Winna and Hetty

"I made you something," Hetty said, running her fingers over her hair nervously.

Winna looked up from her book. "You did?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's nothing big. Just a playlist. But I thought we might listen to it and then wherever we are, it'll be like we're together." Hetty dropped her hands into her lap.

"I like that idea." Winna smiled. "I might be listening to a song, and then text you and you can go to the same part of the playlist. It'll connect us."

She put her book on the end table and touched Hetty's hand. "You're my best friend, Hetty. I'm going to miss you so much."

Winna was leaving for grad school, having gotten into a prestigious program in Iowa, while Hetty had been offered a job in town right after graduation. They had been friends since their first year at college and neither of them were looking forward to the next two years apart.

Hetty squeezed Winna's hand, then brought it up to her cheek. It was an unexpectedly tender action that caught Winna off-guard. They were best friends and roommates, but hadn't really ever touched each other beyond the occasional shoulder pat or hug.

Hetty let her hand go. She looked into Winna's eyes deeply for a moment, then asked, "I have one other thing, but I don't know if you'll want it."

Winna's mouth was suddenly dry, her heart beat faster, "What is it?"

"Do you want it?" Hetty asked, leaning closer to her.

Something about the intense way Hetty was looking at her was causing warmth to expand out from Winna's chest.

"I don't know what it is." Winna felt slightly tipsy, though she didn't drink alcohol, as a rule.

Hetty put her hands on the bed to the sides of Winna's crossed legs and leaned so close to Winna that their faces were just inches apart.

"Do you," she whispered, her warm breath tickling Winna's lips, "want it?"

Winna's own breath caught in her throat, and then she whispered back, "Yes."

"Close your eyes." Winna did.

"Give me your hand." She held out her hand.

Gently, Hetty took Winna's hand, wrapped something around it, and then released it. She put her lips to Winna's ear and whispered her final instruction, "Come get it."

Winna heard her run out of the room and close the door behind her. For a moment she kept her eyes closed, not quite understanding. But the spell Hetty had woven over her wore off and she opened her eyes to see that her hand was tied with a neat bow to the headboard rails.

She pulled it loose and started after her roommate. She smiled, but there was also a longing ache in her chest. She had thought for a moment... but, no. This was an old game they played: racing each other from their dorm to the library on the far side of campus. They would sometimes sit on the roof and name the constellations, talk about home, and dream of their futures. Hetty hadn't been very athletic when they had first met, but she had started running in the mornings with Winna after a month of being woken up at 5am by Winna's alarm.

"If you're gonna keep waking me so early, I might as well make use of the extra time," she had said. After that, Hetty was Winna's constant companion on her early morning jogs.

Winna opened the door and ran down the hall and out of the building. It was a beautiful night, she noticed. The moon was out, casting a silvery light on everything. The air was crisp, but not searing. It cooled her skin, erasing the lingering heat from Hetty's breath. She shook her head.

Ahead of her, halfway across the track field, Hetty stood with her arm pointing in the opposite direction from the library and their usual racing route. Winna ran toward her, and Hetty bounded off in the direction she had indicated. Winna yelled, "You needed to cheat with a head start because you're still not as fast as me!"

Hetty only responded by throwing a smile back at her. Winna grinned. The air was cold on her bare arms. Hetty ran into the well-maintained wooded area on the other side of the track field. Winna followed, stretching her stride to shrink the distance between them.

She couldn't see Hetty once she entered the woods, but she heard her ahead.

"I finally found a way to win," Hetty called back to her, "if you can't find me, you can't catch me."

Winna noticed the small change in their game; they weren't racing, but were playing chase instead. The new challenge made her quicken her pace and strain to hear Hetty's footsteps. When she could no longer hear that, she stopped, listening closely for any movement. She felt a pine cone hit her back and whipped around. She barely caught a glimpse of Hetty running in the moonlight. Winna felt giddy as she went after her friend. Soon, the forest broke and they were running into a field of tall grasses.

The open ground here put the slower Hetty at a disadvantage, and Winna sped up. The ground started to slope downhill. Hetty laughed, she must have heard Winna getting close. When Winna was near enough, she reached out and grabbed Hetty's hand.

"Gotcha," she panted. They slowed their pace until they could stop. Hetty plopped down on the side of the hill and pulled Winna down beside her. They were both laughing and panting from the run.

Beyond the hill stretched rolling farmland, and past that a few dim lights where town was. Winna had never been on this side of the woods, and was surprised by the pastoral beauty of the landscape.

"Isn't it funny," Hetty said between pants, "that after years of living right here next to this beautiful place, we've never once seen it?"

She still held Winna's hand, but she avoided Winna's eyes. Winna, adrenaline still pumping through her from the chase, looked at her friend. Tingles ran up and down her body. She moved to kneel in front of Hetty. She brought her hand up to cup Hetty's cheek. Their breath steamed in the chill air.

Winna gazed into her best friend's eyes and leaned in, hesitantly. Hetty closed her eyes and put her lips against Winna's. For a moment, they stayed that way, caught in a tender, chaste kiss. But heat moved up from Winna's groin and she felt compelled to move. She lay Hetty back against the hill, cradling her head and keeping their lips together. Hetty pulled Winna's body to her, pushing up her hips at the same time.

Winna moaned involuntarily when their hips met. The moan broke their trance and they began to kiss passionately, moving their hands hungrily over each other's bodies. The cold dew on the grass prickled against their skin, contrasting and accentuating the heat of their bodies. Hetty continued to rhythmically thrust her hips up into Winna's and Winna moved her legs so that one was between Hetty's. This made Hetty moan, and the sound lit a spark in Winna's chest.

Winna pushed herself against Hetty's thigh, the friction an unexpected delight. Their tongues twined. Hetty sucked on Winna's bottom lip. They ground against each other. Winna kissed from Hetty's jawline to her ear. She gently bit the earlobe and sucked on it, enjoying the gasp and buck of pleasure from Hetty.

Suddenly, it felt much too hot. Winna sat up enough to struggle out of her tank top, while maintaining a rhythmic pulse against Hetty's thigh. When she came back down to Hetty, Hetty reached up to touch her breasts. Hetty let out a murmur of admiration and then took one of Winna's nipples into her mouth.

The sensation of Hetty's warm tongue flicking her nipple sent a wave of pleasure through Winna, and she felt warmth flood into her groin. She ground harder against Hetty. Hetty moved her mouth to the other nipple, and tenderly squeezed both of Winna's breasts in her hands.

Winna's moans rose in pitch and volume, her body moving on its own, until all of the feelings and movements came to a point and she was flooded with pleasure. She let out a long, beautiful sigh. Winna felt heat rush against her thigh as Hetty let out her own sigh, muffled by Winna's breasts.

They slowed their rhythm, but kept the motion going, gliding legs between legs and keeping a steady pulse against each other. Winna looked down at Hetty and kissed her again. When their lips met, the heat inside her grew and her hips moved harder against Hetty. Hetty broke the kiss and maneuvered so that she was on top, but still in the right position for them to grind against each other.

"I've loved you for so long, Winna. I wanted you before I knew you, and the wanting only grew stronger the more time we spent together. I knew I was in love with you after that Valentine's Day when we stayed home and watched Airplane."

Hetty lowered her face and kissed Winna's eyelids.

"I was in love with you before I knew I liked women." Hetty chuckled, "And I didn't know anything could feel this good..."

Winna smiled, and replied, "Can you take off your shirt? I want to do what you did to me. Then you can tell me how good this all feels."

Hetty sat up and pulled her shirt over her head. She was beautiful in the moonlight. The pale glow touched all of her curves and created enticing pockets of shadow. Winna yearned to explore them all, one kiss at a time.

She pushed herself up enough to wrap her arms around Hetty and bring her chest close to Winna's mouth. Winna enveloped one of Hetty's pearl-round nipples with her wet mouth and heard the other woman gasp. She felt warmth where Hetty was pressing against her leg. She dragged her tongue across the nipple slowly, mouth still encapsulating it.

She lifted her leg to press firmly against Hetty, making Hetty moan and rock. Winna opened her mouth and blew on the wet nipple, watching it harden and seeing the little hair follicles around the areola rise up. She did the same to the other nipple, and felt Hetty move faster against her.

Her own pleasure began to peak. She sucked on Hetty's nipples, alternating. When she heard Hetty's moans become more desperate, she met Hetty's mouth with her own. Hetty's body tensed and she sighed deeply. Winna slowed her pace. Hetty lay her body down on Winna's and both breathed heavily in the silence of the night.

"Hetty," Winna finally said, "I love you, too."

She pulled their discarded shirts over them. They held each other as they gazed up at the stars.