Chapter 75: Settling In To A New Life

The sound of the bedroom door opening woke her several hours later.

"Oh my god!" she heard Monique's voice say. "I forgot that you two..." Lissa glanced up, and saw Monique standing in the doorway, looking embarrassed.

"Well this is a little awkward," said Alya, and Lissa realized that her new girlfriend was also awake. Then both girls burst out laughing.

"Caught in the act," Lissa said. "Don't worry, Monique. We're finished in here. You didn't interrupt anything."

"I'll ... um ... wait out in the front room," Monique said, closing the door.

Lissa and Alya dressed quickly, then opened the door and left the room. Monique was sitting in a chair with one of her textbooks in her hand. She watched as Alya and Lissa sat down on the couch next to each other, putting their arms around each other.

"So I take it Lissa said yes?" Monique asked Alya.

"Oh, she definitely said yes. Screamed it, in fact." They all laughed at the joke.

"Then I'm happy for you two," Monique smiled.

"It doesn't bother you that all of your roommates are lesbians?" asked Alya.

"I'm not a full lesbian," Lissa protested. "I guess you could call me bisexual."

"Same here," Alya replied. "Maybe we could find a boyfriend to share. I wonder if Matt's free?"

"Don't you dare!" Lissa exclaimed, but she knew Alya was just teasing. Alya gave her a quick kiss on the lips. Then they glanced over at Monique.

"Sorry," Alya apologized. "If we're bothering you, let us know and we'll stop."

"No we won't stop," Lissa insisted. "But at least we'll take it somewhere else."

"After seeing Meg and Sandy go at each other all the time, a little thing like this is nothing," Monique grinned. "Just don't get busy in my room at night while I'm trying to sleep."

"Speaking of which," commented Lissa, "I think as soon as Meg gets home, we should discuss new sleeping arrangements."

"Oh, great," Monique groaned facetiously. "Now I'm the one who's going to have to worry about Meg sneaking into my bed every night."

"I could sneak into your bed instead," Alya offered with a playful wink.

"Oh, no! I'm surrounded by lesbians who want my body!"

"Well, I hadn't really thought about it before," said Lissa, "but now that you brought up the subject..."

"Geez, you two. Get a room. Heck, use my room if you want. Just find some way to calm your hormones. I'm not going to be safe until you do."

"But seriously," said Alya, "I think I speak for both Lissa and myself when I say that we really would appreciate it if either you or Meg switched rooms."

"I don't know," Lissa added. "Maybe we should let Monique and Meg both keep their rooms and just have you move in with me in my bed. The thought of doing it with Meg watching is kind of a turn-on."

"So you've got a bit of an exhibitionist to you, Lissa," Alya grinned. "I have to admit, you're starting to make me horny."

"I just realized something," Lissa said. "I have to call my aunt Rachael."

"Why?" asked Monique.

"It's something I promised her while we were driving up here before the school year began."

When Meg arrived home and spied Lissa and Alya sitting on the couch holding hands, she dropped her luggage on the floor and stared at them in shock. The girls grinned, then leaned in and kissed each other on the lips. Meg continued to stare, a smile gradually spreading onto her face.

Suddenly she squealed in delight, then ran over and threw her arms around them both. "Oh, I'm so happy for you two!" she exclaimed, and when she pulled away, she had tears in her eyes.

"Don't lie," Alya laughed. "You were hoping I would fall for you, weren't you?"

"Well, I knew that Lissa..." she began, then cut herself off.

"You knew what?" asked Alya.

Meg glanced at Lissa, as if unsure what to say. Lissa came to her rescue with a half-truth. "I confessed to Meg before the break that I was starting to have romantic feelings for you. I asked for her advice. Kind of like you asked for Monique's."

"I'm guessing Meg's advice was a little more specific," said Alya.

"A lot more specific," Lissa agreed, and all three girls laughed.

As the four girls sat around the table eating dinner that night, they discussed their new sleeping arrangements. They decided to have Monique and Lissa switch rooms so that the two lovers could sleep together. Monique wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of sleeping in the same room as Meg, but there was really nothing to be done about that. Lissa was half-serious when she said she wouldn't mind making love to Alya in front of Meg, but Alya preferred to have more privacy. Monique joked about spending most of her nights on the couch in order to stay away from Meg, but it was all just in fun.

After dinner, they all helped Lissa and Monique carry their things into their new rooms. Between the four of them, they managed to get everything moved in about an hour.

Alya called her parents that night to tell them the good news. Lissa was more nervous about it than she was, but Alya reassured her that her parents were far too liberal to let this bother them. Lissa sat nearby eavesdropping as Alya made the call and explained the situation to her parents. They were surprised, but her mother simply asked whether this was what she really wanted, and once Alya replied that it was, there had been no argument out of either of them.

Both of her parents wanted to talk to Lissa then, but it turned out to be a lot less scary than she had expected. Mainly they just wanted to get to know her a little. She explained that this was the first time either of the girls had ever fallen in love with another woman, so it was quite a new experience for both. Alya's mother reassured her that she and her husband would both support them in this relationship, which made Lissa feel a lot better. As it turned out, both parents strongly and actively supported the gay rights movement, so having a lesbian daughter was almost a point of pride for them.

They had copies of photos that Alya had taken during the previous semester, including quite a few of her roommates, so as soon as Lissa described herself enough for them to identify her from the photos, they began looking through them. They ended up spending an hour on the phone with her talking about the various activities that Lissa and Alya had done together, almost as if going through a photo album.

Eventually they ended the call, and Lissa sat back down with a smile, at least some of her fears put to rest.

"Sounds like my parents like you," Alya told her. "I think they like you even more than they like me," she joked.

"Now if only I could get my own parents to have the same reaction to you, everything will be great," replied Lissa. "I'm sure my stepmom will just adore you. She's even more open-minded than your parents. But I don't relish the thought of breaking the news to my dad."

"Well, you've got all semester to work up to it. And just remember, whatever happens, I'll stand by you."

"Thanks, Alya," she smiled. "That means a lot to me."

When they began the new semester, Lissa eagerly looked forward to the tennis class that Alya had decided to take with her. In one sense, it was kind of anticlimactic now that the two of them had gotten together. Lissa had intended it to be a way for the girls to get comfortable with each other's naked bodies as they showered together after class, a stepping stone on the path to their new relationship. Now that they could see each other's bodies any time they wanted, it seemed like a moot point.

However, any time she could be naked with Alya, especially a glistening wet Alya, Lissa wasn't going to complain. Besides, there was a certain thrill in standing under the water with her in an otherwise unoccupied shower room, hugging and kissing right out there in the open where anyone could walk in on them.

Most days after class, of course, they couldn't do that. There were just too many other girls in the showers with them. Of course, now that Lissa had not only admitted but enthusiastically embraced her lesbian tendencies, standing in a room surrounded by naked college coeds delighted her, even if it meant not being able to touch her roommate the way she wanted. Often after these frustrating yet arousing sessions, the two of them went home and immediately jumped into the shower in their apartment where they could make love under the steaming hot water without fear of being caught.

They did have one somewhat embarrassing incident though, one evening after an hour on the tennis court. The locker room was deserted, so the two of them stripped off their clothes and headed into the shower together. They spent a few minutes soaping each other up and washing each other's backs. First Lissa washed Alya, letting her hands run all over her roommate's body. There was something incredibly enticing about the softness of a woman's skin that just wasn't the same with a man. While Lissa had no intention of giving up men completely, right now all she wanted was Alya.

After a couple of minutes, they switched places, and Alya gave Lissa the same pleasurable treatment. She even went one step further, and reached around to fondle Lissa's breasts. Lissa giggled at the sensation, loving the feel of Alya's hands on her.

When she could stand the sexual tension no longer, she turned around and the two girls pressed their bodies together and leaned in for a passionate kiss. Lissa closed her eyes and let the wonderful feeling of Alya's lips and tongue work their magic on her.

Suddenly, Alya pulled away. Lissa opened her eyes and saw an embarrassed look on her girlfriend's face. She turned around and noticed another naked young lady who had just come around the corner into the showers, and was staring at the two of them in shock.

Both girls broke down laughing. "Sorry," Alya apologized. "We're about through here."

In a moment of mischievous boldness, Lissa added, "Unless you want to join us."

Alya giggled and slapped her on the shoulder. "She's kidding, of course," she told the girl. "Come on, Lissa. We can finish this at home." They moved past the still staring girl, then retrieved their towels from the rack and began to dry themselves.

"You're as bad as Meg," Alya commented with a laugh.

"Just a tie?" asked Lissa. "I must not be trying hard enough."

Despite the nearly complete bliss that Lissa felt in those happy days, two things bothered her. First, she didn't know how to tell her family that she had a girlfriend. No, that wasn't particularly true; most of them would have no problem with it. Allison, Jeff, and Brit would all be happy for her, but she dreaded the reaction of her father. She knew with near certainty that he would be furious. It reminded her of that night in Meg's bedroom when Meg had told Lissa of her own parents' reactions, but Lissa knew with Greg it would be much worse. He had never claimed to be particularly open-minded; in fact, he was proud of his strict conservatism. This would be a serious blow to him, and it would no doubt lead to a confrontation.

Her second worry was her guilt. Despite once vowing that she would never feel guilty again, the Lissa who had made that vow had been changed once more into a caring and loving person, one who didn't like to see people hurt, especially if she was the one who had hurt them. She knew, however, that she had tried to do something horrible to Alya. In one sense it had succeeded, but in another, things had turned out better than all right. She still felt guilty about her intentions, though.

She only had one option, she decided. She would have to tell Alya. No matter the cost, Lissa could not stand the guilt of what she had done. Alya deserved the truth. She made up her mind to tell her the next time the two of them found themselves alone together.

She got her chance the next day after her last class. She came home and found Alya sitting on the couch studying. Lissa sat down next to her roommate, who gave her a big grin and put her arm around her shoulder, drawing in for a kiss. Lissa let the kiss happen, but she was too worried to enjoy it.

Alya could sense the difference, so she pulled back, the smile dropping from her face. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Alya, I have a confession to make," said Lissa. "It's all right if you get mad at me, because I deserve it. But just understand, I'm not the same person I was when I did it. You changed me."

"So what is this horrible crime you've committed?" Alya asked.

"After I broke up with Matt, I wanted to punish him. So I ... I came up with the idea of ... seducing his new girlfriend away from him. You."

"What?" demanded Alya, a look of shock on her face.

"I'm sorry, Alya. I feel terrible about it. But the truth is that everything up to Christmas break was all part of my plan. I got Meg and Sandy to teach me what I needed to do. I'm telling you this because ... well, because you deserve the truth. But there's another part of the truth that I think is more important. From the moment that you kissed me after I came back from vacation, I realized that I truly am in love with you. Truly. I won't say I wish I hadn't plotted against you, because in the end it brought us together, but I still hate myself for deceiving you."

Alya looked away, and Lissa felt her heart breaking.

"Please forgive me, Alya!" she pleaded. "I couldn't stand the thought of losing you."

When Alya turned back around, there were tears in her eyes. She threw her arms around Lissa and hugged her.

"I am mad at you," said Alya. "You toyed with my emotions. You could have hurt me badly. But I love you too much to let this come between us. It took a lot of courage for you to tell me the truth, and I'm glad you did, because now we have no secrets from each other." She pulled away and looked Lissa in the eyes. "Or do we?" she asked.

Lissa turned away. She didn't want to keep any secrets from Alya, but how could she tell her that she had had some kind of sexual contact with every member of her family? Her trysts with Rachael, Allison, Jeff, and even little Brit, were things that the new Lissa shouldn't be ashamed of, but how would Alya react to them?