Carrie Minberg, Female, 21

	- Narrator, Bitterwood graduate

	- Beige, freckled skin, 5'6, 140lbs, curly back-length dark-red or blue hair

Julens, Female, 21

	- Junior at Harvard, Bitterwood graduate, French

	- Light olive skin, 5'8, 140lbs, long silky black hair

Mom called me after Donnie left the next morning. She had news. She and Harry, her boyfriend, had decided to get married in two weeks. Not a ceremony, but she wanted me to be there. I felt rushed, was selfishly considering myself for a few moments. Short notice, and I'd only met the guy a couple of times. But in her voice, I heard a happiness that I knew came from how Harry made her feel, and I decided to tell her everything that had been going on with me for the first time.

I'd skirted the details a lot over the months. She knew I was no longer with Elise, but I'd never told her why. She knew I was staying in hotels and with Julens and Khepri. She knew that I never got the apartment she'd sent the money to pay for, but never knew what I did instead. Julens and Khepri had only been mentioned a time or too, so I let her know how much they'd helped me.

The California dreams Donnie had planted in my head made me really positive that morning, and it felt good to get those secrets out and let my mom judge me. She loved me and told me she'd do anything she could. She was so sorry about Elise, sorry that she hadn't flown up when I was so deeply depressed and drinking, and promised to send a nice care package for Julens and Khepri.

She was worried about my plans to move to California, though, not without justification. I knew no one there but Donnie. I'd saved only a little money from my job, and “it's damn expensive out there!” Mom had started using 'damn' in every sentence, I assume that came from Harry.

I agreed not to make a decision until I came back to Killeen for the wedding, though I knew in my mind I was already certain I was going.

Donnie had been a gentleman that morning, poured us both orange juice and brought it to bed. We kissed, briefly, a kindness between us, but nothing more. I hadn't fallen in love with him in one night. I hoped I was beyond those days. But I liked him, and was certainly interested in spending more time with him. He'd given me his phone number in Boston, and one for Berkeley, said to call when I'd decided.

The New Year was starting off pretty good, and I was doing everything I could mentally and emotionally to repair the last few months of heartache and loneliness and for a few minutes, I silently sent Elise an apology, my promise of eternal love, and a goodbye.

- - -

Mom loaned me the money to get started in California. It hadn't been easy to convince her. Harry saved me and argued that it would be a good experience for me, that it sounded like a reasonably safe situation, and he could help with a job if I needed one. His company owned two hundred data processing centers in the country, and they were always looking for employees.

I was only in town for three days. I attended the wedding, which was really just a few signatures and a kiss in front of a clerk, and hung out, dreaming of the West Coast.

I'd started drinking again, responsibly this time. I shared glasses of wine with Mom and Harry and thought about Donnie a bit. I liked what he represented to me. A new chance at romance, perhaps, but more importantly, he opened the door to my instinctive need to go new places, try new things. With Elise, I'd gotten comfortable, and the restless part of me that hated comfort saw a lot of possibilities with Donnie and California.

- - -

I returned for a week to Boston. I'd already put in a notice at work, and I'd let Donnie know I'd be there soon, even talked to his sister Lacy on the phone a couple of times. She seemed nice enough, and was eager to have a roommate again. Her last one had moved out in the night, left unpaid bills, and she'd been unable to find a new one to move in. I sent her a deposit to show I was serious, and she planned to pick me up in San Jose the evening I arrived.

Julens and Khepri were back and starting classes when I was there. They were both happy for me, and we shared a couple of bottles of wine after I'd convinced them I was no longer drinking to get drunk.

Khepri left to stay with her boyfriend on my last night in Boston, and with a couple of tears, I told her goodbye, and thanked her for being so kind to me when I was down and in need of help.

Julens and I drank wine and talked quietly on the porch. “Really leaving. You know, Carrie... I was starting to get used to you being here. I'm really gonna miss you.”

“I'll miss you too. Never meant to be a burden to you two, but I can't thank you enough for taking me in and setting me straight. I really needed a friend, and you came through. If I can ever repay that... I'll do it with pleasure.”

“I'll hold you to that. Listen, you sure about California? Sure that's what you want to do? I bet you could get back into Harvard, just explain things, you know? Sure you want to leave that pedigree behind you?”

“I'm sure. I need it, Julens, I... After Elise, this place hasn't felt like home to me. Not your fault, you and Khepri did everything for me, just... I don't know how to completely move on here. I wonder if I'll run into her, what I'd say. I've almost walked over to her place many times just to see if she might walk by. Just to see her. I can't keep those temptations over my head. I can't, it isn't fair to her, not fair to me, either.”

“I get it. I think.”

“And I'm... restless. I dunno why. Elise saw that in me the first few weeks she knew me. She knew I'd never stay in one place long, with one lover long.”

Julens said quietly, “and yet she took the chance anyway.”

“Yes.” It hurt to admit that she knew I'd hurt her and she still wanted to love me. “I... I never want to do that to her again, don't want to make her believe in me only to break her heart. Never want to do that to anyone again. I think I'm done with serious relationships for a long time.”

“What about relationships that aren't so serious? Still open to those?”

“Yes, sure. I just don't want to fall for anyone, not like I did for Elise. Just have fun. Oh, love's ok, so long as I don't let it become restraining. But, sure... I think Donnie and I will go that way. I don't want to be too serious with him, but maybe... maybe date him, fuck him.”

Julens giggled, smiled, said, “I always knew you were ahead of the curve, Carrie. In so many ways. You jump from woman to man back to woman without noticing you've changed what you want. I... I don't know that I could do that...”

I'd only been aware of Julens being sexual with one guy during our stay at Bitterwood, a guy she dated exclusively as far as I knew. In Boston, at least while I lived with her, I'd never heard her talk about a date or have anyone over that seemed to be a potential partner. “What holds you back? Are you interested in women, too?”

“I dunno... yeah, I am... curious, I've never... Not with a woman, anyway. I'd like to...”

“Sort of a no-strings-attached, friends just enjoying each other kinda night?”

She nodded and in her eyes I knew she was asking me to have sex with her.

I did.

I leaned in and kissed her, said softly, “a friend... such as me?”

“Yes, you, only you...”

I kissed her again, led her to the bedroom. Julens was so soft and tender, I loved running my hand through her silky strands of black hair. She sighed with my touches as my fingers found her bra and released it, pulled up her shirt and caressed her heavy, curvy breasts. Julens had a beautiful set of boobs, and I enjoyed sucking her nipples while I squeezed and fondled them.

She breathed heavily and my hand found her crotch. Her slacks were warm under my hand, and I soon had those off, just her panties between me and her closely-held genitals. She moaned was my hand slipped over her moist panties, I felt the edges of her labia ribbing the fabric from below.

I had to taste her. The French girl rose up as I peeled down her panties, the scent of her arousal strong and musky. It's funny. I loved the perfume she wore because it had a heavy, musky foundation. Smelling her pussy made me think she'd matched the aromas on purpose.

I lapped her creamy cunt, her wetness sticky and pungent. Salty, musky, rich with floral undertones. Julens had dark red labia that were thin and small, her vagina barely hidden by the lips. I slipped a finger inside and found her channel to be very tight. I was easily able to push against her cervix in her shallow puss. I wished in that moment I had a cock because I really wanted to feel how tight she was around a penis.

I licked her into orgasm while twirling her clit. She had a beautiful, small nub that barely poked out of her hood. Just the tip of a pin, not much to work with, but I found a rhythm that rocked her hips and drew moans, and in moments she was flooding my tongue with her climaxing juices.

She came again when I finally managed a second finger. Julens' vagina was incredibly tight around my digits, her cunt grasping, making movement tough, especially when she orgasmed and her channel became more shallow, tighter, almost pushing my fingers out as her body arched and she cried out.

Julens lay panting as I brought my fingers to her lips and let her taste herself on my flesh. At first, she hesitated, rolling her head to one side when I tried to push my fingers between her lips. I decided she'd probably tried it and didn't like it, so I started to bring them to my mouth.

She stopped me, grabbed my hand, stared at my sticky fingers a second, then pulled them between her lips, mewling as she cleaned her juices from my fingers.

I settled down next to her, kissed her, asked her quickly, “do you want to eat my pussy?”

“I want to try.”

That was good enough for me. I finally took off my clothes and laid back on the bed, spread my legs and watched as Julens knelt down and looked at my puss. She just stared a moment, not quiet uncertain, just hesitant. She tentatively inhaled against my flesh, took in my wet, aroused odors. I guess it wasn't unpleasant because she did it again, then once more. Finally, a slow, trembling tongue touched my labia and held there a few seconds before rising up and tickling my clit.

I shuddered as the woman gave me her lesbian virginity so beautifully. Sure, she had no experience, wasn't 'good' at it in the normal sense, but I loved it. Her hesitant licks, her careful tastes, her moments of decision all made me very aroused, and when she got the nerve to push her tongue into my vagina, I was very close to the edge.

“Touch my clit, Julens... just touch it softly... while you lick me... I'm so close...”

Her hand slid over my thigh and her tongue pushed back into my hole. Her finger touched it, touched it again, I throbbed below, ached for just a little more. She teased me unintentionally, each touch firing me up more, making me demand the touch that finally sent me crashing.

Her lips suddenly moved up, took my clit inside her mouth. Her tongue danced lightly across my womanhood, and I shuddered into a beautiful release. I creamed, my cunt flooded. If she'd have slid down again and tasted me then, she'd have found a fresh stream of my juices there.

But she didn't, and that was ok. She was just trying it out, seeing what she liked to do. She'd made me cum, everything else was just icing. As I rode my climax, she pulled back and sat watching me, and I wondered what she thought in that moment. Was she turned on? Not turned on? Did I taste good to her? Would she ever want to try again, with me, or someone else?

Whatever it was, she didn't speak it, cuddling up next to me while I kissed my juices from her lips.

Julens exhaled a couple of times, said, “I hope California is good to you, Carrie. I'm really going to miss you. If you ever need a place to stay... or just someone to talk to... I'm here.”

I kissed her forehead and smiled, “I appreciate that. Really do.”