Chapter 54

“I am in short, a witch of the quantumverse.”
—Philip Palmer, Artemis

MONDAY AFTERNOON found the five of us at Joan’s house, waiting to hear that Beca was home. I swear we looked like a bunch of expectant fathers in a maternity waiting room. Except that every so often, someone would hug someone else and end up in a nice intense kiss for a while. Then we’d go back to mindlessly wandering around or pretending to pay attention to the TV.

Joan’s phone chirped and she thumbed open a message.

“She says she’s here.”

“Let’s go pick her up!” I said.

“No! Here. She’s here!” Joan went tearing up the stairs with the rest of us right behind. She opened the front door to find Beca standing on the porch in front of her. There was silence for almost a minute as the two girls just stood staring at each other. Then Beca opened her arms and Joan rushed into them.

Beca was stunning. And it was so simple. She wore a pair of white sandals. The spaghetti strap top hugged her beautiful breasts. I know that if she wears this to school, she’ll need a bra with it, but the shape and color of her nipples were exciting to see. She wore a white skirt that layered down in three tiers to about mid-thigh. And a necklace that was almost like a bolo tie with a huge medallion from which hung two ends of the cord.

And she was wearing makeup. Not overly done, but definitely lip gloss, eye shadow, and blush. While we watched, she lifted her lips to Joan and gave her a long sweet kiss. When Joan finally let go of her little girlfriend, the rest of us got a good look at her. Those nipple points pushing out the chest of her form-fitting knit shirt were beacons. I was surprised that she rushed straight to me and I picked her up as she gave me the sweetest little kiss I could imagine.

“I’ve missed you all summer,” I sighed.

“I missed you like crazy, boyfriend,” she giggled. I set her down and she went to Rachel next. “And you, girlfriend.”

“You look so cute!” Rachel said. “That little outfit is to die for, even though you’ll have to wear a bra to school with it.”

“Yeah. Mom raised an eyebrow when I dressed but since I was ‘only’ going to see my girlfriends ... and boyfriend ... she decided to let it pass. We went shopping at the Paragon Plaza in Bangkok and I got a whole new school wardrobe for fall.”

“Did your breasts grow this summer?” Desi asked boldly as she caught Beca for her own welcome home kiss.

“Um ... Yeah. I didn’t think you could notice. They’re like just a full A-cup now instead of getting wrapped in a training bra.”

“Honey, dressed like that, all anyone could notice is your little boobies. I’d trade you any day.”

“Oh, Desi. You know how we all love your big boobs. I can hardly wait to ... Oh. Hi, Brittany.”

“Hi, Beca. I hope you don’t mind my joining in. I’m sure seeing me is a bit of a surprise.” Brittany held out her hand to Beca to shake and Beca stepped right past it to give our newest girlfriend a hug and little kiss on the lips.

“The only thing that surprises me about seeing you here is how nicely ... um ... you know ... I guess I’m not the only one coming out of my shell.”

“I get a lot more privileges now that I turned fifteen. Like you, my parents said it was okay as long as I was just with my boyfriend and girlfriends.”

“So, you came clean and claimed Jacob as a boyfriend?” Beca asked.

“I came clean and claimed you all.”

I wanted to monopolize all of Beca’s time. Of course, I couldn’t. I couldn’t even come first. There was no question that she was going to cuddle with Joan first. The two of them...

“They look so sweet, don’t they?” Rachel whispered in my ear. “Like us.”

“Yeah. And you know I love them both.”

“Of course. So do I. And don’t worry; we’ll have our time with each of them. Look at Brittany and Desi.” I tore my eyes away from Joan and Beca to focus on our youngest girlfriend and Desi. They were sitting on the floor facing each other while animatedly discussing ... something. I couldn’t tell if it was school or anime or cosplay. There were a lot of little touches between the two and I recognized that they were figuring out how they fit—with the group and with each other. “I’m going to go claim our little treasure for a cuddle. Sit tight.”

Rachel gave me another delicious kiss and then pushed off to go pick up Beca from Joan’s lap. She gave Beca just enough time to steal one more kiss from Joan and then settled into another chair with our littlest girlfriend. Desi popped up and I assumed she was headed for me, but she straddled Joan and gave her an intense kiss. I looked up to find Brittany standing next to me.

“Um ... I don’t know how this works. I’ve never done any ... stuff ... you know?”

“How about coming here and letting me hold my newest girlfriend,” I said, holding out my arms.

“Like ... on your lap?”

“It’s pretty comfortable.” She sat with one butt cheek on my right knee. “Well, maybe it’s not so comfortable that way.”

“Oh, geez!” she sighed and flopped back against me. “Just put me where I’m supposed to be, okay?”

“Brittany, I won’t assault you. I was serious about just cuddling and letting me hold you. I’ve found that these times where we’re just hugging are often more satisfying than ... well ... more rigorous encounters.” I helped her adjust her position so I could support her back while she leaned against me and I put my other arm around her waist.

“You make love with all of them, don’t you?”

“No. Not exactly. I mean, Rachel and I are lovers. All the time. I mean, whenever we can be. Joan and I ... Okay, I confess. We’re lovers. Not as often and she has a special bond with Beca. We’re all just sorting out how we fit together, you know? I have a contract with Desi. Yes, we’re probably going to consummate our relationship, but not until we’re both sixteen. And if either of us decides it’s not right, we can postpone or cancel at any time.”

“You’re not going to, though.”

“No. Desi and I have a lot of fun together. I’m going with her to Indy Comic Con over Labor Day weekend. I know she’s going to assign some silly anime for me to watch before then so I know my character.”

“And Beca?”

“I love Beca. She’s my best friend. But you know she prefers girls, don’t you?” I wasn’t going to mention anything else. As far as I was concerned Beca was one of the girls. That’s all. Brittany nodded.

“Where do I fit?” she asked while tracing the pattern of my shirt on my chest with her finger.

“You fit as a fantastic dancer and a person I’ve grown to really like over the summer. Anything else that happens is just like any other relationship. We see what develops and what we’re comfortable with.”

“I’d be comfortable with another kiss.”

I accepted her invitation and we put lips together. Brittany wasn’t very experienced as a kisser. I rather thought that everyone she’d ever kissed was in this room. Once our lips met, though, she just relaxed and softened her mouth against mine. When I touched her lips with my tongue, she caught her breath but didn’t move away. A moment later, the tip of her tongue touched mine. We didn’t go exploring each other’s mouths or trying to tickle tonsils. We just played right at our lips and then she snuggled in against my neck while I held her.

“Hey. I haven’t seen my boyfriend all summer and I hear you’ve been making love on the dance floor. Mind if I cut in?” Beca whispered to Brittany. Our girlfriend seemed to come awake and look up at Beca.

“Oh! Sorry. He makes a nice cushion to go to sleep on, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah. And I’ve been losing sleep flying home. I’d like a little rest, too.”

“Okay.” Brittany pushed herself up and away from me, pecked Beca quickly on the lips and shifted over to sit next to Joan.

“How was the summer?” I asked.

“Mmm. Good.” Beca put her hands on both sides of my face so she could hold my eyes with hers. “Jacob, I have a vagina. For the first time in my life, I feel like my body and my head are in the same space. I might never have a menstrual cycle since I don’t have ovaries but Jacob, I’m really a woman at last.”

“I’m so happy for you, Kitten. And for the record, you’ve always been a woman as far as I’m concerned. I’m just happy you can realize it now.”

“I love you, Jacob. You are still the best friend I’ve ever had. And I love sharing our girlfriends. It makes me feel like I’ll make love to you through them.”

“Planning to spend the night with Joan?”

“No. Not yet. I mean, just because all the parts are there doesn’t mean that I’m ready for everything yet. Joan understands that I’m still not as mature as everyone else. Even Brittany is physically more mature than I am. Maybe emotionally, too. But ... I might ... I mean before Joan and I get together ... maybe I could ... sort of be with you and Rachel? I don’t mean really making love, but seeing how everything works, you know? You’re the only people who know about me. Ever.”

“I’m sure Rachel would be happy to have you join us. But don’t feel you need to rush it, Kitten. We love you and we will never push you.”

“So, I’d pick you up early on Monday morning, like usual, and we’d drive down to Noblesville. We’d have plenty of time for breakfast and to get loosened up. The races start at ten. They start the half-marathon first, so I’d be gone before you reach the starting line. Half an hour later, they start the 10k. That would be you. Then a half-hour after that they start the 5k. It assumes that the slowest 5k people will be crossing the finish line before the fastest marathoners get there. This will be a real test of your legs, Jacob. What do you think?”