When we got to Emmy’s place the house was completely dark. Entering by the tropical garden door, I couldn’t see a thing.

“Uh, Emmy… could you turn on some lights?” I asked, worried I was going to crash into something expensive.

“Oh- sorry,” she said, and after a few moments of fumbling around, turned on the hall lights.

“Are you hungry?” Emmy asked as we passed the kitchen. “I am sure there is something in the refrigerator.”

“No, I’m good.”

Emmy had to hunt to find the light switch for the upstairs hallway too, because it was a very dark night and the house was pitch black. It struck me as odd that Emmy didn’t even know where the light switches are in her own house. I guessed that the staff always turned lights on or off as needed. Again, I was reminded of what a different world Emmy lived in than the one I knew.

Emmy put her guitar case in its corner, then pulled out the fifty bucks she’d won earlier. “Where should I put this that it will remind me?” she asked, looking around her room.

“I think you ought to put it somewhere near your music stuff, so you can see it when you practice,” I suggested.

Her eyes lit up at the idea, and she started looking for a good spot. “I have an idea! I should have thought of this earlier,” she said, opening her guitar case. She lifted the guitar, then tucked the cash under a little elastic band behind where the body of the guitar would rest. “This way I will see it whenever I take my guitar out to play,” she said with satisfaction in her voice.

“Don’t forget,” I reminded her. “You promised to play that song for me.”

“I have not forgotten. But I am not going to accompany myself on the guitar. I will sing it to you without any instrumentation.”

“Well, O.K.,” I said, unsure what she meant.

“Please, come over here,” she said, patting the big, cream colored bed. I sat down, and she moved to sit behind me. She put her hands on my shoulders and gently pulled me back, so I was lying down with my head in her lap. Emmy started gently stroking my hair, then running her fingertips along my cheek. She began to sing, so quietly I could barely hear it, then gradually louder. Even at the loudest, though, it was still quite soft and tender. The yearning in her voice once again brought tears to my eyes, and I saw that Emmy too was crying as she sang the lines about glorious sadness. Even though she had tears in her eyes, Emmy continued to sing that exquisite lullaby to me. My eyes were flowing like crazy, the song was so sad and sweet at the same time. When Emmy finished the song she leaned down and kissed my tears away, wiping her own face dry as she did so.

“Emmy…” I whispered. “That was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.”

“That was the most beautiful thing I have ever sung,” Emmy replied. “It had to be- I sang it for the most beautiful girl in the world.”

That was it. Any last resistance I might have still felt, any reluctance to admit I really could be completely head over heels in love with another girl, any shred of doubt, it all evaporated away. I’d been trying to lie to myself about my feelings, but it just wasn’t going to fly any more. I’d thought I’d loved Chris back when we were together, but it was nothing compared to the way I felt about Emmy. Emmy was everything I wanted in the world at that moment.

I sat up and took Emmy into my arms. She melted into me and we just sat there on her big canopy bed, holding each other, saying nothing. It felt like an eternity, but in a good way, as if the moment could genuinely last forever.

Eventually, however, we did have to get up and get ready for bed. After Emmy finished brushing her teeth, I asked if there was a toothbrush I could use. Shyly, she opened a drawer on the bathroom vanity to show me a brand new toothbrush in its packaging.

I opened it and got a little shock when I realized it was the same kind and even the same color as my toothbrush at home. I looked up at Emmy and she gave me a sheepish smile.

“I bought it a month ago, after I stayed with you at your house.”

“Umm… what?” I asked, unsure where she was going with this.

“I had been hoping that you would get a chance to use it,” she admitted.

A light bulb went on in my brain, and I realized what she was telling me. “You were hoping I would spend the night here?”

“Very much so,” Emmy admitted. For the very first time, I saw her blush. I hadn’t realized that it was possible for her midnight black skin to show it, but her cheeks turned a little bit pink.

“I bought your kind of shampoo, too,” she said, turning even redder and looking at her feet as if she were a little girl caught doing something embarrassing.

“Oh, Em…” I said, wrapping my arms around her again.

When I finished brushing my teeth and washing my face, I returned to the bedroom to find Emmy sitting on the bed, waiting. She was wearing a white silk camisole and a pair of white silk boxers. The contrast between her long, very black limbs and the white of her clothes made her look like a black and white photo. There was something unreal but lovely about the image of her sitting on the big cream-colored bed, her legs tucked under her to the side, waiting expectantly.

Me, I felt nowhere near as beautiful. I hadn’t been expecting these events, so I had only my undershirt and undies to sleep in. Feeling self-conscious, I hurried over to the bed and quickly climbed in. Emmy slid in beside me, then propped herself up on her elbow to look at me.

Emmy wasn’t ready to go straight to sleep, not by a long stretch. She wanted to talk. “The two days I spent with you, sleeping in your bed at night- those were the best two days of my life,” Emmy said, softly enough that I had to listen closely. “I thought that you and I had something together, something very special.”

I started to speak, but she put her fingers on my mouth to indicate that she didn’t want to be interrupted.

“I did not want that time with you to end. But it had to, I understand that. But when you sent me home, and asked me to not talk about what had happened, I felt destroyed.”

Again, I started to object, but Emmy continued. “I went home that Sunday night and went straight to my bed. I lay here in bed, crying for hours. I felt that what had happened meant far more to me than to you. You have had lovers before, but I never have had, so I felt that I simply did not understand. That I was being naïve.”

“Em-“ I started to say, but once more she put her fingers on my mouth to quiet me.

“Please let me finish,” she said. “I cried for hours. I hated myself for being so weak. I have never been weak, and it was a terrible, unfamiliar sensation. I felt ashamed of myself, but there was nothing I could do- I was wounded, and it hurt me very much.”

Hearing Emmy tell me what I had done without even realizing it, I began to feel sick inside.

“This feeling of weakness, it would not go away, so I resolved to turn it into a strength. I would use the feelings I have for you to guide me in my actions. I would do whatever it took to make you happy, and hope that somehow you would come to feel the same way for me as I feel for you.”

This time, when I started to speak Emmy let me get my words out. “Em… I am so sorry. I had no idea that you took it this way. I mean, not the weekend together, that was special to me, too. I mean the keeping the whole thing quiet. I didn’t mean that I didn’t…” I stumbled to a halt, unsure how to say what was running through my thoughts.

Emmy resumed her narrative. “Part of me was hoping that I had merely misunderstood, and I was hoping for some sign on Monday morning that I had. However, you acted the same as you ever did, before that weekend. It was as if nothing had happened between us. That we were merely friends.”

“But-” I objected, before Emmy hushed me with her fingers again.

“I had hardened myself to the possibility, but it still came as a blow. However, I kept to my resolution, and said nothing, did nothing but what I thought you wanted.”

“Em, that’s not what I wanted,” I protested. “I wanted us to be- I don’t know,” I sighed. “Look, I was having a hard time dealing with the idea that I was attracted to another girl, all right? That weekend was special to me, too. Very special. I’d never felt that way for anybody before, but I just didn’t know how to deal with it.”

Emmy was looking at me with those big, vivid green eyes of hers, and I noticed that there were tears welling up in them.

“Seriously- I’m sorry. When I said we should keep things quiet, I just meant… Ah, hell. I don’t know exactly. I guess I just didn’t want everyone at school to know we- I mean…” I stammered out.

I couldn’t look Emmy in the eyes and her big green eyes filled with tears. It just hurt too much.

“Look, I guess I’m trying to say that you really do mean a lot to me, and you did then, too. I just wasn’t ready to come to grips with it myself. This has been very hard for me to accept about myself, you know?” It sounded lame and weak, but there it was.

“So… our weekend together was not just a… a fling? It really was as significant to you as it was to me?” Emmy asked.

“It was very significant to me, Em. It was just very hard for me to process, that’s all. Tonight, when I watched you singing at the coffee shop, I realized that none of my… um fears, I guess… matter,” I managed to stammer. “I’m crazy about you, and I have been for a while. It just took this long for me to admit it to myself. But here I am, now, and here you are.”

“Yes, here we are,” Emmy agreed. “And what is past is past. I know that I want to be with you. I want you to be with me, as well,” Emmy finished.

“Em, I do want to be with you. I want it so much it hurts inside,” I murmured, leaning in for a kiss.

I sat up and looked at Emmy. I looked at her legs, tucked under her in a position it would kill me to maintain. I looked at her arms that had just been holding me. Long and slender, like the rest of her. I looked at her hands, with those delicate fingers, her nails cut short and even. Just a hint of shimmery clear nail polish on them, understated- the way Emmy always wore her makeup.

I looked at her shoulders and chest, motionless except for the soft rise and fall of her breathing. I looked at her face- that midnight black skin of hers so familiar to me now, and those startlingly green eyes that could be so expressive… just then, they were showing a bit of puzzlement at my actions. Her delicate features were otherwise untroubled, though.

Emmy’s hair was perfect, as usual. It was so neatly brushed and held back that it didn’t look real- no loose strands at all. I don’t know how she manages it, but Emmy was always the most perfectly groomed person I have ever seen.

I put my hand behind her long dancer’s neck and pulled her in to my kiss. We held that one, exquisite kiss for hours, or so it seemed. When I let her go and leaned back to look at her again, her puzzled expression had been replaced by one of pleasure. She was happy, and so was I. This was how it was supposed to be.

I reached across the small space between us and started to lift up the hem of her camisole. I looked into her eyes again, to make sure she was O.K. with it, and the contented look on her face reassured me. I finished raising it up and gently pulled it off her shoulders. I tossed it aside, then took her hands in mine as I looked, I mean really looked for the first time at her bare breasts. Of course, like the rest of her, they were perfect. Of course they were.

Again, checking her face to make sure she was still good with the way things were going, I saw that she had a Mona Lisa smile going on and her eyes were lightly closed in anticipation. Taking that as a very good sign, I stroked her shoulder, her collarbone, her delicate throat. Moving my hands back to her shoulders, I softly pushed her onto her back, so she was lying down. I slowly ran my hands from her shoulders, down the sides of her ribs and down her smooth, flat belly. I paused a moment to run my fingers over the emerald stud she had at the top of her belly button. It looked so beautiful there, that brilliant spot of color against the satiny charcoal background of Emmy’s skin.

Getting back to my task, I hooked my fingers in the waistband of her boxers and gave them a tug. Emmy aided matters by lifting her butt off the bed a bit and started sliding the undies off. I looked into her eyes again, still wanting reassurance that she was doing all right with events. She looked back at me with that same little smile, so I gave them a bit more of a tug. Watching her expression show a little flash of excitement, I knew that Emmy was just as ready for this as I was. I slid her panties off in one smooth motion, and tossed them with the rest of her clothes.

There she was, lying bare in front of me, a beautiful black shadow on the clean cream-colored bed. She leaned her head back, closing her eyes again. I looked her up and down, and felt as if I could hardly breathe. She was so amazing, so slender, so graceful. Her long legs were smooth and silky, and caressing them made Emmy’s breathing turn ragged. Mine, too, I have to admit. I was getting more out of this than I’d expected. The feel of Emmy’s bare skin under my hands and the soft sounds she was making were almost too much for me. I worked up the courage, sliding my hands up her belly to her ribs, then cupping her breasts in my palms. She arched her back, pressing herself against my hands. It was so unbearably sexy that all I could do was what her body demanded, and so I squeezed and stroked with more strength.

For the first time since this whole thing started, Emmy spoke. “Leah,” she whispered. “Please…” and that was it.

I leaned down and kissed her again, and she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me down onto her with surprising force. This time her kisses were hot, fierce, and demanding where before they had been soft and imploring. My hands hadn’t stopped what they were doing through all this. My left hand had slid under her back, but my right was back to stroking her thighs. As my hand slid along the inside of her left thigh Emmy rocked her hips forward, bumping my hand with her velvety smooth mound. She put her hand on top of mine and pressed my hand onto herself as she continued rocking her hips. The soft flesh under my fingers was smooth and hot, and responding to my touch. I rubbed and tickled, sliding my fingers through and between her folds and circling and pinching her tiny little pearl.

This was too much for Emmy, and she pulled away from my kiss, panting with the moment. I continued to play with her delicate parts, looking into her face as her breathing grew harder. Her eyes were tightly shut, and her expression was one of a hard physical effort. It didn’t take much longer before every muscle in Emmy’s body tensed, and she held her breath for a moment, then relaxed and exhaled with a shudder.

I knew while I was watching that I’d just brought this amazing girl to climax, and that I was well and truly her lover now. The thought filled me with a flood of emotion, so much love that it almost physically hurt. I was flushed, breathing almost as hard as Emmy, but from the rush, the incredible feeling of elation running through my body.

Once Emmy started to relax my fingers went back to work, stroking and caressing her most sensitive spot. As her body stiffened again, I leaned back in and kissed her one more time, but this was a different kiss still. This was a forceful, aggressive kiss, and for the first time, I slid my tongue between her lips and into her mouth. She gave a little gasp of surprise, but I pushed farther with my tongue and she welcomed it in. I took this moment to do the same with my middle finger. It went from between her labia and slid gently but firmly inside her, entering just past my first knuckle.

Emmy let small sigh escape, but she didn’t resist in any way. In fact, she rocked her hips forward to give me a better angle, so I slid farther in. I was surprised at the muscular feel in there, as her walls gripped me more strongly than I expected. I slid out a little, then back in, farther this time. A few more strokes like that and my middle finger was buried as far as it could go up inside her. During this process, my tongue was mimicking my finger’s progress. Emmy was having a hard time breathing, as my lips were pressed against hers, but I wasn’t about to let up. I pushed hard, both with my tongue in her mouth and my finger in her pussy. It felt good, amazingly good. I was sending the one I loved into a realm of ecstasy, and I loved every moment of it.

When Emmy climaxed again (but much harder this time) I let her go and sat up to look at her. She lay there, her eyes closed, panting as if she’d just run a marathon. Her arms and legs were splayed out as if she had no muscular control to move them, and there was a light layer of sweat on her beautiful onyx body. It was by far the sexiest thing I had ever seen in my life. The contented look on Emmy’s face mirrored my own, I was sure. I felt so good, so in love at that moment that I thought my heart was going to burst. When Emmy whispered “Thank you,” I couldn’t help it any longer. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I started to cry. No sobbing, because these were tears of happiness. Absolute, complete happiness.

I softly straightened her limbs, then rolled her onto her belly. I kissed the nape of her neck, getting a sigh of pleasure for my efforts. I kissed my way down her spine, all the while stroking her with my hands. When I got to the top of her butt, I kissed across the top of one of her cheeks, and then down the back of her left leg. When I got to the back of her ankle, I switched legs and started back up again. Finally arriving at the back of her neck again, I lined my body up with hers and lay down on top of Emmy, my knees in between hers and my hips pressing against her butt.

Holding my weight up on my elbows, I started to grind my pelvis into her with a slow, rolling motion. This had been my favorite position that Chris and I had tried, and now I was using it on Emmy. Of course this was just a dry hump, but it seemed to be affecting her anyway. Emmy’s breathing became more and more irregular as I continued; her little gasps a clear sign that she was enjoying it as much as I was. As I pushed I gradually picked up speed, and as it seemed Emmy was just about to climax again, I jammed my pelvis up against her as hard as I could. Emmy tensed, then collapsed under me again with a soft moan.

As much as I loved what I’d just done, and enjoyed every moment of it, it struck me as strange that it worked so well for both of us. I mean, there was no real contact on Emmy’s girl parts, and I still had my pants on and my legs tight together so there should have been no stimulation. But there very clearly was. I climaxed along with Emmy on that final push, and when she collapsed, I let my weight press down on her, too exhausted to hold myself up.

After a few moments I rolled off Emmy and onto my back so she could breathe again. My eyes were closed and I was just enjoying the afterglow when I felt the soft touch of Emmy’s hands sliding up under my shirt.

I kept my eyes closed, savoring the sensation of her delicate touch as she slid my bra up and off my breasts. She lightly tickled my nipples with her fingertips, giving me goose bumps on my bare arms.

Emmy straddled my hips then, and tugged and pulled my T shirt and bra off completely. She made a little sound I can only describe as happy when she took my breasts in her hands again. I felt a light touch on my right nipple, and I opened my eyes to see her pink tongue just grazing it, teasing it to hardness. I closed my eyes and lay my head back again, relishing the feeling.

Too soon, though, Emmy began to slide down my body, kissing along my tummy while her hands undid my jeans. She pulled my Levis off, and my panties, too. I did just what Emmy had done before, lifting my hips up to make the removal easier.

I was feeling more than just a little self-conscious at my stubble down there, especially when compared to Emmy’s silky smoothness. It didn’t seem to bother her, though, as she slowly, teasingly kissed her way down the inside of my right thigh, then my left. I could feel her hot breath on my girl parts and it was driving me wild. Finally she worked her way down the middle. Her tongue probed and slid around, sometimes on my pearl and sometimes maddeningly near but not quite there. As I got more and more aroused, Emmy’s tongue moved faster and faster. She slipped a finger inside, too, and the combination really sent me over the edge. When I couldn’t take it any more, I gave in and let the feeling flood over me. It hit me with a rush, and I had the most intense, biggest orgasm of my admittedly limited sexual experience.

I only realized I’d been holding my hips high off the bed when my butt came crashing down as I was swept away in the climax. When I could open my eyes again, I looked down to see Emmy sitting on her heels between my knees, smiling like the cat that ate the canary. Her hands were resting on my thighs and she was looking at me as if considering what to do next.

Knowing that I had had enough, I reached down and took her hands, pulling her up and on top of me in the missionary position. She hadn’t wiped her face, and I could see that my juice was still all over her mouth and chin. At first I was a little bit grossed out, but quickly realized that I was being silly. I pulled her to me, and kissed her yet again, smelling and tasting myself on her. Once I let her go, Emmy just put her head down beside mine and lay on top of me for a while. We hadn’t said anything for a long time, and it felt right to continue to enjoy the moment in silence.

Eventually, however, Emmy did finally speak. “Will you take a bath with me?” she asked, almost whispering.

“I would love to take a bath with you, Em,” I replied, also whispering.

Emmy got up and went to the bathroom to start the water but I just kept lying there, thinking. My whole body was tingling a little bit, some sensitive spots tingling more than others.I felt sweaty and exhausted, but also exhilarated and energized. Sex with Chris had been good, but never this long or this intense.

My mind idly floating, I thought about how it had felt to feel Emmy’s insides. It had been slicker than I had expected, and much more muscular feeling. The most amazing thing about it, I realized, was the intimacy. Emmy had let me in, metaphorically as well as physically. She had wanted me inside her. Thinking about that, I looked at my middle finger, the one that had visited that most private place. I raised it to my nose and smelled the perfume before sticking it in my mouth for a taste. It tasted a bit like pineapple, but not as sugary. Maybe a little bit of sourness, too. I decided I liked it. In fact, I surprised myself by how pleasant I found the taste. Emmy emerged from the bathroom and saw me with my finger in my mouth.

“Does it taste good to you?” she asked, her voice sincere rather than flippant.

“Um, yeah… it does, actually,” I replied, a little embarrassed.

“I am glad to hear it,” she replied. “I enjoyed the taste of you very much, too. I hope that means we can savor each other often.”

“Yeah, me too,” I responded, still feeling somewhat dreamy.

“The bath is almost ready. Join me?” Emmy said, turning towards the sound of the running water.

I got up, which was harder than I’d expected. Walking into the bathroom, I saw Emmy had lit a single scented candle near the gigantic tub, but otherwise the room was dark where the light spilling from the bedroom didn’t reach. Emmy flipped off the bedroom light, leaving the room dark but for the candle’s weak glow. She then took my hand and led me into the surprisingly hot water. I got in slowly, but Emmy had no problems despite how scalding the water felt to me. We sat across from each other, leaning back and enjoying the soak.

Again, Emmy was the one to break the silence. “Leah?”

“Hmmm?”

“That was far, far better than I had imagined it would be. Is it always like that?” she asked.

“Well, to be honest, I don’t know. I’ve never had sex with a girl before,” I responded, misunderstanding her question.

“But you have had sex with a boy, right? Your old boyfriend, Chris?” she probed.

“Well, yeah, but it’s different. I mean, what we just did? Sex with Chris was never like that.” Then it struck me. “Wait- you said that you’d never had a lover before, right?” I demanded.

“No, that is true. Tonight was my first time to make love.”

“So you were a virgin? I just took your virginity?” I asked, stunned.

“Yes, and I freely gave it to you.”

“Oh. My. God. But there wasn’t any blood?” I queried.

“No, no blood. No pain, either. It was… a little uncomfortable, perhaps like a massage when your back is sore. But it didn’t hurt.”

I didn’t know what to say to this news, so I remained silent, just looking at Emmy. She was a black shadow in the dim light of the single candle. Her shockingly white hair was clearly visible, and I could see her eyes- the green, almost luminescent shine.

Silently, Emmy moved from her side of the tub and sat on my lap, leaning back against me. I buried my face in her hair, then whispered in her ear. “I love you,” I said, and I meant it. The way I felt at that moment was beyond words, and I could never describe the glow I felt radiating through my body.

Emmy just put her hands on the back of my hands and laced her fingers through mine, then wrapped both of our pairs of arms around herself. She hugged herself tightly with my arms, and I gave her an additional squeeze as well.

“Leah,” she said, in a tender voice.

“What?” I asked.

“I just like to say your name, that is all. Leah. Leah. Leah…” she sighed. “This is yours,” Emmy said, holding my hand on her chest so I could feel her heartbeat. In response, I nuzzled behind her ear and kissed her. She took my other hand and held it against her girl parts, cupping her mound under our hands. “This is, too.” Unsure how to respond to that, I kissed behind her ear again, and gave her vaj a gentle squeeze. This seemed to be the right thing to do, because she gave another contented sigh.

I wasn’t in any hurry to move, so I kept my hands on her heart and her mound and held her against me. We stayed that way for a while, relaxed and comfortable.

Eventually the water began to cool off and we were done in the tub. Emmy and I toweled each other off, then went back into the now dark bedroom. We slid into Emmy’s big, luxurious bed, the cool sheets nice against my skin.

I lay on my back, and Emmy lay on her side, cuddled against me with her head on my shoulder. She cupped and held my breast, rubbing the nipple with her thumb. She wasn’t trying to arouse me for more sex, I decided, but just enjoying the feel under her hand. I enjoyed it too, but it certainly wasn’t helping me fall asleep, I can assure you.

After a bit she stopped, but didn’t take her hand off my boob. Listening to her breathing, I realized she’d fallen asleep, so I tried to do the same.