A Curious Affair

Thanks to Samantha_Sherman for proofreading.

Under normal circumstances Amanda would never have found herself at a bar as divey as Holmes', but it was her friend's birthday, and this was where she wanted to go. Dim orange lights hung from the ceiling, and many of the bottles behind the bar were covered in dust. The Tuesday night clientele were almost all men, and nearly all of them were on the bad side of forty. In the ladies' room, the lone toilet was splattered with pee, and the hand soap dispenser was empty (Amanda decided she didn't have to go that bad after all). This wasn't a dive; it was a shithole.

But Kim was enamored with it. It was her 21st birthday, and for her first legal drink she wanted to go someplace, in her words, "real." (Never mind the fact that the bar at the Applebee's just down the road was also real, and presumably clean.) So, against Amanda's better judgment, they were sitting at a corner table at Holmes' among the after-work crowd. It was just the two of them--the big, girls-night outing would be that Friday with the rest of their acquaintance group.

"What're you drinking?" Amanda asked.

"Gin and tonic," Kim replied confidently. "I'm not having my 'first' drink be a White Claw," she continued when she saw the bemused look on Amanda's face.

"Gin and tonic it is."

Amanda made her way to the bar. She was dressed nicely--far too nice for this place. A blue slip dress clung to her breasts and stomach and showed off her bare back. It went well with her yellow sandals and purse. Her brown hair was in a braid. Bold, black eyebrows sat above blue eyes, and her large teeth, which in earlier years had caused so much self-consciousness, she now considered one of her best assets. Getting the bartender's attention was easy.

"Can I have a gin and tonic and a glass of your cheapest white wine, please?" she asked, leaning over the counter.

While she waited on the drinks, Amanda looked back at her friend, who was talking to a guy who had pulled a chair up to their table.

That was fast

, she thought.

And presumptuous

.

But not surprising. Kim always had boys falling over themselves trying to talk to her. She was blonde and curvy, a little chubby with a lot of boob to show off if she wanted. And tonight she did. The top she was wearing revealed so much cleavage Amanda was pretty sure the astronauts on the International Space Station could see it. Kim's permanent smile and penchant for laughter made it easy to get free drinks, and Amanda was sure this was what was going on. Neither of them were in the mood to be taken home by someone else that evening, she thought.

Booze in hand, she weaved her way back through the crowd.

"This is my friend, Mandy!" Kim chirped as she sat down. "Mandy, this is Derek. He was in my creative writing class last semester."

Derek smiled and held out his hand; she shook it. He was cute. Easily six foot, messy brown hair, about their age. A sharp nose was his most interesting feature; his deep brown eyes his prettiest. When he smiled she saw he probably hadn't ever had braces, which suited him surprisingly well.

"Hi Mandy, Kim was just telling me how you're the only one of her friends to go out on her birthday."

"Uh, yeah, well it's a school night, so we're planning something big later on in the week."

"Gotcha, gotcha. I just wanted to reintroduce myself--I don't want to intrude or anything. But when you need another round of drinks, call me over."

And he was gone.

"That's weird," Amanda said.

"A little," Kim replied. "He's here alone and just got off work. He's a student part time and stopped in on his way home. He's a good writer; I remember he wrote something really beautiful for that class. About dogs, I think. Or squirrels."

Her eyes followed Derek as he crossed the bar. Amanda realized they might be splitting up tonight after all. Kim had a type, and he was it. She was shorter than Amanda's 5'6 and loved tall guys, loved how they had to bend down to kiss her, loved how they could wrap their bodies around her's while they fucked. She loved boys, period.

Amanda sipped her wine. It was cheap alright, but it was cold and sweet and hit the spot. Once she finished it she would suggest they find another bar. Kim would no doubt refuse, saying Derek owed her a vodka cran, and that would be Amanda's opportunity to leave.

You two have fun

, she'd say.

Text me the address

. She'd go back to their dorm (it was a suite, and quite nice all things considered, but still a dorm in the mind of the college junior), have another glass of wine, read a few chapters of an Amor Towles book in lieu of her assigned readings, and call it a night around ten. It wasn't that she didn't like boys or do hookups; she was just pickier than her perky, buxom friend.

Kim was sucking down her gin and tonic.

"Hey, slow down," Amanda said, laughing. "I'm not even half done."

"Sorry, it's just really good. Here, try it."

Amanda took the straw in her mouth and sipped. For the sleaziest bar she'd ever been in, the bartender was surprisingly competent.

"So," Kim said, "what'd'ya think?"

"It's good. Strong."

"I meant Derek. I never talked to him before now, but I like him. I see him at Strange Brew sometimes and he's always writing something. I hadn't really noticed how cute he is. And I've been horny since last week--I don't know what it is, maybe stress from the midterms."

Amanda knew all about this last part. The wall between their rooms was far from thick enough to muffle the sound of her roommate's vibrator.

"Okay, well, I'm not gonna stop you. Just be safe, text me the usual info. I have a book to read anyway."

Kim's face fell. "Oh, I don't want to ruin our night."

Amanda figured it would be rude to make clear she wanted to get the hell out of the venue they were in, so she tactfully said, "don't worry about it. We'll be going out on Friday anyway. Seriously. Have some fun with your new crush."

Her wine half-finished, she got up from the table. They hugged, and Amanda headed for the exit, making a small wave to Derek as she walked by where he was sitting at the bar.

***

The door to the suite swung closed. Amanda kicked off her sandals in the entryway and went into her room, where she dropped her purse and peeled off the dress. Her firm breasts wobbled a little as the fabric moved past them. They were average size, she'd guess. Topped by dark areolas, each had the same allotment of beauty marks: two. She liked them; compared to her small ass, she felt they fit the beauty standards of the day.

Walking to the kitchen in just her white panties, she found an open bottle of wine (not quite turned, she determined, after taking a swig from it) and a clean mug, which she poured the remainder of its contents into. Barefoot on the linoleum floor, she pivoted on the balls of her feet to imaginary music.

Fuck this

, she thought,

let's get some actual music going

. Pairing her phone to the bluetooth speaker in the living area, she decided on a Massive Attack album and hit shuffle. Waves of sound poured from the small device as she located her book and settled on the couch. She sat criss-cross and hunched over, wine mug in her right hand. Her unrestrained breasts dangled, rising and falling with each breath. In this position her stomach rolled up, hiding her belly button. Pubic hair poked out of her underwear, which was thin enough she could feel the contours of the couch fabric on her crotch. Kim knew her roommate had nudist tendencies and didn't mind. It was only fair, since Amanda never said a word about the guys Kim fucked in their shared spaces.

Amanda was just immersing herself in 1930s Manhattan when her phone chimed. It was Kim:

Hey! I hate to do this but can Derek and I come back to our place rn? His roommate's home and is apparently kind of a tyrant about this stuff.

Derek's roommate may have been a dick, but in this case his ire would have made some sense: Kim wasn't usually a quiet lover. Not infrequently Amanda would be dozing off in her room when she'd be jerked awake by Kim's moaning and the slapping of flesh as she begged whoever it was this time to go harder, deeper, faster. Back when they shared a single room they had a pretty good system figured out: three nights a month each of them could bring someone back and tell the other to scram--more than that, and they'd have to find someplace else. But now that they had a larger space with more privacy, that rule had gone out the window. And Kim wasn't always good about telling Amanda when she was bringing a hookup home, especially late at night, which had led to some unexpected encounters.

Once, Amanda had gotten up to pee and, while walking through the dark living room, saw Kim and a guy on the couch going at it so hard they didn't notice her. Kim was on her back with her arms and legs wrapped around him as he fucked her. His face was pressed into her neck and she was whispering sweet nothings in his ear, no doubt urging him on. Her eyes adjusted to the dark, Amanda could see everything, and the sheer eroticism of the moment had impacted her heavily. The way Kim's ass squished into the couch and pillowed outward; how her left hand lay flat on the man's back, embracing him as if he really were her lover; the way their bodies moved downward into the cushions with every desperate thrust. Amanda had watched this for nearly a minute, then retreated slowly into her room. She masturbated that night, not just to the abject voyeurism of it all but also, to her surprise, to Kim. She had never touched herself to another woman, and had never felt any previous attraction to her roommate. But she did that night, and when she came it was with the image of Kim's soft, voluptuous body square in her mind.

Amanda stared at the text, then responded:

Yeah, no worries. I'll be in my room

.

She had no intention of eavesdropping. That night had been a one time thing, and she'd tried not to think of Kim in that way again. She

had

paid tribute to her, though. Her only one night stand so far that semester happened on the same couch. It was with a boy she met at the library named Alex. He was 5'10 and blond, muscular forearms joined to prominent biceps, chinos tight enough to see the shape of his ass. "Happy to see a fellow fan of Jack Reacher," he told her, gesturing to her copy of

Persuader

. Three hours and a meal later, he was in her living room undressing her.

"So, I'm not looking for anything serious, I don't think," he said between kisses.

"That's fine," she replied, yanking her pants to her knees as she kneeled on the couch. "Just fuck me."

Alex only got a few pumps in before shuddering, gripping her ass and convulsing against her as he came into the condom. But that was okay. He ate her out to her heart's content until he was ready for round two. Her pussy dripped all over that poor piece of furniture; at the time, she worried it'd stain. But when he stood up and she saw his cock had come back to life, engorged and red, she ceased to think of anything else except what was right in front of her. When he entered her a second time, she groaned loudly in an involuntary imitation of Kim. When she came again, she told him to stop. After disentangling themselves, he sat on the couch and pulled the condom off. They cuddled, not mentioning the pulsing, leaking erection they both knew would be taken care of eventually. After a few minutes, she kissed him tenderly, then bent down and took the head of his penis into her mouth. He blew quickly, and she swallowed. True to his word, he wasn't ready for anything serious, but they exchanged numbers in case that changed. That was two weeks ago.

I should text him

, Amanda mused as she gathered her things and padded to her room.

***

They entered the apartment in a tangle of groping hugs and sloppy kisses. Amanda had brought the speaker into her bedroom and changed the music to Allie X, knowing she'd need something a bit louder for what was about to happen next door. She heard Kim giggle, and then her bedroom door slam shut. Amanda looked at her phone: 8:55. She guessed they'd be done in 40 minutes. Kim knew her worth and the guys she brought home did too; lengthy cunnilingus was definitely on the menu tonight.

Amanda was hungry. She didn't like drinking on an empty stomach, and though she hadn't drunk very much at all tonight, she'd have a stomach ache if she didn't eat something soon. Tossing her book aside, she got up and pulled on some sweatpants embroidered with the university logo and a Grand Canyon t-shirt. She didn't know where she got it; Amanda had never been to the Grand Canyon.

Opening her door, she made the few steps to the kitchen and started rummaging around. Muffled sounds were emanating from Kim's room, but she ignored them: a more urgent biological need called. Unfortunately, food was sparse in this small corner of the world. Turkey sandwich it was, she decided. Amanda pulled out the ingredients and made it, then sat down at the small table in the living room. As she ate she scrolled Instagram. Behind her, through the door and over the sound of music and chewing, she could hear Kim moaning.

Finished, she got up and rinsed her plate, then returned to her room. She was about to close the door when her phone chimed. Kim:

Hey. Weird for me to be texting I know but do you know where the speaker is?

Amanda glanced at it sitting on her dresser.

Yeah, I have it, sorry. Do you want it?

She wasn't as incredulous as she would have been had this happened the first week of their friendship. Kim could be very particular about some things, her insistence on having her first legal drink be at a dive bar and not a "fake" bar just one minor example. Combined with her relatively blasé attitude toward sex (on multiple occasions she'd rushed half-clothed, sweaty and tits out, into Amanda's room in search of a condom), the request for the speaker wasn't all that surprising.

Amanda didn't get a written response to her text; instead, as she was wont to do, Kim burst through the door.

"Hey!" she said, a bit breathless. "Derek has this playlist he

insists

on using. I told him it's ridiculous" (she shouted this last word, no doubt so he could hear it) "but he says it's so great it'll blow my boobs off."

"Wouldn't want that," Amanda replied absentmindedly. For the second time ever she was struck by her roommate. Kim was barely dressed. She was topless, her large breasts sagging slightly with the force of gravity. Her midsection was full--she wasn't fat, but her doctor probably classified her as some type of overweight. The paunch of her stomach hid the top of her pink panties, her only article of clothing. Jiggly thighs led to rounded calves and small feet with painted pink toenails. Her blonde hair, struck by a mild case of bedhead, reached down to her nipples

Kim scrunched her round face. "Are you okay?"

Amanda realized she'd been staring. "Uh, yeah. Sorry. Here you go." The speaker changed hands. Kim tilted her head slightly. "Thanks, Mandy."

The blonde turned to go, then looked back. "You know, uh, Derek thinks you're cute too. He might like if, uh, you know..." She trailed off. To Amanda's surprise, Kim was blushing. She felt her own face get hot. Her friend gave an awkward smile, then scurried off.

***

Watching Kim go, Amanda's mind was a whirl. Why had she said that? Did she mean Amanda and Derek should hook up later? Surely that's what she meant. Doing anything like that together would be weird. It would jeopardize their friendship, their ability to be roommates. Besides, there wasn't enough room on the twin bed for the three of them.

As she stared out of her bedroom door, Amanda heard Derek's music starting. Was that...Bon Jovi? The knock-your-boobs-off playlist starts with "Livin' on a Prayer"? Go figure. She turned around and sat on her bed. Kim had practically run back to her room, and Amanda had noticed how that made her sizable ass wobble. It was long, with a crack lengthy enough to swallow a cock whole and then some. Despite being big, it didn't sag. Her underwear had been riding up into it--possibly remnants of Derek enjoying eating something other than pussy.

But why would Kim have told her to hook up with him later right as she was hooking up with him now? That kind of referral could be done afterward, with the benefit of a complete review ("nice dick, total munch, a little rough, I think you'd like him"). She had noticed Amanda staring. She'd blushed. But Amanda was sure Kim had never been in a threesome. Did she want to try one tonight? Suddenly, her friend's exhibitionism took on a new light: had Kim been coming on to her this whole time? Surely not, she thought. They just had casual house rules regarding nudity and sex. Kim's comment, though...

I'm going for it

, she thought. Standing up, Amanda grabbed a condom from her bedside drawer. Plausible deniability: give Kim the condom as an inside joke, see if they ask her to stick around. She walked to her roommate's door. Standing outside, she could just make out the sounds of pleasure over the music.

She knocked. No response; they probably didn't hear her. Steeling herself, she turned the knob and stepped inside. Kim's bed was in the opposite corner of the room. She was propped up on a pile of pillows, stroking Derek's hair as he fucked her. He was completely naked, revealing an impressively muscular figure from his triceps and back to his ass and thighs. Amanda couldn't see his left hand, but the right one was grabbing a tit like it was a stress ball. Impressive core strength, too.

Kim saw her and gave an open-mouth smile and waved.

"Hi Mandy!" she said as casually as if they were meeting at Strange Brew.

Derek stopped thrusting and looked behind him, confusion on his face. Amanda stepped farther into the room, holding up the condom.

"I figured I'd give you this, so you don't have to come running to my room again with your tits out."

The timing was bad, obviously, because they were already fucking, but she did her best to stick the delivery. Kim, for her part, laughed and beckoned her over.

Derek had pulled out completely by this point. He was breathing hard, but had an easy look on his face.

"Nice to see you again," he said, as Amanda handed Kim the rubber.

"Sometimes when I'm hooking up with a guy I'll run into her room for a condom, and like, I'll be half naked and she'll be studying or something," Kim explained. "I know it's annoying."

"No, it's fine," Amanda replied. "Safe sex is great sex."

Kim was still where she'd been when the door first opened. Her hair was spilling over her pillows much like the way her breasts spilled sideways off her chest. A dark hole was her bellybutton. The panties were gone. For the first time, Amanda saw her pussy. It was, to her mind, beautiful, swollen and totally hairless. Derek's cock was also on display. It was wrapped up, a little under six inches, clearly aching to get back where it had been a moment ago.

Amanda again realized she'd been staring. The couple's eyes were on her.

"Anyways, just wanted to give you that. I'll let you get back to it," she said, turning.

"You can stay. If you want."

Kim had said it without a shred of doubt in her voice. Looking back, Amanda saw a warm smile on her friend's face. "Only if you want," she emphasized. "There's not much room on the bed but you can pull up a chair. You can have him after I'm done."

Amanda, given an "in" which ten minutes ago she didn't even know she wanted, walked to Kim's desk and sat down. "Yeah, sure, I...I really need to get laid," she finally said. "Haven't been in a while. If that's okay with you." This was directed to Derek.