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Longhorns Ch. 01

By: TheWorldSpins



Author's note: This is a slower-moving, more character driven piece. There's some sex at the end, but it's mostly building towards the next two chapters. I'm writing each chapter from a separate point of view. This chapter is Robert's; we'll see the story from other characters' perspectives in subsequent chapters. Enjoy, vote, comment!

*****

It's good to feel worn out. It's good to be sweaty, too. If you're too tired to think, you're too tired to think about Beth...

"Don't tell her where I moved, dude. Bitch is crazy."

Clay's words echoed in Robert's mind, as he lay, exhausted and overheated, on his old four poster bed. Had Clay been joking when he said that? Robert couldn't decide, but he erred on the side of believing he had meant it. Clay was rarely serious, but he'd stressed repeatedly before hanging up that Robert was under no circumstances to tell the girl in B107 how to get in touch with him.

Robert laid stretched out on the firm, queen-sized mattress, which suddenly felt uncomfortably large and unfamiliar. There was a Beth-sized empty space on it. Robert was happy enough to have something strange and even a little dramatic just to take his mind off of her. Between the work-out he'd gotten moving his stuff back into the apartment and the new mystery girl, he could successfully go for almost twenty seconds without thinking of his ex. In the corner of the room, strategically placed behind the open closet door, was all that remained of her in the apartment, a box of things she'd evidently deemed unworthy of shipping. 

Four year relationship? Now a box of junk.

When he'd first entered the apartment after a year away, he'd looked around. Clay had called him when Beth's bitchy friend Samantha came by to pick up her clothes, jewelry, and other valuables. Samantha, no doubt with an absurdly detailed list from Beth, had been very thorough, leaving nothing behind of Beth's except for gifts he had given her. 

Once he'd brought his own boxes and suitcases back into the apartment they had once shared, he set about collecting those gifts, the traces of their relationship, in a big cardboard box that once held bottles of Johnny Walker Red. He hadn't been able to throw the contents away just yet, but he knew he would. For now he couldn't see the box, and that was enough.

He thought—how could he not?—about Beth, but, thankfully, he also thought about the girl from B107. It had taken him easily forty-five minutes to unload the Pathfinder and the little U-Haul pull trailer, and during that whole time, she'd stared him down from across the courtyard as if he had murdered her family. Forty-five minutes of moving, yet she stood outside the whole time, on the other side of the wrought iron railing that lined the pool area, staring him down. She looked like she was about to let him have it. At first, he searched his memories for her—had he done something really, really bad a long time ago to one of his neighbors? Hell, he'd barely even talked to his neighbors, and he hadn't set foot in his own apartment for over a year.

Fucking Clay. This was his doing.

Wendell Clay was Robert's college friend who had subleased the place for the past year. Robert figured him for the culprit almost immediately. Knowing Clay, that meant one thing: he'd fucked her, then probably dumped her or cheated on her. That's how he was back then, and that's how he probably still was. It was one of the reasons Robert hadn't much bothered to keep in touch with him over the years. Facebook, that great repository of dead friendships, had brought them back in touch for the purely mercenary purpose of circumventing the awful rental market in a town like Austin. Clay was loaded, like any self-respecting smug prick, and could afford to pay the luxury rent for the exclusive, campus-adjacent apartment all on his own. 

Robert had always been the junior partner in his relationship with Beth, financially speaking; with her gone, even making the rent on the place seemed an uncertain prospect now. After a year in D.C. doing research for his dissertation and following Beth around to obnoxious networking events, he was glad to be home. Hell, they'd both known the relationship was on its last legs, and deep down, part of Robert was happy Beth had finally put a bullet in it, telling him a month before they were due to return to Texas that she wasn't leaving the capital, that she'd "made connections."

He'd made his own connections after that—connecting a little U-Haul pull trailer to his Pathfinder. Luckily, Clay had been eager to vacate the apartment and didn't mind Robert cutting short his stay there. Now, after getting the evil eye from some neighbor girl he'd never met, he could see why.

"I didn't fuck her, honest to god. She's just, like, obsessed with me. She's certifiable, so look out for her—like, don't get suckered by the tits, man," Clay had said, chuckling.

That laughter made it hard to tell just how serious he was. Robert had called him as soon as the unloading was complete. Mostly, he wanted to know why she'd be pissed at him for something Clay did. People move in and out of apartments all the time. You don't hold a grudge against the next guy that moves in if you had a bad neighbor.

Depending upon how much he wanted to believe Clay, his initial suspicions turned out to be at least partially true. Clay knew the girl, said he invited her over a couple of times "just to be a good neighbor." Then she started following him around like a lovestruck schoolgirl, and he had to cut it off. She was young—"like nineteen or something," and Clay wasn't about to have some college girl trying to become Mrs. Clay or anything. So he shot her down, and now she's pissed.

At least that was the story as Clay told it. Robert didn't buy it, though. The girl was hot: long, really shiny brown hair, average to tall, not skinny, but to Robert's eye well-toned and curvy in a way that made her look more like a woman and less like a girl. If a face can look adorable and completely pissed off at the same time, then she pulled it off. Clay was right about one other thing, too: he was suckered by the tits. He would have gotten a closer look had he not feared for his life.

Robert seriously doubted that Clay would've said "no" to a chance to fuck a girl like that, no matter how crazy she was. As he figured it, Clay must've laid it on thick to get the girl into bed and then dropped her. The "obsessive" stuff might have even been true, but taken out of context. In any event, Clay would have needed to do something pretty bad to the girl for her to take it out on the next guy moving into the apartment.

It was hot in the apartment; leaving the door open long enough in a Texas summer can strain the A/C to the breaking point, and it would be another hour or two before it got comfortably frosty, the way Robert liked it. Thinking about the girl, even under the circumstances, was stimulating, though, an excellent distraction. Because he didn't know any details, he could imagine, speculate, play detective. Anything but think about Beth or about his own uncertain future.

Maybe Clay got suckered by the tits. Wouldn't be hard...

The violent sun streamed through the broken blinds on his bedroom window (broken by Clay—he was sure of it) creating slanting bars of dark and white, like a piano, on his empty end table. You could see where Beth's jewelry box once sat by the hexagonal space that wasn't covered with a sheen of dust. They'd left most of their belongings behind before heading east, and besides breaking the blinds and more than a few of their drinking glasses, Clay'd been a pretty conscientious tenant. 

Sometimes you just can't see what's broken until you take the time to really look around, though.

Even from the bedroom, on the opposite side of the apartment, he could hear the sounds of people laughing, splashing in the pool, talking to each other. He slowly rolled himself off the bed and walked to the living room window facing the pool. Peering through the blinds, he scanned the group of college kids hanging out in the water for the mystery "crazy" girl, but she wasn't to be found. Robert shook his head—the more expensive the complex got, the more it was filled not with young professionals or graduate students like himself, but instead with undergrads partying on mommy and daddy's tab. If it wasn't for his lease, he'd move—hell, he ought to sublet the place and leave the bad memories there behind.

Maybe soon...

***

One of life's little horrors is being interrupted in the middle of jerking off.

"Coming," Robert shouted, though, actually, he had been a minute or two from his climax.

There was work to do: shut down the window playing a clip of Tori Black taking a massive cock in her ass, quickly apply some hand sanitizer, then strategically place the waistband on his gym short to disguise his hard-on. Hopefully, it would be the apartment management people or the mailman, or something quick. Then it would be back to Tori or maybe somebody new. 

The knocking persisted—crazy person knocking. Definitely not the mailman. Could it be?

"Hey, do you live here?"

When your erection is being restrained by an elastic waistband, the sight of a hot, young co-ed, albeit one who might in fact be a crazy stalker, is not necessarily the best way to avoid an embarrassing boner incident. Up close, "crazy bitch" was even hotter than he thought. Her hair was pulled back into a long ponytail, so he could see her face better: light dusting of freckles across, long lashes around smoky, hazel eyes, and lips that didn't need any cosmetic enhancement to look inviting.

On the other hand, she's certainly playing to type as far as the mental instability rumors...

"What?"

"Are you Wendell's roommate or something?" she asked in a husky voice.

Robert didn't like feeling like he was on trial in his own place, though he did smile a little to hear Clay's real first name, which he knew Clay hated. It was especially nice in that sexy, smoky voice.

"Umm...this is my place. And you are?" 

The girl seemed to recognize how she'd come off. 

"Sorry...I'm Virginia," she said.

She started fidgeting a little, tapping her foot. She couldn't have known the nervous motion would cause her breasts to jiggle ever so slightly. For some reason, she didn't seem like the kind of girl who quite grasped her effect on men.

"Virginia, great. Nice to meet you," he said curtly. "I'm Robert, and this is my apartment. Clay's gone."

Robert was curious as to how she would respond. He was still trying to solve the mystery of "Did Clay and 'crazy bitch' have sex?" Her response was inconclusive: a knowing smirk.

"I knew it," she said. "Look, he's got something that belongs to me here. Can I come in?"

"He took his shit with him. If you left something—"

"Just let me look, new guy," she said with exasperation. "It'll take, like, ten seconds."

With a deep breath and some trepidation, Robert ushered her into his place. He even felt a little pathetic for not resisting; pretty girls could get away with murder with him. She made a beeline for the bedroom, as he followed her. 

"Did you find a stuffed dolphin on that end table? No way would he just take it with him."

Robert was about to say "no" when he recalled putting a plush dolphin in the box of Beth's stuff to throw into the dumpster. He fished it out, handing it over.

"Found it there and figured it belonged to my ex," he said. "You're lucky you got it before I throw all this shit out."

Virginia grabbed it from him and made to leave, before turning on her heel to address him. Since he was following her out, her abrupt spin almost made him run into her. She'd been about to speak when she flinched due to the uncomfortable closeness, and, backpedaling, her whole voice changed.

"Was Clay your friend or something?"

Be honest? Why the hell not?

"I knew the guy, but, 'friends?' Not really. He just subletted the place from me last year while I was gone."

"So, you guys don't talk?"

"Not really," Robert said.

"But you probably hit him up after yesterday, right?"

"Maybe," he said warily.

"Well, he's a douche," she said. "So...sorry for throwing all that shade. I figured you knew."

"Knew what?"

"Just about Clay. What he's like. What he did," she said cryptically.

"Which was?"

"Be a douche," she replied, seemingly uncomfortable with the turn the conversation had taken. "So, sorry and all that."

"It's not a big deal," he said. "It was honestly just weird to have a stranger stare daggers at me for half an hour—even a cute girl."

Virginia laughed for the first time. It was nice, warm.

"It wasn't that long! You probably thought I was some crazy, yet still totally super hot murderer."

Robert decided to keep Clay's warning a secret.

"Well, let's just say I thought about throwing the deadbolt last night in case you wanted to strangle me in my sleep."

She dropped her smile and took on a blank expression.

"I only strangle people who really deserve it," she said with a deadpan affect. 

Virginia let that line, delivered in an emotionless monotone, linger for a moment before breaking out once more into a grin.

"Well, I'll just have to stay on your good side," Robert said, taking a deep breath in the way you do when you're anticipating a conversation's end.

Virginia seemed to take the hint, and soon she was once again heading for the door. She ran her hand over the top of the sofa on the way out, almost wistfully. Robert noted the almost nostalgic way she surveyed the apartment as well. She knew this place—his place.

She had just cracked open the door when, abruptly as before, Virginia turned to him. Robert had once had a dog, a puppy really, who ran everywhere—just full blast running, no matter what the reason. Every movement was sudden, fast, jumpy, until one day he just darted into traffic. He chuckled and winced, all at the same time, thinking of how Virginia's jumpy, anxious movements looked like the way that dog moved. She was cute—crazy, but cute.

"Well, new guy, I'll see you around."

Then she was gone. It was strange; could've gone better. Good eye contact, though, so low erection awareness percentage...

***

At least this time I don't have my dick in my hand.

Robert went to the door. It had been a week since he'd talked to Virginia.

"Hey, new guy."

"Robert."

"Robbie, I don't want you to think I'm a bitch," she said. "Let me buy you a beer."

"It's Robert, and, no offense, are you even old enough to buy beer?"

She narrowed her eyes and looked coy.

"You are."

Robert felt uneasy; he had this weird flash, like he was in one of those dreams where you go back to high school and all the cheerleaders make of you and you fail gym because you can't climb a rope or something. Virginia was either good at being fake nice or bad at being sincerely nice.

"So I'm going to buy me a beer?"

"No, I mean, I'll give you the money, and you can go down to Mickelson's and get a six pack."

Robert smiled knowingly. At least he could see the scam finally.

"So you're buying me a whole six-pack, huh?"

She looked like she'd just gotten caught.

"Well, maybe we could split it—three a piece?"

"That's a shitty mark-up on your end—don't you have a fake ID?"

She cocked her head to the side. Robert thought the way her ponytail fell across her shoulder was particularly flattering, being the kind of guy who notices such things.

"Not anymore—hey, this is a real apology. I'm just trying to be nice here, Robbie."

"Robert."

"Robbie's better."

"Robert," he said insistently. "And you don't have to fake it. I'll buy you a six-pack, just this once, if you promise not to strangle me."

He fully expected Virginia to jump at the chance to get some beer, suspecting the whole apology thing was simply a pretense. She surprised him.

"Really, I'm not that bad. Promise. Here," she said, pulling out a ten dollar bill and handing it to him, "just get something not too dark. Then we can have a beer like actual neighbors."

"Do you want me to bring it over to your place?"

"No, I'm fine waiting for you here," she said, closing the door and stepping once more back into his apartment.

He probably would have protested had it been most people, but, to be honest, hot nineteen year olds normally only talked to him when they were bitching about why he gave them a C- on their papers. She seemed, he thought, like a girl used to getting her way, and, lo and behold, that's exactly what was happening again.

In the store, he pored over his choices, trying to imagine what she might like. Nothing too dark—maybe an IPA? He never spent this much time picking things for himself, and now he was trying to consider the tastes and desires of a girl he first met giving him dirty looks, who'd just barged her way into his apartment, possibly as part of some elaborate mockery.

Finally, he found the perfect choice, and after purchasing it started the short walk home. 

In the bracing, hot Texas wind, he thought about the crime he was about to commit—giving alcohol to a minor isn't the worst thing you can do, but a thirty year old man getting a college co-ed drunk in his apartment seemed pretty sketchy and not the sort of thing he normally would do. 

"But she's so mature..." thought every older guy perving on a teen ever. Shit, I should make sure she's actually eighteen. Stranger things have happened...

"Lagunitas? Good choice, Robbie."

"Robert."

"Exactly."

Virginia had made herself at home, sprawled out across the cushy navy blue sofa, nestling against a small mountain of throw pillows, whose mere existence made it obvious the place had been once decorated by a woman. She was watching a television show seemingly populated solely by women constructed out of naugahyde, orange spray paint, and cantaloupes. They probably all made more money in a day than he did all year, too.

He handed her a bottle, and she strained to twist off the top. He started to laugh, and she blushed.

"Did that on purpose," she said unconvincingly. "Pop top?"

"Yeah, one sec," he said. "I thought you might break the glass there for a second."

Robert used the bottle opener on his keys to uncap her beer as well as his own. He flicked the bottle caps across the room one at a time, and they rebounded off the back wall of the wastebasket. 

"Two points," she said, looking up at him.

"It's three from here," he said. "Is this Real Housewives of Hell?"

"Downton Abbey," she said drily.

She had a sense of humor. She was young, and, of course, nuts. But a sense of humor. And way too hot to be having a beer with him.

"So, not to be a dick, but exactly how old are you?"

"Almost twenty," she said. "That means pretty soon I'll be able to legally do whatever you can do when you turn twenty."

"That's pretty much nothing," he said. "It's a shit birthday."

"But you're not a teenager anymore," she said between sips. "That's gotta count for something?"

Robert thought a lot of things he shouldn't think but fortunately had the self-control not to say them. 

"Sure," he said. "It counts for something. I just didn't want to be pounding beers with a high school girl."

"Do I look that young?" she asked. "Is it the plaid skirt or the pigtails giving me away?"

Though she was nearing neither, Robert couldn't stop from imagining Virginia in an early Britney Spears get-up. It was the kind of thing he shouldn't do if he was trying to avoid having his boner make an unscheduled appearance around her for the second time.

"Do girls your age want to look older or younger? There's some point where that changes over."

She smirked.



Longhorns Ch. 01



"You're talking like you're a hundred. What are you, twenty-five?"

"Thirty," he said with mordant emphasis.

She looked surprised.

"Well then we both look young, so it's all good."

"Do you go to UT?"

"Yeah," she said. "I'm a sophomore. What about you? Where do you work?"

"I'm a grad student there."

"Cool, cool," she said, though she sounded increasingly disinterested in the conversation. It wasn't helped by the fact that she continued to text the whole time; Robert was just old enough to find that incredibly annoying.

Their conversation continued on a superficial level through the first two beers. He learned that she lived across the courtyard with two other roommates in a two-bedroom, which meant the place was extremely cramped. Her best friend growing up, a girl named Meredith, was also an undergrad at UT, but she'd "lost her place" in a manner Virginia left pointedly vague. That's how she ended up moving her stuff into Virginia's room and mostly sleeping on the futon in the common room. Their other roommate, Collette, only emerged in outlines for Robert: she was smart, she was serious, she was going to be the world's greatest black, female doctor, and she did not put up with bullshit ever.

Last year, he learned, Virginia had spent a lot of time, along with Meredith, over here at "Clay's place"; he'd been liberal about buying beer and hanging out with them. Without realizing she was doing it, she was painting a picture for Robert of what had happened: Clay ingratiated himself with a couple of teenage girls, probably got at least one of them drunk and fucked them, then brushed them off when, in their naïveté, they thought he was in love with them or something.

Now it looked like maybe it was happening all over again, only he had no intentions of being a creep like Clay. The conversation was dying; he'd let it die, she'd leave, and then the temptation to come over would be extinguished forever.

All that went out the window when he heard a knock.

"Come in," Virginia exclaimed, as if it were her place.

Timidly, a thin, very pretty young woman entered his place. Where Virginia was sexy, voluptuous, this girl, her roommate Meredith no doubt, was petite and slender. With her strawberry blonde hair in shoulder length curls, she seemed more like a fairy princess than a real girl. She didn't have Virginia's curves, but she did have one of those faces, with a cute, upturned nose and milky skin, that made it virtually impossible to imagine ever being upset at her. Entering his apartment, she had a shy, retiring manner, and Robert could see how she and Virginia might make a good match, one loud, the other quiet, one sweet, the other spicy.

"Robbie, is it?" the girl asked in a sweet, girlish voice.

"Robert."

Meredith looked over at Virginia, who had a wicked grin on her face at the sight of Meredith's embarrassment and Robert's consternation.

"Sorry," Meredith said sincerely. "You don't mind me coming over? Virginia said that—"

"It's fine," he said. "You want a beer, too?"

Meredith looked over at her friend.

"You did not make him buy you beer, did you?"

The contrast between the two could not be clearer. Though he knew they were the same age, Robert would have figured Virginia for older than nineteen and Meredith for younger.

"I gave him a ten," Virginia protested. "I had to make it up to him for letting me get Mr. Fins back for you."

Robert and Meredith locked eyes. The girl looked inexplicably embarrassed, and he started to think that maybe she was the one whose heart Clay had broken.

"Thanks," Meredith said weakly. "I'll just have some water. You know I don't drink beer."

"When you say it like that, it sounds like you don't drink at all," Virginia said. "I saw some strawberries in the fridge. And some rum in the freezer. And some sugar in the pantry..."

"Did you find anything in my sock drawer?" Robert asked bemusedly.

"You're the worst, Virginia," Meredith said. "I apologize for my friend's bad behavior."

Virginia squirmed a little.

"What? I was...scouting. And now I know that we're some ice and a blender away from daquiris."

There was something about the way Meredith blushed every time Virginia spoke that made Robert feel a kinship with her. She seemed just innocent enough to be scandalized by her friend's behavior, but too used to it to be surprised. Moreover, she had a kind of natural, unforced sweetness that was hard to resist. 

"I could whip up a pitcher, I guess," he said, "if you'd like some."

Meredith's face lit up.

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble."

"Not at all. I make them strong, but I could cut back on the Bacardi a bit for you."

Meredith was about to speak when Virginia interrupted her: "She's a big girl, Robbie. Strong's good."

Robert looked at Meredith, expecting her to ask him silently not to make the drinks too strong.

"She's right," she said. "Strong is good."

Robert arched his eyebrow and shared an unspoken moment with Meredith before setting to work preparing the simple syrup and slicing the strawberries. With his back turned to the living room, he started to dig in the lower cabinets for his rarely-used blender. When he found it and stood back up, he could sense someone behind him. He turned, expecting to find Meredith offering her assistance.

"Need a hand?" Virginia asked.

"Chop strawberries?"

"No prob, Bob."

As Virginia began to slice the strawberries and dump them bit by bit into the blender, Robert began to boil water for simple syrup.

"I make 'em the slow way," he said, hoping to forestall any protest when he wanted to stick the syrup in the freezer for ten minutes before pouring it in.

"Usually the best way," she replied, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm not in a rush."

"No plans tonight? No boyfriend?"

Virginia laughed.

"How long you been waiting to ask me that?"

Robert flinched.

"No, I mean—"

"Relax, I'm just busting your balls. No, I don't have a boyfriend...or want one. Meredith's dating a UFC fighter, though."

"Don't listen to her," Meredith exclaimed from the living room. "We're both super lame and stay in on Friday nights."

"It's not Friday," Robert remarked.

"Don't worry Robbie, you're gonna catch up to us. Or after a few daquiris, we'll slow down to your speed," Virginia quipped.

"Robert."

"Exactly."

The syrup prepared, he poured the warm liquid into a pyrex measuring cup and from there poured what he needed into a small cup.

"As soon as that cools, we'll have a pitcher."

"Great, because I did an incredible job on these strawberries."

"Do you need me?" Meredith asked from the couch.

"With all my heart and soul, baby," Virginia replied, with faux passion.

"You're alright, too," Meredith replied nonchalantly.

Robert had a sudden moment of realization. Ever since Meredith had walked in, somewhere in the back of his mind she had reminded him of someone—not her looks, but her demeanor. Finally, it had dawned on him—she reminded him of his baby sister. The way she would kid and joke when someone with a bigger personality was around, but would come across as shy and sweet on her own. The way she pretended to keep crazy ass Virginia in check but secretly liked having someone to lead the way. She was his little sister Meghan all over.

Meredith was adorable, admittedly, but for Robert, she really was too young, too innocent, for him to feel comfortable thinking of her sexually. Then there was Virginia in front of him, crazy hot and also maybe crazy Virginia, licking strawberry juice from her fingers. 

She has to know how that looks.

"Split a beer with me while we wait?"

"It's the last one," he replied.

"Exactly."

He reached into his cabinet for a glass.

"I don't have cooties."

"I might," he replied sarcastically.

"I'll take my chances," she said, taking a long, slow sip of the beer before passing it back to him.

He took a sip, too.

"Somehow I have the feeling this won't be the last time I'm mixing drinks for you girls."

"We are pretty cute. Most guys can't resist us."

"Should I?"

"Resist? No way."

Robert passed her the beer back. She looked radiant drinking it. None of this made sense to him, but he was content, for now, to just let it all unfold before him, neither to resist nor to initiate.

"Well, then," he said, "I've got drinks to mix."

***

"So you're telling me she doesn't get off for two hours?"

"You're not mad, are you?"

Robert shouldn't have been surprised. This was the kind of thing he'd grown to expect from Virginia, always testing the limits of his patience and getting out of it by being, well, hot.

"I do have things to do."

"Better than hanging out with your bestest friend?"

The sad thing was that she was at least half right. Most of his friends had been her friends—people he'd met through Beth. Now he couldn't stand being around most of them, and this weird, semi-exploitative relationship was the closest thing he had to a best friend who actually lived in town.

Though admittedly she was good about chipping in, their relationship seemed to be built on illegal alcohol purchases, the comfiness of his sofa, and his cable subscription. Virginia had been over at his place a least a couple of nights a week for the past two months, even after the semester had started. He saw Meredith less. In fact, the whole reason he was sharing chips and salsa at La Casa Azul with his "bestest friend" Virginia right now was that she had secretly roped him into giving Meredith a ride home from work. Only, Meredith wasn't due to get off work for another two hours.

"I have friends."

"Sure, I've seen them. They look fun," Virginia said, not needing to adopt a snarky tone for the sarcasm of her comment to be immediately apparent.

"You have a very high opinion of yourself," he said.

"You have a very high opinion of me too," she replied.

She's got me there.

Despite her moments of annoyance, he couldn't deny that being around Virginia was a bit of a thrill. Tori Black and friends had been banished from his masturbation routine. Like someone from the prehistoric era, he was now using his imagination to stimulate himself, and Virginia was his muse. Nevertheless, he felt a lingering sense of wrongness that kept him from actually making a move on the girl over ten years younger than he.

"Hey y'all," Meredith said in a slow, put-on Texan drawl, "welcome to La Casa Azul. Would y'all like to start with some margaritas or some of our famous guacamole?"

"I'd love a margarita," Virginia said.

"ID, ma'am," Meredith said, suddenly switching her voice to sound as stern as possible.

Virginia played along, fishing out her wallet and handing her ID over to Meredith.

"You're underage, Ms. Gaye. I'm afraid we're—"

"Stop laughing!" Virginia cried, seemingly genuinely embarrassed.

Robert hadn't even noticed he was snickering. The thirteen year old inside never goes away...

"There's an 'e' on the end!" she huffed.

"So you're telling me your name contains the words 'virgin' and 'gay?'" he asked with glee. "How did you survive grade school?"

It was so rare for him to have the upper hand on Virginia in a conversation. Her bashful discomfort was something to relish.

"So funny," she said. "Never heard that before."

Meredith was giggling too.

"Be nice to her," she said, trying to hold a straight face. "After all, it's hard being a gay virgin."

With that the two of them erupted into laughter, and Meredith had to flee the table to avoid scrutiny from her manager. After a moment of steaming, Virginia looked like she'd given up resisting his teasing.

"You had to enjoy that."

"Well, I just think it's weird I didn't know your last name. You probably know everything about me given how much you like to snoop."

"Yeah, I got your last name off a Viagra bottle," she said, trying to regain her composure.

"Speaking of which," Robert said, stifling a grin, "I've got this friend whose boner won't go away..."

Virginia snickered. Though it had been fun to tease her, Robert didn't actually want her to feel bad. Their food came, and for a while eating occupied them. Virginia was stuck with a water, as she didn't actually want to risk getting Meredith in trouble, while Robert sipped a margarita on the rocks, no salt. With two plates of enchiladas behind them, they struck up their conversation again.

"Seriously, though, thanks for doing this," she said. "My car's in the shop, and I always give Meri a ride when she works night shifts during the week."

"It's not so bad," he said. "I mean, I actually like this place. I got dressed up and everything."

Is it just my ego or did she just check me out a little?

"Make it up to you?"

Robert was getting used to stifling all the thoughts he didn't think he should be having about this girl, who was still not twenty years old. He'd once heard a rule from a friend back in college: half your age plus seven. That's the absolute youngest someone can be and still be fuckable, in, like, an ethical sense. He'd run the math, and it made sense to him: a twenty-two year old could reasonably hook up with an eighteen year old, but a thirty year old? Twenty two is the lower bound. 

"What did you have in mind?"

Virginia narrowed her eyes.

"Well, given your internet search history, I guess I could dress up in latex and spank you until you called for your mommy."

"That might scare me if I didn't clear my browser history after every visit to fetishfreaks.com," he quipped. "Besides, I have very conventional fantasies. The furry community is growing every year."

"Gross!" Virginia said loudly, with a giggle. "And embarrassing that I even know what that is."

"I guess we're both sickos," Robert added helpfully.

"So all I need to do is dress up like a Ninja Turtle or something, and you'd come in your pants?"

"Remember when you wore that fuzzy velour pajama set over at my place? I had to change boxers like three times."

For Robert, all this joking was getting uncomfortably close to a deeper truth: he was finding it harder to resist the urge to make a move on her, even if it still seemed like a mistake in the back of his mind. Not only was she young and...unpredictable, but she also lived right across the courtyard. Clay had to sneak away in the dead of night to avoid the fallout from crossing her.

"Well, anyway," she continued, "thanks for this. You're...you're a really nice guy."

Well, that was it. He was nice. A nice, neutered teddy bear. And, really, maybe it would be easier. 'Nice' is the kiss of death for a girl to say to a guy. She didn't think about him the way he thought about her, and that...sucked. But still, he needed to stop seeing her as a romantic prospect anyway. She wasn't.

"Here I thought I was coming across as an old creep."

"You're not that old."

He laughed.

"And...?"

"No, you are totally a creep," she said. "Or, let's call it a dirty young man. Like, I'm pretty sure I've barged in on you when you were jerking off before."

Robert couldn't help himself; he was turning red. Why deny it?

"Guilty."

"It's fine. To be totally honest, I'm not sure why you let me come over so much. If I was going to town on myself, I'd just tell you to go away."

Yep, there it is. New image to store.

"Well, maybe I'll have to hang a sock on my door in the future."

She laughed.

"Yeah, one for the door, and the other one..."

He rolled his eyes.

"Dating sucks. I miss just having a damn girlfriend."

Virginia stopped giggling. She looked uncharacteristically serious.

"Ummm...do you want to talk about it? I mean, I'm not trying to get up in your shit or anything, but...we're friends now, right? I mean you feel that way, too?"

"Yeah," he said, exhaling, "we're friends. I guess Beth wanted something...big. It's like her life was geared around sticking it to people at her college reunion. She'd rather be miserable and have this fucking impressive on-paper life than chill out and enjoy just...being."

Virginia curled one side of her lip up dismissively.

"Well, she sounds like she sucked. You're better off without her."

"It doesn't always feel that way," Robert said, trying not to sound like too much of a downer. "I'm not, you know, miserable or anything. I'm just...shit, let's be honest, it's been a bit of a dry spell."

"Hence all the masturbation..." 

"Sad but true," he said. "I've only had sex, like, twice since coming back."

Virginia's brow furrowed skeptically.

"Twice? I didn't know...I mean, sorry, I really am butting into your business."

"No, it's OK. It was an OKCupid thing. One of those trying-to-make-something-happen-that-wasn't-there kind of things."

Robert had the strangest feeling, one he waved away as wish fulfillment: Virginia looked jealous. Her voice had certainly sounded displeased when he mentioned having sex since they'd become friends. They had never really been very deep or intimate with one another. If anything, he was usually more heartfelt and genuine with Meredith, whose disarming sweetness and sincerity made it easy to open his heart to her. She really had become like a little sister of sorts to him in a very short period of time. Talking to Virginia, though, meant always being 'on,' always ready to respond with a joke or dodge a probing question. She was never cruel, but neither was she the easiest person to talk to about personal matters.

"So, what are you in to? Like, do you have a type?"

Robert paused. He wasn't sure the intentions behind her question, but he opted to treat it is disinterested speculation.

"No 'type' I guess. I mean, I was with Beth a long time, so it's not like I had a million girlfriends."

"Well, give me basics. Blondes, brunettes..."

"Bald," he said, nodding his head, "Definitely bald."

"No, I mean her head," Virginia said without missing a beat. "I was going to ask about your vaginal preferences later."

Robert almost spit his margarita out laughing.

"Yes, I prefer that the girl has a vagina. In fact, mark that one as a requirement."

"What else?"

"Besides having a vagina?"

"God, you are like every other guy," she said disapprovingly.

Robert felt for the first time that she was trying to engage him in earnest conversation.

"Sorry. Looks? Really no type. Pretty, I guess. I mean, that's great. But there's lots of different ways to be attractive. Definitely more than one. I don't think I have some perfect girl in my head I compare everybody to. Funny. Has to be funny. It's nice if she thinks I'm funny, too. Smart's good, but you don't have to go to Harvard. I guess, maybe curious is better—open to learning new things, not just already knowing everything. And, well, this is actually a huge must-have for me: independent. I'm just not into women who come across as super needy. I want her to have her own life and goals."

Virginia was uncharacteristically silent.

"Meredith," she said quietly.

Robert was confused.

"I'm ready!" said Meredith cheerily, practically skipping over to their table with her apron slung over her shoulder. "Let's blow this popsicle stand."

Robert was shocked it was so late. It felt like the night had just begun. They all climbed into his vehicle and headed back home. The girls mostly were content to chat with each other, though they both periodically lapsed into silence as they texted other people. Robert was always amazed at how much time they both spent communicating with people he'd never met. Though he had only a few friends, at least he actually physically saw them from time to time. He didn't know enough people on earth to spend as much time texting as they did.

"Hey, Robert, Could you do something for me?" Meredith asked.

"Anything for you," he replied.




Longhorns Ch. 01



Virginia rolled her eyes visibly in the rearview mirror.

"I've got a big paper due in my English class. Would you look at it and tell me if it's too terrible to turn in?"

"I'm sure it won't be," he reassured her, "but, yeah, come by any time tomorrow afternoon, and I'll go over it with you."

"Thanks, you're the best."

"Like I said, anything for you."

***

Meredith had only left his apartment for work fifteen minutes ago when Robert heard an insistent knock on the door. It could only be one person.

"Hey."

"Hey."

Virginia didn't wait to be invited in, though by that point such formalities seemed out of place anyway. Normally, she'd head to the refrigerator or the sofa, but once inside, she seemed fidgety and remained standing.

"So," Robert asked expectantly, "what's up?"

Virginia looked wound up, like the time she'd taken adderall to study and ended up painting a mural on her bedroom wall.

"Ummm, are you seeing anybody right now?"

Robert was taken aback. No jokes, but also: where was she going with this? She already knew the answer.

"No."

"What about Meredith?"

Lately, Meredith had been spending a lot more time over at his place and not always with Virginia there. After the first time he'd helped her with a paper, they'd fallen into a routine of reading each other's stuff. His political science graduate work was sometimes a little over her head, but she was always a good and attentive reader, and thanks to her he no longer had stupid mistakes he'd overlooked peppered throughout his writing. Meredith still had work all the time, but his place, she told him, was so much less chaotic to study in compared to her apartment or the university library. They'd become study partners, mostly working in silence with the occasional joke or question back and forth.

"How should I know if she's seeing—"

"I mean you and Meredith. You could tell me."

"What's this about?" he asked confused and even a little irritated.

"You like her right? Are you two, you know?"

"Why are you asking me this?"

He had a fear that maybe Virginia was about to go off on him.

"I just want to know. I mean, if you're not with her, then, like, you want to be, right?"

Was this how Clay ended up on the shit list?

"Do you want the truth?"

Virginia looked worried.

"Yeah."

"I think Meredith is a sweet girl. She's the best. But, to me, she's like a little sister."

"Because she's young?"

"Partly. But, partly because she just reminds me of my actual sister, too. You'd like her."

Robert hoped to deflect this whole uncomfortable line of questioning. His friendship with Virginia, such as it was, was founded upon shallow conversations, wisecracking, and beer. They didn't do 'deep.'

"Do you like me?"

"What?"

"Am I like a little sister?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're not dumb, Robbie. Do you like me like a little sister or do you like me like me?"

Robert felt his stomach in his throat. So much effort had gone into not feeling this feeling.

"I like you. A lot. It's just—"

"It's just that you don't want me as a girlfriend, right?"

There it was, the vulnerability underneath all the bravado. Virginia's chest was heaving slightly, and Robert noticed that she'd worn that simple, blue-and-white striped tank top that showed off her cleavage. Her hair was pulled back into a pony tail, away from her beautiful face, which currently betrayed a tangle of emotions going on inside her. For a moment before he moved, he knew what was about to happen, and part of him wanted to enjoy that feeling, the anticipation, the knowledge of what was to come, almost as sweet as the reality.

"Virginia, I would—"

"'Cause it's OK," she interrupted. "I don't want to be your girlfriend anyway."

Now his head was spinning. The feeling, the giddy anticipation of telling her how he felt, was replaced with the vertigo of confusion. Had she come over just to toy with him?

"I just thought," she continued, "you know, you like me, I like you, we're friends and all—why not be really, really good friends."

She moved closer to him, and though she was making the move, she still seemed scared, hesitant. She reached out to touch his chest, and he pulled her in for a kiss, their first as "really, really good friends." Her lips were soft, and Robert could feel, with her body pressed against him, the beating of her heart like a hummingbird.

Now that neither of them had to speak, they could give in to what had been between them for so long. Robert felt her hands trailing across his back, grabbing handfuls of his shirt as her tongue intertwined with his. Given their difference in height, Virginia was on her tip-toes and craning her neck upwards. He started to backpedal towards the bedroom, and she almost tripped following him, until she realized that, yes, their lips weren't permanently sealed.

"Robbie..."

"Robert."

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't laugh at me."

He had no idea why she thought he might laugh at her. Now in the bedroom, he sat down on the edge of the bed, and now he was at an almost perfect height, where it was she who ever so slightly looked down to kiss him.

Leaning over slightly while standing between his legs, Virginia kissed him with the ferocity of repressed longing. Robert had rolled up the back of her shirt enough to expose her bra strap, and soon it was deftly unfastened. She tore off his own shirt and then hers, and he got his first glimpse of her magnificent tits. 

They put to shame any he'd ever seen in real life. Gravity-defying, perfectly shaped, and crowned with pink, puffy nipples that betrayed how turned on she was.

Robert couldn't resist taking first one, then the other nipple into his mouth. His mind raced, wanting to make her feel good, but hungrily finding his own pleasure in her soft, young body.

"That feels good," she panted, before he raised his head to meet her lips with his again.

There was an unsettled energy with Virginia, a constant push and pull he could feel within her—her kisses surprisingly passive and soft, her hands wildly stripping him of his shirt. She was vocal, but seemed embarrassed about it. He loved the sound she made when he grabbed her ass firmly and practically threw her on the bed, a sexy, lust filled moan, yet almost immediately thereafter, she grew quiet, as if she was ashamed to be enjoying herself. There was still a lot about her that Robert didn't quiet understand.

"I don't normally do this sober," she said, almost as if to herself.

It gave Robert pause, at least for a moment. He wanted her to want this as much as he did.

"Are you OK?"

"Just kiss me."

She didn't have to ask twice. His body hovering over hers, he kissed her deeply, and his hands roamed over her, to caress her and to feel the soft, smooth skin that was now glowing. He'd always known she was sexy—hot—but at that moment he saw just how beautiful she was, their eyes grazing across each other's bodies, hands struggling to feel and to touch.

Without much conscious thought, Robert realized they'd succeeded in stripping each other fully. For a fleeting moment, he wanted to simply plunge himself into her, to feel the warm and inviting feeling of being inside her, but he knew he couldn't. He hadn't yet lost his mind completely from lust.

"There's a condom," he said between breaths, "in that box on the night stand."

Virginia smiled, and for a moment she looked like the girl he knew, the confident wise-ass and not the girl who had just begged him to kiss her.

"Why, you got a date?"

Robert smiled. It was a reassurance, of sorts, that after this, things wouldn't change.

"She can wait."

Virginia reached over and retrieved a condom, but before she could tear it open, he stopped her. Robert gave her a sly grin before taking hold of her hips and rolling the two of the over suddenly until Virginia was on top of him. 

"Not yet," he said, holding her hips still. 

His cock, straining on its own accord to enter her, was pressed into the soft, wet folds of her pussy, so that the head rested against her clit. As soon as Virginia moved to kiss him again, she let loose a delightful gasp, and soon she was grinding herself against him, writhing in pleasure.

"Would you go down on me?" she asked in a curiously soft voice. "It's my favorite..."

"Lie back," Robert replied.

Virginia rolled off him, and Robert couldn't help but take the opportunity to pull her hair aside and kiss her neck, first softly, and then with passion. He kissed his way down her body, taking his time with her soft, full tits, until he laid eyes upon her glistening sex.

"You don't mind—"

Virginia's question was interrupted by a low, shuddering moan when Robert ran his tongue immediately across her slit, all the way from just above her asshole to her clit. Her body was now covered in goose bumps, partly a result of how cold he kept his place, but also, he hoped at least, because of the sensations coursing through her body.

He wanted to surprise her. He wanted to make her feel something she had never felt. He wanted to be the best she'd ever had. As his cock throbbed, he summoned up all the saliva he could and let it run down his tongue as she looked on, until it dribbled across her clit. Then he started, slowly, almost teasingly at first, to circle it with his tongue. He'd taken the condom from her earlier without her noticing, and he didn't think she was able to see what he was doing outside of the actions of his magical tongue. 

"Do. Not. Stop. That," she ordered in staccato, and Robert saw her right hand move across her breasts, caressing them as her left hand clenched into a tightly balled fist, clutching the royal blue and gold sheet. "You could do this all night."

As tempting as that sounded, Robert had other plans. Impressing himself with his own dexterity, he unrolled the condom onto his cock with one hand, still using the other to hold open Virginia's pussy so that he might taste her. True to form, she was antsy, though given how he was pleasuring her, he couldn't much blame her for not staying still. 

"Robbie...if you keep...I mean..."

Robert knew she was close. He moved onto his knees and lined his cock up at her entrance. Virginia, whose head had been rolled back, sat up a little to see why he'd stopped.

"Go slow," she asked, "please."

Robert was in no hurry. He only pushed forwards slightly, just enough for the head to enter her, yet he felt himself slide in all at once. She was so wet, and it felt so good, though he hadn't wanted to go against her wishes. Luckily, her sigh of pleasure told him she hadn't minded, and true to her request, he withdrew slowly, almost playfully teasing her with how slow he could be.

He expected her to object, but she didn't. She seemed to like it, and Robert thrust into her languorously, drawing out each in- and out-stroke. Then, he brought his right hand up to his mouth and licked his middle and index fingers. Virginia looked on in blissful confusion, until she felt him circle her clit once more, this time with his full length inside her. 

Still thrusting himself inside her slowly, he watched as her face was transfixed by her first orgasm. She seemed to try to speak, but only a high-pitched wail of sorts came out, signaling for Robert to pick up the pace. Before it became too much for her, he stopped playing with her clit and brought himself down gently on top of her, so that once more there lips were locked, this time with his cock thrusting powerfully in and out of her inviting pussy.

He had a thought, about how his ex hated tasting herself and would never kiss him after he'd performed oral on her. It was the first time he'd thought about Beth in a while—Virginia had simply taken her place in his thoughts. In any event, she didn't seem to mind where his mouth had been, as she kissed him back fiercely, the timidity of before replaced by an urgent need.

This time, it was she who grabbed him and shoved, trying to get on top. She wasn't quite strong enough to roll him over, but Robert got the idea and withdrew from her long enough to let her get on top. Not wanting any of this to end, he felt himself come down from the precipice for a moment, all the better to make things last when Virginia climbed on top of him and swiftly sank herself onto his cock. Once more enveloped inside her, he felt an intense longing to make her come again, to awaken something inside her that would draw her back to him again and again.

"Do that thing again," she begged. "It was soooooo good."

Before he asked her, it dawned on him, and he placed his hand, palm up, against his stomach. As Virginia rode his cock, his thumb grazed her clit, stimulating her more than his cock did alone.

"That's it!" she cried out, "you're gonna make me come again."

"Come for me," he said in a low, deep voice. "Come."

It almost looked like an electrical current had passed through her body as she shuddered and all but collapsed onto him. He could feel her spasm and contract against his cock from the inside, as if she was simultaneously trying to push him and pull him in all at once. He held onto her hips now with both hands, desperately trying to bury himself ever deeper, as if he could feel the pleasure of her body everywhere at once.

Her breasts, now glistening with sweat, were pressed against his chest, and he could swear she almost looked like crying.

"Do you want to come on me?"

For a moment Robert didn't process the question, until he realized she was offering him a porn-worthy finish. In truth, he had never been partial to finishing inside a condom, but at the moment, despite the latex sheath that separated him from fully feeling her, he was too lost in the rapture of her body to ever want to pull out. 

Rather than answer in words, he let his body do the talking, picking up his pace until he was practically bouncing her off of him. His strong hands held her in place, while the sight of her magnificent tits bouncing as he thrust into her, over and over, more than made up for anything he might be missing.

"Fuck me," she whined, "fuck me hard. Please."

Robert reached the point where all thought, all reason was lost. Loud sounds, of fucking and no longer love making, echoed throughout the room. He'd given her pleasure—they'd found it together—and now he could only think of himself, in finding his own release within her. Yet his selfishness in the moment only delighted her, as her face lit up at the prospect of satisfying him as he had done for her.

Robert clenched his eyes shut and felt a body rocking orgasm course through him. He breathed heavily, unable to move or think, as Virginia looked down on him with gleeful incredulity. Time slowed down, as he felt his balls tighten and contract, each spurt of cum also a shudder of ecstasy. 

They didn't want to untangle, though Robert knew the unpleasant ritual of condom disposal awaited. His mind wandered briefly: images of coming on Virginia's face, coming on her breasts, of erupting inside her, filling her up, even fantasies of impregnating her. He felt a strange, sinking feeling that he might be in over his head. This wasn't a girl for him to just fool around with. She had him, wherever that was going to lead.

"So that happened,"" she said, in the voice to which he was accustomed.

It injected a note of awkwardness and uncertainty to what had just transpired between them. She had prefaced the whole thing by saying she didn't want a boyfriend. Sated and spent, Robert's hesitant, skeptical nature re-emerged. What had just happened, really?

"Is that regret?" he asked, afraid of the answer.

Virginia kissed him before slipping off of him to roll over beside him. She seemed to be staring at the cum-filled condom.

"Not at all," she said reassuringly. "It's just that...I mean I planned this, but, like, I came up with the plan about thirty minutes ago."

Robert stood up and walked into the bathroom, tossing the used condom into the toilet and flushing it. He looked at himself in the mirror, not to check his appearance, but just to make sure that the person he thought was there really was. He returned to Virginia with a handful of toilet paper, suddenly feeling unsure of himself and his own feelings.

"Is this the time to talk about what just happened? " he asked, " because it seems like it's not. I mean, the whole thing about your roommate and all."

He could tell immediately he'd touched on a sore subject, as Virginia blushed bashfully.

"Yeah, there's some...history you don't know about there," she said. "Sorry."

"Nothing to apologize for," he replied. "It's just...look, I like you. A lot."

Virginia sat up.

"No, I totally get it," she said. "You don't want some sophomore girlfriend. We can so do the fuck buddies thing, though. I'm totally cool with that."

It was only then that Robert realized that he had just about told her that he didn't think he wanted some kind of no-strings-attached arrangement, that he knew himself too well, and that that last thing he wanted was to fall for her more and more while he knew she would be out seeing other guys. Yet this was the second time she'd described her feelings for him that way, as a casual, occasional hook-up, and maybe that was all she wanted.

"Only if the friends part doesn't change," he said, with a trace of sadness he wasn't sure if she detected. "I mean it. No sex unless you keep letting me supply you with alcohol and drugs."

Virginia laughed.

"That's a promise I can keep."

He wasn't sure where all this was going to lead, but he knew one thing: he didn't care if Virginia was crazy. He was crazy about Virginia.



Longhorns Ch. 02



***Author's note: Thanks to everyone for the feedback on the first chapter. This chapter proceeds from Virginia's point of view. As always, I appreciate votes and comments. -Theworldspins***

There must be some law that any party thrown by a sophomore chick has to have at least, like, three bottles of Malibu coconut rum.

Virginia scrunched her face up when she took a sip of the 'tropical' concoction her friend Stacy passed her. She hated the taste of coconut.

"This one's from Madison," Meredith cooed, in a voice only Virginia could tell was tongue-in-cheek. "Open it up!"

Virginia set her foul cocktail down to take the pink, glittery gift bag from her best friend and roommate. Almost all of the twenty odd girls assembled in their friend Lydia's apartment were focused on her, waiting to watch her open more birthday presents. The ones who weren't staring were mostly drunk, as the night of partying had actually begun as an early afternoon of partying.

"It's...a DVD...of Vampire Diaries, Season One," Virginia said, trying to maintain an appropriate level of enthusiasm to avoid offending her friend for the less than awe-inspiring gift. "Awesome!"

"Do you remember freshman year at Lakewood?" the inebriated Madison asked loudly. "We watched that show religiously!"

Virginia could remember; in fact, being friends with Madison meant she'd never forget anything that happened in high school, since reminding people what happened back then constituted the majority of Madison's social skills. It wasn't that she was a bad friend, only that she never...well, evolved.

"Well, we need to get together to watch it all over again," Virginia enthused.

Please do not take me up on that offer.

"This one's from me, but it's a twofer," Meredith announced. "There's also a surprise inside."

The other girls ooohed and aaahed.

Ummmm, aren't all the presents technically surprises?

Virginia reached into the gift bag and felt around. First, she pulled out a gorgeous handcrafted pottery bowl, glazed in her favorite color, red. Meredith knew how much she loved the artsy stuff in the shops on South Congress. It was nice—too nice. Meredith didn't have much money, and the last thing Virginia wanted was for her to spend a lot on a birthday present. On the other hand, she didn't want to offend or embarrass her either by suggesting she take it back.

Reaching back into the bag, she felt a thick envelope and nothing more. She looked over at Meredith, who silently winked. Virginia opened the envelope and then the card inside. Tucked inside the card was a silver bottle opener, with a Longhorns collegiate insignia at the top. Written in the card was a message:

"For when you get tired of broken glass in your beer...

-Robert"

Virginia looked back at Meredith: sneaky bitch...

"What's it say?" asked their friend Melissa, slurring her words.

"Nothing," Virginia said. "Just...an inside joke."

Virginia thought back to her night with Robert. She hadn't intended for things to go the way they did. Or, rather, she had intended for them to go exactly the way they did, only she hadn't really planned what would come next. Now it had been almost a week, and she had barely spoken to him.

"Last one—from Kylie."

Virginia didn't know what to expect. Kylie was probably her favorite friend outside of Meredith, though that was mostly because when Kylie around, Virginia didn't have to worry about being the 'slutty one.' Most of their friends assumed Virginia was getting a lot of action, because of her brashness and because she talked a good game. Virginia had long known, though, that some of her quieter friends in fact got around a lot more than she did. That's why she ultimately respected Kylie, the outspoken and unapologetic 'slut' of the group, for having the guts to say what most of them hid: she loved sex and had a lot of it.

"Batteries come separate?" one of the girls asked to a chorus of cheers.

That would make sense. And be awesome—one of those Hitachis or something.

Virginia tore the paper from the box and opened it. It was both surprising yet totally in character.

"Are those...?" she said, this time not needing to feign enthusiasm as she pulled out a plastic baggie of three expertly rolled blunts. "I love you, girl."

Kylie smiled a devious grin. Virginia knew she only smoked the best weed; what was better was that they were already rolled, since that was a talent Virginia, an amateur smoker at best, did not possess.

"Just one condition, " Kylie added. "I want to meet the guy you're keeping secret from us."

Virginia could feel her eyes shooting over to Meredith, though she tried to stop herself. It was too late. The sidelong glance gave it away instantly, and the place erupted into laughter and teasing as the girls realized Kylie had just caught Virginia. The girls demanded to know who this mystery guy was, but Virginia remained tight-lipped.

"He's nobody," she said, before she felt a little guilty. "I mean, not nobody, but, like, we're not boyfriend and girlfriend or anything, so don't start in on me about meeting him."

One by one, the girls started to trickle away from the party over the next hour, until Meredith and Virginia began the walk back to their apartment. Though both girls were more than a little tipsy, they hadn't tilted into the blackout drunk phase that some of their friends had entered.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"What?"

"You know."

"Meri, not now."

"Virginia!"

"Meri, please. I promise. Not now."

They walked for a while in silence. Virginia felt guilty but also too drunk to care completely at the moment. She knew she'd have to explain herself in the morning.

"It makes sense, though," Meredith said, as if to herself.

"What?"

"Well," she continued, "you haven't gone over there in, like, a week. I know you Virginia. You...slept with him, and now it's all weird and awkward."

No, I slept with him, and it was amazing. It just wasn't the plan.

"Yeah, well, I didn't want you to feel weird about hanging out over there," Virginia said, hoping Meredith was convinced. "You two are friends now."

That's why I did it with him in the first place. So you wouldn't.

"Honey, I don't care," Meredith said. "You're my best friend. You don't have to keep things from me."

Like guys?

"Tomorrow, I promise."

She could tell Meredith was hurt.

"Hey, snuggle with me tonight, OK?" Virginia asked, buttering her up. "Forget about the dumb futon." 

Meredith seemed to be weighing things in her mind.

"OK, but keep your hands to yourself. You're on a sexing-people-up streak."

Virginia smiled. Being teased was better than the silent treatment.

"I can't make any promises..."

***

Who the fuck gets married on October 30?

Fucking Dracula? Freddie Krueger?

Seriously. There has to be some kind of crazy pregnancy thing they're trying to hide here. 

Virginia felt angry—at her friend Veronica for being dumb and getting married at age 20, at Robert and Meredith for their stupid fucking pictures together, and at herself, for being the biggest goddamned idiot in the world.

She told herself that she wasn't normally like this, that there was something about Robert being older that made being with him feel...different. Her plan—her stupid plan—had been to fool around with Robert every now and then. She hadn't been lying when she said she didn't want a boyfriend, and a guy ten years older than her wouldn't have been her first choice anyway. Moreover, Robert had been cool with it: no pressure, just fun, casual sex.

So why the fuck am I avoiding the first guy to ever actually give me an orgasm?

Somehow, he had gotten under her armor, and feeling vulnerable was not Virginia's strong suit. It wasn't that she'd never talk to him again—just that she needed time to process her feelings. Maybe this FWB thing was going to be trickier than she thought.

Virginia kept swiping through photo after photo of the party last night on Meredith's Instagram, even though she hated looking at them. There was Robert as Don Draper and Meredith as Peggy, in a bob wig and retro skirt suit. Back home in Virginia's closet was a flame-colored wig and a to-die-for emerald green, totally '60s dress. But there was no Joan Holloway to be found, because she was at her stupid friend's stupid wedding and Don and fucking Peggy were laughing, smiling, posing for pictures, and acting like the couple Virginia had always thought they would become.

She could tell from the moment Robert had laid eyes on Meredith. He would fall in love with her. They always do.

At the wedding were no fewer than four of Virginia's ex-boyfriends from back home, all of whom had, at some point between eighth grade and graduation, dumped her because they preferred her best friend to her. Of course, they didn't just come out and say it. It might be a month, it might be a year, but eventually, they all asked her out, all took a shot at the prettiest girl in school, sweet little Meredith. 

Meredith was always too shy and, maybe, too good of a friend to do anything with one of the guys who'd dumped Virginia. In a way, though, that made it all worse: guys would break up with her for just a chance to be with Meredith, and not even a good one.

Now his arm's around her waist. Just fucking kiss her already.

In Virginia's mind, Meredith and Robert had already kissed a million times. Like a wound she wouldn't allow to heal, she tortured herself by picking at the fear and feelings of shame that came when she imagined Robert together with her. Virginia had hoped college would be different, but if anything, guys were even more upfront about it. More than once, a guy she was with brought up the subject of threesomes in a transparent attempt, as Virginia saw it, to find some way to sleep with Meredith.

Yet, somehow, that asshole Clay was the one to get to her. He was the one who'd taken Meredith's virginity, convinced her that he cared about her, then ditched her shortly thereafter. When they'd first hooked up, Virginia felt relieved: Meredith would have a boyfriend, one for whom Virginia had no romantic feelings. Yet it all ended in heartbreak for Meredith—and in an ' alleged' act of 'alleged' vandalism Virginia 'allegedly' perpetrated against Clay's shiny new Audi.

She does look cute as Peggy. Who am I kidding?

Virginia felt guilty for blaming Meredith for everything. It wasn't her fault she was gorgeous; it's not like she went around trying to get guys to fall in love with her. She was just who she was.

And Robbie all dressed up as Don...

What was most fucked up about the situation was that she wasn't actually going to miss Halloween, which fell that year on Monday. Virginia would come home, ready to dress up and go out partying for round two, but in the back of her mind, she'd see those pictures and she'd know how much Meredith and Robert loved being together, how perfect they were for each other.

She'd also be reminded of how dumb she was. Because she was dumb. Really dumb.

She hadn't thought things through. Robert and her had flirted at first, and Meredith was always at work. He liked her, she knew it. Given her past, though, she was scared. She hadn't wanted to go through yet another boyfriend dumping her like always, and, besides, he was older, and a bookworm, and maybe he didn't really like her at all, or maybe he only saw her as, like, a potential slam piece, or maybe not even that; maybe she was too fat, because Meredith was skinny, and guys like skinny, and Virginia wasn't skinny.

So she didn't do anything. And he didn't either. And then Meredith started to study over at his place, and they developed their own little jokes, and he was closer with Meredith than he was with her, and Virginia knew that, soon enough, she'd end up a third wheel, or, even worse, hanging around yet another man in love with Meredith.

So she fucked him.

Guys in the past couldn't make her come. At least, that's what she had thought. After being with Robert, Virginia had started to suspect that maybe it wasn't that they couldn't, but rather that they didn't care enough to try. He made her feel things no one really had before.

That fact still surprised her. Robert didn't have some massive cock. It wasn't small, but it wasn't...special, either. He wasn't unusually good looking, though the more she was around him, the more she noticed little things about him that she liked, things she didn't even know that she liked on guys until she saw them in him.

He had long, graceful fingers and strong, but smooth hands. She liked the way he held a bottle of beer. His eyes would light up whenever she knew about some band or TV show from his childhood. They were soft and kind but also sparkled with intelligence. Most of all, more than being handsome or funny, he was smart, a quiet kind of smart. He listened. She knew she probably sounded stupid to him sometimes, being younger and not that great at school, but he never made her feel that way. And when they'd see something on TV or read something online that made her mad, he'd know exactly how to put it, to say her thoughts better than she could.

"Is that Meredith?" a loud voice called from behind her.

Virginia turned around. It was...Chris, maybe? Some guy from their school she couldn't quite remember in any event.

"Yeah," she said nonchalantly. "We go to UT together."

"I need to visit Austin," he said, the unspoken meaning clear enough to Virginia.

"You do that," she said, waiting for him to go away.

Once he did, Virginia closed her iPad. There were only two choices, as she saw it, since the whole "fuck him, freak out, then avoid him" thing had been an utter disaster. She could start hanging out with him again, laugh off the whole sex thing, and just watch him fall in love with Meredith. He was never her boyfriend, and, shit, they did look cute together. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. At least, if she never really tried, she wouldn't get her heart broken.

Or she could stop being so chickenshit, put on something scandalous, and go bang the hell out of him. Her big plan of sex without emotional attachment might not be perfect, but maybe, just maybe, he might be the guy who doesn't prefer Meredith. It was scary and really nerve-wracking, but it might also be amazing.

Maybe I'll wear my Joan costume...

***

"Would you have liked that better if I was a redhead?"

Robert cracked a broad grin.

"You know, I really don't know what goes on inside your head."

"Sick things," Virginia said. "Dirty things."

"I hope."

Virginia felt tentative lying on the bed next to Robert. Walking into his apartment again after little more than perfunctory greetings for over a week was easy. Telling him to strip immediately and then blowing him in his living room was easy. Laying back on the bed while he returned the favor was, well, better than easy. But now she felt like the hard parts were coming. He'd ask her what the hell happened to her. She'd ask him if he wanted to be with Meredith.

First, though, was the part where she wanted to snuggle against him and felt really weird about asking permission, or doing it without asking.

"So..." she said, still laying on the bed in parallel with him.

A few seconds, which felt like an eternity, passed, before he rolled over towards her.

"I was waiting to see if you were going to disappear again."

"I deserve that."

"So we should talk?"

Virginia sighed.

"Later—promise."

"'Til then?" 

Now or never.

"Hold me?"

Robert smiled.

"Roll on your side."

Virginia rolled over until she was facing away from him, and Robert began to spoon her. She could feel his warmth against her—it was always cold in his apartment, and lying there naked, she was especially pleased by the heat of his body. She could feel his cock stirring from time to time, as he cradled her with his right arm directly under her breasts. His left arm, tucked underneath her neck, laid straight across the bed in front of her, and she traced the lines of faint blue veins along his arms all the way to his wrist and beyond. 

It hadn't been sex, but it had been...fun. Coming is always fun, and, hell, what guy didn't like a blowjob? As long as the guy would take care of her too, Virginia had never minded giving head, enjoyed it even. Before Robert, oral had been the only way a guy had ever given her an orgasm. Virginia silently decided that she'd have to surprise Robert with oral sex often.

At that moment, cradled in Robert's arms in post-orgasmic bliss, her doubts and fears didn't seem so bad. Maybe she would even find the strength to be honest.

"Virginia," he said in a low whisper into her ear. "What...what did I do wrong? Before."

Though their position wasn't very conducive to a conversation, she was loath to move.

"It's not you," she said. "I'm...I fucked up. I'm sorry."

Thankfully he didn't press it, and they lay there together in perfect contentment, until, suddenly, Virginia remembered she had to pick Meredith up from work. She had hoped to just spend the night, to tell Robert how she felt, and to see if, after how she had treated him, he still liked her. Whether or not a guy accepted a BJ didn't seem like a particularly accurate test of his emotional state, after all.

"Robbie, I've got to—"

"Don't make me correct you again."

Virginia rolled over. She'd always teased, always picked at people for as long as she could remember. She didn't do it to be cruel. Most of all, it was a way to test people's affections, to make sure that they liked her or cared about her even when she did things to bug them. Now she didn't want to play those kinds of games.

"Can I?"

"Can you what?" he asked.

"Can I call you 'Robbie?' I like it."

"No one calls me that."

"That's why I like it."

"Can I call you 'Ginny?'"

"Do you want to? "

Robert laughed.

"Not really."

"You can call me whatever you want, so long as you're not mad at me anymore."

"I wasn't mad. I was...confused."

"I know. I'm confusing—to me most of all. But I was trying to tell you I have to pick up Meri."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"You don't have to—"

"Do you want me to?" he interjected.

Virginia leaned in, and Robert obliged, kissing her deeply. Her body tingled. It felt good to be kissed, better too now that she knew he wasn't mad. Virginia felt his hands on her body, holding her by her hips and stroking her thigh. Her impulse was to stop him: he was touching her in the places where she felt fat, and she didn't want him to feel her gross body and then see Meredith. But for once she banished such thoughts from her mind. The way he looked at her made her feel like it didn't matter.

"We've got to go, like now," she said, though her voice betrayed a certain reticence to stop what he was doing. "We're already going to smell like sex as it is."

"We can spray some of my cologne," he suggested.

"Like that's not suspicious," she giggled back. "C'mon, let's go."

"Yes, mistress..."

***

Oh shit oh shit oh shit.

Virginia was almost too out of breath to speak. As a general opponent of running and strenuous exercise of all kinds, Virginia was out of her element. She knew that if her face was half as red as Meredith's was, then she probably looked about as good as she felt.

"Yeah...mom...no...running," she said between breaths.

"Tell her I say 'hi,' OK?" Meredith chirped in.

"Meri says 'hi'—what? Now?"

Virginia was thrown into a state of panic. She hadn't expected her mother to make a surprise visit. She had just flown in from El Paso and was on her way to the apartment: the one filled with Meredith the non-rent-paying tenant's belongings.




Longhorns Ch. 02



"Mom, gotta head home—meet you there. K, bye."

Meredith's eyes widened.

"She's here?" she asked in horror.

"She's, like, twenty minutes from the apartment," Virginia said gravely. "And she's got a key."

Virginia's mother Caroline paid for half the rent, while Collette, saint that she was, paid the other half. One of those women knew about and basically didn't mind Meredith living in the apartment as a freeloader. The other was headed over there and would throw a fit in...nineteen minutes.

"She'll throw me out," Meredith said dejectedly. "She hates me."

Virginia knew Meredith had always labored to be liked by everyone with whom she came in contact. Caroline Neckar-Gaye was an exception to a long history of success in that regard. For some reason, the woman was simply convinced that Meredith—sweet, innocent, and, well, dirt-poor Meredith—was not the sort of person to be seen with her daughter. Discovering her secretly living with Virginia would provoke a complete shitstorm.

"Shit. Shit. Shit" Virginia repeated, as if her wires had come loose.

She had to think of a plan. She didn't have much time, but Meredith needed her. Then she had it.

"I'll text Robbie—he'll move your stuff."

Meredith looked worried.

"Where? His place?"

"Yeah," Virginia said. "He'll stash it at his place. My mom will probably jet after, like, an hour."

Crossing her fingers, Virginia sent Robbie a desperate text:

"Mom cming ovr. Cant know Meris there. Hide her shit @ ur place."

After a few seconds, her phone rang. She shook her head, then picked up.

"God, you're old."

Meredith looked a little annoyed she was making small talk.

"I hate texting," he responded. "You want me to hide Meredith's stuff? How'm I gonna know—"

"Most of her shit is in boxes still. Her clothes are in the hall closet. You don't have much time, so just grab the boxes and get the clothes out and we'll take our chances with the rest."

"What about her?"

"What about her?"

"If your mom's over, shouldn't she sleep somewhere else?"

Virginia felt a sudden pang of fear. 

He's not trying to, like, angle for kind of sleep-over, is he?

"We'll figure it out later."

She hung up abruptly, and though she felt a little bad about doing so, there wasn't time to waste.

"What's going on?" Meredith asked worriedly.

"He's going to hide your stuff until—"

"No, I mean, you. You know I won't be able to stay over there if your mom's gonna just crash the place uninvited. Why did you just hang up on him when he asked you—" 

"Time," Virginia said curtly. "Same reason I'm hanging up on you right now. We've got to get home. Now."

Meredith acquiesced to Virginia's wishes and let the matter drop. A couple of blocks before they reached their complex, Virginia pulled over. She couldn't bring Meredith home with her, and god only knew whether Robert got everything out in time. Most of all, Virginia felt like a bitch. She was still letting her own hang-ups get between things with her best friend and with her special-guy-who-maybe-might-be-her-boyfriend-someday.

"Wait, like, five minutes then go to Robert's. I'll text him that you're coming over. Then just...be normal."

Meredith hopped out, apparently OK with the plan, and Virginia raced the last leg of the way to her apartment complex. Hustling to the door, she fumbled with her keys. Instead, the door swung open.

"Honey, you're all sweaty," her mother, dressed immaculately with a pristine face full of make-up, said. "Though I suppose it's good you're exercising."

Virginia's mother spoke with a crisp, though non-descript WASPy accent, with certainly little Texan twang discernible if any. She'd only moved south ten years ago, with Virginia's father, brother, and Virginia. Virginia's brother Chip (the name he chose to avoid actually being called "Chester") took after Caroline most: all sharp angles, lean and wiry. Virginia got her dad's looks: rounder, big smile, and, to her mind at least, fat.

Her hang-ups over weight originated from the way her mother policed her eating and physical activity as a kid. Try as she might, Virginia could never be as thin as her mother, who seemed to effortlessly have the body Virginia assumed was the ideal: slender, lean, and graceful, not soft and jiggly like her.

"It's great to see you too, Mom," she forced herself to say. "If you would've called first—"

"Oh, I don't mind if the place is a mess," she said. "I just wanted to surprise you."

Virginia took her first opportunity to glance around the apartment. It looked cleaner than it had in a long time. Following her mother into the bedroom, she was shocked to find that not only had Robert taken Meredith's stuff away, but he'd also tidied the place up and hidden both her bong and her vibrator, two things she'd both forgotten to mention and was grateful for her mother not to see.

I'm going to have to give him a little something special.

When her mother had her back turned, Virginia stole an opportunity to peek into the hall closet, and, true to form, Robert had cleaned it out. There were only a few traces of Meredith remaining, most of which could be blamed on Collette, who, as usual, was in a lab somewhere.

"So, mom, what are your plans?" Virginia asked tentatively.

"Well, honey, I was thinking you could show me around campus tomorrow. We'll do lunch before, and maybe dinner out on Lake Travis. I'm not sure what we'll do the other days."

"...other days?"

"Virginia, you don't sound very happy to see—"

"No, mom, I'm thrilled," she lied. "It's just—I've got work to do for school and—"

"Oh, honey, I've got work to do, too. I have four days here to get this apartment back to a livable condition. I don't see how you college kids put up with such a pig sty..."

Though her mother continued to drone on about the filthiness of her recently cleaned apartment, Virginia felt the sudden sinking realization that her mother was going to monopolize all her free time for the next four days. That meant four days of stupid frou-frou dinners, four days of inane, gratuitous sightseeing, four days of snide comments about every aspect of her life.

Four days of not having sex with Robbie.

Four days of Meredith playing house with him in the apartment across the courtyard.

Virginia felt sick to her stomach. Over and over she reassured herself that everything would be fine, though she also considered just paying for a motel room for Meredith. Surely she'd turn such an offer down, but crashing on Robbie's couch? It wouldn't seem like a burden at all. And he'd go along with it, thinking little of it.

As her mother dragged her around all day, buying her clothes she'd never wear, offering advice she'd never heed, Virginia was forced to confront an essential truth: all of a sudden, this mattered. At first, she didn't want to lose a boyfriend—enough that it seemed like a better bet to just not have a boyfriend. Now she didn't want to lose Robbie, irrespective of what label they were putting on the thing between them. 

It wasn't like she was in love with him, at least not yet. Maybe it was just that, at the moment, she couldn't find a reason why she wouldn't feel that way, one day. They had started as friends, something she had never done with a guy before. He'd been nothing but good to her, and if anybody had a reason to run screaming the other direction, it was him. She trusted him. On the other hand, she didn't trust him, not enough at least, and that made her feel a little guilty.

When her mother finally retired to her hotel room, Virginia headed directly to his place. She felt trepidation standing at his door—it's not that she expected to find the two of them fucking on the sofa when she went inside. Her fears were more banal, but also more plausible: they'd be there, sharing their little jokes, giving each sidelong glances, all that junior high shit that guys ate up when it came to Meredith.

For the first time since she finagled a key out of Robert, she bothered to knock. At least that way she would interrupt whatever scintillating conversation was taking place.

"Mom-ed out?" he asked her, standing in the doorway.

He seemed at ease and suspiciously well-dressed for 10:30 PM. As she stepped in, her head swiveled, trying to find Meredith.

"She's not here," he added, closing the door behind her.

"You mean Meri?" she asked, playing dumb unconvincingly.

"Nice," he said with a nod. "I told her I didn't want her around, classing the place up. She's staying at the Courtyard over off Parmer. I had points left over and—"

Virginia didn't let Robert finish before kissing him. It hadn't been a conscious decision; Virginia herself only noticed it was happening after she'd practically tackled him.

"Slow down!"

"Sorry," she replied. "I've been stuck with my mom all day."

"It's just..." he said. "After Halloween—you said we would talk. It's been almost a month, and we, well, didn't."

"You're choosing talking over sex?" Virginia asked jokingly.

"Shit, it's an either-or proposition?"

"No," Virginia said sheepishly, "I'm way too horny to give up just because your dumb obsession with talking."

"I'll make it quick," he promised. "I just...I want to be honest with you. Always."

Where is he going?

"I know when this whole thing started it was just a casual, hook-up thing," he began. "Maybe it's because I was born in olden times, but I...it's hard for me to do that completely. I mean this—us."

Virginia made a promise to herself, that she would not cry if he said they shouldn't do this anymore.

"Listen," he said ominously, "I like you. A lot."

I'm feeling deja vu.

"And I...respected what you said when you told me you didn't want a boyfriend. I knew what I was getting into. But, I thought...well, maybe I didn't really think. Because, let's face it, you're way too hot for me to be able to think clearly and you could probably get me to do just about anything for you."

He's not upset enough to be telling me to stop bothering him. Is this what I think it is?

"To be honest, I'm not giving you an ultimatum or anything. Maybe I'm just wanting to revisit that whole boyfriend thing, because, I...it's not just about sex, or hanging out, or whatever to me. Like, at first the age thing was big. But more and more it just doesn't matter. I like you, and I want...something more."

Virginia was beaming.

"Yes, I'll marry you."

She got a thrill out of the brief look of shock that caused him to jump. Their relationship would have to be built on him buying her beer, her constantly messing with him—and lots of sex.

"Why don't we start with a date?"

"Why don't we start me climbing on top of you and move on to the date when my stupid mom leaves town?"

Virginia started to unbutton Robert's shirt, before he pulled it over his head swiftly. She liked to see him go wild, since he was normally so terminally chill. She wanted to have that effect on him, to make him lose his cool, and when he spun her around and bent her over the back of the couch, she felt her knees almost buckle.

"Tell me you want me," he whispered in her ear from behind her.

"God yes," she sighed, "don't tease me."

Robert pulled her panties down and tossed them aside. Virginia turned her head to see them land on the curved metal back of the dining chair, as Robert pulled her black and white striped skirt up so that it bunched around her waist. 

Virginia was momentarily afraid he was going to just shove it in her all at once. On one level, the thought was arousing—him taking her like an animal, mad with passion. Yet she knew it might hurt, too, and she didn't want to lose the tenderness and the pleasure she knew Robert could give her. 

He pulled her hair to one side and kissed her neck.

"Now if you were just a couple of inches taller..."

"You like it," she said, giggling. "Good things come in small—"

Virginia almost lost her breath when Robert's tongue found just the right place. She hadn't even noticed when he went to his knees behind her. It was another thing she'd never actually experienced before, a guy going down on her from behind. It felt...dirtier, hotter, than the other way, even though the angle wasn't quite right.

Not tall enough...got it.

Virginia took the opportunity to take her own top off. Robert was making her squirm, and it took a second before she could manage to unfasten her bra. Despite the more challenging position, it was only a matter of moments before Robert had found a rhythm of sorts. What started as a warm, tingling feeling had grown into a fire, a longing inside for him.

There was still a little part of her that felt self-conscious, with his big hands spreading her apart for his tongue to work his magic. There was something wrong about feeling so good, a feeling of guilt all the more mysterious in that it arose for no reason. She wasn't religious or hung-up about sex, at least not more than most people. It was deeper than that—a vague but persistent sense that she just didn't deserve unalloyed happiness, that every good thing had to come with some equivalent bad thing, just waiting around the corner.

"Robert," she sighed.

He spun her around, and she almost laughed when she saw how slick his mouth and chin were. 

Guess I'm 'ready.'

He didn't pause for long, though, and now that he was facing her, he had much better access to her sensitive clit. Running her fingers through his hair, she couldn't stop herself from moaning in pleasure. When she climaxed for the first time, it was with Robert's name on her lips.

"Let me get a condom—"

"Wait," she asked. "I'm not...I mean...if you're not seeing anybody else. You don't have to..."

Did I really just say that? Shit—is he fucking other girls?

"Are you sure?"

I'm not sure about anything ever.

"Do you think I'm crazy?"

"Only in a good way," he replied, pulling her in for a kiss.

She tasted herself, but it wasn't bad. As long as he kept doing that to her, she'd kiss him anytime he wanted.

"You can tell me if there's somebody else," she said.

"You know there isn't."

Virginia reached down to stroke Robert's cock. In truth, she wanted to experience sex without a condom for the first time, too. She'd always been smart in the past—no way would she 100% trust the guys she'd been with in the past, to say nothing about the small chance her birth control pill wouldn't work. With Robert, though, it felt like a reward for the both of them—something to recognize the trust they'd built.

"Well, you know I'm on the pill," she replied. "And there's no one but you, either, so you don't have to wear one if you don't want to."

Grabbing her underneath her thighs, just below her ass, Robert unexpectedly lifted her up in the air. Virginia wrapped her arms around him, mostly out of sudden fear of toppling over.

"I'm too fat for you to—"

"Are you joking?" he asked with genuine confusion. "Or do you think I'm that weak?"

Virginia giggled a little as he carried her back to the bedroom.

"I'm not a stick."

"You're fucking perfect," he said, laying her down surprisingly gracefully on the bed. "And I do have muscles after all."

Robert hovered over her, his cock grazing across her labia, still damp from her explosive orgasm.

"Let me suck it first," she asked. "Before, you know."

"I'm sorry," he said facetiously, "you'll have to repeat that for me, I couldn't hear."

Virginia laughed.

"Please, oh please, stud, let me suck your monster hard cock," she said, as if she were in the throes of climax. "Or else I'll have to return to Women's Prison and settle for a five-way lesbo orgy."

"You're pardoned," Robert said with a kiss.

He rolled over, and it was Virginia's time to show her appreciation for him. To her, it wasn't about balancing the scales though, trading one oral orgasm for another. In a weird way, it was selfish even—she loved the feeling of him straining, yearning, wanting her, while she had the power to withhold or to give him incredible pleasure. 

Not that she planned to withhold anything from him tonight, of course. Virginia knew that Robert was going to have more than one earth-shattering orgasm tonight. It was kind of nice to be in control of things, to have him just laying back and watching her, while she could focus on getting the biggest reaction possible from him.

She started by licking up and down his shaft, kissing and slurping the head while she ran her fingers delicately over his balls. Her friends would talk about their guys' equipment, and she appreciated how Robert, without being weird about it, was always well-groomed and clean down there. She could taste faintly the salt of sweat on his skin, though, the same taste she knew he must get when he kissed and sucked her breasts. It was good, visceral, real.

Taking him deeper inside, she felt her mouth begin to water. Robert's eyes were glued to her, as she used everything at her disposal to make him weak with desire for her. Time moved slowly; she could feel everything, the spit running down her chin, Robert's cock, soft and hard at the same time, warm and throbbing in her mouth, the almost imperceptible way he lifted his hips when she went down on him, trying without seeming to try to feel every inch of himself in her, a strange, lightheaded sensation from breathing just a little bit less than she should.

And there were his eyes, and they sparkled with intensity, that she knew was there, even when it was hidden.

"Ride me now," he commanded, and she was happy to comply.

She threw a leg over him and found his cock with her hand. In a moment, she had sunk down onto him, as he filled her with his throbbing tool. She begun by moving slowly, never letting him withdraw much from her. She didn't need to feel him thrusting in and out to come, and the second he was inside her she knew that, however selfishly, this wasn't going to be just about him, that she was going to have another orgasm. He would just have to get used to that kind of thing from her—she could be greedy, and, for the first time, her vibrator came in second place.

What if next time Robert used it on me at the same time? Virginia, you are a fucking genius...

Robert's hands found her ass, and he pulled her in, as if there were some way he could go deeper inside her. She felt his eyes wander hungrily over her body, and she lowered herself towards him, knowing what he wanted. He took her nipple into his mouth, sucking and licking it before moving to the next one. No matter what she thought about her body, she knew—because, really, how couldn't she?—that guys loved her tits. With Robert, at least, he seemed to like the rest of her.

He kissed her in the space between her breasts, so that his face was covered on both sides. Then he started to thrust, lifting her off the bed. He'd managed to wriggle his hand between them, and the sudden jolt of feeling her clit directly stimulated sent her into an unexpectedly quick orgasm.

Damn, I go from frigid to premature ejaculator in, like, a month. What the hell is his secret?

The second time it was different—more of a whole body feeling then before, and in truth she felt so sated that she knew she couldn't go again, at least not right away. Maybe some girls can come over and over again—Virginia wasn't going to get that greedy. For now, she just wanted to feel Robert coming inside her for the first time.

"Do you want to switch?" she asked. "I want you to come."

"Yeah," he responded, "me too. But I don't want you to get off."

"Oops, already did," she said with a wry smile.

"I would have too if we didn't take this lovely conversation break."

"How are you grumpy right now?" she asked playfully




Longhorns Ch. 02



"Good point," Robert said, slapping her ass hard enough to make an echo. "I'm going to fuck you hard now. Then I won't be grumpy."

"I'll believe that—ohhhh..."

The sound of their bodies crashing together was louder than she'd ever heard. It seemed like this should hurt, yet for some reason, the pleasure outweighed the pain, until what pain there was had so blended into the pleasure that it was indistinguishable. 

Robert made sure she was satisfied first. He listened to her. And he didn't want her best friend. He was a sweetheart. But here he was, fucking her like a ragdoll, and she was hooked. Already twice by her count he'd been brought to the brink of orgasm only to be interrupted, so she wasn't exactly surprised when she felt the warm rush of his cum, filling her up over and over again. He didn't stop pounding her, until she basically collapsed onto him, powerless and exhausted as he fucked her, slowing only gradually.

She lay there, utterly spent, on top of him, waiting in vain for his cock to grow limp again. 

"I could probably go again," he said quietly.

"Trying to kill me?" she asked.

"Too much?"

"No, perfect," she responded. "I'm just...exhausted."

Robert's long fingers traced a line down her back, and she shivered, just a little, but in a good way.

"Am I crushing you?"

"Do you seriously think you are fat? Because fat people would like to have a word with you."

"Not fat," she replied. "Just...fatter than I want to be."

"You're perfect."

"Dude, you got me. You don't have to try that hard."

With his erection finally subsided, Robert rolled Virginia over. She felt the wet spot underneath her. He must have come a lot.

"I don't want to be that guy," he said, "but girls are weird."

"I know, right?" was all she could say. "Like, I know I look...alright. Pretty good. Not bad."

"I must look like a troll if you're 'pretty good.' Seriously, Virginia, you're...like, it's hard to look at you sometimes."

"Wow, thanks a lot," she said sarcastically. "I was going for 'cute chubbo,' but I guess—"

"Shut up, dummy," he said. "I'm trying to say that...it's dumb to fall in love with people for their looks. And you're, well...hard to be objective about. That makes no sense, I'm sure."

Virginia was silent for a moment.

Was that on accident? The 'L' word?

"Well, I'm not, like, Meredith-level beautiful."

"What is this thing between you two?" he asked with curiosity. "You're best friends, but then..."

"She doesn't mean to do it," Virginia replied. "But she's just like—"

"A Disney princess come to life?"

Virginia laughed. 

At least he isn't going to deny it—hell it's kind of a relief to actually talk about it honestly.

"Exactly! She's just so sweet, but also not a stuck-up snob or a faker about it. Like, if I was a dude, I would totally be into her too. I kind of halfway am already, and I was terrible at softball."

He laughed back. She liked it when he laughed at her bad jokes.

"I like you more," he said, this time without any irony in his voice. "All around. Don't get me wrong—Meredith is great. She's totally my second favorite person in town. But it's not a competition between you two, because it's not even close."

Virginia felt like a weight was taken off her chest, to be able to acknowledge the whole thing without feeling judged for being a catty bitch. She also believed him about everything. She would have to get used to wanting someone who only wanted her.

"It's weird seeing all her stuff around here," she said. "Like, literally her baggage is all around here."

"Subtext becomes text," he replied.

"Nerd."

"Nerd lover."

"And you use that word again..."

Robert drew back.

And here's the part where you fuck things up, Virginia.

"Sorry, not trying...I mean, I...shit—pay no attention to this chloroform-soaked rag."

"No, it's fine. I don't think you're in love with me or anything. But...like, I'm not saying it as a bad thing, either."

"No, I get it," he responded. "I promise I'm not some clingy loser."

"Just promise me something."

"I would say 'anything' but then you'll unveil the strap-on and—"

Virginia cocked an eyebrow.

"Do not give me any ideas. I'm just asking you to...like, I know we joke a lot. But...I'm serious some times too. I'm not kidding when I tell you about Meri and stuff."

"Is that what you meant that first night?"

"Sorry Mr. Vague, but I don't remember—"

"You told me not to laugh at you. Since that was about the last thing I was going to do, it seemed...odd."

Virginia recalled the moment exactly. It had been a spontaneous impulse, something she blurted out the second it became apparent that she was in fact about to have sex with the grown man who she had been gently exploiting for beer and a place to hang out.

"It's dumb," she said.

"What's dumb?"

"I thought...maybe you would...like, I just barged into your place to fuck. That's pretty slutty."

"I thought it was awesome."

"Of course you did."

Robert wrinkled his forehead, the way he did when he'd discovered some brilliant new thing to write. She'd watched him work, while she 'studied' at the table. Meredith was better at that kind of thing—that was one of the first places where the two of them looked like a couple in the making. For Virginia, studying was like pulling teeth, and she was just smart enough to skate by without doing much of it.

"No," he said, "I mean I thought you were awesome for doing that. I wish I would have had the balls to just kiss you way earlier."

"You said I was too young."

"And that has affected me how lately?" he said animatedly. "Seriously, look at us. That was just something I told myself to make it OK not to admit how I felt about you. It...I'm not saying it would have been a good idea with anybody else, but with you? I should have gone for it. 'Slut' is something dipshits call women who aren't afraid of what they want."

"Robbie?"

"Yeah."

"I want you to meet my friends. Like, as my boyfriend. If that's OK."

"I should get dressed first."

"Really? 'Cause that might be interesting."

"If you keep talking like that, we're going to be really busy in the shower."

"You think you can get it up again, old man?"

"Don't have to think," Robert said, guiding her hand to his once again erect dick. "Know."

"You're right," she said, stroking him slowly. "I do want to keep you all to myself."

Virginia closed her eyes for a moment. Somehow she had stumbled into something really good and, despite her best efforts, hadn't fucked it up. 

But in the middle of her contented stupor, there was a strange, incongruous thought: Meredith was not going to be happy.

There had been this unspoken resentment, this lingering competitive edge to their friendship for so long, as boys, then men, came between them, if only partially. Consequently, Virginia hadn't thought about Meredith's feelings on the subject of sex and dating much lately. Even when she was cheerfully defacing Wendell Clay's car in retaliation for his douchey treatment of Meredith, if Virginia was being honest with herself, it was as much about her own disappointment that he wasn't the guy to take Meredith off the market for other guys.

Now she realized, though, how hard it must be for Meredith. She didn't have her own place. Her family life had been chaotic. She never had the outward confidence Virginia had. Despite being utterly gorgeous, she managed to stay a virgin until college, where her first and only guy was a complete prick. She worked constantly. And now her best friend had a boyfriend, which Virginia knew would only make Meredith feel more alone.

"Lost in thought?"

Virginia opened her eyes. 

"Not anymore."

"Shower?"

"I get the front half."

"You mean the part with the water."

"Exactly."

Robert spanked her ass playfully.

"You're going to have to make it up to me."

"Count on it."

Virginia was happy. Really happy.

Meri needs to get laid—scratch that. She needs her own Robbie.



Longhorns Ch. 03



Author's Note: This is Meredith's chapter; I plan to write a concluding chapter wrapping up the story from all sides next. This one took me a long time to complete, thanks to a ton of travel recently. Hopefully, it doesn't disappoint. This might take a bit of a left turn for the Romance category, which is somewhat monogamy-oriented, so caveat emptor. As always, I appreciate all your feedback, and I hope this chapter lives up to the story so far. -Theworldspins

*****

When it got dark, the voices started to blend together more, as everyone competed with one another to be heard. Even with the minimal buzz she got off a single wine cooler—drinking that was the subject of much comedy, to be sure—she felt like it wasn't just the noise itself. It was her. It didn't help that DJ Virginia liked to crank the music so damn loud, either. Meredith never tried to compete to be heard over people louder than she. Since most people were louder, she usually had to be content with keeping silent in situations like this. Parties weren't really her thing.

"When was yours?"

It took Meredith a moment before she realized Lydia was addressing the question to her. She was mildly startled, having grown accustomed to being forgotten at things like this.

"Sorry, couldn't hear you," she replied apologetically.

"Can we turn it down a little?" Lydia begged Virginia.

After first rolling her eyes demonstratively, Virginia walked over to Robert's desk, all the while play-acting as if she was using a walker. Meredith found it hard to always be cool enough for Virginia. Her eyes darted around—bending over to pretend to grip the 'walker' meant that Virginia's ass was sticking out. Meredith watched as, slowly, every guy in the room noticed and did their best to surreptitiously look without being too suspicious. It wasn't just the guys either—their friend Kylie, who would, no offense, fuck anything on two legs, seemed just as into it.

Who wouldn't be with a butt like hers?

Lydia wasn't drunk, not exactly, but she was definitely loosened up. Her wide-eyed face was flushed, and she was that drunk girl thing where she constantly was playing with her tongue, biting it playfully whenever she spoke. Meredith had met her freshman year at a party much larger than this one. Lydia had made a point of seeking her out and striking up a conversation, and Meredith always appreciated it. Though Virginia dragged her along to countless parties when they first came to Austin, it wasn't the easiest for her to meet new people as anything other than Virginia's friend.

"We were talking about when we had your first crush," Lydia continued, now that the decibel level had receded. "When was yours?"

Meredith smiled. She knew she'd get a chance to make Virginia blush, which didn't happen often enough. She looked around to spot where she'd gone—she was bouncing from person to person, playing the part of hostess here at Robert's place.

It seems as much like her place as his now.

"Seven years old," she said. "Howie Gibbons."

To her surprise, Virginia heard her and turned her way.

"No! Not happening."

By trying to prevent Meredith's response, Virginia only managed to draw more attention. Like a flower bending towards the sun, the dozen or so people present all turned towards Meredith. Though not quite silent, they were at least attentive to her for the moment. As far as Meredith knew, no one else had heard this story.

"Howie Gibbons, huh?" Kylie asked, her voice dripping with innuendo. "He must have been pretty hot to get your attention. Like, pre-pubes Timberlake hot."

"I bet he had frosted tips," added Max, Lydia's boyfriend of the moment, to general laughter. "And, like, wore gel in second grade."

"He knew all the dinosaurs," Meredith began, smiling slyly. "Like, not the fake ones, either, the ones that it turned out they didn't exist and stuff."

"The fucking brontosaurus," Virginia said, taking a swig of her beer. "Total bullshit."

"No shit?" asked Pete, their friend Madison's boyfriend. "That was my favorite one."

"Well, sorry to crush your dreams, dude," Virginia responded, "but lots of the cool ones were fake."

"You were saying..." Kylie interrupted, steering the conversation back to Meredith.

"So, he was the smartest boy in school. I remember him reading to all the other kids in, like, kindergarten. So, anyway, I didn't even understand what it meant to like a boy. Boys were totally mean."

"Still are mostly," Robert added, before Virginia pinched his side and twisted. "Damn, girls are too."

"Get a room, you two," Madison, always quick with a cliché, chirped.

"So, anyway, I told Virginia—"

"You two went to elementary together?"

"Yeah—before Caroline put me in private school for a while," Virginia clarified. "That's, like, the only reason we got to know each other."

"Touching—but why's Virginia trying to keep on lid on this story?" Kylie said.

"So when I told Virginia about Howie, she punched him."

No one laughed louder than Robert. Meredith smiled directly at him.

"Best part was why—she told him he couldn't take her best friend away."

"I don't see what's so embarrassing about that," Madison added quizzically. "I think it's sweet."

"That wasn't the funny part," Meredith countered.

"You're dead to me," Virginia intoned, though Meredith could sense she wasn't really embarrassed, just playing it up for everyone's benefit.

"The best part was when she had to explain why to the teacher and her mom. Tell everybody what you told them, sweetie."

Virginia started to twirl her hair girlishly.

"Howie can't get married to Meri," she said in a baby voice, "'cause I'm gonna marry her."

Everyone erupted into laughter.

"It wasn't that funny," Virginia protested. "At least, back then it wasn't. I got the whole 'You can't be a lesbian, you're a Methodist' talk from Caroline. I was freaked."

"So you've been corrupting poor Virginia since way back," Robert said, stroking his girlfriend's shoulders from behind.

"Maybe that's why your mom still hates me," Meredith said, sharing a moment of recognition with Virginia.

She was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable being the center of attention—it was nice to be noticed, but she had a feeling that too much of this kind of talk and they would end up like most parties falling into a reminiscence circle jerk that would probably just cause her a lot of embarrassment and—

"Never Have I Ever?" Madison asked to no one and everyone. "C'mon, Never Have I Ever."

Meredith felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Haven't we played that before?" Virginia asked.

Thank you. Kill this idea before it grows.

"There's a lot of new people," Kylie said, oblivious to Virginia's intentions. "And besides, that was, like, freshman fall. Lot's changed since then."

Meredith watched Virginia turn first to Robert, who shook his shoulders without a care.

He's thirty. He's probably done everything. And the rest of them? Great, it's time for another round of 'pity the virgin'...ex-virgin.

"OK," Virginia said, heading into the kitchen. "Tequila shots?"

"Tryin' to put me in the hospital?" Kylie asked.

Kylie had done everything at least once. If the game continued long enough, she'd be face down and have to crash across the courtyard over at Virginia and Meredith's place.

"Then everyone can choose between beer or tequila—tequilas for the saints and beer for the sinners," Virginia said.

"Can I be a sinner and still drink tequila?" asked a tall, jocky guy, one of Lydia's boyfriend Max's friends Meredith didn't know well.

He was cute in a square-jawed, Captain America kind of way. Meredith didn't really ave a type per se, but athletic without being too muscle-y, clean cut, but with a little rough around the edges was always a good start. Though she couldn't deny his physical attractiveness, Meredith never got too hot and bothered over a guy until she at least got a sense of his personality. She'd have to keep an eye on this one, though.

"Your funeral," Virginia replied.

There were only a couple of single guys there, which was fine as far as Meredith was concerned. Ever since she'd started officially dating Robert a couple of months ago, Virginia had been not so subtly hinting that her next goal was finding Meredith a guy.

Everyone just assumes I want a boyfriend. Do I just scream 'desperation?'

It was just about half couples, half singles. There were Robert and Virginia, of course, but Lydia came with her guy Max (who would never last, they all knew it), and Madison had Pete. That left Meredith alone with Kylie, and the rest of the singles, none of whom she had met before tonight.

Everyone formed a rough circle. Robert had long ago staked out his desk chair, and Virginia sat on the floor beneath him, receiving one of the back and shoulder rubs about which she was always gushing. She wasn't alone on the floor, though; Robert's place wasn't made to accommodate a dozen, and apart from Madison and Pete on the couch, most of the people there were reclined against walls on the floor or leaned against the sides of furniture. The table in the center of the circle was covered in shot glasses, beer bottles, empty and full, and an ominous bottle of El Jimador silver.

"This must be a white people thing," the Asian dude in a basketball jersey snarked. "'Cause I got no idea what y'all are talking about."

Meredith giggled a little to herself.

"I've played this before," a pretty Indian girl countered, "so don't even try. Don't they send Chinese kids to camp?"

"Re-education camp," he responded drily. "Not, like, Camp Anawanna."

"You're from California, not Beijing..."

"It's easy," Kylie butted in. "You go in a circle. When it's your turn, you say 'Never have I ever...blank.' You know, something you've never done in your life. Anybody's who's done it, takes a shot."

"Or sip of beer."

"Yeah, whatever," Kylie continued. "Basically, all the cool people get drunk and pass out in twenty minutes."

Meredith scowled. 

Thanks a lot.

She had two good reasons to hate this game. First, it made a big public show of how innocent and inexperienced at pretty much everything fun and dangerous she was. Second, this fact inspired not only pity but also some degree of animosity in others. Like the sober person in a room full of drunks, she was the little angel whose purity made everyone else seem like devils. 

"You'll pick it up quick," Virginia promised. "Just follow along."

"Why not Truth or Dare?" asked the cute jocky guy, whose name, it turned, was Rick.

"Because this isn't going to end in some orgy fantasy for you, buddy," Kylie replied dismissively, "and we all know Truth or Dare isn't much fun unless that does happen."

"Me first," Lydia called out. "Never have I ever...shoplifted."

Her criminal record spotless, Meredith watched as a wave of people drank. She had a feeling this would be her experience tonight.

"Alright," Max called out, "I'll start slow. Never have I ever kissed a guy."

That would prove to be Meredith's last chance to drink for a while. She was grateful for the opportunity to drink along with all the other girls; what she hadn't expected to see was Rick quickly downing a tequila shot in response.

"Truth or Dare gone wrong," he admitted sheepishly.

"You're up," Virginia informed him.

"Never have I ever broken a bone," he said, as a handful of partygoers took shots.

As each person took turns, the questions got more and more scandalous, leaving Meredith's narrow range of experiences behind. Round after round, her friends, loosened up by booze, confessed to bondage, role playing, anal sex (including girls giving and guys receiving!), assorted juvenile crime sprees, and the like. Meredith sat there, passively smiling and hoping no one noticed that, if this were a game, she'd have come in dead last by a landslide. 

Only Robert seemed to understand her discomfort. Every so often, he'd look over at her and flash an apologetic smile. Meredith had hoped that maybe he'd been a wallflower like her, but it wasn't to be. He was right in there with the rest of them, if not more, given his roughly ten year head start on sex and other debauchery.

After admitting to receiving a finger up his ass during oral sex, Robert looked over at Meredith, as if to say he hoped she didn't think less of him. In truth, Meredith wished she could do half the crazy things they'd admitted to tonight, only with someone she really trusted. She may be shy, but she made up for it in repressed horniness.

"Do you have something to tell me?" Virginia asked her boyfriend in response to that one.

"I didn't think explanations were part of this game," he replied confidently, seemingly enjoying Virginia's confusion.

"Damn Virginia," Kylie laughed, "I just figured it was your finger up his ass."

"Not yet, but soon," Robert responded, crossing his fingers, and soon the entire room had erupted in laughter.

"I'm afraid what comes next," Madison joked.

"Never have I ever...had a crush on a professor," Robert said.

The response was even more lopsided by gender than Max's question. Every single girl, including Meredith, had had a crush on a professor, while not a single guy had. 

He knew the answer. He wanted me to have a chance to drink again.

"That why you in grad school?" the Asian guy, Jared, asked Robert, who only shook his head in mild embarrassment.

All eyes were on Kylie, and everyone who knew her was thinking the same thing: if she hadn't done it, nobody had.

"Never have I ever been in love," she said, arching her eyebrows as if proud of surprising them all.

Madison and Pete turned to each other and downed a pair of shots. She was painfully aware that Virginia found them both annoying, but Meredith was glad she was still their friend. She knew that deep down Madison was a little insecure that the 'cool kids' would ditch her once they got to college. In part, this was the only reason she incessantly reminded people of their shared past. It was nice to see her and Pete, moreover, feeling comfortable enough to say that they loved each other.

Meredith wasn't surprised to see Robert drink; after all, he'd been with his ex-girlfriend for years. But she was a little sad, in a way, to see Virginia not drink. Meredith had known that Virginia liked Robert well before Virginia knew herself, and once again it seemed like she was ahead of the curve in understanding her best friend's emotional state. It would only be a matter of time before Virginia admitted to herself and to Robert what was already obvious to Meredith: she was crazy about 'Robbie.'

Having gone through so many rounds, the people drinking tequila shots were starting to feel it. The beer crowd—Kylie, Virginia, and Robert—were a little more coherent, though just barely.

"I'm learning all sorts of things tonight," Virginia said, seemingly relishing the prospect of peeling back the layers of her new boyfriend.

For her part, Meredith was trying to stay in high spirits. They'd gone around twice, and, given the way that some of their friends were slumping over, her final question would probably be the last.

"OK OK OK," she said, taking the floor. "Never have I ever...had a threesome."

No one was surprised by that point when Kylie and the people she'd brought drank.

"Kylie probably had one this morning," Virginia quipped.

Rick, Mr. 'Truth or Dare Gone Wrong, took his final shot of tequila, too, and given how many guys he'd kissed and more, Meredith was pretty certain they weren't all two-girl threesomes either. Then Madison and Pete took shots, and everyone was shocked. The happy couple in love had invited someone else into their bed already.

"Madison?" Virginia asked in disbelief.

"What? I'm not Ms. Goody-Goody like you think," she said boldly.

Nope, that's me. Poor pathetic me.

"I mean this in the nicest way possible," Kylie said to Madison, her voice finally beginning to betray her creeping inebriation, "but I like you so much better after tonight."

Rick got up looking wobbly and headed to the bathroom.

"Don't worry Meredith—one day, you'll find the right guy," Kylie slurred. "And he'll bring a friend over, and they'll bend you—"

"Holy shit, Rick just puked all over the bathroom floor," Jared called out, pointing towards the gruesome sight.

"Goddamn it, Max, that's your friend," Virginia snapped.

"Hey, I'm not responsible for everything he does," Max countered.

"That's why the floor's made of tile," Robert said. "Go take care of him, and I'll clean it up. It's not a big deal."

Kylie looked over at Meredith.

"Party's over, huh?"

"Looks like it," Meredith replied.

Kylie came over and gave Meredith a hug. She smelled like booze and perfume.

"It's OK, baby," she whispered in her ear. "You just need to find the right guy...or girl."

Kylie kissed her on the cheek, a lingering kiss that Meredith couldn't help but take as an open invitation. She froze.

She's just drunk. She's just drunk. She's just drunk.

Meredith watched as everyone filed out, Rick, her 'prospect' for the night, being practically dragged out by his friends. Virginia was alternately apologizing to Robert and fuming about Rick, and Meredith didn't want to interrupt to ask if she planned to come home tonight. Meredith assumed Virginia would stay over at Robert's as usual, and consequently she wanted to take the bed again tonight.

She got up to leave, but Virginia called out for her to stay. It was probably for the better, as even with her limited drinking, she'd still felt dizzy when she stood up too fast. The unexpected clean-up complete, Robert and Virginia came back into the living room, him to his desk chair and her to the sofa.

"Come here and cuddle with me since my dumb boyfriend won't," Virginia said, pouting.

"Coming dear," he said in a facetious tone.

Soon, Virginia was sprawled out across the sofa, her head propped up on a pillow in Robert's lap while her legs draped across Meredith's thighs. Robert was stroking her hair, and Meredith suppressed a strange urge to run her fingers across the smooth skin of Virginia's legs.

"This is better," Virginia cooed. "I feel like royalty."

"Quick, Meredith, smother her with a pillow," Robert joked.

"She's too pretty to kill," Meredith responded.

"See, somebody loves me," Virginia said petulantly.

"Maybe I should have taken a shot that round," Meredith said quietly. 

She knew immediately that everyone was thinking of the results of that round, the 'love' question, when Robert had drank and Virginia hadn't. Meredith had talked to Robert about his ex before, but she wasn't sure that Virginia had. Meredith was always surprised that, whenever Virginia learned something new about his past, it was usually something she'd known long before his girlfriend did.

"Well, me too," Virginia said, "'cause I love you too, sweetie."

"Trying to steal my girlfriend?" Robert asked Meredith jokingly.

"Maybe I'm trying to improve my performance next time we play," Meredith quipped back.

Please don't actually think through what I just said...

Virginia grinned.

"Good one!" she said. "You, Kylie, and that bi chick from the third floor could definitely make for a hot three-way."

"Two girls? No way."

Oops.

"Meredith Elizabeth Reynolds, are you saying you want two beefy studs to have their way with you?" Virginia said in faux outrage. "Why, what will they say at University Methodist?"

Meredith was turning red.

"Don't listen to her," Robert said warmly. 

Meredith was eager to take the heat off of herself.

"I noticed you didn't drink on the threesome question either, Miss Virginia. Maybe I'm not the only prude around here," she said in a bratty voice.




Longhorns Ch. 03



"Yeah, baby, don't you think we should start picking up strange women at bars and taking them home with us?" Robert asked, eager to join in with Meredith in annoying Virginia.

"I want to know her," Virginia responded.

Far from getting annoyed, or even joking, Virginia sounded like she meant it.

Robert laughed: "You're serious."

"No, really, I think it would be fun. It's just—I don't trust some random ho-bag we find on Sixth Street. I want to do it with somebody I feel comfortable with already."

"Are you two actually planning a threesome?" Meredith asked in disbelief.

Robert and Virginia looked at each other, her head still in his lap. Virginia pretended to gasp like Meredith.

"What will Pastor Steve think?!?!" she said in the deepest Texan drawl she could muster.

"I, for one, think it's a great idea honey...unless you want me to fondle some dude's balls," Robert added, "in which case it's a terrible idea."

"There's gotta be rules," Virgina said, still sounding at least semi-serious. "And I make 'em, and I enforce 'em."

"I have a feeling this threesome ends with me being tied up and whipped by two girls," Robert said, shaking his head, "which means I'm in."

Now Meredith felt suddenly uncomfortable sitting on the couch with them, with Virginia's bare legs draped across her. All the times they'd slept in the same bed together, it never seemed sexual or weird, even though they'd joke about making out all the time. They'd never taken it any further, but with the subject of threesomes broached, it felt different now.

"I...umm...I should leave you guys to it," she stuttered. "Lot of planning required for threesomes. Lots of...ins and outs. Maybe some diagrams..."

"Like assembling furniture?" Robert asked in jest.

Virginia had a huge smile—all Meredith could think was what her mother would have called it, a "shit eating grin."

"Later, gator," Virginia said, as Meredith fled the scene.

As she left, Meredith held a furious debate in her head.

They won't really do it. No way. They might. No, Robert wouldn't. But, if they do...

Would they ask me?

***

"So...Rick? How was that?"

Why did you think I would like him?

"Fine," Meredith responded.

It had been three weeks since the party, exactly as long as it had taken to blot out the image of Rick losing his lunch all over Robert's bathroom floor. Scratch that—the memory was still there in the back of her mind during their disastrous date, which once again ended with Meredith's bedpost un-notched.

"That bad? Damn, I thought you might actually like one," Virginia said. "Too dumb?"

"He looked at me like I was the idiot when I didn't know who Wayne Wade was."

"Dwyane Wade, Meredith. He's a basketball guy—"

"I guess that's why I struck out on Wikipedia afterwards," she replied exasperatedly. "I was looking for Wayne."

"Well, maybe you're right. About him, I mean, not, like...anyway. I guess I'm saying, I wouldn't have been in to him. You know, Rick."

So my standards ought to be that much lower? Christ, Virginia.

"Forget about him. How're things with Robert?"

Virginia started to look around furtively. The girls were seated in a coffee shop on the Drag, at a table on the second floor surrounded by people studying or conducting meetings.

"We did it."

Meredith knew what she was talking about immediately. She was surprised at how much the news hurt.

"Really?" she said in a strained voice.

"Yep. Last night. It was fun."

"Fun?"

"Yeah. I mean, not mind-blowing, now I want to join the Mormons kind of fun, but still kind of epic in its own way."

"Mormons don't have threesomes," Meredith replied, still trying to mask how upset she was.

"Maybe they just don't tell everybody," Virginia replied. "Anyway, it's over, it was fun, and I feel pretty good about how everything turned out."

Meredith took a deep breath.

"Who was it?"

"I knew you'd ask," Virginia said a little smugly. "So first we were thinking Kylie..."

...because she'd fuck anything on two legs...

"...but then I figured that it'd be better if the girl wasn't, like, too much into guys. That way she wouldn't come between us, so we went with that chick Chelsie from the complex. She's kinda hot, but I wasn't intimidated either."

Chelsie? Like stringy hair, slutty outfits, pushing her stupid boobs together to make them look big even when they aren't that big, always making gross double entendres about cunnilingus Chelsie?

Meredith was stewing. For three weeks she'd heard Robert and Virginia tease each other about it: Robert cracking jokes about how he would need to get in shape to satisfy two women, Virginia pretending like she was going bring in a transsexual so they'd both be happy. She'd brushed it off as just a joke.

Only now, after thinking about it at least as much as they had, Meredith was downright pissed.

"Well...glad you had fun?"

"What's up your ass, Meredith?" Virginia said incredulously.

Meredith cringed. She was embarrassed to tell the truth.

"Sorry, nothing."

"Stop it," Virginia insisted. "You can pull that on everyone else but me."

Meredith knew she was right. Now she just needed to find a way to explain things to Virginia as vaguely and as non-committal as possible.

"Well, I just thought..."

Meredith had gone into full-blown fear and embarrassment paralysis. She knew Virginia got off on watching her blush, but she felt like her only way out was a trap door beneath her chair. Then again, it was the second floor, and she'd probably just end up crashing into the espresso machine, and her skirt would fly up, and everyone would see...

"Meredith Elizabeth Reynolds!" Virginia said with a huge grin. "You wanted in!"

"I did not!" Meredith protested.

"I'm just kidding," Virginia said giggling. "You're about the last person I would ever ask."

Meredith knew she should have kept nervously smiling. It wasn't often that she could lie to Virginia and get away with it. But when she heard what Virginia said, it stung. 

Of course she wouldn't ask me—I'm lame. I'm boring.

"Fuck," Virginia said in a whisper. "You're serious."

Meredith knew she was busted; her wounded face must have given her away.

"It's not what you think...I mean, I wouldn't have actually done it..."

Virginia looked at her skeptically. Meredith hoped her miraculous lie detecting powers would fail her again.

"Why then?"

Meredith felt like she was on trial.

"It's nice to be asked."

"This isn't like inviting you to lunch, Meri. It would be fucking weird to invite you to have sex with us as, like, a courtesy."

Meredith hated that she was blushing. She hated that Virginia was interrogating her, and that she was lying. She hated that the truth was, she'd thought a lot about their stupid threesome, some of them nighttime, under-the-covers-and-squirming-alone thoughts. 

"Be quiet!" Meredith pleaded. "You just said you wanted it to be someone you trusted. I just thought you trusted me."

Meredith felt her entire body growing warm. She knew she wasn't a lesbian, and she knew that she didn't want to steal Robert. But, for some reason, a threesome with her two favorite people, both of whom she also found super attractive, seemed like the safest, least nerve-wracking way for her to actually start living the crazy college experiences that it seemed all of her friends were having.

"I do," Virginia said, though for once Meredith detected something uncertain in her voice.

"What is it, Virginia?" she asked. "I mean, look, I get what you probably think about me."

"Really?" Virginia said, with a note of harshness in her voice. "And you're still surprised I didn't ask you."

Her words stung Meredith.

"Just because I don't seem sexy or, like, hot doesn't mean—"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Virginia said, too loud for where they were.

Meredith cringed with embarrassment, but Virginia was undaunted.

"That's what you think's going on?" Virginia continued. "You're not hot enough for me to let you fuck my boyfriend?"

Meredith felt the situation spiral out of control. She was confused and embarrassed, as Virginia's rage seemed to come out of the blue. The trap door scenario seemed even better, embarrassing fall be damned. 

"Virginia, please stop yelling," she begged in a whimpering voice.

"Fine," she said in a hissing whisper, "you can stop pissing yourself Meredith. But get this straight: I didn't invite you because I didn't want Robert to be yet another boyfriend who dumps me for you."

"I never—"

"You think that makes it better?" Virginia said, eyes glaring. "To watch guys dump me for just a shot at you? Everybody falls in love with you."

"I don't even know what you're—"

"Don't try it," Virginia spat, before catching herself. "Look, I'm sorry. I know you don't do it on purpose. But, shit—how fucking stupid would I be to bring you into our bedroom? Like, I would be just asking for Robert to pick you over me."

Meredith wanted to cry so badly at that moment, but she gathered herself, looking around to make sure no one was listening in on their conversation. She hated that this was happening here. Meredith wanted her chance to speak.

"Ever since we first got old enough to even think about boys, they've wanted you. You had fifty boyfriends. I've had none. You've had all the sex and parties and skinny-dipping and sneaking off with guys during Service Club projects and whatever. I've had none. You have a guy who's over-the-moon in love with you right now, and you don't even give a crap. Seriously, I would kill to have a guy like Robert. I ended up with Clay. And I'm not trying to steal your boyfriend. I just wanted once to be the person who got to have the crazy story, who got to drink the shot for making out with a girl or having a threesome. But this idea you have about me—nobody loves me, Virginia. Not my parents, not any guys, and I guess not you."

As she stormed off, Meredith was proud of herself for actually getting her whole speech off without getting choked up. She was shaking, with a supremely uncomfortable bus ride back home ahead of her. Virginia made no effort to catch up with her; Meredith couldn't bring herself to think about what this moment would mean for their friendship. As she walked across campus, it suddenly dawned on her that if things went way south, Meredith wouldn't be able to stay at the apartment. Though she felt deep down it would never go that far, in the moment that fear fed off all the other turmoil in her mind.

When she finally got home, Virginia had already beaten her there, probably thanks to a ride from Robert. Meredith noticed how messy the closet was—Virginia had taken some clothes.

She wouldn't see her again for three days.

***

I am a gross, gross person.

Meredith didn't usually do this sort of thing. Most of the time, when she masturbated, she did it in the shower, like a civilized person. But now, with Virginia gone, the strangest thing was happening to her: everyday since their fight, Meredith had found herself thinking about Virginia and Robert. Robert and Virginia. Naked. Together. With her.

Before the fight, before she knew they'd gone through with the threesome, Meredith hadn't actually fantasized about being with them. At least, not a lot. But now, with Virginia pissed at her, it was all she could think about. Even stranger was the role Virginia played in her mind.

Meredith rubbed the top of her clit with her right hand. The fantasy begins in the present moment:

Virginia catches her masturbating in her bed. She accuses Meredith of secretly being a dirty slut. Meredith denies it pitifully, but Virginia tells her that a girl who wasn't a slut would have stopped touching herself by now. Meredith hasn't stopped.

Virginia tells her to admit she wanted Robert's dick. She does. Pulling down her panties, Virginia orders Meredith to tell the truth: she wants to know what it's like to eat pussy. Meredith whispers 'no': she only wants to know what it's like to taste Virginia's pussy. 

Virginia tells her that her wish can be granted, if she apologizes. She does, but Virginia slaps her bare breast and tells her that she needs to be specific. 'Apologize for pretending to be a good girl when we all know you're a slut deep down,' Virginia barks, before replacing Meredith's fingers at her sex with her own. Virginia starts to pump her fingers in and out of Meredith, while Meredith licks her own pussy juice stained fingers clean.

In the corner, Robert has taken his cock out. It's absurdly big, almost threateningly so. 'Thought this was what you wanted,' Virginia says lasciviously. 'Don't you want my boyfriend's cock?' 'Not as much as I want you,' Meredith confesses. 'You're gonna get fucking pounded anyway, slut,' evil-but-hot imaginary Virginia says cruelly.

Meredith would have been perfectly happy to continue the fantasy scenario, to imagine all the nasty things Virginia and Robert would do to her, but seconds after imaginary Virginia placed imaginary Robert's cock at the entrance of her pussy, Meredith began to squeal into the pillow, coming hard on her own hand and the towel she'd placed below her. A wave of contradictory emotions followed the immediate crest of physical pleasure, and Meredith slumped into the pillow, exhausted on more than one level. 

She'd learned things about herself. Though she knew—thought, at least—that she wasn't a lesbian, she was still surprised to see how much latent attraction and sexual tension was submerged within her relationship with Virginia. The fight only brought it out, especially since it was a fight in which Meredith learned that, for the first time, Virginia really, truly thought of her as a genuine sexual competitor. Someone to look out for. Not a church girl, cute-but-not-sexy little mouse, but a girl who men wanted to fuck, maybe even more than they wanted to fuck Virginia.

Meredith had been appalled at first, but gradually she realized it was if anything more flattering than being everyone's favorite asexual little sister. She knew she was pretty—she'd just thought it was a kind of pretty that wasn't sexy. But Virginia thought she was sexy, even a little dangerous. For Meredith, that was a step up.

Now she just needed to work up the courage to go over there and say she was sorry, though she wasn't quite certain about what. The longer the 'fight' went on, the less Meredith could understand Virginia's perspective, actually. Virginia knew Meredith had no malicious intentions. Why was Virginia tripping out over a bunch of high school boyfriends? She had Robert. Wasn't that enough for her?

Meredith had an odd idea. Normally at this point she'd wash her hands, but the thought of possibly, if only in her fantasy life, of being with another girl, got her thinking. Tentatively, as if someone else were watching, she lifted her hand towards her face, as she'd done in her mind's eye. Still lying on the bed, she took first one finger, then another into her mouth, tasting her own juices. She hadn't known what to expect, but it wasn't bad. She could imagine doing this with Virginia and not freaking out. 

Now she just needs to talk to me again.

***

"Did you see this on an episode of Saved by the Bell?"

"Screech didn't have his own apartment," Robert said drily.

"Yes he did—he took over for Mr. Belding, and—"

"Virginia, stop distracting me."

"Why am I here?" Meredith asked.

And why is she pretending to be surprised. He invited each of us separately to his apartment. Of course he's trying to get us to kiss and make up.

"You're here because it takes me four days of acting stupid to say I'm sorry," Virginia said only semi-reluctantly.

Robert looked proud.

"And...?" he prodded.

"I blamed you for a lot of stuff that wasn't really your fault," Virginia continued, "and I guess I just let it build up over time."

"Well, we weren't always honest with each other," Meredith agreed, "or ourselves."

"Meri, I really do love you," Virginia said, embracing her.

Meredith felt good being back in Virginia's arms, though it felt different after the imaginary exploits of her fantasy life in the past few days.

"I'm just sorry for bringing it up," Meredith said. "It was stupid."

"What was this fight about?" Robert asked, shaking his head.

Meredith looked at him surprised.

"She didn't tell you?"

"Actually, that was on purpose," Virginia said, turning to look at Robert. "This is going to sound really weird, so please, please bear with me."

Meredith looked at the two of them: Robert, his deep, soulful eyes and quiet confidence; Virginia, so alluring, a fantasy come to life. Meredith felt a little heartache that she had never felt what they feel together every day.

"Probably no one has ever said this before but here goes: we were in the middle of a threesome when I realized I was in love with you."

Robert seemed utterly paralyzed, and for a moment Meredith couldn't tell if things were about to become a catastrophe.

"I love you too, Virginia Gaye," he said, quietly but firmly. "I always have."

Robert turned to look at Meredith for a brief moment, and she felt his confusion.

I know—why am I here for this?

"Do you know why?" Virginia continued. "I mean, why then?"

"Yes," he said with utter confidence. 

Meredith couldn't help herself.

"Really?" she blurted out.

Robbie laughed.

"You had to be there. Let's just say the threesome was mostly about two people spoiling Princess Virginia."

Now it was Virginia's turn to put on a devilish grin.

"You hear that Meredith?" she said. "That's how it works around here."

Robert stroked his chin demonstratively.

"We got in a fight because Meredith wanted Chelsie's spot," Virginia said.

"Oh," he replied, calmly at first, until it hit him. "Ohhhhh. I get it now."

"I didn't," Meredith said. "At least, not at first. Hence, you know, the fight."

"Virginia, you know that—" Robbie started.

"I know. I was being stupid," she said.

"You don't have—"

"I know," she repeated. "But it might be fun..."

Meredith watched as Virginia leaned in to kiss Robert. It was deep, passionate, and Meredith felt a pang of jealousy, before realizing that this wasn't the sort of kiss you share, even with a boyfriend, in front of other people.

Still locking lips with Robert, Virginia reached over to pull Meredith closer. Once she was in striking distance, Virginia broke her kiss with Robert, who was surprised to see Meredith just inches from his face.

"Wait, now?"

"No better time," Virginia replied, before wrapping her arm around Meredith's waist and pulling her in for the first truly romantic kiss they'd ever shared.

Meredith felt herself swoon; the only thing that she could compare it to other than stolen kisses from peach-fuzzed high school boys was Clay's sleazy seduction of her, and the knowledge of what happened after had tainted those memories. The immediate physical feeling was there, only greater: the racing heart, the pleasant tingling, that good kind of dizziness. Once her head cleared after the initial surge of shock and bliss, Meredith could feel Virginia's other hand come around to pull through her hair, holding the side of her head.

Her own arms hung limp, as if she was in too much shock to move them, until she felt Robert actually lift them up and place them around Virginia, whose hair he began to stroke. With her wits returned momentarily, Meredith moved them lower, to Virginia's ass, and gave it a squeeze, causing Robert to laugh and Virginia to make a girlish squeal.

"You're bad," she whispered breathily to Meredith.

"That's what everybody says," she replied. "Meri, the bad girl."




Longhorns Ch. 03



"Are you sure you want this still?" Virginia asked, looking serious for the moment.

"Only if...I don't want to lose you," Meredith replied.

"Only one way to find out," Virginia replied, before backing away slightly.

"Kiss her, Robbie," she said.

"I didn't do that before," Robert said, somewhat concerned. "Are you—"

"Kiss her or this really is going to become two girls attacking you with strap-ons."

Robert grabbed her higher than Virginia did, right beneath her shoulder blades. After making out with soft, curvy Virginia, it was an interesting change of pace to feel Robert's strong hands hold her in place as he bent his head down slightly to meet her lips. Though he was more tentative than Virginia had been, Meredith could still feel an electrical charge passing from him to her. 

In their own different ways, both Robert and Virginia seemed, to a novice like Meredith at least, powerful—dominant without being domineering, in command sexually. More than anything else, Meredith wanted to be told what to do. The scariest thing about sex for her was just knowing how to be good, to be sexy and to do it right. It seemed like everyone else had just woken up one morning knowing what they wanted sexually and being able to do it. Following instructions, giving control over to two people she trusted—and wanted, badly—seemed like a perfect dream.

When Robert finally broke their kiss, Virginia whispered in her ear: "Is this what you wanted?"

Meredith turned to face Virginia, eyes on fire. She hated questions, craved commands. 

"Tell me what to do," she pleaded. "Please."

In that moment, Meredith could see a flicker in Virginia, as she flared her nostrils slightly and smiled a crooked grin.

"I want to see you," she replied. "Take off your clothes."

Meredith wished she'd dressed sexier. Virginia, for instance, was wearing a scoop necked black top that showed off her assets alluringly, along with an iridescent lavender skirt that probably cost more than Meredith's last paycheck. Then again, Virginia had the good fortune to know that sexy times were on the way. Meredith was in a simple white T-shirt, commemorating some long forgotten charity 10k, and a pair of burnt orange nylon running shorts, the kind Robert had once joked were issued to cute girls at freshman orientation in Texas. 

I wish I'd worn that sexy underwear that I don't own.

She slowly pulled the shirt over her head, as if at any moment Virginia would announce this was all a hilarious prank. Once it was off, Meredith looked back at Virginia with searching eyes. Virginia gave her a 'keep going' nod, so she reached behind her back to unfasten her bra, a boring white one. When it dropped to the floor, Meredith followed Virginia's eyes to Robert. He had a big stupid grin on his face, and for a second Meredith was afraid he was laughing at her.

"I told you, right?" Virginia said.

Meredith suddenly remembered that this wasn't the first time Virginia has seen her naked. She felt like they were simultaneously lifelong friends and complete strangers in that moment.

"Those are some Disney Princess titties," Robert replied laughing, until he caught sight of Meredith's confused look. "Come here, sweetie."

Now he's talking like her.

Meredith complied, creeping to Robert self-consciously. Her tits were out. A man was looking at them, their pale, B-cup mounds, the strawberry red nipples that Meredith always thought stuck out too far and got excited too easily. Virginia was looking at them too, and though she wasn't actually licking her lips, she might as well have been.

Meredith watched passively as Robert cupped her small breasts in his hands. She didn't know what he meant by 'Disney princess titties'—it was surely a phrase from Virginia, who'd teased her a long time ago about being...well, Meredith wasn't quite sure.

"You look so beautiful right now," Robert assured her. "Don't listen to a couple of immature—"

"Hey, one of us has an excuse," Virginia interjected.

Meredith felt Virginia's hands from behind her, pulling down her shorts. She let her take control without complaint, though she felt self-conscious being undressed by two people still in their clothing.

"Goddamn!" Virginia said, impressed. "When'd you grow an ass?"

"Let me see," Robert said.

Meredith didn't move until she felt Virginia tug her panties down all at once. She stepped out of them and turned around, standing straight up with her ass facing Robert. Now she was totally naked and on display for her two closest friends. Virginia smiled at her, not the knowing smirk from before, but a softer, sweet smile.

"C'mon, girl, show it off," Virginia urged.

Meredith was finally starting to shake loose from the shock of the whole thing. She inched her feet farther apart and stuck her ass out proudly. For the first time, she smiled back at Virginia, as if to thank her.

"How did I get so lucky?" Robert asked an available higher power.

Virginia responded by kissing her and running her fingers through Meredith's silky, strawberry-blonde hair. This time Virginia's tongue was soft, languorous in her mouth, and it felt like heaven when Robert traced his nails lightly down her back. Even her hands finally came to life, as she reached for the hem of Virginia's skirt to pull it up.

"Sit down on the couch," Virginia purred, and Meredith happily obliged.

As Virginia stood before her, Meredith felt her heart race. Her best friend, the sexiest girl she could ever imagine, was sliding her skirt down seductively, until it pooled on the floor below. Out of the corner of her eye, Meredith could see Robert quickly lose his shirt as well. The way they both moved was so graceful, so purposeful to her—not at all like the awkward, fearful way she'd stripped for them.

For them. I want to be good for them. So they'll know it wasn't a mistake.

"Take them off," Virginia said, not harshly but almost as if she was daring Meredith to continue.

Meredith reached out to grasp the sides of Virginia's panties, pausing to reflect on how much sexier even Virginia's panties were than her own. They weren't what she'd expected—small, but with no visible waistband or seams, as if they were a second skin, only in an exquisite floral pattern. 

Then she saw it. Virginia had either recently shaved or—so hot—waxed down there. Her pussy was light pink, not so different, Meredith thought, from her own, except for being utterly hairless. Yet at the same time, it seemed, not only taboo, but also somehow utterly new to see a girl's beautiful, secret flower. She was about to lick Virginia's pussy. There was no question about it.

"Are you ready to—"

Meredith didn't wait for Virginia to finish; she wanted to show them both how eager she was after her initial trepidation, so she leaned forward and gently kissed Virginia, at first simply lips to (lower) lips. True to her more dominant bearing, Virginia held Meredith's head in place as she began intently to explore Virginia's womanhood with her lips and tongue. 

Robert came to sit beside her, and without so much as asking, guided her left hand to his hot, stiff cock. Meredith began to stroke it mindlessly; in truth, she was so intoxicated with the experience of drinking in the girl who'd been the center of her world for so long, that she had almost forgotten he was there.

She's not Princess Virginia...she's Queen Virginia.

Virginia placed one foot up on the couch, on the opposite side from Robert, to give Meredith better access to her intimate treasures. Meredith appreciated it. Virginia began to sigh heavily, encouraging Meredith. What came next inspired her even more.

"Yeah, lick me, slut," Virginia called out.

"Virginia!" Robert said, his voice wavering slightly thanks to Meredith's slow, steady jerking of his dick.

"She's asking for it," Virginia said, "right sweetie?"

"Uh huh," she said muffled, her face still between Virginia's legs.

"Is this what it's like to get a blowjob?" Virginia asked Robert. "To, like, look down at some hot slut on your cock and feel like you're the shit?"

"Like you don't already feel like the shit," he shot back. "I can't wait till we've got you pinned down and she's sitting on that pretty little face."

Holy crap! I'm going to get a turn.

"Hey babe," Virginia said, imitating what could only be some fratty guy's voice. "Choke on my dick. Suck it."

Meredith jumped when she felt Virginia pulling away. In reality, she wasn't pulling away—she was being pulled away. Robert moved surprisingly gracefully, to practically throw Virginia, naked from the waist down but still covering her gorgeous tits in the faux modesty of her shirt, over his knee. Meredith moved her hand quickly from his cock when she felt Virginia going down, and gasped audibly when she saw Robert's hand strike Virginia's round, perfect ass in a loud swat.

"You're not allowed to be such a brat," he said, turning to Meredith. "Give her a good whack."

Meredith knew Virginia would expect her to be tentative and weak. Even with the tables turned and Virginia submissively bent over her boyfriend's knee, one ass cheek momentarily bright red, Meredith had a strong desire to prove herself. She drew back and let Virginia have it.

"Damn, Meredith, you're worse than he is," Virginia whined, while Robert simply beamed.

"I'm sorry," Meredith said instantly in response.

Robert reached down with both hands to spread Virginia's cheeks apart, and Virginia obliged by popping up ever so slightly on her knees.

"Make it up to her?" Robert said, and Meredith didn't hesitate to resume worshiping Virginia.

Only, caught up in the moment, she had misunderstood what was wanted from her.

"Ohmigod! She licked my asshole!"

Meredith felt a sudden panic. She looked at Robert in fear, but his smile put her at ease.

"Do it again," he said simply.

"Yeah, don't stop," Virginia concurred. "That was hot as hell."

Meredith ran her tongue across Virginia's sex, from her clit all the way back to her asshole. Now Virginia's squeaky little moans were getting louder and more frequent. It was easier now, with Robert's big hands to open Virginia up for her, to expose her sensitive, juicy insides. As she continued to pleasure Virginia, more and more natural lubricants began to flow into her mouth, until she found herself forced to drool them down her chin.

Meredith was lost in that moment—unmoored from all the parts of her life that had made her shy, afraid, reticent. When Virginia told Robert—she continued to talk to him and not to her—that she was about to come, Meredith felt a surge of accomplishment. Her first time with a girl, and she was going to satisfy her. Moreover, Meredith felt relieved that being with a girl wasn't strange or uncomfortable, but actually intoxicating. 

Maybe it's just this girl. Maybe I'm in love with her.

Virginia started to thrash a little, and then she couldn't talk anymore. Meredith could feel as the muscles in her legs contracted. She heard Robert whispering filthy things in Virginia's ear, telling her she was a good girl for coming in her hot friend's mouth. 

It's good he's here. She'd eat me alive if it was just the two of us.

When Virginia stopped squealing and shaking, Meredith hopped up on to her knees and looked at Robert, dazed. He kissed her, eager as it seemed to share in the taste of his girlfriend. Virginia simply lay there, like a quivering puddle, spent for the moment from Meredith oral devotion.

"You killed my girlfriend."

Virginia moaned.

"Well, I am in heaven right now..."

"Did I do it right?" Meredith asked, still not quite confident in her prowess.

"Yes!" they both answered in unison.

"Anyone else want a drink before the inevitable double blowjob?" Robert asked.

"Pineapple juice," Virginia said, rolling over onto her back to look up at both Robert and Meredith. "For you especially—I want your cum to taste sweet for her."

Meredith's eyes went wide, and Virginia smiled, clearly having recovered from her intense climax. Suddenly she felt a familiar feeling and recalled that it was precisely this position, with Virginia laying across the two of them, head in Robert's lap, that the subject of a ménage a trois first arose.

"Well, get up first, lazy," he said teasingly, "and show Meredith your fucking tits, too."

As Robert lumbered off into the kitchen, Virginia sat back up.

"Was that weird for you?"

"No," Meredith replied. "You?"

"I loved it,' she said, craning her neck to see if Robert was close enough to hear. "Before he comes back, just tell me quick how far you want to take this."

Meredith didn't know what to say.

"I trust you," she responded after a pause. "I just...look, I only want to do what you tell me to do. That way I'll know it's OK."

"You think I'm, like, some crazy slut," Virginia said, "but it's him. I didn't know what I wanted until he showed—"

"Ladies, a round of pineapple juice?"

"You weren't kidding?" Meredith asked.

"You'll see—he's been drinking it all day," Virginia said cryptically.

Virginia took a hearty sip, and Meredith followed her lead. They needed to stay good and hydrated, after all.

"I've never done it before," Meredith said.

"It's not hard to do," Virginia replied, "but it's hard to do it really good. It takes practice."

"Can I volunteer to be the practice dummy?" Robert said, only half-joking.

"Well you are a dummy..."

"Virginia, if—"

"On your knees slut," Virginia said, winking, "there's a dick that needs sucking."

Meredith got down off the couch.

"I thought I told you to set those things free," Robert reminded her.

Virginia sat down on the couch next to Meredith and finally relented, peeling off her shirt before snapping the release on her exquisite matching bra. Meredith was on her knees at their feet, staring in awe at Virginia's heavenly body and Robert's raging hard-on. For the first time, she realized just how much that this was what she wanted. It all seemed silly now: Virginia imagining that she could ever steal her man away. She was meant to be right where she was, with them. 

She wasn't sure if she could have done this with just one of them, even if the other was totally on board; in fact, she knew that this wasn't just about the stupid drinking game, about having some crazy college experience. She'd told them that, told herself that, but now, in the few seconds before her mouth was about to pleasure the second member of the couple, she felt incredibly lucky. She'd watched them fall in love, but instead of being left behind, at least in this moment she was a grateful servant to them both.

Meredith leaned forward to kiss the head of Robert's cock, just as she had done before with Virginia. Then, feeling their eyes on her, she stuck out her little pink tongue and began to bathe Robert's cock with it. It felt warm to the touch as she held it by the root, half her hand obscured in the dark thicket of Robert's pubic hair. Peeking upwards, she saw Robert's mouth latched to one of Virginia's luscious tits.

When she finally took the head into her mouth, Meredith felt something unfamiliar: control. She felt Robert shudder a little as she sucked her cheeks together around the fat head of his cock. She controlled the pace, she controlled the depth she took him in, but most of all, she was in control of his pleasure. Even as she felt small and submissive and maybe, for the first time, like what she imagined it felt like to be a woman in front of a man instead of a girl among boys, she also felt powerful, capable of giving pleasure and therefore worthy of receiving it just as much.

With her mouth doing the work, she allowed her hand to wander southward, and soon she was stimulating herself at the same time. She had gotten so worked up pleasuring Virginia, that she felt like she could come at any moment. For some reason, however, she felt a strong urge not to do so on her own. After all, wouldn't it be so much nicer for once to have someone else get her off?

It was also nice that Robert wasn't too forceful for her first time—he held her long hair back away from her face and occasionally stroked her earlobe and neck as she blew him, something that felt sweet and caring. Meredith knew that, as much as she'd wanted to dive into something a little wild for her, a lot of the aggressive stuff that someone like, oh say, Kylie was into would be too much for her. Robert had a nice balance of sweet and demanding.

"I think you're going too easy on her," Virginia cooed. "How's she going to learn to deepthroat like—"

"Stop terrorizing her," Robert replied. "Meredith, honey, you're doing a great job."

Meredith said "thank you" with Robert's cock still in her mouth, something she thought, rightly, he might enjoy.

"Here let me do that," Virginia said, climbing down to Meredith's level on the floor.

Meredith took the thick cock from her mouth to hand to Virginia.

"No, not that—you need the practice," Virginia responded, before replacing Meredith's fingers on her clit with her own. "That's what I'm talking about."

Virginia began to rub Meredith's clit in concentric circles, slowly inching her way behind her. Meredith could feel Virginia's tits pressed against her back, her arms encircling her narrow waist to tease and stimulate her now dripping wet sex. Subtly, she felt Virginia lean forward as well, urging however gently onwards to take more and more of Robert's manhood into her wet, inviting mouth.

Virginia's words were spurring her on. Breathing as much as she could through her nose, Meredith tried to take more of Robert's cock in with each stroke. Though she'd never sucked a dick before, it wasn't like she hadn't seen it done, at least on the internet. She knew the rules: no teeth, breathe when you get the chance, spit is your friend, etc. Actually doing it, though, was a different matter: she could feel herself gag a little every time Robert's cock hit the back of her throat, and the last thing she wanted to do was throw up all over his couch.

Somehow, though, the hypnotic pleasure Virginia was causing in her pussy made the mild discomfort of gagging seem less important. While she was still unable to actually take Robert into her throat, Meredith did manage to work up a better rhythm, bobbing her head up and down Robert's pole with greater ease. For a moment, she felt the slight oxygen deprivation, combined with Virginia's magical fingers, make her go lightheaded, until, with sudden force, she came hard, squealing mutely around the thick shaft stretching her lips.

This is what being a dirty slut feels like...it feels good.

Watching his girlfriend get her off must have been enough visual stimulation for Robert, as he erupted into Meredith's mouth. This she wasn't prepared for, and much of his sperm ran out of her mouth and onto his legs until she instinctively sealed her lips around the head of his still spurting cock and milked him of every last drop of his cum. Virginia had told her to be a good girl and to swallow it—or at least implied it with the pineapple juice, and Meredith didn't want to disappoint. It really didn't taste bad, but the sooner it was down the hatch, the better.

"Did you swallow?" Virginia said with genuine appreciation. "That's hot."

"Give her a kiss," Robert urged, and both girls were happy to oblige.

It felt good to know Virginia was OK with her sucking off her boyfriend; words weren't as powerful and as certain as the feeling she had swapping the remains of Robert's seed back and forth across each other's tongues.

"Did I—"

"Yes!" Robert and Virginia once again called out in unison, anticipating Meredith's eagerness to please and anxiety over her performance.

Robert grabbed his boxers and wiped the cum off his leg with them, as Virginia again took a seat beside him.




Longhorns Ch. 03



"So romantic," Virginia teased.

"I'm sorry did you want to clean that up for me?"

Virginia patted the small space between her and Robert on the couch. When Meredith took a seat, she felt surrounded, but in a good way. Both Robert and Virginia idly traced their fingers across her skin, at times meeting to tickle each other softly before breaking apart to explore her body further. Meredith let it all wash over her, basking in the attention that came with being their mutual plaything.

"The way she got going at the end there..." Virginia began.

"I know," Robert replied, "you're a hellcat, sweetie."

Meredith was glad they weren't simply talking about her as if she wasn't there like before.

"Blame Virginia," she replied demurely. "She really got me going."

"You're not out for the night, are you?" Virginia asked Robert.

He looked at her earnestly, and Meredith could see the love in his eyes for Virginia. Then he turned to look at her, and though the expression changed, it didn't completely vanish. Meredith knew he cared about her; he'd never made a secret of it. This look, though, was appreciative of something else, possessive even.

"What's the rush?" he said casually. "None of us are going anywhere."

I didn't even think about when they'd kick me out tonight.

"So you want a sleepover?" Virginia asked playfully.

"I just want to spend some time with my girlfriend and her girlfriend," he replied.

"You don't feel left out?" Meredith asked, hoping Robert hadn't meant anything bad.

He pulled her in for a deep kiss, reassuring her while stoking the fires more for a second round later.

"See, I've got this great big bed, and the two most gorgeous women on the planet..."

"And a dick that's yet to get any actual pussy tonight," Virginia added, "when two girls want their turn."

"Virginia, is that OK—"

"I wouldn't have started this if I wasn't ready to finish it," Virginia said, one hand on Meredith slender, milky-white thigh. "I just realized I didn't have to be afraid of what I wanted anymore, 'cause I already have it."

Robert scooped Meredith up by surprise—she was shocked he was as strong as he was. He didn't let on any difficulty carrying her, with Virginia trailing behind them, into the bedroom, where he sprawled her out in the middle of the queen sized bed he shared most nights with Virginia. The three of them made for a tight but quite comfortable squeeze.

Sandwiched between Virginia on one side and Robert on the other, Meredith felt like she was in paradise. With everyone having already climaxed once, they were unhurried, content to simply enjoy the feeling of each other's bodies, and with her spot in the middle, Meredith was the center of attention. 

Virginia leaned over to whisper in her ear: "I want you to kiss me when he fucks you."

The thought made Meredith shiver in anticipation. Moments later, Robert pulled her head in close and whispered something as well.

"I know you're in love with her," he said with gentle, accepting tones. "I knew it before you did."

They locked eyes, and Meredith in that moment saw, beyond lust and even love, a kind of sadness in him, like he knew something no one else knew that was weighing him down.

It was that moment when she asked herself if it's possible to love two people at the same time.