Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, and it was created solely by me as the author. All characters are over the age of 18. Any similarities to characters, real life people, or things are all happenstance, though my appreciation to those who have
inspired
my works is immense. YSI, my friend.
Author's Note:
This was
supposed
to be a stand-alone piece as it's totally a first for me in this category, however, a plan for part two in yet a different category is already being written. Being able to write this all out for you to enjoy is the joy I never knew I could get from it. So... here it is! I sure hope you'll love it and check out my other works as well!
Questions and comments are welcome. Please take the time to rate this story also. I hope everyone will be kind.
What Might Have Been - pt. 1
There were six of us in "the group" during middle school. Megan, Jamie, Morgan, Tara, Belinda, and me, Marti. Especially during eighth grade, Morgan and I were extremely close. We hung out regularly, played The Dating Game constantly, and even went on vacation together that summer. (What's The Dating Game? Oh, one of us would pick three classmates and pretend to be them while the other would ask questions of those bachelors and pick who they'd date. The game was quick and kept us entertained for hours.)
We knew that we were going our separate ways for high school. I went to the private co-ed one across town while she went to the all-girls private school closer to home. Even with the different friend groups and activities, we maintained our friendship. It went even better when we both got our drivers licenses. We cheered for each other from the sidelines and looked forward to our next sleepover or chat on the phone. Before we knew it, we were graduating and looking forward to college.
Morgan had accepted a small scholarship to attend college in the next state over. I got a full ride to the local community college. Communication became less, but we still kept in touch. She had more new friends in her dorm suite, and I was busy working and trying to remember that I had to maintain a high GPA for the sake of my scholarship. It was a little difficult with all the new freedom I had.
I once drove all the way to her school to pick her up to come home to visit for Easter Break. She had some wild stories. I didn't have as much to share, but I suppose I kept up with her experiences in my own way. We had both lost our virginities during our freshman year of college, and the new stories were always met with oohs and ahhs, not to mention questions and giggles.
After college, Morgan moved to the big city to work at a large company downtown. She would talk about the El and the fact that she took a cab here or caught a ride with another co-worker there. I was fascinated by the whole idea. It was when I found myself being sent to a convention downtown that she invited me to come visit her. We made plans for dinner and a quick trip to her place so that I could see it before I would head home on the train later that evening.
As planned, we met and hugged at 5pm when my convention got out and Morgan had gotten off work. She only worked a block away from the center where my event had taken place. We walked a few blocks and headed into the little pizza place she had mentioned several times during our little chats to catch up.
What I loved about our friendship was that no matter how much time went by, we just picked up where we left off. We caught up, laughing the whole time, of course, and then carried on. No hard feelings - we were both busy, and we knew it. It was all good.
So, on the way to her place (which she navigated like a pro), we talked about our boyfriends. I had been seeing Mark for a year at that point, and it seemed to be promising that a proposal was possible. We had been exclusive, talked about the future, had similar interests and goals, and were living together for two months by that point.
Morgan has been seeing Dan for about three months, and they were beginning to get serious about one another, despite Morgan's attempt to stay single for a while longer as she made it in the big leagues with her career. Mark and I had hosted a quaint little dinner at our place with Dan and Morgan the month prior to my trip to the big city. We all got along well and had a great time that night.
"So, will you remember when you leave which train to take to the station?" Morgan asked as she led me to her little apartment.
"Yes,
Moooooom
," I teasingly whined and hugged Morgan with my hand on her hip to bring her into a side hug. "Don't be such a worrier," I pleaded.
"Well, you're not from around here, so I was just making sure," she argued. "Come on in," she invited and sat down once she had set our things on the kitchen table. "Do you have to be back at any certain time?"
"No curfew," I answered and laughed when she tossed a small pillow at me. "Hey, is Dan coming over tonight? I don't want to mess with your alone time."
"Oh, no, not tonight," Morgan answered. "Even though you turned down my offer for a sleepover, he was cool with staying home." She got silent for a slightly longer than normal pause.
"What's up?" I asked. She seemed lost in her thoughts. It was like she had something to ask or tell me. She didn't usually tiptoe around subjects with me. We went back pretty far in our history and always just kinda meshed.
"Nothing, I guess," she responded and kinda laughed it off.
I shook my head. "No, Morg, don't do that. What's up, hun?"
After a big sigh, Morgan sat forward. "I just... I just wondered if you had ever done anything before and not told me. Or, you know, felt a certain way."
I looked at my best friend of many years and tilted my head. "Done anything without telling you? Felt a certain way?" I tilted my head the other way. "Honey, you're going to have to explain what you're talking about. I don't know if you mean skydiving or going on vacation or skipping Mass one week?"
Morgan was about to answer but stopped and turned quickly. "Mass one week? Honey, I haven't been..."
"I know," I teased. "I was just making sure to hit all the subjects I could think of. Just tell me, babe. I'm much more likely to answer more clearly when I understand what you're talking about."
"When I was at college, you know, I had those four suitemates. We, um... one night we were all studying for finals and getting a little restless until one of them asked everyone if anyone had ever messed around with another girl."
"Oh, you definitely never told me
that