Sophie's Gems-3; Amber, pt1

by Karen Cypher

This chapter is broken in two parts to give better detail and more background of Sophie, her friends, and her lovers. It also continues to detail Sophie's life and adventures. As always, the characters are fictional and the events that take place are pure fantasy�but a delicious fantasy!

Sophie Tipton awoke; her body covered in a light sheen of sweat. She lay still for a while, just listening to the sound of the house. There was an empty quietness to it�an emptiness beside her where Jade had been. Sophie didn't need to get up and explore her house to know that Jade had left and she was alone. Her mind was still fuzzy with lethargy and that fucked-up-non-sleep that alcohol gives you, but she was sober now.

Stretching mightily, she realized those margaritas must have hit her harder than she thought; she had slept a long time. She opened the curtains out of her bedroom to the back patio and could see the late evening sun had settled over the sky; backlighting the storm clouds building in the distance. She took a deep breath of the calm air and walked to the bathroom to pee, wishing that Jade was still there with her.

Sophie wasn't hungry, even after the sleep, but thinking about and feeling the heat of the late afternoon had made her thirsty. She really wanted her air conditioner fixed! She padded naked to the kitchen, shoving her tool belt out of the middle of the hallway with a toe. Ice water in hand, Sophie looked around the house that was getting darker as the evening shadows began to seep into its mass. She shivered suddenly and felt a surge of longing for company; the last time she had woken to find her lover gone, it was Crystal.

She knew Jade was out there somewhere, probably at home, maybe thinking of Sophie the same way as Sophie herself was thinking of Jade. Sophie half hesitated, looking at the phone, wondering if Jade would be very angry is she called.

"Christ, woman," Sophie chided herself. "You're not some addle-brained school girl�just call the woman!"

The phone was answered on the third ring.

"Hi Jade," Sophie began. "It's Sophie. I hope this isn't a bad time?"

"Hi Miss Tipton!" a small voice answered. "It's Amber."

"Uh, hello Amber" Sophie replied. "Is your Mom there? Could I talk to her for a minute?"

"No�well yes, Mom is here, but she is lying down right now." Amber spoke quietly. "She said she was real tired after helping you in your house today and wanted to take a nap. What did you two do together?" she asked suspiciously.

Sophie actually blushed at the remembered 'help' Jade had given her. "Okay Amber. Just tell her I called and that I won't be working on the house until the air conditioner is fixed." Sophie told the young girl. "In fact, I'm taking tomorrow off and just lazing by the pool. Tell her she is invited."

"Ohoo," Amber squealed. "Can I come? Please?"

Sophie laughed at the girl's excitement. "Sure thing, Amber, just come over with your Mom�tell your sister she is invited too; we'll make a day of it."

"Mom has to work tomorrow and Pearle doesn't swim so good, but can I still come over? Please, Miss Tipton? Can I?" Amber asked again, a tinge of expected disappointment in her voice.

It took Sophie about a second to make up her mind. "If your Mom says okay, then how could I disagree?" Sophie said. "It will be a pleasure to spend some time with you." Sophie told the girl truthfully. She felt a little bad that the younger daughter, Pearle, would not be included, but Sophie didn't have any pool toys or floats for a non-swimmer, and if Jade was not going to be there�no, it was probably best.

Sophie heard a muted squeal over the line, followed by many professed 'Oh thanks! Oh, thank you!' before hanging up. She felt in better spirits already.

The doorbell rang about Nine O'clock the next morning and Sophie was startled rudely awake. She had finally fallen asleep on the couch in an attempt to escape the heat of her bedroom. She had a vague impression that she had been dreaming. She thought it was odd that her mind only remembered the strange or disturbing dreams, never the good ones. She was confused by the sound of a voice calling her name. With a grand total of four hours of sleep, every bit of it in fits and snatches, Sophie was glad she wasn't working on her house today; she simply wasn't capable. The lack of sleep left her weak; her body torpid, and her mind sluggish. She felt worse than she had in a long time.

"Miss Tipton! Oh, Miss Tipton, are you there? May I come in?" a voice was calling in a sing-song from the other side of her front door.

She struggled to her feet and opened the door to find Amber standing at the stoop.

Amber was a beautiful girl, blossoming into womanhood. She had shorts and a T-shirt on, the one-piece bathing suit underneath clearly visible on her slender frame. Amber stood woodenly, mannequin-like with arms akimbo. Sophie's thoughts were still trying to catch up as she finally gave up on remembering her dream.

"Hi Miss Tipton," Amber said brightly. "Can I still go swimming?"

Sophie stared at the girl appraisingly. In the three weeks or so that Sophie had been here, she had seen Amber when visiting with Jade, but never spent much time with the girl. "Girl!" Sophie mentally berated herself. Amber was enough of a woman at 12 to be utterly captivating; her brown hair pulled back in a short ponytail. Some of the tied-back hair escaped to form dark strands down the side of her face; framing an exuberant smile that only comes from youth. Her brown eyes were so liquid and pure�with a hint of something underneath.

Sophie wondered idly if she was hallucinating, so focused was she on Amber's appearance.

Sophie continued to stand in the doorway and look down at Amber, not saying a word, but pinning the young woman in place with her gaze.

Amber's smile was fading fast and she got a worried expression on her face, wondering why Sophie was staring at her so strangely. "Miss Tipton?" she said in a very small voice.

Sophie realized what she was doing and belatedly remembered that she had invited the young girl over. She stood aside and beckoned Amber in. "Sure, Amber. Swimming�" she paused to let-go a huge yawn. "Come on in! Let me get ready and I'll be right with you."

It didn't take long for Sophie to pee and change. Her bikini was in a box somewhere in her closet, so she rummaged briefly in her drawers for something to wear; a pair of running shorts and a Hard Rock Caf� T-shirt would do the trick nicely. She paused and looked at herself in the mirror; the white T-shirt heightening the fact that she wasn't wearing a bra. She thought about putting on a bra, but if she was going to do that, she might as well go through her things to find her swimsuit. Sophie didn't have the energy for that, and decided to just be comfortable.

She met Amber in the kitchen and smiled to her. It was too early for lunch and too late for breakfast, so she began preparing a small tray of fruit. The two chatted away pleasantly as they ate. Sophie told Amber some stories of being a teacher and counselor, what the school had been like, and finally showed her some of the things she was renovating in the house. Amber wanted to talk a little more, but she felt embarrassed because she didn't have any grown-up things to talk about that Sophie would be interested in, so she talked instead of her summer vacation and going back to school in a few weeks. After the light snack, Sophie led Amber to the pool deck; letting the younger girl explore to her heart's content.

Sophie hadn't gone swimming since she moved in, but she had a pool service come by and clean everything up for her. The pool wasn't large, but it wasn't small either; just an in-ground circular pool some 20 feet in diameter. She called it her 'Hamster-Wheel pool', as one would have to swim in circles instead of laps. The deck area was fairly large, and the two of them set their towels down on loungers. It wasn't oppressively hot yet to be out in the sun, but Sophie pulled the loungers and table in the shadow cast by the trees lining one side of the pool and got comfortable.

Sophie was tired; more so than she would have admitted, but she was tired. Her lack of sleep was catching up to her and her mind was drifting from one thought to another, having nothing to focus on; no projects to complete. She sank gratefully into the lounge chair as she watched Amber streak into the water, dipping her arms rhythmically as she swam quietly along. Amber's tanned corded arms, bare and sinewy, rippled with hypnotic muscled movement as she pulled easy strokes.

The warmth of the sun hit Sophie like a flood; she felt better and relaxed already. She didn't need to worry; no chores, no lists, and no tasks to perform�she felt wonderful, strange and wonderful. Warmth poured through her veins, lighting up her body, dimming her mind, pushing the things of the past week way back into a gloomy corner, covering up the hurts and loneliness's before Jade came along like so much dust shoved under a rug.

It got darker and darker up there in her mind while her body glowed all over with a drowsy heat. Finally it got so dark she didn't even notice her eyelids closing for the final time. She sprawled on the lounger and felt her whole body smile as peace and contentment blew through her like an Indian summer breeze�all golden.

Amber swam back and forth, around in circles, dove to the bottom twice, and eventually levered herself out of the pool and sat on the edge with her legs dangling in the blue water.

"Aren't you coming in?" Amber asked, not really looking at Sophie. "Miss Tipton? Miss Tipton?" She slid back into the water, swimming lazily over to the edge by Sophie. She could see now that Sophie was asleep in the chair.

Stealthily, Amber pulled herself out of the water and moved along the deck, stepping down softly so as not to make noise and wake Sophie. For weeks now, she had noticed Mom and Sophie becoming friends, and it cheered her that her mother, who didn't seem to have many friends, found such companionship with Sophie.

Amber wasn't exactly jealous, but she was�envious�of the amount of time her mom spent with Sophie. Ever since her father had left, her Mom and sister Pearle were the only people in her life, and the three had become dependent on each other. Amber wanted to get her mother's attention back on her. She likened it to how she treated her stuff before and after her birthday; the new presents were interesting, especially her bike, and even though she still played with some of her older stuff, it just didn't have the same appeal to her, except for her favorites. Maybe that is how her Mom was; Sophie was just shiny and new in her life.

Although Amber saw a lot of Sophie, in many ways, the woman was still a stranger to her. She was nice enough and all; always smiled at her and Pearle and told great stories of when she was a teacher, but Amber found she was a little intimidated by her. And then there was yesterday!

Amber had been bored just sitting around home yesterday, something she seemed to do a lot of since her Mom always visited with Sophie. She knew her mother was over at Sophie's house, so she kinda-sorta invited herself over without calling. When there was no answer at the front door, Amber more or less let herself in the gate to walk around back to see if they were sitting out back or something. She didn't mean to spy�at least that is what she told herself, and she felt shocked to find the two women�doing what they were doing.

Amber had secrets that she knew about people, but she had no idea what to make of this one. At first, she thought her Mom and Sophie were fighting, with all the yelling going on. That's why she crept up to the window; to see what was happening. Then as the wind pushed the curtain away from the open window, she caught glimpses of them both on Sophie's bed; her mother astride Sophie and Sophie screaming her lungs out�and they were both naked!

Still, she was pretty good at keeping secrets�all kinds, even. She had seen her mother naked lots of times and had even walked into her Mom's bedroom when she had been touching herself. Her Mom didn't get mad or anything, but she asked Amber to leave. Amber did, but she left the door open and sat down in the hallway out of sight so she could still listen to her Mom.

Yesterday, her Mom sounded just like she did on that day Amber had walked in on her.

Amber certainly felt a little more grown-up since turning 12. She had her ears pierced on her 11th birthday and thought she was grown-up then, but turning 12 was pretty cool too. She and her Mom seemed a lot closer, and her Mom let her watch Pearle by herself when she had to go out�a huge responsibility, her mother had told her. Her Mom's praise about her being grown-up was very special to her!

Amber thought about her Mom and Sophie again. Amber had been touching herself since before her birthday, and even before school let out, so she knew what masturbation was. It had felt good, on the times she had done it�but she had never done anything to make herself scream like Sophie had. And the times she did touch herself, it was always when she was alone. Well, mostly anyway.

There was one time, when she and her friend Ruby had played truth or dare on a sleepover. Ruby had dared her to touch herself. Amber hadn't turned down a dare yet, so she boldly touched herself through her nightshirt as Ruby watched. Amber was having fun, but she wasn't really excited; it was just a dare, after all. That was true right up until Ruby started too, and they soon found themselves daring each other farther and farther until they were both naked�just like Sophie and her Mom had been yesterday.

It was one thing to touch herself in front of a friend, it was quite another to touch that friend in the same way! But that's exactly what her mom had done to Sophie! Amber was a little intrigued by the idea of knowing exactly what her Mom had been doing; but that's not ever something she could ask her Mom about.

She stepped closer to the sleeping form in the lounge chair. She leaned over her, careful not to let the drops of water clinging to her body fall on the woman. Amber thought Sophie was pretty, not as pretty as her Mom, but pretty.

She kneeled down and looked Sophie over as she slept, her gaze focusing on where her Mom's hand had been; the juncture of Sophie's legs. Sophie had fallen asleep leaning back, but she had one leg bent at an angle with her foot flat on the cushion of the chair while the other one lay straight.

Amber gently, so very softly, touched her fingertips to Sophie's bent knee. Her eyes traveled down Sophie's thigh to her crotch, then up her tummy to rest on the prominent swell of her breasts under the T-shirt. She wondered what it would be like to have boobs. Amber's own were nothing more than a slight swelling of her chest; mostly just puffy nipples if she was honest with herself. She couldn't wait to have boobs and curves. She was certainly pretty; the more Amber looked, the more she had to admit that Sophie was just as pretty as her Mom.

She let her fingers trail down Sophie's calf to her ankle, then moved her hand to rest it on Sophie's other leg right above the knee. Amber couldn't get the image of Sophie and her Mom out of her head. For reasons that she couldn't explain, she knew if she could do it all over again, she would watch even more closely. She looked at Sophie's boobs again; watched the rise and fall of her chest.

"Miss Tipton?" Amber said quietly, with a squeeze of her hand to Sophie's leg. "Miss Tipton?" she said again, this time with a little shake.

Sophie was having another of her delicious dreams again. A small corner of her mind hoped that this dream would stick around as a memory and not evaporate into insubstantial mist like all the others. She felt hands on her body, delicate kisses on her knee, and an electric tingle as fingers caressed her leg and belly. She felt goose flesh appearing instantly with the thought that there might be more than one person. She wanted the hands to touch her, to lead her, to open her up and take her.

Amber froze as Sophie groaned aloud and moved the leg her hand was on; both legs now bent at an angle with her feet flat on the lounger. Sophie's butt was moving in little circles on the chair, pulling the material of her shorts tight against her crotch. Amber quickly brought her hands to her sides and sat up a little straighter, worried that Sophie was angry for being woken; that Sophie somehow knew she had been looking.

The hands stopped moving, but Sophie knew they were still there, still close. Sophie wanted the touch again, wanted the caresses to continue to tease her. She was surprised by the immediate intensity and stirring of her desire. It was like�well, it was like nothing she could put her mind to, but it was primal with need and want. Still the hands did not return. Sophie was almost in tears until she thought that maybe the hands were waiting for her to show them what to do.

Amber's mouth opened in amazement as Sophie brought both hands down to her crotch and squeezed. And audible gasp escaped Sophie's slightly parted lips as she leaned her head back and raised herself up a little into the touch. Amber couldn't believe it! What was Sophie doing? Amber thought for sure the woman could hear her thundering heart as Sophie's hands reluctantly let go of her sex and traveled slowly up her stomach, the fingers spreading out as she reached under her shirt.

Amber knew her eyes were wide as Sophie massaged each of her boobs; the shirt riding up and giving her a clear view of what the she was doing. One of Sophie's hands darted back to the waistband of her shorts to slowly slide underneath as the other played with her boobs; pinching the nipple and running back and forth between each one so as not get the other jealous of the attention. She felt excited and worried at the same time, with the worry slowly gaining speed.

When Amber stood slowly and retreated back to the pool, Sophie started to whimper; scaring Amber and making her wonder if Sophie had really been asleep after all. Did Sophie know Amber had been staring? What must Sophie think? She all but threw herself into the pool with a loud splash, breaking the surface and sending a geyser of water five feet into the air.

Sophie came awake with the sound of the splash. It took her a second to realize that her dream was just that�a dream; but she felt so god damn excited! She caressed her nipples one more time; she was almost trembling with the need to have the hands of her dream come back.

And then she came fully awake and realized where she was. Holy shit! She jerked her hand out from under her shirt like her breasts were suddenly radioactive, trying desperately to rearrange her top in the process. The hand she had been using to play with her pussy was just as fast, but the waistband of the shorts had rolled down and was stubborn in its refusal to cover her no matter how hard she tried. Had she really been playing with herself in front of Amber? Had the girl seen? Shit!!

Amber, Sophie saw, was treading water in the pool and looking directly at her. Sophie was mortally embarrassed. She felt the blood rushing to her face and was a little dizzy with the effort of sitting up so fast. Christ, how could she explain herself?

"Amber, I�" Sophie started. "�I'm sorry, Honey!" she finished, sounding lame to her own ears. "I don't know what came over me."

Amber swam back to the side of the pool, resting her chin on her folded arms. "It kinda surprised me Miss Tipton�I was a little scared too, but I realized that you were asleep." Amber couldn't bring herself to let Sophie know that she had seen Sophie do something like this yesterday with her Mom�so it's not like she didn't know. She was good at keeping secrets, after all.

"I'm so sorry, baby." Sophie said. She wondered how she was going to explain this to Amber's mother; "Hi Jade. What did I do today? Well, I fell asleep and then masturbated in front of your 12 year old daughter this morning�how was your day?" As Sophie's passion cooled somewhat, she realized Amber was staring at her still.

"What?" Sophie said.

"I tried to wake you�before�" Amber started to say, and then changed her mind. "I was just wondering if you were going to swim or not." Amber said. "I mean, you don't have to or anything�"

"Sure!" Sophie said, grasping at anything to make the girl feel at ease. "It must be boring to come over for a swim and then I go and fall asleep on you�" Sophie trailed off, realizing that Amber was probably running through her mind again just exactly what Sophie did when she fell asleep.

Amber looked away shyly. Shit.

Sophie rose on unsteady legs; the dream had been extremely intense and her desire had risen to match it. She recovered quickly, and then unceremoniously jumped into the pool right over Ambers head. The water was cool and refreshing and Sophie suddenly wished she had a drink. She splashed around a little, but moved to the side when Amber started treading water again in the middle of the pool. Sophie swam to the ladder and stepped out of the pool to sit on the side, legs dangling in the water much as Amber's had before.

She looked over at Amber and found the girl's eyes riveted to her chest. Sophie looked down and almost groaned aloud. She seemed destined to screw up this whole day! She had compounded her masturbation folly with a dip in the pool�the only thing covering her breasts being the T-shirt she had on. She might as well have been naked, the way the shirt molded itself to her skin�there was little left to the imagination! Christ, her nipples were as hard as ever and prominently displayed through the thin material, perfectly framing the logo on the shirt.

With a self-depreciating shrug, Sophie slid back into the pool. "Sorry, Amber."

Amber laughed. "Don't worry, Miss Tipton�I don't mind and it's not like there are any boys around." She felt much more relaxed now, and relieved that Sophie didn't immediately tell her to go home after what had happened. And�she really didn't mind; Sophie's boobs were big and little could be done to hide the fact. Amber realized she didn't feel uncomfortable or intimidated at all anymore around Sophie.

"Amber, I think you can call me Sophie now" Sophie laughed. "You probably know more about me than anyone else except your Mom!"

"Okay," Amber said, smiling brightly as the image of her Mom and Sophie flared again. Sophie had somehow given her a great gift by including her with her Mom.

"Did you want something to drink?" Sophie asked. "I have some ginger ale, juice or water�"

"Sure, soda would be nice." Amber replied.

Sophie once more climbed the ladder out of the pool. She made a half-hearted attempt to pull away the wet fabric of her T-shirt from her tits, but that only seemed to emphasize the problem rather than solve it. She made a bee-line for her towel, hastily throwing it on to give herself a modicum of cover.

"Back in a sec," Sophie said over her shoulder; opening the patio door and walking wetly to the kitchen. She was not surprised to see her hands visibly shaking as she set two glasses down on the counter; cracking ice from a tray to drop into each one. It was taking her body much longer to release the built-up excitement of her dream�and her own touch�and how badly she wanted to come right now. She brushed a hand across her chest, her nipples tingling with arousal still. All she had to do was go into the bedroom�or just strip right here�it wouldn't take long. Her fingers unconsciously ran along the waistband of her shorts before she knew what she was doing.

"Stop it!" Sophie told herself firmly. "Stop it, stop it, stop it!" Sophie repeated before opening the fridge and resting her forehead on the edge; taking several deep breaths. What the fuck was wrong with her? What was she thinking? This was Jade's little girl�like there was a difference between that and the thoughts and images she had conjured in her fantasies of the girls in school? But that was just it; those were fantasies, and this was beginning to be all too real. Good Christ! She had been playing with herself with Amber right there�practically showed her tits to the girl with the stupid T-shirt she was wearing. There was a huge difference between arousal and perversion, and Sophie didn't know when the two started coming so close together.

Sophie poured Amber's drink first and started to pour her own, but paused; reaching on top of the fridge for a bottle of whiskey. She slopped a hefty measure into her own glass before topping it off with ginger ale. Sophie took a swallow. "You stupid cow, drinking right now is not going to make you think clearly." She glanced out the window to see Amber climbing onto the other lounger; her fanny up in the air as she arranged her towel, long skinny legs twisting this way and that as she positioned herself before laying back. She really was a beautiful young woman, and she handled a very fucked-up, very scary situation with an aplomb that belied her young years. Still�

Sophie smiled, tossed the towel over her shoulder and grabbed a glass in each hand.

Amber watched Sophie go into the house, smiling at Sophie's reaction. She knew Sophie was uncomfortable with what she had done, and for having her boobs so much on display after getting the T-shirt wet, but that had turned it into a game for Amber. More importantly, it was a grown-up game, and Amber thought the world of Sophie now for having included her in it! If Sophie thought she was grown-up, maybe she'd answer some questions�talk about things to Amber that Amber was too embarrassed to ask her Mom?

Amber was positively giddy with anticipation as Sophie stepped out of the house, drinks in hand.

"Be careful, honey," Sophie cautioned. "This is glass, and I'd hate to be cleaning up broken glass if it dropped."

"Okay, Sophie" Amber replied, taking the proffered drink and again thinking how cool it was to be calling Sophie by her first name.

"Are you done swimming or just taking a break?" Sophie asked the girl, taking a sip of her overly-strong drink before setting it down.

"I'm just taking a break." Amber said absently. She watched as Sophie walked to the edge of the pool and made a shallow dive; her hands touching the opposite side of the circle before she came up.

Sophie swam for a minute or so to collect her thoughts. For some reason, she found it very appealing that Amber knew such an intimate thing about her; almost like a shared secret. It was obvious that the girl was not freaked out about the whole incident, and Sophie suddenly wondered about that too.

She got out of the pool and paced back to her lounger; standing for a moment to run her hands over her head and slick back her hair, then grab her towel to lie across the back of the seat. Amber was making no secret of openly staring at her tits again, and Sophie blushed deeply at the young girl's attention.

"Sophie, could I ask you something?" Amber said hesitantly.

"Sure, Hon." Sophie replied, sitting back in the lounger and taking another sip of her drink, not bothering to cover her top. If she wasn't blatant about her display or didn't draw undue attention to her tits, she could pass it off as being casual. It was old news now. Mostly. Alright, not at all. It wasn't until she let Amber stare openly that she realized how turned on in made her; to be topless but not topless in front of this young girl. It was like some of the fantasies she generated in her mind, but deliciously different. She knew she would fuck herself silly as soon as Amber left from swimming, and Sophie admitted to herself that she almost wanted Amber to look.

In her mind, Sophie could pass this whole thing off as innocent. After all, she was covered�did it really matter what she was covered in? It's not like Amber knew where Sophie's thoughts were taking her, and if Amber wanted to look, Sophie couldn't possibly stop her.

"Um, If ah�if I wasn't here today�" Amber stammered. "Would you have� I mean, if you were doing what you were doing and all�woke up from sleeping and I wasn't here�"

"Jeeze, Amber!" Sophie said, cutting the girl off. "If you're asking what I think you're asking�don't you think that's a very private question?" She watched Amber squirm for a minute before continuing. "If I answer that for you, you have to answer one for me."

Amber was a little worried now; she had just wanted to continue the 'game' a little�just two friends talking�but Sophie seemed pretty serious now and Amber wondered if she had gone too far. "Oh�Okay, Sophie"

"Alright then," Sophie said, taking a deep breath and sitting up in her seat to face Amber. "Yes, I would have probably continued." She could feel her nipples harden with the admission. She smiled weakly as Amber's eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly; an automatic 'Uh-Uhn!' bursting forth.

"Yes�I would have." Sophie said. "This really is embarrassing to talk about with you, but you're certainly grown-up enough to hear it if you can ask the question" Sophie continued. "It's not like I ever plan on doing it�just that sometimes�my body likes it. It's not something to be ashamed about." She did her own squirming now; this really was hard to talk about clinically. "I just don't want you to think I do it all the time, especially not in front of anyone else. I would have gone inside to my bedroom." Sophie conveniently ignored the fact that she had masturbated practically every morning for a week until this morning�was her body going through withdrawal?...was that why she was so turned-on?

Sophie thought she was grown-up! Amber felt her smile stretch across her whole face as she sat up too. "Would you have, you know�been naked and everything?"

Sophie looked into Amber's brown eyes, softer now she noticed. Amber was staring right at her tits again, probably not even with conscious thought. It was still innocent, still nothing Jade would kill her for, still within the realm of acceptability�Sophie felt her heartbeat start to rise. "That's two questions, Honey" she said with a laugh. "Are you sure you want to ask? I get two back if I answer�"

Amber just nodded her head.

"Yes�sometimes I'm not naked, but today�yes," Sophie laughed again at Amber's confused look, wondering what Amber was making of her answer. "My turn!"

"What about you, Amber?" Sophie challenged. "You certainly didn't freak-out or anything, so I can only assume you know about�or at least you are familiar with what I was doing." Sophie leaned closer and asked in a stage whisper; "Do you ever do it? I mean, play with your body?" Sophie was holding her breath without realizing it; her heart hammering even faster as she waited for the girl's answer. God, the orgasm she would have the instant Amber went home! She was almost as excited as she had been in the dream. Sophie took a deep breath, thrilling that Amber was still looking at her tits. Still okay, still innocent, still nothing irreversible, still just two girls talking�

Now it was Amber's turn to blush. Sophie thought it was adorable. Sophie remembered playing with herself at a young age, but when did it start to become exciting? She was almost 14 before she had her first orgasm�or at least what she thought was an orgasm�she was late entering puberty and it was hard to pin down as the feelings rolled together.

"Yeah, but only at night." Amber answered in a small voice, waiting for Sophie's outburst of laughter at her childish reply.

Sophie almost passed out with the arousal she was feeling. This was positively naughty in the extreme; to be discussing masturbation with Amber like this. She was squeezing her legs together; kegel exercises sending waves of warmth through her like ripples in the pool.

"What do you think about, Amber? When you touch yourself, I mean." Sophie saw the form of the beast that was her desire ahead of her, its dark all-consuming maw drawing her inexorably in. The mantra of 'still safe, still innocent' was echoing in her head weakly now.

"I don't know�just stuff." Amber answered, warming to the 'grown-up' conversation. It was a lot like the truth or dare game she played with Ruby�only it was truths this time that were hard instead of the dares. "Can you keep a secret, Sophie?"

"Sure, sweetheart," Sophie said, leaning forward still farther to place her and gently on Amber's knee. She could feel the breath of the dark beast now, closer and closer. Still safe, still innocent�

"Don't tell Mom, but I saw her touching herself one day like you were� you know, masturbating." Amber started casually. "She asked me to leave, but I hid outside her door in the hall."

Amber reached for her drink, and Sophie took a big swallow of her own; realizing how dry her mouth was. She spluttered incoherently; the alcohol burning her throat before she remembered.

"Are you okay, Sophie?" Amber asked with concern.

Sophie waved her hands a little and nodded to show she was alright; wiping tears from her eyes in the process.

"Anyway," Amber started again. "I sat outside Mom's room and listened to her. Later that night, I thought about Mom touching herself�you know, like I was doing." Amber took another sip. "I kinda wish she would have let me stay, but I guess it was like� getting caught or something�like what you did, you know�didn't want me to see." she finished in a rush.

Amber thought silently for a moment, watching as Sophie repositioned herself after her coughing fit. What if she asked her Mom if she could watch? Her Mom didn't seem all that upset, just surprised when Amber had walked in on her. Would her Mom let her if she knew about it in advance? Probably not�Amber herself was embarrassed enough to be talking about it with Sophie; who knows what her Mom's reaction would be. Still, they were pretty close and her Mom always said to come to her; no question will go unanswered.

She looked at her new friend again. Maybe�

Despite her coughing outburst, Sophie listened raptly to Amber's tale. Amber had walked in on her Mom? Oh God�then she hid outside the room and listened? Sophie knew how passionate Jade was in bed yesterday�she wondered what Jade sounded like to her daughter. And Amber liked it�Oh God!

Sophie saw that the edge of the cliff was right there�her toes were dangling over, trying to maintain her balance. One more step would send her plummeting down; her actions taking her irrevocably past the 'still innocent' line she had mentally drawn. She would consciously act on her arousal and all pretense of innocence would be lost.

"Can I ask you another question, Sophie?" Amber asked. "One I can't really ask my Mom?"

It wouldn't take much�waiting was pure torture�she was SO going to have a wonderful time as soon as Amber left. Should she play with her ass too? She felt, actually felt her pussy getting wetter; eager for the attention she would soon give it. Still safe, still innocent� but the merest touch would send her over the edge of that proverbial cliff.

"I'm still waiting on a birthday gift from you�so do you think I could...maybe...watch you touch yourself sometime? Just to see what you do?" Amber asked with quiet intensity.

Sophie felt herself falling.