It was a Tuesday morning, very early, when Courtney landed in Detroit. She had arranged for a hotel room, but couldn’t check in there until later. She rented a car, and drove around a bit, finding something to eat.

Afterwards, she headed slightly outside of town, to the ice rink that was the home of the Detroit Skating Club. It was a lavish rink, a lot of people trained there. The caretaker showed her where the dressing rooms were. She got changed and got her skates on, then emerged into the main rink. Evan Pogdar was waiting for her on the ice. She stepped on and joined him.

"Fine. You’re here. Keep in mind I’m doing this against my better judgement," Evan snapped.

"Well, I thought long and hard about it myself," Courtney said. "But, let’s face it—you’re the best male dancer available, and by a lot. And you obviously haven’t found a partner yet, either."

"True—but keep one thing in mind, Courtney. One of the reasons I haven’t found a partner yet is that I scare some of them off. I’m a demanding prick on the ice." Courtney just gulped at that. "Anyhow, that over there are my coaches. That’s Natalya Shulyenchuk, she’s been my coach forever. And, you know Shawna. She’ll be the co-coach."

Courtney just looked at Shawna. She didn’t count on this. Shawna Vickers scared the shit out of Courtney, though she’d never admit it. Shawna just grinned at her. "Can’t skate any more, so I might as well coach. And if that means I get to torture the living daylights out of you, so much the better."

Courtney wasn’t feeling good about this at all. "By the way, where’s the barracuda?" Evan asked. Courtney just looked at him. "Your mother."

"Home," Courtney said. "She doesn’t even know I’m here. She was opposed to me skating with you."

"You probably should have listened to your mother," Evan chuckled.

"The last time I listened to my mother, I drove Ryan all the way to Boston!" Courtney spat.

Evan laughed at that. "Of course you did. You tortured that boy. We were all surprised it took him as long as it did." He looked right into her eyes. "You understand one thing. I’m not docile. I’m not manipulatable. None of your tricks will work on me. And you’ll find that if you push me I can turn into a considerable asshole."

"I think you’re an asshole anyway," Courtney spat. "However, you’re also a good skater."

"Fine. Let’s skate."

It was brutal. After three days, Courtney hurt all over—and she was getting tired of being yelled at.

At the end of the third day, Evan looked at her. "You can skate. I haven’t tried out with anyone nearly as talented as you are. But you need to learn how to work. If you’re willing to do that, we can give it a try."

"I can work," Courtney said determinedly.

"Fine. Do you have a place to live?"

"I’m in a hotel now."

Evan shrugged. "You can stay with me. I have plenty of room in my house, enough to stay out of each other’s way."

"No thanks!" Courtney blurted.

Evan laughed. "Courtney. You do know I’m gay, right?"

"Oh," Courtney said. She might have heard that, but she had forgotten. "Uh, well, I still don’t think so."

"You can move in with me," Shawna told her. "My house is big as well."

"OK, I think that would work better," Courtney said.

"It would?" Evan laughed. "Courtney, she’s gay, too."

"Oh," Courtney said, blushing. "Well, I still think it would be better."

"Suit yourself," Evan said.

"And don’t worry, you’re not my type," Shawna laughed. "I like my girls sweet."

"Good!" Courtney spat. Shawna just kept laughing.

Courtney flew back to Wisconsin that weekend, and loaded her car up with her stuff. She also had a major blowout with her mother, which she expected.

"You can’t skate with him!" Mrs. Rogers thundered. "You won’t last seven seconds skating with him!"

"He’s the only option," Courtney sighed. "All the guys you were bringing in here were junior-level skaters, or worse. Evan’s the only skater around who’s at my level."

"He’ll eat you alive!"

"I can handle him."

"You have no clue what you can and cannot handle. I’ve been fighting your battles for your whole career."

"Well, Mother, I’m 19 years old. Maybe it’s time I fight my own battles."

Mrs. Rogers snorted. "You’re kidding. You’re incapable of it. Oh well, if you insist on skating with Evan Pogdar, then fine. I’ll put the house up for sale and find something in Detroit."

"That’s not necessary," Courtney said hesitantly.

"Oh, yes it is. Evan Pogdar. Jesus. You’re going to need all the help you can get. I’ll be moving with you."

That’s when Courtney snapped. For the first time ever in her life, she stood up to her mother, because she saw a disaster in the making. "No, Mother, you will not be moving to Detroit. I am going to have all I can do as it is. I can’t deal with Evan, and deal with you too."

"Nonsense. I’ll be there to help you deal with Evan."

"No, you won’t! He’ll freak! He specifically told me that if I wanted to be his partner, I had to keep you out of it!"

"And you agreed to this? Courtney, this is a mistake. You can’t go skate with him. Forget it. Stay here, and I’ll find you a partner."

"NO!" Courtney was almost hysterical by now. "This is my last chance! Don’t you see that? I fucked it up with Ryan. I can’t fuck this up!" She stormed out before her mother could say another word—arguing was pointless. All she could do was hope that her mother wouldn’t show up in Detroit.

Her mother called her cell phone with a diatribe while she was halfway to Detroit—but she didn’t seem to be intent on coming there. That’s all Courtney wanted.

She got back to Detroit and moved into Shawna’s house. She had only had to bring her personal stuff, as Shawna had furniture. Courtney moved into the guest room.

"Can you cook?" Shawna asked.

"Believe it or not, yes," Courtney laughed. "I’ll do some of the cooking, if you want—I like to cook. You just have to let me know what you like."

"I’m not picky," Shawna replied.

"Hey, it’s your house," Courtney said. "Whatever you want."

"Why the hell are you being so cooperative?" Shawna spat. "That’s certainly not your usual style." Courtney just shrugged.

Courtney and Evan hit the ice that next Monday—and, for Courtney, it was brutal.

Evan believed in hard work anyway—but he was really pushing it. To Courtney, it seemed like he was almost being unnecessarily cruel. And it got worse on Tuesday. Courtney hurt herself—she actually had, this wasn’t an excuse. They were working, and Courtney lost an edge and twisted her ankle. Not bad, but she was in a bit of pain.

"Oh, suck it up," Even spat.

"I’m trying," Courtney said. Of course, being Courtney, this phrase was accompanied by her usual pouting and flashing her baby blues. She was barely aware that she was even doing it. Evan took at as a manipulation attempt, and quietly went off on her.

"Don’t even try to pull that shit on me, Courtney, it won’t work."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I’m talking about. Now shut up and skate."

Shawna quietly chuckled to herself about all this—until she got home and noticed that Courtney was limping around the kitchen as she cooked supper. Then, after supper, Shawna wandered into the living room and found Courtney watching TV—with ice taped around her ankle.

"You really did hurt your ankle?" Shawna said.

"No, I’m faking it," Courtney snapped. "I really like being yelled at, so I figured I’d fake an injury so Evan would go off on me some more." Shawna just shook her head and dropped the subject.

Wednesday, if anything, was worse—for a different reason. Courtney showed up at the rink, and Evan had a tape player. "I’ve got the music for our free dance." He played it.

Courtney hated it. It was dark, and foreboding, and not Courtney’s style at all. "Do I get any say in this?" she asked.

"No," Evan said darkly. "I know what you and Ryan skated to. All that overused twee crap. What were you going to suggest? Carmen?" he spat.

"No, but not what you just played me."

"Too bad. You should get one thing straight. I’m only skating with you because I have no other options, and I’m not happy about it. So, we’re going to do this my way. Natalya’s going to start working on a program with us."

They did. And Courtney hated it. The music wasn’t pleasant at all, her ankle started throbbing again, and she was having trouble doing some of the stuff that Evan wanted her to do. The day ended with Evan throwing her off the ice a half hour early. "Come back when you want to work!" he hollered.

Shawna watched all this with a grim satisfaction, though less so after she had realized that Courtney wasn’t faking the sore ankle. She still didn’t have much of an opinion of Courtney, and was waiting for Courtney to show her fangs.

So, she was very surprised that night when she happened to walk past the door to Courtney’s room—and heard her sobbing inside.

The same thing happened Thursday—and Shawna heard the same thing Thursday night. Friday morning, she called Evan and asked to meet him for a cup of coffee before they headed to the rink.

"I’m going to shock you with what I’m about to say," Shawna said. "But I think you need to ease up on that girl."

"WHAT?" Evan said.

"I’m serious. Ev, I’ve walked past her bedroom the last two nights, and she was in there crying. And she really did hurt her ankle, she’s been icing it down every night. And what’s this with the music? I always had a say in the music. How can you expect her to skate her best when she hates the music? She should have veto power, at least." She snorted. "I have to tell you, Ev, I hate that music."

"You don’t have to skate to it," Evan laughed.

"Ev, why are you doing this? Are you trying to drive her out of the rink?"

"No, I’m trying to break her. Look, it’s all an act, Shawna—and she’s sucking you into it. Sooner or later, we’re going to have an explosion and the Courtney we all know and loathe is going to start to try to throw her weight around. I want to break her before that happens. She needs to know who’s boss."

"I think you already broke her."

Evan snorted, "I highly doubt it."

Friday’s practice was more of the same. Shawna avoided Courtney at home that night. She didn’t walk past Courtney’s bedroom. She didn’t want to hear it.

Saturday morning, Shawna walked into the kitchen and found Courtney mixing batter in a bowl. "Good morning," Courtney smiled. "Pancakes OK?"

"Great," Shawna said. "You’re in a better mood this morning."

"Yeah, I don’t have to go to the rink," Courtney laughed.

"Ah, Evan will ease up."

"I doubt that. Besides which, any day I don’t have to skate is a good day."

Shawna looked at her. "You don’t like skating?"

Courtney snorted. "Are you kidding me?"

"Then why do you do it?"

"Because it’s all I know how to do. It’s what I’ve been trained to do. Without skating, I have nothing."

"You could do something else," Shawna said.

"Like what? Do you know I’ve never seen the inside of a school building? I was homeschooled my whole life—and it was sparingly. Mom bamboozled the authorities about what I was learning. Trust me, it wasn’t much. I’m OK with reading and stuff, but that’s because I like to do that on my own. I can barely balance a checkbook, and anything like algebra is completely beyond me. What I know about history only comes from books that I’ve found to read. Science? Forget it. I’m completely ignorant. I have been programmed since practically birth for one thing and one thing only—figure skating. So, that’s what I do. Have to put food on the table somehow."

"Why is your mother like this?"

"Damned if I know," Courtney snorted, pouring the batter into the pan. "Oh, and I taught myself how to cook, too. Anyway, my mother—she wanted to be a figure skater, but my grandparents had no money. My Mom grew up dirt-poor. When she was twenty, she got out the only way she could think of—she married a 67-year-old man who was filthy rich. My Mom was gorgeous when she was younger. He got what he wanted—a babe on his arm, and one that gave him regular sex. She got what she wanted—money. And, eventually, me—so she could program me into being the figure skater that she couldn’t be. Dad died when I was four—so much the better for Mom, who now had all that money, me as her little skating puppet, and nobody to answer to."

Shawna just looked at Courtney in shock, as Courtney pulled the pancakes out of the pan and stacked them on a plate. When she had enough, she carried the plate to the table, and sat down across from Shawna.

"You must have had no childhood," Shawna said finally.

"What figure skater does? But I had less than most. I have no friends. No boyfriend. I have skating, that’s it."

"And you don’t particularly like skating."

"It’s a job," she shrugged. "That’s how I look at it."

That’s when Shawna realized something—she didn’t know Courtney at all. Nobody did. There was more to this girl than the heinous bitch that everyone had seen. And that’s when she made a decision—to get to know her. She wanted to find out what beat at the heart of Courtney Rogers. And that surprised her—because she wasn’t even sure that Courtney had a heart. Well, she hadn’t been sure. Now, she rather suspected that Courtney did have a heart.

Evan made his own decision that weekend. He wasn’t planning on easing up on Courtney, but he did realize he was doing something just to pick a fight that didn’t need to be picked—the music. He went through his library that weekend and found a few other selections.

When Courtney got to the rink the next Monday, Evan pulled her over to the tape player. "All right, how about this?" he said, and played the new selections. They were still powerful and strong, but there was a lovely slow section in the middle, and they weren’t discordant.

"I like that," Courtney smiled. "That would be fine to skate to. Thank you."

"You’re welcome," Evan said, incredulous. He was absolutely stunned that she had thanked him. Because of that—almost without thinking about it—he eased up on her that day. And he was getting results, much to his amazement.

Tuesday was more of the same. Except, at one point, Courtney tripped and fell, banging her head on the boards as she went down. Evan quickly skated over. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"I’m fine," Courtney said. "Clumsy, but fine."

"Are you sure?" Shawna asked from the stands. "You’re not seeing three of Evan, are you?"

"No, thank goodness, one is more than enough," Courtney quipped. Evan, surprised, couldn’t help but laugh. Courtney grinned back, and then said, "Well, since you’re being so solicitous, much to my amazement, would you mind helping me up?" Evan laughed louder, and helped her up.

The rest of the day went very well—but, that night, at home, Shawna had a revelation.

She met Evan early the next morning for coffee again, and she told him about it. First she told him about the conversation she had had with Courtney on Saturday.

"Damn," Evan said. "Some people should never be parents."

"Yep. And it got worse last night. Listen, you’ve seen what she’s been like—especially this week, when you’ve eased up on her somewhat. She’s been fairly pleasant. Relaxed, even. She’s been like that with me at home, too. And then, last night, her mother called.

"Now, they got in a fight over the phone—but it was what happened before that was really spooky. I was the one that answered the phone, see, and the minute I said, ‘Courtney, it’s your mom,’ she changed. Her whole back went rigid. Her shoulders went rigid. Her face went from normally pleasant to a fierce scowl—she looked like she wanted to bite the phone out of my hand. And I’m not even sure she was aware she was doing it.

"She was like that the whole time she was on the phone. When she hung up, she relaxed again, and I mean visibly."

"What do you make of all this?" Evan asked. "I know you have an answer—you’re the one that was a psychology major."

"Yeah, but I never finished. Hmmm, now that I’m not skating anymore, maybe I’ll go back to school. Anyway, yes, I do have an answer. Courtney’s angry. She’s very angry—but she’s angry with her mother. Unfortunately, up until very recently she was completely dependent on her mother. So she took her anger out on everyone else."

"Ah," Evan said. "So, you think that’s why she hasn’t taken any anger out on me, even when I pushed her—because her mother’s not here?"

"Right. She’s not angry with you. And she’s worried that you are angry with her. And, I have to tell you, there’s pieces to this puzzle I don’t have yet—I know it."

"You’ll figure it out," Evan said reassuringly.

On Saturday, she did. First of all, though, they got through the rest of the week of practice and it went very well. By Friday, they’d finished the first section of the free dance. They ran through it a couple of times, and it was excellent.

At home, Courtney said to Shawna, "That was fun!"

"You had fun skating?" Shawna said.

"Yeah. Unbelievable, isn’t it?"

She seemed pretty upbeat for the rest of the night. On Saturday, however, things changed. Saturday morning, after breakfast, she got a call from her mother. Shawna left the room, not wanting to watch Courtney on the phone. Afterwards, Shawna walked back in the room. Courtney looked completely disconsolate.

"She’s coming here," Courtney said despairingly.

"Your mother?"

"Yeah. She’s going to sell the house in Madison and move here. Damn it all!"

"Can’t you do anything to stop here?"

"What can I do?" Courtney asked.

"Let me think about it. And I’ll talk to Evan. He’s better at this sort of thing than I am. He’s very analytical. If there’s a way to stop this, he’ll come up with it."

"OK," Courtney said. She sat there for a good long minute, staring hopelessly into space. Then, suddenly, she said, "I lost my virginity when I was 13."

"Huh?" Shawna said, startled at the change of subject.

"Yeah. With Ryan. He was 16 at the time. It was his first, too."

"Oh. I thought you were all moral and Christian and that."

Courtney snorted. "Publicity. My mother thought it would be a good idea if we positioned ourselves as the anti-Kellehers. Fat lot of good that did."

"Yeah. You were awfully young when you guys did it. He didn’t force you?"

"Ryan?" she snorted. "You know Ryan Killen better than that."

"You must have really been in love with him, then—or horny," Shawna laughed.

Courtney snorted out a giggle, but then got serious. "Neither. You know, I think I fell a little bit in love with him later—but I also hated him. It’s complicated. But I didn’t sleep with him for any normal reason." She took a deep breath. "I slept with him because my mother had convinced me that sex is what you did to keep a man around."

"Oh," Shawna said, completely horrified but trying to hide it.

"Yeah. You know, I often think it would’ve been easier if Ryan had been brutal. I was sleeping with him for the most calculating and mercenary of reasons. It might have been easier if he just took his piece and rolled off of me. But you know Ryan—he’s not like that. He was gentle and all that. I actually came—which was the last thing I expected. I wasn’t having sex for sex—shit, I was 13. I was spreading my legs to keep him interested. And he gave me an orgasm. That’s the day I started hating him. And falling in love with him. All at the same time.

"God, I’m so fucked up."

Shawna looked at her. "Courtney? Why are you telling me all this? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind at all, but why me?"

"Because you’re the only one that ever cared to listen," Courtney said sadly.

"Oh," Shawna said. "Then you just keep talking if you need to."

Courtney shot her a grateful smile. "Anyhow, Ryan and I went on like that for a while. You know what sex was like with us? I either completely dominated him, or lied down motionless. That was because I was ‘offering’ myself for his sake. The first was because I hated him. But I didn’t.

"You can probably imagine what that was like for him. But he never knew what was going on in my mind—and he did try. Somehow I had lumped him in with my mother. I wasn’t going to trust him. And I should have.

"When he found his girlfriend, I panicked. That’s why I gave him the ‘her or me’ ultimatum. And, in the month we were together after Jessie left, I suggested we start sleeping together again."

"Still using it to keep him around," Shawna commented, then wanted to take it back.

However, Courtney said, "Exactly. Shawna, if you could have seen the look of disgust and revulsion in his face when I suggested it. I think that’s when I finally realized the jig was up, that I was fooling myself, and that I had dug myself a hole I was not getting out of.

"And I think that’s when my eyes opened. Look, I know what’s going on. Most of the people that come in contact with me can’t stand to be in the same room with me." Her voice dropped. "The only problem is, one of those people is me."

Shawna sat for a moment, then said, "I guessed, and told Evan, that you were carrying around a lot of anger, and that it was primarily directed at your mother. But that you took it out on everyone else because, up until very recently, you were dependent on your mother."

"That’s probably right," Courtney agreed. "But, also, up until recently, I trusted my mother."

"You didn’t know any different."

"Probably not." Then Courtney started to cry. "Damn, and she’s coming here? Oh, Lord, what am I going to do?"

She sat there crying. Shawna, watching this with dismay, made a decision. She moved over on the couch and took Courtney in her arms. Courtney’s cries got louder, and Shawna held her and let her cry it out. "Don’t worry, we’ll think of something," Shawna said. She stroked Courtney’s hair while she cried. Finally, Courtney stopped sobbing and whispered, "Thank you."

"You’re welcome," Shawna said. She expected Courtney to get up, out of her arms—but she didn’t. She stayed where she was. They were both half-reclined on the couch, leaning back into the arm, Shawna’s arm wrapped around Courtney, her other hand still stroking her hair. Courtney sighed contentedly.

What was going on here? Shawna thought to herself. Courtney knew she was gay, right? Shawna guessed Courtney was still thinking what Shawna had said earlier was true—that Courtney wasn’t Shawna’s type.

Problem is, it wasn’t true. Shawna was definitely attracted to needy girls. Once she had figured out that Courtney’s bitchiness was a shield, hiding away some very deep emotional needs, her whole perspective changed. And Courtney’s physical charms were undeniable.

And she seemed very comfortable lying there in Shawna’s arms.

So, Shawna bit the bullet. "Courtney?" she said quietly. "Have you ever been with a girl?"

"No," she whispered.

"Have you ever thought about it?"

"I don’t think so."

Shawna took the arm that had been wrapped around Courtney, and started sliding it up and down her arm. In doing this, she lightly grazed Courtney’s breast with her palm every time she slid her hand. Courtney shuddered at the contact.

"Are you thinking about it now?" Shawna asked quietly.

"Uhm…..uh….." Courtney’s brain was a sieve at this moment. She couldn’t say anything coherent if her life depended on it. But she knew she was enjoying being in Shawna’s arms. Shawna was being so nice to her! And her hand tracing up and down her arm—and skirting over her boob—felt wonderful.

Courtney had never considered being with a girl. To her shock, she realized she was considering it now—and she wasn’t quite sure how she felt about that.

Shawna knew she had Courtney in a very vulnerable situation, and she was torn as to whether or not she should take advantage of it. She would stop—all Courtney had to do was say so—but she was drawn to Courtney in a way she didn’t entirely understand. So, she went for it. She leaned down, and let her lips lightly brush Courtney’s.

And Courtney felt an electric shock from her lips to the tips of her toes. She accepted the kiss—in fact, she pressed in harder, giving Shawna the answer she was looking for. Courtney moaned into her mouth, and her lips parted slightly, giving Shawna the opportunity to gently slip her tongue into Courtney’s mouth.

Courtney couldn’t believe it. This was so different from kissing a guy! Shawna was so gentle, and her lips were so soft. And her tongue didn’t invade Courtney’s mouth so much as explore it. Courtney was reeling. She was reeling moreso when she felt Shawna’s hand softly touching her breast.

They did this for a few minutes, Courtney sinking deeper and deeper into it. Then Shawna gave her one more chance to stop it. She broke the kiss, and said, "Court, we’d be a lot more comfortable in my bed."

Courtney thought about it, and decided. "OK," she said hesitantly. They got off the couch, and Shawna took Courtney by the hand and led her to her room. When there, Shawna pressed her advantage. She sat Courtney down on her bed, and started unbuttoning Courtney’s blouse.

Courtney sat there, watching another girl undress her. When Shawna had Courtney’s blouse and bra off, she leaned in again, touching her lips to the other girl’s. As their lips pressed together and their tongues dueled, Shawna put her hand on Courtney’s bare breast, fondling it and rubbing the nipple. Courtney moaned into Shawna’s mouth.

Shawna kept it up, feeling Courtney’s nipple become erect under her hand. Then Courtney surprised her. Shawna felt Courtney tugging on the waistband of her tee shirt. Shawna was amazed—she thought she’d be undressing herself! She gladly broke the kiss and let Courtney get her shirt and bra off. When that was done, she leaned back in, kissing Courtney again and fondling her boob. Then, Shawna felt Courtney place a tentative hand on Shawna’s boob.

Courtney was adrift. She couldn’t believe how this was making her feel. I mean, she’d seen naked girls before—of course she had, in locker rooms if nowhere else. She couldn’t believe the thrills he got when she removed Shawna’s shirt and bra—and the thrill she was getting from touching Shawna’s boob. To say nothing of what Shawna was doing to her.

They ended up sprawled on the bed, Courtney on her back, Shawna hovering over her. Their lips still pressed together, their tongues dancing. Their boobs pressed into each other’s. Shawna roamed her hands all over Courtney’s back—and was surprised to feel Courtney’s hand gently cupping her ass.

Shawna went for it. She rubbed her hands on the lower part of Courtney’s thighs, giving Courtney every opportunity to stop her. Courtney just moaned into her mouth. So, Shawna moved her hand up, slowly and lightly, traveling up Courtney’s thigh underneath her skirt. Her hand reached the top of Courtney’s thigh, and brushed across Courtney’s panties. Her panties were drenched.

"God, you’re so wet," Shawna whispered into Courtney’s ear. Courtney just moaned in return. Shawna dragged her fingers up and down Courtney’s panties for a minute, then went for broke. She abruptly reached both hands under Courtney’s skirt, and yanked her panties down. Then her hands were on Courtney’s bare pussy. She broke the kiss, and moved her lips down, and planted them on Courtney’s nipple.

Courtney gasped. She couldn’t believe how good this felt. Shawna’s hand on her pussy and her lips on her tit were gentle. They were coaxing, not insistent. And they were working her up to a frenzy in record time.

Suddenly, Courtney felt Shawna back away. She was about to groan in disappointment, but then she felt Shawna undoing her skirt. She pulled it off, leaving Courtney completely naked. Then, to Courtney’s complete amazement, she felt Shawna parting her thighs with her head!

Courtney gasped. She’d never done this before—she’d never let this be done to her before, and Ryan had wanted to. She didn’t know why she was resistant to it. But she always had been. And as Shawna parted her thighs to get access, her brain was at war. One part wanted to stop this—but the other part wanted her to spread her legs wider. That was the part that won.

Shawna dove in, and stuck her tongue into Courtney’s wet pussy, gently licking at it. Courtney, out of her mind with lust, whinnied like a horse at that.

Shawna loved doing this, so she went at it with great enthusiasm. She made love to Courtney’s pussy with her tongue—gently sucking on the labia and dipping her tongue into Courtney’s opening. She pushed her tongue into Courtney as far as it could go, moving it in and out deliberately. She could smell Courtney’s arousal, it enveloped her, as she worked on the girl’s pussy.

She pulled her tongue out of Courtney’s opening and lightly dragged it up and down her labia. Then she flicked Courtney’s clit with her tongue. Courtney jumped. "AH!" she gasped.

Shawna zeroed in on Courtney’s clit, licking and nibbling away at it. Courtney’s hips lifted off the bed, and she closed her eyes, her moans increasing in volume as Shawna sucked on her clit. After a few minutes of that, Courtney’s eyes flew open, she yelped, and then she exploded.

Shawna licked and nibbled Courtney through her orgasm, then she stopped. Her first instinct was to go for two, but she didn’t want to overwhelm Courtney. Instead, she crawled up the bed so that she was lying beside the other girl, and gently rubbed Courtney’s shoulder and hair as she came down.

"Wow!" Courtney finally said. "You know, I’ve never done that."

"I know," Shawna giggled.

"No, I mean ever. Not even with a guy. Ryan wanted to, but I wouldn’t let him."

"Well, girls are usually better than guys at that," Shawna laughed.

"You know what, though? I think Ryan would have been fine. And I still don’t know why I never let him. Of course, I also don’t know why I let you."

"Because you enjoyed it," Shawna said. "Court, don’t overanalyze it, OK? Go with the flow. We’re having a good time here."

"True," Courtney giggled. "Well, one of us is," she said. Shawna knew exactly what she meant, and what was going through Courtney’s mind—but Shawna was not going to push this. That would be a very stupid thing to do. Yes, she was turned on; and, yes, she wanted to get off. But she wasn’t going to push Courtney into that.

It turned out she didn’t have to. Courtney thought about it for a minute, then went for the snap on Shawna’s jeans. She was hesitant, and scared out of her mind, but she did it. Then she pulled them down, taking Shawna’s panties with them. When she had Shawna naked, she leaned over and started kissing her, and started tentatively exploring Shawna’s body with her hands. Just light touches, nothing urgent yet. Shawna still thoroughly enjoyed it.

After a few minutes, Courtney broke the kiss, and said, "I have no idea what I’m doing."

"It’s OK. Do what you like," Shawna smiled. Courtney looked at her. Shawna went on. "I remember my first time with a girl. I was 14 and so was she. I rather suspected by then that I was more attracted to girls than guys, but I hadn’t done anything about it.

"Anyhow, we were friends, and we were talking about it, and one thing led to another. It was her first time, too. I think we spent more time giggling embarrasedly than we did anything else." Courtney laughed at that. Shawna went on. "But it was still wonderful. It’s something I’ll never forget. Court, this is your first time with a girl. It should be special. Do whatever you want."

Courtney smiled and leaned back in to kiss Shawna again. Then she went back to letting her hands roam all over Shawna’s body, but with a little bit more purpose this time. She cupped Shawna’s breast in her hand and rubbed at the nipple. Shawna moaned into her mouth.

Emboldened, Courtney moved down and took Shawna’s nipple into her mouth. Courtney was rather surprised she was doing this. She was more surprised at how much she was enjoying it. Her hands, which had been somewhat unfocused, got more purposeful—and she took her right hand and slid it up and down Shawna’s thigh while she sucked on her boob. Shawna moved her hips, waiting for more contact. Courtney teased a little bit—then provided it, moving her hand onto Shawna’s pussy.

Courtney gently rubbed her fingers up and down Shawna’s pussy, delighted to find how wet she was. She explored, slipping a finger into Shawna’s opening and enjoying the low moan she got in return. She moved her finger in and out while she continued sucking on Shawna’s nipple. Shawna’s hips rolled, and she moaned, as she ran her hand through Courtney’s curly hair.

Courtney was thoroughly enjoying herself, but she kept thinking that there was another step. Did she want to do it? She thought about that for a while. Then, as Shawna was getting more and more worked up, Courtney decided.

She pulled her lips off of Shawna’s nipple and kissed the underside of her breast. Then she started working her way down, kissing the soft skin along her stomach, dipping her tongue into Shawna’s bellybutton—making Shawna giggle. Then she kept moving lower.

Shawna was quite surprised. She didn’t expect Courtney to do this. She wasn’t going to turn it down, though! Especially when Courtney took a tentative lick up the length of Shawna’s pussy. Shawna shuddered at the contact.

Courtney couldn’t believe she was doing this. She’d never let Ryan’s dick get anywhere near her mouth—and here she was, with her tongue in Shawna’s pussy—and liking it!

She barely had an idea what she was doing—but she knew what Shawna had done to make her feel good—so that’s what she did. She gently licked up and down Shawna’s pussy, then pushed her tongue into Shawna’s opening. Shawna moaned and bucked her hips, then Courtney came out, licking all the way up her pussy. She moved onto her clit and gently nudged it with her tongue.

"Oh, God, Court!" Shawna moaned. Courtney, incredibly satisfied by that, kept it up. Then, in a flash of inspiration, she tried something else. While nibbling on Shawna’s clit, she slipped a finger deep into Shawna’s pussy.

And Shawna went off like a rocket.

Afterwards, Courtney found herself wrapped in Shawna’s arms. That’s when she said, "You know, I’m not gay."

Shawna cracked up laughing. Courtney glared at her, so she tried to stop. It took some effort. "You know, for someone not gay, you’re very good at it. And that was done with remarkable enthusiasm—you know, for a not gay person."

Courtney smiled a bit, and blushed, and then said, "I don’t know. I just feel weird."

"For what it’s worth, I’d bet money that you’re bi, not gay," Shawna said. "You still like guys, I’m betting."

"Yeah."

"But, Court—you’re not straight. Not after that. Admit it to yourself."

Courtney thought about it, and said, "OK. You’re right. I enjoyed that way too much. In fact, it was mind-blowing."

"Right."

"It’s still weird. I mean, you told me you knew you liked girls when you were 14. How would you react if suddenly you found yourself in bed with a guy—and liking it?"

"It’s happened," Shawna admitted.

"Huh?"

"I’m not completely gay, that’s what I discovered. I’m probably 90-10. I am more physically attracted to girls, but I can be attracted to a guy. It has to be a guy a care a whole hell of a lot about before we ever get to that point, though. So, yes, I’ve been in bed with a guy—only one, but more than one time—and I thoroughly enjoyed it."

Light dawned over Courtney. "EVAN?"

"Yeah," Shawna admitted with a blush.

"But I thought Evan was…"

"He’s 90-10, too," Shawna told her. "I’m the only girl he’s ever been with. And, yes, it worked just fine," she smirked. Courtney laughed at that. "It’s mental attraction. Look, a lot of sex is about physical attraction—and you can have sex with just that, and very little mental attraction at all. What Evan and I found out is the opposite is also possible. We’re not particularly physically attracted to one another, because we’re both mostly gay—but we absolutely, positively love one another. Period. Any girl that I ever end up with, long-term, will have to understand that Evan will always be a part of my life, and that may include the odd trip to bed together." She laughed. "We’ve even talked about having a kid someday. I want kids. And Evan’s a whole hell of a lot more fun than a turkey baster."

Courtney laughed so hard that she almost choked. After she came back down, she looked at Shawna. "You were talking about attraction, mental and physical. Uh, what was this?"

"Both," Shawna smiled. "It was not just physical."

"It wasn’t?" Courtney squeaked.

"No, it wasn’t. Courtney, I like you a whole hell of a lot. I think I’m beginning to understand you. The person beneath all that baggage you tote around is pretty special."

"Oh, God," Courtney moaned, then started crying again. Shawna held her while she sobbed.

"It wasn’t just physical with you either, was it?" Shawna asked. Courtney shook her head. "Good," Shawna said. "You know, isn’t this how this whole thing started, with you crying in my arms?"

Courtney giggled through her sobs for a minute, then calmed down "Court?" Shawna asked. "Would you like to stay here with me tonight?"

"Very much so," Courtney said softly.

"Good."

They spent most of the rest of the weekend in bed, exploring, not coming out much except to eat. At one point Sunday night, Shawna got Courtney to admit that she loved it—but she also admitted that she liked a good fuck. That’s when Shawna introduced Courtney to her favorite strap-on. Courtney went nuts.

Afterwards, cuddling, Courtney said, "I am falling for you so fast it’s making my head spin."

"Good. Me too," Shawna grinned.

Before practice Monday, Shawna called Evan and they went for coffee. That’s when Shawna broke it to him.

"You need to know this, pal. Courtney and I became lovers this weekend."

Poor Evan almost choked on his coffee. "You are kidding!"

"Nope. Evan, listen to me, OK? You’ve always trusted my judgement. You will get that girl with honey, you understand me?"

"Yeah," Evan said. "I saw some of that this past week."

"Good. However, we have another problem."

The other problem showed up midway through their practice on Tuesday. Evan and Courtney were skating, working on some steps, when Evan felt Courtney suddenly stiffen up. She was looking past Evan, out of the rink. Evan turned, and saw.

"Mother. What are you doing here?" Courtney said.

"Why, darling, I told you I was coming! The house in Madison is up for sale, so I thought I’d come here and look to see what’s available. Now. Is Evan giving you a hard time?"

"No," Courtney said tightly. "Mother, if you buy a house out here, I won’t be moving into it."

"Of course you will. Where would you live?"

"Where I’m living now, with Shawna."

"Well, that just won’t do, you’ll have to move back in with me. After all, we know what she is."

Courtney stormed off the rink to face her mother, more furious than she’d ever been in her life. "No, I don’t know, Mother. What is she?"

"You know. She’s a lesbian." Mrs. Rogers said ‘lesbian’ like she might have said ‘axe murderer’.

"Is she? Hmmm. Well, then I guess I am, too—since I moved into her bed on Saturday night." Mrs. Rogers went ghost-white at that. "That’s right, Shawna and I are lovers. And it’s not for skating reasons, and it’s not because I’m trying to keep a guy around—it’s because we wanted to. I’ve discovered I’m bisexual. And Shawna and I are sharing a bed, and that’s all there is to it."

"NO IT IS NOT!" Mrs. Rogers shrieked. "That’s it, you’ve been corrupted, I am getting you out of here!"

"I’m 19 years old, you can’t make me do anything," Courtney said. She turned to her partner. "Evan, can you get her banned from the rink?"

"Surely," Evan said.

"Good," Courtney said. "Mother, for the first time in my life, I’m where I want to be, not where I have to be. With Evan. With Shawna. And without you. Go back to Wisconsin." And then she turned her back.

Her mother flew back to Madison that day.

A few days later, Courtney was sitting in the living room, staring at the phone. Shawna knew what was going on, and gave her privacy.

After an hour of staring, Courtney finally picked up the phone, and dialed. She knew the person on the other end wouldn’t recognize Shawna’s number, so she hoped they’d pick up.

They did. "Hello?" she heard.

She took a deep breath. "Ryan? It’s Courtney. Please don’t hang up."

"Courtney? What do you want?" he snorted back over the line.

"Just this." She took another breath. "I’m sorry, for everything. Good luck with your new partner. And thank you." Then, she quietly set the phone back on the cradle.