JoBeth & Amy #3: A Perfect Match

Amy, JoBeth, Lauren & Tara: Story 03 – A Perfect Match - CHAPTER 05

*Note: This story is not completely edited, so if you see any little errors in there... that's why!*



*WARNINGS: This story IS FOR 18+ ONLY! If you don't like adult situations, don't read any further!! This story will eventually contain BONDAGE, a sexual situation, and will involve a lot bit of girl/girl fun...*



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The pizza boxes had emptied quickly and before long, the group of girls had all turned their attentions to the assortment of desserts scattered around the dinner table and to a hastily arranged videogame tournament in the living room. The last two guests, Amy’s friends Holly and Haley, had arrived just in time for a round of time-trials to set everyone’s seeds and before long, the party had turned into a series of pitched battles between drinks, snacks and more than a few teasing barbs at each other’s expense.

Marie had co-opted a large sheet of paper from Lauren’s worktable in the office, turning it into a scoreboard while Mel, ignoring the distractions of Kat behind her, was busy facing off against Amy’s friend Haley, who was looking increasingly worried and wasn’t necessarily being helped by her friend Holly’s laughter at the veritable catastrophe that was happening on screen.

“Smooth, Hale,” Holly chuckled, nudging her friend with her elbow as Amy shared in the laugh.

While Haley didn’t mind goofing around playing them, she knew that Holly and Amy were well aware that she wasn’t exactly the best when it came to video games. “Oh, can it you two,” Haley retorted, struggling to keep from laughing herself as she waited for her car to reset on the track, determined to at least make a good showing. “Stupid racing games…” she grumbled, pressing the accelerate button down firmly.

Much like the trio of TAs off to the right of the television, JoBeth knew that while it was pretty easy to talk her into playing, Tara wasn’t the best at this particular game either, and she’d made sure to take her aside and let her know that it was perfectly okay to goof around in it and just have some fun. On the weekends she’d visited, JoBeth had played a few times with Lauren and Amy, and those rounds were the furthest thing from serious. Judging by the girls all gathered here, outside of Marie and Ashlee, it wasn’t about to become serious anytime soon.

JoBeth was glad to see that Tara was laughing as well, looking like she was enjoying herself. Her best friend seemed to be a lot more comfortable here than she’d seen her at many of the other parties she’d gone with her to, and JoBeth hoped that was something that would keep up for the rest of the night. She’d been joking around with Holly through most of her first round loss, her naturally teasing personality coming out as she seemed quite happy to play the role of an interfering nuisance rather than worrying about winning, providing amusement for everyone else that had been watching.

Now, while waiting for Tara to return from a quick trip to the bathroom, JoBeth hoped that between everything else, Tara would find a moment to sit down and start talking to Lauren a little more. They’d gotten close to it while everyone was having dinner and JoBeth hadn’t been able to keep from smiling as she watched her best friend start blushing and smiling away for whatever small talk they’d shared. She was proud of Tara for holding her own and not shying away so far, and JoBeth figured that had to count as pretty big a mark in Lauren’s favor.

Out of the corner of her eye, JoBeth caught Amy standing up and joining Lauren over by the dinner table, raiding a few of the desserts now that everyone else had made their selections. Having settled in on the couch herself, JoBeth was happy to keep Tara’s place to sit and to keep Ashlee company until her turn came up next. Having joined the impromptu ‘try and make Marie lose for once’ alliance, she’d been trading game observations and potential strategy ideas along with thoughts about a few local bands and new albums with the bright-red haired girl.

“Oh!” JoBeth exclaimed, remembering one of the more recent releases she’d been curious to find out Ashlee’s opinion on. “Have you heard Radiowave’s new album yet?” she asked, waiting for Ashlee to finish taking a sip of her drink.

Arching her eyebrow, Ashlee nodded. “The live album from a few months ago, or that studio album that hit last week?”

“The studio one,” JoBeth confirmed. “That ‘Distant Journey’ album…”

“Ugh, unfortunately,” Ashlee said, shaking her head disappointedly, having lost a little more than an hour of her life and too much money to that CD.

“You too?” JoBeth asked with a chuckle, satisfied that their disapproval appeared to be mutual. “Thank you!” she exclaimed, glad that someone agreed with her. “It’s overpriced complete crap, but the idiots on the radio won’t shut up about it!”

Chuckling, Ashlee agreed whole-heartedly. “Tell me about it,” she started. “What the hell were they thinking? It took them two years in studio to come out with eleven tracks that sounded like that?”

“You know what it was?” JoBeth asked.

“Their new producer,” Ashlee said, sharing a slightly derisive laugh with JoBeth.

“Exactly! It’s that Dirk Robertson guy that out of nowhere, everyone has to work with,” JoBeth said through a chuckle. “Anyone puts out one or two halfway decent albums and watch out! Here comes Dirk with his over-electronic processing to destroy your sound!”

“I know!” Ashlee seconded, only able to shake her head at what had been, in her opinion, a debacle of an album. “They used to be so good, and now they just sound like computers. Why does anyone want to work with that guy?” she asked. “He ruined Terrible Thursday, he turned Blank Stare into a freaking pop-metal band and who was it… Karry…” she trailed off, trying to remember the other name that had just slipped from mind.

“Karry Westfold!” JoBeth said, picking up her glass of water.

“God, she used to be so awesome,” Ashlee sighed. “She had a voice that could grab you and make you listen, and now she sounds like a crappy hotel lounge singer.”

Setting the half-empty glass back down, JoBeth chuckled. “Hey now,” she started, wagging a finger at Ashlee. “That’s mean to lounge singers,” JoBeth said, getting a chuckle out of Ashlee. “Some of them aren’t awful.”

“You’re right,” Ashlee allowed, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.

“She sounds like someone strangling a lounge singer while a bunch of drunk people hump a drum set and some base guitars,” JoBeth clarified, this time sending Ashlee into a full laugh.

“Ugh, I don’t know why everyone wants to work with him. He’s awful!” Ashlee said again, the very notion bewildering her.

Nodding, JoBeth had no theories to offer. “I know…” she trailed off, thinking about some of the other groups she’d listened to since she’d last talked with Ashlee. “At least Atlantis in Chaos’ last album was good…” she said, prompting Ashlee to nod enthusiastically.

“Yes!” Ashlee said. “They’ve gotten better,” she continued, having enjoyed all of their albums so far. “I like that they’re keeping each one of their albums a little different from the others, like a twist on the concept album…”

“Yup …but they still sound like themselves each time,” JoBeth said, drawing a nod from Ashlee.

“Exactly,” Ashlee said, just as Mel completed her victory over Holly. Taking a look at her emptied drink, she stood up. “Well, looks like it’s my turn... I’m going to go grab a fresh one here before we start. You want anything?” she asked JoBeth.

“I’m good, thanks,” JoBeth replied with a smile, watching Ashlee head over toward the cooler this time and spotting Tara returning to the living room. “Tara!” JoBeth exclaimed with a grin, patting the open spot on the couch beside her.

Smiling, Tara came up behind the couch. “Hey Jo,” she said, taking a quick look around the couch and realizing that with everyone around, there was no easy way to get to the front of the couch. With Ashlee returning to take over Mel’s vacated bean bag and Haley and Holly on the floor next to them, there was no clear path. “Hang on,” Tara started with a chuckle, quickly and nimbly stepping over the back of the couch to settle in cross-legged next to JoBeth. “There we go,” she finished with a grin as JoBeth gave her a small laugh. “Hey.”

“Hey, Tar,” JoBeth replied, wrapping her arm around Tara’s shoulders and giving her best friend an affectionate squeeze. “Hanging in there?” she asked, getting a small laugh and a nod from Tara in return as she let her go.

“Yup,” Tara confirmed, setting her drink in her lap for the moment. “I’m good,” she said, settling back to watch the race between Ashlee and Lauren begin. Letting her gaze linger on Lauren for a moment, she felt safe in the knowledge that at least this time, Lauren was unlikely to catch her. “Their apartment is cozy and everyone’s really nice,” she added, looking back over at JoBeth with a smile.

Having noticed Tara’s the dreamy little look in Tara’s eyes as she’d looked down at Lauren, JoBeth couldn’t help but smirk. “Told you you’d like it here,” she said, giving Tara’s arm a playful nudge and drawing another blushing smile out of the redhead. “I’m glad you came.”

With a soft chuckle, Tara nodded. “Me too,” she said, relieved that it was still pretty early yet. “You said Ashlee and Marie go to art school downtown?” she asked, having exhausted most of the questions she’d had for JoBeth about Lauren earlier and wanting to save the rest for when the subject of her interest wasn’t within earshot.

JoBeth nodded, leaning back against the soft cushions of the couch. “Yup,” she verified. “Ashlee likes music almost as much as I do…” JoBeth added a little louder, catching the attention of one of the two race participants.

“Almost?” Ashlee asked, turning around just long enough to flash a smirk back at the ponytailed girl behind her.

“Race, punk,” JoBeth replied with a chuckle, drawing a laugh out of Ashlee as she turned back around to the race. “But yeah…” JoBeth continued. “Marie’s a theater major there at the same school and Kat works at that restaurant we went to downtown with Amy a few weeks ago.”

The nagging hint of familiarity clicked in her head and Tara remembered her from when she’d been out to lunch with Amy and JoBeth a few Saturdays ago. “Oh yeah!” Tara nodded, the dots now connected in her head.

“And then Holly and Haley are friends of Amy’s from school that work there too, now,” JoBeth finished, nodding over towards the two girls over next to Amy.

“I gotcha…” Tara said regarding the two most recently-arrived girls. “TAs with Amy?” she asked.

“Yup,” JoBeth confirmed. “Holly’s in the English department with her and Haley’s in secondary ed.,” she elaborated, drawing a nod from Tara. “And then Amy, you know…” she continued leadingly, sending another hint of a smile and a slightly brighter blush to Tara’s cheeks.

“So what does Lauren do?” Tara asked the obvious question quietly. It was one of the ones she hadn’t gotten to while talking to JoBeth before dinner, and while she’d been wondering for most of the night, she didn’t want to bring up a topic as potentially boring as work so quickly with Lauren.

While she wanted to avoid getting into too much detail that she hoped Lauren and Tara might get to themselves later, JoBeth saw no harm in giving a simple answer. “She does some website and computer stuff for normal income,” she started. “But she really likes designing things, like clothes and some purses or bags and stuff. That’s what she was talking to Kat about earlier,” JoBeth explained, having caught Tara’s slightly worried looks towards those two as well. “Kat’s taking a class and Lauren’s helping her to learn about how to make stuff herself too.”

“Ah!” Tara nodded, feeling a little bit silly for having felt kind of jealous when she’d seen the two talking about earlier. So far as she could tell, Lauren was warm, friendly and nice on top of being completely gorgeous, and it made enough sense that she’d enjoy sharing her knowledge and experience with someone. Kat was quite cute and as she was a bit more curvy than she was, Tara still couldn’t help but worry that Lauren might be far more interested in a girl like her than she would be in herself, but that she wouldn’t let those possibilities stop her from trying to get to know her and find out what Lauren was like, in case she might actually be interested in return. “I gotcha…” Tara added a moment later, looking back up at JoBeth.

“Seriously, you should ask her about it later,” JoBeth suggested with an encouraging smile. “She loves talking about what she makes, I mean,” she clarified, having very much enjoyed talking about it with Lauren herself.

“I will,” Tara replied, a small and slightly confident smile of her own surfacing across her features. “What kind of website stuff does she do?” she asked, drawing a smirk from her best friend who was obviously enjoying herself.

This was the first time JoBeth had seen Tara get this inquisitive about a girl, and she couldn’t help but enjoy Tara’s shyly curious interest. “Well,” JoBeth started, unable to suppress a chuckle at knowing what subject matter they were about to broach. “She does help her parents run their website…” she continued, seeing the blush on Tara’s cheeks deepen another few shades of red. “The one I showed you last week…”

“Which one do you…” Tara started before she felt her cheeks burn hot as she realized the one that JoBeth meant. “She does?” Tara asked softly, receiving a nod from JoBeth in return. “And that’s her parents’ site?” Tara added.

“Yup,” JoBeth said, a playful smile sparkling in her eyes. “And she likes that stuff a lot too, in case you were wondering…” she added with a teasing nudge, sending Tara’s blush to her ears now.

“I guess that makes sense,” Tara chuckled, shifting a little in her seat as a certain set of warmer feelings stirred up inside her. Thoughts of being stuck in some of the different things that JoBeth and Amy had showed her and in Lauren’s control leapt to mind and Tara felt a slightly embarrassing but decidedly pleasant feeling starting to tingle deep inside. Between her sweet and friendly demeanor, Tara had seen a kind of playful sparkle in Lauren’s eyes a few times tonight that suggested that, assuming she was interested, being stuck in her control might be a very interesting and even fun experience.

Trying not to let those particular thoughts take over, Tara cleared her throat gently. “Does she have any other hobbies?” she asked, her voice still quiet enough so that Lauren wouldn’t hear her over her concentration on the game she was playing a few feet away.

With another nod, JoBeth gave Tara a playfully innocent smile. “Oh, I dunno…” JoBeth said before Tara gave her an insistent nudge and a chuckle.

“Hey now,” Tara started. “Come on, Jo… I helped you when you were trying to talk to Amy…” she pointed out, her voice barely above a whisper.

Smiling, JoBeth patted Tara’s knee affectionately. “I know,” she said, wanting to take advantage to return Tara’s teasing in kind while she could. “But its fun to get you back a bit!”

Donning a mock pout to try and give JoBeth a pleading look, Tara broke into a smile far too quickly for it to be effective as she was unable to resist JoBeth’s grin. “Yeah, yeah,” Tara said finally, unable to begrudge JoBeth as she loved teasing and messing with her best friend when she could herself. “Now are you going to help me or what?”

“Of course I’m going to help,” JoBeth replied. “Anyway, let’s see…” she trailed off, trying to remember some of the things she’d talked about with Lauren here at the apartment. “I know she was a computer science major in school, and that she’s good at programming and coding and stuff, but it’s not her favorite thing to do… Outside of that, I know she likes space and astronomy and history.”

“She does?” Tara asked, her eyebrow perking up interestedly.

JoBeth had seen Tara eyeing the bookcase earlier during dinner and she’d figured that subject could provide a few things for the two to talk about. “Yup,” JoBeth said, glad that it had caught Tara’s attention. “A bunch of those books you were looking at earlier are hers…” she added.

Chuckling, Tara was glad to find out that she had a few things in common with Lauren. “That’s good,” she said, a smile finding its way back to her lips.

“Thought you’d think so,” JoBeth said with a grin as Lauren and Ashlee entered the third of three races tied at one win each. “I know she likes reading all kinds of stuff too, either snagging something Amy finished, or different biography and history stuff that sounded cool…” continued, thinking about what else there was to tell. “Oh, and she’s really pretty good at drawing too.”

“Oh yeah?” Tara asked, prompting JoBeth to nod again slightly.

“I mean, she sketches out her ideas for the clothes and stuff she makes,” JoBeth said, having flipped through a bunch of different sketchbooks full of designs herself the few times she’d been over at the apartment. “You can probably take a look if you like,” she said. “That’s one of them over there.”

Looking over at the end table JoBeth had indicated, Tara paused for a moment. She was interested in seeing Lauren’s work, but she didn’t want to invade her privacy, at least not without asking first. JoBeth had mentioned before that Lauren designed both normal and kinkier things, but she was nervous enough just thinking about them and Tara didn’t know how comfortable Lauren was about that stuff being out or looked at with others around. She didn’t want to go looking at anything she wasn’t supposed to, or anything that might bring up too many hard-to-resist thoughts.

Kinky stuff aside, Tara did hope to see some of Lauren’s normal clothes designs, and she figured that Lauren would have no problem with her at least checking those out, but that did nothing to lessen the blush on her cheeks that was still burning bright or the knot of excited nerves deep inside. Tara couldn’t imagine living it down if Lauren caught her looking at some of the other, naughtier designs.

“I don’t know if I should…” Tara finally said, opting not to risk it despite her curiosity, in case it was a book of the slightly naughtier designs. “I should ask first…”

With a reassuring and encouraging smile for Tara, JoBeth picked up her drink. “Don’t worry about it, Tar; check it out if you want,” JoBeth said, having seen just how happy Lauren was to talk about her designs to both her and Amy. “She wouldn’t leave them out if she didn’t want people seeing.”

Nodding, Tara had to admit JoBeth’s logic. “I suppose,” she chuckled softly, joining JoBeth’s smile with her own.

“’Course it is,” JoBeth rejoined, finishing off her water before setting the glass back down on the other end table. “And you can always look later on tonight, when everyone’s gone,” she added, giving Tara another playful nudge.

“Hmm?” Tara asked, JoBeth’s teasing suggestion catching her slightly by surprise. She’d thought that it might be a tough trip back to the dorms later, but Tara couldn’t recall talking to JoBeth or Amy about exactly how she’d get back home. If Amy was in for the night, she had no qualms with taking a cab if JoBeth wanted to stay.

“What? You didn’t think we were going to let you go back on your own in that mess, did you?” JoBeth asked, having looked out the window after dinner to see that several inches had already accumulated out on the cars parked in the uncovered part of the lot.

“I can call a cab or something,” Tara said, having brought her ID card with her just in case she needed to get back in the dorm. “If they’re still running, I mean. It’s not that far back to campus,” she added, figuring that if they were, getting into the building wouldn’t be a problem once she got there.

“No way,” JoBeth shook her head, her ponytails swinging gently behind her like they always did whenever she was adamant about something, making Tara chuckle softly to watch them. “You aren’t spending the night in that empty place,” she proclaimed, gesturing back towards Amy’s bedroom, where her overnight bag was safely tucked. “I tossed your PJs in my bag while you were in the shower earlier, and your bathroom stuff when I grabbed mine,” she admitted, glad to see Tara’s laugh in response.

“Did you now?” Tara asked, highly amused at the level of JoBeth’s sweet but secret planning.

A triumphant smile crossed her lips and JoBeth nodded. “I did, and I’ve got everything you’d need, so you can stay here and NOT get stuck in the snow!”

Smiling fondly for the girl beside her, Tara was grateful to have JoBeth as a friend. “Alright, I give up…” she trailed off with a chuckle.

“You’ll stay?” JoBeth asked hopefully.

Nodding, Tara saw no reason to argue. “I’ll stay,” she said. “No point going back if all my stuff is here, right?” she asked with a chuckle at which JoBeth simply grinned.

“Exactly right,” JoBeth chirped. “And besides, it’s not like you’ll be all alone here,” she added, hoping to sweeten the pot to the point that Tara would be looking forward to it as much as she was. “Amy and I will be here, and Lauren too…” she trailed off, giving Tara another suggestive nudge and drawing another blushing smile out of the redhead.

“You trying to sell me?” Tara asked, rather liking the sound of the people that would be there very much. The dorms did always feel a little empty without JoBeth around, and if she was going to get snowed in somewhere, she preferred having her there to talk to and hang out with. The living room couch they were sitting on was certainly big enough to curl up on and it was quite comfortable. With a blanket or two and a pillow, she figured it would make for a downright nice place to crash out later.

“Might be,” JoBeth said. “You could always use the time to talk to you-know-who without interruption…” JoBeth added with another mischievous smirk, sending Tara into another blushing laugh.

“Yeah, yeah,” Tara said, nudging JoBeth back and liking JoBeth’s not-too-surprising surprise a little bit more. “Okay, enough out of you already!” Tara added a moment later, glad to see Ashlee finish off a victory against a not-complaining Lauren as that might give her an opening. She watched the long-haired brunette get up out of the beanbag chair and give her a wink that set her heartbeat pounding just a little faster in anticipation for when she would find the time to talk to her and in hopes that that wink really was for her and not for someone else.

Shaking off the doubting thoughts, Tara turned to see Marie fill out Ashlee’s name on the next line of the bracket with a few playful taunts in what appeared to be an attempt to get into Ashlee’s head before turning to JoBeth. “Besides, I think it’s your turn now anyway,” Tara said, finding herself looking forward to seeing Amy and JoBeth competing against each other.

“That it is,” JoBeth said with a smile. “We’ll pick back up in a bit, okay?”

“Okay,” Tara replied, watching her best friend get up off the couch. “Good luck!”

“Thanks,” JoBeth said, flashing Tara a smile before turning to take the controller from Ashlee. “Aims!” she exclaimed, catching her girlfriend’s attention from across the room, where she was talking to her fellow teaching assistants.

“Jo!” Amy replied with a smile, turning to see JoBeth waiting for her and looking adorably confident. “It our turn?” she asked.

“Yup,” JoBeth confirmed with a grin. “Now get your cute little behind over here, ‘cause it’s on,” she added, plopping down into Ashlee’s vacated beanbag, ready to get started. Win or lose, it would be one more fun thing she could tease Amy about later tonight.

“You’ll have to excuse me, girls,” Amy said to Holly and Haley, pausing their conversation for the moment. “I have to go show her who is boss…” she said, earning a laugh from her two friends.

Having been highly amused at finally seeing how cute the two girls were together, both Holly and Haley were more than happy to let Amy get back to her girlfriend. “Go get her, Aims,” Holly said, watching Amy cross the room over towards the television.

“Alright, time to remind you who’s in charge,” Amy mused, walking up next JoBeth and very much enjoying being the target of JoBeth’s playful grin.

“We’ll see…” JoBeth replied, a playful ring in her tone just as Amy sat down on the beanbag beside her. “Aah!” she exclaimed, breaking out into a giggle as Amy wrapped her arm around her.

Smiling as JoBeth nestled into her side, Amy looked around for a moment. “Who’s got the other controller?” she asked, only having to wait a moment before Lauren handed it to her.

“Here ya go, Aims,” Lauren said. “Good luck!”

“Thanks,” Amy said, letting JoBeth go for the time being and turning her attention back to the game, her character selection and the start of their round.

Settling back into her spot just behind JoBeth and Amy up on the couch, Tara couldn’t keep from smiling fondly at the two girls in front of her. JoBeth was always happy when she was around Amy, and it was wonderful to see that Amy was just as happy to have JoBeth with her too. For them, even when crappy days struck or foul moods reigned, all it took as a little supportive encouragement or even the mere presence of the other and soon everything seemed right with their worlds. They were adorable together and if Lauren was Amy’s best friend, Tara figured that she had to be a great person too.

By the time the first race between Amy and JoBeth had begun, a smile had settled across Tara’s features. Taking another drink from the still-cool bottle of hard lemonade, Tara sat back and let out a deep breath, soaking in the light and welcoming atmosphere of the room and feeling glad that JoBeth had talked her into coming along. The nerves she usually felt about parties and new people had faded quickly, and even though they’d been replaced by nervous hopes of being able to talk to Lauren at some point, she still felt comfortable here in the apartment. There was a kind of warmth to the place, and she liked everyone she’d met here, even the pony-flipped redhead that she’d felt an initial flash of jealousy over and that had just sat down next to her.

“Hey Tara,” Kat said, giving Tara a small nod. “Mind if I sit here?” she asked, her cheeks glowing slightly red as she took a sip of her third beer of the night.

“Not at all,” Tara replied with a smile. She’d had a chance to talk to Kat earlier, where she learned to her great relief that she wasn’t dating Lauren. Kat seemed just as quiet around everyone as she’d been herself initially, but she’d relaxed as the night had gone on and Tara thought she was nice, spending most of the night in the company of her slightly spacey friend Mel. A glance out of the corner of her eye told her that Mel was now over talking to Holly and Haley, appearing to admire their hair of all things. The girl with the long red ponytail was a little odd; that much she was sure of, but it was in a cheerful and endearing way.

Tucking her legs up underneath her, Tara was glad to have someone to talk to apart from watching the race. “Having fun?” she asked, catching Kat’s attention away from the television.

“Oh, can’t complain,” Kat replied, holding up the beer with a slightly wider smile. “Mostly glad that Mel’s behaving herself,” she added, trailing off and taking the chance to look around in hopes that the girl in question wasn’t causing too much of a ruckus. Spotting her, she was glad to see Amy’s two friends not appearing too bothered by Mel’s attention at the moment. “Y’know… For the most part.”

Laughing, Tara had found out what it was like to be the subject of Mel’s curiosity herself a little bit after dinner. “Yeah, she wanted to try on my glasses earlier,” Tara said, drawing a chuckle out of Kat.

“Oh yeah?” Kat asked, arching a curious eyebrow. “Well, they’re still intact, so it can’t have gone too badly…”

“Yup,” Tara confirmed with a soft chuckle. “She approved.”

Replying with a small nod, Kat thought that sounded pretty much exactly right. “That’s Mel,” Kat said. “Easily distracted by whatever neat or shiny thing she sees next.”

“She seems nice, though,” Tara said.

“She is, usually,” Kat seconded, having had Mel’s sometimes overzealous ‘nice’ perpetrated on her several times in the past. The mere thought of those times was enough to send a slightly brighter blush to her cheeks that she hoped blended in with the rosy glow the beer had given her. “How about you, though?” she asked, opting to change the subject to the other girl that she’d found out shared her slightly shy initial discomfort. “This is your first time over at one of these?”

“Yeah, and I suppose I can’t complain either,” Tara replied, looking back around the room. “I’m not the best at parties, but everyone here is nice…”

With another nod, Kat couldn’t help but agree. “Yeah, I know that feeling,” she said, having felt that same way at least a little bit each time she found herself out somewhere other than her own apartment. “But Amy and Lauren are nice like that,” she added a moment later, having started to feel pretty comfortable every time she came over for one of these gatherings. “They’re friendly and it’s pretty relaxing here, which helps put things…” she trailed off, trying to translate the thought into words.

“At ease?” Tara asked, getting a confirming nod from Kat in return. She had to admit, she’d come to feel the same way here tonight herself. Ever since the first time she’d hung out with JoBeth and Amy back in the dorm, Amy had been nothing but nice and fun and she’d just made her feel accepted and comfortable. She had offered her friendship, a little advice and even some encouragement about school applications, and so far as she could tell, Lauren had a similarly friendly nature.

“Yup,” Kat said finally, after putting her mostly-empty bottle back in her lap. “So how’d you meet everyone?” Kat asked after a moment. “You’re JoBeth’s friend, right?”

Looking back away from the race and her half-watching of Lauren over on the other side of the room where she was talking and laughing with Ashlee and Marie, it was Tara’s turn to nod. “Yup,” Tara started between the shouts and laughing protests between Amy and JoBeth. “She’s my suitemate at school, and we both have a class with Amy,” she explained.

“Oh, nice,” Kat nodded. “Makes sense. And you’d know about Amy and JoBeth…”

Chuckling, Tara shifted in place a little to better face Kat. “Oh yeah,” she replied. “I got to watch the whole thing from a front row seat.”

“Nice,” Kat laughed quietly. “They’re fun,” she added, having seen the two together a few times herself now. “You can tell they like each other a lot.”

Smiling fondly at her best friend and her partner as they teased each other between races, Tara couldn’t disagree. “Yeah, they do,” Tara said. “Hard not to want to find something like that, huh?”

Nodding slowly, Kat thought it did sound nice if it did happen. “Yup,” she said. “Maybe one of these days. Now, I’ve got enough to worry about with work and class and getting settled here…”

“Oh yeah?” Tara asked, arching an eyebrow. For all they had talked tonight, she really hadn’t found out much about Kat herself. “You just moved here?”

“Mm hmm,” Kat verified. “A little less than a year ago, now,” she continued. “I needed to get out of where I was to someplace new…” she trailed off, preferring the shorter version of the tale. “I met Lauren and Amy at work one day. They came in maybe once a week, and you know them; they’re friendly…” she trailed off as Tara nodded along.

“Yup,” Tara said, chuckling softly.

“Outside of Mel, I met everyone else here at their parties, really,” Kat added. “Pretty good people…” she paused for a moment. “Helps make the city nicer.”

“Definitely,” Tara agreed, having found her time here at college much more enjoyable when her friends, particularly JoBeth and now Amy, were around.

Finishing off the bottle of beer and before she could ask anything else of Tara, Kat heard the familiar and slightly insistent sound of Mel calling her name from across the room. “Here we go,” she said, a knowing smirk tugging at one corner of her lips as she craned her neck around to see Mel walking up to the couch.

“Kaa-aat,” Mel said again in a sing-song tone, coming up behind Kat and batting lightly at the end of Kat’s flipped-up ponytail. “Hey Tara,” she added cheerfully as Kat turned her hair out of the way and looked back up at her with a dubious eyebrow arch.

“Hey Mel,” Tara said with a chuckle before Mel turned her attention back to her friend.

“Can I help you?” Kat asked, getting an energetic nod out of Mel for a reply.

“I want dessert!” Mel declared, waving her arm beckoningly towards the table. “Come on!”

“Can’t get it yourself?” Kat asked teasingly.

A slight pout crossed Mel’s lips and she crossed her arms. “Not as fun alone,” she explained, determined to melt Kat’s resolve. “And they’ve got cookies!”

“Cookies?” Kat asked, chuckling softly and letting out a sigh. “Okay, okay, let’s go,” she said, climbing up off the couch carefully. “Talk to you later?” she asked Tara, who smiled back at her warmly.

“Sure,” Tara said. “You two go get dessert,” she added, turning back to see how Amy and JoBeth’s round was going while Kat and Mel made their way back to the assortment of sweets and snacks laid out on the dinner table.

A quick check of Marie’s scoreboard sheet revealed that Amy had won the first race and JoBeth appeared to have taken a lead in the second that was still running on screen. With all the playful leaning, nudging and interference going on between the couple, Tara couldn’t help but share in some of the laughs of the crowd; the two certainly had a playfully competitive streak, and it was one that she knew fed into some of the other games they liked to play together.

The thoughts of those games turned her cheeks a slightly brighter shade of red and once more, Tara found herself imagining what it might be like to do the same with a girl like Lauren. Her eyes flicked over to see what the subject of her flights of fancy was doing and she was glad that the raven-haired hadn’t been noticing too often now. Lauren was absolutely gorgeous, and Tara was starting to think that she could easily spend most of the night just looking at her and call it one well spent.

Lauren was smiling away over by the bookcase, still chatting with Ashlee and Marie, and Tara caught herself wishing a little bit that she was over here on the other side of the couch, talking to her instead. She figured that a girl like Lauren could probably have her pick of anyone she wanted. Here at the party, it was obvious that she was friends with a lot of cute, nice girls that suggested she wasn’t lacking in options, even though JoBeth had told her she wasn’t seeing anyone at the moment. She’d seemed so nice, friendly and caring in the few short times they’d talked, and while she wasn’t usually fond of being the center of attention for anyone outside of her closest friends, Tara had felt part of herself wanting Lauren to pay attention to her tonight.

Shaking her head a little and taking a breath, Tara tried to set the mix of desire and warmth that was churning inside her aside. It was still pretty early, and anything about that would take care of itself in time. If she spotted Lauren alone later, she’d try and grab her with a question that wasn’t too goofy either about her books, the desserts, about the clothes she made, or whatever else came to mind.

Looking away before Lauren could catch her staring, Tara turned her gaze to the dark blue hardcover sketchbook that was resting on the end table on the far side of the couch, beside the lamp and one of the remote controls. She wondered if Lauren left them out around the apartment in case an idea came to mind or if there was another reason and Tara felt her curiosity stirring about what kinds of things Lauren designed.

She’d seen the half-mannequin perched in the corner of the office area, and Tara figured that it was probably helpful to have around while making some of those clothes whenever she hit on a design she liked. Everyone else around her seemed occupied by either the game on the television or conversation and Tara couldn’t hold out against her desire to find out what Lauren’s style and tastes were. Just the idea of seeing them, things that Lauren made and that not everyone got to see, had a strange but powerful kind of allure.

Picking up the book, Tara opened the first page and was greeted by designs for a pair of long-sleeve tops and sweaters that she thought looked rather cute. Page after page of the book was filled with designs and sketches and even some logo concepts that Tara thought looked neat and some that looked even fun. Some tops were downright adorable and more than a few looked like things she’d be happy to buy and wear, and some, she thought, would look great on Lauren herself.

A few of the sketches had a little note nearby, either ‘for Amy’ or ‘for Mom’ if not for one of a few other names that she did and didn’t recognize, and some of those scratched out or erased. One of the designs caught her eye was a top that she’d seen Amy wearing on one of the weekends she’d come over to the dorms and Tara smiled, recalling that when JoBeth had commented on it being cute, Amy had mentioned that it was something that Lauren had made for her. Everything she’d seen between the two girls tonight had made it obvious that they had been close for a long time and that they cared for each other. Seeing that in person had only strengthened Tara’s belief that Lauren was as good of a person as she sounded like.

Slowly flipping through past the half-way point of the book, Tara spotted a sketch dated less than a week ago of a hoodie labeled ‘JoBeth’ and a soft chuckle escaped her lips. It seemed that Lauren thought of everyone, and in the time that Amy and JoBeth had been going out together, Lauren had accepted and adopted JoBeth into the little circle of people she’d come up with designs for. Her smile reflected in her eyes and Tara wondered what Lauren would design for her if she wanted to, and what it would look like as she kept flipping through the pages.

Several blank pages passed by and Tara thought that it must be the end of the sketchbook, but before she closed the book, the last page she looked at had a few new sketches on it of a decidedly different nature. When she’d expressed her own curiosity about it, JoBeth had playfully and blush-inducingly mentioned more than once tonight that Lauren was into the same kinky things that she and Amy were, and here was all the naughty but intriguing proof she needed to confirm it. Flipping a little slower, Tara felt her cheeks turn from pink to bright red as she saw some sketches that looked like either full or partial catsuits and others that looked like a kind of harness arrangement of belts that went all kinds of places wrapping around a girl’s body. As kinky and suggestive as they were, Tara couldn’t help but find them interesting and even a little bit sexy. Just thinking about what they would be like, or what it would be like to wear them, stirred another and much more intense kind of warmth inside her.

Shaking her head sharply, Tara flipped back to the front of the book, determined not to let that particular interest take over while she was in a room with nine other girls. It was becoming harder to deny that she had an interest in exploring a kinky side of herself that she hadn’t known existed until recently, but that would to wait until the right time and for the right person; someone she trusted and felt comfortable with. For now, she wanted to focus on a few cleaner thoughts and not get too lost and flustered before she was able to even start talking to Lauren.

Tara took a deep breath and looked back down at one of the designs at the beginning of the book, wanting to read some of the notes that had only skimmed over the first time through. Outside of people, some were regarding colors and fabric choices that should be used. There were some scattered alternative options around some of the designs and the wondrous smile returned to Tara’s features. Just seeing the designs and Lauren’s notes and thoughts about them, what she liked and didn’t like about them, made her feel a kind of connection to her.

Happily losing herself in finding out how Lauren thought about her designs and looking at some of the neat details and ideas she had, Tara didn’t notice that someone had come over to join her on the couch until she felt the cushions shift a little as they sat down beside her. Looking up from the sketchbook, Tara felt her stomach flip and every bit of the heat of the blush on her cheeks as she saw Lauren’s amused smirk back at her.

“Aaah!” Tara exclaimed sharply, her heart racing in her chest. The simple act had snapped her right out of the little word of Lauren’s sketchbook and back into the wider room to see that Amy and JoBeth had just finished their round. Amy had JoBeth fully in her lap now, with her arms wrapped around the twin-ponytailed and laughing brunette as she tickled her in what seemed like punishment for evening their best-of-three series, but almost all of her suddenly very self-aware focus was on the fact that Lauren was here beside her on the couch. “Lauren, hey!” Tara finally said in a slight stammer, hoping that Lauren wasn’t going to be mad that she’d been looking through her sketchbook.

“Hey Tara,” Lauren replied, a soft smile spreading across her lips. While she could tell that Tara was worried that she’d just been busted, Lauren had no problem with Tara looking through her designs, and thinking that her shy blush only made her even more adorable than ever.

Grabbing one of the couch’s throw pillows, Lauren settled back into the padded corner, perfectly happy to see where this might go and hoping not to send Tara scampering off. “See anything in there you like?” she asked, curious to see where Tara might lead the subject.

“I’m sorry,” Tara said, holding out the sketchbook for Lauren to take. “I meant to ask first,” she added, but Lauren was shaking her head.

“No, it’s really okay, Tara,” Lauren said with a laugh, pushing the book gently back towards the short-haired and freckled redhead. “You’re free to look. I wouldn’t have left it out if I didn’t want people seeing,” she added reassuringly, glad to see a hint of relief sweep across Tara’s features. “And besides, if JoBeth didn’t tell you, everyone here either likes or is okay with all that stuff in the back, so there’s nothing to hide,” she finished with a chuckle as she saw Tara’s blush come back in full force. Lauren could tell that she’d caught her again, and part of her couldn’t help feeling a little excited at the prospect of Tara’s interest.

“Oh, I wasn’t…” Tara started before trailing off, fully aware of her blush having spread beyond her cheeks. “…Okay, yeah, I looked,” she confessed, feeling better upon seeing Lauren’s smile back at her. “I couldn’t help it, I get curious sometimes…” Tara reasoned, looking away for a moment and giving in to a small chuckle of her own before looking back up and taking a little more comfort from Lauren’s amusement, hoping that meant she was fine.

“Hey, you’re allowed to be curious,” Lauren said with a small laugh. “Perfectly healthy and to be encouraged, I say,” she added, finally drawing a full smile out of Tara.

“Yup,” Tara agreed, giving into the small laugh that was bubbling up inside her. As it had been pointed out by JoBeth and Amy and many others over her life, she had an irresistible and natural curiosity that her parents had always helped her cultivate. When something piqued her interest, she liked finding out everything she could about it, trouble or no. When it came to this new, less usual and very kinky subject that had sent her blushing this brightly, Tara figured that it couldn’t be too weird or wrong if JoBeth, a girl that she respected and that she knew was as ‘normal’ as anyone liked it, and if Amy, another really nice and good person, found something about it enjoyable too.

Ever since she’d walked in the door, Tara had felt a sense of comfort here and in this place where she was surrounded by people that liked it and even practiced it themselves, and she felt like it would be okay admitting to and expressing her own interest in the subject. “I mean, it’s not like it’s bad or anything,” Tara finally said, trying to shake off the nerves that had come storming back the moment she’d realized that Lauren had sat down beside her.

Nodding, Lauren was glad to hear that the subject coming up hadn’t bothered Tara too much. She had no intention of pushing the discussion anywhere beyond what Tara felt like talking about herself, and the fact that Tara admitted to not minding it was yet another excellent mark in her favor. “That it isn’t,” Lauren chuckled, having reached that same conclusion about her kinkier side a long time ago. “I’d say it’s even pretty fun…” she added, sending Tara into another adorably shy little smile.

“It looks like it could be,” Tara agreed through a small laugh, feeling that warmth deep inside her burn a little stronger at the thought. “And you said everyone here likes it?”

“Yep, in one way or another,” Lauren confirmed. “I mean, I don’t know about Mel there, but I know Kat’s into it, even if she has trouble admitting it,” she said, sharing a small laugh with Tara, who looked like she knew how Kat felt. “Ashlee’s definitely into it and she’s kind of co-opted Marie, who hasn’t ever seemed particularly unwilling,” Lauren continued, drawing another laugh out of Tara as they both turned back to face each other. “And according to Amy, Holly and Haley have been playing around with it for a while thanks to a guy they both liked that was into it,” Lauren finished, noting Tara’s still bright blush as she glanced around the room towards the two girls she’d just mentioned.

“Really?” Tara asked, trying to contain a small laugh as she wondered how that might’ve started.

“Oh yeah,” Lauren said, nodding again. “They both look sweet and innocent, but they’re both way into it. They’ve even posed for Amy a few times together,” Lauren added, this time finally getting an amused laugh out of Tara that she was happy to share in.

Her curiosity rising again, Tara knew that Amy was a photographer, but she hadn’t heard anything from either JoBeth or Amy about actual arranged photo shoots. “Posed?” Tara asked, her brow rising slightly.

“Yup,” Lauren said. “You know how Amy’s into photography, right?”

Tara had tagged along with JoBeth and Amy on one of her treks through the city one unseasonably warm Saturday a few weekends ago, and JoBeth had pointed out the framed pictures around the apartment that were evidence of past excursions, one of which she recognized as having been taken while they’d been out together. “Yep,” Tara said, nodding. “But I didn’t know she did more than that.”

“Well, outside of taking pictures of the city and JoBeth,” Lauren started, causing Tara to laugh a little. “She sometimes organizes shoots with people when and where she can, and she likes coming up with shoot ideas that are a little…” she trailed off, trying to think of how to put it exactly before Tara cut in and finished the sentence for her.

JoBeth had showed her some of the pictures that Amy had taken of her in a few more intimate moments, and while they were certainly more private, Tara thought that they had still looked pretty fun and that they were rather exciting to see. “Kinkier?” Tara ventured, getting a confirming nod and smile from the long-haired brunette.

“Yeah,” Lauren said. Just hearing Tara say that word out loud had sent an oddly pleasant shiver down her spine. “Exactly. Sometimes nude, sometimes not, and not necessarily sexual either,” she elaborated, seeing Tara’s cheeks and ears turn back to that deeper shade of crimson she’d seen before, and glad that she wasn’t looking too uncomfortable about the subject. “She’ll come up with some cool ideas for certain ties, themes or shots, and she’s got a few girls that will model for her.”

Her mind spinning through a dozen different ideas of what and who that entailed, Tara gave in to another small chuckle. “Do you ever..?” she started to ask, very much intrigued and a little more than interested in how Lauren might look in some of the gear, outfits and the other things she’d seen.

 “Model for her?” Lauren asked with a chuckle, arching a curious eyebrow and not particularly minding the thought that Tara was curious about her that way.

“Yeah,” Tara confirmed, a bashful smile glowing beneath her blush.

“Sometimes, usually if she needs a ‘top’ or something, or if no one else is available” Lauren said, giving Tara a small smirk. “I don’t mind getting tied up myself every now and then for the shoots,” she continued, pausing for a moment. “But with girls I like, I prefer doing the tying…” she finished, watching Tara’s gaze dart away just as her bashful smile turned into a wider grin. Tara, with her soft but sweet tone and the faint freckles that dotted her cheeks behind her glasses, was officially completely adorable in Lauren’s book, and seeing how shyly curious she was about this was only making her want to get to know her better.

“Aah,” Tara said, not trusting herself to say anything more than that at the moment. Lauren’s comment had send a burst of warmth not only to her cheeks but deep inside her as it fell right in line with many of the naughtier ideas she’d had about spending a bit of private time with Lauren already tonight. “Of course,” she added a moment later with a small laugh. “And you said, ‘top’?” Tara asked, both curious and hopeful that she wasn’t too obvious with her interest.

“Oh, yup,” Lauren said, making a mental note to explain better as she figured Tara wouldn’t necessarily be familiar with certain terminology. “A ‘top’ is someone that’s tied up someone else,” she explained, getting an understanding nod from Tara. “Like in our case, if a girl is doing the tying, she’s a ‘domme,’” Lauren finished as she could see a spark in Tara’s eyes suggesting that she had picked up on the meaning.

“I gotcha,” Tara said. “Short for dominatrix?” she asked, hoping to confirm what she thought sounded logical.

Nodding, Lauren couldn’t help a chuckle of her own. “Yeah,” she said, amused to see Tara shift from looking shy and a little embarrassed to looking pleased to have gotten to the conclusion correctly herself. “But we don’t do things like whips and chains or that junk you see in horror movies…” Lauren added, not wanting Tara to get the wrong idea about her own interests.

“I figured not,” Tara chuckled, relieved to hear Lauren say it. The softer, more affectionate side that JoBeth had told her about had been what had caught her interest, and leaning a little closer to the girl beside her, Tara thought that Lauren was far too sweet and nice to ever want to be anywhere near that mean to anyone.

Laughing softly along with Tara, Lauren was glad that she was smiling and looking a lot more relaxed than when she’d first sat down. The few times they’d talked while they were eating, Tara hadn’t exactly shied away from her, but it had always seemed like her nerves were getting the best of her. That they were sitting here now, laughing about a subject that clearly made Tara blush and a little squirmy still, felt a little exciting, and it filled Lauren with a bit of hope that she might share a few more interests in common with the cute girl beside her.

“Yeah, I’m not into that nasty part of it so much,” Lauren said, hoping to make sure Tara didn’t get the wrong idea about why she liked it. She didn’t want to undermine any trust they might find between them with any wrong implications. “Amy, JoBeth or me.”

A warm smile sparkled in her eyes, and Tara was confident that Lauren meant it. She’d seen how Amy and JoBeth acted around each other even while JoBeth was tied up and there was nothing mean or cruel about it at all. It was a mutual enjoyment and trust, an affectionate trade of control and possession and it always seemed like both were having fun with it. If Lauren was Amy’s best friend, Tara couldn’t imagine that she was too different from that.

“I didn’t think so,” Tara said, wanting to reassure Lauren that she didn’t think badly of her. “You two are too nice to be mean.”

“Aww,” Lauren chuckled, holding the throw pillow a little tighter to try and fend off her desire to wrap Tara up in an appreciative hug. “Thanks,” she said, honored to know that Tara thought of her that well of her already.

“Of course,” Tara said, a bashful smile spreading across her lips. “Just saying what I think.”

Her smile glowing in her cheeks, Lauren nodded again. “Well, I’m glad you think that,” she said. “Because we’re definitely not into the painful side of things, and I don’t want you scare you off…”

Her heart racing a little faster in her chest, Tara felt a small thrill to imagine Lauren wanting to keep her around. “You haven’t,” Tara said softly, smiling in earnest over at the long-haired brunette.

“Good,” Lauren replied, trying to keep her own anticipation and growing fondness for Tara in check and returning to the original question she’d asked. “Anyway, for the shoots, if Amy’s ideas call for a captress in the shot, I step in sometimes, but usually I’m just helping her out behind the scenes with the lights or getting everything set up,” she explained as Tara nodded her understanding.

Seeing how Amy and Lauren had been hosting the party so far, one always helping the other, it wasn’t a stretch for Tara to imagine Lauren helping Amy out there too. “I gotcha,” Tara said. “Sounds like fun!” she added, figuring that a shoot like that had to be at least a little exciting and enjoyable to arrange.

“Oh, it is,” Lauren said. “Amy comes up with some great ideas for angles and set ups. It’s always a blast,” she continued, having nothing but fond memories over the years of the shoots they’d done. “And sometimes we’ll have even more ideas when we’re there, the biggest trick being how to make everything work and look good!”

Another chuckle escaped Tara’s lips, and part of her hoped that she might be allowed to join in and at least hang out in the back with JoBeth on one of those shoots with everyone one day. “I can imagine,” Tara said, a little curious about the experimental aspect of making certain poses work. “And hey, things worth doing aren’t always easy, right?”

“Exactly,” Lauren said with a smile. “The fun is in figuring everything out and getting it to work!”

“Like a kinky puzzle,” Tara laughed, happily giving into the easy and relaxed feeling that she’d found here talking to Lauren. Something about the olive-skinned, beautiful and friendly girl just made her feel safe, un-judged and comfortable talking about what would be, with anyone else, a potentially weird subject.

“The best kind of puzzles there are,” Lauren agreed, sharing a slightly blushing chuckle with Tara. “And then there’re the pictures she takes with JoBeth, of course, but I don’t help her with those…” she added a little louder, nudging Amy with her foot just before she and JoBeth started in on their third and final race, getting laughs out of both.

“What?” Amy asked, having very much enjoyed taking all those pictures with and of JoBeth. “I can’t help it, she’s too cute, tied and not…” she added, tightening her embrace of JoBeth affectionately as the twin-ponytailed girl nuzzled back into her. “How could I resist?”

“Aww, Aims…” JoBeth said through a happy laugh. “I think they’re fun,” she said, looking back to Lauren and Tara with a smirk. She caught Tara’s blushing smile back at her and took it as a great sign that she was getting along well with Lauren on her own. Giving Tara a little wink, JoBeth kissed Amy’s cheek. “And I say you’re cuter,” she said, drawing a bright, beaming smile from Amy in return.

“Heh, aww…” Marie cooed, giving Ashlee a nudge with her elbow.

“Hard not to love ‘em,” Ashlee nodded, unable to keep from a small smirk of her own.

With a mischievous and affectionate smirk dancing across her lips, Amy rocked JoBeth back and forth once lightly. “Yeah, well, since you’re too cute to sweep, I thought I’d let you win that second race,” Amy said teasingly.

“You let me win?” JoBeth asked with an indignant scoff, happily taking the bait. “Didn’t you notice me winning by half a lap?”

“Yeah, ’cause I let you,” Amy chuckled, her desires to do more than just hold JoBeth growing stronger by the second. “Maybe I felt like playing you with longer…” she purred into JoBeth’s ear, lowering her voice suggestively.

“Oh, I see how it is,” JoBeth said, enjoying the shiver that Amy’s words had sent down her spine. “I guess it’s a good thing I like it when you play with me…” she added softly, leaning back far enough to whisper back into Amy’s ear and nibble on her earlobe, causing the blonde to giggle and squirm at the sensation JoBeth knew she loved.

“Yeah, Amy!” Holly cheered, adding a suggestive whistle at the end for the public display of affection and getting a laugh from the rest of the room. “Looks like someone’s getting some later tonight!” she posited.

“Yeah she is,” JoBeth said with a bright and slightly blushing grin, perfectly happy to confirm the fact and very much looking forward to it herself.

“Aah, Jo,” Amy laughed, wrapping her arms firmly around her girlfriend. “What can I say, I love this girl,” she said, giving JoBeth a kiss on her cheek that set her grin even wider.

“Love you too, Aims,” JoBeth said, cuddling back into Amy and resting her arms on top of Amy’s.

“Alright, alright you two,” Lauren chided her two friends playfully. “We’ve got a tournament to finish, remember…”

“Okay,” Amy said, letting her embrace loosen enough to get back to the game. “Race first, that later,” she continued, moving them out of the menu and to the starting line for the third, deciding race.

“You know it,” JoBeth said, grinning brightly and ready to go the moment the light turned green.

Smiling a little dreamily, Lauren let out a sigh. She loved seeing how happy Amy looked with JoBeth, and seeing how much fun they had together. Considering that there was an adorable girl sitting just inches away from her now that counted as the first girl she’d found herself liking in months, Lauren hoped that the fact that Tara seemed to share that interest in her meant that she might find her own kind of happiness soon. It was something she thought was certainly worth exploring, so long as Tara proved to be as fun and as interesting and as loveable as she seemed.

“Aren’t they cute?” Lauren asked, turning to see Tara smiling and nodding with the same affection for the two of them that she felt herself.

“Yeah,” Tara agreed, seeing the appeal in and hoping to find for herself that comfort and affection herself that JoBeth had found with Amy.

A slightly impish smirk crossed Lauren’s lips and she couldn’t help her own curiosity about how Tara felt about exploring her own kinky side. “So, now you know that JoBeth, Amy and I are all into it…” Lauren trailed off leadingly. Tara was obviously fine talking about it and open-minded about seeing it, but Lauren knew that trying it was something else entirely. Part of Lauren wished that if things ever got that far between them, and if Tara ever did want to find out more about it herself, that she’d have had the time to hang out with her and to build that trust so that Tara would feel comfortable enough to ask.

The tingling warmth stirring inside her ratcheted up a notch and Tara nodded again. “Yep,” Tara said simply. Everything she’d seen with JoBeth and Amy had made it seem fun and even pretty erotic to the point that she couldn’t deny it had an allure; almost the same way that Lauren did herself. “I mean, it looks like it could be kind of fun…” Tara added softly as Lauren smiled back at her.

“It is, with the right person,” Lauren replied, getting another slightly nervous but amused chuckle from Tara. “Fun, naughty, playful, hot, you name it,” she added, glad to notice that Tara’s smile was sparkling in her eyes, helping her feel better that the redhead wasn’t just playing nice for her but that she was actually enjoying herself a little. “I’m sure JoBeth and Amy have said it before, but in the end, it’s all about trust,” she finished, with Tara nodding along.

“Yup,” Tara said, that being the same way she felt about it herself. She couldn’t imagine being on someone else’s control without trusting them completely, and it was the same thing that JoBeth had told her about from the start. It was exciting and fun because of the trust they had between them, JoBeth had said, that she could relax and give in to whatever Amy desired knowing that it would be something she’d love too, that she’d care for her and that she’d enjoy the experience, however long and whatever it was. “Without that, it’d be pretty scary, but with it…” Tara trailed off, feeling her cheeks warming up again as another thought of sharing that trust with Lauren herself one day rose back to the top of her mind.

“With it, it’s a lot of fun,” Lauren offered, getting a confirming ‘yup’ from Tara. “Sharing that with someone you trust and care about can be very exciting,” she added with a smile, trying not to let her dirtier thoughts get away from her. The idea of the blushing, shy and incredibly cute Tara letting her tie her up was proving difficult to set aside now and it set a familiar tingling pang off deep inside her, but there was a lot more she’d rather learn about Tara first before worrying about what that might be like.

Tara felt Lauren’s gaze drifting over her a little and it brought a slightly pleased smile to her lips to see that Lauren was checking her out too. She was usually quite self-conscious about her body, but somehow, she didn’t mind Lauren looking. The thought that Lauren found her attractive was somewhat exciting, as she’d started to feel the same way about Lauren herself.

“Sounds like it would be,” Tara said a moment later, breaking the moment of silence but very much enjoying being the focus of Lauren’s attention. “But earlier, I meant to ask…” she continued a moment later, hoping to turn the conversation back to something a little less flustering and towards something else about Lauren that she hoped to find out.

“What’s up?” Lauren asked, curious to find out whatever Tara wanted to know.

Patting the top of Lauren’s book that she still held in her hands, Tara hoped Lauren didn’t mind talking about it. “About these,” Tara started, trying to shake off the naughtiest of the thoughts floating through her mind and flipping the book open to the first of the sketched pages. “They’re all your designs?” she asked, basking in Lauren’s warm smile for her in return.

“Yup,” Lauren said. “Some are inspired by things I see, or mash-ups of cool outfits I like, but they’re my babies,” she added with a chuckle, always happy to talk about her ideas, either the one she’d made or the ones that she’d just sketched out because she thought they’d be neat.

“I liked a lot of them,” Tara said, feeling a little more relaxed about looking through the book now that she knew Lauren was okay with it. “How long have you been working on them?” she asked, turning a few pages trying to find one of the many that had caught her eye.

“I’ve been drawing them as long as I can remember,” Lauren answered with a smile. “Amy can tell you, I used to draw everywhere, including the walls…” she added, sharing a laugh with Tara.

“You did?” Tara asked, unable to suppress a grin at the thought.

“Oh yeah,” Lauren confirmed, happy to share the same funny stories as her parents loved to tell anyone that ever came over themselves. “Drove my parents nuts, and they always made me clean ‘em up after...” she said, pausing for a moment as Tara shifted a little closer towards her on the couch which didn’t bother her one bit. “We always had an extra can of paint around and they’d make me cover up anything I couldn’t erase…” she finished, getting another chuckle from the younger redhead.

“Oh geez,” Tara laughed. “I’m sure they loved that.”

“Oh, sometimes they did,” Lauren said, having had fun making quite a few messes with Amy’s help back in the day with the paint too. “But they figured out pretty quickly that if you gave me a sketchbook, things were a lot easier… and cheaper to clean up.”

“I’ll bet,” Tara said with a smile. “What kinds of things did you draw back then?”

Thinking for a moment, Lauren tucked the hair on the side of her face closest to Tara behind her ear. “Oh, just about everything you can think of,” she said, having no one answer for Tara. “Whatever I thought was fun at the time, really. Clothes designs were always my favorites growing up though,” she continued as Tara nodded, figuring that the sketchbook that Tara had in her hands had kept that from being too much of a surprise. “I’d draw things that I saw and liked, but I had the most fun making up new costumes and outfits; stuff that I’d want to wear, or that I thought looked fun.”

“Costumes, huh?” Tara asked with another smile, her curiosity piqued again.

Laughing, Lauren drifted through some of the more amusing memories that rose to mind. “Yeah, Amy and I were always dressing up as something or other and running around like crazy,” Lauren said, thinking back fondly on those younger days that had been caught in a few home movies.

“Sounds like a lot of fun,” Tara said with a soft chuckle. The idea of a younger Lauren tearing through a house in a costume sounded too adorable and she hoped that there might be pictures of that she could talk her into scaring up one day.

“Oh, it was,” Lauren nodded. “You should see some of the stuff I thought up back then…” she trailed off, sharing a small chuckle with Tara once more.

“Oh yeah?” Tara asked, an impish smirk reflecting in her eyes. “Silly ideas?”

“Silly is a nice word for it,” Lauren said, feeling her own cheeks warm as she became the focus for a playful side of Tara that was coming out now. Lauren hoped that it was something that she would be able to keep around tonight, as it was just as cute as Tara was herself and she liked seeing it. “For starters, there were ribbons absolutely everywhere,” she explained, getting an understanding nod from Tara in response.

“Nice,” Tara laughed, hoping that someone had kept a picture or two of what those looked like. “Perfect for flag football, at least, right?” she asked, getting another beaming smile back from Lauren.

“Exactly!” Lauren said, letting out another small laugh. “Too bad that at the time, I thought I was drawing normal clothes,” she said, happy to keep enjoying the sound of Tara’s laughter. “My parents love to drag them out every now and then and laugh at them just to make me feel loved,” she finished, drawing another round of chuckles from the girl seated beside her.

“How kind of them,” Tara laughed, having had more than a few experiences like that with her own family, the same as she figured a lot of people had. “A lot of parents love doing that, combining amusement and a little revenge…” she trailed off to share a smile with Lauren.

“I know,” Lauren nodded. “It’s like payback or something… Not like I ever did anything to earn that,” Lauren added with a smirk.

“Of course,” Tara seconded, her amused smile reflecting in her eyes as she caught Lauren’s gaze.

 Taking a short breath, Lauren settled against the back of the couch, a little closer to Tara now herself. “You really should see some of the things I came up with back then. If I didn’t know me, I’d have sworn I was crazy,” Lauren said, this time drawing a chuckle out of both Tara and Amy.

“For the record, Tara, sometimes I did think she was crazy,” Amy chimed in, flashing a quick smirk back towards them while she was on a straightaway, the act causing Lauren to laugh and bop her friend on the top of her head with her throw pillow.

“That’s enough out of you, missy!” Lauren protested jokingly. “Play your game!”

“No, keep distracting her,” JoBeth laughed, nudging into Amy’s side as they started on the second lap in the tiebreaking race.

Lauren watched Amy lean back into JoBeth in kind and she smiled fondly down at the two decidedly competitive girls. “Nah, that’s enough interference, you two settle it fair and square,” she said, getting an ‘aww’ from JoBeth as their attention turned back to the race. “Anyway,” Lauren continued, turning back to look at Tara. “I am perfectly comfortable admitting those designs were goofy, but in my defense, they were drawn by a kid in elementary school.”

Chuckling softly, Tara wasn’t about to fault Lauren for that. “They sound funny,” she said with a bright smile glowing on her cheeks. “I’d love to see them sometime.”

“Yeah?” Lauren asked, a little surprised that Tara would bring that up so soon, but glad to get a nod back from the adorably blushing redhead. “Alright, deal,” she said. “But you’ll have to come back over to see them, you know…”

“I think I can handle that,” Tara replied with a smirk. From the moment she’d seen her, Tara had hoped that she would be welcome to tag along with JoBeth when she came over to visit in the future and seeing Lauren’s designs were a second perfect excuse. Even if JoBeth and Amy were otherwise occupied, if coming over meant that she’d have time to hang out with Lauren and get to know her a little better, it was entirely okay with her. “And it’s not like your new stuff isn’t fun to see either,” Tara added a moment later, not wanting Lauren to get the idea that she was only interested in the sillier, old stuff. “You’ve gotten really good…” she trailed off, basking in Lauren’s appreciative smile.

“Thanks,” Lauren said, feeling her affection for Tara growing stronger by the moment. “It’s just something I never stopped doing, I guess,” she explained, having found her way this far through the constant but enjoyable practice. “Now, I just like having a sketchbook around wherever I am, so that when I get an idea, I can just flip to the first blank page.”

Nodding, Tara saw no reason why Lauren should do otherwise. “Makes sense to me,” she said, looking back down to the page she’d skimmed to and one of the ideas that had caught her attention earlier. “And some of these are really cute!” Tara added, a bit of her enthusiastic interest slipping into her voice as Lauren leaned a little closer to see which one she was talking about.

“Aah, that one,” Lauren said of the sweater design Tara had picked out, one with a few swooping panels of fabric crossing the chest, feeling very conscious of and enjoying how close Tara had just scooted over beside her. “Just an idea, is all…” she said, liking the one that Tara had picked out, but she hadn’t found anyone that she thought it suited.

“No, I mean it,” Tara pressed on, refusing to let Lauren belittle what she thought were neat designs. Flipping a few more pages, she found another one of the ones that she’d recognized earlier. “I know you actually made this one, and Amy wears it all the time,” she said.

“My purple sweater?” Amy asked, still watching and racing intently but having heard enough of Lauren and Tara’s conversation to catch what they were talking about behind her.

“Yup!” Tara confirmed.

“I do love that one,” Amy said with a smile. It was one of her favorites, and that was something she’d been sure to tell Lauren about many times in the past.

“I like it too…” JoBeth added with a small chuckle, having loved seeing the way it clung to Amy’s body when she wore it. She’d worn it a few times over the past few weeks now that the temperatures had gotten colder, and the only things nicer than seeing Amy in it had been being able to touch the soft fabric herself, and being able to take it off of her when they’d decided to keep each other warm in other ways. “Hnnn…” JoBeth sighed softly, settling back into Amy as the race continued. With a few naughtier thoughts and an impish smirk to herself, JoBeth could barely wait for later tonight.

Taking advantage of another straightaway, Amy turned to give Lauren an affectionate smile. “Best birthday present ever, Laur,” she said, getting a happy smile back from her best friend.

“Aims…” Lauren chuckled softly, always glad to hear just how much Amy liked it. It was one of the first things she’d made for someone else, and it had turned out quite well. The number of times Amy had worn it since receiving it was more than enough to let her know Amy was fond of it, but hearing her say it was even better.

“I think it’s really cute too,” Tara added, having seen Amy wear the finely textured, nicely cut and soft-looking sweater in class and around the dorms herself. “And I thought this one was nice too,” she continued, turning a few more pages to another long-sleeved top design that hadn’t picked up a ‘for’ note yet. “It looks like a something I had years ago, but I lost it…” she said. “You’ve got a few more details that look fun… and if you made it, it’d be like having it again.”

“Aww,” Lauren purred, her smile widening. She felt a spark of warmth lighting inside her to have Tara’s confidence that one of her creations would be so welcomed. “Well, thanks Tara,” she said, nudging Tara’s arm gently and enjoying the beautiful smile that the redhead was giving her. “I’ve just got to sit down and make some of ‘em, now.”

Nodding and catching Lauren’s gaze again, Tara didn’t want to look away. “You’ve got plenty of good ideas in here, I think,” she said. “And we know you can do it,” Tara added with a smile.

“You think so?” Lauren asked with a smirk, getting a confident nod from Tara and finding herself enjoying having her support and encouragement even more than she would’ve thought.

“There’s already proof,” Tara reasoned with a bring smile, drawing a chuckle from Lauren, who could hardly argue her point. “You’ve just got to pick one out and take it from there again,” she added cheerfully, getting Lauren to nod her agreement.

As much as she’d been frustrated in her attempts to get started on something more casual lately, Lauren felt invigorated to have Tara’s vote of confidence. Amy had always been wonderfully supportive, encouraging and helpful where she could be, but it had been a long time since she’d felt the urge to prove herself to someone that she really could do it with some of the more casual, everyday designs. She’d only just met her, but the fact that Tara already believed in her made her feel good and made her want to at least try something again. She wanted to impress this smart and adorable girl, and show both her and her friends that their faith in her ability wasn’t misplaced.

“Thanks, Tara,” Lauren said, her smile glowing on her faintly rosy cheeks. “I’m working on ‘em, I promise,” she continued, her statement not far from the truth.

“Yeah?” Tara asked, having seen some of the different materials and supplies tucked to the side of the drafting desk over in the room past the kitchen.

“I’ve started getting more of my own supplies and tools,” Lauren said, having amassed quite a few already thanks to her parents and scavenging around a few flea markets with Amy’s company. “That way, I’m not always stuck waiting to borrow things to work on stuff!”

Nodding, Tara figured it would be a lot easier to keep momentum for the work having everything at hand than it would be to have to pause and figure out where to get what she needed all the time. “Sounds like a pretty good plan,” Tara said, curious about Lauren’s process. “Is it hard to actually make them?” she asked. “The cutting and sewing and everything, I mean…”

“Not really,” Lauren replied with a small shake of her head. “Once you know the sizes, getting the fabric, making the patterns and cutting them isn’t hard at all,” she continued, not wanting to bog Tara down and get her lost in the process unless she asked. “I’ve got my Mom to thank for that, though; she’s kind of a seamstress too,” she finished, getting an understanding nod from Tara.

“That’s got to help,” Tara said, figuring that the patterns would be pretty hard to figure out without someone helping out with a pointer or two. “Did she teach you?” she asked, drawing what she suspected to be a confirming smile from Lauren.

“She did,” Lauren said brightly. “Some time and patience from someone who knows what they’re doing helps a lot there,” she added with a chuckle that Tara shared with her. Taking a deep, calming breath, she was coming to really like that sound. “Now, I just need to get some motivation going for it is all. It can be fun but hard to figure out just how to take it from the page to completion the way I want it to look…” she explained, happily getting lost in Tara’s curiously interested gaze back at her.

“I get the same way with my work, sometimes…” Tara said, thinking back to the many papers and experiments and science projects she’d made over the years. “The first few steps are never the easiest, even when you know where you want to end up.”

“You’ve got that right,” Lauren agreed.

Any self-consciousness Tara felt about talking to Lauren had long since faded away and she happily continued on in hopes to finding out more about her. “I know you can do it if you want to,” Tara said encouragingly, already hoping she’d be able to see whatever else Lauren decided to make, when she was able.

“Thanks, Tar,” Lauren said with a chuckle, happy to see Tara’s grin widen a little at the use of the same nickname she’d heard JoBeth call her by earlier. It made her feel good that she was allowed to use it, like she’d already been accepted by the initially shy but obviously friendly and supportive girl. “Anyway,” she said, clearing her throat for a moment and settling in right up next to Tara, giving the still-blushing girl a smile. They were almost touching now and she could feel Tara’s warmth against her arm. “Why don’t you show me your favorite one in there?” Lauren asked, getting an even brighter smile from Tara.

While there were many in the sketchbook that she’d liked, Tara couldn’t help but like the one that reminded her of one she used to have the most. “Definitely this one,” Tara said, tapping her finger on the she’d just mentioned. “It was pretty worn out, and I’m pretty sure the dryer finished it off and my Mom didn’t have the heart to tell me…” she trailed off, getting a consoling look from Lauren.

“Aww, I’m sorry!” Lauren cooed, trying to resist the urge to wrap her arm around Tara, both unable and unwilling to imagine anything that might make a girl as cute as Tara sad.

Smiling and shaking her head, Tara couldn’t help a laugh. “It’s okay, I got over it pretty fast,” she said, certainly not wanting Lauren to think she was upset. “It helped they took me to the bookstore to buy me things after,” she added, this time sharing the laugh with Lauren.

“Bribery by book, huh?” Lauren asked, getting a nod and a grin back from Tara.

“Yeah, I’m easy like that,” Tara laughed as Lauren gave a jokingly knowing smirk.

“I’ll remember that,” Lauren said, eliciting another giggle from the redhead.

“Of course,” Tara said with a bashful and momentary lip-bite. “But I still do miss that sweater. It was soft and a little fuzzy and the neckline was cut just like that…” she trailed off, suddenly very aware of just how close Lauren was. “Not like it’d still fit me now, though,” she added, feeling her blush glowing a little hotter again but not feeling too bothered by it. Lauren certainly hadn’t seemed to mind being so close. “I mean, I had it back in middle school,” she finished with an impish smirk of her own, glad that that last detail had brought out another laugh from the gorgeous brunette beside her.

Tara’s story was too adorable and Lauren couldn’t keep her heart from going out to her on the slightly amusing minor tragedy. “Well, you never know,” Lauren said, a plan starting to form in her mind. “I always did think that one was pretty cute…” she trailed off mysteriously, thinking that it would certainly look good on Tara if an occasion came along where a present wouldn’t be uncalled for.

“Yup!” Tara chirped. “But I’m biased, though,” she added, chuckling along with Lauren.

“There’s certainly no questioning your taste,” Lauren said. “Especially if you like my designs,” she added with a playful nudge to Tara’s side that sent the younger girl into another beaming smile.

“Of course,” Tara agreed, just as another question she’d had about the process popped into mind. “Once you’ve got the design figured out, is it hard to pick out what you want to make it out of?” she asked, her brow rising up again as she couldn’t help but wonder.

Nodding, Lauren was pleasantly surprised by how curious and even insightful Tara was in asking after her work process, something she chalked up to her being a science major. “Sometimes,” she started. “That’s actually the trick to making most of them work best, finding the right fabric that’ll hold the stitching and look and feel good,” she explained as Tara nodded.

“I gotcha,” Tara said. “A design that might look great in one fabric…” she trailed off.

“Could look kind of weird or bad in another,” Lauren finished. “Exactly,” she added as Tara nodded along with her.

A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips and Tara decided to offer a little playful but unsolicited advice. “Well, I can tell you what you should pick out for this one, at least,” Tara started with a chuckle, tapping her finger on the open page and the familiar design that they’d just been talking about a few moments ago.

“Soft and fuzzy?” Lauren asked, unable to resist a smirk of her own.

“Definitely soft and fuzzy,” Tara confirmed with a chuckle.

Sharing a smile with the redhead, Lauren filed the note away in her mind. If Tara was that fond of the design, she wanted to make it for her, if only to see what would be an undoubtedly adorable reaction. “All right, soft and fuzzy it is,” Lauren said.

Now that she’d finally had a chance to sit down and start talking with the once-quiet Tara, Lauren could tell that she was a lot of fun, and that she was JoBeth’s best friend for a reason. Tara was funny, cute, inquisitive and supportive, and that was only what she’d found out in the last few minutes, after Tara seemed to have gotten comfortable with her and started opening up a bit. It made her want to know more about her, and Lauren hoped she’d have the chance to find at least some of that out here before the night was over.

“So that one’s down,” Lauren added, arching a curious eyebrow of her own. “Mind if I ask you what you think of a few others?” she asked, getting a bright and happy smile back from Tara for an answer.

“Sure!” Tara said, giving in to the rather pleasant sense of excitement she’d found sitting here next to and talking to Lauren. Amy’s best friend was just as nice as she’d imagined her to be and even more friendly and welcoming to be around. Her nerves about talking to the girl she’d immediately felt an attraction to the moment she’d seen her had faded and been replaced by a comfortable familiarity.

Letting Lauren flip through a few pages of her sketchbook, Tara settled in right up next to her side with a blushing smile dancing across her features. Taking a deep breath, Tara caught the faint traces of vanilla and cinnamon from earlier and the scent combined to wash a sense of calm over her now that she knew just where they were coming from. With a shy little stolen glance over at her, Tara tried to contain a small chuckle. Lauren even smelled beautiful.

 She’d gone from hoping she’d have a chance to talk to Lauren to knowing that Lauren wanted to talk to her, and Tara liked that; knowing that Lauren wanted to find out about her and know what she thought just as much as she was curious to know more about Lauren herself. It wasn’t often that she felt like this around someone, but Tara felt at ease with the slightly older girl.

The noise and activity of the rest of the room faded into the background and Tara looked over the first of the designs that Lauren was curious about. The back and forth of opinions lead to more teasing questions and laughs, and Tara thought that being this close to her felt nice. There was a kind of sparkle in the long-haired brunette’s eyes that had her feeling a similar vibe from Lauren in return, and it was enough to suggest that there was a chance that, depending on how the rest of the night went, there might be something else, something more worth exploring together with her. While everyone else continued with the game tournament, Tara was perfectly happy to stay here on the couch as long as Lauren liked, hoping that she wouldn’t run out of designs to ask about any time soon.

“Aaaand… got it!” Amy exclaimed a few moments later, finally crossing the finish line a little less than a second ahead of JoBeth.

“Aaww, you got lucky,” JoBeth proclaimed as Marie wrote Amy’s name in on the next line of the makeshift bracket. Handing the controller over to Holly who had just come up beside her, JoBeth turned and wrapped her arms back around Amy’s shoulders with a confident smirk. “You know I’d beat you three out of five,” she said, getting a laugh out of the blonde.

Arching an eyebrow upwards, Amy fixed JoBeth with a dubious look. “Is that so?” Amy asked, breaking into a louder laugh when JoBeth tickled her side gently. “Aah, hey!” she protested, squirming a little but not really wanting to get out of JoBeth’s embrace. “Complain all you want, I won fair and square, Jo,” Amy said once she’d managed to get JoBeth’s hands to stop any more teasing. “And to the victor go the spoils…” she added a moment later, trailing off suggestively.

“Yeah?” JoBeth asked with a snarky smirk of her own. “And what’re those?” she asked, happy to lead Amy on as the blonde gave her a retaliatory tickle of her own. “Aah! Aims!”

“You!” Amy declared with a grin, locking her arms back around JoBeth’s waist, prompting the twin-ponytailed brunette to return the affectionate embrace with an adoring smile. Amy loved it when JoBeth looked at her like that, and being able to hold her here freely and wrap herself up in the love they’d found felt absolutely incredible.

“I should’ve known,” JoBeth chuckled before Amy came in to meet her lips in a kiss. “I guess I’m okay with that,” she added with another giggle, following up the first kiss with a second.

“Good,” Amy finally replied with a bright smile of her own. “’Cause I’ll be collecting later.”

Bashfully biting her lower lip, JoBeth couldn’t wait. “You’d better…” she replied as Amy found her for another quick and playful kiss.

“I promise,” Amy chuckled, feeling more than a little tingly and ready to act on a few of the ideas she’d had for JoBeth as soon as possible. “But first… Marie, where’d you go?” she asked, tearing her gaze away from JoBeth a little reluctantly to find out where the next girl up was in the room.

Watching Amy and JoBeth together had sent a blush to her cheeks, and Marie couldn’t help a slightly dreamy smile at the couple. “Hmm?” she asked, her brow rising up as she came out of her momentary reverie. “I’m here,” she added, setting the marker she’d been using for scorekeeping down on the table and heading around a little more to the front of the television.

“Great,” Amy said, turning back to the object of her affections. “Alright you; up!” she said, tapping JoBeth’s thigh lightly.

“Aww, but I like cuddling,” JoBeth said in mock protest, donning a momentary fake pout that she knew Amy couldn’t resist before stealing a quick kiss and doing as Amy asked, letting her girlfriend do the same.

“Thanks,” Amy said, stretching out a bit but not letting go of JoBeth with one of her arms. “And I never said I wanted you wandering off…” she added with a smirk as JoBeth flashed a grin in her direction. “Here you go,” Amy said, holding out the controller for Marie to take.

“Thanks,” Marie said with a smile, taking over one of the now vacant beanbag chairs. “Alright, who’s next?” she asked, gathering herself up and slipping into competitive mode as she got ready to face and take down her next challenger.

Plopping down into the other beanbag, Holly started picking out her car. “That’ll be me,” Holly said. “And just so you know, you’re goin’ down, freckles, so let’s go,” she added a moment later, drawing a laugh from around the room and a seconding cheer from Ashlee.

Marie, sharing in the laugh, was aware that Ashlee had been spreading the nickname around in hopes of getting in her head, but it wasn’t going to work. “All right, bring it, blondie,” she retorted quickly and in moments, the first race had begun.

“Want to grab the chair?” JoBeth asked, inclining her head towards the now-empty chair to the right of the couch. It was big enough to fit the two of them the only way she wanted to sit right now, curled up on Amy’s lap.

“Sure,” Amy said with a smile, sitting far back in the seat and letting JoBeth come and settle in beside her. JoBeth arranged her arms around her as she sat down, resuming an embrace that she was more than happy to give and Amy couldn’t keep from a beaming smile. “Mm… My Jo…” she purred softly into JoBeth’s ear, delighting in the sound of JoBeth’s low but happy chuckle in response.

“My Aims,” JoBeth replied, leaning back and resting against the blonde’s warm body. A delightfully tingly sensation deep inside her had her very much looking forward to when Amy would collect on her victory later, but for now, she was happy to return Amy’s kiss to her cheek with one of her own. “You know I still let you win, right?” she asked mischievously, but Amy only smiled back at her that gorgeous and sweet way she always did.

“You can think that if you want to, Jo, but I won,” Amy said with a soft chuckle. “I’ll take my ‘spoils’ later, and you’ll like it…” she added with a whisper into JoBeth’s ear, her purred moan and anticipatory lip-bite in response sending another delightful shiver down her own spine.

Smirking, JoBeth felt Amy’s heart beating against faster against her back and she knew it matched her own. “I think we both will…” JoBeth said impishly, arching a suggestive eyebrow and looking forward to making Amy enjoy herself in kind. “Unless you wanted to go back to your bedroom now, of course…” she added, giving Amy’s arms a loving squeeze and getting Amy to give her another kiss on her cheek before they both caught what was happening just beside them with a chuckle.

“Well would you look at that…” Amy wondered softly, an amused smirk dancing across her lips as she looked over at Lauren and Tara on the couch.

“Aww,” JoBeth said with a grin, seeing Tara’s faint blush over what looked like a very happy and comfortable smile as she appeared to be talking with Lauren about some of her designs. Lauren had even managed to sneak her arm around behind Tara they were so close, and the redhead had only scooted in closer since Lauren had sat down beside her.

She’d heard snippets of her and Amy’s two best friends talking up on the couch during the race, but this was something else entirely. “Look at them!” JoBeth whispered excitedly. Whatever nerves Tara may have still had about talking with her had obviously gone somewhere far away, as the two looked like they were having a fair bit of fun already.

“They’re adorable, aren’t they?” Amy asked with a chuckle, just as Lauren glanced up for a moment to give them both a smile.

“Hey!” Lauren mouthed silently, giving them both a little wave before returning her attention to something that Tara was cheerfully pointing at in the book.

“They just met, and I’ve never seen her that relaxed with someone that close,” JoBeth said, filled with happiness and hope that Tara had found someone she liked enough to want to get to know better.

Sharing that same excitement for Lauren and Tara that she knew JoBeth was feeling, Amy brushed a few strands of JoBeth’s bangs back behind her ear and caught her girlfriend’s gaze. “Think they’re onto something there?” she asked, already looking forward to finding out from Lauren how things were going later on.

“I think they might be,” JoBeth replied with a grin, cuddling back into Amy’s arms and resting her head on her shoulder. She knew that Lauren and Tara had no shortage of things in common, and it looked like they’d managed to find a nice place to start. “We’ll just have to see where it goes…” she ventured, feeling Amy nod and rest her head against her own.

“Yup,” Amy said, closing her eyes for a moment and basking in both JoBeth’s affection and her happiness over Lauren and Tara finding their moment to talk. “You said she’s staying over tonight, right?” Amy asked, hoping that Tara hadn’t balked at JoBeth’s little planned surprise.

“She is,” JoBeth confirmed, running her finger gently over Amy’s hand. “I told her I’d brought over her stuff, and she was fine with it when I told her…” she paused for a moment as a chuckle bubbled up from inside her. “I think she might’ve been happy to have more of a chance to corner your roommate there…” she added, getting a small laugh from Amy.

“Well, looks like they figured that part out just fine,” Amy said, confident that the two had plenty of time left in the night to talk.

“Yep,” JoBeth agreed, happy to sit back and watch the next few races and Lauren and Tara over on the couch looking so cute together. She was glad that Tara had agreed to come along with to the party and that she hadn’t had to leave her back in the dorms tonight. It looked like she’d hadn’t been wrong about Tara finding quite a few things about Lauren to like, and JoBeth hoped that was just the start of something great for two girls she’d come to care about a lot.

Taking a deep and satisfied breath, JoBeth caught Tara looking over at her with a bright smile that she was happy to return. An excited little brow flare from the redhead before she returned her attention to Lauren told her that her best friend really was enjoying herself as they flipped through a few more pages together.

Closing her eyes for a moment, JoBeth let out a deep breath and wrapped herself up in Amy’s warmth. “I like tonight,” she said, pulling one of Amy’s hands up to her lips for a kiss.

“Me too, Jo,” Amy said with a smile, letting the pleasant thrill of JoBeth’s affection course through her as she kissed JoBeth’s forehead. She couldn’t think of a better way to spend the time until her next turn than to sit here holding the girl she loved and that loved her back. With everyone around the room having fun between the games, the food, the good conversation and each other’s company, so far as she was concerned, tonight certainly was wonderful.

-- To Be Continued in Chapter 06 --