FSE

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"GIVE US A TWIRL"

-by-

Rogue Kzin

***

I'm fortunate enough to have traveled a fair bit in my youth, and because of that I developed a pretty healthy travel bug that's never gone away. Through my travels I've been to four continents and called two of them home. I'll probably be able to knock out two more with visits, but Antarctica will likely remain as an unchecked bucket list item.

As much as I get around, I'm not super outgoing or sociable. I do make friends wherever I end up, but it's typically more of a tight, small group than a huge social circle. Very much a "quality over quantity" thing.

That's how it went in high school and college, as well as the military. I settled down in the Pacific Northwest after that particular adventure was over, and that's where I met Jenna.

Whenever I move somewhere new, I tend to meet the first few friends online. It's pretty safe, very low-stress, and I can do it without dressing up. We crossed paths one spring on a local hangout forum where the best burrito in the area was the topic of discussion. "Discussion" is probably putting too nice a face on it.

It was a warzone.

Battle lines had been drawn early, with Burrito Barge (well-known for their almost-too-big-to-eat burritos and spicy fish fingers) on one side and Witchin' Kitchen (famous for their massive list of ingredients used in their "bewitching burrito concoctions") on the other. I was team BB and she was WK all the way. We were civil in our discussions of why we'd each chosen the right side, and weren't just flaming each other like most others on the forum were. In fact, it was because we were actually angering our respective factions by being so polite to one another that we decided to meet up in person.

The only way to resolve the dispute was to dine with the enemy.

Like any civilized warring parties, we drew up terms.

1. We would take turns hosting each other at our chosen restaurant.

2. The host would pay for the guest's meal, but no more than $12.

3. The host could make suggestions and offer advice, but the guest was ultimately in charge of choosing what they'd eat.

4. The guest could not commit acts of self-sabotage to "prove" the host's restaurant was bad.

5. Only after we'd both tried the other's chosen restaurant, were we allowed to say what we thought about them both. Also, we had to post our honest opinions in the forum.

We settled on doing the comparisons on two consecutive Thursday afternoons, figuring we'd get to see each restaurant at their best. They wouldn't be slammed with lunch, dinner, or weekend rushes, nor would they be fed up from dealing with customers hating on Mondays. I offered to try Witchin' Kitchen first, but Jenna insisted on using an online coin toss to make things fair. She won the toss, earning the right to choose who had to cross to the other side first.

She chose Witchin' Kitchen.

I wasn't sure why we needed the coin toss if we were going to hit up WK first, but didn't want to ask in case this was some sort of mind game. It wouldn't have mattered if it was. This wasn't about minds, it was about guts.

With the terms agreed to and the first restaurant chosen, the only decision left was the date. Neither of us felt like stretching this out, as we were both eager to see the other proven wrong, so we decided to kick things off that same week. We made plans to meet up on Thursday at 2:00 in front of WK.

We'd been so focused on the details of the challenge we'd created, that we forgot the most important detail - how to recognize each other. It wasn't until I was on the bus heading uptown that I realized I had no idea how to find her. I didn't know her real name, what she looked like, what she'd be wearing, species, gender - nothing! I pulled out my phone and sent a quick DM on the forum to ask how I'd recognize her, and hoped she'd get it in time. Thankfully, she did, but her reply was a lot briefer than I'd expected.

"Purple hair," was all it said.

The bus stop was only about half a block from WK, and I started scanning the area for anybody with purple hair as I walked towards the restaurant. It didn't take too long to find Jenna, especially since she was right in front of Witchin' Kitchen. She was facing the other direction, and I walked past her slightly to make sure she was the only one around with purple hair. I didn't see anybody else with that color, so I turned back to face her. She was a polar bear, and aside from the hair on her head, she'd maintained her natural color - everywhere I could see, at least. Jenna had the trademark stockiness of her species, but definitely looked more athletic than soft. She was wearing army green cargo shorts, an unzipped black leather jacket, and a dark grey shirt underneath it. Even if the burritos weren't all that, I'd at least have somebody cute to spend time with.

Satisfied that I'd found the right fur, I felt it was safe to approach. "Are the burritos here really all that?"

"Only somebody who likes Burrito Barge would ask such a question."

"And only somebody who's never eaten at Burrito Barge would think that was wise to say."

We both laughed, satisfied that we had successfully identified each other. After exchanging names - it wouldn't have done to just sneer restaurant names at each other - and pronouns (Jon, he/him - Jenna, she/her), we went inside so she could show me what all the fuss was about.

The array of ingredients on hand was impressive. It was easily more than double what Burrito Barge had to offer. Tortilla flavors, meat varieties, veggies, cheeses, toppings, sauces - there was a LOT to choose from. I took a stab at creating my own burrito, rather than ordering straight off the menu, listing off my picks and asking Jenna for her thoughts. She suggested swapping out a couple toppings and adding a second sauce. It was unlikely she was setting me up for failure, especially since she ordered an identical burrito for herself. Keeping with the terms of our agreement, she paid for the burritos, but I insisted on paying for the drinks, and got lemonades for both of us.

We were spot on with our plan about the best time to come, and had no trouble getting a table. After we took our seats, she waited for me to unwrap the foil on my burrito and take the first bite. I did, and before I'd even swallowed the first one, I had to have a second. Grinning like somebody who'd just won a bet, she unwrapped her burrito and joined me in feasting.

Not wanting to violate the rules we'd laid out, there was no discussion about the food. We had plenty more to talk about - music, books, movies, boardgames - and it seemed like we were in sync on just about everything.

Just not burritos.

By the time we'd finished eating, we'd mostly forgotten why we were there to begin with. We were getting on so well, that we carried on chatting long after our food was gone and our glasses were empty. Eventually, the staff were giving us looks and their message was received loud and clear. We bussed our table and went outside, only then realizing that the afternoon was swiftly giving way to evening.

Jenna suggested grabbing coffee, and while her offer was tempting, I suggested saving any non-burrito related goings-on until after we'd gone to Burrito Barge the following week. Better to wrap this up and see what sort of terms we were on then. She agreed, but it was obvious she would have been fine with spending more time together. Honestly, I would have too, but I didn't think I'd be able to keep from talking about how damned good that burrito was.

I was NOT about to give her the satisfaction of me breaking the rules.

We did chat more on the forum over the following days, trading recommendations of things to read, watch, or play, keeping with the "everything but burritos" conversation we'd had at Witchin' Kitchen. The week was unbearably long, and it felt like an eternity before Thursday rolled around again.

Burrito Barge was just a short walk from my place, and it was very easy to meet up at, since there was a bus stop right out front. That wasn't by accident either. This was a working-class neighborhood, not too far from the port, and many people took the bus to and from their jobs. The inbound stop was on the same side of the street as the restaurant, and the outbound one sat on the other side of the crosswalk. Burrito Barge was open from 5 A.M. to 3 P.M., and then again from 5 P.M. to 1 A.M. It was run by two cousins who were each in charge of one of the shifts. Their hours covered all three meals, and they were usually slammed for all three. The day of the week didn't really matter.

I'd gotten there a few minutes before the bus was due and waited for Jenna at the outbound bus stop. We greeted each other with a wave when she got off, and agreed that it was good to see each other again. As the bus pulled away, she got her first good look at Burrito Barge, in all its nondescript, red brick glory. Admittedly, their sign was pretty bad, done either by a family member or by a starving artist in exchange for food. It was nothing more than a massive burrito floating in the water, with the name of the restaurant running down its side.

"That?" Jenna pointed. "That's what you're going to war for?"

"Books and covers. You gotta trust me on this one."

"If nothing else, it'll be free food and a good laugh. Lead on."

Her skepticism was easy enough to understand. The building was as plain as it could be, the sign was bad, and the name was silly. None of that mattered. The flavor did, and Burrito Barge had it by the, well, barge-load. When we got inside, she was clearly unimpressed by the menu. Only flour tortillas, just three kinds of meat (chicken, beef, and pork), beans, a few basic veggies, guac, sour cream, two levels of hot sauce, and only one kind of cheese. There was nothing artisanal on the menu at BB.

Not being sure what to do with the limited menu, Jenna asked for suggestions. I told her to get whatever she thought sounded good, since there were no bad choices. She remained doubtful, but ordered anyway. She was well under the $12 limit, so I added an order of spicy fish fingers for her when I ordered my food. The crew at BB works fast, and our burritos were ready almost as quickly as the drinks were.

We settled into a booth with worn vinyl benches, and I waited for her to dig in, just like she had with me the previous week. Ready to be underwhelmed, she tore back a strip of foil and had her first taste. When we were at Witchin' Kitchen, I'd taken a second bite immediately after the first. Jenna went past that and right into her third before the first had even left her mouth.

"Holy fhit!"

She wasn't able to wait until her mouth was empty, and I'm sure my grin was even wider and more self-satisfied than hers had been. Still, I didn't say anything, instead choosing to unwrap my treasure and share in the joy with her. Once she'd swallowed, she looked at me, waiting for me to say something. I just kept eating, smiling the entire time, still certain that if anybody was going to break the terms of our agreement, it wasn't going to be me.

Not that we didn't talk during that meal. We quickly got to chatting about what we'd seen and read over the past week, and also revealed more personal information about ourselves. We both lived within a few blocks of our chosen burrito places, and neither of us owned a car, though we knew how to drive. We'd attended college - me stopping with a B.S, while she was currently pursuing her Master's. I was five years older than her, so while most of our pop culture knowledge was in sync, there were a few of my references that prompted some googling.

The mid-day closing time was coming up fast, and we didn't want to overstay our welcome two weeks in a row, so we cleaned up our stuff and headed out. This time I suggested coffee, and was very relieved when she agreed. We had satisfied all the rules we'd laid out, but I was worried she may have held last week's rejection of her offer against me.

I was clearly foolish to have thought that.

Coffee lasted a couple hours, during which we had the burrito conversation. We immediately agreed that both places were amazing for their own reasons, and that it wasn't impossible to enjoy what they both had to offer, even if you did prefer one over the other. If you wanted something fancy and supremely customisable, Witchin' Kitchen was the place to go. If all you were after was a fast, filling, perfectly-seasoned meal, Burrito Barge had you covered. It wasn't even a rich versus poor thing. Sure, a dollar went further at BB, but not that much further. We concluded that they were just being stubborn, unwilling to admit that they could like two different places, and probably too lazy to go outside their own neighborhoods to try something different. After having tried both restaurants, we were in agreement that it was a really dumb hill to die on, and we couldn't wait to tell everybody.

Rather than head back to our own apartments and post our findings on the forum, cutting our time together short, I suggested we head back to my place. I had a laptop as well as a desktop, so we wouldn't even have to take turns posting. Jenna agreed and we went to my apartment. I lived in a fairly basic one-bedroom unit, but the rooms were big for what I paid, thanks to the neighborhood bordering a semi-industrial zone. I set Jenna up with my laptop at the kitchen counter while I used the PC in the living room. We wrote in silence for about 15 minutes, looked at each other, then hit publish at the same time.

It was obvious we both wanted to do nothing more than repeatedly smash F5 to see the reactions as they came in, but we also knew we'd make ourselves crazy doing that. Jenna felt we'd be better off grabbing a light dinner and giving things time to happen on their own, without us hovering over our screens. As much as I wanted to see everything unfold in real time, I knew she was right. We were both pretty full from our late lunch, so we decided to go easy on our stomachs and just get some basic sandwiches and a couple sodas from the deli up the street. The weather was decent, and there was still some daylight left, so we made a picnic out of it in the park. The temptation to check the forum on our phones was maddening, but we kept each other strong with talk of other places in the city we'd come to love.

Like me, Jenna wasn't from here originally. She grew up in Canada and was just here to study - for now anyway. She hadn't decided if she liked the city enough for it to be a forever home, but she was definitely content here. I told her about the different places I'd lived, both in the U.S. and abroad, and we agreed that it was best to experience as many places as possible before settling down in one spot.

The conversation lasted much longer than our sandwiches and drinks, and it was about to outlast the daylight. We left the park before twilight was fully upon us and headed back to my place to see what we had wrought. If we had known we'd unleashed, we probably would've stayed in the park all night.

Upon logging in, we both had way more notifications than we'd ever had before, and knew something was up. Rather than read through things in our inboxes, we went to the "burrito battle" topic and started reading the reactions to what we'd posted. If the topic had been a warzone before, it was an ongoing nuclear holocaust now. Furs on both sides of the debate had united - in their hatred of us. That we would have the audacity to actually eat at the "other" restaurant was an affront nobody could accept. The suggestion that preference had anything to do with proximity was probably the most offensive thing we'd said, as it was taken to imply that people had no taste and merely ate what was convenient.

"Are they for real?" Jenna asked.

"I really don't know anymore."

We read for another half an hour, but things only got worse from there. The attacks against us grew increasingly personal, and our past posts from other topics were being used to infer things about us that were wildly incorrect, but still hurtful to read just the same. New notifications kept pouring in, and we both got PRIORITY ones at about the same time. These ones were from the site owner, and informed us that we were being banned from the forum for "flame-baiting and contributing to an overly hostile environment."

"I think I'm done," Jenna said.

I showed solidarity with her statement by shutting down my PC. I walked over to the counter where she was sitting, closed the laptop, then hugged her from behind. She clearly needed more than that, and stood up so that we could hug each other properly. As she embraced me, it was obvious that I was very much in need of a proper hug as well. Neither one of us wanted to talk much, but we also didn't want to be alone either.

"You can crash here if you want."

Jenna nodded her acceptance of the offer without breaking the hug, and we stood together for a while. Holding each other, we could feel our nerves settling, heart rates slowing, and our breathing starting to sync up. The negativity from what had happened on the forum wasn't going to disappear entirely, but we could at least give ourselves something better to focus on.

I was the first to speak, and to pull back from the hug. "Let me get you some stuff."

Jenna lowered her arms, and I went down the hall, first to the bathroom, then to my bedroom. When I came back to the living room, she was sitting on the couch, hands in her lap. I handed her the stack I had gathered up. Bath towel, sweatpants, hoodie, a pair of boxers, a t-shirt, and a new toothbrush.

"There should be something here that'll work for you."

"Thanks. Is it cool if I shower first?"

I told her it was and pointed her in the right direction. I thought about occupying myself with my phone while she was getting cleaned up, but didn't really trust myself not to check the forum or other social media. I grabbed a photography magazine instead, and busied myself by flipping through reviews of lenses I couldn't afford and looking at pictures of places I'd never been.

When Jenna returned from the bathroom she was wearing the sweats and hoodie, and was ruffling her wet hair with the towel she'd draped around her neck.

"I'm not sure if I feel better, but at least I feel better. If that makes any sense," she said.

"Yeah, I totally understand. You okay if I go ahead?"

"Only if I can get another hug."

In the moment, that felt like the best deal anybody had ever offered me. I set the magazine down and got up from the couch, eager to take her in my arms again. We held each other just as closely as before, except maybe with a little more swaying back and forth. She nuzzled into my chest and I rested my cheek on her damp hair. Holding her like that, I realized how much better my soap and shampoo smelled when they were on somebody else's body and hair.

That time it was Jenna that pulled back first.

"I'm probably gonna need a few more of those tonight, if that's all right," she said.

"More than all right."

I took my time in the shower, but not too long. I made sure to get properly clean, and then spent the rest of the time just letting the warm water wash over me. It wasn't quite as good for de-stressing as a soak in the tub, but did well enough. After finishing up and getting dry, I threw on a pair of boxers, some gym shorts and a t-shirt. It was more than I'd normally wear at home this time of year, but this wasn't exactly a normal day.

When I rejoined Jenna in the living room, she was looking at the modest library I'd assembled. I never bought too many books while traveling around, but whenever I stayed in one place for more than a few months, a collection started forming. Secondhand shops, library book sales, neighbors moving out and looking to travel light - if there was a way to get stuff worth reading that I also wouldn't mind losing if life had me taking off somewhere else, I'd take advantage of it. I did have a sizable digital collection as well, for commuting and longer trips, but for regular, daily reading, paper couldn't be matched.

I couldn't see her face from where I was standing at the doorway, but her posture seemed a little more relaxed than it had been earlier. Still, I didn't want to startle her, so I asked from the doorway if she needed anything.

"A real drink?" Jenna responded, turning towards me.

I ran down the options available - wine, beer, a few harder selections and several things to mix them with - and she settled on beer. I didn't want to turn choosing a drink into a quiz, so I grabbed two different kinds from the fridge and brought them over by the bookshelves to let her pick. She opted for the lager, leaving the IPA for me. We popped them open at the same time and she held hers up, offering a somewhat non-traditional toast.

"People suck."

"To those that don't," I countered, raising my can.

She smiled at that, the first one I'd seen since we started getting forum responses to our restaurant reviews, and tapped her can to mine. Our initial pulls off those first cans were pretty substantial, but we took the rest of the evening a bit slower. I gave Jenna a tour of my place, we talked books, leafed through some old architecture magazines, drank a couple more beers (complete with silly toasts), shared more hugs, and brought ourselves back to a better state. Maybe not quite where we'd been when we were chatting in the park, but certainly more at ease than we'd been a few hours prior.

It had been looking more and more like Jenna was going to end up crashing at my place, but I didn't want to assume, and asked her if she was okay with that. She was, and I let her know she could have her pick of where to sleep.

"I'm not feeling very frisky," she said, "but I'm also not going to kick you out of your own bed. Besides, it's a double, so there's plenty of room for two."

I let her brush her teeth first, while I dealt with the beer cans and lights. By the time I took care of all that and got myself sorted out, she was waiting in the bedroom, sitting at the foot of the bed with only the side lamp still on. There was a brief, and slightly awkward, conversation about what we both normally wore to bed. By this time of year I was usually sleeping in my fur, and she was fine in nothing more than a baggy t-shirt. Obviously, neither of us was in the right mood to show off that much.

"I've got boxers on under these shorts, and I'll be fine with those and

this t-shirt."

"I'm okay with that," Jenna said, getting up to pull off the hoodie and drop the sweats she'd been wearing, revealing the boxers and t-shirt I'd given her with the other items.

When she was done, we were wearing the same outfit.

"Pajama twins!" she grinned.

I got in on my usual side and she settled next to me as I turned off the light. Our hands found each other as we laid on our backs, and we stayed like that for a while - resting, breathing, and giving comforting squeezes. Her hand went still after a bit and I thought she might have fallen asleep until she spoke, asking me to turn onto my side. I complied without a word, willing to do whatever was needed to make sure she slept well. It had felt really nice to hold her hand, and I was going to miss that contact.

It wasn't long before it was replaced by something much better. I felt the bed shift as Jenna moved, changing her position. Instead of turning away, as I'd thought she might, she rolled up against my back and wrapped her arm around me. There are few things I like better in life than to have a chance to be the little spoon. I took her paw in mine, pressed it against my chest, and let out a very satisfied sigh. She responded by squeezing me harder, taking a deep breath of her own, and letting it out. Pressing her forehead into my back, she spoke the last words either of us said before falling asleep.

"Thank you."

*

A habitual early riser, I was up shortly after seven the next morning. Jenna was sleeping rather deeply when I awoke, so I slipped out of bed as quietly as I could and went to the living room. I didn't know what her schedule was like for that Friday, and was worried I might let her sleep in too late. I also didn't want to get her up too early if it wasn't necessary. Either way, coffee was probably going to be needed. I started a pot and decided to check on her around eight o'clock.

The coffee turned out to be a better alarm clock than I was, because Jenna appeared in the doorway about ten minutes after it was ready. She was back in the sweats and hoodie, and seeing her like that made me keenly aware that I was still in my sleepwear.

"I should get some pants..."

"Coffee first, pants later."

Who was I to let a lack of pants get between a woman and her need for coffee? I poured mugs for both of us, and showed her where all the fixings were. I prefer my coffee with milk and caramel, while she went for sugar and cream. I made mental notes as I went to retrieve my shorts from the bedroom, hoping I'd get to make her coffee again sometime.

Now that I was suitably dressed for morning conversation, we settled on the couch and talked about what we had lined up for the day. Neither of us had planned on spending the night together that night, but we had both managed to have our Fridays open. She never had classes on Fridays, and I was off work, meaning the whole day was available to us.

While we did get on rather well, it was a little awkward. We'd only met in person for the first time a week ago, and yesterday's events went so completely sideways in a manner that neither of us was prepared for. It felt similar to the morning after what might have started as a one-night stand where both parties thought there could be some potential, except that we'd gotten to this point without any sex and with a big helping of emotional turmoil.

In the midst of our talking, the weather outside took a turn. The forecast will often call for "a chance of rain," which could mean anything from sunny skies, to drizzle, to a full-on thunderstorm. Today we got the worst of those three. After a miserable evening, both of our spirits were definitely on the mend, but going home in that mess wouldn't have done anything to help Jenna's keep going in the right direction. I offered to let her stay until the weather cleared up, at least a little, and she accepted. We didn't have to be sociable and chatty if she didn't want to. There was plenty on hand to read or watch, and she was free to use the laptop if she needed to.

Jenna did need to check her email, but promised not to go anywhere near the forum. After experiencing that level of hate - over burritos of all things - we were both swearing off online communities for quite a while.

It ended up being a very chill day, and exactly what both of us needed. We spent the morning reading on our own and drinking coffee. After getting lunch delivered - and tipping very generously for making the driver go out in such crummy weather - we snuggled up on the couch to watch a bad slasher film while pointing out all the ways we would have outsmarted the killer. Around the time the movie was over, the clouds started to break up.

We were both in a much better place emotionally by then, and knew we'd be okay on our own. Jenna got changed in the bedroom, then checked her pockets and bag to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything. She hadn't dressed for bad weather, so I offered her the use of a spare umbrella in case the clouds opened up again, which she accepted. We made our way downstairs to head to the bus stop, but she stopped before we got to the front door and handed the umbrella back.

"Don't you think you'll need it?"

"No, I do, but that's not it. We only ever communicated through DMs on the forum, so if we don't exchange numbers we won't have any way to get in touch again, what with being banned and all."

I moved to get my phone, but couldn't grab it with an umbrella in each hand. Before I could shift them both to one hand, Jenna already had hers out.

"Number?"

I told her and she texted me right then, smiling when my phone buzzed from within my pocket.

"Plus, with my hands free, I can do this."

I was about to ask, "do what?" but she was quicker than me, placing both paws on my shoulders, rising up on her toes, and pulling me down to meet her kiss.

Even if the previous day had been perfect in every possible way, that kiss still would've beaten it. After the day we'd just had, it was like an explosion of warmth washing over my entire body. Any remaining tension, bad vibes, and sad thoughts were immediately blown away, replaced with some of the purest joy I'd ever felt.

When she broke the kiss, Jenna kept ahold of my shoulders, and pulled me down further so our foreheads pressed together. That time, it was my turn to say it.

"Thank you."

She held on for a few moments after that, then let go, allowing me to stand upright again. As I looked at her face, I could tell she was feeling something similar to what I was, and I suspected my smile was probably a mirror of hers.

We didn't speak again as we walked down to the bus stop. Not for a lack of things to say, but more that we wanted to stretch that moment out for as long as we could, and worried that saying anything would break the spell we'd cast on each other. The rain wasn't too bad, but it was enough that we needed to use our umbrellas. I stood with Jenna until the bus came, then stepped out of line as she boarded and took a seat. We shared one last smile as the bus pulled away, and I waited until it turned the corner before heading home.

I stopped by Burrito Barge on the way to get dinner, because damned if some forum jerks were going to keep me from appreciating something I enjoyed. The restaurant smelled great, as always, and my burrito was ready in a flash - as always. Dinner in hand, I walked back to my place. It was only after I got home and sat down to eat that I checked my phone to see what Jenna had texted. It was just two words, but they triggered a second explosion of warmth and happiness.

"You're welcome."

Basking in that glow, I sent the only response I could think of.

"How's your burrito?"

"Perfect. Yours?" came the reply a few moments later, complete with a picture of a freshly-made Witchin' Kitchen specialty that already had a few healthy bites taken out of it.

I sent a similar photo as a reply, and she responded with a hug emoji. I sent the same one back to her, and that's where we left things that day. I finished my dinner, got cleaned up, read for a bit, then went to bed. Ever since I'd moved here, my bed had never felt empty, but it did that night. I fell asleep wondering if Jenna was feeling something similar.

***

As spring started to give way to summer, we kept up a fairly constant conversation through texts, and also called when it was convenient for both of us. That led to more in-person meetings, getting together for coffee, sharing meals, and hanging out at each other's places. It wasn't exactly dating, and things hadn't gotten any more physical than kissing and holding hands, but it felt like there was something between us. Plus, we hadn't spent another night together since that first time two months ago.

Early in June we were at her place, along with her best friend, Kenta, a Japanese exchange student who lived on the first floor of her building. He was cute (but straight) and fun to hang out with. A pudgy little tanuki, he definitely had his species' trademark playfulness, but he was still serious about his studies. He was working on a degree in American History, because he wanted to teach it as a subject at university in Japan someday. He and Jenna hung out fairly often, and after she and I became friends, it was a regular thing for the three of us to chill at her place, talking, drinking, playing games, watching anime - or some combination of the above. The term was over for both of them, so we decided to celebrate by kicking back with a new anime that was being hyped up everywhere online.

It ended up being not much more than T&A fan service and poorly-written "will they or won't they" sexual tension between the two main characters. The only reasons we let the episodes keep playing were that the art wasn't bad for what it was, and the fight scenes were pretty creatively choreographed. The credits started rolling on the third episode and Jenna gave her thoughts on how the show was going.

"How many more episodes until they do it?"

"How many more until you guys do it?" Kenta muttered under his breath.

"What?!?" Jenna and I said together.

"We need more popcorn," Kenta said, holding up his empty bowl.

He busied himself making a fresh batch in the kitchen, while Jenna and I just looked at each other, dumbfounded.

We made it through three more episodes before calling it a night, with nothing being said about Kenta's comment. By the time he headed downstairs to his place, we weren't sure if he'd said it or not.

After he left, we fell into our usual habit of lounging in the bedroom. Jenna only had a single size bed, but she had an absurd collection of blankets, comforters, and even pillows to go with it. She explained it was a holdover habit from living with winters that were at least 20 degrees (real degrees - we were in agreement that Fahrenheit was an abomination) colder than here. Even with a family of bears curling up in the common room of their house, maintaining a decent room temperature would've been too expensive, so it was best to pile up as many layers as you could deal with and burrow in for the night. While that wasn't necessary here, they were great for stacking on the rug and sprawling out on top of. It may not have had the support of a proper mattress, but it was considerably roomier than her bed.

Jenna brought it up first, as we were laying on our sides facing each other.

"We didn't imagine that, right? He really did say that."

"We both heard and reacted to it, so he must have," I told her.

"But then he pretended like he didn't! I don't get it."

It was definitely weird for Kenta to say something like that, since he's typically pretty reserved, but maybe not completely unwarranted. We did spend a lot of time together, and we weren't shy about holding hands or kissing. And it's not like we hadn't talked about sex at length. We had, and we hadn't held anything back, as far as I knew.

We were both bi, and fairly experienced. We'd had more partners of our own gender (me for ease of hooking up, her for safety). We'd discussed things we'd done, things we wanted to do, and things we'd absolutely never do. And yet, we hadn't really done anything with each other.

"He's probably not wrong to assume we might eventually do it," I said.

"Maybe not, and we know a lot about each other, so it'd probably be pretty good."

"So is there some reason we haven't done it?" I asked.

"It's probably that we just haven't gotten around to it more than anything else. Things have been really great these past two months, and I haven't felt like anything was missing, have you?"

"Not at all!"

"Me either. Maybe it's just how he said it that's bugging me."

I reached out a paw and ruffled her hair. "Try not to let it get to you. Who knows? It might happen in the next episode."

"Who said this one's over?" Jenna grinned as she took my paw in hers and moved it to her chest. "I didn't hear a closing theme."

"I certainly didn't see any credits rolling," I smiled.

Just like that, the decision had been made. Instead of the usual first-time routine of making out while slowly undressing each other, we showed exactly how in tune we were. Not a word was said and we went straight to stripping off every last piece of our own clothing, flinging it all off the blanket pile. It was thirty seconds at most before we were laying back down where we'd started, except now we were seeing each other naked for the first time.

"You look even better than I'd imagined," I told her.

"Oh? You've been imagining me naked?" Jenna teased.

"Well, yeah. I may have only seen you in boxers and a t-shirt the one time, but remembering how you looked then, combined with knowing how well you kiss, I'd say it's only natural to start imagining other things."

"Mmm-hmm. And what do you do when you imagine these 'other things?'" she pressed.

I tried to think of something to say, but was distracted by Jenna's gaze moving down my body, where something was trying to answer for me.

"I thought so."

Being well aware of what was going on down there, I didn't need to look. "Traitor..."

"You can tell me about them later. For now. we may want to get under at least one of these blankets."

"Good call."

While summer was almost upon us, the nights still got fairly cool. The blankets would not only save me from embarrassment, but they'd also protect us from the breeze coming through the window. We figured two would be enough to keep us warm, without being too stifling as things heated up.

Under the blankets, the teasing stopped, but things remained playful. Since we'd gotten to know each other, and each other's desires, before getting this far, there wasn't any performance anxiety or awkward fumbling. We focused on learning our way around one another's bodies and putting that knowledge to very good use.

The blanket pile ended up being the perfect place for all of this. As good as it was for lounging, it was even better for an extended bout of fooling around. Layers could be added or removed to keep things from getting too cold or too hot. Blankets could be folded or rolled and used for support as needed. Best of all, there was no fixed size limit like with a bed. Spread out, scoot around, shift positions - none of that mattered! The only times we needed to leave the pile were to get, and get rid of, condoms. When we needed to go to the kitchen for water, we'd wrap up in a blanket with us for warmth, taking part of the pile with us.

Counting the breaks we took for hydration, recovery, and just plain snuggling, it was almost three hours before we hit our limits. Worn out, but quite satisfied, we curled up together in the middle of a blanket pile that was in serious disarray. This time it was my turn to be the big spoon, and it felt just as good to be on this side of the cuddle as it had when she spooned me that first night at my place.

Jenna was the first to speak, after we'd taken some time to cool down. "Don't take this the wrong way, but please tell me you're not going to expect that much every time."

"Oh god, no," I laughed. "As long as we're spending the night together more than once every two months, my expectations will be quite reasonable."

"Mine will be as well, and I certainly don't want to wait that long to do this again."

"Neither do I."

"Are we also in agreement that we're spent enough to say this episode has reached its end?" she asked.

I couldn't see Jenna's face, but I knew she was smiling when I said it.

"Roll credits."

***

Over the next few months we began spending even more time together, if such a thing was possible. Both of our friend groups insisted we were boyfriend and girlfriend, but we didn't think so. They'd all roll their eyes when we said we were "just friends," even though that's how we thought of each other. We weren't seeing other people, not because of any exclusivity agreements, but more through what we'd taken to calling "the doctrine of mutually assured satisfaction."

Of course there was lots of sex, and many things were being crossed off each of our "want to do it" lists. We both gave pegging particularly high marks, but felt that whoever came up with "paper bondage" had never actually tried it. The idea of being restrained with crepe paper streamers, and having to control your own movements to remain bound, sounded interesting while reading it, but simply did not work for us in practice. What makes bondage so good is that you can't get free, and that the tension of struggling against whatever you're bound with adds to the excitement. We each gave the paper a few good tries, but always tore through it within seconds. We ended up tossing it all, laughing at how poorly that experiment turned out.

Unfortunately, as good as things were going for us, not everybody was having the same luck. Right before the start of the fall semester, Kenta received word that his father had fallen ill. He was an only child, and his mother wasn't able to care for his dad well enough on her own, so he had to go back to Japan on very short notice.

Of course, this left him with an entire apartment's worth of stuff to sort out. He was in no state of mind to deal with all that, so we offered to do it for him. We shipped back what he wanted returned, threw out what he didn't need, and donated the rest to charity. He'd had a really nice double bed, which he gave to Jenna in return for everything we were doing.

With his place being on the first floor, removing stuff to mail, toss, or donate wasn't too much work. Getting the bed and frame up three flights of stairs to Jenna's place was a bigger challenge (hooray for old buildings and narrow stairwells - not), but it was well worth it. Luckily, we'd been able to arrange everything so her old single went out with Kenta's donations, leaving plenty of space in the bedroom for the double.

It did take up a bit more room than the single had, but not so much as to be in the way or cause any issues. The loss of floor space did mean no more spreading blankets out on the rug, though there was always the living room for that.

"It was more work than I expected, but definitely worth it," Jenna said, finally catching her breath while admiring the new acquisition.

"Oh, absolutely," I agreed. "A single bed just isn't made for two people to share, but a double is more than enough."

"I feel really bad for Kenta, but I'm glad we were able to help him out."

"Yeah. I hope things turn out okay for him and his parents."

"He said the doctors were giving his dad really good odds, but that it was going to take a lot of time for him to fully recover."

We were glad there was some good news in all of this for Kenta, but we were also sad to see him go. We'd taken him to the airport three days ago, said our good-byes, and told him not to worry about anything here in the states. We'd get all his stuff taken care of, and if there was anything else he needed, all he had to do was reach out and we'd get things sorted.

"So," I started, "that's pretty much the whole day gone, and we definitely need to eat and shower. What do you think - shower then eat, or the other way around?"

"You shower first, and I'll order food. Is the Taiwanese place okay?"

"Perfect! Can you order the black pork fried rice for me and maybe some dumplings to share?" I requested, leaving a trail of clothing on my way to the bathroom.

"Slob. What kind of dumplings?"

"Surprise me!"

I jumped into the shower to take care of the day's sweat and dust. With dinner being ordered in, it was pretty safe to assume that we wouldn't be going out again, so I took my time getting clean. I must've gotten lost in warm, soapy bliss, because it seemed like I'd barely started rinsing off when Jenna pulled the curtain back.

"Okay, out. You've got to be clean by now."

"Aww. How about if I stay and help you get clean?"

"Nope. Food's on the way and we don't want to miss it. You get dry and listen for the buzzer. I told them we'd tip cash instead of in the app, so there's a ten by the door."

"Gotcha." As much as I would've liked to stay and scrub her back, I made do with watching her disappear behind the curtain, and thought of what we might get up to later.

Fearful of missing the delivery, I made do with a quick toweling-off. I'd let my fur air dry as much as it could, with boxers and a t-shirt at the ready for when the driver arrived.

I needn't have worried, since the delivery took longer than expected. I was much drier and still waiting when I heard the water turn off.

"It's not here yet," I hollered from the living room.

"All good," Jenna answered back. "Gives me time to get dry and dressed."

I go back to playing on my phone, but am too distracted by the sound of the hair dryer coming from the bathroom. I can't help but imagine the sight of you taking care of your fur - drying it, fluffing it, smoothing it out...

Nonono! Food's almost here and I don't want to be answering the door with an awkward boner.

As if summoned by my thoughts of potential embarrassment, the buzzer sounds.

Jenna heard it as well. "Still naked!"

"I got it," I answered back, as I pulled my shirt on and closed the hallway door.

I buzzed the driver up and waited with the door cracked open. I could smell the food before the driver had even made it all the way up the stairs, and my stomach growled in anticipation. I'd clearly worked up even more of an appetite than I'd realized.

The driver reached the landing and I called out with a smile and a wave, "Over here!"

"These old buildings look great, but I'm not a fan of all the stairs," she remarked.

"No arguments there," I agreed as I traded her the food for the tip, with an apology, "sorry for the steps, but thanks a bunch for making the trip."

"Sure thing!" she smiled, pocketing the ten.

As she headed back to her deliveries, I closed the door, brought the food to the table, and started unpacking our dinner.

"That smells amazing," Jenna said as she entered the living room. She'd opted for the same outfit as me, and I chuckled as I realized we were both in boxers and t-shirts again. And both wearing my clothes. Again.

"What? It's hot, we're freshly showered, and it feels really good."

"Hey, you'll get no arguments from me. I think you look adorable."

"Thanks," she said with a little bit of a blush, "I guess you'll have to start leaving more than just a couple changes of clothes here."

"Works for me, and I have been suggesting you make better use of that dresser drawer of mine you commandeered."

"Duly noted. I'll bring a couple extra sets next time I'm over. Be warned, I may take more of your boxers to make room for my stuff."

"I'll allow it, so long as you don't take so many that I've got to be constantly doing laundry."

"Fair enough. Couch?" she asked, picking up her food and the dumplings.

We settled in for a relaxing dinner. No TV, just open windows to let in the last of the day's light, along with a nice breeze and the sounds of the city. I shared my fried rice with her, she shared her noodles with me, and we devoured the dumplings together. After we finished and did what little tidying up there was to be done, we decided to complete setting up her new bed.

We'd already vacuumed and lint-rollered the mattress when we brought it up, but never got around to making it. Once Jenna found out she was getting the bed, she picked up some nice, cozy sheets and a mattress pad, which had all been washed and were waiting for today. The entire blanket pile isn't really a necessity this time of year, but a couple light ones aren't a bad idea for when the occasional chilly breeze comes in through the window at night.

Once we'd gotten the bed properly made, I gestured towards it with one arm. "Shall we?"

"We shall, but we're just snuggling right now. There's too much in either of our tummies for anything more."

"No argument there. The dinner was just what I needed, but I don't need to see it again."

I got in first, taking the side nearest the wall, and she settled in behind me. We curled up together, and she took the role of the big spoon. Even on a warm evening, it felt great to have her pressed up against me from behind, with an arm around me and a hand resting on my tummy. Chatting like this while it got dark outside was always relaxing. We didn't need to look each other in the eye to have a good conversation. We could feel the laughs as well as hear them, and the pressure from her taking a deep breath and letting it out lets me know she's about to say something that really matters to her.

She did exactly that, so I listened up.

"Do you really like how I look in your boxers, or were you just saying that?"

I was tempted to crack a joke about how they look better on the floor no matter who they came off of, but I knew she wasn't looking for that kind of a response.

"Of course!" I insisted. "They really are adorable on you. The waist might be a bit loose, but that just means I get to sneak peeks at your butt when you're not looking."

That last bit earned me a tickle, which I made a half-hearted attempt at stopping. Once she let up, she had another question for me.

"So... how do you think you might look in something of mine?" Jenna asked cautiously.

"I'm not sure," I answered honestly. "It'd depend on what it was. There are some things of yours that would fit me okay, but we're not 100% compatible - size-wise, I mean."

It was true. Boxers, t-shirts, and hoodies are one thing. What fit me well, she could get away with wearing loose. We were a bit different in height and weight, with me being both taller and heavier. Neither of us was skinny, by any means, but we weren't solely shopping off the big racks, either.

"I take it you've got something in mind already?" I asked, turning my head slightly.

"Yeah," she started, pushing her forehead into my back, "but please don't think it's weird. I got the idea in my head that it'd be cute, and I just want to see if it really is."

"I'm game," I reassured her. I reached back and rested my right hand on her hip, giving it a squeeze and some comforting pats. "Show me what you've been thinking about."

"Okay," she said, getting up from the bed, "but no laughing."

"I won't laugh," I promised as I moved to sit on the edge of the bed.

Jenna went to the closet and started shuffling hangers around, trying to find the item in question. My curiosity was completely piqued, and I was wondering what it could be. A blouse? A dress? A nightie?

"Got it!" she announced. "Now close your eyes."

"They're closed." I heard her take something out, then move to stand before me.

"You can open them now."

I opened my eyes slowly, not sure what to expect. The first thing I could see was a nice dark blue color. When I opened them wider, I could tell it was solid, so not pants or shorts. Fully opened, it was clear to me that it was a skirt. Nothing frilly or lacy, but nice, practical linen. It didn't look like it'd be too warm for summer, and it seemed like it would be roomy enough to fit me. I'd seen Jenna wear it before, and on her it reached as far as her calves.

"Well, what do you think?"

"I love the color," I admitted, already blushing at the thought of wearing it, "but how far down would that reach on me?"

"How about you get up and let's find out! Get your shirt off, while you're at it. You were definitely topless in my vision."

"It's a vision, now?" I teased, but still stood up and pulled my shirt over my head. By the time I'd dropped it on the bed, she had the skirt free from its hanger.

She handed it to me and sat at her desk, turning the chair to face me, ready to take things in.

"So how do I...?"

"You've taken skirts off me often enough," she pointed out. "Just do that, but in reverse. And to yourself."

I looked at the skirt and she was right. I just needed to step into it, pull it up (thank goodness for elastic waists!), then do the button over my tail. I could do this.

"Got it." I started to bend over and step into it, but she stopped me.

"Uh-uh. No boxers."

"Do you want me to wear something else of yours under this?"

Her wicked grin told me the answer to that question better than any words ever could.

"Okay," I said, setting the skirt on the bed to take my boxers off. "Commando it is."

I hooked both thumbs into the waistband, pushed my boxers down and stepped out of them in one move. They joined my shirt on the bed and I picked the skirt up again. I made sure I had the bit with the button at the back, then bent over to step into the skirt.

"Uh-uh. Turn around."

I looked up at Jenna and saw that she had her legs pulled up beneath her. She was slouched against the right armrest, with her chin resting in her palm. I smiled and complied, turning my rear towards her before I tried to step into the skirt for a third time.

This time there were no objections.

I knew what she was after, so I took things nice and slow. I bent over deliberately, pushed my bottom out, and flicked my tail from side to side. My left foot went through the skirt, then my right. I was fully bent over then, and my hands were about even with my ankles. Slowly - very slowly - I brought myself upright, let my body move my hands up, and pulled the skirt past my calves. When it passed my knees, I heard Jenna shift in her chair. As it started to move up my thighs, I kept my body bent forwards, forcing my ass outwards. I stayed bent, and used my hands to drag the fabric higher. First it hid my balls from view, and then it started to cover my cheeks.

"...oh fuck..." she sighed slowly.

I kept the waistband of the skirt moving and turned to look at her over my right shoulder. She was sitting upright and was biting her right index finger. I maintained eye contact as the skirt finished its upwards journey, buttoned the tab over the top of my tail, then turned to face her, never looking away from her eyes.

"Well? How does reality compare to your vision?"

"Oh, reality most definitely wins, but I think we can make it even better."

"What should I change? I want to get this right for you."

"Don't worry. I got this."

Jenna got up from her chair and stood in front of me. I still wasn't sure what needed changing, but like she said, she had this. She put both of her index fingers inside the waistband at the front, ran them around to the back to my tail, then back to the front, tugging outwards and pulling downwards as she did.

With her adjustments completed, she stepped back to check her work. "Much better."

I wasn't sure how much that one quick move could have changed things, but when I looked down I could see that the waistband was now riding considerably lower. Not obscenely low, but definitely below where I'd normally have my boxers.

"Walk around a bit for me?"

I did as requested, and walked across to the closet and then back to my original spot by the bed. The skirt widened a decent amount from the waist to the hem, which was at about knee-level, so it wasn't restrictive, even while moving around. It did have one issue I hadn't considered.

"How do you like it?" Jenna asked.

"It's definitely...breezy?"

"But is that bad?"

"I don't think so. I mean, there's the definite lack of support and all that, but - the air! The air just gets everywhere up in there. Is that what it's like for you?"

"Not so much. It does go lower on me, so it's not quite as breezy, and I'm rarely going commando in a skirt."

"But even when it's windy, you don't just feel all that air?"

"Well," she began, "if you wear skirts or dresses enough, you kind of get used to it. I imagine only wearing pants and shorts that it does feel quite different. Can I ask for one more thing?"

"Sure. Whatever you like."

"Give us a twirl?"

I blushed, but complied. I pushed off with my left foot and brought that knee up, spinning on the ball of my right foot. The skirt rose up a bit as I did, but I didn't think I'd shown off too much. When I finished the spin I was facing Jenna again, and I saw that knuckle had found its way back between her teeth.

"You approve?" I grinned.

"Let me show you just how much I approve." She stepped closer and embraced me. Her left arm wrapped around my body while her right moved to the back of my neck, pulling me down into a kiss. As we kissed, she pushed her right knee between my legs and brought it up, forcing them apart. She kept pushing until her thigh brushed against my furry pouch.

"Oh, I like that access," she said when we broke for air.

"It seems handy," I agreed.

Setting her foot back down, she bent her knees just enough to get her hands under the skirt. Instead of going to the front as I'd hoped, she slid them up the backs of my thighs, coming to a stop with a firm grip on my cheeks.

"Yes, I could definitely get used to this kind of access," she said as she pulled me against her and leaned into my chest.

"How about on the front side?"

"Gonna have to check that too..." she started, before falling silent.

"Everything okay?" I asked, wondering what thought just came into her mind.

"Drinks!"

"Not what I was expecting, but what about drinks?"

"We don't have any," she explained.

It slowly dawned on me that with everything we'd had going on today, we didn't have a chance to do any shopping. The fridge was definitely nearing empty, part of the reason we'd ordered in for dinner.

"It's okay," Jenna said. "We can run out to 7-Eleven real quick. It's just a few blocks away."

"Works for me. Let me just get changed real quick"

"Or maybe you could not get changed," she suggested, reminding me that her hands were still on my ass with a squeeze.

"Umm...was this also part of your vision?"

"It wasn't before, but I think it is now. Just need to get you the right top..." she drifted off again, this time physically as well as verbally, as she headed to her dresser instead of the closet.

As she started rummaging around, I sat down on the bed and did a bit of drifting myself. In the bedroom, this was just good fun, but out in public? Could I do that? Should I do that? Wasn't that taking things a bit far? Was this a game? Was it a dare? Was I...

"Found it!"

I snapped back to the moment and looked up, seeing her walking towards me with another item of clothing. This one was sky blue, and I thought I knew what it was.

She must've seen something different in my expression as she got back in front of me. "Hey, are you okay? Am I asking too much here?"

"I'm honestly not sure. So far this has been hotter than I expected, but it was also just me and you in your bedroom."

"Okay, maybe I was getting a little carried away from seeing my 'vision' realized, but I would like to take things a little further if you're willing."

I thought about it. It had gotten kind of dark out, and 7-Eleven was just up the street. Still...

"Tell you what. Try this on with the skirt, and then let me know if you're game."

"That can't hurt. Let me see what you've picked out."

As she handed it to me, I could see that my guess was right. It was her blue hoodie vest. Of course, it hadn't always been a vest. She'd bought it for the color, but the only ones they had with the right body size had arms that were way too long, so those got cut off. I thought I remembered her wearing it with this same skirt before, only she had worn a black sports top underneath it.

I stood up and put it on, leaving the hood down. When I started to zip it up, she took hold of my hands.

"Don't. It's much better like this. See for yourself," she added, gesturing towards the mirror on the closet door.

As I walked to the mirror, I realized I'd only looked down at the skirt after putting it on, and hadn't seen the full picture yet. As I stepped in front of it, I finally got to see what she'd been seeing, and took in her full vision with her. It was definitely me, and that was definitely a skirt, and it was definitely riding low on my hips. The hoodie didn't hang quite as loosely on me as it did on Jenna, but it still looked okay. While that piece was very gender-neutral, for most people these days, a skirt still meant "female." I certainly didn't present that way, but even so, I couldn't actually say it looked bad.

"So? What do you think?" she asked.

"I'm not really sure what I was expecting when you first suggested I wear something of yours. I had no idea what you might pick, but now that I'm in it, I'd say you chose well. The dark blue of the skirt is good with my fur, and while it's not fancy or frilly, I think that works in its favor. It's simple, but not plain. The sky blue of the hoodie is a nice complement. I can see why you pair these together for yourself."

"My fur may be all white, and you've got a little more white than black in your stripes, so I figured this combo would look good on you, too. Minus the inner top, of course."

"Yeah, I don't need that kind of support, thankfully." As we talked, I found myself turning left and right, taking in her vision, and felt more comfortable with it than I'd expected.

"I don't know which one of us is checking you out more."

I smiled and put an arm around her shoulders. She countered by sliding her hand back under the skirt to my ass.

"Sooo, you up for this?" she asked with a caress.

"I think so."

"Only think? Anything I can do to boost your confidence?" As she asked, her caress turned firmer, almost like a one-handed massage.

"That'll help for sure, but it might make this outfit a bit awkward in public."

"Oh shit! Sorry. I didn't get you too worked up, did I?"

"Maybe a bit firmer than things were a moment ago, but I think I'm still presentable," I said as I grabbed the waistband to pull it forward and check.

"Dude, it's a skirt, remember?"

With her free hand, she flipped up the front, completely exposing me. Things may have swollen slightly, but nothing was peeking out yet. I was actually a bit shocked at how quickly she had been able to put everything on display.

"Things look okay," I said as I tugged the skirt from her hand and pulled it back down, "but please don't do that when we're outside."

"Don't worry. I'll be on my best behavior."

With that, Jenna started getting herself ready. She settled on a pair of khaki shorts and a black hoodie to wear over what she already had on, and we headed back to the living room. She grabbed her bag and I picked up my phone, suddenly realizing I had no pants pocket to put it in.

She quickly caught on to my newfound problem. "Welcome to the life."

"No biggie. I can put it in the hoodie pocket for one trip to the store. At least with cashless payment I can leave my wallet here, and you can manage the keys."

"Sounds like we're all sorted then,"she said, heading for the door. "Shall we?"

"Moment of truth," I grinned nervously, feeling my cheeks flush with warmth.

"You'll be fine. If anybody stares, it's because they're wishing they looked as hot as you."

I blushed a little harder, and we shared a laugh as she opened the door. Once we were out, she locked up and led the way downstairs. When we got to the front door, I surprised myself by following her right out. I'd thought I might hesitate, but I didn't miss a step as we moved onto the sidewalk.

The concrete was still warm beneath our paws, and the air had started to cool a little, but not so much that we needed to wear more than we already were. Jenna took my right paw in hers and we headed off down the street. There was just the slightest bit of wind, which I was acutely aware of. Enough so that I gave a slight shiver.

"Still feeling 'breezy?'"

"Definitely. This would take a lot of getting used to."

"Oh? You think you may be up for more?"

"We've barely gone half a block. Let's at least finish one trip to the store first."

"Fair point."

"It does feel pretty good, if I'm being completely honest. Definitely feeling 'free-er,' if that's the right term, than I would in my cargo shorts. There's also the no underwear thing, so there's no fabric creep, but it feels a bit odd having everything more or less out in the open. Even with boxers there's at least something between my bits and the outer layer of clothing. I mean, I know nothing's showing, but I also know that I'm completely exposed from a certain angle."

"Try not to think about it too much," she said with a reassuring squeeze of my hand. "Just enjoy looking gorgeous."

We reached the first corner and checked for traffic. There wasn't any coming so we crossed and continued on our way. On the next block, there was somebody walking towards us. We angled towards the side and gave them room to pass. If they noticed what I was wearing, they didn't give any sign.

"See? No biggie."

"They were looking at their phone," I pointed out. "So maybe they didn't notice. And the trees are blocking the streetlights a bit."

'Well, it looks like we'll have to wait at the crosswalk up ahead, and we won't be alone."

Sure enough, there was somebody else heading the same direction, jogging in place as they waited for the light to change. Glancing at the traffic lights, I could tell that we'd catch up to them before the crossing went green.

When we reached the corner Jenna was between the stranger and I. I looked to see if they were looking, and they were. It was an older bager, maybe in her late 40's with a short haircut and several piercings in the ear I could see. She looked us both up and down, obviously aware of what I was wearing, and that we were holding hands.

"Right on," she said with a wink and a smile, before she turned her attention back to the crossing light.

It went green a few moments later and she took off at a good clip. We made our way across and turned to wait for a green signal in the other direction, which would get us to our destination.

"Allow me to repeat myself. No biggie!"

"Maybe so, but I'm still glad we're doing this when it's dark."

"You're doing great. Just remember that 'right on' when we get over there and you'll be fine."

With that last line, she pointed towards 7-Eleven with its well-lit parking lot and bright interior, and I realized I'd not thought that far ahead. I swallowed, perhaps a bit more loudly than I'd intended, and pulled up my hood.

"Hey, you'll be fine."

The light turned green and I psyched myself up with an, "I got this," as we started across.

I could only see one car in the parking lot as we crossed, but there were a few more moving up and down the street, any of which might turn in. I squeezed Jenna's hand a little tighter, not feeling quite as confident under the bright lights.

When we entered the parking lot I could see an older Jeep coming up the road with its top off and blinker on, but I wasn't sure if they were turning at the corner or into the lot here. We were almost at the doors when the reflection of headlights in the glass in front of us answered the question.

It was like being in a spotlight, and I felt incredibly exposed, especially since they didn't turn off.

"Just run in and grab a 12-pack," a male voice said from the Jeep. "And hurry up 'cause we're already late."

"I'm going," another male voice answered, accompanied by the sound of an opening door. "Yoooo! Check out the ass on Mama Longlegs in the skirt!"

Oh. Shit.

My mind was racing and I couldn't figure out how to react. There were plenty of things I could do, but I couldn't focus on any of them clearly enough to figure out which one was the right one.

I ended up not having to make that decision, because some deeper part of my brain already had.

I turned my head, looked over my right shoulder and said, "Thanks!" while grinning the wickedest grin I could manage. Just for good measure, I threw a proper bump with my right hip.

The driver erupted with laughter, and since there was no top on the Jeep the sound really carried. Even with the headlights in my eyes, the parking lot lights showed me that they were both hyenas, as if they laughter hadn't already given the driver away. They were typical mid-20's dude-bros, the kind who kept living life as though they were still in a fraternity.

"Look at you!" Jenna said, pulling me towards the door as she pushed it open.

"I have no idea what came over me," I tried to explain, my heart pounding from the rush of adrenaline.

"You'll be okay. Just take some deep breaths and let's find you something to drink that'll help take the edge off once we're back at my place."

I nodded my assent and we took our time choosing, eventually picking out a couple variety six-packs of beer. The catcaller was in the store as we were making our selections, but he was hanging by the magazines with his head down, clearly too embarrassed to browse the beers while we were still in that section. He didn't say anything else, and waited until we headed to the register with our beer before he went to grab his 12-pack.

I did get a bit of an odd look from the cashier as we were checking out, but I was still on enough of a rush that I didn't pay her any mind. With the beer bought and bagged we moved towards the doors, still lit up by the Jeep's headlights.

"He could've turned those off," Jenna pointed out, "being right in front of the doors and all."

"Dude's are gonna dude, I guess," I shrugged.

Once we were outside, driver dude called out to us.

"Hey."

"Yeah?" I responded, tensing up and not really knowing what to expect.

"Sorry about my friend earlier," he apologized. "He can be a bit of a jerk sometimes."

"No worries," I replied, relieved that he was being cool.

"But you know," he continued, "he wasn't wrong."

"Oh? How so?"

"Your ass does look great in that skirt," he said with a wink and a grin, much like the one I gave his friend earlier, if a little toothier.

I don't think I'd ever had a massive adrenaline surge followed by that much blushing before, and it had me feeling very floaty.

"Thanks," I said softly as I looked down, no longer able to meet his gaze.

Fortunately, Jenna was there to keep me moving.

"We gotta go," she told driver dude, taking my hand and pulling me towards the sidewalk home, "but I hope you dudes have as much fun tonight as we're going to."

"Not likely!" driver dude called after us, with another big laugh and a wave farewell.

It wasn't until we reached the sidewalk that I realized I'd been holding my breath.

"Whooooooh," I exhaled loudly, with a little shudder.

"You doing okay?"

"That is without a doubt, the most intense trip to 7-Eleven I've ever taken."

"I'll bet. Glad to see you're still in good spirits."

"I can't say I'm running at 100% right now. The rush is definitely wearing off, and driver dude threw me for a loop there at the end."

"Right?!? I wasn't expecting that from him either."

"Book. Cover. No judging and all that," is about the best I could manage at that point. "I just need a beer or three."

"Well then, we'd best get you home."

The walk back to her place was uneventful. The few people we passed were either busy chatting with each other or too into their phones to take any notice of us, which was just fine with me. Aside from a few breezes getting up into things, I wasn't really all that aware of the skirt anymore.

Until we got back to Jenna's building.

"I know this has been a pretty heavy experience, but can I make one more request?"

"Sure. What did you have in mind?" I wondered, not sure what else could be missing from her vision at this point.

"Can you go up the stairs ahead of me?" she asked, blushing a bit.

"Yeah, that's not a big deal," I said, before something occurred to me. "Wait, you're not going to take upskirt photos, are you?"

"No, no! I just wanted to peek, but..."

There was that drift again, stopping her from finishing her sentence as she looked at the floor. I could guess what was coming next.

"But what...?" I prodded, lifting her chin with a finger to look into her eyes.

"If you're okay with it, I think it'd be really hot to take a few."

Once things had gotten more physical between us, we'd sent each other all kinds of photos, and had even taken some of each other. As we started spending a lot more time with each other in person, however, our interest in that activity had more or less burned out. Now I saw it just needed the right sort of spark to get it going again.

"I'm cool with that," I said, and gave her nose a little reassuring kiss.

Jenna hurriedly got out her phone and opened the camera app. "Regular lens, zoom lens, selfie lens...? Which one's best, do you think?"

"How would I know?" I laughed. "I've never taken upskirts!"

"I know, but if you were going to? Okay, imagine it's me. Say I just got a new miniskirt and I offered to let you take some, how would you do it?"

"Did you get a new miniskirt?"

"Not important right now. Let's focus!"

"Okay, okay. Hmmm... If you use the lenses on the back of your phone, you have access to the flash, but you can't frame your shots since you can't see the screen. If you use the selfie lens, you lose the flash, but you can frame your shots. I guess you've got to decide what's more important"

"No, I don't. I can do both! The first flight of stairs is better lit, so I can go no flash on those shots. The second flight loses the extra light from the lobby, so I'll use the flash on those."

"And on the third flight?"

"Burned out bulb," she reminded me. "Super's been dragging his feet for months on getting that fixed. He's just lucky we get light in there from the streetlight or it'd be really unsafe."

"Sounds like you've got a plan. Shall we?" I asked, gesturing towards the stairs.

"Let's!"

As we headed up the stairs, I was grateful her phone didn't make a shutter sound each time she took a picture. Knowing how many photos she was taking would probably have made me really nervous. Right before we got to the second floor landing, I felt a slight tug on the back of the skirt. Looking back, I could see that she was lifting it up with her free hand while taking pictures with the other.

"Are you supposed to do that? I thought the whole point was to do this without getting caught."

"You gave me permission, remember? You can't 'get caught' if you're allowed to do it."

"Are you really trying to lawyer your way into getting better shots up my skirt for your spank bank?" I laughed.

"Objection!" she countered. "It's called the 'Rub Club,' and what I'm doing is absolutely okay."

"Okay, Phoenix. Have it your way."

On the second flight, it was more obvious when she was taking shots since each photo was accompanied by the flash. There were a LOT of flashes. I was walking a little more slowly than normal, making sure she was able to get enough photos, and also making sure she didn't trip, especially on the turn in the stairs.

"I can't wait to see how these turned out," Jenna said as we reached the third floor.

"I'm a little curious myself. Shall we head up and have a look?"

"Okay. I can settle for just looking this time, if you don't mind staying in front?"

"Not at all."

I started up the last flight to her floor and was just past the turn when she told me to stop.

"Everything okay?"

"Uh-huh. I just noticed how the light from the street light was hitting you through the window and got struck by an idea," she said.

"Another vision?"

"It could be, if you'll allow me another little indulgence?"

I didn't see any reason to stop now, and told her as much.

"Great! Now, we don't need the beer for this shot," she said as she took it from me and set it down on the floor at the top of the stairs. "If you can stand here, on maybe the third step past the turn?"

I moved where she asked and waited for further direction.

"Hmm. Put the hood down, lean against the wall and bring up your right footr. Good, now back where you were. Right foot up, paw flat on the wall. No, your right, not mine. The one on the higher step. Next...hands over your head and perhaps cross your wrists? Perfect. Now if you can just turn your head to the right, so that you're catching more light on your face."

I couldn't quite tell what she was going for, but guessed that she had me mostly framed in the light coming in through the window. She moved back down to the turn and got her phone out again to check her shot.

"Something's not quite right. Can you put your right paw back down on the step it was on? The skirt's pulling away from your body too much right now."

I did as she asked, but I could tell by her expression that she still wasn't happy.

"Anything I can change?"

"Hmm. No, I know how to fix this."

Jenna walked up the few steps to the one my right paw was on, putting our faces on about the same level. Her left hand reached up to where my wrists were crossed and pinned them to the wall. With her right, she caressed my cheek, then pulled my face to hers and started in on a very deep kiss. Her left hand held my wrists firmly, while she leaned into me, keeping the kiss going. Her right slid down my neck, tracing a path across my chest, over my stomach, and down below my waist. It only stopped once she was gripping my sheath through the linen fabric of my skirt. She started working her hand back and forth, first getting me swollen, then bringing me out.

The moment was so intense I didn't even realize she'd released my wrists until after the kiss was broken and she'd stepped back.

"That's what was missing," she said, looking down with a grin.

I held my position, and followed her gaze. I wasn't surprised to see my skirt tenting up over my erection, but I still gasped at the sight all the same.

"Oh my..."

"Hold that pose."

I did as instructed while Jenna moved back into position for her shot. Again there wasn't any flash so I wasn't sure how many photos she was taking, but after she started shooting from different spots, and taking high angles and low angles, I could guess it was quite a few.

"I think we're good," she said as she dropped her phone into her bag. "You can relax now."

I lowered my arms to my sides, closed my eyes for a moment, and took a few deep breaths.

"You too," she chuckled, pointing at my skirt, which was still noticeably tented.

"Hmm?" I looked at where she was pointing and laughed. "Go to sleep, you. Gonna get me arrested."

"Nah, we're inside now. Besides, even if you did get arrested, you've got your own lawyer here ready to take the case."

"I think it takes a bit more than being able to say 'Objection!' forcefully to be a lawyer."

"Pfft! That's at least 75% of it."

"No arguments from me, counselor, but I still think we ought to get inside. If not for the sake of decency, then at least for the sake of cold beer," I said, gesturing towards the essentially-forgotten shopping bag on the landing.

"No objections there. I move that we take things inside to secure the beer in a proper location and then examine this photographic evidence," she stated, tapping her bag for emphasis.

We both maxed out on silliness at roughly the same moment and dissolved into giggles, with me snatching up the beer and my sandals while she fished for her keys as we made for the door.

After we managed to get inside without further photography breaks, we put the beer away and each grabbed a can, then collapsed onto the couch. Cracking them open, we offered toasts to one another.

"To new experiences," Jenna proclaimed.

"To visions made real," I toasted in return.

We knocked the cans together and both took very hearty pulls.

Neither of us said anything right away, and I'm sure we were both processing the events of the past hour (really? was that all it was?) in our heads. We drank and thought, and thought and drank, each getting more than halfway through our beer before one of us was willing to break the silence.

I went first.

"So, about that evidence you wanted to examine. Should we have a look at that?"

"In a minute. There's one thing I want to ask you about first. Out on the stairs, you said something, and I'm not sure you're even aware that you said it."

"What was that?"

"When I was taking that first batch of photos, I was trying to get a better view and cheated a little."

"Oh, so now you admit that grabbing my skirt was cheating?"

"Not the point!" she laughed. "Besides, you just said it again - 'my' skirt. Not 'your' or 'the,' but 'my.'"

"Hmm. I guess I did," I said, wondering what that meant, if anything. "Well, we do tend to refer to stuff we're wearing as if it's ours. I mean, the boxers you have on now are mine, but I'd definitely say my hand was inside 'your' boxers if I were copping a feel."

"That's true, but I gotta admit, it was kind of hot hearing you say 'my skirt' as I was getting those photos."

"Speaking of which..."

"We'll get to them," she said, holding up her can. "How's your beer?"

I raised mine and swirled it a little. "Getting there. Yours?"

"Low enough to kill it. Shall we?"

We tapped our cans together again, then finished off what was left in them. As we stood up, she took my can and put the pair of them in the sink to deal with later. I grabbed us two fresh ones from the fridge.

"Before we go over the evidence," Jenna began, "do you mind if I get more comfortable?"

"It's your place. Do whatever you like."

I'd barely finished speaking and her hoodie was getting tossed on a chair. The shorts followed right after and she was back to her post-shower wear of boxers and a t-shirt.

She put her hands on your hips and struck a pose. "So what do you think of MY boxers?" she asked, giggling.

I sat the beers down on the table before answering. "They're positively adorable. And you? How do you feel about MY skirt?" After I asked my question, I performed a spin, much faster than the one I had done earlier in the bedroom. I could feel my skirt rising up higher this time, but it still didn't feel like I'd showed off the goodies.

"Fucking love it."

"Play your cards right and I may wear it again for you sometime," I teased.

"I will play whatever cards you like if that's the reward I get," she promised.

I handed Jenna her beer and we cracked them open, offering up a new set of toasts.

"To just rewards," I toasted.

"To playing the right cards," Jenna offered in return.

Once again, cans were clunked and drinks were drunked.

"So, shall we examine the evidence?" she suggested.

"Wonderful idea!"

Instead of her phone, Jenna grabbed her tablet. "Things should've synced up by now, and this'll be better for looking at the photos."

"Works for me."

Evidence in hand, we returned to the couch. Her photo album showed the most recent shots first, but she quickly flicked down, scrolling them off the screen, and only stopped the scroll when the album reached the first of the upskirt shots, of which there appeared to be many.

"We're gonna save what I'm pretty sure are the best for last."

"There are quite a lot more than I was expecting," I confess.

"I did most of them with the rapid shot. It was hard enough to keep things in frame while you were walking, so snapping pics one at a time seemed like a bad idea."

She tapped the first photo from tonight and it expanded to fill the screen. Seeing nudes of myself was nothing new, of course, but I'd never seen things from this angle before. Most of the screen was taken up by my left thigh, but it didn't totally hide my balls.

"It's like they're peeking out to say 'hi,'" Jenna giggled as she spread two fingers on the screen to zoom in on them. "Hello!"

"Okay," I laughed. "I don't think I need to get quite that up close and personal with them."

"Awww, but they're so cute and fuzzy."

"Next photo?"

"Oh, okay," she said as she zoomed out and swiped left to bring up the next shot.

This time there was less thigh in the photo, since I was raising that leg to walk up the stairs. Of course, that meant a much less obscured ball shot.

"See? Cute!" she insisted, holding the tablet up to make sure I got a closer look.

I didn't say anything, but at least she wasn't zooming in again. This image wasn't too different from the last, so I guessed the rapid shot mode on her phone took the photos in pretty quick succession.

"No comment? Okay, on to the next one."

She swiped a bit fast and ended up flicking through the next two photos. Because of how close together the photos were in time, they looked almost like still images from a video.

"This looks almost..." she started, clearly having come to the same realization I had. "I need to try something."

She flicked back to the first image in this set, then swiped through the next ten or so images in rapid succession. They slid onto the screen, so while it wasn't exactly the same as watching a video, the effect wasn't too far off.

It was like watching old, flickering film footage, except that it was in full color, shot in high-definition, and very much not the sort of thing that would've been shown as a matinee. The images she swiped through showed about one full cycle of me walking up the steps. My left leg went up, my balls came into view, pushed to that side by my right thigh. Then I stepped up with my right leg, and things got pushed back to that side. It's not that they were swinging like a pendulum, by any means, but there was a lot more back and forth than I'd previously thought about.

Jenna seemed equally enraptured. Once she got to the end of the cycle, she began swiping in the other direction, making it look like I was backing down the steps. I kept quiet until she'd walked me up and down these two steps a few more times.

"Kind of hypnotic isn't it?" I kidded.

"Definitely. I am so making this into a .gif."

"Putting it in the Rub Club, are we?"

"Oh, we most certainly are."

"Shall we move on to the flash shots?"

"Don't rush me," she said. "We'll get there in good time. I gotta find which set would make the best loop."

I watched as she took her time flicking through the rest of the photos from the first flight of stairs. I did notice that some individual shots got tagged as favorites, and then she settled on a series of about twelve and tagged them all as a set.

"Found your loop?"

"I think so, but I'll have to do a little editing, and maybe some stabilizing to make the animation smoother. This should definitely work."

"What about the ones you tagged that weren't part of that sequence? I'm curious about what made those worth faving."

"Those are ones I just like," she said, swiping to find an example. "This one here? I like how the cheek is tightening up when you step. It shows a little more definition, makes the fur stand up a little...and also opens things up a bit," she added with a blush.

"I get what you mean." I also blushed when I realized just how much could be seen, and how clearly. "Phone cameras really have come a long way since the early 2000's, haven't they?"

"They sure have. Flip phones were fine in their day, but I'm not about to give up all these pixels. Not when I can get shots like this."

"I'll have to see if I can get something similar with you and that new miniskirt you mentioned," I winked.

Blushing a bit more, she hurriedly changed the subject. "Flash shots, was it?"

I didn't press, and gave her a little hug as she swiped through to the batch from the second flight of stairs. I could tell we got there when the screen went almost completely white.

"Damn," she said, clearly not happy with the result, "that's way more flash than I was expecting. It may have blown all the detail out to the point where it's not even salvageable with editing."

"Hmm... Darker stairwell, not much light getting through my skirt. I guess the sensor couldn't get much of a read."

She swiped through a few more, but they were all pretty much the same. I think I was almost as disappointed as her.

"What do you think? Maybe shoot in HDR next time?" I suggested.

"So there is going to be a next time?"

"It's all about those cards, remember?"

"Trust me, I'm not going to forget."

"I'd be worried if you did," I said, giving her temple a kiss. "Want to look at the last batch?"

"Yeah, I'm sure those turned out better than these."

Jenna flicked through the rest of the flash photos pretty quickly, and faved a couple that she thought she could possibly rescue, but they clearly weren't as good as the ones that were taken with the selfie camera. It was obvious when she reached the first photo from the last set, because we both reacted the same way.

"Damn..." we whispered together.

I had some idea how these might have looked, given how much effort she'd put into posing me, but as we looked at the first shot now - the composition, the lighting, the posing - it was way more than I'd expected.

The light coming in through the window was a big, skewed rectangle, split up into smaller rectangles by the wooden sash bars that separated the individual panes of glass. My hands and wrists were just outside the top edge of the light, and my face had a line of shadow running down it, straight through my left eye. Having my arms raised pulled the hoodie up and open, exposing more of my chest. It was also up enough that it wasn't touching my skirt any longer, leaving the top of my hips out in the open. (My raised arms also resulted in a slight flattening of my stomach, which I was grateful for.) My skirt was what definitely caught the eye when looking at this photo. There was some obvious lifting going on in front, but not an obscene amount. Just enough to let the viewer know exactly what's under the fabric. I had my right heel up, pushing my knee forward and calf out, making for a nice curve. My tail was curled around my left ankle, and hat foot was flat, with my toes were curled ever so slightly.

"You sure can take one hell of a photo."

"Thanks. Having one hell of a subject really helps."

We took our time going through the rest of this series of shots, working on our drinks as we did. They were all somewhat similar, given that I never changed my pose, but the angle they were taken from, the amount of zoom used, and the focal point of the shots all varied quite a bit. I was particularly drawn to the ones that zoomed in to focus on specific body parts.

There was one of my arms, showing how my wrists are crossed as if they were bound, but clearly they weren't. I was free to move them if I'd chosen to, but I didn't, since this is how she wanted me.

One focused on my right knee, with my skirt resting more on my thigh than on the joint. The fabric laid flat against my skin, as if it was trying to slide up and reveal more.

The close-up of my face was really nice. The streetlight gave me a bit of a glow, but the shadow across my eye was keeping my pupil from narrowing too much. My expression was mostly neutral, but not flat, and there was a bit of a smile forming at the corner of my mouth.

Towards the end, we got to the one I had kind of suspected was in there somewhere - the tent shot. It wasn't zoomed in too far, otherwise it could have been just any old something poking against a piece of linen. The way Jenna had framed it, though, there was no denying what it was. She took this one vertically, and the bottom of my belly button was barely in frame at the top of the image. Just enough to give a bit of curve and texture to my tummy. A bit of open fur between it and the waistband of my skirt made it clear what part of my body this was. Things were pushing against the linen firmly enough that the fabric didn't even have a chance to dip from my waist. It was more like a stretched out "U" shape, curving down, then up to where it was being supported. Having my left leg straight put everything on display in a way that was almost more revealing than if I had been fully nude.

"Club material?"

"Absolutely. I think this whole series is, but the very first one gets a gold star membership for sure."

"There are membership levels?" I asked, unable to keep from laughing as I did.

"Well, yeah," she responded, surprised. "I'm sure it's the same for guys. You have some things in the safe deposit level of your bank that you use regularly, when you need something quick and reliable, and then there are the ones you keep in the vault, only to be used when you're in a special kind of mood, and really want to savor things."

She wasn't wrong. "I've never thought about it in those terms before, but you're absolutely right."

"I bet I'm also right in guessing that both our drinks are just about done."

I hadn't really even noticed the change in the weight of my can, but again, she wasn't wrong.

We gave our cans a final tap, then finished them off.

"Do you need another?" she asked.

"You know, I think I'm good for now. Maybe just some water?"

Jenna took our empties to the sink where they joined their fellows, then returned to the couch with a glass of water for each of us. She sat down cross-legged, facing me.

"How are you feeling about all this, now that you've had a chance to relax and level out a bit?"

I matched her posture, wanting to have this conversation face to face. "Pretty good, actually. When you first showed me the skirt it didn't really faze me, but then you suggested going to 7-Eleven like this, and I nearly panicked. I thought there was no way in hell I could do that."

"But you did."

"Yeah, because you were there with me. On my own? I'd have never made it out the door."

"Be honest with me. Did I push you too hard to do any of this?"

"I can't say you didn't push some, but no, you didn't push too hard. We aren't really strangers to helping each other test our limits, and we've always understood that it's okay to say 'no' at any point," I reminded her.

"That's true, but you do have a little history of not being willing to say no until you're already too far outside your comfort zone."

"You're talking about that time with the spanking, right?" It wasn't really a question. I knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Yes. That happened at your place, so it was about as safe an environment as possible, and yet you still fell way farther into a 'sub hole' than either of us were prepared for."

"That's not a nice way to refer to my butt," I joked.

"I'm being serious, you dork," Jenna chastised. She raised her free hand to my face and caressed my cheek with her thumb, showing that this intensity came from a place of caring. "Testing limits is all good and well - and even really healthy - but you have to be aware of where they are, and you have to respect them. Or else you're going to get yourself into trouble again. I was worried for a minute when you got catcalled, but you handled that just fine on your own."

"That was definitely something I hadn't considered might happen," I said, placing my hand over hers. "My reaction to that was 100% instinct. I did not plan to do or say any of that."

"Well, I'd say your instincts definitely served you well."

"As startling as that was, I think the driver's comment when we came out of the store shook me even more."

"How come? They were both commenting on your appearance, and they were both a bit too crude to be considered polite compliments." Jenna sat back and sipped her water, curious to hear the explanation.

"Beer dude mistook me for female, and he acted based on that incorrect assumption. Driver dude knew I was male, and made his comment fully aware of who he was addressing. Even though he was crass, he was genuine."

"But if you were female," Jenna wanted to know, "would you consider beer dude's comment 'genuine?'"

"Nah, fuck that guy."

We both laughed.

"Let me see if I can explain this better," I tried. "Beer dude was trash, and clearly never learned to respect women. He saw an ass..."

"Ahem. A great ass."

"...and reacted, caveman style. He didn't even bother to look at the rest of the person the ass was attached to."

"Okay, and driver dude?"

"He was aware of the total package first, and then made his crude comment. If I were a woman, that'd probably still be gross. But as a man? Getting a reaction like that from another man? That shit works on me."

I pretty much only have two stages of blushing - just barely and fire engine red. When I realized what I'd just said, you could've heard sirens as I hung my head.

"Woooow." Jenna leaned down and looked up into my face. "You think you know somebody..."

"Really not helping!"

"You know I'm only teasing, but you should definitely drink some more water."

Grateful to not have to say anything, and not really trusting myself to speak at that point, I picked up my glass and slowly drank the rest.

"Seriously, though," she began, after I'd set my glass down, "that's nothing to be embarrassed about. You know there's no chance that I'm going to judge you for that or hold it against you. Think about all the stuff we've told each other. Is this really that big of a deal?"

"It's not, and I know you won't, but that doesn't make it any less embarrassing."

Jenna got up from the couch, ruffling my hair as she did. "You may be blushing now, but you'll laugh about it later on, trust me. Do you want more water, or another beer maybe?"

"About that..."

"Yeah?"

My blush had barely begun to fade, and I could feel it starting to rise again. "I need to pee."

"You know where the bathroom is...oh right!"

I got up and looked down at the skirt. It was comfortable enough that I'd more or less forgotten I had it on, but now that I needed the restroom, I was very much aware of it.

"Do I just hike it up and sit down, or what?"

"It's short enough on you that that'll work. Usually it's underwear down, then skirt up as you sit, but obviously you can skip that first step. Just make sure you're holding it up enough so that you don't sit on it."

"Sounds easy enough. Be right back." It was, and I was - after stopping to wash my hands, of course.

"All good?"

"Yup." I held the sides of the skirt and swung them back and forth a little. "Pretty handy for that, actually. I'd guess it's easier for women to keep everything dry in a public bathroom."

"There's another new thing I've learned about you tonight," Jenna said.

"What's that?"

"You've never been in a women's restroom before. Some of them look like the bathroom in 'Saw' compared to the typical public men's room."

"Dare I ask how you know that?"

"Working summers in a movie theater. Cleaning those ladies' rooms was so bad that I tried to upsell them on smaller drinks when I worked concessions."

"And on that note, I think I've had enough to drink tonight," I laughed.

"You sure? It's not all that late yet," Jenna pointed out.

"Between dealing with Kenta's stuff and this evening's adventure, it has been quite the day, but I didn't say I was tired."

"Sounds like you've got something in mind," she smiled.

"I do. Give me a minute then join me in the bedroom?"

"I think I can wait that long."

I didn't have anything too wild in mind, so a minute was probably overkill. I just wanted to be sure I'd make a good impression when she came in. We'd set the bed up under the window, and since the only thing across the street from her place was a park, we were free to leave the curtains wide open whenever we felt like it.

Tonight, I felt like it.

I took off the hoodie and dropped it on her chair, then laid on the bed, centering myself in the light coming through the window in an attempt to recreate the pose she'd had me in on the stairs. It wasn't perfect, but it was close. I was barely able to raise a knee, or else I would've put everything on display, and, eager though I was, there wasn't any obvious tenting. I did keep her idea of crossing my wrists above my head, and because I was laying down, the effect on my chest and stomach was more pronounced.

"Is it okay if I come in?"

"It's very okay."

Jenna started to enter the bedroom, but stopped in the doorway.

"...god damn, boy..." she whispered.

I smiled up at her, enjoying her reaction. "Do you need to get your phone?"

"No need. There's no way I'll ever forget this vision."

"Another gold star addition to the Club?"

"I think this is going to require a whole new membership level. Executive Platinum, at least."

"Join me?" I asked.

"I will. I just need to make sure I remember every last detail."

Jenna stood in the doorway longer than I'd expected, but she eventually joined me in her new bed, after taking off her t-shirt and boxers. She knelt between my legs and rested her hands on my knees.

"Now," she said, as her fingers slid upwards, "let's see about the access on this side."

***

Jenna and I continued to see each other as much as possible (we still swore we weren't dating, of course), but the colder weather that arrived with winter meant no more trips to the store in skirts - for me, at least. Jenna had plenty to choose from in her wardrobe, but none of her warmer stuff would fit me. That's not to say I didn't wear my skirt for her anymore, because I absolutely did. We just had to make do with indoor adventures.

"Make do" is selling things incredibly short.

Wearing my skirt changed things in ways I hadn't expected. Jenna liked going down on me from underneath it, and getting pegged with it flipped up onto my back was a huge turn-on for me. Even when we weren't being overtly sexual, the access meant that intimate touches and playful tickles could happen at any time.

It wasn't entirely one-sided, either. Jenna really had gotten a new miniskirt, and we both ended up getting disturbingly good at taking upskirts. We almost got caught doing that by her building's super when he finally came to fix the lights on the third flight of stairs, and figured it was best to give that up before we ended up needing to hire a real lawyer.

And not all of our time was spent getting frisky. We went to museums, plundered secondhand bookstores, binged awful anime series, and continued the quest for the best burrito in town. So far, nothing had managed to measure up to Witchin' Kitchen or Burrito Barge, but we were hopeful that there were other equally good ones out there, just waiting to be discovered.

It was in service of that mission that Jenna came to my place on a Friday morning. We'd heard of a trio of burrito food trucks called The Tortilla Flotilla that would set up in various spots around the port. The name did come across as a Burrito Barge knockoff, but word of mouth was that they were pretty good, so we were going to try and find one today.

By this point we were well past buzzing each other into our respective apartments and had traded keys. Three knocks on my door and the sound of the deadbolt turning let me know she had arrived to begin the search. I got up to greet her at the door and gave her the usual hug and kiss hello.

We figured we ought to plan things out to try and maximize our chances of finding one of the burrito trucks, so we sat down on the couch, got out our phones, and started going over the maps. There were a few places that looked promising, as they were known to have the most workers breaking for lunch around the same time, which drew a large number of food trucks. A couple of these weren't too far from each other, so there was a decent chance we'd be successful.

Right when we were getting ready to go, we both got email notifications at the same time, which was weird. Curious, we checked our mail and saw that we'd gotten messages from Kenta. He was writing to see how we were doing and to give us an update on his dad. Things were much better than they had been, but he was still quite a way from a full recovery. Even though he had a long road ahead, the doctors were now convinced he would get back to 100% someday.

We both sent him a reply, wishing him and his family well, and asked him if there was anything needed from the US. Messages sent, we checked our maps and the bus schedule one last time, then headed for the door.

Just as we were getting our shoes on, both our phones dinged at the same time again.

"Kenta again?" Jenna wondered.

"Could be."

We pulled our phones out, but it wasn't Kenta who'd emailed us. We'd both gotten mail from the same address, but it wasn't one we recognized. The subject line was "I'm sorry."

"Is this some new scam?" Jenna asked.

"Maybe, but our names are the only ones in the "to:" field, and there aren't any other addresses CCed"

"We're on our phones, so it should be safe to at least read it."

We both opened the email, and it wasn't spam. It probably would've been better if it had been.

It was an apology letter from the owner of the forum we'd been banned from back in the spring. He wanted to tell us that he'd tried both restaurants (we did notice that he never said which side he was on to begin with), and agreed that we were right in saying they were both good. However, in the interest of keeping his site from erupting into chaos all over again, he would not be reversing our bans. nor would he be reporting his findings on the forum himself.

I couldn't figure out any possible reason for this.

"Why email us?" I asked. "Is he trying to score brownie points with himself or something?"

Jenna had more succinct thoughts.

"Fuck that guy."

"Delete it," I said, nodding agreement. "Nothing good can come of this. Don't read it again. Don't reply. Just delete it."

Jenna tapped on her phone a few times. "Delete what? The last email I have is from Kenta," she said, showing me her screen with a grin. "How about you?"

I tapped my phone a few times, and smiled as I showed her the screen. "Same. What were we just talking about?"

"The Tortilla Flotilla. We're going to track them down and find out if they're really all that."

"Yes, we are. And even if they're not the burritos we're looking for, we're going to keep on looking until we find the ones that are."

"Awesome," said Jenna. "Let's do this."

Roll credits.