Coming of Age

They had only just met a couple of days ago, but already they liked each other for years.

Elissa had heard that adage before but had never really understood what it meant until now. She had just turned eighteen and started her senior year of high school. She had friends, and they were nice enough. But for some reason she couldn't quite put her finger on, she just wasn't very close to them.

And then she met Michelle.

Michelle's family had just moved to town during the summer. Not long after the beginning of the school year, Elissa was eating lunch alone one day when Michelle approached and asked if she could join her. There was something in the girl's demeanor that had Elissa nodding her consent. They chatted and learning that Michelle was new had her feeling sympathetic toward the girl having to switch schools for her senior year. The decision to pursue a friendship came when they discovered their birthdays were the same day.

Lunches together became a regular occurrence, and though the girls had no classes together, they did have the same teacher for some subjects. After a couple of weeks, Elissa invited Michelle to her house to study together, and before long, these were happening regularly.

As their friendship quickly blossomed, more subjects became open for discussion. And of course, the topic was what was on the minds of most teenage girls: boys.

"I haven't seen any guys hovering around you?" Michelle finally asked. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

"There's a guy named Jeremy I go out with from time to time." Then Elissa explained, "I mean, I guess you could call him my boyfriend. But we're really more occasional than a regular thing. Almost when neither of us has anything else to do, one of us will call the other. You?"

"I just moved here, remember?"

"You've been here long enough to scope out the guys," Elissa pointed out. "Anyone interests you?"

"Well, not really. I mean, there's a couple who seem nice, but I don't know who's available. And . . ." she hesitated.

"What?"

"Well, I . . . I . . . the truth is, I'm kinda shy around guys."

"Don't feel bad. I guess I am a little, also. Probably why I have the relationship I have with Jeremy. I could ask him if one of his friends might be interested in you."

With a grimace, Michelle said, "Not right away. Maybe I'll warm up to the idea."

* * *

A few days later, as was becoming usual, after an hour or so of homework or studying, they would either finish or get tired of schoolwork.

"Have you thought any more about me asking Jeremy about his friends?" Elissa asked.

"Yeah, I've thought about it, but haven't decided."

"Either you want to date, or you don't."

"I'm content with the way things are for now."

* * *

After their next study session, Elissa told Michelle, "So, I asked Jeremy about his friends."

"I wish you hadn't done that," a suddenly worried Michelle said.

"Just listen," Elissa pressed on. "It was just a what if. I told him you weren't sure. I thought if he had a suggestion, it might be a guy you've met or could check out."

With a heavy sigh, Michelle asked, "Okay. Who?"

"PeteC"

"Pete in my algebra class?"

"Uh, yeah, I think so."

Thinking about it for a minute, Michelle finally said, "He seems nice."

"He is. Want me to set it up?"

"What would we do? What do you and Jeremy do on a date?"

Elissa shrugged. "Get something to eat, go to a movie, go to a party if someone's having one."

"Anything else?"

"Anything else?" Elissa repeated.

"You know."

"No, I don't."

Michelle let out an exasperated deep breath. "Do you ever go somewhere and make out?"

"Is

that

what you're wanting to do?"

"No, no," Michelle quickly denied. "Just wondering if you guys did that is all."

"Well, I

like

to kiss, but Jeremy is not that good at it." Elissa giggled. "He kisses like he's kissing his mother."

Michelle laughed. "Seriously?"

"Yep."

"I'm trying to imagine that."

Elissa thought for a moment. "He kinda puckers too much. I don't even know how to describe it." She tried to form her lips like she thought he did. "And they're short kisses."

"Show me."

"What?"

"Show

me."

"Show you how?"

"Kiss me."

"Are you

seri

ous?" Elissa couldn't believe what she was hearing. They had been lying on their stomachs on her bed with a book opened in front of them. Elissa rolled onto her side away from Michelle but facing her.

"

Yes."

"I'm

not

a lesbian," Elissa said as though it was distasteful.

"Neither am I," Michelle confirmed. "It's just a kiss. You never did practice with any of your girlfriends?"

"No.

You

did?" Elissa was intrigued.

"Yeah, so when we started dating we . . . wouldn't kiss like we were kissing our mothers. It was a coming of age thing."

They both laughed.

"We never did anything else."

The more Michelle talked, the less repulsive Elissa thought the idea sounded. Besides, it was just the two of them. No one would know. "You promise not to tell anyone?"

"Of course, not. Neither of us needs a reputation."

"Okay." Elissa leaned over with excessively puckered lips and with loud smacking sounds, pressed her lips to Michelle's.

But before Elissa got too far, Michelle started giggling. "I'm sorry. That's unbelievable."

"Well," Elissa said with a grin. "I might have exaggerated a little."

"Still," Michelle shrugged. "So, how

did

you learn to kiss?"

"I don't know. Watching movies and TV. Deciding what looked right and what didn't. How did you and your girlfriends know what a good kiss was or not?"

Michelle hesitated for a moment. "I guess the same way you did."

"You

guess

the same way I did? You mean, you don't

know,

or you don't want to

say?"

"What does it matter?" Michelle nervously asked.

"I just want to know."

With a heavy sigh, Michelle revealed, "Well, there might have been another tell."

"Ah

‑

hah!"

Michelle took a deep breath. "Arousal."

"What do you mean,

arousal?"

Elissa demanded.

"If you were aroused by the kiss, it was good," Michelle explained.

"You mean,

sexual

arousal?"

"Uh‑huh."

"If you're not a lesbian, how could you get aroused from kissing a

girl?"

a confused Elissa asked.

"It's not the girl. It's the

kiss."

"I don't believe it."

"Don't believe what?" Michelle asked with a frown.

"That you would get aroused from kissing a girl."

"Want me to show you?" Michelle asked, matter-of-factly.

"You want to

kiss

me?"

"It isn't that I

want

to, I'm offering to

show

you. That would have to happen through a kiss."

Grimacing, Elissa said, "I'll just have to take your word for it."

* * *

However, in the days that followed, Elissa couldn't get that discussion out of her head, but she didn't ever bring it up with Michelle at school.

It was still on her mind at their next study session a couple of days after the last one, but she still didn't bring it up. Instead, after they'd studied a while, Elissa asked, "Think any more about Pete?"

Michelle shrugged. "Not really."

"What do you mean, not really? Either you did or didn't."

"It crossed my mind a couple of times, but I didn't give it serious consideration. I watched him in class the last two days. I'm just not sure about him."

"I'm

becoming less sure about

you,"

Elissa informed her friend.

"Why? Because I don't want a blind date?"

"Well," Elissa said teasingly, "You

kiss

girls and you don't want to go out with a

guy."

Michelle growled in exasperation. "I knew I shouldn't have told you about that. You're making a much bigger deal out of it than it is."

Giggling, Elissa said, "I was just kiddingC"

Michelle silenced her friend by quickly leaning in and pressing her lips to a shocked Elissa's mouth. Michelle then gave her the most passionate kiss she could. She made sure to make it last a couple of minutes. At first, she sensed a little hesitation from Elissa, and almost an effort to pull away. But then, Elissa relaxed and kissed back. Finally, Michelle broke it off when she felt her friend breathing heavier.

Michelle watched Elissa afterward, but the other girl's eyes were still closed. There was no expression of distaste on Elissa's face.

At last, Elissa opened her eyes. She said nothing, merely gazing into Michelle's eyes. "Oh, my

God!

I can't

believe

it. You were

right.

I . . . I . . ."

"You're aroused," Michelle deduced.

"Yes!"

Elissa surprised herself by answering.

"And other than the arousal, do you feel any different?"

"No, I guess not."

"I mean, do you suddenly feel like a lesbian?"

"No, of course not," Elissa answered as if the question was preposterous.

"Well, then. There you go."

* * *

Except that, Elissa couldn't get over the kiss. It had been amazing, but she hadn't wanted to make too big a deal of it at the time. She certainly never had a boy kiss that well. She wondered if Michelle was just a naturally good kisser or if it was the result of practicing with her friends. Elissa knew that she did not kiss that well. She wasn't bad, but nowhere near

that

good.

Michelle's lips had been so soft against Elissa's own, but also firmly pressed to Elissa's. And then there was the slight twisting of her face and the little bit of tongue action, not actual FrenchingCthat would have been too much, just touching the tips.

Elissa was embarrassed thinking about it so much, and had a hard time admitting to herself that she enjoyed kissing a girl. What did that mean?

Michelle never did detect it at school, but at their next homework session a couple more days later, she could see that Elissa was preoccupied. She questioned her friend. "Do we need to talk about the kiss?"

"Talk

about it? Why would we need to talk about it?" Elissa knew she had spoken too fast.

"Because we really haven't, and you've seemed preoccupied ever since."

"Okay. So, you were right. Is that what you want to hear?" She was almost argumentative.

Studying her friend, Michelle said, "I can't tell if you're pissed at me for doing it and being right or pissed at yourself for letting me and enjoying it."

"What makes you think I

enjoyed

it?"

Michelle shot her friend a look that said she knew better. "I'm your friend, Elissa. I'm not trying to make this a competition or an

'I told you so.'

I wish I had never told you about the kissing."

Coming to her senses, Elissa relented. "I'm sorry. I guess it's just overwhelming. The truth is, I

did

enjoy it and I guess it freaked me out. The other thing that . . . I don't know . . . that . . . you're such a

good

kisser. Did you really learn that from

'practicing'

with other girls or are you just naturally good?"

Michelle chuckled. "Practicing. I'm not naturally good. The first time, I accidentally bit my friend's lip."

They both laughed, cutting the tension.

Michelle considered for a moment what she wanted to say, then decided to go ahead and say it. "If you want to practice, I would be willing to practice with you."

A worried look formed on Elissa's pretty face.

"Never mind," Michelle retracted.

"Actually, I

do

want to," Elissa admitted. "I'm just afraid."

"That you'll like it too much?" Michelle surmised. "Some of us went through that, but we kept reminding ourselves why we were doing it, for one. Two, none of us ever felt the need to do more."

That gave Elissa some relief. But she didn't ask the next question on her mind: what if she liked it so much she wanted to do more?

Michelle had a hunch that question was bouncing around in her friend's head, but since she didn't ask it, Michelle didn't address it.

With a deep breath, Elissa said, "Then I guess I'm game if you are."

"Can't get too much practice." When her friend leaned closer, Michelle instructed, "Remember, you need to pretend I'm a guy. Don't try anything fancy right off. Just get comfortable with our lips together. At first, you'll have to fight the notionC"

"I get it," Elissa interrupted, mashing her lips to her friend's.

There was a definite tentativeness as their kiss began. It was soft at first, until they had some suction going. Michelle was so good that Elissa really got into it, almost forgetting she was locking lips with a girl. She was further amazed at how quickly she was becoming aroused, but still, the fact that it was from a female was not registering.

After a few minutes, they broke apart a little breathless. Gazing into one another's eyes, each smiled warmly at the other.

"You really don't need much practice," Michelle told her.

"You mean, you don't want to do it anymore?" Elissa disappointedly asked.

"I didn't say that," Michelle corrected. "I meant you kiss pretty good already."

Elissa nodded, but still felt a little let down.

"But there's always room for improvement," Michelle added.

Their lips came together again, and this time, Michelle wrapped her arms around Elissa, who did the same to the other. This kiss evolved into the kind with a chewing motion. They swapped a little spit, which Elissa found to be stimulating, but she didn't know why. She felt Michelle's tongue lick her teeth, causing her to shiver. Michelle's hand was rubbing her back. A warm feeling pervaded Elissa.

It also caused Elissa to realize what she was really doing and what it was doing to her. She broke off the kiss and said, "I think that's enough for today." They were at Michelle's house, for a change, and Elissa quickly departed.

* * *

At school the next day during lunch, Michelle broke their unwritten rule by asking Elissa if she was okay.

Elissa quickly looked around to make certain no one was in earshot. "Not

here

. I'm fine."

"You just ended it so quicklyC"

Looking distressed, Elissa pleaded in a firm whisper,

"Please

. Not

here.

After school."

"Okay, okay."

So, they met at Elissa's house as usual, but on unusual consecutive days.

"Okay, what's going on?" Michelle wanted to know.

"I just thought we were getting carried away."

"I

wasn't."

"Okay, well, I guess it was just me," Elissa conceded.

"But when that happens, we need to talk about it," Michelle pointed out.

"That's

how we keep it from getting out of hand."

"Yeah, you're right. I overreacted."

"So, do you want to do it again?" Michelle asked.

"Yes."

Once in a comfortable position, they embraced as though they were longtime lovers and kissed as passionately as they ever had. After a couple of minutes, Michelle decided to take it to the next level and gently eased her tongue into Elissa's mouth. Michelle was only testing the waters, so she didn't attempt any serious French kissing. Elissa did not resist, and Michelle retracted her tongue after a half minute. Another minute or so later, it was Elissa's tongue that sought her friend's. Michelle was only too happy to respond. They both allowed it to evolve into real French kissing, and they let it continue much longer than any of their previous kisses.

Elissa finally pulled back when she felt her pussy getting wet.

The girls merely watched each other wordlessly for a few minutes before Elissa started it back up. This time, their tongues dueled relentlessly.

Once again, Elissa's pussy became wet causing her to again halt the kiss. She tried to read any similar feelings on her friend's face, but she couldn't. Finally, she said, "Okay, you want to talk about it?"

"Of course." Melissa was sure she knew what was coming.

"So, now you've got me highly aroused, more so than I've ever been with you; probably more so than I've ever been in my life," Elissa revealed. "Now, what do I do?"

"What do you

want

to do?"

"Get some relief."

"How do you normally get relief when you become aroused?"

"I, uh . . . I, uh . . ."

"You can tell me."

"I m-m-masturbate," Elissa admitted uncomfortably.

"Well, there's your answer."

"What do you do?"

"The same," Michelle did not hesitate to say.

"Then, I guess I'll see you later."

* * *

There was nothing like a good orgasm. Elissa enjoyed masturbating herself to one every few days. She thought she'd had some good ones, but the one she brought herself to after returning from Michelle's was unlike any other. Her muscles tensed so tight she feared getting cramps, her nerves tingled so heavily she thought she might pass out, and she even jammed two fingers into her pussyCsomething she had never done. And if that wasn't enough, it lasted much longer than usual.

But as enjoyable as it was, when it occurred to her that it was borne out of the stimulation from making out with Michelle, it quickly made her sober againCand fearful. She quickly phoned her friend.

"Hey. What's up?" Michelle asked with some concern considering they had just seen each other and didn't usually talk on the phone afterward.

"So, I took your advice when I got homeC"

"Oh, how was it?" Michelle interrupted.

"It was fan

tas

tic."

"You're telling me that, but your voice isn't selling it," Michelle detected.

"I've never had an orgasm that powerful," Elissa worriedly explained. "And it came from what you and I did."

"So, now you think you're turning into a lesbian?" Michelle was glad they were only talking on the phone so her friend couldn't see her smirking.

"Well, I don't know."

"We've never discussed this, but I have to ask, have you ever had sex with a boy?"

"No."

"Ever get stimulated enough after kissing Jeremy to masturbate?"

"No.

"So, you have nothing to compare the orgasm you had, while better than previous ones, to anything you might get from a boy?"

"That's right."

"What do you think about kissing me?"

"How do you mean?" Elissa was confused by her friend's change of direction.

"Is it just practice? Is it fun? Erotic? What?"

Elissa thought for a moment. "I guess it's all of those things."

"Well, I think for you it's one of three things. One, people become sexually aroused by situations that are highly erotic even if it's something they wouldn't normally do or do at all. Two, maybe you're learning something about yourself. You

want

to be heterosexual, but maybe you're really

bi

sexual. Or, three, maybe you

are

going over to the other side. But whichever one it is, there's nothing wrong with either. You need to come to grips with who you are or who you might become. I think you need to have sex with a male. See what that experience does for you."

"Wow!"

Elissa was dumbstruck by what she heard. "I don't even know what to think about any of that. How do you know so much about all of this?"

"I do research."

"Where?"

"Uh, the internet." Michelle let it all sink in for a few seconds, then added, "None of it is anything you have to decide you're going to do or be. Whatever is to be you will eventually discover."

* * *

At lunch the next day, Michelle didn't care about discussing their relationship at school. "You look lost in thought," she noted, taking a seat at their usual table.

"I'm still thinking about what you said last night."

"And?"

"And,"

Elissa pointed out, "we always talk about my feelings. What about yours? Since you have so many answers, I'm thinking you've had similar feelings."

"I have," Michelle admitted, "but not with the level of concern you seem to have. I came to terms quickly with the fact that I enjoy kissing girls. I think they kiss better. Certainly, better than the boys I've kissed. Are there boys out there who can kiss as well? Probably. But I doubt any better than some of the girls I've kissed. You, as well. What does that make me? I don't know. I've never done anything else with a girl."