Chapter 24

Jeannette didn't show up for lunch on Tuesday. Sammi didn't think anything of it until later that afternoon when she saw the girl. Jeannette was standing by a window, one arm under her breasts, the other with her hand on her neck. She was watching the trees rustle and stir in the rain, and the flip and flutter of the small birds that were darting around the school.

"Where've you been?" Sammi asked, stopping beside her friend.

Sammi glanced at her, a vague smile on her face. "We did it today," she said softly.

"Did... it? Oh." There could only be one thing Jeannette was referring to. "Do you need or want to talk about it?"

"Maybe." Jeannette sighed. "It wasn't... it wasn't like I thought it would be."

"Bad? Good? Or something else?"

"Oh, it was sort of fun, and it felt good. It sure happened faster than I thought it would."

"He didn't... he didn't finish and leave you... ?"

"Nothing like that," Jeannette said. "Do you have a few minutes? Maybe I do need to talk about it."

"I was going to spend this period in the library," Sammi said. "That can wait, though. I know where we can talk."

They found an empty classroom and settled at two desks in the corner that were out of sight of the hall.

"You said it was so fast," Sammi said. "What did you mean by that?"

"I didn't expect... I thought this wouldn't happen for a few more weeks."

"Does that upset you?"

"No..." Jeannette's voice trailed off and she stared at the floor. "I thought we were going to be doing the same thing we'd done last week," she began. "We'd kiss, we'd touch, he'd run his fingers over my body, and I would do the same. Last week he began kissing me down there, and... why do boys do that?"

"They do. It feels good, doesn't it?"

"Well, yes, but I pee there, and there are days my panties look a mess. But he seemed quite happy to do that."

"Boys know a girl enjoys being kissed there. I'm not sure how excited boys get while they're doing that, but getting kissed down there isn't about their pleasure, it's about ours. And most girls love it."

Jeannette nodded, her Adams Apple bobbing up and down as she swallowed. "It feels really good. I even... I climaxed the first time he kissed me down there."

"Nothing wrong with that," Sammi said, "a lot of girls do. And if you're worried about how 'dirty' it is, take a shower before you're going to be with a boy, and make doubly sure you wash down there."

"That's what I was told," Jeannette said, nodding again. "Anyway..." She paused, staring at the floor. "Yesterday we did that, and I was thinking that today Bob might expect me to kiss his thing, his... penis. But instead..." She took a deep breath. "Instead, today he was kissing me down there, and I... and I climaxed, and afterwards I was feeling nice and snuggly, you know, like I wanted him to hold me and we could just lie there, but as I was relaxing he kissed his way up my body. We'd done that enough times that I barely noticed. Well, I noticed that my breasts seemed more sensitive, but that was all; and his kisses felt really good.

"I was thinking that I could lie there all morning that way when I felt something touching me down there. I suddenly realized he was over me, and the only thing that could be touching me was his thing."

"His cock. Say it."

"Cock."

"When they get hard they cease being a penis," Sammi said. "Go on."

"What else can I say? He put it in me. It seemed like it took him forever to do that, though, and I wasn't sure I could open up enough for him and... I never knew a guy could get that long... or that big."

"Did it hurt?"

"It... no, it didn't hurt. It felt... I really can't describe it. I can't say it felt uncomfortable, because it didn't. It felt... stretchy? I don't know. It certainly didn't feel like anything I expected. Anyway, it felt... weird, I guess... no, that's not it. It felt..."

"It is kind of hard to describe." She patted Jeannette's knee. "Guys will ask a girl what it feels like." She shrugged. "What can we say? Another girl will know what it feels like because it's happened to her, but a guy?" She smiled, shaking her head slightly. "Did you like it?"

Jeannette bit her lip and nodded slightly. "After a bit."

"Did it feel good?"

"After a bit. I was too confused at first. I couldn't believe it was happening, and I didn't... didn't..." She swallowed and took a deep breath. "It kind of overwhelms you."

"There's so much going on," Sammi said. "I don't think boys understand what's happening inside a girl's head when we make love. There are the physical sensations, of course, but there are all of the emotional things, too. My brother didn't really believe me when we talked about it."

"You talked with your brother? About this?"

Sammi nodded. "We've always talked about things like sex, love, and so on. Oh, not so much these last few months since Anna has more or less moved in, but we talked a lot before that."

She laughed. "I think we started talking about things like that when we were 6 or 7. Everyone kept telling us we were identical twins, and I kept thinking we weren't because I had long hair and he didn't. Then I saw a boy with long hair and realized that boys could grow their hair as long as they wanted, even if it did look weird. To make a long story short, one day... I won't tell you what led up to it... anyway, one day I pulled down my shorts, he pulled down his, and we discovered we weren't identical."

Jeannette smiled wanly. "In Seaside, by the time you're 5 or 6, you're already aware of the differences between boys and girls. Of course you don't know why boys have a different shape than a girl, and why they have that thing hanging down between their legs. You don't learn that for a few more years, well, until you're 9 or 10. When I learned I remember thinking that the whole idea was rather gross. Of course down there we aren't taught what to do with what we can see, not like you are up here."

"I wondered why we don't just walk around nude all of the time," Sammi said. "It would save a lot of time and energy. Still, I like wearing clothes. I like how I can flatter my looks, and when I was in Center I liked how they kept me warm, though a skirt isn't really that warm when a cold wind comes sweeping down off the ice sheets."

Jeannette sighed, nodding. "It'd be even worse if you were nude. Did you know there are places near Lower where they are as nude as they are in Seaside, but the school teaches the same things they teach up here?"

Sammi nodded. "Rod is from one of those places. I was going to try to switch schools for a term with his school, but before I could do that he moved up here.

"Anyway, to get back to you, I guess the question is: would you be willing to do it again?"

Jeannette nodded, but slowly. "It kind of felt good toward the end, and I hear you and the other girls talking about it, and you guys seem to enjoy it."

Sammi nodded, smiling. "Yeah, we do. I know I enjoy it."

"How can you do it with different boys? I heard Grace say something about how in class you do it with two different boys, though not at the same time. Doesn't that cheapen it or something? How can you love all of these guys?"

"One of the things I've learned," Sammi said slowly, "and I know all of the other kids have as well, is that there's a big difference between passion, which is what we experience when we have sex with each other, and love. Love is long term. You have similar outlooks, similar interests, and a bonding. If you listen to someone getting married, the vows people use in Three Valleys, and maybe in Seaside, is Two as One. That's what love does, it makes two people as one.

"Passion, which is one of the things you feel when you have sex with someone, is different. It's a combination of fiery emotions, the feelings you have at the moment, and physical pleasure. There are boys I really enjoy having sex with, but I don't find any interest in dating them, or even considering them as a potential husband... though that's down the road a few years.

"I really sort of learned that from my Mom. She makes these movies and TV shows, and one time we were at home and a movie came on that she'd been in. And there she was on the screen having sex with some guy. It was just the two of us—I was 11 and I don't know what I would have done if Dad had been there—and so I asked her. She told me that her co-star was good in bed, that she enjoyed having sex with him, but she didn't feel the connection she did with Dad. There was no way he would ever be anything other than just someone she found sexual pleasure with."

"But you're with so many boys..."

"You get so you like the variety," Sammi said. "My brother has said much the same thing. No two people do it the same way, though there are a lot of things that are the same. After all, there's only so much you can do with the same physical equipment, and—"

"Will I have to? Be with other boys, I mean."

Ah, Sammi said to herself, that's what's bothering her. "No, not if you don't want to." She said this with confidence. Mrs. Miller had made a point of reminding her to reassure Jeannette about this if she asked. "After you get out of school, especially in your case, it's your choice."

"But it seemed... I don't know, it seemed like you guys don't have much choice. You're in class, and everyone expects you to do it with everyone else."

"Actually, you sort of look forward to it." Sammi shook her head. "The school has been preparing us for this since we were real young. A lot of this is new to you, and I don't think they want to push you any farther than you want to go."

"It seems like they pushed me awfully far. Last year at this time I never thought I'd be doing something like this. In Seaside a lot of girls don't get intimate with a boy until they're much older."

"I've heard that some wait until they've gotten married."

Jeannette nodded. "That's what I thought would happen with me." She sighed. "But it didn't."

"Disappointed?"

"Um..." Her voice trailed off and she stared at the floor. "I like Bob, I really like him, more than any other boy I've ever known. I was so worried that you'd be upset when I told you he'd asked me to the Formal, and I was so glad when you said you weren't, and then after what happened today..." She sighed again, staring at the floor. "I don't know what to think."

"You like him, and that's the important thing," Sammi said. "And I'm pretty sure he likes you, otherwise he wouldn't have asked you to go with him to the Formal."

Jeannette nodded. "Thank you for taking the time to talk with me," she said at last. "I know you're busy, and—"

"Nonsense," Sammi said. "This is what friends are for, especially on a day like today. Don't think I haven't talked this through, either. I remember my first time. The school actually sets aside the rest of the day so us girls can talk about it and get our feelings all sorted out."

"Really?"

"Sam was envious. He thought we were getting out of class—boys don't spend the time talking like we do—and I think he thought we were getting special treatment." She shook her head. "That night he and I stayed up late talking. Boys are such simple creatures when it comes to things like sex. Oh, they can be tricky and difficult to understand about a lot of things, but not about this."

"Do you think Bob... ?"

"Have you talked to him?" Jeannette shook her head. "He probably wouldn't want to talk about the things you want to talk about, but I'd go find him. You don't have to have sex with him, but be with him, let him put his arm around you... you did enjoy the cuddling afterwards, didn't you?"

"That was kind of special," Jeannette said with a soft smile. "I really enjoyed that. He cradled me in his arms, and I... I sort of melted into his body."

"That's one of my favorite parts," Sammi said. "Guys don't like to admit they like the cuddling, I guess it isn't macho or something, but they're pretty willing to do it. Anyway, let him put his arms around you, and let him feel like he's protecting you. You'll feel better, but he will, too, and it'll help cement the bond you're forming. It'll be something you've done together."

Jeannette seemed to brighten up at that. "That's true. I wonder where he is?"

"What are his afternoon classes?"

Jeannette dug through her purse. "Um, math, a study period, and then physics."

"All right, you don't want to interrupt his physics class, but I'd go find him and go for a walk or something during his study period. You know, just be with him. Let him know how much you like him. You don't have to say it," she added when she saw Jeannette's face start to redden. "You sort of say it by being with him, touching him a little, maybe seeing if he'll hold hands, things like that. Guys aren't much for subtlety, or at least they say they aren't, and frankly I think they're right. But that doesn't mean they don't pick up on it, at least a little."

Jeannette nodded, the smile returning to her face. "That sounds... that... Sammi? Thanks."

"Hey," Sammi said, "what are girlfriends for? We can relate to each other because we share so many of the same experiences."

Jeannette gave her a hug and walked away, studying the list of Bob's classes. Sammi waited until she was out of sight, and then went looking for Mrs. Miller.

"How much of teaching is counseling?" Sammi asked a few minutes later. Mrs. Miller was walking to her next class, and they had paused next to the cafeteria.

"For girls your age, a lot. Why?"

Sammi told her about her meeting with Jeannette.

"I thought he was going to wait," Mrs. Miller said. "Guys don't realize that the first time is a big moment in a girl's life, and we try to make it special."

"She said it was unexpected, she liked it, but she was trying to sort out her feelings."

"What did you say to her?"

"I mostly let her talk. I told her a few things I'd learned from talking with my brother, and that seemed to help."

Mrs. Miller nodded. "Well, what's done is done. If this is handled right, at least it happened the week of the Formal."

"The week of the Formal? Why is that important?"

"It's one of the most romantic weekends of a girl's life here in Three Valleys. And in Jeannette's case there's been a budding romance there. I'm not sure how long it will last, a lot of it is based on Bob giving her a lot of physical attention. I'll have to talk to her and do some exploring."

She sighed. "Yes, dear, when you're teaching teenagers, there's a lot of talking and listening. You did it right. When talking with a girl, the simplest thing is to get her to open up. You have to help her with some of what she talks about, and citing your brother was a good idea. She knows you have more experience, and she knows you and Sam are close, so she'll listen to you and think about what you said. That isn't always the case, and you'll learn about those situations later."

A bell rang, and Mrs. Miller looked down the hall. "I think you have the basics, anything more will just confuse you right now."

"I was worried that I'd messed up in some way," Sammi said.

"The potential was there, but your common sense helped. Now you'll excuse me, I've got to get to class. We teachers are on just as much of a deadline as the students."

Sammi took the hint and headed for her own class. She felt relief that she hadn't messed up, but curious. Was there a timetable or something for Bob's time with Jeannette? She could see taking it slow. She'd had several years of getting ready for what her friend had been through in just a few weeks.

After school Sammi hurried through tennis practice. Rod had asked her out to a movie he had passes to, and she wanted time to get ready.

"You look tired," she told him as they rode the trolley into Midtown. "Are they working you hard at the studios?"

"I got to take part in a scene," he said. "It's a movie we've been making for some people in Zero Phase, and I was a whipped little puppy by the end of the shoot."

"What happened? Was it some sort of action scene?" She remembered her mother saying how tiring an action scene could be because you often had to do it over and over again until you got it right.

"It's a sex movie," Rod said. "First they needed a stunt-dick, or at least that's what they call it. They'd shot the same scene in the morning, and for whatever reason the final part of the scene, when the guy shoots all over the girl, didn't work. So the director decided to shoot it again this afternoon. But the guy was all tuckered out. He could get it up, but that's all. So at the climactic moment they had me step in and come on the girl's tummy."

"You had to pull out?"

Rod nodded. "Like I said, it's for Zero Phase, and apparently they like seeing a guy come. Weird, isn't it."

"That could really piss off the girl."

"Just a little. Anyway, I thought all right, I'll get it up, and then after a little bit, bam, and we're done. It must have gone the way the director wanted because he moved on to another scene. I went back to the cafeteria to have some lunch and recover. That's when they came and got me for another scene."

"You had to do the same thing?"

"Not in the same way. This was a big orgy scene. Everyone was naked and going at it, sort of like some of the parties around here."

"Did they start and stop the action? My mother's said that happens a lot as they move the cameras around."

"No, it was filmed as one long action from multiple cameras. The director told me how he would later splice it together. But it went on so long. It was like a pool party, and we did it most of the afternoon." He shook his head. "I came at least twice, and barely had time to take a shower and get dressed before heading over to pick you up."

"You poor dear," Sammi said. "So you've been doing it all day."

Rod nodded. "My Sex Ed class was right before lunch, and then this. I hope you weren't expecting me to do much if I spent the night. I'm tired enough I think I'd just roll over and go to sleep. I know guys my age are supposed to be able to recover quickly, but this was just too much."

She had been looking forward to him spending the night, but decided not to mention it. "I think you need your rest," she said instead. "Now what's this movie we're seeing?" They had gotten in line at the theater, and after a glace at their passes, were waved in to the dark interior.

"It's supposed to be one that we just finished, and this is its trial release. I don't know which one, though. I know the director and the film editor said they might want to make tweaks to it after the screening."

"Sounds good to me," Sammi said. She'd gone to a couple of screenings courtesy of her Mother, and knew that meant she might have to fill out a questionnaire, or maybe go through a brief interview.

She wasn't quite prepared for what she saw. The movie opened with a close-up of a woman's pussy. The woman was on her hands and knees, and as the camera pulled back you could see the rest of her body. She had a skirt on, but it was tossed up over her waist. And her top had been pushed up so you could see her naked breasts hanging down, her nipples just brushing the mattress.