Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Lo & Behold by Diola Dragontail

   Chapter 20: Sleepover

   "Damn John Whorfin and the horse he rode in on!"

   "Aiiiieeeeee!" Jane screamed like a little girl when the phone on her
bedside table suddenly started ringing.  Her heart was racing and the shock
was almost enough to make her to pee her jeans.  Her hand scrambled for the
receiver, hoping to silence the incessant ringing.

   "I got it Dad!" Jane shouted, hoping that the announcement would stop
her father from picking up the other line.  And, keep him from asking why
she'd just finished screaming like a baby.

   Jane sat up on her bed as she put the receiver to her ear, clicking the
pause button on her DVD player with her free hand.  "Hello?"

   "Hey," Cat's voice was instantly recognizable.  "What are you doing?"

   "Um," Jane was more than a little thrown by the phone call, unexpected
as it was at this hour.  And, she wished she had a better answer to the
question.  "Watching TV?"

   "Wanna go out and get something to eat?" There was a slightly hopeful
tone to Cat's voice, certainly unnoticeable to anyone not practiced in
recognizing the teenager's moods.

   "It's Sunday." Jane replied, more than a little confused by the request.


   "So?" Cat's voice seemed unimpressed by the reply.  "I haven't eaten and
I don't feel like eating with the parents."

   "But it's late." Jane glanced at the digital clock on her bedside table,
the glowing red display confirming that it was already after six.

   "I don't want to go out alone." The hopeful tone had returned to Cat's
voice.

   "My Dad is never going to go for it," Jane said regretfully.  She really
did want to go, but she knew it would be a no win argument with her father.
"You know how he gets about school nights."

   "Tell him you're sleeping over at my place.  We can get something to eat
on the way back here." Cat's voice offered, countering the argument.

   "I don't know." Mentally Jane was weighing the pros and cons, as well as
the likelihood of her father agreeing, and the level of argument that might
happen if he disagreed.

   "I really need someone to talk to." Cat added, an unaccustomed sound of
desperation briefly entered the teenager's voice.

   The sudden, unexpected swerve in Cat's demeanor caught Jane by surprise.
But she doubted she could explain it to her father in a way he'd
understand.

   "How about I get my mother to call back?  And promise your father that
everything will be fine?" Cat was really sounding desperate now, if she was
willingly enlisting the help of her mother.

   "I guess." Jane replied, more confused and concerned now than anxious.

   "I'll have her call back in ten minutes." Cat's voice replied quickly,
followed by the click of the connection being severed.

   Jane glanced at the receiver in her hand for a second, half studying it
in confusion.

   -----------------------------------------------------------------------

   Cat hung up the phone and then ran her fingers through her short black
hair, shaking out some of the excess water and not caring where it landed.
She yanked the wet towel off from around her body, dropping it onto the
bedroom floor in a sloppy, damp mess.

   She paced up and down her room as she thought about things.  Seemingly
bereft of energy, she dropped face first onto her bed and laid there for a
moment, before rolling over and staring up at the ceiling.

   She had so many conflicting thoughts going on in her head and the only
logical thing she could do with them was talk to someone about them.  Not
just anyone though, she doubted most people would understand what she had
to say.

   The only person that came to mind was Jane.  She was the only one that
would listen all the way through, before making any judgments.

   With a sudden surge of inspiration she lunged up and back to her feet,
snatching up her jeans from the floor and dug through the pockets.  With a
small squeal of amusement, she pulled the $27.89 from her pocket.  It was
what was left of her spending money after she splurged on the pretzel while
living the mall.

   Now the big trick was to convince her mother to be part of her little
plan.

   -----------------------------------------------------------------------

   "I'll call you when I get there!" Jane shouted while still standing in
the doorframe of her apartment door.  "Love you!"

   Cat could barely hear Jane's father's muffled reply.  And Jane didn't
seem like she wanted to stick around to hear it.  Instead she bounced out
of the apartment, pulled the big white door closed behind her, and locked
the door.

   Jane started away from the door quickly, making Cat follow in her wake.
It was like Jane wanted to get far away before her father had a chance to
come to his senses and change his mind.

   "I don't know what your mother said, but I can't believe Dad went for
it." Jane remarked, glancing at Cat in slight awe.  She repositioned the
old red backpack on her back as Cat snatched the duffel bag from her
friend's hands.

   "I dunno." Cat shrugged slightly.  "My mother can be pretty persuasive
when she wants to be."

   Jane nodded in reply, realizing that apparently neither of them had been
privy to the conversation.

   "Where do you want to eat?" Cat asked as they started down the three
flights of stairs to the lobby.  There was an elevator in Jane's building,
but it was usually quicker and easier to just take the stairs.

   "I don't know." Jane replied a bit meekly, "I didn't want to push my
luck.  I didn't ask Dad for any money."

   "Don't worry about it." Cat waved her freehand dismissively.  "I have
some cash.  My treat."

   Jane looked at the back of Cat's head in disbelief.  The girl was full
of surprises this evening and Jane wasn't entirely sure what this was
leading up to.

   "What did you want to talk about?" Jane ventured as they reached the
bottom of the stairs.

   "Not here." Cat pushed open the door to the lobby as she replied.  Her
voice wasn't annoyed or upset, still kind of friendly.  But with a slightly
antsy, cautious edge.

   All the secrecy only made Jane even more curious.

   -----------------------------------------------------------------------

   "Look guys, it's the freak parade." The voice caught Cat by surprise. 
Her first impulse was to stop and look in its direction, but she knew it
was better to just ignore it and keep going.  "I told you they only came
out at night."

   Cat didn't want to show emotion.  Didn't want to even acknowledge that
the goons existed, never mind admitting that she heard them.  She glanced
back at Jane and could see that her friend was more than a bit anxious,
maybe even afraid.

   "What, you two goth dykes hard of hearing too?" The voice was like a
mental stab, unrelentingly pulling Cat's attention.  She was use to the
insults, but she at least wanted to see who was slinging them.  "You two
out on a date?"

   The sarcasm dripped from the poser jock's voice, his pair of Neanderthal
friends cackling in the background.  The laughter egging the lead caveman
on to be even more abusive and moronic.

   Cat's normal reaction would be to just ignore the assholes.  Just keep
walking and not give them the satisfaction of a reaction.  She glanced at
Jane again and could see the pain and hurt on her face; she was trying to
hide it, but not very successfully.

   That's all it took to send Cat into motion.

   "What did you say, asshole?" Cat shot back, stopping in her tracks and
staring at the entourage.  She took an inventory of them and mentally
classified them as quickly as she could.

   The ringleader, the one with the big mouth, she'd had problems with him
before.  Mostly at school though.  Wannabe-pretend jock that wasn't really
good at anything other than being a bully.  Since he was in the same school
year as her, he'd been a pain for as long back as she could remember.

   "Oooh." The lead caveman shivered in mock fright.  "The little carpet
muncher has teeth."

   His two buddies were less of a concern.  All of them were equally
useless, but they were mostly just flunkies.  Easily led sheep that the big
goof was able to order around as long as he kept them entertained.

   "Just leave it alone.  Ignore them." Jane whispered behind her, trying
to avoid all of it.

   Cat wanted to look back at Jane, but didn't think she could afford to
take her eyes off the gang of assholes.  She could imagine Jane shrinking
back even more, further fueling Cat's rage.

   For a moment Cat wondered what you'd call a group of assholes.  A flock
of assholes?  A pack?  A tribe?  A swarm?  She settled on the last one,
them seemed about as intelligent as bugs anyway.

   The mental distraction was a trick Cat had taught herself.  A way to
keep herself calm when confronted by situations like this.  A way to
rationalize a small portion of it all.

   "What's your fucking problem?" Cat shot back, standing her ground,
trying to stare down the caveman.

   "You're my fucking problem right now." The caveman blustered, puffing
his chest like a spurned gorilla.  "I don't like the pair of you on my
street."

   He stressed the word "my" as if somehow he owned the avenue.

   "Oh, big man, picking on a pair of girls." Cat decided to take a
different approach now.  "What, all the kindergarteners in for the night?
No one else left to harass?"

   His manhood apparently impinged, the gorilla leaned off the car he was
leaning against.  Trying to puff his chest even more, stalking forward in
as menacingly a way as he could manage.

   "Here, hold this a second." Cat turn only slightly, not wanting to take
her eyes off the approaching goon, handing Jane's duffel bag back to her.

   "What are you doing?" Jane whispered, confused and more than a bit
frightened.

   Cat didn't bother to reply, instead turning to face the gorilla that was
now standing right in front of her.

   "Your girlfriend is about to get her chink ass killed-" The gorilla
started to say, making Cat see a dozen different shades of red.

   "What the fuck did you just say?" Cat instinctively cocking her fist
back, getting ready to throw a punch that she knew she was hopeless out
matched with.

   "I said," the gorilla started to laugh, not feeling the slightest bit
intimidated.  "I'm going to kick your chink ass."

   The use of the insult made Cat cock her fist back even further.

   "Go ahead." The gorilla stuck his chin out towards her.  "I'll give you
a free shot.  Let you pull your Jacky Chan shit on me."

   Cat twisted her wrist slightly, as if about to throw the threatened
punch, and then kneed the gorilla in the groin as hard as she could.

   For a moment after the impact, he just stood there unmoving.  And Cat
thought she was in even more serious trouble.  Then the slow groan of pain
came out of his mouth, just before he toppled down to his knees, his hands
clutching his shattered family jewels as his troupe of trained monkeys
watched in stunned silence.

   The adrenalin that fueled her attack suddenly fled Cat's body.  She
glanced over the prone ape to see his flunkies staring surprised at this.
Glancing at each other and trying to decide what to do.

   For the first time in the encounter, Cat actually felt scared.  She
didn't know what to do.  She wanted to run, but didn't feel the energy to
do it.  Scared that the minute she turned her back, something would happen
to her.

   Her hands shook as her mind raced.  She felt cornered and unsure of what
to do.  Suddenly thinking that maybe the best idea was just to have ignored
it all.

   Behind her, Jane stood motionless, clutching her duffel bag in front of
her chest like a shield.  She didn't feel scared anymore.  She wasn't sure
exactly what she felt.  She glanced from Cat's back to the goon on the
sidewalk, images of all the torments the gorilla had put her through going
through her mind.  She felt the urge to dash forward and just start kicking
him, but somehow that just felt wrong.

   "You bitch," One of the flunkies had finally found his own balls. 
Mustering up words and maybe even a plan as he started towards her.  "Now
we're-"

   The screeching of tires interrupted the goon's tirade, Cat's eyes
darting past the approaching goon and settling on the familiar red paint of
the Mustang that had skidded to a stop.

   "What the fuck is going on?" The door flung quickly open as the voice
shouted.  Roger stepping out of the still running car.  His eyes look past
the gorillas and focused on Cat and Jane.  "Are you two okay?"

   Cat nodded, feeling more than a bit less scared now.

   Roger looked at the trio of boys for a second, then back to Cat and
Jane. "Go on and get in the car."

   Roger's words were forceful, almost an order in tone.  It wasn't like he
was reprimanding them, more like he wasn't going to give them a choice in
the matter.

   Cat moved quickly around the prone gorilla, slipping around Roger then
turning around to make sure Jane was following.  Cat took Jane's duffel bag
as Jane dived for the safety of the backseat.  Cat quickly following behind
her.

   To Cat's surprise, Roger closed the car without getting in, walking
towards the lead gorilla as he started to get back to his feet.

   "I don't want to ever hear about any of you assholes bothering these
girls again, do you understand me?" Roger, while never one to generate much
of an imposing figure, towered over the trio.

   Cat and Jane both watched from the backseat window.  Unsure of what to
expect or even if they were really out of the fire yet.

   "Bullshit!" The lead gorilla finally made it to his feet again and
seemed even less inclined to back down.  "That fucking bitch-"

   The gorilla's words were interrupted by the sound of a sickening crunch.
The gorilla's face made contact with Roger's fist.  Neither Cat nor Jane
even saw Roger begin to throw the punch.  It just seemed to come out of
nowhere.

   The gorilla stumbled back, clutching his face as blood already started
to flow from his nostrils--the entire time shouting incomprehensible
replies.

   "I guess you didn't understand me the first time, did you, you dumb
fuck?" Roger held his ground, keeping his fist obviously ready.  "You two
want some too?"

   The response was immediate as the other two goons quickly backed down,
shaking their heads.

   Roger watched them for a second more, and then turned his back on them.
He walked back to the car, pulled the door open, and slide into the
driver's seat.  He didn't say a word as he shifted the Mustang back into
gear, the car lurching and screeching as it took off.

   "Thanks Roger." Cat commented from the backseat, her sentiment echoed by
Jane's nodding head.

   "Yeah." Roger replied, not sounding entirely thrilled with the
appreciation.  "What the hell were you doing?"

   "I don't know." Cat sunk back in the seat a bit, feeling somewhat
chastised and foolish now.

   "She was defending me." Jane suddenly found her voice, surprising Cat.

   "What?" Roger took his eyes off the road for a brief second, glancing
into the backseat.

   Jane stared back at him, not backing down from her statement.  "They
called me a dyke.  Cat was just defending me."

   Cat watched Jane for a moment, trying to process this conversation.  She
didn't expect Roger to start laying into her over it.  And she really
didn't expect Jane to leap to her defense.

   "Okay." Roger still sounded less than convinced.  "Why do you care what
a bunch of idiots say?"

   "Because I am." Jane almost spitted the words out, gritting her teeth
for the reaction.  Her eyes stared directly ahead now, making it a point
not to look at either Cat or Roger.  "That's why."

   Cat watched Jane in stunned silence, her mind reeling.  None of these
was what she expected and just when it seemed to be calming down, it turned
out to be spinning even further out of control.

   Roger seemed less surprised, "That's fine, but still not a good reason
to waste your time with that bunch of inbred assholes."

   Jane felt slightly reassured after seeing Roger's non-judgmental
reaction.  She mustered up the courage to look across the backseat at Cat.

   Cat and Jane's eyes met and for the second time in less than an hour,
Cat felt cornered.  She knew she needed to have a reaction to Jane's
confession.  She knew the reaction she wanted to have.  But the only thing
that was registering on her face was shock.

   Jane quickly looked away, turning her head to look out the other window.
"Can you drive me home?"

   "Yeah, sure." Roger replied, he had been driving a bit aimlessly, since
he hadn't even considered where he should be going.  "You know you could
have gotten yourselves hurt?  If I hadn't spotted you?"

   Cat blinked for a second, staring at the back of Jane's head, then
glanced towards the driver's seat and Roger.  "Roger?"

   "Yeah?"

   "Shut up." Cat turned her attention back to Jane now, "Jane?"

   No response.  Cat felt the panic filling her again.  Followed by the
frustration of not knowing what to do or even what to say.

   "Roger?  Pull over please?  Just for a minute?" Cat whispered the words,
not to hide them from Jane, but just because it felt like the right thing
to do.  Talking in a normal tone just seemed out of place.

   Roger didn't say a word, pulling the car into the deserted parking lot
of the closed supermarket.

   "Jane?" Cat repeated, but there still wasn't a response.  "Look at me?
Please?"

   Cat felt desperate now, unsure of what to do if Jane didn't comply.  She
wanted to just yank Jane around and make her look, but knew that wouldn't
solve anything.

   Jane's head finally twitched, turning to face Cat, but Jane's eyes
refused to look at her.  They were focusing instead on some imaginary spot
on the car floor.  Cat could tell that her friend was fighting back the
urge to cry.

   "Jane?  It's okay." Cat kept her voice soft, trying to sound honestly
understanding.  "It doesn't make a difference to me whether you are or
aren't."

   Jane's mouth frowned, showing that if Cat's words were having any effect
at all, it wasn't the one that Cat intended.

   "It's been a long day.  I just didn't expect any other surprises
tonight." Cat could see Jane's face start to scowl.  She knew she had to
say something, to prove she was being honest.  "I had sex with my mother."

   Even as the words left her mouth, Cat mentally flinched.  It didn't
sound anything like the way she intended it to sound.  She had been
planning to tell Jane about that tonight, but she hadn't been planning to
confess in front of Roger or to be doing it in the backseat of his car.

   "What?!" Both Cat and Roger shouted in almost perfect unison, an equal
amount of disbelief in their voices.

   Cat could feel the eyes of both of them on her.  It would have felt
reassuring to have Jane able to look at her again, but not under these
circumstances.

   "You're lying." Roger said with a marked sound of disbelief.  "You're
just telling stories to try and shock us."

   Before Cat could rebuff his reply, Jane interceded.

   "No.  She's not." Jane's eyes narrowed, as if she was studying the
minutest detail in Cat's face.  "I can tell when she's lying."

   Cat just nodded slowly as Roger looked back at her.  Cat didn't pay him
any more mind though, her attention was solely focused on Jane.

   "That's what I wanted to talk to you about tonight." Cat frowned.  "I
just didn't think we'd be doing it here...  or you'd have your own burden
to share."

   Jane nodded slowly, her mind still processing Cat's words.

   "I'll take you to the police." Roger said, his hands gripping the
steering wheel tightly in anger.

   "No!" Cat jumped at Roger's words, grabbing hold of his shoulder.

   "But-" Roger started to protest, one hand relaxing and releasing the
steering wheel with a sticky sound.

   "But nothing.  No police.  You can't tell anyone." Cat pleaded,
unaccustomed to being on the defensive like this.  It wasn't a feeling she
enjoyed.  "I wanted to do it."

   Roger's hand paused now, hovering in mid-air over the gear shift, before
he just gave up, turned around in his seat and looked back at Cat.

   "Okay, fine.  I won't tell anyone." He finally said.  "But you're going
to have to explain things a little better than that."

   "Stop giving her a hard time, Roger." Jane shot him a sharp look now,
chastising him.  "You just want to hear details so you have something to
masturbate to tonight."

   "What?  No I don't!" Roger's eyes went wide at the accusation, but
Jane's gaze just remained firmly fixed on the older boy.  His resolve
wavered slightly, "Well, so what...  Her mother is hot."

   "Roger!" Jane shouted in annoyance, her expression getting even darker.

   Cat tried not to laugh as she watched the exchange between the two of
them.  She did her best to keep her expression fixed, wondering how long
this would go on.

   "Well, since everyone is admitting something, I thought it was okay."
Roger shrugged his shoulders now, turning hide his face from the backseat.
"I'm a normal guy.  I can't help it if I find it exciting.  Two hot women
going at it."

   Cat couldn't help but blush and smile at that.  Not only did he refer to
her as a woman, but a hot woman too.

   "Roger!" Jane shouted again, with seemingly every intention of
protecting Cat's honor.

   "It's okay." Cat quickly blurted out, reaching out to grab Jane's hand
to reassure her.

   The touch shocked Jane's attention back to Cat.

   "It's Roger.  You know how he gets." Cat offered with a shrug of her
own. "Besides, he did rescue us, sort of.  So I can let him slide for now."


   Jane nodded slowly, feeling Cat's hand on hers was something more than
comforting.  Something she couldn't describe.

   "So does this mean that you're...  you know?" Jane asked, her words
obviously chosen very carefully.  When she saw the look of confusion on
Cat's face, Jane leaned closer and whispered.  "You know.  A lesbian?"

   Cat thought about it for a moment, and then replied in normal voice.  As
if she was quite comfortable with her answers and not concerned with Roger
hearing.

   "Maybe.  I don't know.  I don't think so." With Cat's words, a flash of
disappointment appeared on Jane's face now.  "Bisexual at the very least, I
guess."

   The glimmer of disappointment disappeared from Jane's face, while Roger
fought to keep from saying something himself.

   The car was silent as Jane watched Cat for a very long moment.  She was
mustering up a bit of courage for one last confession.

   "I've wanted to tell you for so long." Jane whispered, smiling when she
felt Cat reassuringly squeeze her hand.  "Do you think...  I mean, would
you want to...  Do...  You know...  With me?"

   Jane felt her cheeks burning up with embarrassment.  She felt light
headed and like she was hyperventilating.  The anticipation of waiting for
Cat's reply, verbal or facial, was like torture.  Everything seemed to be
moving in slow motion now.  Jane was having a hard time even continuing to
look at Cat's face.  So she just focused on Cat's lower lip--concentrating
on it and it alone.

   "Yes." Cat finally whispered back.  Hearing the single word almost made
Jane collapse.  For a second she thought she might have heard wrong, up
until Cat repeated.  "Yes, I would."

   "Can I watch?" Roger commented meekly without looking into the backseat.
His eyes trained on the rear view mirror instead.

   "Roger!" Cat shouted in mock annoyance, getting ready to slap him in the
back of the head.

   Jane leaned forward and whispered into his ear.  "Maybe next time."

   -----------------------------------------------------------------------

   "Hi Miss Lo." Jane beamed as she entered the house, doing her best to
appear perfectly normal, despite the new knowledge she had gained.  "Thank
you for letting me stay over."

   Cat paused in the doorway, while carrying Jane's duffel bag in one hand;
she turned and waved a thank you to Roger with her free hand.  She could
barely see a pale hand waving back behind the tinted glass.  Then the
Mustang pulled away down the street very calmly.  No screeching tires or
revved engines.

   "You're welcome." Sara looked up from the book she was reading.  "But
it's still a school night and I promised your father that you'd make it
into school as normal tomorrow."

   "I know." Jane nodded, respectfully.  "I'll make sure Cat still gets to
sleep at a normal hour."

   Before Sara could reply, Jane bolted for the kitchen and the sanctuary
of the door that lead to the basement and Cat's bedroom.  She had spent
enough time in the Lo house to know it almost as well as her own home.

   Normally Jane wouldn't have been quite so rude about her exit, but she
was having a hard time consolidating the two images of Sara now.  On one
hand, she was, and still is, her friend's mother.  And Jane was brought up
to show respect to other people's parents and any adult, to be honest.

   On the other hand, Jane was now seeing Sara as a living breathing,
sexual being, and this observation that had never even occurred to Jane. 
She feared that if she tried to talk any further, she'd sound like a
complete fool, blurting out some sort of nonsense.

   "I'll be right down!" Cat shouted at Jane's retreating form, just before
Jane disappeared through the basement door.

   Cat watched her mother for a moment, Sara staring back, an expectant
look on her face.  Like she knew Cat had something to say and was waiting
for it to come out.

   Unlike Jane, Cat was very practiced in talking to her mother
disrespectfully.  It was the talking to her civilly that she was
unaccustomed to.

   "I told her." Cat said evenly, calmly, trying to sound like an adult.

   "You told her what?" Sara raised an eyebrow at the announcement.  Then
glanced towards the kitchen, seeing that the basement door was closed and
Jane was probably out of earshot.  "Was that really a good idea?"

   Cat noticed that her mother's reply was equally calm, almost
calculating. But there was an underlying emotion.  Panic?  Annoyance? 
Fear? Cat couldn't place it, but she instinctively knew what to say next.

   "It's okay.  She won't tell anyone." Cat quickly replied.  "I know she
won't."

   Sara just stared at her oldest daughter for a moment.  "You could have
mentioned this to me, before you decided to share with someone.  What did
you tell her?"

   "Just about you and I.  Nothing else." Cat shook her head for emphasis.
"I'm not stupid, I know better than just blurting everything out."

   "I didn't say you were stupid." Sara could recognize hints of the old
Cat's demeanor coming out.  It wasn't something she wanted to revisit or
encourage.  "I just want you to be careful, that's all."

   Cat went to reply, but Sara held a hand up.  "I trust you.  If you say
she won't repeat it.  Then I believe you...  Just, in the future, please
let's talk about it before we share this with anyone else."

   Cat nodded slowly, deciding that this might not be the best time to
mention Roger knowing too.

   "I know.  I will.  I didn't plan to..." Cat thought for a second, trying
to decide how to explain this.  "She just, kind of told me a secret.  And
it was the only thing I could think of to say."

   Sara nodded slowly, thoughtfully.  "What secret?"

   "Jane..." Cat searched for words, her eyes looking across the ceiling
painfully.  None of the obvious words seemed appropriate.  They all felt
somehow dirty or insulting, the evening's earlier encounter didn't help
things.

   "Jane doesn't like boys." Was the best statement Cat could come up with
as a suitable answer.

   "Oh." Suddenly a number of things slipped into place and made sense in
Sara's mind.  Numerous little personality ticks and innocent comments that
Jane had done or said make sense.  Sara found herself surprised that she
hadn't realized it sooner.

   "Besides," Cat added, feet twitching a bit nervously.  "I was going to
tell her anyway.  I needed someone to talk to...  about what we did."

   Sara nodded slowly as she watched her oldest daughter's nervousness. 
"Well, just be careful, that's all I'm asking.  And be careful with her
feelings too."

   "I will."

   Sara watched as her daughter bolted to the kitchen.  She had the
distinct feeling that Jane was looking for more than just a platonic
friendship now.  But decided it was best to not voice her suspicions. 
Better to let her daughter find out on her own.

   -----------------------------------------------------------------------

   "Finally!" Jane exclaimed, exasperated as Cat walked into the bedroom.
"It feels like I've been waiting for hours."

   "Whine, whine, bitch and complain." Cat teased, tossing the duffel bag
onto her bed.  "I just had to talk to my mom for a bit."

   Jane stayed in Cat's desk chair, where she had planted herself to wait,
pushing it back and spinning it to face Cat.  "Now you have to tell me what
happened.  Yesterday you were complaining about your mom being a lunatic.
Tonight you're telling me you had sex with her."

   Cat couldn't help but laugh, dropping her ass down onto the edge of her
bed.  "It's a long story."

   "We have all night." Jane rolled her eyes, "Start talking before I have
to beat it out of you."

   "I came home and she had my vibrator." Cat confessed, falling back onto
the bed, staring up at the ceiling again.

   "No way!" Jane shouted in disbelief.  "The vibrator you bought downtown
last year?  What did she say?"

   "Umhm." Cat nodded slowly, thinking over the events of the afternoon. 
"She wanted to know where I got it and I thought I was in deep shit."

   "So you had sex with her to get out of trouble?"

   "No!" Cat's eyes shot wide open as she leaned up on her elbows to stare
at her friend.  "Nothing like that.  She was mad that we went into the city
without telling her.  And I guess even madder that we went into a sex
store."

   "I think," Jane started to empathize a bit.  "If my dad ever found mine,
I'd die.  Having sex with him wouldn't even be an option.  He'd have killed
me first."

   Cat dropped onto her back again, staring up and thinking over recent
memories.  Sara's words still rang fresh in her mind and, despite the
temptation; she decided that now wasn't a good time to tell Cat about
Angela's experiences with the vibrator.  Or her own experiences having her
Dad's cock in her mouth.  Or helping her mother and father get it on.

   "Tell me more!" Jane's leaped across the room, landing on Cat's bed and
almost propelling Cat right off of it.  "Don't go all silent now!"

   "Fine, fine." Cat turned her head to stare at Jane on the bed next to
her.  "We talked about the birds and the bees."

   "Yeah, sure you did." Jane didn't sound convinced, and then pointed
towards Cat's chest.  "That's why you're nipples are all hard already."

   "What?" Cat glanced down at herself and saw that her friend's
observation was quite correct.  Her t-shirt was doing little to hide her
growing excitement.  "Pervert."

   "Ow!" Jane clutched her chest like she had been mortally wounded by the
joking insult.  "Says the girl who slept with her own mother."

   "It just sort of happened.  It's not like it was planned or anything."
Cat offered, looking back towards the ceiling again.

   "More.  I want details." Jane leaned over, her face blotting out Cat's
view of the blank ceiling.  "What happened?"

   "You are a pervert." Cat teased again, sticking her tongue out.

   "Maybe I am." Jane frowned, still staring down at Cat's face.  "But
you've done stuff I've only dreamed about.  I want to know what it was
like."

   Cat blinked at Jane for a second, "You've dreamed about sleeping with my
mom?"

   Jane shook her head no.

   "Then who?"

   "You promise you won't laugh at me?" Jane moved away, rolling over so
that she could stare up at the ceiling too, it seemed the safest place to
look.

   "I promise.  Swear to God, cross my heart, hope I die, with sugar on
top."

   There was a long pause of silence.

   "You." Jane finally whispered.  Just saying the single word seemed to
make it all feel easier.  Like a giant weight was removed from her
shoulders.  "I've dreamt about doing that with you for years now."

   Another long pause of silence.

   "Then you weren't joking?  In the car?" Cat turned her head to look at
Jane again, watching as her friend stared unblinkingly up at the ceiling.

   Jane shook her head no, very slowly.

   "Why are you crying?" Cat watched as the moisture accumulated in the
corner of Jane's eye.  Before Jane could react, Cat reached over and
touched Jane's face lightly.  Catching some of the tear on her finger,
rubbing it away from her face.

   "I don't know." Jane just kept staring at the ceiling.

   "She used the vibrator on me."

   "What?" Jane turned her head quickly, surprised by the sudden change of
conversation.  "Your mom did?"

   "Yep." Cat nodded with a smile.  "And then she started eating me out."

   "Did you eat her too?" Jane stared entranced at Cat, hanging on each and
every word.

   "No." Cat shook her head slightly.  "But I did finger fuck her while I
sucked on her breasts."

   Jane swallowed hard as she listened, feeling her own body quickly
responding to the conversation.  She shook her head slowly in disbelief. 
She didn't question what her friend was telling her, just her own ability
to process it.

   "So..." Jane broke the long silence, her mind finally feeling ready to
take in some more of Cat's confessions.  "What else happened?"

   "I'm not telling." Cat smiled smugly up at the ceiling.

   "What?" Jane's voice was a high pitched protest now, spinning out of her
as she rolled over on the bed to look down at Cat's face again.  "Why not?"


   "Because." Cat's smug expression broke only long enough for her lips to
move.  "That would ruin the surprise."

   Jane stared dumbly down at her friend, confusion and disappointment
obvious on her face.  "Surprise?  What surprise?"

   Instead of replying, Cat craned her head up quickly, kissing Jane's lips
for the briefest of seconds.  Then sliding away from her while Jane was
still dazed and startled.

   "So I told you my secrets." Cat pounced across the small bedroom,
dropping into her desk chair with a practiced ease.  "Now let's hear
yours."

   Jane groaned as she sat up, reluctantly, moving into a cross legged
position in the middle of the bed.  "I already told you."

   "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Cat frowned, staring at Jane like she
was Jane's therapist.

   "I don't know." Jane shrugged, for the first time she actually managed
to look Cat in the eye as she discussed her own sexuality.  "I didn't know
how you'd react."

   Cat nodded slowly, half understanding Jane's reasoning.  "How long have
you known?"

   "That I'm gay?" Jane said the word with a sort of pride.  Like it was a
label she was comfortable with.  But that just made it harder for Cat to
accept.  As if it might just be a trendy word that motivated Jane.

   "A year, I guess." Jane added, with a slightly non-committal shrug.  The
truth was, she really wasn't sure when she decided it.

   "Well, you're not really anything until you've done it at least once."
Cat narrowed her eyes a little suspiciously.  "So have you?"

   Jane blushed a deep ruby red and shook her head quickly.  "No.  Never. I
mean, I've thought about it a lot...  but I've never actually."

   Cat's eyes relaxed from their inquisitive piercing, a smile softening
her face.  "So then, what have you been thinking about?"

   Jane frowned as she thought through all of the various fantasies that
had occupied her mind over the past few months.  None of them seemed
particularly worthy of repeating.  All of them had some sort of flaw that
made Jane not want to repeat them.  Be they too weird, too clichéd, too
personal, too simple, just too something.

   "How about this." Cat offered, recognizing the indecision on her
friend's face.  "Tell me one of the ones you had about me."

   Jane's eyes shot wide open again, staring at Cat.  She could feel the
heat returning to her cheeks, neon lighting her embarrassment.  "But-"

   "No buts." Cat crossed her arms in front of her chest, indignantly. 
"You said in the car that you wanted to do stuff with me.  So you must have
fantasized about me too."

   Jane blinked at Cat for a long moment.  It was like a battle of wills,
to see who would blink first.  Jane finally nodding a yes slowly.

   "So." Cat smiled, feeling a bit honored that she'd be the subject of
anyone's fantasies.  "What did I do in your imagination?  What was I like?"


   "You were just...  just you." Jane blinked again, wondering why Cat
would even want to think about being someone else.  "That was plenty."

   "Come on, more details.  Just give me one of your fantasies." Cat teased
further.  "Then I'll stop nagging you."

   Jane frowned, unconvinced by the promise.  Cat seemed way too curious to
possibly follow through on the vow.

   "Fine." Jane relented, preparing herself to share her innermost
thoughts. "There was-"

   "Hold on." Cat held up a hand, interrupting Jane's confession.  "I want
to get comfortable for this."

   Cat leaned forward, her hands reaching down and grasping the bottom of
her t-shirt.  She quickly pulled the shirt up and over her head, her small
breasts bouncing into view, their dark red nipples still erect and excited.


   She tossed the shirt to the side of the chair, letting it join its other
discarded brethren that covered the floor of the bedroom.  She then smirked
at Jane with a 'go on' expression on her face.

   Jane swallowed hard as she stared at Cat's bare chest, her eyes taking
in as much of the detail as she could.  Following the dark veins that were
just barely visible through the almond colored skin of Cat's chest.  She
watched the way Cat's skin rippled over her ribs as she took in each
breath, the way her stomach undulated with each movement.

   "I'm waiting." Cat chided, drawing Jane's attention back up to her face.


   "Um, yes." Jane barely managed to swallow again before her voice
wavered. Her distracted mind quickly clung to the easiest memory she could
find.  "We were coming back from the art museum.  From Ms.  Weiser's school
trip.  And you feel asleep on my shoulder."

   Cat nodded slowly, pretending to remember the moment.  She kind of, sort
of remembered it, in a vague sort of way.  It wasn't a moment that was
particularly important to her, but it was obvious that Jane saw it in an
entirely different way.

   "I just remember you breathing on my neck." Jane reluctantly closed her
eyes, trying to recall all of the details and share them without
distraction.  "I remember wondering if it would feel like this.  If we were
sleeping together.  Just feeling safe and comfortable and whole.  That's
what I remember."

   Jane opened her eyes slowly, her mind still caught in the wisps of the
fading memory.  She saw that Cat was rubbing her right nipple as she
listened.  Catching it in her fingers, rolling it across her thumb.

   "Very romantic." Cat whispered in reply.  "Tell me more about it.  I
want to hear the details that you aren't sharing."

   Jane nodded slowly, her eyes entranced by Cat's movements.  "I...  I
wondered if you'd wake up.  If I put my hand into your jeans.  If I could
touch you.  If you'd like it.  If I could hide it from the rest of the
bus."

   Cat moved her hand down her chest, sliding it along her belly.  Her
fingers finding the button to her jeans and popping it open.  The zipper
sliding down as she pushed her hand under the fabric.  "Like this?"

   Jane continued to stare, nodding slowly.  "I wondered what you'd feel
like.  And what you'd taste like."

   Cat moved her legs slightly apart, angling her chair so that she was
sure Jane could see the lump of her hand moving underneath her jeans.  She
withdrew the hand slowly, bringing it up to her lips and sticking them in
her mouth.  A soft slurping noise echoing across the room.

   Jane felt faint as she watched this, her mind racing.  Once again, like
many times before, she felt the urge to do something.  To follow through on
this, but instead just found herself sitting and allowing it to happen,
just a passenger to her own life.

   "Don't stop." Cat said, smiling around her fingers, not taking them from
her mouth.  "Keep telling me."

   Jane nodded slowly, trying to force her mind to comply.  One part of her
wanted to tell the story, repeat the fantasies exactly the way she had
imagined them.  But a smaller part wanted to elaborate on them, alter them,
and see if Cat would do the things she'd want to see.

   "I'd imagine that we weren't in the bus anymore." Jane swallowed as she
continued, hoping that Cat wouldn't suddenly call her a liar.  "Kneeling on
the floor in front of you."

   Cat raised an eyebrow as she took her fingers out of her mouth.  For a
moment, Jane thought it was over.  That she'd pushed too far.  And now Cat
would reject her, just like she'd always feared would happen.

   Cat shimmied her butt left and right in her seat as her hands pushed her
jeans down.  Letting them slide down her thighs, before falling to the
floor in front of the chair.  She slid back in the chair, spreading her
legs so that Jane could see the way her lime green panties clung to her wet
lips, the moist, darker green spot unhidden.

   Jane was at a loss for words, just staring at Cat.  Not knowing what to
say, just frozen in place.

   "Is that something you want to do now?" Cat asked, but Jane's only
response was a dumbfounded, confused expression.  "Kneel in front of me?"

   Jane's head twitched as the words registered in her mind.  The confused
expression fleeing as she nodded quickly.  She shifted slightly, thinking
about standing, but still remained in place.

   "Well, I don't want you to." Cat whispered, standing up and out of her
seat.  Before Jane could overreact, Cat sat down on the edge of the bed,
"I'd rather we did it together.  Here on the bed."

   Jane blinked in surprise now, nodding.  The panic had returned to her
mind when she again thought that Cat was going to laugh and reject her, it
was only now starting to show that that wasn't what Cat had in mind.

   "You have to promise me something." Cat whispered her voice extremely
serious in tone now.  "I don't mind if you tell people we do tonight, but
you can't tell anyone about the rest.  You can't tell them about mom and
me, or anything else I might tell you about them."

   For a moment, the words had significance in Jane's mind.  A hint that
there was more to Cat's story than she had already shared.  But that moment
quickly passed, clouded over by the here and now.

   "I would never." Jane whispered in reply, solemnly promising that the
secrets would never pass her lips.

   Cat nodded then leaned back, kissing Jane on the lips again.  Jane's
mouth barely moved under the light kiss, as if she didn't know what to do.
Her lower lip just quivering in time with her own rapid heartbeat.

   Without breaking the kiss, Cat pushed closer, pressing their lips
together.  She sucked at Jane's mouth for a second, making Jane part her
lips, letting Cat draw the hot humid air from her mouth.  Cat's tongue
played across Jane's lips once, before pushing its way into her mouth,
finding her tongue and rubbing against it for a moment.

   Cat pulled her head back, breaking the kiss, leaving Jane breathless,
sitting in the middle of the bed with her eyes closed.

   "Are you okay?" Cat whispered, alarmed by Jane's lack of movement.

   "Umhm." Jane moaned, opening her eyes gradually.

   "Let's get you out of this." Cat took hold of the bottom of Jane's
t-shirt and started to lift it, Jane obligingly lifting her arms without a
second thought.

   The baggy shirt, which had to been at least one size too big for Jane,
pulled up easily.  Jane suddenly felt very self-conscious as the t-shirt
pulled over her head.  Jane's hands instinctively moved to cover her chest,
not to hide her flesh, but to hide her underclothes from Cat.

   The grayish white bra she tried to hide wasn't the worst ones she owned,
but it hardly seemed presentable either.  Buying new underclothes wasn't a
priority in Jane's single father's life.  In fact, it was probably an
experience that he'd do his best to avoid.

   The old, stained bra suddenly seemed to represent everything in Jane's
life that she didn't like.

   Cat, noticing Jane's discomfort, paused for a moment.  "Did you change
your mind?"

   Jane shook her head quickly, one of her hands reaching behind herself.
Trying to undo the bra and discard it as quick as possible, before Cat had
a chance to look at the embarrassing thing.

   "Here, let me help." Cat's fingers rested briefly on Jane's shoulder,
before moving down and unhooking the bra.

   Jane quickly turned her back to Cat, divesting her shoulders of the
bra's strap and then dropping the offending article onto the floor, where
Cat's eyes would be less likely to see it.  Only after that did she turn
around and face Cat again, a half hearted smile on her face.

   Jane's breasts swayed and bounced as she turned, no longer covered by
either the bra or her arm.  Cat's eyes dropping down to look at them, they
were bigger than she expected, possibly even bigger than her mother's.  Her
skin extremely pale white, except for the multitude of little pink
freckles, her nipples also a pale pink and smaller than her own.

   "God." Cat exclaimed, with a wide eyed look.  "Your tits are incredible.
Why do you hide them under all this baggy clothes?"

   Jane shrugged slightly, feeling both proud and embarrassed at the same
time.  She shook as Cat's hands reached and cupped the underside of her
breasts, holding the heavy weight of them in her palms.

   Jane sucked in her breath and closed her eyes, absorbing the sensations
as they came.  A warm wet feeling enveloped her left nipple and she knew,
without having to look, that it was Cat's mouth she felt.

   With her eyes still closed, Jane put her hand on the back of Cat's head,
holding her lightly, and her fingers stroking the short hair at the back of
Cat's neck.  A small murmur of a moan slipped out of her mouth.

   Jane opened her eyes slowly as she felt the warmness fade, then the
cooling feeling of the air drying the saliva from her skin.  She looked
down just in time to see Cat move her head to the other side of her chest.
Their eyes met as Cat slipped her tongue out and started to lap at Jane's
other nipple.

   Jane groaned loudly as Cat's rough tongue dragged across her sensitive
flesh, her hands gripping Cat's shoulders tightly.

   "I want..." Jane was barely able to stagger the words out of her lips.
"My turn."

   She pushed Cat back and away from her, pushing her onto her back.  Jane
leaped forward, almost like an animal descending on her meal, locking her
mouth around Cat's nipple.  Jane's other hand covering Cat's other breast,
the stiff nipple poking up into her palm.

   Cat moaned loudly as she felt Jane's mouth assault her, Jane's teeth
finding her nipple and pulling at it.  The feeling was uncomfortable,
bordering on painful, but even with that pain she felt the pleasure of it.
And the way that Jane seemed entirely out of control of herself was
something even more enjoyable.

   Cat felt Jane's free hand between her legs now, fingers rubbing the
slick cloth of her panties against her sensitive lips.  Then pushing the
gusset to the side, Jane's fingers finding Cat's bare opening for the first
time, rubbing Cat's cunt directly now.

   "Ow!" Cat couldn't help but shout, feeling Jane's teeth bite just a
little too hard.

   Jane pulled back almost immediately, her hands releasing Cat's flesh
just as quickly, a scared, apologetic look on her face.

   "It's okay." Cat tried to reassure her, sitting up on her elbows to look
at Jane.  "You just need to go a little slower."

   Jane nodded slowly, still feeling a bit embarrassed at her own loss of
self control.

   Cat sat up fully, reaching for the waist of Jane's jeans.  "Let's get
you naked.  So that I can tongue lash you within inches of your life."

   Jane couldn't help but giggle at Cat's words as she lifted her butt up
off the bed, letting Cat yank her jeans down.  She was even more relieved
that Cat had pulled down both her jeans and her panties at the same time,
letting her avoid another uncomfortable moment with her less that
impressive undergarments.

   Cat wrapped her fingers around one of Jane's ankles, lifting Jane's leg
and crawling underneath it, taking a more advantageous position between
Jane's thighs.  Cat reached down and ran her fingers through Jane's thick,
dark hair.

   The top of the hair was dry and curly, but got progressively wetter as
her fingers descended.  The lips of Jane's cunt were completely obscured by
the tangles of short hair.

   Cat wiggled her fingers deeper into one of the wetter points, finding
the soft yielding flesh of Jane's lips underneath the hair.  The touch
causing Jane to suddenly buck as a pitiful groan echoed in her throat.

   Cat brought her other fingers to Jane's skin, using her hands to part
the hair.  Jane's pink folds came into view, letting Cat lean closer and
run the flat of her tongue up the entire length of Jane's cunt.

   "Ohmygod!" Jane's entire body shook as she yelled out, but Cat kept her
mouth firmly riveted to Jane's cunt.  Cat's tongue probing, prodding, and
stroking at Jane's tender skin, the aroma of her musk assaulting Cat's
senses and blocking out all other smells.

   Cat wrapped her arms under Jane's legs, her hands gripping Jane's ass
cheeks tightly.  Holding Jane in place as she continued to thrash on the
bed, moans and other incomprehensible utterances wheezing out of her mouth.


   Cat drew her tongue out of the depths of Jane's cunt, following her
opening up until she found Jane's erect clit standing proudly out of its
hood.  Cat ran her tongue over it in one long slurp, causing Jane to scream
out, and her hips bucking up against Cat's face.

   Jane's hands gripped Cat's higher tightly, pulling at her.  First in a
way that seemed playful, then in a more insistent, unrelenting way, forcing
Cat to reluctantly let Jane's cunt slip away from her mouth.

   "Turn around." Jane whispered breathlessly.  "I want to taste you too."

   Cat nodded, sitting up and pulling down her own soaked panties,
discarding them to the side like they were no more than a nuisance.  She
crawled around so that her knees straddling Jane's face and felt Jane
eagerly lean up and kiss her pussy.

   It only took a second for Jane's previous eagerness to reignite, pushing
her tongue up between Cat's lips.  Trying to fill her pussy with her tongue
like her life depended on it.  Jane's fingers gripping Cat's ass so tightly
that her nails dug into the soft flesh of her cheeks.

   Cat pressed her hands against the inside of Jane's thighs, pushing her
legs open wider as she buried her own mouth back into Jane's cunt.  She
could feel Jane's breasts under her belly, cushioning her.  Cat's own
nipples just barely dragging against the sweaty skin of Jane's stomach.

   Jane pushed a finger into the bottom of Cat's pussy while her mouth
continued to work at the top of it.  Slurping and sucking at Cat's lips,
finding the hard nub of her clit and sucking even harder at it.

   Cat bucked her hips down against Jane's, dragging herself up and down
Jane's face.  She could feel the orgasm building inside her, the warm wet
feeling deep in her center, growing, like an explosion in slow motion.  The
first waves of it hit her in slow succession, each one causing her to moan
out a little louder.

   Jane felt Cat's face pull away from her open cunt; Cat's tongue replaced
by two, maybe even three of Cat's fingers.  She could feel them wiggling
around inside her.  She could almost hear the squishing sound they made as
the fingers moved in an out, letting her flesh flap together with each
extraction.  Throughout all of this, Cat's thumb continued to stroke Jane's
clit, rubbing it intently.

   Cat felt the explosion hit her fully now, the warm moist feeling covered
her skin.  She arched her back upwards, pressing her hips heavily down
against Jane's face.  She could feel Jane's nose against her skin, her
tongue continuing to work itself in and out of Cat's slick lips.

   Jane felt Cat's body go rigid above her; pungent juice seemed to melt
out of her now, flowing copiously down into Jane's eager mouth.  Jane's
tongue finding it, savoring it for a moment, before swallowing it down, and
then eagerly going out in search of more.

   Cat, unable to take any more of Jane's tongue, pulled away, rolling over
onto her side.  Chest heaving as she panted to try to catch her breath, the
room still spinning around her glazed eyes.

   Jane let go of Cat when she felt her pull away, reluctantly letting
Cat's fingers slip out from inside her.  She watched Cat for a moment,
before reaching down between her own legs, her fingers furiously rubbing
against her own cunt.

   Jane turned onto her side, making sure that Cat could see her playing
with herself.  She started to rapidly piston her ring finger in and out of
her cunt, before adding a second, then a third finger to the movements. 
Her other hand moving to her right nipple and pinching it, making her moan
even louder.

   Jane felt the overwhelming need to sate herself and to let Cat see her
do it.  As the first thunder claps of her own orgasm hit her, she made sure
to make eye contact with Cat.

   "Cat!" Jane shouted, as her fingers pinched her own nipple even harder.
"I'm cumming!"

   Jane's hands continued to move as the pleasure ran like wet fire through
her body.  She pressed her fingers even deeper inside herself, trying to
fill up her body with her own hand.  A low moan slipped out Jane's lips,
signaling the end of her orgasm.

   "Sorry." Cat whispered apologetically as she crawled closer, laying her
head against Jane's chest.

   "Sorry?" The confused whisper came from Jane's lips.  "For what?"

   "For not finishing you."

   "That's okay." Jane wrapped her arms around Cat, holding onto her
lightly.  "It was incredible.  And I'm sure next time will be even better."