Starfish

Two close college friends consummate a longstanding flirtation.

For four years, Jill has teased Ellie with "The Offer": an invitation to share her bed. Ellie has teased back that Jill is a starfish, applying relentless pressure.

But graduation looms. Ellie will soon depart for the Peace Corps with Brad, her boyfriend and probable husband; Jill will leave for New York.

On graduation day, Ellie realizes the road not taken might haunt her forever. She calls Jill...

First-time F/F erotic romance. Adults only. 32 pages.


Excerpt:

We rise up the elevator in silence. I touch Jill's hand; her fingers caress mine. The doors open and she walks out into the hall. My hand releases, and she doesn't hold on; I hurry out after her before the doors close again.

Room 662. I feel an incredible wave of relief that we are not in 666, an indicator that I would be going to hell for sure. Then I remember: no hotel has room 666, or room 13 for that matter. So if I am looking for a sign that my betrayal of Brad is going to send me to eternal damnation, I'm not going to find it in such a soap-opera overwritten way.

Jill walks past the bed, pulls the curtains closed. She glances back over her shoulder.

I'm still on the threshold.

We stare at each other.

Finally, I walk in and close the door.

For a moment, I wonder if all Jill really wanted to do was watch HBO. The TV remote's in her hand. Stations flip endlessly before she finds what she wants: smooth jazz. A screen saver glides around the television screen and soft saxophone music fills the room.

You romantic you, I say. Only it doesn't come out right. My voice is high and catches on the last word. I wonder if Jill will feel sorry for me and call the whole thing off. That's all right, Ellie, we don't have to do this. Why don't we just lie on the bed, order some champagne, and relax? I see us laughing on the bed, fluted glasses in hand, reliving all the funny stories of the past four years.

Jill sees my nervousness all right, but her reaction isn't exactly what I was expecting. She begins popping the buttons on my blouse, one by one. Her eyes are on her work and you would think from her calm expression she was just helping a friend disrobe in a cabana at the beach.