I have a secret.
Now, a secret can be a thrill, or it can be a burden. It's a burden if you can't tell anyone at all, you know? It's just a weight you carry alone.
I have a secret, and I'm tired of it being more of a burden than a thrill.
Would you like to hear it? I think it would be exciting to finally tell someone!
Okay, good! Here goes.
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My secret is, I have a lover. A lover I probably shouldn't have. No, a lover I *definitely* shouldn't have, and I can't tell anyone I know!
But wait. Let me start at the beginning.
It all started at my best friend Kate's 18th birthday party. It was a pretty wild party, with lots to drink. As the night was winding down, Kate started getting all emotional, and not in a good way. She asked me to stay the night with her, so after everyone else left, we went up to her room.
I was pretty drunk too, but nothing like Kate. She was getting weepy and weird.
To make it even worse, we could hear her parents fighting in the other room. Or, to be more precise, we could hear her mom yelling at her dad. It was horrible. She was screaming at him, telling him how he was no kind of man at all. She called him names, and it was pretty clear they were having trouble in the bedroom. She was yelling how he used to at least be good for a fuck, and now Mr Limp-Dick wasn't even good for that. I was so embarrassed to be hearing their fight, and poor Kate was just sobbing on the bed. Finally, we heard her mom say she was going to go get some real dick, and then the door slammed, and the house was quiet.
Kate couldn't stop crying, and she was trying to talk, but she was blubbering and all I understood was that her parents have been fighting a lot, and she was scared they'd split up. I couldn't believe they were fighting like this on her birthday! She was sobbing so hard, snot was running down her face, and drool was dripping down her chin. She's usually such a beautiful girl, but she just looked wrecked. It broke my heart, and I tried to calm her down and get her into bed.
I guess her dad heard her and figured out what she was crying about, because he knocked on her door. He poked his head in, and had barely gotten three words out before Kate said she was gonna be sick, and bolted for the bathroom.
Her dad and I helped get her cleaned up. We got soaked showering her off, but eventually Kate was clean and tooth-brushed and mouth-washed, propped up on pillows in her bed.
Now, you should know, I have been friends with Kate since we were little, and it seems like I've spent about as much time at her house as I have at mine. Her parents are almost like my parents, except older. And nicer, in the case of her dad, at least. He is one of the sweetest people I ever met, and I always kinda wished he was my dad. Her mom has never been mean, exactly - at least, not to me - but she's kind of prickly, I guess. Not a teddy bear like her dad. It really upset me to hear her yelling at him that way. I'd never heard her act like that. It's like she went off the deep end.
Anyway, Kate's dad was apologizing to both of us, and his poor face was so sad and ashamed.
"I'm sorry you had to hear all that. I'm sure it was awful. I mean, who wants to hear about their Dad's ED, right?? Sorry, honey."
That's another endearing thing about Kate's father. He is embarrassingly frank about everything.
Anyway, he went on downstairs and I got Kate tucked in. I took off my damp clothes and crawled in beside her. She rolled over, draping herself over me.
"I love you," she said into my neck, her breath warm. "Thank you for taking care of me when my parents suck."
And then she started kissing my neck.
"What are you doing, Kate?" I asked, giggling a little because it tickled.
Then she kissed my mouth. And I kissed her back.
"Don't you think you should sleep?" I managed, when we eventually broke the kiss. I was breathing fast.
"Noooooooooo, Calista" she whined softly. "I want us to make love. For my birthday!" she added, almost as an afterthought. Her whining can be annoying, but tonight it was sweet.
I responded by pushing her gently over onto her back, propping myself on an elbow, and leaning down to kiss her.
"Are you sure?" I asked softly.
"Please? For my birthday? I need you to love me."
"Ohhh, my Katie-cat, you know I love you."