERYTHING!!!"
It's what the sign read on the window of the candles and pottery store. Never being one to turn down a good sale, I went in. The shelves had been picked clean of the good stuff, leaving stuff in either rainbow or lavender colours. That indicated the store was catering to the local gay and lesbian population. The last thing I wanted was to give people the wrong idea about me.
At the time, I had just ended a long-distance relationship with a guy, leaving me with the usual lousy aftertaste: Regret, anger and hatred of men in general. I did not need a candle or mug proclaiming that I was "proud and out.": I needed something that said, "it's complicated."
As I approached the counter, the clerk did not acknowledge me and seemed more interested in playing with her stomach. She wore blue bell-bottom jeans that hung to her hips with the help of a thick leather belt, a white crop top, a rainbow-beaded necklace and a pair of sandals.
She appeared slightly taller than I was, about 5'3" or 5'4", and had blonde hair that reminded me of Sarah what's-her-name - the Buffy chick. She could have passed for sixteen, but I figured her to be closer to my own age -- eighteen or nineteen. Just when I was about to make my presence known when she said, "I got my belly button pierced last week, and it still feels weird. Does it feel weird to you?"
And with that, she grabbed my hand and placed it on her abdomen. She moved my hand in a circular motion, my mouth went dry, and I could not speak - she had quite the effect on me. After a few seconds, I could pry my eyes away from her stomach to notice that she was staring at me with the nicest green eyes you ever saw. Her eyes would have passed for flawless emerald green; dazzling is the only appropriate way to describe them. "Do you think it feels okay?" she asked while touching my arm.
Then, I realized I was still playing with her stomach, stroking it with small circles. I quickly pulled my hand away, and with eyes unable to hold her gaze, I finally said, "Feels nice." It was probably not the best reply to her question, but at that moment, it was the best I could come up with.
"By the way, my name is J. As in the letter J. Short for Jessica."
"I'm Janelle, has in Jan with an elle." I lied, thinking quickly. I did not want to give her any incentive to look me up... whatever her motives may be. Granted, it was a lame joke, but J politely laughed and gave me a warm smile that I liked. J told me that she was starting her second year at the University of Zurich in a few weeks and working in her parents' store while they were on vacation. The living quarters were directly above the store.
"Would you like to see it?" She asked. Every ounce of my body said this was not a good idea. She was probably younger than I was, and she had other motives for wanting to get me into her bedroom. But the key was probably, and she had this effect on me that I still can't quite describe. The best way would be to say that it drove me to distraction. I could feel myself getting aroused... over a girl...but I just found myself uncertain about what to do next.
"I'd love to," escaped my lips in a strange, husky voice that did not seem to belong to me. I think it's called having your mouth refuse to check with your brain before uttering something.
She flipped the sign on the door from "open" to "close" before she grabbed my hand and led me up a long stairwell in the back. J turned around and kissed me just before the top of the stairs. Her kiss was long and wet, and she tasted like some tropical fruit, blackcurrant, I think.
She firmly groped my left breast as we explored each other with our tongues. Her boldness gave me the courage to reach out, touch her and do the same. I didn't know how I knew what to do. I just followed instinct and was rewarded with a lusty moan. This girl was hot, and just when I thought we might end up doing it on the stairs, she broke us apart and playfully grabbed my hand.
Her room was dark and decorated with posters of some lesbian bands, both mainstream and alternative, like Indigo Girls, Melissa Etheridge and K.D. Lang. She had posters of "When Night is Falling", "Gia", "Bound", and other movies haphazardly hung.
A triangle-shaped sun catcher was proudly displayed where no sun was to be caught. Of course, she took advantage of her "employee discount" and had ample candles scattered throughout the room. A bookshelf in the corner held a few textbooks on accounting, finance and business ethics, an old paperback dictionary, and more books.
