《An Unlikely Connection》


 The Surprise

    The first day of college was nerve-racking. I parked my newly bought used car perfectly in the student parking lane between two heavy pickup trucks. I kept critiquing myself about how I parked in lanes, so when I did this, I was happy. So far, my day has been going smoothly. I opened my door, and the ambient sounds of the garage mixed in with the chattering of people hit me all at once. It reminded me of my high school rush hour during transition periods, but this was double the volume. Good thing I brought my headphones to drown out the noise. I played a playlist that shuffled video game soundtracks that were epic with orchestra-level instruments, then walked over to the elevators.


    Two elevators were situated adjacent to each other. I took the furthest one because it didn''t have anyone standing near it. The moment I walked into the elevator and turned to reach the button panel, a woman wandered in. She almost ran into me if it wasn''t for my quick reaction to step back. Her enormous boobs bumped against my chest before she stopped.


    "Oh, sorry," she said with a gasp. I turned down the volume of my music, so I could hear her better if she spoke again.


    "You''re good," I said.


    "Cool." She pressed number two on the panel. On that floor, it took us up to the sky bridge that led to the campus. "Are you going here as well?" Her question made no sense to me. I thought she would know that I was going on the same floor. She could''ve guessed, judging by my appearance and today''s date being the start of the fall semester.


    "Um, yeah."


    "Sorry. That was a dumb question. I''m so nervous right now. I''m a freshman." I wasn''t paying much attention to what she was saying. Her outfit, beautiful freckled face, brown hair, and rounded fat body were hot. She caught me staring at her, so I nodded my head to pretend I was paying attention to what I said. "Are you a freshman, by any chance?"


    "Yes," I said, cracking my voice. "I am."


    "That''s good. What classes are you taking? Besides the one class we all have to take."


    "PE, history, math." She gasped as if she saw something crazy. It startled me that I jumped a bit.


    "Me too! We might be in the same classes." I told her the names of my professors, and it turned out she also had them too. I was kinda excited that a beautiful girl like her was my classmate. "Just in case we get drafted into being partners, or I''ll need assistance on some homework." She paused mid-sentence to unlock her phone. "Can you give me your phone number?" That question made me internally scream for joy. On day one of college, I achieved a girl''s number before I even knew her name.


    "Sure." We exchanged numbers without telling our names first, so I made a motion to ask. "What''s your name?"


    "Kathleen Reilly. You can call me Kat if you like."


    "Okay, Kat. Joshua McEwan is my name." Her eyes popped open at the sound of the elevator doors pulling apart. She looked over her shoulder while blindly putting her phone back into her purse. "Hey, since we got the same classes, let''s walk together."


    "Sure." I realized I had already said that word, so I said, "Yes."


    We walked to our first class together, taking the sights of our campus and having small talks. I found Kat was a year older than me. She took a year off from doing any school when she graduated. I should have done the same, but at least I didn''t have to go through seven hours of schooling in college.


    The first class we entered was American History. This curriculum started when the pilgrims came to settle in what is now known as New England. My professor''s room had two columns of rectangular black tables that were positioned in eight rows. No one was in the room, so I checked my watch while taking a seat in the back. I was thirty minutes early.


    "At least I can choose the best seat," I said.


    "You are right about that," Kat said, taking the second seat at a table in front of me. "Finders keepers."


    "Losers weepers," I whispered. I sat in the first seat chair near the aisle at the far back. This spot had quick access to leave, plus it suited my left-handed boundaries. Anyone who was right-handed would have arm space to move around in.


    As time got near the start of the class, the room began to fill up. There was only one seat left next to me. My professor came in and looked shocked to see his class filled up. His eyes bulged through his glasses.


    "My, my. What a turnout. Sorry for being late, everyone. I had to talk to an old friend," he said as he was turning on the ceiling-mounted projector. It seemed like I was the only one paying attention. Everyone kept talking to the people around or were going through their phones. "Okay. It''s time to get this noisy class started." Just before he was about to shut the door, someone wedged the upper tip of their longboard to prevent the door from closing. It bounced off the board, making it slowly swing open.


    "Jesus fuck, dude!" A woman said. The chatter of the students stopped like someone turning down the volume to mute. It made my ears mildly resonate from a quick volume change. A tomboyish-looking woman with blonde highlights in her black-brown hair and tatted arm sleeves. She looked pissed as she quickly scanned the room, finding the person who hit her board. When she looked at the professor, her expression changed quickly. "Sorry! Am I late, professor? This campus was confusing to navigate." Her German accent came out. It was light, but I understood every word.


    "No. Take a seat, please."


    "Yes, sir."


    She glanced all over the room to find where she could sit. I wanted to blurt out and wave to make her see there was a spot near me, but I didn''t feel the need to. Her eyes found the chair but locked on me for what felt like a good five seconds. I was stricken with a burst of sudden attraction by how attractive she looked. Her brows were perfectly arced over her greenish-amber eyes. She had what I called an Egyptian-style eyeliner that came out as a point to the side of her head. The more I stared, the more details I liked. Under the nose was a C-shaped silver ring. It had two tiny cones that didn''t touch one another. Her face and jawline were shaped beautifully, plus she had a small cleft chin.


    "Wow. I''m in love," I whispered with the back of my left fingers covering my mouth as I looked at the open seat. As she came closer to me, my heart started beating fast. My body got tingly, which made me get a slight unwanted erection. I was wearing jeans, so it fucking hurt the more it grew in size. Her perfume smelled more like men''s cologne than the fruity girly scents I smelled from girls. I didn''t mind the smell, but it made me self-conscious if I smelled as good as her.


    "Alright, everyone. It''s time for roll call. I''ll be doing this for about a few weeks; then I''ll stop," the professor said. While he checked roll call, I peaked my eyes at the girl sitting next to me to check out her tattoos. I noticed birds, insects, and flowers going up to her arm. They were wickedly detailed. When I looked at her face, she was slightly smirking while indirectly looking at me.


    "Hallo (Hi)," she said. When her head turned over to me, and her eyes came up, I looked at the door. She giggled in a soft chuckle. "I know you were staring," she whispered right into my ear. The skin around my neck sent a shiver down my spine. She stretched her arm in the line of my sight across the table. "Do my tattoos bother you?" I looked down at her arm and then her fingers. They were bare from any coloring but were polished as they glistened under the lights.


    "They don''t," I answered, looking at her from the corner of my eye.


    "Do you like''em?" I didn''t want to sound weird by saying I loved them, so I gave her a simple response.


    "Yeah, they''re cool." She didn''t react in any way that seemed to acknowledge my compliment. I looked at her to see what was going on. Our eyes stumbled on each other. Her eyes gleamed deeply into my soul, and I couldn''t look away. This girl''s beauty was the best thing I have ever seen in my life. I admired many women, but being this close to a girl like her was something special.


    "So," she said, turning more of her body to face me. "Which one do you like the most?" Right as I was about to answer, the professor called my name.


    "Yes?" I said. I thought he wanted me for something, but it was just a roll call.


    "Joshua," she said slowly. "Joshua... Mind if I call you Josh?" Only my parents called me that. When it came from her lips, I accepted it wholeheartedly. A girl like her could call me anything she wanted, and I wouldn''t give a damn.


    "I don''t mind."


    "Wunderbar (Wonderful). My name is¡ª"


    "Yose B?hme," the professor said.


    "Here," she raised her hand. "I like to be called Yosefin too. If it''s not a problem."


    "That''s not a problem." The professor read out a student to my left named Collin Carver. His long black hair caught my eye. It looked longer than mine. I kept my curly hair in a bun because I was too lazy to comb it out every day. He didn''t say anything to the professor but raised his hand in a nonchalant salute.


    "He''s got some nice hair," she whispered with her hand over her mouth. Her quiet comment brought a strange case of deja vu that was unrelated to Collin.


    "B?hme?" I said, slowly turning my head to face Yosefin. That last sounded oddly familiar. I couldn''t find where I heard it last. It was on the tip of my tongue, but I concluded it wasn''t that important to pursue at the time.


    "Is there something interesting about my last name, Josh?"


    "Oh... uh... it''s nothing."


    "Is it nothing?" She leaned closer to me with her one brow raised. I felt intimidated in a fun kind of way. "You whispered my name like you''ve heard it before or something of the sort, ja (Yeah)?"


    "I do. Maybe when I was little. But I can''t remember when. I guess it''ll come back to remembrance later down the line."


    "Okay," she quickly said, leaning back into her seat while shrugging. It sounded like she was disappointed with what I said. I tried judging her face by how she responded. Nothing seemed wrong, plus she kept her smile going.


    "Okay, class. Listen up!" The professor kinda shouted. "This is what we''ll be doing in history 1301."


    After the professor gave the rundown of what we needed to do for the entire semester, he put on a video of pilgrim history. When I was in elementary, I never turned away from any sort of video watching. These were like a mental reality break from focusing on any kind of work. If the video were two minutes, I''d watch it.


    "Ah," Yosefin said, flipping her phone face down on the table. "American history. Fascinating stuff, don''t you think?" Her excitement amused me in a way I was intrigued by it. The tomboyish appearance mixed in with the thrill of history seemed off. I believed tomboys took an interest in sports or boyish activities. Not history. Collin showed his attention by taking a nap with the right of his face facing me. "Josh," she said, poking her finger into my ribcage. It tickled enough to make me jump.


    "Hmm?" I hummed.


    "Just making sure your not brain dead."


    "Sorry. I was... distracted."


    "I can''t be that cute, can I?" My heart paused for a moment. "JK. I''m not that all interesting," she said immediately before glancing at Collin. "That dude must''ve gotten no sleep last night." I rested my hand over my heart and took a single deep breath to calm myself down. I honestly thought she knew I found her attractive and was trying to tease me to confess. "So... what''s your schedule like after this?"


    "I got that freshman class after this." She rolled her eyes to the left and then hummed in a low pitch.


    "Let me see if I have that too," she said, pulling a folded paper out of her back pocket. It was odd for her to say that. All freshmen had to do that class. "Ja. I do. Right after this one." My day got better. Two fine girls were in my classes.


    All of my classes ended at three. Unfortunately, Kat only had two classes with me. But at least Yosefin was in all four of them. Collin also had the same classes. That dude slept through all of them. He made me wonder if he might have some sort of sleeping disorder.


    At the end of that day, I connected slightly more with Yosefin than I did with Kat or Collin. Kat seemed friendly, but she didn''t stay consistent in wanting to talk. Collin wanted to sleep any chance he got. Yosefin couldn''t keep away from me. She had a nice balance of interest in wanting to conversate. I found out she was a gamer like me. We didn''t talk enough about what type of games we''re compatible with, but I felt there was something we both played.


    At the end of the second day of my classes, I was hungry and thirsty after not having a good breakfast before I came to campus. I headed to the cafeteria to buy a chicken and egg salad box. The moment I sat down at a table, I saw I had forgotten to grab a drink. I sat up halfway then heard what sounded like an electric motor zooming down the hallway next to the cafeteria. Lord behold, it was Yosefin riding the longboard. She came into here, swerving in and out past people.


    "Really, Yosefin?" I said, stuffing my mouth with my salad. She caught a glance of me when she passed my table and circled back over to me.


    "Josh!" Yosefin shouted. Her voice echoed throughout the room. She seemed surprised yet happy to see me here. Her mouth was shaped like the happy face on those drama masks. "What are you doing here all alone?"


    "Isn''t it obvious? I was hungry."


    "No one should sit alone, especially when eating," she said, rolling her longboard under the table and taking a seat to my left. Collin came out of nowhere agreeing with her statement. "See, Josh?"


    "Where did you come from?"


    "My mother," Collin said before stuffing candy in his mouth and then walking away. Yosefin reminded it''s better to have someone than to sit by myself. It sounded like a stupid motto. I didn''t need anyone to sit with me while I ate. But I accepted her presence. I couldn''t tell her she wasn''t wanted. How could I say no to a hot, tatted-up girl?


    "Since you''re sitting with me, do you mind giving me a drink? I forgot to buy one before sitting down."


    "Sure thing." She jumped over to the vending machines before I could hand her money.


    "Wait a sec." I took out my wallet halfway out of my pocket. She slammed on the brakes, making her hop on one foot to stop as she looked back at me.


    "Lemon-lime soda, right?" How did she know that? It was like she read my mind. The guess threw me off to the point I stopped chewing my food.


    "Yeah..."


    "Keep your money, Josh. I''m getting one for me too." She skipped over to the machine, then hopped next to the coke machine that housed lemon-limed soda. Her ass jiggled inside her jean shorts upon landing. Such a sight was engraved into my mind and stayed on repeat until she came back to me with the drinks in hand. "Here you go."


    "Thanks." She downed a quarter of the soda before I got the chance to sip mine. "Thirsty?"


    "Nah," she said after she burped. "I was craving for some sugar. It''s my cheat day."


    "Cheat day?"


    "I''m a bit chubby." Chubby felt like an exaggeration. Her body looked fine to me. It had shape. The perfect mixture between fat and muscle. "Got a bit of a jiggle issue in some areas."


    "What, your ass?"


    "You looked, didn''t you." My face heated up from blushing hard. "Oh my god, Josh," she said, hiding her smile with her soda.


    "I didn''t mean to. It just happened."


    "Calm down." She patted my back as she took a seat next to me, giggling. "Don''t fall head over heels. I''m definitely not your type." Her voice got softer, and it sounded a bit sad in its tone. I contemplated asking her why I shouldn''t. It had only been two days since we met, and I didn''t want to seem like a creep trying to explain why I found her attractive. "Hey. Whatcha staring at, Josh?" When I came to my senses, I found I was looking at her the whole time.


    "Nothing." I shoved the salad into my mouth to play it cool.


    "You know your blushing, right?" Caught like a deer in headlights. "Seriously, I''m nothing special." That was a bald-faced lie and another bash against herself. That was the last straw for me. I had to say something that would make her feel different about herself.


    "Stop that." My words made her momentarily freeze in the middle of drinking. "You''re... beautiful." The force of my heart was pumping so hard that I felt lightheaded. When I looked closely at her cheeks, they were slowly blushing. "Look who''s blushing now."


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    "Shut up." We both laughed at each other. I nearly choked on my food from not holding it in my mouth. She had to pat my back to help me get my food down.


    "Thanks."


    "No problem. Hey, before I go. I want you to have this." She handed me a folded notebook paper from her right side pocket that had the ripped edges still on it. Inside was her number. Under it, she had her gamer username.


    "Really?"


    "I''m old fashion."


    "You could have told me this before class ended." Her blushing face got redder as I saved her information on my phone.


    "I know, but I was shy. I don''t have friends I can meet in person. I was homed schooled since middle school in the seventh grade, so bear with me if you make me shy, okay?" I felt concerned she didn''t get to experience the perks of public school. It sounded like she hinted at a sheltered experience in schooling. If I was the first person she talked to in person, I had to tolerate what made her comfortable.


    "I''ll keep that in mind. If it makes you feel any better, I feel the same way about you."


    She tucked the left side of her hair around her ear and then said, "Gosh, really?"


    "Mhmm. We''re connecting pretty fast. Yosefin, have we met before somewhere?"


    "Uh..." She said with a light chuckle, looking to her left for a long moment. "I don''t know," she mumbled while shrugging her shoulders.


    "Damn. It feels like I should already know you."


    "I don''t know what to tell you, Josh. But," she paused to point at her phone, "Text me when you get home. I wanna play some games with you."


    "I will."


    "Fantastisch! (Awesome)"


    Our friendship boomed from that day. Yosefin and I talked non-stop for days. We chatted for long hours on the phone, texting, or gaming to the point we stayed up early in the morning. My sleep schedule was fucked up to the point I kept getting four to five hours of sleep before class. It didn''t bother me because I was addicted to talking to her. I liked her way too fast that I didn''t feel comfortable seeing her as more than a friend. The honeymoon phase of befriending a hot, friendly girl overwhelmed my emotions, so I had to turn down my interest in her. What I didn''t want to happen was to scare her off. I had a bad experience of being too upfront and lost my chance of having something tangible. With Yosefin, I had to take it slow, keep it friendly, and establish a strong friendship before moving anywhere else. I barely knew her, so I needed to take the due diligence to understand who she was.


    The third week of college, after I met Yosefin, ended without it being the slightest stressful. None of my professors gave me any assignments to work on the weekend, so I was chilling at home until she texted me saying she wanted to hang out in the college''s den room. From the freshmen orientation, it was a place to relax and play all sorts of games ranging from consoles and table games.


    I drove to the campus under cover of needing to take a test so my parents wouldn''t deny me the chance to see her in person again. She was an unknown mystery I hadn''t revealed yet nor mentioned to them. When I traveled to the back end of the campus, I saw Yosefin standing in the hallway facing an empty private room while looking down at her phone. Her hair was loosely coiled. She wore overalls that stopped above her mid-thigh and a pink shirt tucked into it. Both wrists had bracelets that varied in two different sizes. She looked so stunning.


    I was hidden from her sight, so I texted her to look to her right. When my message came through, a smile appeared on her face when she pulled her hair behind her eye when she looked at me.


    "Josh," she yelled quietly with her arms out for a hug.


    "Yosefin," I said in the same volume. I gave her a firm close hug. My crotch bumped into her hard enough to make it slightly hurt, but I did not react to the pain to ruin the moment. Her perfume was different this time. It smelled like strawberries and vanilla. "Wow, that''s a nice smell you got."


    "Thanks. I thought you might like it. I got it yesterday."


    "It''s got my stamp of approval." I gave her two thumbs up to show more satisfaction. "So, have you been to the den before?"


    "No. It''s my first time."


    "Same. It sounds like a cool place," I said, walking past her to head to the den.


    "Josh," she said, pulling on my shirt. "Before we go, I need to talk to you about something." She entered the private open room to my right.


    "Okay?" I took a seat at the same table she sat down at. "What''s up?"


    "I need to ask you a question, or more like tell you something." My mind began racing with possible questions and scenarios she might ask me to answer. I felt whatever she wanted to know was serious because she wasn''t smiling or making direct eye contact. "Do you remember a kid named Yose back in middle school?"


    "Yose?" I said several times to remind myself of that name.


    "Shot black hair. greenish eyes like mine."


    "Yeah, I do! I knew I felt something familiar about you."


    "Wait, you do?"


    "You must be his sister! I wonder what happened to him?" Before she could answer my question, I went off to another train of thought. "He was not really fond of most of the class. He was a quiet kid."


    "Yeah..." That word sounded off to me. She blankly stared down at the table, nibbling her thumbnail.


    "Yosefin?" She put her index knuckle on her chin and then rubbed it back and forth while she continued looking at the table. "Hey. Yosefin. What''s wrong?" I was worried about her silence, so I tried to shake her out of whatever she was doing. It broke the hypnotic gaze and made her look up at me. "Did something happen to him?"


    "Josh..."


    "Yeah?"


    "Pinky, promise me you won''t freak out." Her breathing began getting faster, and the blood in her cheeks got redder. It looked like she was going to pass out in front of me. I was getting nervous watching her freak out a bit.


    "Should I get you some water?" I slightly moved back to get ready to sit up out of my seat, but she softly held my hand. The skin on her palm was damped and warm.


    "Don''t go. Please stay with me."


    "Yosefin, you''re scaring me. What is going on with you?"


    "I''m so fucking nervous," she said, holding her head by her hands against her face. "I have to tell you something about me."


    "Okay..."


    "Fuck!" She jumped out of her seat to prance in circles around the room.


    "Hey, hey. Calm down." I stood in her pathway to block the endless cycle of going in circles. It worked, but she wouldn''t look at me anymore and kept her arms crossed around her body. "Did I say something to make you act like this?"


    "No..."


    "Well, it feels like it did."


    "You didn''t," she said, finally looking up at me. "I''m sorry that I''m making you feel like this, Josh. My anxiety is fucking with me really badly right now."


    "Shit. What can I do to help?"


    "I don''t know!" I looked around to find something I could make her calm down enough so she could say what was on her mind. Out of desperation to make her settle down, I offered my pinky.


    "I swear."


    "Really?"


    "Mhmm." She put her arms down and then slowly locked her pinky around mine.


    "Would you swear to me again, but specifically what you''ll swear on?"


    "I swear I won''t freak out."


    She took two deep breaths and then suddenly spoke fast, saying, "The kid you remembered was me."


    There were no words for me to say, mainly because it sounded like a slur to me. It took me a long time to process what she said. How could a beautiful woman like her be that awkward kid from my middle school years? They didn''t look anything alike, except for their eyes and maybe their hair color. She physically looked like an adult woman. Her hands were small, she had big boobs, hips, and a woman''s voice. There couldn''t be a chance she was a guy. I would have noticed in an instant.


    "Josh? Why are you silent? You told me you weren''t going to freak out," Yosefin said, somewhat clutching my pinky tighter.


    "I''m not," I said with a light chuckle and let go of her pinky. I tried to keep my composure steady, so I wouldn''t freak out. The longer I looked at her and compared what she told me, the realization of being bamboozled became apparent. "Are you fucking joking? You''re Yose?" My question was answered when she showed me a picture side by side of Yose and herself at age sixteen. They almost looked alike. "That ain''t you, is it?"


    "It is." I had to give her and the pictures a double-take. She was serious. No smile, calm voice, direct eye contact. "Here." She showed me her under-twenty-one driver''s license with her thumb under the sex label. The letter M was printed on it.


    "No way," I whispered.


    "It must be hella fucking weird seeing me like this. I resemble nothing to how I looked as a kid. Then yet again, who does, ja?"


    "Yeah, no shit." The butterflies I had in my stomach started attacking me in a way that made me feel sick.


    "Josh," she said, taking a step closer to me. "Don''t freak out. You promised me."


    "You''re a dude?! What the fuck!?"


    "Josh, calm down!" My fight or flight was conflicting with one another. I felt tricked. I wanted to leave after being fooled for two weeks that she was not what I thought. But my curiosity to know how this was feasible kept me in the room.


    "I feel... I feel like I got duped into losing all my money. I want to gag right now."


    "Please don''t do that. I hate that noise."


    "How is this possible, Yosefin¡ª" That name was hard to say. It didn''t seem right to speak it anymore since I knew who she was. "How is this possible, Yose?"


    "Hormones through puberty and mutations that went the other way and led to what you see now."


    "Huh?" I yelled. My voice was loud enough to echo and make her jump. "What? I don''t understand."


    "Which one?" She somewhat wept with a trembling voice.


    "All of it." Her face dropped into what looked like the visible form of the word,oh. "How did you get like this?"


    "I don''t where I should start." She sat back down in her seat with her head inside the bend of her arm. Her hair sprawled over the table, and I could see her nibbling on her thumb. "Josh, where should I start?" I couldn''t decide on what sounded the most important. They all sounded like crazy reasons, so I eventually chose to ask her to explain to me what ''mutated''. That seemed pure science fiction.


    "Uh, you said mutated. So, explain that."


    "Okay." She leaned up with her hands together in her lap. Her hands tightened. They somewhat shook, and her nails turned red from the fingers pressing down on the back of her hand. While she was getting her thoughts together, my mind went off into something I didn''t think I would suspect this early to understand why she became this. "I¡ª"


    "Do you have..?" I stopped myself from continuing in the hope she''d know what I would say.


    "Do I have... what?"


    "Do you... Well, y''know..."


    "No. I don''t know." It was tough for me to ask if she had what I had. A woman having something she should not have was not computing in my eighteen-year-old brain. I even considered her to be an alien. "Josh, what are you trying to ask me?" The more she wanted me to tell her what I wanted to know, the more I felt timid. I couldn''t imagine this being possible. It didn''t make any logical sense. "Oh! Are you asking me if have fake tits?"


    "Huh?" I blurted, shaking my head and hands to make it not seem I wasn''t acting perverted. "No, no, no!"


    "Oh, okay. They are real, by the way. I will let you touch them if it proves to you they are." My heart rate rose as my dirty mind found it amusing that she offered me to touch them.


    "Really? You''ll let me see?"


    "See?" She gasped. "I said touch." My dumb-ass mind said the wrong thing, but she found some amusement in my mistake. She cracked a quick smile that broke her sad frown. "I wouldn''t mind that too, just not here for obvious reasons." Then she quietly mumbled, "For the sake of facts."


    "Of course," I said, playing off as I didn''t ask if I could touch them. "But, that wasn''t what I wanted to ask of you."


    "So, what do you wanna know"


    "Do you have..." For the life of me, I couldn''t say it, so I pointed down at her crouch.


    "Ah! That?" I nodded. "Uh, I do" she sighed. "It doesn''t work, though."


    "Doesn''t work?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow. "What the hell does that mean?!"


    "That would answer in part of my mutation aspect. I have severe, untreatable, uncurable, azoospermia."


    "Az-zoo... What now?"


    "I," she paused to turn her chair to face me. "I''m sterile, Josh." The bombshell of the information left me frozen with shock. There were no words I could say to express any reaction. All I could do was stare at her dead in the eyes. "My doctors believed the moment I went through puberty, my DNA began to go in reverse," she said air quoting the last word.


    "Reverse?"


    "I turned into this naturally. My voice got higher, my hips got wider, and I grew tits. I am as female as it gets, minus, y''know," she chuckled, but only for a quick moment. "So... yeah..."


    "So," I drew out the word, trying to make sense of how I could see the visual transformation from then to now. "Can you..." Yet again, I had a tough time being forward with my questions.


    "Josh, can you be blunt with me? I''ll tell you everything you want to know. I don''t care if it''s extremely personal. I just don''t want you to be gross-out by me." When she said gross-out, I had to think for a second about what she was concerned about. It seemed like she wished to keep her image less awkward.


    "Why do you want me to be so open?"


    "You¡ª" She hesitated and stopped to think about what she wanted to say.


    "You, what?" I leaned forward to show her my interest in wanting to know. "Say what you were going to say."


    "Let me say this first," she whispered, fumbling with her thumbs while looking at them. "I was seen as an afterthought around the kids back in middle school. No one cared to want to know me or be my friend. I was the odd quiet kid." She slowly rose her head up to look at me. "You were the only kid at the school that at least spared a few words with me."


    "Yosefin... I mean, Yose... umm. Which one do I pick?"


    "Call me whatever you like." Her smile came back, but it was lightly formed. The corners of her lips barely moved up. It looked like she was happy in some sort of way, but not entirely. "Yose is still my legal name." She handed me her driver''s license again to show me her name. The card said Yose. "As I said, you can call me whatever you like."


    "So, where did the name Yosefin come from?"


    "It was an easy add-on to my name because it''s the opposite gender," she sighed. "Since I look like this." I stayed with her current name to be on the side of the current moment. The former name felt truthful, but it didn''t match her look anymore. And I didn''t want to constantly flip-flop between the names.


    "I''ll say Yosefin," I concluded. "You can continue... if you want to."


    "Like I said. You talked to me."


    "Barely, if I recall."


    "Hey, I appreciated that. Plus, it was one of the things to keep me going in life. I don''t think I would be here if it weren''t for me wondering what Joshua was up to all these years."


    "What do you mean by keeping you going?"


    "Let''s not talk about that today," she deflected, glancing away for a quick moment. "It''s pretty depressing, and I would like to get through this first before expunging that memory any time soon." There was a moment of silence that lasted roughly five seconds be she continued. "I never had a real friend to talk to in person, so don''t be reserved because of what you now know of me."


    "Okay," I said with no confidence in my voice. It sounded pitched like I was confused but went along with the flow.


    "Okay..." The atmosphere between us got serious, so I took an opportunity to hopefully break the darkness in the room by asking a blunt question.


    "So, you''re a guy? Like, me?"


    "If you consider what I have, minus how I look and sound," she answered, giving me one finger up. "Then yes."


    "Girl?"


    "If that''s how you see and hear me, I could be."


    "Could be?"


    "It isn''t what I am," she said, shying her attention to gaze at the window. "We can say yes, but we know it''s not true. It''s a liveable and agreeable lie."


    "This is so fucking weird to think you can be both." She found my comment laughable. It made me quite optimistic to see her giggle, but I felt nervous it wasn''t genuine. It was short and made her smile get smaller. I was scared to clarify if I offended her in any way, so I remained silent.


    "I''m sorry. I tried to shoo you away. And if you wanna stop seeing me, I''ll understand." The whole ultimatum felt wrong. This was a dramatic suggestion that felt like one of us would get the short end of the stick. I understood enough that if I completely stopped talking, it would upset her in some sort of way, but I needed some time alone to digest everything she told me.


    "Yeah," I said, not knowing what else to say. We said nothing for a long moment, so I decided to leave. I was annoyed about being tricked like that, even though she didn''t mean to. She was cool, awesome to talk to, and a beautiful girl, but what she revealed left a sour taste in my mouth. "I''m gonna go home."


    "Okay," she said with a quiet voice while looking at the ground. When I left the room, I stopped outside the door to look back at her. Her head was down, and her hands up in her face. She looked sad, but I didn''t want to ask if she was. Therefore, I left and went home.


    For the entire weekend, we didn''t talk over the phone. I found myself blankly staring at nothing as I thought about what she had told me. Sometimes I would check my phone, hoping she would text me to say hi. It was like she was ignoring me, but I was also doing the same thing. She stopped getting online to play the games we played together.


    When I wasn''t waiting for her or doing anything, I searched online to understand the things she went through. Everything I saw didn''t match, plus I saw some extremely disturbing shit I didn''t think people would do to themselves. She was a rarity, according to her words and the zero examples I found. Once I reached several dead-end information, I considered calling her to break the silence, but what was I going to say after not speaking for three days?


    On the fourth day, a new college week came. Kat and I were the first people in our history class again. She talked with me about her crazy day at a jazz music festival she went to on the weekend. I didn''t pay attention to most of it because I was nervous about seeing Yosefin. Kat didn''t notice me ignoring her because she kept on talking without any pause. She chattered continually until the class filled up with most of the students then stopped. I kept my eyes fixated on the door, waiting for Yosefin to arrive. The moment the professor came in, my heart sank. It further dipped when he closed the door halfway to start the class.


    "Alright, class. We''re going to be discussing what went down in Salem," the professor said. While he was setting up a PowerPoint presentation, I held my attention at the open door. When he swung the door closed, the tip of a longboard prevented it from shutting. In came Yosefin. "You''re late again."


    "My board ran out of juice," Yosefin said without looking at him and taking her seat next to me. "I didn''t charge it all weekend."


    "Yo! Do you need a charger?" Collin asked. "There''s a plug-in next to me.


    "Thanks, but I''m good. I brought a portable." I waited for the class to simmer into focusing on the lecture before making any advances to her. At first, I interlocked my fingers over my mouth to look less suspicious of the professor when I wanted to see what she was doing. At first, I looked at her face. There was not a hint of makeup anywhere on her face. Next, I noticed her lack of attention to the professor''s talkative lecture. She wasn''t paying attention to him in the slightest. She was scribbling lines in her notebook.


    "What are you doing?" I whispered.


    "I don''t know," she answered softly.


    "Are you okay?" She stopped scribbling for a moment to side-eye me.


    "Do you... hate me?" I gasped at the thought of hating her. There was no solid reason for me to dislike her, so what she said made no sense.


    "No. Why would you ask me a question like that?" Her slouched posture became straight the moment I said that.


    "Because of what I am. I''m not what you expected." Before I could add on, the professor told me to be quiet and listen.


    "We''ll talk after class, kay?" I said with my mouth covered.


    "Okay."


    After class, I waited alongside the wall of the class for her to get out. She was the last one out. When I approached her, she braced her body like she was about to get hit. Her stomach was somewhat tucked in. She slightly bent over and turned her body away from me.


    "So," she said after holding herself with her left arm. "You really don''t hate me?" I shook my head no, then she unexpectedly dropped her board to hug me tightly, with her face digging into my chest. I almost fell back from how hard she slammed into me. She began weeping uncontrollably. "Oh, thank god!"


    "Whoa. Calm down." I had to take off my backpack and hers so I could hold her better. Her cries didn''t let up. I rubbed and patted her back just to make her ease up from the chaotic crying. "What is up with you, Yosefin? Why are you crying so hard?"


    "I thought it was the end. I thought I fucked up a chance to have a friend."


    "Oh, god. I didn''t mean to make you think that. I''m so sorry, Yosefin." My actions made me feel sad that I accidentally caused her emotional distress. "Gosh, I''m so stupid. I should''ve talked to you."


    "Josh, can you promise me something?"


    "Yeah, what is it?"


    "Don''t you ever do that to me again, okay?" I locked my pinky around hers without her offering it for a swear.


    "You got it." After I let her finger go, she hugged me again. If I had to guess, hugging felt more special than a pinky promise. "I''m sorry, Yosefin. I''ve never met someone like you before. I take back what I said about being tricked and the way I acted."


    "Apology accepted," she said, clearing her eyes and whipping away her mucus with a smile on her face. "I have issues, Josh. I overthink situations in my head a lot because of what I am. Needless to say, I don''t have any IRL (In real life) friends to help me with that."


    "You should fear that less now since you have me."


    Yosefin''s smile grew bigger on that day. We squashed the momentary awkwardness I created and went back into our hyper friendship. At the end of the day, we went to the den to have some fun, relax, and enjoy each other''s company. We stayed in that place for hours. The sun was setting when we finally left. When I got to my car, my little sister, Vanessa, texted me asking if I was okay since I hadn''t returned home in the time she would see me.


    "Ah, crap. I gotta head home. My sister is getting worried," I said, texting my sister I''ll be home soon.


    "You better hurry back then," Yosefin said.


    "Do you got enough juice in that board?"


    "Ja!" She turned on the board. The battery meter blinked green to show a nearly full charge. "So," she mumbled with a smile on her face. "I''m not weird or anything disgusting of the sort?"


    "Nope, but this is a new thing I''ll have to understand. I''m all for getting to know you more."


    "You still wanna talk with me?" It amazed me that she would ask a question like that. I wanted to remind her of the hours we spent, but I threw away that thought because she wanted to overthink stuff. It was an honest question, plus she looked eager for my response.


    "Yes, Yosefin. Is that what you want to hear?" She nodded her head rapidly, then gave me a tight hug with my arms locked to my sides.


    "Yay," she whispered with controlled excitement. "Ich hoffe, ich werde keine Entt?uschung sein, mein Freund. (I hope I won''t be a disappointment, my friend.)" I didn''t understand a word she said, but the last two words, I knew. Her German was so pronounced it felt like I was getting caused at in the nicest way possible. She didn''t look mad, so it must''ve been a joke.


    "That sounded scary."


    "You understood what I said?"


    "No," I nervously chuckled. The back of my throat felt dry, so I had to swallow hard to lubricate it. "Just those last two, I know. I have zero clue to what you said for the rest."


    "Oh," she smiled tightly like she was planning something sinister.


    "What did you say?"


    "Don''t worry about it," she said, rolling her eyes as she lightly giggled. "Text me when you get home." She stood on top of her board, then slowly took off, waving goodbye. "See you later, Josh!" With that, she zoomed out of the garage.

 A Day With Yosefin B?hme

    The weekend after the momentary pause I created with Yosefin, the tremors of her cries haunted me. I made it a promise to myself not to make her worry like that ever again. We continued to talk like it had never happened.


    On a Friday morning, she texted asking if I wanted to hang out in a park to chill. It surprised me because it came out of the blue when I was asleep. My alarm went off three seconds later. I didn¡¯t care why she wanted to or where she wanted to go until I got out of the shower.


    ¡°Yosefin,¡± I said over the phone.


    ¡°Mhmm?¡± She hummed in what sounded like she was holding in some laughter. ¡°What¡¯s up, dude?¡±


    ¡°Where are we going exactly?¡±


    ¡°Maple Gardens. Do you know where that is?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Sweet! I¡¯ll see you there." She ended the phone call before I could comprehend everything that went down. The conversation lasted ten seconds, and I was still waking up from being awoken suddenly.


    I got to Maple Gardens within five minutes of leaving my house. It was an empty skate park next to a busy highway. I didn¡¯t see her, so I waited in the car, snacking on some peanuts I brought. Roughly three minutes later, a white heavy-duty diesel pickup drove past me from behind and stopped on my left side. Yosefin came out the passenger side and then hopped in the bed to pick up a longboard and a skateboard. Once she got down, the truck sped off.


    ¡°Nice truck,¡± I said as I came out of my car.


    ¡°It¡¯s my vater¡¯s (father).¡±


    ¡°Are you into trucks?¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯m a simple girl.¡± She put the boards on the ground so she could knock her index knuckle on the hood of my car. ¡°I like cars like this. Small, comfortable, and I don¡¯t have to step up into them.¡± Something about that straightforward statement made me euphoric to know someone had an interest in buffy full-size sedans. Those brown eyes of hers were dancing all around to view the inside of my car. ¡°Good to see you keep it clean in there. I hate when my dad leaves trash in the truck.¡± I took pride in keeping my car clean. I was still in my honeymoon phase of keeping it clean. Anything small like a piece of ripped paper wouldn¡¯t be left in my car for more than a few days. ¡°If it¡¯s alright with you, do you mind taking me home when we¡¯re done?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± I said with pride.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± she smiled. While she examined the inside of my car, I got a good peek at her interesting outfit choice. She had a black beanie on her head, a tucked-in long-sleeve shirt, black high-thigh shorts, and pristine white flat shoes. The weather was quite cool and windy that day, so what she wore made no sense. Also, her nails were polished and painted in a sky-blue color. It looked smooth to the touch. I wanted to see if it was, but her hand went towards her pocket before I could ask to feel them. She wasn¡¯t wearing any makeup, but her lips had lip balm.


    ¡°Oh,¡± she said, moving away from the window. ¡°Sorry. Where are my manners?¡± She hugged me and pinned me against the back left passenger door before checking out my car again. ¡°Hiya!¡± Her soft yet warm cheek touched my cheek when we held each other.


    ¡°Hi.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going through my driver¡¯s classes online, so I¡¯ve been searching for used cars all over the place.¡±


    ¡°I suggest you focus on your class. Searching for a car can be tiresome.¡±


    ¡°Wow? Really? I will take your advice on that.¡± She gave me a quick squeeze-like hug before sitting on top of her longboard. ¡°I brought you one of my boards to play with.¡±


    ¡°I can see that,¡± I said, picking it up. It was a new skateboard. The wheels were smooth as if they were unused. The artwork under it had a flaming green skull under it. ¡°How did you know I can skateboard?¡±


    ¡°I did my homework,¡± she winked. I assumed she must have checked my profile page on my social media before coming here. We followed each other last night on social media.


    ¡°I see.¡± I popped a kickflip to test the sturdiness of the board. It was nice and robust, plus it gripped my shoes perfectly. ¡°Nice board, Yosefin. Dumb question, but do you skate?¡± She smiled as she told me to hand over the board by curling her finger. I rolled it over to her then she performed a laser flip. ¡°Holy shit, that was beautiful!¡± She continued doing various styles of kickflips until it tired her out.


    ¡°Here. I wanna see what you can do.¡± The first attempt on a laser flip ended with me falling on my ass.


    ¡°Fuck!¡±


    ¡°Shit! Are you okay?¡± She sat next to me to examine my ass, but I told her I was fine. I pulled it off on the second try, road in the pit for a time, pulled off mild tricks, and then came out without any incidents. ¡°Dude, that was awesome! How often do you often skate?¡±


    ¡°A lot. I haven¡¯t done it much in a few weeks, mainly because I got a car now. What about you?¡±


    ¡°Every other day around my neighborhood. I do it as an aid to work out.¡± I glanced at her round legs when she sat down over the pit to gauge how fat she was. They were a fine size for my preference.


    ¡°Trying to get rid of some jiggles?¡± I said, sitting next to her. ¡°Do you want this gone?¡± I poked the thickest part of her upper thigh.


    ¡°Yup, and here.¡± She untucked her shirt to show me the lower part of her belly. ¡°Josh, can I ask you something?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s up?¡± I said, looking into the pit.


    ¡°What is your preferred shape of a woman?¡± The question caught me off guard. My heart sank into my stomach, skipped a beat or two, then my lips felt like they shriveled.


    ¡°Huh?!¡± I shouted, cracking my voice. ¡°Why are you asking me that?¡±


    ¡°Because you stare at me a lot.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± I denied as tried to keep a straight face.


    ¡°Okay,¡± she scoffed with a giggle. My face started warming up longer she stared at me in silence.


    ¡°What?¡± I snapped because I broke into a smile I couldn¡¯t hold back.


    ¡°Jeez dude, you¡¯re blushing red. I¡¯m not asking for your favorite sex position or anything too revealing. Settle down.¡±


    ¡°It kinda feels,¡± I chuckled.


    ¡°How about this,¡± she said, sitting closer to me. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what I like if you tell me what you like. Does that sound fair?¡± I took a moment to calm my heart down before my easily corruptible mind agreed to entertain her proposition.


    ¡°What are we starting with? Face, body, personality, interests?¡±


    ¡°The juicy shit,¡± she snickered, rubbing hands together evil-like. ¡°You into thick girls, Josh?¡±


    ¡°Uh,¡± I nervously laughed.


    ¡°You can tell me anything.¡± She leaned into my shoulder and quietly said, ¡°I won¡¯t tell a soul. Plus, you can ask me anything.¡± Her openness scared me. It sounded like a trap. I never met someone say I could ask them any question I wanted. What if I asked something that would make her mad or asked her too many questions? I wasn¡¯t taking any risky chances, so I kept it simple.


    ¡°I¡¯m not picky about sizes,¡± I said.


    ¡°Explain.¡±


    ¡°Not boney or filled with so much fat it looks like there might be a health concern.¡± She burst out laughing, quoting the health concern part. I felt embarrassed exposing a detail like that.


    ¡°Sorry. I don¡¯t know why I found that so funny.¡± It took her a moment to settle down, and then she said, ¡°Where do I fall in that range?¡± A knot formed in the divot of my throat. My heart began racing again.


    ¡°Tell me straight, Josh.¡± She stood up with her hands on her hips to pose for me. ¡°Are you an honest man?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yea... I am.¡±


    ¡°Good. Where am I?¡± I examined her entire body before giving a detailed characterization.


    ¡°You¡¯re not thin,¡± I said as I stood on my feet. ¡°I am aware of your wanting to lose some weight. You do have some fat on you, but you¡¯re not chubby. You¡¯re below the middle on my scale.¡±


    ¡°Shit,¡± she said, crossing her arms against her stomach while smiling. ¡°Did you just call me somwhat fat?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said ten thousand times. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it like that. You¡¯re... plump.¡±


    ¡°Plump?¡± She shrieked. I couldn¡¯t get a single word out of my mouth. I was panicking and couldn¡¯t form anything coherent. ¡°Relax, bro!¡± She put her on my shoulders until I made myself relax. Even after I did, she waited a few more seconds, looking me in the eyes. ¡°Has any girl ever told you that you look cute when you blush?¡±


    ¡°Not that I know of.¡±


    ¡°Well, now you got one on the record.¡± The back of her hand gently pressed against my right cheek. It made me jerk, but I quickly got used to her soft touch. ¡°You¡¯re warm... So much red in that pale skin. You should get out more.¡± I looked at her red cheeks to think of something funny to say to take the attention off me.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Have you seen yourself? We¡¯re both pale.¡± My words made her smile. Her hand switched to my other cheek, but her touch didn¡¯t last as long.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± she hummed, then grinned. ¡°Do you have any burning questions you want to ask me? Like something personal?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said without thinking if I did.


    ¡°Nothing?¡±


    ¡°Well...¡± I mumbled, looking up to the sky. There were a few burning questions I had that came up when I tried to search for what type of person she was online. She told me she could be whatever I wanted to see her as, but I was curious to understand what she thought about herself. ¡°Nah,¡± I said, feeling scared to ask.


    ¡°Oh, please,¡± she begged with praying hands. ¡°I know you got something for me.¡±


    ¡°I do, but it isn¡¯t necessary.¡±


    ¡°Necessary? What the fuck does that mean?¡± Her tone got serious. Her smiles and playful voice went away in a snap of a finger. ¡°Josh, it¡¯s best to get whatever is off your chest. I¡¯m literally asking you to hit me with any question.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Calm down.¡±


    ¡°I am calm,¡± she giggled. ¡°So!¡±


    ¡°Do you consider yourself... tra¡ª¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she said, stretching out the word while crossing her arms over and over. I tried to think of a different question but couldn¡¯t form one in my head. So I chose to focus back on what I asked.


    ¡°You don¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Okay. Pay attention. Do I sound off to you?¡±


    ¡°You sound normal to me.¡± She took my hand to grip her throat firmly. ¡°What are you doing, Yosefin?¡±


    ¡°Do you feel my adam¡¯s apple?¡± I caressed my thumb where it would be and found it was small.


    ¡°This is bizarre.¡±


    ¡°My boobs are real like I¡¯ve stated before. You¡¯re not gonna find any form of scars anywhere on them or abnormal implants.¡± The images I saw online made me internally cringe. There were so many things I wished I never saw. ¡°No injections,¡± she said, pretending to inject herself on the left butt cheek. ¡°None of that crazy shit,¡± she mumbled and laughed out her nose. ¡°Are you following me?¡±


    ¡°I think so.¡±


    She rolled her sweater to make her bra more visible as she jiggled her boobs one by one out of the blue, then told me, ¡°Real D¡¯s as it gets.¡±


    ¡°How did you get like this, Yosefin?¡± I asked, stumbling on my words.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the science of it, dude,¡± she sighed while smiling. ¡°I¡¯m one of a kind.¡±


    ¡°So.¡± I stopped to carefully think about what I was going to ask her. ¡°It sounds like you are turning into a girl.¡±


    ¡°I thought so, too,¡± she said after gasping. ¡°But I¡¯ve been like this for years without any significant changes. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on with me.¡±


    ¡°Wow...¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she whispered. ¡°I didn¡¯t do this to myself. I grew up like this.¡± She sat closer to put into making her leg touch mine. ¡°Got any more questions for me? You¡¯re on a hot streak.¡±


    ¡°Are you into girls?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a lesbian,¡± she laughed after rolling her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m into guys.¡± I puckered my lips as I shook my head up and down, trying to comprehend who she was. Her answer sounded contradictory given the fact of what she was. She should favor girls, yet she was dead serious. ¡°You don¡¯t believe me.¡±


    ¡°I do!¡±


    ¡°Mhmm,¡± she giggled, then gave me a tender shoulder nudge. ¡°You think I should be gay since I have a¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not thinking that at all, Yosefin,¡± I lied through a nervous chuckle.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to lie to me because of what I am.¡±


    ¡°Yosefin, I believe you.¡±


    ¡°Stop lying,¡± she slowly said as she crept close to my face. I recoiled from looking into her eyes. ¡°I thought you were an honest man?¡± She turned my face with her index finger to make me look at her. ¡°Seien Sie ehrlich. (Be honest.) Come on, Josh.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± The softness of her finger, her smile, and her direct gaze made me give in. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for being honest.¡± She hugged me from my right side, nearly tipping me over then held on. ¡°Y¡¯know, there was a moment in my life where I had to really think what I was going to be interested in.¡±


    ¡°So you chose guys?¡±


    ¡°It made sense. I mean, look at me. Dudes love hot bitches.¡± We both chuckled nearly simultaneously, but she suddenly stopped after two seconds. ¡°I see myself as a girl but I know I''m not if that helps you.¡±


    ¡°But,¡± I paused to think on preciously how I would word my question. ¡°Why did you give me a choice to choose what I see you as.¡±


    ¡°Because,¡± she pointed at my chest. ¡°You¡¯re special.¡± I pointed at myself and she nodded.


    ¡°Why me?¡± I didn¡¯t get a verbal response, but she seemed happy. There was a tight smile that formed before it became a big grin. She didn¡¯t look at me throughout the entire moment until the grinning died down.


    ¡°Let¡¯s continue skating.¡±


    We spent a few more minutes at the park; then, she decided she wanted to have lunch with me. She wanted to eat at a restaurant. I wasn¡¯t keen on going since I wasn¡¯t the type to go out anywhere to eat. Anything I ate, I ordered for pick up, sent to my house, or ate what my parents cooked. She kind of pressured me into taking us to a restaurant with her promises of great food. Plus, she said she¡¯d pay for everything.


    We went into an all-you-can-eat buffet called Twilight Castle. She picked a seat and gave us a window that peered out to my parked car. I didn¡¯t know if that was intentional or random, but I was glad nonetheless. She stuffed herself with so much food that I questioned if she even cared about her weight loss. The food she ate was, fried rice, steak, and soft rolled bread, and she topped it off with strawberry ice cream. I didn¡¯t want to remind her of her diet plan because she genuinely enjoyed herself.


    ¡°Are you full yet?¡± I asked, eating my ice cream.


    ¡°Ich bin im moment so satt (I am so stuffed right now),¡± she said after she let out a long burp.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a yes.¡±


    Even though that was not planned for the day, I somewhat enjoyed it. Once I finished my ice cream, we headed back to the park. A few blocks from the skatepark, I looked to my right mirror to merge. I caught her gazing at me with her fingers under her eye. She immediately looked away, using her hand to hide behind. Just to make herself not smile, she bit down on her index knuckle. I didn¡¯t think it necessary to ask her what she was doing, so I continued into the park. ¡°So,¡± I said, putting my car in park. ¡°What do you wanna do now?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± She flipped down her mirror to fix her messy hair when she took off her beanie. ¡°I¡¯m thinking about dying my hair red. Should I do it?¡± Her black highlights were perfect in my eyes. Any color other than black wouldn¡¯t fit right on her.


    ¡°Keep what you have or dye it black.¡±


    ¡°Do you like the way I got it?¡± The question made me blush. The cat got my tongue, so I nodded to tell her yes. ¡°Mind if you tell me what you like about it?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I said, not trying to smile. ¡°Why are you putting me in the spotlight like this?¡±


    ¡°Josh,¡± she giggled. She leaned over the center console to get closer to me. ¡°I¡¯m doing no such thing. It¡¯s just a simple question.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t wanna sound like I¡¯m flirting.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not flirting if it¡¯s just a compliment. So please, share with me your urges.¡±


    ¡°Urges?¡± The word made me laugh. Her word choices for things never ceased to amaze me. ¡°Fine. I like the colors picked.¡±


    I grabbed a lock of her hair with three of my fingers to feel the texture of it. It was cold from the blowing AC vent hitting her face and silky soft. I was amazed at how it felt, so I combed more of it with my fingers. The sensation of her soft hair felt oddly good. She pulled more of her hair forward for me to touch. When I looked her in the eyes, I froze. I was embarrassed that I was admiring her hair so much that I couldn¡¯t look at her for a good minute. Judging by her laughter through her nose, she seemed to find the whole moment funny.


    ¡°Have you ever admired a girl before?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Of course I have.¡±


    ¡°Have you ever done it to one this close to you?¡± She asked in a gentle voice. ¡°You constantly blush.¡±


    ¡°So do you,¡± I said, a tiny bit aggravated.


    ¡°But you seem shyer about it.¡± Suddenly, she moved over to the center console to get right in my face. I could feel the heat emitting off her face and heard the air flowing into her nose. ¡°Do I make you uncomfortable, Josh?¡± She asked me with the faintest of a whisper. Her presence and calm voice intimidated the hell out of me. My heart pumped so hard against my chest that it felt like I was running a one-hundred-yard dash. I couldn¡¯t look away from her deep gaze. ¡°I got to know anything you dislike about me.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid.¡± She gave me a gentle bump on my cheek with the top of her head. ¡°Would you wanna be with someone who makes you feel uncomfortable?¡±


    ¡°No... I wouldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°So, do you mind answering my question? Is there something about me that doesn¡¯t sit well?¡±


    ¡°No. There¡¯s nothing.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re lying, again,¡± she said with a smirk. ¡°I make you so uncomfortable.¡±


    ¡°Can it be a good uncomfortable?¡± That question made her think for a moment. She looked up for a long moment, then nodded as she agreed.


    ¡°Tell me in the back of the car.¡±


    ¡°Back of the what?¡± She got out to sit in the back seat. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Get over here.¡± I sat in the back, and then she crossed her right leg over to the left, leaning on me with hands gripping my arm. ¡°Does this make you feel uncomfortable?¡± She gave me an erection by the way she was on me.


    ¡°No,¡± I sort of lied.


    ¡°What if I do this?¡± Her hold got close, damn near intimate.


    ¡°Why are you doing this?¡±


    ¡°Why are you letting me do it, hmm?¡± I couldn¡¯t think of a good response. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll stop.¡± She moved so far away from me that I couldn¡¯t reach at arm¡¯s length. ¡°Sorry,¡± she said, looking out her window and then whispering in German while shaking her head. When she stopped talking, she got out of the car and wandered off to the skate park with her head down.


    ¡°Yosefin,¡± I said, getting out of the car. She stopped the moment I got behind her. ¡°Why did you all of a sudden leave? Is everything okay?¡±


    ¡°Wanna go watch a movie?¡±


    ¡°What...?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll pay. Ticket, food, drinks. I¡¯ll cover us both.¡± Before I could ask her why she suddenly wanted to go to the movies, she walked away to get in my car. Her behavior started to confuse me. Once I sat in the car, she kept her eyes fixated out her window. I watched in silence until she looked my way. Roughly ten seconds passed when she almost broke her gaze to see what I was doing. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you driving?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± she said while looking at me indirectly. ¡°Let¡¯s go watch something.¡±


    ¡°No. I don¡¯t want to go see a movie. You¡¯re acting strange right now.¡± She looked at me with a smirk, but it quickly turned into a frown, like she was about to cry. Her face turned pink. Then she fanned her eyes as some tears came out.


    ¡°Verdammt noch mal, Yosefin. Du denkst schon wieder zu viel (Damn it, Yosefin. You¡¯re thinking too much again).¡±


    ¡°Yosefin, what are you saying?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, Josh.¡± She used the sleeve of her forearm to wipe her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m overthinking stuff. Scaring myself in the process.¡±


    ¡°About what?¡±


    ¡°Have I ever told you that you are the only friend I see IRL (In real life)?¡±


    ¡°Yes. You mentioned that.¡±


    ¡°Oh, good. I thought I bombed our hangout today by acting too forward.¡± I scratched my head over the last two words. It took me a second to understand what she meant when I realized how intrigued and close she was to me.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re fine.¡± I touched her shoulder to show her she was fine. She held it to snuggle her cheek on top of it, then moved away abruptly.


    ¡°Fuck! I didn¡¯t mean to do that,¡± she said, putting her hands over her mouth. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Josh.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all right, Yosefin.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I answered, keeping my hand where it was. She came back to it to resume snuggling. Some of her warm tears rubbed on my hand. ¡°Does this make you happy?¡±


    ¡°Can I tell you something honestly?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡±


    ¡°I like being close to you. It makes me feel empowered in a way. Not in a dominant sense, but in a sense where I¡¯m comfortable expressing myself emotionally. Does that make sense?¡±


    ¡°It does.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t have a normal time growing up, so interactions with people were limited to family, family of friends, or online through gaming and whatnot.¡± She stopped touching me to clear off the rest of her tears with her arms. ¡°Now I got an awesome friend like you; I wanna explore experiences and feelings I never got to try when I was younger.¡±


    I felt so bad for her. Her life sounded lonely and boring. Compared to mine, I wasn¡¯t much of an outgoing person nor sheltered, but I had friends to talk to. I went through public school, and I wasn¡¯t frowned upon, bullied, or seen as a weirdo for my looks. But when I pictured what she might¡¯ve gone through, I sympathized.


    I got out of my car to hug her to express my sentiments. She came out of her seat to hold me tight.


    ¡°Your life sounded awful,¡± I said.


    ¡°I know,¡± she giggled. ¡°But there was some good that came out of it.¡± She rolled her sleeves to expose her arms. ¡°I found an interest in tattoos, boarding, drawing, gaming, and other shit.¡± The other shit piqued my interest.


    ¡°What¡¯s the other stuff you like to do? I bet it¡¯s something we can do together.¡± Her eyes pointed up to see me before her head came up. I got a type of stare that suggested what she was about to say wouldn¡¯t fit me. It was so obvious. ¡°Oh, come on. I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s something I¡¯ll like.¡±


    ¡°Have you ever been to a concert?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m an introvert. You¡¯re the only one that has been making me move around.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± She said with a growing sinister grin. ¡°Guess who¡¯s coming with me to a rave concert in a month.¡±


    ¡°Oh, god. What¡¯s a rave?¡±

 Extracurricular Activities

    I was under strict orders by Yosefin not to search for any information regarding what a rave is. The only fact I knew about it was that it was some sort of a concert. I have never been to any form of one. The only experience I had where there was a large gathering where music played would be the high school prep rallies in the gym. Whatever she planned for me at the end of September, I had to wait in utter anticipation.


    At the beginning of September, my physical education teacher offered early extra credit in the form of joining a soccer club to participate in playing a match. I signed up to take advantage of the credit system to use later down the line. Plus, I had prior experience in soccer when I was young, so playing soccer wouldn¡¯t be too strenuous for my body.


    Hours before the soccer game, the club members gave two teams clothing and gear. We got shinguards, soccer cleats, and a black jersey. The other team wore white. As everyone got into their uniforms and hit the field, I looked at our goalie. They were sitting on the ground with a soccer ball in front of them. I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes when I realized it was Yosefin. She had her hair tied back into a loose ponytail.


    ¡°This is a surprise. When did you sign up for the club?¡± I said, walking over to her.


    ¡°After class when you left for home,¡± Yosefin said when she stood up. Before I exited the parking lot, I remembered seeing her walk toward the elevators in my review mirror. ¡°You ready to ball?¡± She lightly kidded the soccer ball to me. I went to catch the ball under my foot, but she kicked it between my legs before I could touch it. ¡°Slowpoke!¡±


    ¡°Whoa. Friendly fire, Yosefin.¡± We exchanged turns, trying to outwit each other to see who could keep the ball longer. When the ref blew the whistle to start match one, I had the ball in my possession. ¡°Ha! I win.¡±


    ¡°Oh, screw you. I had it more times than you.¡±


    ¡°But you didn¡¯t have it until the very end.¡± I kicked the ball to the center of the field for the ref to have.


    ¡°Whatever,¡± she said, giving me a light, slow shove. ¡°I need a shiny knight in black armor to protect me.¡± At first, I was confused as to what she meant. Why did she need a knight? Then it hit me. I was supposed to take the defender¡¯s spot. She saw me finally realize with a disappointing sigh before I could say I understood. ¡°Oh, Josh. You slow turtle. If this were a medieval setting, I would be so embarrassed.¡±


    ¡°Be happy I at least got it.¡± She shook her head with a big fat smile on her face.


    ¡°Go forth, my champion. Protect thy queen,¡± she said in a perfect old-style British accent. It made me cringe at how I found amusement in her commanding me. Collin and his randomness ran to the field, screaming at the top of his lungs, telling everyone to protect our goalie. ¡°Hell, yeah! That¡¯s the spirit!¡± The hype between the two made me cringe more and laugh simultaneously.


    I took my position on the field. The rules were that two defenders protected our goalie, Yosefin, while our midfielders went after the ball to score. My team wasn¡¯t that good at keeping the ball away from the defenders. We worked our asses off to defend her. I was so exhausted that my chest burned like it was hovering over a stove. My movements began to slow down, and I missed one attempt to kick a ball away from my opponent. She went behind me to score. Yosefin moved away from the goal to get ready to block. The girl kicked the ball right into Yosefin¡¯s crotch. She caught it and got on her knees, bending over it. I rushed over to her to check if she was okay.


    ¡°Are you good?¡± I asked, keeping my voice down.


    ¡°No,¡± Yosefin grunted with noticeable pain. ¡°Don¡¯t make a scene.¡± She got up to kick the ball far away. I could see on her face and body that she was in so much discomfort. Her face was red. She tried to make it seem like getting hit in the balls was nothing by keeping her body more upright instead of slouching over. ¡°Josh, go back to your spot. I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but I think you should sit this one out.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she said as she grabbed the lower part of her stomach, where the pain radiated. ¡°Go.¡± Despite my worry, I went back to play my role.


    Yosefin played the entire game in full without switching out. I¡¯m amazed at her resilience to carry on from suffering one of the most painful hits to the groin. After the match, I approached her from the sideline to give her an ice pack. She refused it because she worried it would look weird for a girl to stick something down her pants. I kept pushing her to take it to use it now. She would only use it if we were in my car and out of sight from everyone.


    While she soothed her pain in the back seat of my car, she made me become a lookout. The fear of being spotted made me curious about how she felt about others¡¯ opinions of her.


    ¡°Do you think people might not like what you are?¡± I asked. I glanced into the car to see what she was doing. Her back was to me, and I could see her shorts halfway off her butt. ¡°Yosefin?¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡± She looked over her shoulder to me, then pulled up her shorts to cover some of her right ass cheek. ¡°Dude,¡± she giggled. I quickly looked away. She giggled into a pitched laugh. ¡°What were you saying, Josh? I wasn¡¯t paying attention.¡±


    ¡°Do you feel people might not like who you are because of how you are created?¡±


    ¡°Sometimes.¡±


    ¡°Is that one of the reasons why we¡¯re out here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a walking contradiction that raises eyebrows. I¡¯m afraid of other people knowing what I am.¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t worry about what other people think,¡± I said, leaning down to see her.


    ¡°Would you find it strange that someone who looks like me, fiddling with their crotch?¡±


    ¡°I would think her pussy is itching.¡±


    ¡°Her what?!¡± She started laughing so hard it made her face turn red. ¡°That¡¯s what you would think?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I laughed in an honest response. ¡°Stop overthinking things, Yosefin.¡± Her laughter stopped then her smile shrunk to a barely noticeable one.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard not to, Josh.¡± She adjusted the icepack to her right side and then flinched in pain. Her left hand rested slightly higher over the icepack. ¡°This is the worst time for this to happen.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m getting phantom cramps. I should¡¯ve worn a fucking cap. Goddamnit!¡± My mind stumbled on the word cramping. She must¡¯ve known what I was thinking because she explained it to me after watching my reaction.


    ¡°Phantom cramps?¡±


    ¡°I get them monthly like a... period. Minus,¡± she braced her face from the pain before saying, ¡°the bleeding part!¡± My mind couldn¡¯t comprehend what I heard. How was this even possible?


    ¡°How?¡± I said, unable to think of something elaborate to ask. ¡°Just how?¡±


    ¡°Who the fuck knows,¡± she said through her teeth. ¡°Not even my fucking doctor knows.¡± The look of defeat was on her face. She was sweating, in pain, and hiding in my car from prying eyes. ¡°Fuck,¡± she whispered before letting out one aggressive painful groan. I hated seeing her in complete misery, so I turned on my car to give her some cold air. She smiled once I pointed the rear passenger vents toward her face. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°Is there anything else I can do?¡±


    ¡°Fuck,¡± she grunted and opened her legs a bit.


    ¡°Easy there. A queen shouldn¡¯t curse,¡± I said in the most broken British English.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you ever do that again,¡± she groaned and laughed.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± I cringed at myself.


    ¡°But it was a cute attempt nonetheless.¡± When she called my voice cute, I blushed to the point I couldn¡¯t look her in the face. ¡°Thank you for taking care of me and keeping it a low profile.¡±


    ¡°Anytime.¡±


    ¡°Hey,¡± she said, exposing some of her right ass cheek to me. ¡°Random question. Should I get a tattoo here or, nah? I¡¯m thinking of putting a bird here.¡± My face got hot. I tried my best to look away to be respectful and not to stare.


    ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°You sound unsure. Can I ask why?¡±


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°Well, it wouldn¡¯t look good... on you.¡± Something about that answer made her cover her ass without taking her eyes off me. Not once did she blink.


    ¡°Please, explain why it wouldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°This is going to sound weird.¡±


    ¡°Try me.¡±


    ¡°Putting a tattoo there would be obscuring,¡± I said with several pauses.


    ¡°Uh-huh...¡±


    ¡°Do you know what I mean?¡±


    ¡°Nein (No).¡± I leaned on the rim of the door with my chin on top of the car, so I could think of what to say that¡¯ll make sense. ¡°Could you be more descriptive?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s say I was staring at a naked woman. I wouldn¡¯t want there to be a tattoo there.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± she gasped in a way she understood what I said. ¡°So you¡¯re saying you like to see a clean ass?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I felt disgusted at myself for revealing something like that to her.


    ¡°Where else do you not like tattoos at?¡±


    ¡°Why are you asking me this?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve,¡± she said, coming closer to me without looking away. ¡°You¡¯ve made me curious.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not too fond of it being on the chest, but I¡¯ll let it slide. Boobs, no.¡±


    ¡°Cause you wanna see their tits, eh?¡± I couldn¡¯t say yes, so I nodded my head. ¡°Don¡¯t be embarrassed, Josh. I¡¯m not going to judge you.¡± My mouth stayed shut, but I was glad she told me that. ¡°So, do you like them on feet?¡± I shook my head to say I did. ¡°Stomach?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± I mumbled with a minor voice crack. ¡°Nah. I don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Same here. I hate when guys have tattoos on their stomachs. Like, I wanna see those abs.¡± When she said abs, she poked all of her fingers against my stomach. It made me jump and almost chuckle. ¡°What about their back?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s cool.¡±


    ¡°I got vines above my tailbone. Wanna check it out?¡±


    ¡°Uh, sure, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Yes or no, dude,¡± she snapped at me with an exaggerated frown.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Her frown went into a smile.


    ¡°Turn around.¡± I took a few steps back and turned around. ¡°Okay, look before someone sees me.¡± Slowly, I checked over my shoulder, leading with my eyes before turning my head. She had her shorts down enough to see a portion of her buttcrack. It wasn¡¯t needed because her tattoo hovered about where the shorts were imprinted on her skin. The tattoo was an intricate design of roses entwined in vines. It looked crazily detailed. She covered herself before I could get an in-depth look. ¡°So,¡± she stopped to check behind me. ¡°What do you think? Is that too obscure?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s perfect. I like the design you picked.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. I got an awesome artist that inscribed my crazy art on me,¡± she said while checking out her arms. The little enthusiast in me got excited from realizing everything on her was her idea.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s cool! Do you have sketches of your work?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°You should show me some someday.¡±


    ¡°Someday?¡± She smirked to the right side of her face. ¡°How about today?¡±


    ¡°But... the match is still going on.¡±


    ¡°You still wanna play?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± she said, taking the icepack out of her shorts but keeping her hand down there. ¡°Give me a moment.¡±


    ¡°How do they feel?¡±


    ¡°Swollen,¡± she said, coming out of my car. ¡°I¡¯m gonna need some serious pain meds when I get home. God, what a fucking day.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re good?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she answered in a soft voice and gentle smile. ¡°If it gets worse, I¡¯ll sit on the sideline, so don¡¯t worry about me.¡±


    We continued playing soccer without incident. Though Yosefin pushed through the pain, I couldn¡¯t help being worried that she might ignore it. I could tell she wanted to be out here and be around me no matter what she felt. It was commendable, but I wished she didn¡¯t push herself. She stayed around for all the other activities like kickball and crossbar. Kat came by but didn¡¯t participate at all. I broke away from a second kickball match to let someone substitute for me so I could talk with her.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I said, a bit out of breath. ¡°Do you wanna play?¡±


    ¡°Joshua... Really?¡± Kat said, smirking and nodding her head with her arms crossed. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you asked me that.¡±


    ¡°Did I say something bad?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she giggled. Her smile confused me. ¡°Why do you look so frightened?¡±


    ¡°I feel like I said something foul.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t,¡± she said with a soft hand grazing my sweaty forearm. ¡°I¡¯m fat. I can¡¯t move like y¡¯all can out there.¡± I turned around to sympathize with what she said. No one had her body size. Everyone was thin or athletic in the way they looked.


    ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t call you... fat.¡±


    ¡°What would you call me, hmm?¡± She leaned forward, ready to hear my response.


    ¡°Y¡¯know...¡± The way she kept smiling at me made it hard to tell her I found her size attractive.


    ¡°Let me guess. curvy or chubby. It¡¯s one of those two.¡± In my silence, she knew my answer. ¡°It¡¯s nice to know a guy is into this.¡± When she said that, she waved her hands down her body to emphasize the size of her figure. ¡°Most guys get frightened.¡± That statement left me scratching my head. What was scary about her size?


    ¡°Kat,¡± I said. scratching my cheek. Right before I was about to ask the question, Yosefin came out of the blue to jump-scare us. I jumped, but Kat didn¡¯t.


    ¡°Yo!¡± Yosefin shouted before grunting in pain. Her knees buckled. She played the moment off by acting like she was out of breath. ¡°Are you done? You look like you can play another game.¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯m done this time,¡± I said. ¡°How about you?¡± I nodded slightly, hoping she would know my direct question about her problem.


    ¡°I¡¯m done. I got my extra credit for the day.¡±


    ¡°Good. Wanna chill for a bit?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Kat said, clearing her throat. ¡°I¡¯ll see you around, Joshua.¡±


    Kat headed back to campus. My day ended at around the same time my classes ended. The club let me keep my outfit for future events if I decided to come back. Before I took it off, I took a picture of myself and Yosefin to show our professor we participated. My high-grade camera showed every bit of deformity on our faces. We looked so beat, it was funny. I sent Yosefin the picture to personally have then I sent a normal picture to my student account for the credit.


    Yosefin and I stayed together after school, replenishing our bodies with food and water in the cafeteria. She tried to convince me to watch a movie with her. I wanted to take her home to make her take some medicine, but she acted like everything was fine. My worry got under her skin to the point that she cussed me out in the simplest way possible.


    She said this to me. ¡°Josh. My good friend. Can you, pretty please, fuck off already?¡± Her voice didn¡¯t rise an interval to show any anger. It sounded a bit flirtatious yet serious.


    I gave in to her wanting to see a movie. While at the movies, I bought some food to eat while she took her seat. When I passed Yosefin to sit down, she wafted the air behind me while scrunching up her face.


    ¡°Dude,¡± she laughed. ¡°You smell like balls.¡± I didn¡¯t mind my stench because she smelled just the same.


    ¡°So do you,¡± I said with a mouth full of candy. She pressed her tongue into the bottom corner of her mouth to make a pouty face. ¡°I guessed I struck a nerve.¡± Her mad look turned into a smile, then a quiet chuckle.


    ¡°Das ist wunderbar. (This is wonderful),¡± she said, looking forward.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± She brought her knees up on her seat to get comfortable. The knee-high position reminded me of my sister sitting in her chair when she gamed. Painful and uncomfortable looking. Yosefin¡¯s legs were so close together that I worried about her squeezing her groin. She flinched and glanced at me when her legs slightly fell to the right. I kept my mouth shut, but I told her with my eyes about my concern. She opened her stance to avoid pressing them together. ¡°Ouchie,¡± she said in a high-pitched voice that sounded like she orgasmed.


    ¡°Yosefin, the fuck?¡±


    ¡°Sorry,¡± she snickered like a pig. It was pretty loud. No one near us turned their head to look at us.


    ¡°You¡¯re lucky no one heard that,¡± I said before a few people came in to take their seats below us. The theatre lights began dimming after the last preview ended.


    ¡°Shush. The movie is starting.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking¡ª¡±


    ¡°Shush.¡± She could not keep a straight face when she shushed me. We both laughed and then the people two rows below shushed us. It only made us laugh even more.


    The movie ended at dusk. This was the latest I¡¯ve been out on a school day. It felt a bit liberating yet strange. I didn¡¯t text my parents about my whereabouts nor text me where I was. Not even my sister asked where I was. The rest of my day got weirder when Yosefin sent me a full-body shot of herself. She wore a long green shirt that stopped at her thighs, and in her right hand, she had a bottle of high-strength pain medication. The caption on the picture said:


    ¡°Just so you can shut up and have ease of mind.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know why Yosefin sent me something like that. This was my first time seeing her visually in this manner. I couldn¡¯t tell if she had on anything under that shirt, plus her bare legs and white tip toenails gave an undesirable boner just by looking at them. The picture stayed in my mind like a bothersome afterimage for a long while. I dreamed of it. It became animated as if I was in the room where she took it. She moved around within the frame of the image and kept teasing me by lifting her shirt. The dream ended when my alarm clock went off the moment I saw her left hip. My heart was pumping hard, and I had the biggest morning wood imaginable that day.


    The next school week, my PE professor made our class undergo a physical check-up to see how in shape we were. She put us through a gauntlet of different workout machines to see if we could pass a certain weight limit. The last thing we did was a bench press. A juiced-up guy wearing short green shorts was our spotter.


    ¡°All right, y¡¯all. Let¡¯s get this done. You, the tall one,¡± the buff guy standing next to my professor said, pointing at me. I looked behind me, hoping there was someone taller. Sadly, I was the only six-foot-one guy in here. ¡°Yeah, you. You¡¯re going first.¡±


    ¡°Shit,¡± I mumbled under my breath as I headed over to the bench.


    ¡°All you got to do is press this once. It¡¯s a forty-five-pound bar.¡±


    ¡°That looks heavy,¡± Kat whispered. I laid down with the bar over my nose. Behind my head, the buff guy stood over to spot me. His stupid short shorts showed the outline of his fucking dick. It was so gross. I had to close my eyes while doing the single press.


    ¡°Good job, kid. All right, you¡¯re next punk rocker.¡± Yosefin was wearing black denim shorts, black high tops, and a tank top that was tucked in with a yellow logo of a band I never heard of. Her fingernails were painted black too. The eyeliner around her eyes was a bit thick too.


    ¡°All right,¡± Yosefin said. ¡°So.¡± She helped me up off the bench. ¡°Was it that heavy? Looked like you were straining there. You had your eyes closed.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t, but you¡¯ll see why I closed them,¡± I softly said in her ear. The moment she laid back on the bench, her eyes glued to that man¡¯s crotch even after completing the set. She came to me with her hands over her mouth and hid her face against my chest.


    ¡°Oh... my... god,¡± she said, nearly laughing between her words. ¡°I know it was flaccid, but did you see how huge it was?¡±


    ¡°Nope. Stop right there. I¡¯m not going to think about that.¡±


    ¡°Just imagine if it was hard.¡±


    ¡°Stop.¡± She kept trying to bring up the dude¡¯s dick during class like it was the greatest thing she¡¯d ever seen. First, it was the size, and then it became about what it might look like. I got agitated. I had to tell her to knock it off. ¡°Would you stop talking about the dude¡¯s dick, Yosefin? It¡¯s annoying.¡±


    ¡°Aw, come on. You can¡¯t truly be annoyed with it.¡±


    ¡°It is disgusting!¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± she said in a way she was shocked yet intrigued. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m done talking about it,¡± she chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being extra.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I sighed.


    ¡°Bro!¡± Collin shouted from the bench. ¡°Move your junk away from me, man!¡±


    While most of our classes and Yosefin laughed at what Collin said, my annoyance towards her jokey behavior didn¡¯t last long. It gave more insight into what she liked or found amusing. Our friendship hadn¡¯t crossed into that part of getting to know what we liked sexually in unfiltered detail. I wasn¡¯t going to ask her questions like that until she made the first move.


    After the awkward workout, Yosefin and her uncontested persuasion convinced me to join her in downing fast food and milkshakes at the Twilight Castle to close the evening.

 Extrovert Tendencies

    It was the day before the rave concert, and I still could not look up what it was. Yosefin kept me on a video call for most of the day to keep me from looking. I had to carry my phone everywhere I went. My parents kept giving me squinting stares every time I passed them. On the other hand, my sister wanted to speak with Yosefin. I sadly made the mistake of letting them talk. All they did was embarrass me with stories of my childhood and the things Yosefin and I did together.


    Early in the night, Yosefin and I gamed together. This was the only time I didn¡¯t have to be on the phone. She trusted me not to search the internet, but I really wanted to. Being in the dark gave me so much anxiety I kept having bad matches on my game. She called me out on my sucky performance with playful insults. I didn¡¯t give her the satisfaction of a response.


    ¡°You okay? You¡¯re not your talkative self right now,¡± Yosefin pointed out when we weren¡¯t doing anything on the game.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I replied, not knowing what to say at the moment.


    ¡°If I¡¯m being a dick, tell me.¡±


    ¡°Okay. You are. Can I see what a rave is now? It¡¯s driving me nuts, not knowing what it is.¡± I snapped a bit.


    There was a moment of silence, then she said, ¡°Check your phone.¡± She video-called me with her phone positioned on her right side. I could see she had an ivory bra on and black flannel pattern pajama pants. ¡°Go ahead. I¡¯ve teased you long enough.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you¡¯re serious.¡± She took off her headset and nodded, yes, with a smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m shocked you abstained this long.¡±


    ¡°You told me not to.¡±


    ¡°Josh,¡± she paused to get closer to the camera and rolled her eyes at me. ¡°You¡¯re too obedient.¡±


    ¡°Is that a bad thing to be?¡±


    ¡°I... don¡¯t know. I guess in this case. You should¡¯ve said screw it and searched.¡±


    She stayed up with me past three o''clock in the morning. I searched everything I could and asked all kinds of questions to help me prepare for the rave.


    ¡°Are we done now?¡± Yosefin asked me after yawning. ¡°I need to go shower.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you can go.¡±


    ¡°Endlich! (Finally!) Goodnight, Josh. See you later.¡± Before I ended the call, she approached the camera saying, ¡°Das wird ein Riesenspa?! (This is going to be so fun!¡°) Our video call ended on that. I sometimes hated when she spoke German when she knew I couldn¡¯t understand. It felt like I was being teased for not saying it.


    ¡°All right,¡± I said, locking my phone and heading to bed.


    Five minutes into my sleep, I forgot to ask her when the rave was. Hours later, I woke not by my alarm but by a pop of a message. It was an upward angle of Yosefin¡¯s face. The picture caption said she was ¡°ready to lose her shit.¡± She had on what I called Egyptian-style eyeliner again. Her lips were super red, like a bright crimson color. Resting under her eyes, she had red oval-shaped sunglasses.


    I texted her back, saying I wasn¡¯t looking forward to it. She promised I¡¯d have some fun, specifically in the music, but warned me about the crowd. Raves tended to be psycho, according to her words. She recommended I not hesitate to be rough with people if I needed space. If shit hit the fan, she told me she would protect me from any ¡°dick heads.¡± She also mentioned I wear something I didn¡¯t mind getting dirty. I chose to wear a sleeveless hoodie with black shorts and my old black low-ankle cut shoes.


    The route from home to the concert took me nearly an hour. Despite the long ride, I got there as I saw her dad¡¯s truck coming out of the parking lot. The whole lot was packed. I was forced to park what felt like a quarter of a mile away from the stadium. I heard the low boom of the energetic music I would be subjected to for an ungodly amount of hours the more I got close.


    Once I got in line at the gate, Yosefin screamed my name. She came from my right, plowing through people to hug me tightly.


    ¡°Josh!¡± Yosefin yelled again while jumping up and down.


    ¡°Yes, yes. I¡¯m here,¡± I said, trying to hold myself steady from most of her weight weighing down on me.


    She moved away to show off her insane outfit in several poses. I was at a loss for words about the way she dressed. She wore a fish-like netting long-sleeved shirt under her black denim sleeveless jacket that made her body dark and transparent. Two separate red pads covered her nipples. She had on some sort of underwear-looking short shorts that reflected an oily spectrum of colors. Around her waist, she had a fanny pack. To finish the damn near-sexual outfit, she wore glittery shoes with thick outer soles.


    ¡°What do you think? I look pretty damn good,¡± Yosefin said with so much excitement.


    A random guy stood next to her, saying she looked ¡°Fucking sexy, baby¡± before I could breathe a word.


    ¡°Awe, thank you so much!¡± She watched the man enter the check-in gates as she stepped closer to me. ¡°So,¡± she said, slowly moving her eyes away from the guy towards me. ¡°What does say you, hmm?¡± My brain couldn¡¯t compute what just went down. I was stunned - locked by the random dude¡¯s compliment. ¡°Josh!¡± She waved her hands, trying to regain my attention. ¡°What do you think of my outfit?¡± I could not get over how crazy and sexual she looked. The outfit reminded me of something I would find on the weird side of porn where the acting was shit and the sex unamusing.


    ¡°I.. uh...¡± I stuttered.


    ¡°I bet you¡¯re thinking, why do I look like some cheezy pornstar?¡±


    ¡°Took the words right out of my mouth,¡± I nervously mumbled.


    ¡°To be honest with you, I could¡¯ve dressed way worse, but I didn¡¯t want to scare you.¡± A knot formed in my neck when she told me that. I had to swallow my spit to soothe it.


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Wow... Really?¡±


    ¡°What I¡¯m wearing is low-key. You might see some shit that¡¯ll scar you for life. So, be prepared.¡±


    ¡°This is going to suck,¡± I said, facepalming and reminding myself of the pictures I saw on the internet. ¡°Why did I come here?¡±


    ¡°To get out of the house, explore a new side of crazy, and hang with your friend.¡± When she said friend, she slowed it down, pitched her voice, and rested her cheek on my chest.


    ¡°I guess so.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re such a downer, bro,¡± she said while lazily punching me in the stomach. ¡°You need to get out more.¡±


    ¡°I hang out with you nearly every other day.¡±


    ¡°I mean, like going places. Explore, travel, and have fun.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not that type of person, Yosefin.¡±


    ¡°I know, but guess what.¡± I leaned down a bit to wait for her answer when she waved me to get closer. ¡°I don¡¯t give a crap,¡± she whispered, nearly laughing. ¡°You accepted me as your friend, so you¡¯ll get what¡¯s coming.¡± She pointed directly between my eyes and said, ¡°And that is crazy moments with ya girl, Yosefin.¡± I had to shake my head in disappointment at the life I was getting. ¡°I promise I¡¯ll be worth the memories once we¡¯re older.¡± To my surprise, she offered me her pinky to accept her sware.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to do that. I believe you will.¡± It stayed out. ¡°Yosefin...¡± Her pinky remained there until I gave in to accepting it. It made her smile, and she gave me another tight hug.


    ¡°Your introvert days are over! This is going to be so much fun!¡±


    ¡°Yay... I can¡¯t wait,¡± I said with a boatload of sarcasm.


    ¡°Oh, Josh,¡± she giggled as she took me by my hand to enter the gate.


    Everything I feared about the rave came at me without remorse. There were so many people packed around each other. Everyone and their momma, including Yosefin, went ape shit over the music. I felt like a fish out of water or the kid who stood against a wall watching everyone have fun at the party. I wasn¡¯t nervous about participating, but I stayed in a state of shock. The music was okay, nothing to break a neck or back over, yet that was what everyone did. Their chaotic nature threw me around into people a lot, just like she warned me about.


    I got my feet stepped on like no tomorrow. Minor fights broke out around me, and one of them almost got my face punched in. Luckily, Yosefin saw it coming before I could. She shoved the guy away from me and screamed at him to settle down. It took a couple of ball-kicking threats for him to move away. I was impressed she could act extremely hostile and then switch back to vibing with the music as if nothing happened.


    I had a guardian angel who kept me safe and made my time at the rave slightly enjoyable. There were moments I found myself smiling or bumping to the beat of the music. No one came between us. She made sure our time here wasn¡¯t chaotic.


    At the end of the day, I managed to enjoy my time. It was mainly due to the type of music played and Yosefin creating a safe bubble to enjoy ourselves in.


    ¡°You had fun?¡± Yosefin said in a playful voice with her arms locked around my left arm as we walked out the front gate.


    ¡°I surprisingly did.¡±


    ¡°Wanna go to another one later down the line?¡± I showered her with no¡¯s. ¡°You¡¯re gonna make me go alone?¡±


    ¡°Um, yeah. Raves are not my thing. This was once in a lifetime experience. I¡¯m good with what I got.¡± She pouted like a child, jumping up and down like she was having a temper tantrum. Her tits bounced wildly in almost every direction. ¡°Stop that!¡± I laughed at how stupidly playful she was acting. Just to make her stop, I held her upper arms and told her what she wanted to hear. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll go to another one with you.¡±


    ¡°You will?¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯ll make you stop acting like a child and swinging your tits everywhere, then yes!¡± She looked down her chest and squeezed her tits like she was massaging them or something of the sort. ¡°What the heck are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised these pads didn¡¯t slip.¡± Her head slightly moved up when she took a glance at me. I tried to make it seem I wasn¡¯t staring by focusing my attention on the ground. ¡°That¡¯s cute.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s cute?¡± I asked, not looking at her.


    ¡°You know I¡¯m hyper-aware of what you do,¡± she said when she came and stepped closer to me, still holding her tits. She let go of them, making them bounce from the drop. ¡°Just to let you know, Josh, I¡¯m not the kind of woman that would get super offended if you stared.¡±


    ¡°Why not? It¡¯s rude what I¡¯m doing?¡±


    ¡°Not in my eyes. I kinda like that fact you can¡¯t keep your eyes off me.¡± I got so timid by what she said I had to walk away to cool off. She came from behind to whisper, ¡°JK. But, don¡¯t be shy about it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so weird.¡± She thought it was funny, judging by her light chuckle.


    ¡°I know. Maybe I¡¯m weird because of the crazy crap that happened to me,¡± she said when she held my arm. ¡°Anyways, let¡¯s go get something to eat.¡± We held arms all the way out to the parking lot. Her grip never wavered. It was firmly locked on mine but comfortable enough I did not complain about it. ¡°Where¡¯s your car?¡±


    ¡°This way.¡± I pointed at the farthest corner of the parking lot


    ¡°Lead the way.¡±


    A group of guys huddled around a car with the dome light on near my car. One of the men saw us and jumped away from their car to stand in front of us.


    ¡°Hey you,¡± the guy said, slurring his words at Yosefin. It was the guy that complimented her from before. He seemed like he was high off on something. His body wobbled side to side, and his eyes were droopy. ¡°Do you mind the boys and me getting a pic of your outfit?¡± She ignored him and continued walking towards my car. ¡°Hey, lady. It¡¯s just a picture!¡± He tried to get in front of her, but I saw it coming from a mile away.


    ¡°Back away, bro!¡± I said. I shoved hard enough to make the guy stumble into an SUV next to mine. He bumped into it, causing the panic alarm to almost set off. The people he was with got agitated. I thought I was about to get in a fight. Suddenly out of nowhere, I heard a rippling pop of a taser. Yosefin pulled out a taser disguised as a phone from her fanny pack.


    ¡°I fucking dare you to make a move so I can put all of you on your asses,¡± she said.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare,¡± he laughed. Yosefin reached for him with the taser within inches of his stomach. He squirmed to get away, but his feet somehow could not grip the concrete. Her taser made it centimeters from making contact with his shirt once he gained traction. He and his buddies ran for their lives, heading back towards the gate.


    ¡°Perverts!¡± She put the taser away and took out her real phone to take a picture of the license plate of the car they were huddled around. ¡°Just in case.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here before something else happens,¡± I said.


    My heart was racing with adrenaline. I got out of there speedily to reach the highway and never looked back.


    ¡°Always bring protection,¡± she chuckled, then momentarily discharged the taser. It scared the crap out of me from how loud it was inside the car.


    ¡°Where did you get that?¡±


    ¡°I bought it online. It looks like a phone, but it has a dual purpose. It can be a mobile phone charger.¡±


    ¡°I was kind of hoping you¡¯ll zap that guy. It seemed like he wanted more than a pic.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you saw that coming.¡± She patted my shoulder when she said in a perfect British accent, ¡°Thanks. That was real chivalric.¡± That voice was enough to make me blush hard. My whole body shivered as if a cold front blew into my car. The chill felt incredible.


    ¡°You do that so well. It¡¯s so soothing to hear.¡±


    ¡°Soothing? Really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I answered without hesitating. ¡°I like it.¡± There was a moment of silence during a time I expected her to respond. I turned my head slightly to see what she was doing without taking my eyes off the road. She was looking straight ahead with the biggest smile on her face. I kept quiet until she wanted to say something to me.


    ¡°Josh,¡± she said after a minute of silence.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Do you got any plans for Halloween?¡± She finally looked over at me. I kept my eyes on the road but saw her smile shrink into a smaller one.


    ¡°You¡¯ve known me for how long?¡±


    ¡°Technically, three months,¡± she answered nonchalantly, showing with three fingers up. The index finger was curled behind her thumb. ¡°If you count the one month in middle school.¡±


    ¡°You should know I have nothing better to do.¡±


    ¡°I want to,¡± she stopped to lean on the center armrest, ¡°be sure you don¡¯t have anything important to do.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Where are you taking me?¡±


    She giggled through her nose before saying, ¡°I wanna introduce you to my Eltern.¡±


    ¡°Eltern? What is that?¡±

 More than a Friend

    I was in the middle of talking with Yosefin on my gaming console when Kat wanted to chat randomly. It was odd since we barely spoke in class. I could have easily ignored her and kept my focus on gaming, but my stupid curiosity wanted to know why she messaged me.


    We talked a fair bit. There were moments when I had to balance talking to Kat and Yosefin. Double-tasking was my kryptonite. Yosefin called me out on my inability to retain my focus on what we were talking about.


    ¡°Are you okay? Your mind seems somewhere else. You¡¯re literally going near negative in every match,¡± Yosefin said.


    ¡°I¡¯m talking with Kat,¡± I said.


    ¡°Kat?¡± Yosefin yelled like she was surprised. ¡°What does she want?¡± Her tone almost sounded as if she was disgusted in a not serious way. Kat¡¯s name was pitched in a shout that stretched out every letter. When Yosefin asked what Kat wanted, the word, she, was emphasized.


    ¡°Nothing, it seems. She just wants to... talk.¡±


    ¡°Yeah... talk...¡± Yosefin sounded like she didn¡¯t believe a word I said. Her words felt dismissive. I got an uneasy feeling that Kat came with some intention other than conversing.


    ¡°What do you think she wants?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Oh,¡± she huffed, laughing. ¡°I have no idea.¡± Her words were bluntly sarcastic.


    ¡°But, you sound like you know.¡±


    ¡°Well, I could give you some reasons why.¡± She brought us into a private lobby within the game to prevent us from playing with other players online.


    ¡°Okay, what are they?¡±


    ¡°Uh,¡± she giggled in a muffle. ¡°She might be bored.¡± I read through my messages to see if that was right. Kat did express she was bored and felt lonely. I told Yosefin she was bored and feeling lonely. ¡°So she goes to the guy that doesn¡¯t talk to her much for a conversation?¡± That fact she knew about me was surprising. ¡°Nah, she¡¯s looking to fill a void and believes you can do that.¡±


    ¡°What if she truly wants to talk?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that, but go ahead and find out.¡± The way she was interpreting Kat seemed off-putting. I didn¡¯t know what to think of what was going on. Kat¡¯s messages looked harmless. There was nothing to suggest anything but straight-up talk.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll see.¡± Out of the blue, someone joined our chat under the name, Monov_D.


    ¡°Yo, Lyn!¡± Monov said with a lot of enthusiasm. Yosefin¡¯s gamer ID is, Lynxerxes.


    ¡°Monov, hey! Wow, it¡¯s been a while. Like...¡±


    ¡°A month and some change. My job has been killing me. I finally got a week off.¡±


    ¡°Damn. I¡¯m sorry to hear that. Uh, Josh.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± I said.


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna start up a game.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± They continued talking together as if I wasn¡¯t in the room. It didn¡¯t last long, but it was awkward to be in a conversation I couldn¡¯t speak in. He told her he was coming into town for a Japanese anime/manga convention and wanted her to come. The convention began later in the day and lasted for three days, but she prioritized spending time with me for the day.


    ¡°I got plans with my friend, Josh. Tomorrow we can go up there,¡± Yosefin said.


    ¡°Sweet. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow then,¡± he said, then left our group chat after they said their goodbyes.


    My eyes were glued to my phone to read Kat¡¯s message while Yosefin babbled in my ears about something I didn¡¯t care to focus on at the moment. Kat asked if it would be okay to come over to her apartment the next day to study for the second upcoming test in history.


    ¡°Earth to Josh,¡± Yosefin said, breaking my concentration from thoroughly reading Kat¡¯s message.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Did you hear what I said?¡±


    ¡°No. I asked if you wanna come with us tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°I,¡± I stopped talking to read new messages from Kat. She gave me the address to her apartment.


    ¡°Josh!¡± She screamed into her microphone. The volume peaked, making her voice ripple. Her loud voice made me jump and nearly throw my headset off my head. ¡°Do you want to come with me tomorrow?¡±


    I told Yosefin I couldn¡¯t go, but I kept my mouth shut on expressing any care for the convention. Japanese manga convention sounded like another rave situation without the fun part near the end. It sounded like another event with people cramped into a confined space wearing strange outfits.


    ¡°Damnit,¡± Yosefin sighed. ¡°Well, tomorrow is going to be super awkward.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve played with him off and on this year. I never showed him my face. We¡¯re not close like you and me. Also, he doesn¡¯t know the little... concern about me.¡± She took us out of the public lobby again to be in a private one. I knew this would be a serious talk, so I kept my phone silent to avoid getting distracted. "Should I tell him what happened to me?¡±


    ¡°Why would you want to do that? You¡¯re just hanging out at a convention.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she sighed through her nose, spiking the volume threshold on her microphone. ¡°But I feel compelled to lay everything out so there won¡¯t be any issues in the future.¡±


    ¡°You worry too much, Yosefin.¡±


    ¡°Remember what happened when I exposed to you what I am?¡± I cringe, resting my face in my hands when I remember what I did and how it affected her. ¡°I don¡¯t think I should hide that.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not hiding anything.¡± She began laughing but stopped after two seconds. ¡°What? I¡¯m being serious.¡±


    ¡°I know you are, but my looks are deceiving. I got everything. The face, voice, the body, but this one fucking thing could ruin it all.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too harsh on yourself. You need to stop that.¡± She went silent long enough to make me feel like I stated something wrong. ¡°Nothing is wrong, abnormal, weird, or unusual about you. You got to stop having that mentality, Yosefin.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad I have you as my friend,¡± she told me in a soft voice. ¡°If Kat didn¡¯t claim you for tomorrow, I snatch you up in a heartbeat.¡±


    ¡°We can hang out on the third day if your friend is still around,¡± I said from my heart, then immediately regretted my words. The good friend in me went against my introverted character and spoke words I should¡¯ve considered. I had to flick myself in the face for being too willing to move out of my shell.


    ¡°That would be amazing,¡± she cheered. ¡°But let¡¯s see how tomorrow goes. Also, don¡¯t forget you¡¯re going to meet my parents.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten. Text me when you are ready for me to come.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± Her voice pitched. ¡°Wanna actually play a freaking game now?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    Later that day, a sudden cold front came in, dropping the weather from seventy to fifty-eight. Halloween was tonight. Yosefin¡¯s family began making dinner around four o''clock so they wouldn¡¯t be bothered by the trick-or-treaters later in the day. She sent me her address, and I drove over there without delay. When I went down the street where her house was, I saw her standing outside on a sidewalk. She had a black witch hat on her head, purple-striped leggings, and black military combat boots. There was one detail I didn¡¯t notice until I got out of my car. She had on round glasses that almost reached the center of her cheekbone.


    ¡°You wear glasses?¡± I asked after accepting her hug.


    ¡°These are just for show.¡± She put the glasses on me to show they didn¡¯t do anything, then placed them back on her face. ¡°You¡¯re looking sharp,¡± she said, lightly pulling on my shirt. I noticed her nails were painted purple and black. Both ring fingers had an image of a jack-o-lantern with different faces.


    ¡°I see you¡¯re in the Halloween spirit.¡±


    ¡°What do you think? Is it too much?¡± She turned slightly sideways and rubbed the side of her hip as she looked down at it.


    ¡°I think you look great.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± she said, looking at me for a split second before glancing at the house. Someone behind the front window blinds pulled away their finger to stop watching us. ¡°So, are you ready?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You?¡±


    ¡°I was ready,¡± she chuckled nervously without smiling. ¡°They were asking questions of you.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°Shit, like, is he comfortable with who you are? Are you cute? Are you friendly? Are you a drugy?¡±


    ¡°A drugy?!"


    ¡°Yes!¡± She whispered with her index finger near her mouth as she stepped closer. ¡°My father even asked if you were... gay.¡±


    ¡°Gay?!¡± I felt insulted.


    ¡°I had to lay out you weren¡¯t like that. After I said that, they left me alone, but I feel like they will silently scrutinize you.¡±


    ¡°Only one way to find that out,¡± I said, facing the front door. My stomach turned slightly as my anxiety rose. I wanted to look confident, so I kept my body relaxed. ¡°Ready?¡±


    ¡°After you.¡± She gave me a little push to make me start walking. The door opened before I could touch the knob.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°Oh, hello. Come on in, Joshua,¡± Mrs. B?hme said with the thickest German accent I have ever heard.


    ¡°Thank you, Mrs. B?hme,¡± I said.


    ¡°Joshua, mein Junge. (My boy.)" Yosefin¡¯s father said from the kitchen off to my right.


    ¡°Poppa, English bitte (Please.)" Her father slapped his hand over his mouth as if he had accidentally said something wrong. The whites of his eyes shot out. ¡°Uh, is dinner ready?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, almost. Take your seats around the kitchen table.¡± She locked her arms around my left arm to guide me to the dining room. The floor was made of black polished wood. Even the table was black, but it was marble. When she moved the chair back for me to sit in, the legs glided over the wood without any resistance.


    ¡°Thanks," I said.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± she said with a warming smile. ¡°Would you like something to drink?¡±


    ¡°What do you got?¡±


    ¡°I got your favorite soda, some water bottles, and fresh raspberry lemonade.¡± I had to think for a second about what I wanted to choose. Soda sounded like the safer option, but I picked Raspberry lemonade.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take the lemonade this time.¡±


    Yosefin skipped over to the kitchen like a hyper child. Her parents began quietly talking in German, including her. I felt like a stranger even though they wanted me there. Something about not knowing someone¡¯s language bugged me. What if they were making jokes about me? I knew a few words but not enough to understand sentences.


    ¡°Here you go,¡± Yosefin said, handing me my drink while taking a sip of hers. ¡°Foods ready. Let¡¯s go get our plate.¡± My heart sunk deeper into my stomach. For some stupid reason, I thought they would bring the food to me.


    ¡°So, what are we having?¡± I asked with a minor tremble in my voice.


    ¡°My take on chicken alfredo,¡± Mrs. B?hme said. Mr. B?hme handed me a plate from a stack of them near the steaming pot of chicken alfredo. The food looked orgasmic, mouth-watering, and smelled amazing. It had some sort of green herb on it. Once we all sat at the table, I wasted no time digging in. Yosefin did the same three seconds later but ate at a slower pace than me.


    Before I could swallow my food, Mr. B?hme said my name.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I said in a mid-swallow.


    ¡°My daughter speaks about you a lot,¡± Mr. B?hme said. I looked at Yosefin¡¯s face to see if it were true. She momentarily stopped chewing when she indirectly glanced somewhere down at my leg, then focused her attention on her plate. ¡°If I had to guess, she might be in love with you," she said, directing his voice to the table instead of at me.


    ¡°Poppa!¡± Yosefin shouted with her mouth full of food. ¡°What is wrong with you? I don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Honey. It¡¯s okay if you do. We can see how much you admire him,¡± Mrs. B?hme said. It took Yosefin three more glances for her to put her eyes on me. Her cheeks were blushing red.


    ¡°Can we not talk about myself?¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay. So, Joshua, tell a bit about how you two met.¡±


    ¡°Uh,¡± I said, watching Yosefin¡¯s face. ¡°The first time we met was in middle school.¡±


    ¡°Middle school?¡± Mrs. B?hme gasped. Mr. B?hme had the same facial expression Yosefin¡¯s mother had. Their eyes were shot open, and their eyebrows flew into their foreheads.


    ¡°But we didn¡¯t become friends till the beginning of college.¡±


    ¡°You two must¡¯ve gotten very close,¡± Mrs. B?hme said cheekily.


    ¡°Mhmm,¡± Mr. B?hme hummed with a chuckle. ¡°You have my blessing.¡±


    ¡°Blessing?¡± Yosefin and I said togehter.


    ¡°Poppa!¡± Yosefin yelled softly after lightly slamming her hand down on the table. ¡°Machen Sie es ihm nicht unangenehm.¡± (Don¡¯t make this awkward for him.)


    ¡°Wei?t du, du bist schon am l?ngsten rot im Gesicht. Ich bin nicht blind, Yosefin (You know, you¡¯ve been red in the face for the longest. I¡¯m not blind, Yosefin.") Her mother said and looked at me with a smile before putting her focus back on her.


    ¡°Is everything okay?¡± I asked to break the tension.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Yosefin said, grabbing my forearm for a quick moment. ¡°Everything is fine. My mother forgot to tell me something.¡± The whole time she said that she kept her eyes on him for whatever reason. Then, she looked at me to ask, ¡°So, Josh. What kind of career you¡¯re going for?¡± At first, I was confused about why she asked me that. She already knew my answer of not knowing, but then it hit me. The question was for her parents to learn more about me.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, to be honest. That freshman class Yosefin and I are taking could help me find the pathways I like.¡±


    ¡°Were you fresh out of high school?¡± Mr. B?hme said.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Ah, just like my daughter.¡±


    Yosefin looked at me and smiled after she took a sip of her drink. That was the first smile she showed since everyone sat at the table. There was a time of silence when none of us talked to each other that lasted roughly fifteen seconds. At that moment, I thought about what Mrs. B?hme mentioned before about my friendship with Yosefin. Yosefin and I became great friends in the three months of knowing each other. Our friendship felt at a point I could tell her my deepest secrets, and she would keep it between us and vice versa. We were compatible with certain hobbies, even though she was more outgoing than me. She really liked doing things in person, spending much of the day away from home and with me. I never had someone like her constantly want to be with me daily. Not even my childhood friends ever did that. There was space in between days or weeks before we came together. But, with her, I was in awe.


    **


    Yosefin and I finished our plate before her parents did. She took me away from the dining room to the outside of the front door. Once she closed the door behind me, she lifted her head back and sighed aggressively with her hands flexed, building veins across her face.


    ¡°Are you good?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Diese Idioten. (Those idiots.) I hope they didn¡¯t stress you out too much,¡± she said.


    ¡°Well,¡± I paused to look at the window where the dining room was. ¡°It kinda was, but it wasn¡¯t too bad.¡±


    ¡°Schei?e!¡± (Crap!) ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. They seem to like me.¡±


    ¡°I was scared they¡¯d ask you something stupid. They almost did.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡± She froze when she looked directly into my eyes. ¡°What is it?¡± The blush on her face got redder. I could see the pores on her forehead begin to sweat.


    ¡°Uh,¡± she giggled, moving over to the sidewalk. ¡°Don¡¯t put me on the spot like that, you asshole.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to do that.¡± She giggled some more, then pointed up the sidewalk to an intersection.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go chill at this school park near my neighborhood.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Why the fuck not?¡± I couldn¡¯t tell if she was mad or not. The way she said that to me sounded like she was annoyed with me, but she was giving me a genuine smile. She jogged away while holding her witch hat on her head from falling off.


    ¡°Wait up!¡±


    ¡°I will certainly not!¡± We ran into a colorful elementary park. There were hanging bars, various slides, climbing towers, and dipping bridges. She slid under a railing to get on a bridge. Her hat hit it and fell off her head. I handed it back to her before she could reach it herself. ¡°Thank you.¡± She stepped into a tower with no slides attached to it, then turned around to look down at me. ¡°Step into my office.¡±


    ¡°Yosefin,¡± I laughed, entering the office tower. ¡°What are we doing here?¡±


    ¡°Sit with me.¡± She sat down while padding the space next to her. ¡°Let¡¯s just chill for a bit, ja?¡± I was somewhat annoyed by the stupid fact that we didn''t plan to come to a playground. But my annoyance was momentarily the moment she leaned her shoulder on me the second I sat down. My heart spiked, and then I got pleasant chills throughout my ribs from how close we were. ¡°Can I ask you a question?¡±


    ¡°Oh, dear.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± She said, smiling. ¡°You haven¡¯t heard it yet.¡± We looked deeply into each other¡¯s eyes. Our faces were about nine inches apart. Her eyes kept jumping around as she continued to gaze. She broke her gaze first before I did. The moment became awkward, yet it made us giggle. ¡°Would you be bothered if I lay on you for a while?¡±


    ¡°Lay?¡±


    ¡°Snuggle?¡± She mumbled quietly, shrugging her shoulders.


    ¡°Uh, wha... why do you want to do that?¡±


    ¡°Because,¡± she said and rolled her eyes. ¡°Just don¡¯t think about it.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s so random to say.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re telling me if a girl asks if she could snuggle on you, you¡¯d deny her?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said with a restraining smile.


    ¡°Well, what makes me different?¡± There weren¡¯t any reasonable words I could think of. ¡°Is it because I¡¯m a little bit different?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not,¡± I quickly said.


    ¡°Then why are you hesitant and looking nervous?¡±


    ¡°I was curious to know why you want to, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Because...¡± She stopped to take a quick breath. ¡°I wanna tell you something, but I want to hold you so I can feel comfortable talking about it. Hopefully.¡±


    ¡°Oh...¡±


    ¡°May I?¡± I lifted my arm to let her hold me. Her left arm reached around my lower back while the other stayed over her lap. Once she found her comfort, I rested my arm on her. Being that close felt invigoring in an oddly pleasant way. I felt comfortable and somewhat aroused by how she held on to me.


    ¡°So, what do you want to talk about?¡±


    ¡°I want to expound on the reason why you kept me going. I left that on a cliffhanger when I revealed who I was.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah. You did. What did you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the only guy I hang out with in person,¡± she said in a gentle, calming volume. ¡°Growing up, I was sheltered because my parents didn¡¯t understand the changes I was going through.¡± Her grip around me got tighter. I unconsciously redirected my arm closer to her waist, but most of it was on her ribs. When I realized what I had done, I moved from her hip to the meaty part of her waist. ¡°Social interaction was mainly through games. Life was a bit depressing, Josh. I fucking hated going through that.¡±


    ¡°Sorry to hear that.¡±


    ¡°It took me to the point I formed into what you see now for things to ease the fuck off. Sometime after that, you came in and out of my mind.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I fantasized about you a lot. Like, I could write a book about the things I thought of.¡± I got nervous when she said she fantasized. But she followed up by saying, ¡°Not sexually.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± I said like I already knew that.


    ¡°I might have a few times.¡± She looked up at me before laughing. ¡°Just kidding!¡± Her words and the wink she gave me afterward made me feel more nervous. Also, she kept trying not to smile by pulling her lips into her mouth. ¡°Dude! Relax! I¡¯m just playing around.¡±


    ¡°Then why are you smiling like that?¡± It took her five seconds to respond.


    ¡°Anyway, before I forget what I¡¯m going to say!¡± She said, rocking her body into me. ¡°I wanted to know you so badly. You already know that now, so that¡¯s one of the reasons that kept me going.¡±


    ¡°What were the others?¡± I asked, looking down at her with the side of my eyes.


    ¡°Acceptance, hobbies; future fun adventures I want to go on.¡± Those reasons made me happy to hear. One question I wanted to be answered out of curiosity¡¯s sake was if I was what she expected.


    ¡°Am I what you thought of?¡±


    ¡°Hell no,¡± she giggled. ¡°Don¡¯t take it the wrong way. I envisioned about a guy I didn¡¯t know anything about, so I made up my own Josh in my head.¡±


    ¡°So, who¡¯s the better one?¡±


    ¡°The one I¡¯m in front of now,¡± she revealed as she held me tighter. ¡°But, I wish he was more...¡±


    ¡°More what?¡± I asked, leaning closer to her face.


    ¡°Y¡¯know... outgoing. You got to get out the house, you couch kartoffel (Potato).¡± I rolled my eyes at her and tried to hold in my smile. She slapped my thigh hard enough to make it mildly hurt.


    ¡°Ouch!¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re such a pussy,¡± she said while laughing and rubbing the pain away. ¡°Is that better?¡±


    ¡°It is.¡±


    ¡°I can see you don¡¯t like it rough.¡± I took that remark in a dirty way and as an insult to my manhood.


    ¡°I can handle pain.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± She said like that aroused her. ¡°Can I ask you some... questions?¡±


    ¡°Oh, jeez. Is this about to get dirty?¡±


    ¡°What? Are you scared to talk about your sexual desires to your amazing friend?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not. I¡¯ll tell you anything.¡±


    ¡°Good. I feel the same way. I feel like we can speak about anything.¡± It made me happy to know she felt that way, but I wasn¡¯t that willing to be open. Unfortunately, she quickly tried to make me fold with a battery of questions. She asked me how much I watched porn and, if so, what type of categories I watched the most. Then she questioned if I was a virgin.


    ¡°Whoa,¡± I said several times. ¡°Too many questions.¡±


    ¡°I thought you would tell me anything,¡± she said, giggling between her words. My nervousness increased when she saw my sweaty hands.¡°Dude,¡± she chuckled, drying my hand with the end of her shirt. ¡°Your secrets are safe with me.¡±


    ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m not comfortable exposing that kind of information.¡±


    ¡°Hey,¡± she whispered, cupping one hand around my ear. ¡°If it makes you feel comfortable, I own a sex toy.¡± Somehow, that instantly killed all the tension within me.


    ¡°Wait... Seriously?!¡±


    ¡°I sure do!¡± I was absolutely shocked she had that item. We were the same age. I never considered buying something for myself. The biggest question I had was how did she get them? She didn¡¯t have any source of income that I was aware of.


    ¡°How did you get¡ª¡±


    ¡°I took several car rides to the mall and used my parent¡¯s credit cards without their knowledge,¡± she whispered closely in my ear. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve seen the place I¡¯m talking about, right?¡±


    There was a place in the mall called My Little Dungen that sold all things used for sex and whatnot. Behind their pane windows were mannequins wearing bras and panties. I mostly saw women go in and out of that shop. To think that Yosefin shopped in there was unbelievable.


    ¡°Why?¡± I said before thinking of a better question to say. ¡°Why do you have that?¡±


    ¡°To use it, duh,¡± she chuckled. ¡°But, hey,¡± she whispered. ¡°Don¡¯t tell my parents,¡± she said, winking. She made me lock pinkies to solemnly swear to keep our secrets no matter who wanted to know throughout our lives. ¡°Good,¡± she giggled as she snuggled more of herself onto my body. ¡°Your girl is a bit of a freak.¡±


    Twice she said that to me. We were friends, yet she kept using words to suggest she was special to me.


    ¡°Your girl?¡± I said, hoping she¡¯d explain why she said that without pushing for an answer.


    ¡°Sorry. Uh... I meant to say your friend is a freak. Ignore what I said.¡±


    Needless to say, I didn¡¯t erase that from my memory. Something like that stayed firmly in my mind. Why would she say that? We weren¡¯t dating for her to say something so possessive. Even though I questioned it, I kind of like thinking that she was my girl. I didn¡¯t favor her romanticly, yet those words felt frighteningly good. She was my girl in the sense of being my closest friend. Yet the meeting with her family suggested they presumed differently. It made me wonder about what kind of things she said about me near them.

 From Far and Near

    ¡°And that¡¯s how long it takes to put on my makeup,¡± Yosefin said as she concluded nearly a thirty-minute-long video call of her showing me how she did her makeup for special occasions. This was the day she was going to meet Monov for the convention. She wanted me to help her gauge which look would be more attractive.


    ¡°Be straight with me. How do I look? This is the most you¡¯ve seen me in,¡± she said.


    ¡°You look good,¡± I said, withholding some excitement from how remarkable she looked.


    ¡°Perfect! Since this is my first time, I¡¯m thinking more of this style.¡± She stepped away from her camera to throw some clothes on her bed. ¡°I was thinking of wearing all black or this.¡± There was more clothing I hadn¡¯t seen before on the far end of her bed when we started video chatting. They were bundled in a pile, plus I could not tell what they were. ¡°Black hoodie or the denim jacket?¡±


    ¡°What type of shorts will they be paired with?¡±


    ¡°Ah! Let me show you.¡± Out of nowhere, she pulled down her short shorts to put on her black sweats from the pile of clothes I saw before she was on camera. When she glanced at the camera, her eyes popped open, and her jaw dropped. She calmly put on the black hoodie and said, ¡°whoops. Sorry, I¡¯m excited.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°It looks cool; simple, comfy.¡± She took it off to go for the jacket but didn¡¯t bother pulling down her shirt that was crumpled over her boobs. ¡°Are you going out there like that?¡±


    ¡°Hell no,¡± she burst out laughing. ¡°I don¡¯t want these dudes to check me out like that.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re modest.¡±


    ¡°Everything else is between private eyes, but,¡± she stopped to get closer to the camera, ¡°the rave clothing doesn¡¯t count.¡±


    ¡°I guess anyone who saw you got special access.¡±


    ¡°Lucky them,¡± she chuckled lightly out her nose while removing the jacket when she sat down. ¡°Hey! Serious question.¡± It seemed like any question she wanted to ask made my heart stop for a moment. ¡°Do I have a fine-looking body?¡± Fine-looking body was in air quotes.


    ¡°Why the heck are you asking me that?¡± I hesitated with several stutters.


    ¡°I just wanna know your opinion,¡± she said, stuttering. ¡°Do I?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know? Dude! I¡¯ve seen you look at me several times. There¡¯s got to be something!¡± Butterflies started filling my stomach when I pictured her outfit when we went to the rave. Despite the weird somewhat parody pornographic look, she did fall under what I considered fine looking.¡°Come on now. Let me hear you say it.¡± After several more stutters and a hefty amount of peer pressure, I finally got it out.


    ¡°Okay. Okay. You do.¡± For some stupid reason, my stupid mouth didn¡¯t stop there. I told what stood out to me like the shape of her ass, the shape of her hips, the size of her boobs, and the roundness of her legs. Both of her arms quickly crossed over her lap when I finished. She gasped as if something scared her and mumbled something I couldn¡¯t hear. Her eyes kept bouncing between the screen and directly into the camera. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I said.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t see that, right?¡± I looked everywhere to find what I might have missed. There were no obvious clues. The camera turned off when I looked out my window after hearing sirens in the distance.


    ¡°Yosefin, your screen is black.¡±


    ¡°One second!¡± After twenty seconds, the camera came on. She quickly clothed herself within that time. ¡°Um, I¡¯ll wear the jacket and sweats today,¡± she said, twirling her thumbs in her lap. ¡°So, you ready to see Kat, ja?¡± Her strange behavior made me curious, but not enough to ask her why she was acting weird.


    ¡°Yup. I¡¯m ready to get some studying in.¡±


    ¡°You said she lived in an apartment, correct?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± She gave me a high to low pitch hum that felt like a subtle condescending judgment. ¡°Is there something wrong? You sound annoyed.¡±


    ¡°Annoyed? Nein. (No.) I¡¯m suspicious. I¡¯m worried Kat will do something to you.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°Y¡¯know...¡± I shook my head, not understanding what she meant. ¡°Come on, Josh.¡± She put on a white shirt and the denim jacket, then a white stylized beenie as I tried to figure out what she alluded to. ¡°How much do you know her?¡±


    ¡°Not that much.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re going to her apartment to study? I know you¡¯re not bold enough to have sex with her.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± I said, cracking my voice.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± she shouted, pointing at me through the phone. ¡°You¡¯re not stupid to make that move.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re acting way too protective.¡±


    ¡°Ouch, Josh. If I were standing next to you right now, I¡¯d punch you in the stomach,¡± she said, then laughed. ¡°Moving off-topic, I need a serious answer from you.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I said with an attitude.


    ¡°Should I mention to Monov that I¡¯m not entirely what he might expect?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s relevant for just hanging out.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure about that? When I told you, we stopped talking for days.¡± She raised her brow and smeared a smirk on the right side of her cheek.


    ¡°That was different. You can if you want, but I don¡¯t see a purpose in it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± Her phone buzzed with a notification. ¡°That¡¯s him. I¡¯ll text you later.¡±


    ¡°Have fun.¡±


    ¡°Study hard with Kat,¡± she said with a firm finger pointing at me. I rolled my eyes in response. She gave me a peace sign added with kissy lips before ending the call.


    I entered Kat¡¯s address in my car¡¯s navigation. Her apartment was only ten minutes away from me, close to the campus we went to. The drive was short due to the lucky chance of getting green lights all the way there. She called me on the phone when I got into the parking lot.


    ¡°Hiya, Joshua!¡± Kat said. Her voice came through the phone and behind me the moment I opened my door. She was on the second floor, waving me down. She wore a bright yellow shirt, jean shorts, and puffy black slip-on shoes. ¡°Come on up!¡± I swung my backpack over my shoulder and headed up two flights of stairs to get to her. ¡°Hi, how¡¯s it going?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s going¡ª¡± She bumped into me for a surprise hug. I didn¡¯t get the chance to react or put my arms around her before she let me go. ¡°Good.¡±


    ¡°Awesome. My room is over here.¡± The hallways smelled like fresh-cut wood. Everything from the ground and light fixtures looked clean. Her apartment was the first one on the right of the hallway.


    ¡°This is cozy,¡± I said, peeking my head in when she opened the door for me.


    ¡°The rent is good for a room like this. Two people could live comfortably in here.¡±


    ¡°I can see that,¡± I said when I saw her bedroom to my left. She walked in there, waving her hand for me to come in. At first, I hesitated. I thought about Yosefin¡¯s warnings, but I had to ensure myself. ¡°Let¡¯s get this started.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± She slipped off her slip-ons before taking a seat on the bed. I noticed she had her nails done. They were pink, but the big toe was white and had three little silver beads on them. ¡°You like¡¯em?¡±


    ¡°Oh, what?¡± I looked at her TV to make it seem I didn¡¯t know what she was talking about.


    ¡°My toes.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± I said, checking them out again. ¡°They look... good.¡± She went off into a small tangent about a story that involved her time at the nail salon. While she was blabbering, I set up my laptop to prepare for the day. I got to the school¡¯s website, where my professor had his PowerPoint, and she was still talking.


    ¡°So, that¡¯s how I got a discount on the whole process yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s cool,¡± I said without knowing the full context.


    ¡°I know, right? Anyway, I see you¡¯re all ready to go.¡± She touched my screen to open up the chapter she struggled to remember. ¡°Boston massacre. That was in seventeen seventy-six, correct?¡±


    ¡°No, six years before that.¡± When I clicked the next button, the bullet point for when it happened came up. ¡°See.¡±


    ¡°Shit!¡± She rested her cheek on my shoulder with her hand softly gripping my upper arm. ¡°These dates are so confusing.¡± My phone pinged. It made both of us jump slightly. ¡°That was loud.¡±


    ¡°Sorry. I forgot to turn it down.¡± I put it on vibrate but took it off when I saw it was Yosefin. She sent me a picture of her and her friend in the shot. It looked like a middle-aged man with a bald head and thick beard. The message said:


    ¡°This dude reminds me of a Viking.¡±


    ¡°Is that Yosefin?¡± Kat asked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, putting my phone back in my pocket.


    ¡°That girl is such a boy.¡± Something about the way she said that sounded like she felt disgusted. The B in boy was forced. It was followed by a frown with the end of her lips pinched down. ¡°She must¡¯ve hung around boys a lot.¡±


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°Maybe.¡± I restrained myself from smiling.


    ¡°Who was that guy? Her brother?¡±


    ¡°Some friend of hers.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± she said, moving off of me for a slight moment. She kept herself pretty close to me. Shoulder-to-shoulder proximity while we looked at my phone.


    ¡°I think I know your problem with next week¡¯s test,¡± I said to take her attention back to studying.


    ¡°Really?¡± She gasped. ¡°You got me all figured out?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the dates. If you can remember what happened in those times, I think you¡¯ll be okay.¡±


    I opened a document and wrote down several dates for her. We went over a lot of information for hours. In those times, Yosefin would fill me in on what was happening in her day. She sent me pictures of herself and everything that caught her eye. There were also alarming texts of her friend acting in ways that made her uncomfortable. I had to balance talking with Kat and focusing on what was going on with Yosefin. Her so-called friend got touchy, not in a civil way.


    Me: What is he doing?


    Yosefin: Putting his arm around me. Staying close. It¡¯s fucking weirding me out.


    Me: Call him out on it.


    Yosefin: I¡¯m about to. Believe me.


    ¡°Joshua,¡± Kat said, poking my waist several times. ¡°I want to see if I got this down.¡± We went through several years of America¡¯s history up to the Declaration of Independence but stopped on the year the war ended. When we were taking a break, I saw her take three glances at my phone while I was talking with Yosefin. Each look was quick but got longer than the previous one.


    ¡°Is there something up with my phone?¡±


    ¡°Nah,¡± she chuckled. ¡°I was just thinking about you and Yosefin. You guys seem pretty close.¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah,¡± I said, confused as to why she said that. ¡°She¡¯s my friend.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m shocked y¡¯all are not dating judging by everything I see.¡± That was the second time something believed us to be more than friends.


    ¡°What do you see?¡± I asked, curious to know her viewpoint.


    ¡°You know,¡± she blushed, looking away for a moment to put her hair behind her ear. ¡°For starters, you¡¯re a cute-looking guy.¡± I froze when she said that. My ears couldn¡¯t believe what they heard. ¡°I would have gone on a date with you just by your looks alone.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡±


    ¡°Hell, yes. Like, right now, my heart is pounding just by looking at you.¡± My heart began pounding as well. I found her attractive since the day we met. It was strange we didn¡¯t talk that often until this point. By her logic, we could have been dating if we had talked more.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying we could be dating... right now?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she whispered as she inched closer to me. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you find me interesting.¡± The only thing I found mesmerizing at the time was how she looked at me. She was fat in all the right places and beautiful. The idea of her being my girlfriend excited me. It has been four years since I had another girlfriend. If she asked me to be her boyfriend, I would have said yes.


    ¡°I think you are interesting,¡± I said, giving in to my curiosity.


    ¡°Yay!¡± She shouted and squeezed me for a hug. ¡°Quick question! Have y¡¯all kissed at least?¡±


    ¡°Ew, gross!¡±


    ¡°Gross?¡± She gasped, smiling. ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± I had to think of a better reason other than saying Yosefin isn¡¯t a girl. That detail, in my eyes, was one of those secrets no one should know.


    ¡°Not my... type,¡± I chose. She hummed with fingers clasped together over her mouth as if she was thinking about something. Her cheeks were pulled out enough that I knew there was some sort of smile or grin behind them.


    ¡°Would you if you had a chance?¡± She mumbled.


    ¡°With Yosefin?¡± My heart stopped for a second and sunk into my stomach. For some reason, I couldn¡¯t outright tell her no. Intimacy wasn¡¯t in my mind when it came to Yosefin. When I thought about her friendly side, there were situations I pictured being kissed on the cheek. But on the lips, it sounded too far. ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Hey,¡± she said in a soft voice. Her quiet voice gave me wonderful chills on the right side of my body. I covered my crouch with my hand so she wouldn¡¯t see my growing boner. ¡°Would you kiss me if I asked?¡±


    ¡°Um,¡± I said, looking at my computer. The year seventeen eighty-three was on my computer screen. My nervousness wanted to find a way to escape the predicament I got myself into. ¡°Hey, what happened on this year?¡±


    ¡°I think it was,¡± she said with her jaw resting on my shoulder and right arm over my lap. ¡°When the war ended, yeah?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±


    ¡°Cool!¡± She closed my laptop and set it on the table next to the bed.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Getting it out of the way. I don¡¯t want it to accidentally break.¡± My head spun with possible scenarios of what was about to happen. I kept thinking about Yosefin¡¯s worries in each scenario before I left. ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my question.¡± She gave me a menacing smirk like she knew I remembered what she asked me.


    ¡°What was it?¡± I stupidly asked while stuttering.


    ¡°Come here.¡± A knot grew in the bottom of my throat. I froze like a deer in the headlights of a moving car. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll come to you.¡± She kissed me on the cheek. The mint inside her mouth flowed into my nostrils. I didn¡¯t recall her chewing on anything from the moment I stepped into her apartment.


    ¡°Hold on. That wasn¡¯t your question.¡±


    ¡°Oh, now you remember?¡± She giggled. Her warm, soft lips enticed the living hell out of me to turn into them. By the grace of God, Yosefin called me before I could flex them into Kat¡¯s warm lips. I did not hesitate to answer it.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I said, standing.


    ¡°Would it be okay with you if you could come to pick me up? I¡¯m not comfortable letting him drive me back,¡± Yosefin said quietly.


    ¡°Send me your location, and I¡¯ll be on my way.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. You¡¯re the best.¡± She sent me where she was seconds later. It was about thirty minutes away from Kat¡¯s apartment.


    ¡°Who was that?¡± Kat said.


    ¡°I gotta go.¡± I swiped my laptop into my backpack, then calmly walked out of the room.


    ¡°Is everything okay, Joshua?¡±


    ¡°Everything is fine,¡± I said with my thumb up. ¡°Remember those dates, and you¡¯ll be okay for the test.¡± I jogged out of there feeling aroused, frightened, yet excited I could be on the road to something interesting. I haven¡¯t felt those emotions since my first girlfriend in middle school.


    The drive lasted shorter than I expected. Yosefin was outside with Monov. She had her head on her phone while he talked to her. It looked like she didn¡¯t care about anything he was saying. When he raised his hand to touch her, she took a step away from him and put her phone to her ear. My phone rang moments later.


    ¡°I¡¯m here. Look straight ahead,¡± I said as soon as I answered her call. She immediately saw me and took off walking without paying attention to Monov asking her where she was going. The second she got in my car, Yosefin told me to take off. I zoomed down the street without checking to see if there were cars around me or making sure she was buckled up. ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I am livid. When I get home, I need to do some blocking,¡± Yosefin said with a bit of anger in her voice. ¡°That guy...¡± She stopped to let out a visible whole-body cringe. Her body folded and contorqued in different directions. ¡°That dude is a low-key freak.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up with him?¡±


    ¡°That fucking weirdo was into me, like hook up kind. He¡¯s the kind of guy who doesn¡¯t get enough attention from his wife, so he thinks he can hit on someone younger.¡±


    ¡°What the fuck?!¡±


    ¡°Dude, I know!¡± She leaned her seat back and crossed her arms with her eyes closed. ¡°Thanks. I hope I didn¡¯t interrupt your study time with Kat.¡±


    ¡°Your call came at the perfect timing.¡± I chuckled but I tried to hide it.


    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± I continued chuckling as I prepared myself to answer. ¡°She kissed me.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?!¡± The way she yelled made me flinch. Her voice jumped two pitches. I drove into a parking lot to explain my position without the need to focus on the road.


    ¡°She wanted to. She thought I looked cute and wanted to¡ª¡±


    ¡°I knew that Schlampe (slut) was bad news for you. You need to stop seeing and texting her.¡±


    ¡°Hold on! Why?¡±


    ¡°If I heard correctly, she was probably going to make out with you because of how good you look. That makes no fucking sense, Josh. You can¡¯t make a friendship out of looks.¡± It took me a moment to comprehend her position. I questioned myself if I should take her seriously. According to her, she never had friends in person until I came along. Nor been in a relationship.


    ¡°Why should I listen to you?¡±


    ¡°Uh, because I¡¯m right.¡±


    ¡°Have you ever kissed someone? Have you ever been in a relationship?¡± My questions made her look away, smiling with her tongue pressing against her lower lip. She had nothing to say other than one stupid reason.


    ¡°No, but I¡¯m telling you common sense.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure.¡±


    ¡°Josh,¡± she said with her hand squeezing my thigh. She had my jeans pulled between her fingers. ¡°Please, listen to me.¡± Her grip turned into a light touch. ¡°She won¡¯t be good for you in the long run. Think about it. Do you even know her on a personal level?¡±


    ¡°No. We haven¡¯t talked that much yet.¡±


    ¡°So you were going to kiss a woman you don¡¯t even know?¡±


    ¡°Yeah... no... maybe.¡± Her hands let go to rest her arms on the center console. ¡°I¡¯ve kissed a girl before I barely knew back in middle school.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re better off kissing someone you genuinely know and are attracted to.¡±


    ¡°Well then. I should get to know her. That¡¯s the safest move, right?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you,¡± she sighed, looking out her window with her forehead in her hand.


    We didn¡¯t talk for the whole ride. After I dropped off Yosefin back home, I texted Kat and apologized for not giving her a reason why I left. I left her sick with worry, but we destroyed that once we began talking on the phone later that day.


    Next week came. The test wasn¡¯t hard. Yosefin and I were the first few to finish. As she returned from putting her test paper on the professor¡¯s desk, she gave Kat a deep, long stare. It looked angry as if she saw something mildly offensive. She kept watching her even when she sat down.


    ¡°Yosefin?¡± I whispered low enough the professor wouldn¡¯t hear.


    ¡°You ready to go?¡± Yosefin asked, keeping her eyes on Kat. Our professor didn¡¯t care if we stayed for the remainder of the class or left after we finished. I nodded yes for us to go. She handed me my backpack as we got up, and quietly closed the door behind us. ¡°Awesome. We have a lot of time left before our next class. What do you wanna do to kill some time?¡±


    ¡°Is everything alright with you and Kat? You kept staring at her.¡±


    ¡°Everything is fine.¡± She smiled at me, but when Kat came out the door and said my name excitedly, Yosefin¡¯s smile faded.


    ¡°That test wasn¡¯t that bad. I think I passed it,¡± Kat said, then hugged me. ¡°Thanks for tutoring me.¡± Yosefin squinted her eyes as she watched our hug. When Kat let go of me to turn around to ask Yosefin a question, Yosefin stopped squinting. ¡°What did you two think?¡±


    ¡°It was easy. I didn¡¯t have any trouble,¡± I said.


    ¡°That¡¯s good!¡± She looked over to Yosefin. ¡°What about you? Was it hard?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t,¡± Yosefin answered with a big smile, then returned to a neutral face all in a second. She stood next to my shoulder, then locked her arm around my arm. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Josh. We wouldn¡¯t want to be late.¡±


    ¡°Late for¡ª¡± I was forced to walk away before I could ask her what the hell she was talking about. She took me down to a part of the university where other school offices had their own rooms. We turned left into a stairwell, where she let me go. ¡°Yosefin, what the hell are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Shush for a moment,¡± she said while looking through the window out into the hallway. ¡°She¡¯s going the opposite way,¡± she whispered.


    ¡°Huh? Kat?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. That Frau (woman) is bad for you. I can feel it in my gut.¡± When she said gut, she slowly rubbed her stomach.


    ¡°Are you still bothered by us kissing?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am!¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Before my answer could be said, a few students passed us to reach different floors. Yosefin and I didn¡¯t keep our eyes on each other as they walked by. Once everything got quiet, I cut her off when I said, ¡°You¡¯re acting weird, Yosefin.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± She said with a scoff.


    ¡°I saw how you stared at her when you walked back to your seat. You looked like...¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°You look like you hated her.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± She said with a chuckle like she was taken back for a moment. ¡°I do not hate her.¡±


    ¡°Then why do I have to stay away from her? Can I at least be her friend?¡±


    ¡°No. I... Just no.¡± I was shocked. I was so frustrated that I wanted to punch the scuffed white painted wall. Ever since that conversation when I told her what happened, all I heard was to stay away. I felt so annoyed that I couldn¡¯t look her in the face. ¡°Josh,¡± she said in a delicate tone. ¡°What she did was a red flag. You deserve someone who won¡¯t mess with you like that.¡±


    ¡°Okay, who?¡± I blurted out. My voice echoed in every direction.


    ¡°Well... uh...¡± She crossed her arms, looked at the wall, then said something I couldn¡¯t hear.


    ¡°What did you say?¡± I asked, getting closer. Her eyes looked down at my chest. The right corner of her lip pinched in.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± she whispered while still biting down on the corner of her lip. ¡°Just saying, I wouldn¡¯t play with your emotions as she would inevitably do.¡± She finally looked me in the eyes. I noticed her pupils were fully flushed open. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do it because of how hot you look to me.¡±


    ¡°You would kiss me but not because of my looks?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± Even though her face blushed severely, she kept her eyes on me. ¡°I would do it right now,¡± she nearly stuttered. When she told me that, I didn¡¯t have the same reaction when Kat asked me if I would kiss Yosefin. I didn¡¯t have any reaction. Her statement didn¡¯t make me flinch, gag, or laugh.


    ¡°What would be your reason then?¡± Seconds passed without an answer. ¡°Yosefin?¡±


    ¡°God, you¡¯re so stupid,¡± she said, shaking her head while she walked past me down the stairs. I held her arm to make her stop when I potentially realized what was happening. Sudden jealousy, I couldn¡¯t be friends with Kat; her overprotective personality and nasty look said it all.


    ¡°Yosefin, do you have feelings for me?¡±


    ¡°What? Let¡¯s head to our next class.¡± Her arm came out of my grasp without any resistance from me. When I turned to head down the next flight, she quickly glanced at me with her eyes, then darted out the door.


    After class, I didn¡¯t speak more about Kat or ask Yosefin if she liked me. It was like it never happened, but the thought of it lingered in the foreground of my mind. Yosefin¡¯s worry towards Kat didn¡¯t ease since I told her she didn¡¯t have the right to tell me no in potentially making another friend. I tried to let Yosefin see how stupid she was acting. Unfortunately, my choice to have a friendship made Yosefin bitter toward us.

 She-Devil

    ¡°Josh, wake up!¡± Yosefin said the second I answered one of her three video calls. ¡°I miss you.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I said, looking at the 2:15 am clock on my phone. ¡°We just talked a few hours ago,¡± I stammered. ¡°Go to sleep, Yosefin.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t hang up,¡± she said the moment I thought about ending the call. ¡°I can¡¯t sleep. Can you talk with me till I pass out?¡± That didn¡¯t sit well with me. I knew if I stayed up with her, it could go on for a long time. The other option was to return to sleep and potentially face her wrath later on in the morning. ¡°Pretty please.¡±


    ¡°Give me a sec to wake up.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± It took me a minute to get out of bed and then another minute to wake up. ¡°How was your sleep?¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I scoffed, almost laughing. ¡°Did you say that?¡±


    ¡°Sorry. We won¡¯t talk for super long.¡±


    ¡°I doubt it.¡± She snickered like she knew it was inevitable. ¡°So,¡± I said, turning on my lamp so I could be seen. ¡°Are you going to turn your light on?¡±


    ¡°Give me a second. I¡¯m shirtless.¡± The camera faced up at the ceiling. Her light dimmed blue and then became a bright orange. After ten seconds went by, she came to the camera. She examined me with a blank stare for an uncomfortable amount of time without making any sort of expression.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Just being a fool,¡± she laughed. She propped her phone on her nightstand so she could talk to me without holding it up.


    ¡°Alright. Talk about something, or I¡¯ll fall asleep.¡±


    ¡°To be honest, I have no idea what to say. I just wanted to hear your voice again.¡±


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a woman thing,¡± she laughed again. ¡°Don¡¯t think about it. Just let me see and hear you.¡±


    ¡°Okay?¡±


    For two hours, Yosefin kept me up. It looked like she enjoyed her time with me since she never stopped smiling. I didn¡¯t find it amusing that she woke me up for a conversation about anything and everything. She never gave me a real reason for doing that to me, which soured my mood for the rest of the night. The following morning, she video-called me again.


    ¡°Josh!¡± Yosefin said with her eyes focused on the camera.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Good morning! I hope you slept well.¡±


    ¡°Goodmor¡ª¡± I stopped in mid-speech when I saw Kat¡¯s good morning message on my screen was a selfie. I swiped down on my phone to enlarge what she sent. Her hair was frizzy and all over her face. She had on a long sleeve sweater and judging by how her boobs were protruding through it, she didn¡¯t have a bra on, or the sweater was small. The smile on her face made me smirk. It was cute.


    ¡°Josh, what are you doing?¡± I said good morning to Kat, then came back on the camera so Yosefin could see me.


    ¡°I was looking at a picture.¡±


    ¡°Was it Kat¡¯s picture?¡±


    ¡°Uh...¡± She squinted while looking at me with the right side of her eyes.


    ¡°What did she send you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a selfie.¡±


    ¡°Was it a nude?¡±


    ¡°Yosefin, what?! No,¡± I nervously chuckled. Her face remained neutral. ¡°She was just saying good morning.¡±


    ¡°With a picture?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You do it too sometimes.¡± My statement made her scoff out of her nose. ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡±


    ¡°Get what?¡±


    ¡°Why are you acting like this?¡±


    ¡°You already know,¡± she said, rolling her eyes at me.


    ¡°You need to stop that.¡±


    She scoffed for the second time but had her thumb pressed against her lips. I got another selfie from Kat, and it was the lewdest image I had seen of her. She had a green towel around her body. She must¡¯ve gotten out of the shower since her skin was still wet.


    The caption under the picture said, ¡°What are you up to?¡± I was astonished that she gave me a shot like that to ask me a simple question.


    ¡°Must be a nice picture for you to have your camera off for fifteen seconds,¡± Yosefin said without any enthusiasm in her voice.


    Juggling between Yosefin and Kat became a chore. I kept my conversations and hangouts with Kat a secret from Yosefin so she wouldn¡¯t throw a fit. Whenever Yosefin and I would game, I had to mute my phone or text secretly. Sometimes I expressed my frustrations to Kat about how stupid Yosefin acted towards her and me. Kat found it hilarious with the whole situation. She told me Yosefin acted like a jealous, clingy girlfriend who didn¡¯t want their boyfriend to speak a word to any woman. The more I examined those behaviors, the more I saw the jealousy thrown at me. Then, I stopped cowering from Yosefin. She didn¡¯t take it smoothly.


    During mid-November, while Yosefin was with her family searching for a vehicle, I hung out with Kat in her apartment since she didn¡¯t mind catering to my wishes to not go out. I got to see the difference between her compared to Yosefin. Kat was more like me. She didn¡¯t go out as much and ate mostly at the apartment. She loved eating chocolate and bench-watching TV shows.


    Every wardrobe and closet had tons of clothing. Her makeup collection was nothing but high-grade quality, from what she told me.


    ¡°Good god. She¡¯s so different from her,¡± I whispered to myself.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Kat said, coming out of her bathroom.


    ¡°Oh, nothing.¡± Before I could turn around to face her, she put her hands on my shoulder and wrapped her arms around my stomach. It surprised me, but I remained still.


    ¡°You hungry?¡± She said after kissing me on the neck.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, nonchalantly moving out of her grip. ¡°What are we making again?¡± She skipped past me to get into the kitchen to grab pots.


    ¡°How could you forget that we were making homemade chocolate cookies?¡±


    ¡°Um,¡± I chuckled. ¡°Stress, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Come here,¡± she said, curling her finger. I lazily walked into the kitchen, dragging my feet behind me. ¡°Yosefin got a leash on you. Are you sure you two are not dating?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not.¡±


    ¡°What about fucking?¡±


    ¡°What!? No. Definitely not that.¡± She smirked the entire time as she laid all the bowls on the kitchen counter. ¡°I¡¯m serious.¡± To prove my point, I didn¡¯t, I added, ¡°I haven¡¯t even seen her naked.¡± My statement backfired. All she did was laugh uncontrollably.


    ¡°You¡¯re cute! I¡¯m glad your mine.¡± The compliment and possessive remark made me blush. ¡°Does she know you¡¯re with me?¡±


    ¡°No. I didn¡¯t feel the need to.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. You have no obligation to notify everything you do.¡±


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°Guess?¡± She stood in front of me with her eyes looking up and her head forward. ¡°You are free to do whatever you please. You¡¯re eighteen, right?¡±


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°You are an adult. Yosefin isn¡¯t your girlfriend and certainly not your mother. You have the right to do anything you want without her telling you otherwise.¡± She held my cheeks with her warm, gentle hands when she told me that. ¡°I¡¯m happy you¡¯re spending that time with me. I appreciate it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to be here,¡± I said as I gently pressed her hands into my face after we kissed.


    Kat and I made several batches of cookies, not for two people. We baked over twenty chocolate chips. I had a fun time with her being a chef¡¯s helper. She had energetic energy subpar with Yosefin¡¯s. Unfortunately, I found some things I didn¡¯t care for about her. She enjoyed reading books, romantic movies, fitness, and driving fast. Those attributes didn¡¯t stop me from being together. Our friendship went to an all-time high when we opened the door to our sexual fantasies.


    We experimented with the things we found interesting for the next few weeks. Unlike my conversations with Yosefin, which were just talking, Kat and I acted upon it. I never laid with her. After all, I was too scared of committing to a sexual relationship because I wasn¡¯t financially stable enough to support her in case of unfortunate events. I didn¡¯t want to disappoint my family, so we decided oral would be the safest choice. And, oh boy, she exceeded my wildest imaginations.


    I fell on my studies because of the amount of sexual stimulation I got from Kat. She went as far as sending nudes while we were in class together. My messages were filled with lewd images of her somewhat voluptuous body. Video calls turned into moments where she would be fully or half-naked while discussing school or random things. I couldn¡¯t focus on my quizzes without thinking about her. Every time I looked at her in class or felt her presence, it was all I could think about.


    One day after school, Kat and I talked behind my car about what we did the weekend before we started the school week since we didn¡¯t talk those days. I had my back to the elevators while she stood in front of me. She was trying to convince me to have sex with her by softening her voice and tugging on my belt when she said something dirty. Something caught her attention in the middle of her speech that made her stop talking. She moved to her right, towards the trunk of my car. I checked over my left shoulder to see who was there.


    ¡°Yosefin?¡± I said, turning to my left because she passed my view limit. She had her arms crossed while staring dead at Kat.


    ¡°Howdy, Yosefin,¡± Kat said when she leaned into me. ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡± Yosefin didn¡¯t say a word. All she did was tighten her arms under her tits. I also saw her jaw muscles flex like she was biting down her teeth.


    ¡°Can you give Josh and me a few minutes? I need to talk to him in private.¡± Yosefin said without moving her jaw.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t about to head out anyways.¡± Kat put her hand on my chest and said, ¡°Text me when you get home,¡± she said and then left us. She walked down the parking lot to her car near the end of the exit.


    ¡°Josh.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡± I said.


    ¡°What the hell was that?¡± She said, with spaces between each word.


    ¡°What was what?¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯d she touch you like that, huh?¡± She raised her voice enough that it echoed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± she told me with her fingers pressed against her temples. ¡°Josh, tell me the truth, or I¡¯ll fucking punch you in the stomach.¡±


    ¡°I seriously don¡¯t know why Kat did that, Yosefin.¡±


    ¡°Are you two fucking?¡± I couldn¡¯t for the life of me tell her no because I feared she¡¯d end up punching me anyway. ¡°Josh, du Vollidiot! (Josh, you idiot!) What have you two been doing these past weeks, huh?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business.¡±


    ¡°Huh?!¡± She shrieked.


    ¡°It¡¯s none of your¡ª¡±


    ¡°I swear to god I am this close to slapping you,¡± she said with her index and thumb close together. ¡°Tell me right now.¡±


    ¡°Just slap me.¡± She raised her hand to get ready to hit me. I braced my face by tightly closing my eyes. Instead of a slap, she snuggled her face on my chest.


    ¡°What has that devil done to you?¡± She whined. ¡°This isn¡¯t normal.¡±


    ¡°Why are you crying?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re talking less with me. We¡¯ve stopped video chatting on a regular basis. You are always occupied with her. I feel like an afterthought now.¡±


    ¡°Kat talks a lot.¡± When I said that, I pictured the nudes Kat gave me and the kissing we did.


    ¡°Why are you smiling like that?¡± I covered my mouth to hide it. ¡°What were you two doing?¡± Her begging annoyed me. I didn¡¯t want to talk about the type of relationship I had with Kat, but Yosefin¡¯s quiet crying started to break me. ¡°Dude, come on. You know I overthink things. Are you fucking her?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°Dating?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said but looked away. ¡°We are not.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re lying! I saw the way she looked at you. I know what she felt.¡± She performed the same touch Kat did to me but caressed my chest. ¡°Josh,¡± she said, swinging her head left to right. ¡°Why her?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, why her?¡±


    ¡°Just tell me why you like her. What¡¯s so fucking fascinating about a person you¡¯re not fucking connected with?!¡±


    ¡°We are connected. I talk with her every day. We¡¯re friends.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t buy it. That touch seemed like she was aroused by you.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a woman thing. I felt it too when I did the same thing.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I scoffed. ¡°A woman thing? Yosefin, you¡¯re not entirely a woman. How can you truly know that?¡± My comment left her quiet, looking dead in my eyes with her mouth slightly open.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you said that,¡± she said softly as tears came down her face. She walked near my driver¡¯s side door to clear her eyes, then came back to punch me in the gut. I fell forward, hitting the other car across from me. ¡°My best friend wouldn¡¯t dare insult me like that after he knew the weird life-changing transformation I went through.¡±


    ¡°What the fuck, Yosefin?¡± I grunted.


    ¡°That bitch is messing with your mind. Stay away from her.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not doing anything of the sort. My mind is fine. Kat and I are friends, Yosefin.¡±


    ¡°What kind of friends, hm?¡± She tried to rub the area she punched to massage away the pain. It hurt like hell, so I stepped away from her reach. ¡°Please, be honest with me.¡±


    ¡°Yes! We¡¯re dating!¡± I snapped. ¡°Is that wrong to do?¡±


    ¡°You said you weren¡¯t dating! Why did you lie to me?¡± Out of nowhere, a trio of students walked past us. They watched us as they walked by. Yosefin and I avoided eye contact until they were out of earshot.


    ¡°Because I didn¡¯t want to listen to your bullshit,¡± I whispered through my teeth so I wouldn¡¯t yell. ¡°I like her and the fun we do together.¡±


    ¡°So, you two are laying together,¡± she said softly.


    ¡°No. We agreed to never go that far,¡± I said softly too. ¡°I don¡¯t want kids.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a freaking idiot,¡± she said boldly. ¡°How does a kiss and little interaction start a relationship, huh?¡± I was done trying to be calm and civil with her.


    ¡°If you had more friends, you could find out.¡± When she raised her fist over her head, I protected my face and stomach with my arms. I waited three seconds to feel a fist hit me somewhere. The only thing that came touching me was a gentle hug. She moved my arm off my stomach to get a better hold.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to hit you anymore. I don¡¯t want you to be scared of me.¡± I was relieved she said that, but I didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°Hey, listen,¡± she said, stepping away. ¡°I¡¯m your friend, and I don¡¯t do that shit,¡± she voiced softly. ¡°I might think about doing it, but I¡¯m not going to cross that line.¡±


    ¡°You thought about kissing me?¡± She walked away, whispering to herself with her hand over her mouth. The second I said her name, she came back to park her forehead on my chest.


    ¡°Forget every word I just said,¡± she said, muffling her words with my chest before moving her mouth off it. ¡°But you know what makes me different from her?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I became your best friend first,¡± she said, hugging me again. ¡°What do you see in her? It is her personality? Her body?¡± When she said body, I almost smiled. My dirty mind thought about Kat and our steamy moments. I had to bite my entire lower lip to further prevent myself from smiling. ¡°Ah, I see.¡±


    ¡°See what?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s what you¡¯re attracted to,¡± she said, stepping away from me. ¡°I¡¯m not that... I can¡¯t...¡± I could see it in her face she wanted to cry again. Her skin got red, and tears began building in her eyes, but she remained calm. ¡°Josh, you got to get away from her. Go find a different girl, please.¡± Her warnings didn¡¯t click in my head. I had fun with Kat and wanted more. I was itching to spend time with her.


    ¡°You¡¯re being too paranoid.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not. I¡¯m trying to protect you. Put your interest in someone you truly like and understand.¡±


    ¡°What? You?¡± My comment made her gasp. It also shocked me that I would say such a statement. I never thought I would entertain the idea of choosing her as the right choice.


    ¡°Well,¡± she paused, looking to her right with blushed cheeks. ¡°I mean... You¡¯re already familiar with me.¡± She interlocked her fingers near my stomach with her thumbs soothing each other. ¡°You know me so well than her. I know your secrets, the things you like, and your dislikes.¡± Right as I was about to agree with her statement, my phone rang. I answered it without checking the caller ID.


    ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Hey, Joshua. I was wondering if you made it home yet,¡± Kat asked.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡± Before I could tell what I was doing, Yosefin yanked the phone out of my head. ¡°Hey! Give that back!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s busy with me with a real friend. Sorry but not sorry,¡± Yosefin said. Moments before she hung up, I heard Kat shout my name. ¡°Do not call her back.¡± I tried grabbing my phone from her. She kept moving too quickly for me to even lay a finger on it and then stuffed it down her bra.


    ¡°Goddamnit, Yosefin. Give it back.¡±


    ¡°Take it. Since I¡¯m not a woman, you can easily get it back,¡± she said, pressing her boobs into my stomach. ¡°If you really want to talk to her, you¡¯d stuff your hand down in here.¡± I hovered my hand near her chest. For the life of me, I couldn¡¯t do it. ¡°Dude, can¡¯t you see what she¡¯s doing to you?¡± She held my hand and curled my fingers into my palms. ¡°You can do better.¡±


    ¡°With who?¡± The right side of her upper lip pinched when she tried not to smile. She shrugged her shoulders like she didn¡¯t know or didn¡¯t feel the need to answer. I didn¡¯t want to engage with her if those were the possibility. All I wanted to do was go home and continue talking with Kat. ¡°Give me my phone back, Yosefin.¡± Her suppressed smile turned into a sulky frown.


    ¡°Yeah... sure,¡± she said, fishing for my phone. ¡°Here!¡± My phone had a rose perfume smell to it. I immediately checked if there were any other messages. I had one missed call and two texts. ¡°Your phone vibrated a lot. She really wants you, and it seems like you did too.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going home.¡±


    ¡°Okay...¡± As I stepped towards the driver¡¯s side door of my car, she asked, ¡°Can you at least text me when you get home?¡±


    ¡°After all of that? I don¡¯t feel like doing that¡±


    ¡°Josh!¡± She gave me her left pinky finger to swear on. I rolled my eyes at her in response.


    ¡°Bye!¡±


    I drove home with my mind filled with the stupid shit she did. There were so my questions going through my head, wondering why she acted like an entitled bitch. I had to blast the radio near full max to help me not overthink the whole stupid situation.


    Several hours later, around 11:00 PM, Kat headed for bed. My mood turned sour when I thought of Yosefin and what went down at the garage. All I could think about were her feelings and opinions. It put a halt to my night. I didn¡¯t want to do anything. She made me feel bad and confused about myself. I couldn¡¯t figure out what I did wrong for a long minute. It wasn¡¯t till later in November that tensions between them turned for the worse.

 Hostile Admiration

    Yosefin and I sat quietly on a cold green metal bench in Maple Gardens. I came here to make up lost time since Kat kept taking all my attention. She sat close enough to lean against me with her arm locked around mine as she played with my hand. I watched her blindly in a brain-dead sort of way. My mind focused solely on how her soft fingers felt against my skin and the blackberry perfume she had on. I got tired of sitting upright, so I leaned on her and rested my face on her shoulder. She momentarily stopped messing with my hand the moment I did that.


    ¡°Have you ever worn jewelry before?¡± Yosefin asked while grabbing my ring and index finger.


    ¡°Necklaces, but that¡¯s about it.¡±


    ¡°I think you would look awesome if you had a few rings on your hands.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Hell yeah!¡± She let go of my hand to snuggle more around my arm. ¡°I think I got a couple of rings you can try on. My hands are small, so I think it can fit your pinkies at most.¡± I looked at my hands to picture how I would look with them.


    ¡°How would you wear them? Like on my ring finger?¡±


    ¡°Not if you want to be married.¡± She touched the same fingers she was playing with, then pinched my thumb. ¡°I would put them there,¡± she said with her face pressed into my upper arm. ¡°It¡¯ll make you stand out.¡± That idea gave me thoughts about how I would impress Kat the next time I saw her. I lost myself in picturing what I could do; I didn¡¯t notice Yosefin staring at me with her left eyebrow raised.


    ¡°Oh, did you say something?¡± I stupidly asked.


    ¡°Not a word.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Thinking about Kat?¡± It shocked me how she could know most of everything that went through my head. There wasn¡¯t a need for me to verbally say a word. She knew my answer. ¡°Well, this was fun while it lasted.¡± The sadness in her voice gave me uncomfortable chills. Her hold on me broke before I could stop it from happening. I didn¡¯t mean to kill the vibe in that type of manner. She scooted away from me and tucked her arms between her legs.


    ¡°Yosefin,¡± I said, closing the gap between us. ¡°Our day hasn¡¯t ended. Why are you acting like this?¡±


    ¡°Josh.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Shut up,¡± she told me with a big smile. ¡°Just shut your stupid face up.¡± The smile she had confused the hell out of me. I couldn¡¯t tell if she was mad or not.


    ¡°Okay...¡±


    For a good minute, we kept to ourselves. The wind blew the dead crunchy leaves across the poorly repaired parking lot in front of us. Her hair kept swaying. It was strong and cold, but it didn¡¯t seem to bother her. It slowed into a quiet ambiance while the tree tops around the park continued getting by the wind. She suddenly closed the gap between us, holding my arm again.


    ¡°I hate her,¡± she said, glancing at her phone.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°You know why,¡± she sighed with a giggle, then got in my face to whisper, ¡°You know exactly why. I¡¯m going to leave it at that. I need to go home.¡±


    I drove Yosefin back home. She mostly kept to herself while looking out her window. There were only a few moments where she looked forward or at me. The second looked over to me our eyes met. A yellow light forced me to look at the road to prepare for a sudden stop. When I came to stop, she began snickering.


    ¡°Wie kann ein Typ wie du Interesse an dieser Schlampe finden? (How does a guy like you find interest in that, bitch?¡°)


    ¡°English, please.¡±


    ¡°Sie hat dich in ihren Bann gezogen. Siehst du das nicht? (She has you under her spell. Dont you see it?¡°)


    ¡°Yosefin, what are you saying?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± she said, looking forward.


    ¡°Is it?¡± She didn¡¯t answer until I drove up to her house a minute later.


    ¡°I was cramping and didn¡¯t want to alarm you, so I spoke to endure the pain.¡±


    ¡°Oh...¡± I had forgotten she experienced those phantom cramps every month. It has been months since she commented on them.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she rolled her eyes. ¡°Lots of pain right now. Lots of it.¡±


    ¡°You better go take your meds quickly. Do you need help getting in?¡± Something about that made her widely grin. It caught me off guard how big it was.


    ¡°Y- Yes! Come help me, please.¡± She used my left arm as an anchor to help her stand up. With every step she took, she groaned and sometimes breathed through her mouth. Once we got to the door, she opened it up. Her labored breathing suddenly stopped the moment her mother walked past the door. ¡°Momma?!¡±


    ¡°Hello, you two! It¡¯s nice to see you again, Josh. Did you two enjoy your time together?¡± Mrs. B?hme asked us like she was excited about the answer.


    ¡°We did,¡± Yosefin answered, then faced me. ¡°Thank you for escorting me in.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Now, take your pills so you won¡¯t be in pain anymore,¡± I say.


    ¡°Pills? Yosefin, are you cramping again?¡± Mrs. B?hme asked her, looking visibly confused.


    ¡°Uh. Text me later, yeah?¡± Yosefin said as she shut the door in my face.


    Both of them began talking in German like they were arguing. Yosefin¡¯s voice sounded softer yet quicker than her mother¡¯s. Mrs. B?hme remained at the same volume she spoke to me. The back and forth continued for a moment without slowing down.


    I eventually left to go see Kat at her apartment. My time with her wasn¡¯t as active as I would like it to be. A lot was going through my mind at this time. My grades began to dip from high Bs to high Cs. Each day I spent with Kat, the more we dove into sexual cravings for each other. We didn¡¯t once go out to a place to hang out, which I didn¡¯t mind. I wouldn¡¯t mind going somewhere cool, but I never asked for it. Every moment I had with her, Yosefin¡¯s scrutinizing echoed in my mind. It was extremely hard not to hear her voice in my head or picture her angry face every time I wanted to be with Kat.


    The day after I hung out with them, I asked if I could have a serious conversation with Kat. She invited me to her apartment to discuss what I wanted to say. We went into her bedroom to talk. Before I could start, she decided to remove her shirt and put on shorts that stopped under her butt.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I curiously asked when I sat on the corner of the bed.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting comfortable,¡± Kat said, smiling. ¡°Does this bother you?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine,¡± I said, slowly getting excited.


    ¡°So,¡± she said, lying on the bed while rubbing her arm against my hip. ¡°Is everything okay, Joshua?¡± Her somewhat half-naked body made me aroused and distracted from what I wanted to say.


    I had to close my eyes to say, ¡°What are we?¡±


    ¡°Uh, boyfriend and girlfriend. Duh,¡± she said, then giggled.


    ¡°Are we? Yosefin thinks-¡±


    ¡°Oh my goodness,¡± she said, rolling her eyes. ¡°You need to purge her out of your mind. She is trying to break us apart.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think she is.¡±


    ¡°Yes, she is.¡± She slowed down on that last word as if she wanted me to hear it. ¡°She¡¯s just jealous because we¡¯re having fun, Joshua.¡± Her voice became soft. The way she said my name sounded arousing. She said my name again in the same manner but said it near my ear. ¡°I got something for us.¡± I felt her hand slowly crawl down my leg. ¡°Whoa! Looks like that thing wants to bulge out.¡±


    ¡°What thing?¡± I looked down to find her pointing at my dick. ¡°Shit! I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said, covering it with my forearms.


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s fine, Josh.¡± She sat up to kiss me on the neck. ¡°Just wear shorts next time. It¡¯ll make it less painful and give you more room.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll remember that next time. Thanks.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± I got another kiss but on the lips this time. ¡°Just the let you know, I admire moments like this.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡±


    ¡°Hey, let¡¯s do something new?¡± My heart rate spiked from zero to 60 in two seconds. She reached her left arm behind her to fiddle with her bra. Her bra was unlatched, and she tossed it on the ground. She reached under her pillow to pull out a box of purple-colored condoms to hand me.


    ¡°Kat,¡± I said, lost for words. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡±


    ¡°Come on,¡± she whined. ¡°Nothing will happen. This is the best I could find.¡± The label on the box read extra thin grape chocolate flavored. ¡°Babe,¡± she said in a soft voice before kissing me with her moisturized lips. ¡°I want you.¡±


    Those words shook me to my care. My phone rang the second I thought about commenting on what I didn¡¯t want to do. I saw Yosefin¡¯s name appear on my screen. I didn¡¯t know whether to ignore her or answer it. Kat kept her eyes on me, smiling with the corner of her lip bit. I could see in her eyes she wanted me badly. My body shivered in a pleasant tingle. I decided at that moment, I decided to do it. I got as far as opening the wrap before Yosefin called me again.


    Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°What does that bitch want?¡± Kat lashed. Calling Yosefin a bitch caught me off, guard. It slightly angered me to hear her call Yosefin that without any good reason. So, I answered my phone out of spite because of killing the mood and her rudeness.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I said with my eyes on Kat and my phone on my ear.


    ¡°Josh, hey! I was thinking about you. Whatcha up to?¡± Yosefin said with a lot of happiness in her voice. Her voice was pitched and her words were slightly hazy in tone and slower than normal.


    ¡°I¡¯m,¡± I paused, looking back at Kat, who was taking off my pants. ¡°Holy shit...¡±


    ¡°Holy shit? Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Kat dragged me down to the bed so she could sit over me. She smothered my face with her large, warm, peachy-scented boobs and rubbed them all over my face. ¡°Oh my goodness.¡±


    ¡°Do you like that?¡± Kat whispered.


    ¡°Was that Kat?¡± Yosefin said. ¡°Are you at her house again?!¡±


    ¡°Let me see that.¡± Kat took the phone away from me, put it on the bed, then turned it on speaker. ¡°Josh is occupied at the moment, Yosefin. You can call him later.¡±


    ¡°Put him back on the phone!¡±


    ¡°Yosefin, he¡¯s busy! Call him in a few hours!¡±


    ¡°Josh! Get on the phone right now!¡± Yosefin screamed. I was dazed by the feeling of warm boobs pressing into my face. It took Yosefin several times to yell my name to break me out of my trance.


    ¡°I¡¯m right here,¡± I said like I was drunk.


    Kat rested more of her boobs on my face and whispered loudly, ¡°Squeeze them on your face.¡±


    ¡°The fuck is she talking about?¡± Yosefin said in a loud voice. It almost sounded like she wanted to yell that.


    ¡°Yosefin, we¡¯re on a date. Do you mind?¡± Yosefin stayed silent. I stopped messing with Kat¡¯s boobs to check my phone to see if Yosefin had hung up. The phone call was still going.


    ¡°Yosefin,¡± I said. She didn¡¯t say anything, so I got up and took the phone with me to the kitchen. ¡°Yosefin, are you there?¡±


    ¡°Josh,¡± she said like she was crying. It was faint, but I wasn¡¯t sure if it truly was.


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°You sound closer now. Did you put me off speaker?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m in the kitchen right now.¡±


    ¡°God, I fucking hate her! How the hell do you hang out with her? What the fuck was she talking about squeezing them on your face?!¡±


    ¡°Calm down, Yosefin. We were playing around.¡±


    ¡°Dude! I heard how she sounded. What was she talking about?¡± I covered my mouth so Kat wouldn¡¯t hear what I was going to say.


    ¡°She¡¯s talking about her boobs.¡±


    ¡°Josh!¡± Yosefin screamed. One of her parents in the background yelled at her in German. She shouted back even louder than them. ¡°Were you two about to fuck?!¡±


    ¡°We weren¡¯t. She laid on top of me so I could play with them.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m hearing this. You need to head home right now!¡±


    Kat walked into the kitchen to persuade me to come back into the bedroom and hang the phone up. Yosefin screamed with demands not to listen to Kat and let her speak with her. I had to put the phone on speaker so that Yosefin could hear her. Both of them got into a heated argument. They screamed, trash-talked to each other, and dropped multiple f-bombs. It was horrible and scary to listen to. I was terrified Kat¡¯s neighbors would come knocking to see what was happening.


    Yosefin said Kat took advantage of my innocence, while Kat disagreed. Kat laughed at her and stated Yosefin worries too much and was acting too overprotective for stupid reasons. She emphasized the fun time we shared but she deliberately kept the dirty details out. Every word that came out of her mouth was carefully said. She used words like love, enjoy, and fun to describe what we¡¯ve done. Yosefin wasn¡¯t buying anything she was putting out. I had enough of their screaming and put an end to the yelling.


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough!¡± I yelled. Kat stopped talking instantly, but Yosefin kept on blabbering. ¡°Yosefin, that¡¯s enough!¡±


    I put the phone off the speaker to speak with her in private outside the apartment. Some of Kat¡¯s neighbors were waiting in the hallway when I left. A few of them went inside her apartment, asking what was going on. Kat got them to settle down. One male neighbor was on the phone with the cops.


    ¡°Jesus,¡± I whispered, moving further away from everyone. ¡°You two have caused a ruckus.¡±


    ¡°Josh, I swear to god! When I see that bitch tomorrow, we¡¯re fighting!¡± Yosefin yelled.


    ¡°Why would you wanna do that?¡±


    ¡°Because she¡¯s a goddamn Sukkubus! (Succubus!) She¡¯s manipulating you for pleasure, Josh! Please, for my sake, fucking leave her. Go home!¡± The anger and desperation in her voice made me rethink my whole relationship with Kat. It gave fear some sort of repercussion, whether it be fighting or getting punched in the gut again. I recalled nearly every word, every moment where Yosefin felt worried for me. I even thought about the kiss she gave me and the gentle hold back at the student parking lot.


    ¡°Okay... I¡¯m leaving.¡±


    ¡°Good!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you soon.¡±


    ¡°Wait! You¡¯re coming here?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll be there in a couple of minutes.¡± I hung up before she could tell me that was okay or not, then drove non-stop to her house. My phone rang like ten times the whole trip through. Once I stopped at the curb in front of the house, she walked out the front door with her arms crossed. We met halfway up the walkway.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I said in a weak voice, too timid to look her in the eyes. Her face was a bit red. She had no makeup around her eyes from what I could tell without looking directly.


    ¡°Hey,¡± she said in a softer tone. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I chuckled, not knowing what the hell to say at the moment. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    She uncrossed her arms to put her hands on my upper arm, leaned forward on me, and said, ¡°I know you are.¡± She gazed up at me with her eyes before her head followed suit.


    ¡°I got lost.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m starting to think this¡¯ll not end well.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm,¡± she hummed longer than the one before. Her lips tightened, including her arms.


    ¡°You were right.¡± Instead of agreeing with me, she leaned me down by pulling down on my shoulders so she could put her arms around my neck for a tight hug. I held her close to my stomach with my chin over her shoulder. ¡°What the hell was I thinking?¡±


    ¡°You gave me a shit ton of stress, you asshole,¡± she said, letting me go.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Apology accepted.¡±


    ¡°God,¡± I groaned to the sky after slapping myself in the forehead to somewhat hurt myself. ¡°I hate myself.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that,¡± she said in a gentle voice, almost laughing as she moved my hand back to its side.


    ¡°Being with Kat was a mistake. I don¡¯t want any of this.¡±


    ¡°Why the sudden change?¡±


    ¡°Because of you.¡± I pointed at her chest, nearly touching the fabric of the hoodie. She pointed at herself with both of her fingers with one brow raised. ¡°Yes,¡± I confirmed. I listed several reasons why I would end my relationship with Kat that day. One of those reasons caused my friendship with Yosefin to become strained. I didn¡¯t want to be disappointed anymore.


    ¡°I¡¯m happy you¡¯re becoming aware of your actions,¡± Yosefin said after she gave me a gentle shoulder nudge to my arm. ¡°Kat was never a good friend. Even though she seemed friendly to you, her intentions are nothing but pleasure.¡±


    ¡°God,¡± I cringed more, seeing how right Yosefin was. I couldn¡¯t believe how down-bad I stayed in the lustful world. In a strange but grateful way, I saw her as my guardian angel. The one who showed me the light and the stupid errors of my ways. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I almost fucked her,¡± I said under my breath. The moment I said that, I got several calls and text messages from Kat.


    ¡°Excuse me?!¡± I nodded and turned off my phone so that Kat wouldn¡¯t bother us. ¡°You what?!¡±


    ¡°I was so ready for it,¡± I chuckle, feeling some regret but happy it didn¡¯t happen. ¡°Even though it was fun, it¡¯s killing my studies and hurting my friendship with you.¡±


    ¡°Gott sei Dank bist du mit ihr fertig (Thank god you¡¯re done with her),¡± she said, wiping her forehead like she was clearing the sweat off her forehead. ¡°Walk with me.¡± She took a few steps into the street and then turned around, curling her index finger to make me follow.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡±


    ¡°Park.¡± The second we took a step in the direction of the park together, she asked an intrusive question. ¡°So, what kind of stuff did you guys do together?¡±


    ¡°Dude!¡± I said out of shock.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± she said several times. ¡°Forget I said that.¡±


    ¡°Why do you want to know the shit we did?¡±


    ¡°I want to know what it sounds like to be in a relationship,¡± she said softly while looking at the houses to her right. ¡°Even if it is not what I consider,¡± she added, giving me a side-eye. ¡°You don¡¯t have to. I¡¯m just curious that¡¯s all.¡±


    At first, I didn¡¯t want to say anything but the more I thought about it, I leaked some vague details. Her eagerness filled an ego in me that wanted to show off what I went through. I was extremely scared to tell her every detail, but the more I said the details about it, I realized there was nothing to fear.


    I stopped teasing her and waited until we went to the park to talk about the stupid wild experience I went through. She listened to everything without taking her attention off of me or verbally criticizing everything I did. When we got to the tallest tower in the playground, I finished off with what happened half an hour ago.


    ¡°What an interesting time you had,¡± Yosefin momentarily snickered. ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m kind of jealous you got to experience some of those things,¡± Yosefin said.


    ¡°You¡¯re jealous? I thought you hated what I did.¡±


    ¡°I do. You¡¯re fucking stupid. But...¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°But,¡± she chuckled, building my curiosity with smirks and bated breath. ¡°I wish I could experience what you did.¡± She sat crisscrossed in front of me with her arms resting in her lap. ¡°Just the kissing parts. Screw the other crap y¡¯all did. I would never do that.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit.¡± Her cheeks were red and she couldn¡¯t stop smiling. ¡°Yes, you would.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she mumbled. ¡°But I wouldn¡¯t do it right off the bat.¡±


    ¡°Anyways,¡± I said, rolling my eyes and crisscrossing next to her. ¡°You sound like you¡¯re not confident in getting...¡± I had to pause to remind myself what she was into. ¡°Boyfriend.¡±


    ¡°I doubt I will,¡± she sighed, looking to the skies for a time. ¡°It¡¯ll be very hard to find a guy who¡¯s interested in a weirdo.¡± She continued, ¡°For some reason, I see myself being the dominant one when it comes to it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡± I said, raising my left brow. ¡°You? Dominant?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m about to be nineteen, Josh. I¡¯m ready to pour my heart out. I want to shower a boy with so much affection; he¡¯ll have to force me to settle down¡± I got butterflies in my stomach hearing her be so open and emotional about how she would act in a relationship. ¡°And, of course, the dirty things we would do. That¡¯s a must-need.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I scoffed in a light chuckle.


    ¡°Yes.¡± She looked at me when she said it. For some odd reason, I felt like she was directing that answer to me as if I were that boy she would want. Was I hot, or did she secretly have feelings for me? I wasn¡¯t about to outright ask her if she liked me or not at that time, but I had to ask one question for my understanding.


    ¡°Yosefin,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± I decided not to ask about it last minute. Our day was stressful, and if I asked her that question, it could add to it.


    ¡°I forgot what I was going to say.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she smiled before letting out a short giggle. ¡°Well, when you remember, tell me.¡± She shimmied herself in that oh-so-familiar snuggle she loved to do. ¡°Hey, can I ask a serious question?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± I said instead of complaining about her wanting the okay to ask a question.


    ¡°I¡¯m lucky to have you as my friend. How should I approach making another friend?¡± She let go to clasp her hands. ¡°Should I tell outright what I am?¡±


    ¡°Yosefin,¡± I said, trying my best to not laugh at her. The question reminded me of her situation with Monov. I had a feeling that question would come up several times if her insecurities came into question. So, I told her to stop worrying. Then she reminded me again about the moment I stopped talking to her when she told me she was Yose. ¡°Okay, fine. Tell them upfront, but you can¡¯t keep using that reason.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to have it happen again.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°How can you be so sure?¡±


    ¡°Because you¡¯re awesome,¡± I blurted after stuttering. I listed everything about her I liked and things someone could enjoy if they got to know her. I said whoever she finds could be more fun to be around than me.


    ¡°No one can be better than you,¡± she said, tickling my ribcage and then snuggling on my arm.


    ¡°Why do you keep doing this?¡±


    ¡°Was that your initial question?¡± She giggled.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Is it bothersome?¡±


    ¡°Not at all. I don¡¯t mind it. I just wanted to know.¡±


    I never got the answer. We stayed together till dusk, talking about the dos and don¡¯ts of the day when Yosefin would make a new friend. After I walked her home and finally returned home and turned on my phone, I had several missed messages from Kat and a couple of texts from my sister regarding my whereabouts. I marked all Kat¡¯s messages as read, then went through my gallery to permanently delete any naked or lewdful images I saved of her. There was some solace in losing all those wonderful pictures, but I knew I would regret not seeing some of them. She was fun to be around, but all good things must come to an end. It was a hard pill to swallow, yet it saved my friendship with my best friend.


    ¡°I need a distraction,¡± I said, lying on my bed, blindly staring at the ceiling. I got my wish in a video call a second later. ¡°I had a feeling you¡¯d call,¡± I answered without seeing who it was. Yosefin hummed in a playful chuckle that made me somewhat mimic it. ¡°Miss me?¡±


    She nodded and smiled before saying, ¡°I did.¡±

 Stepping up the Game

    The finals began within the first two weeks of December. All my classes ended in the second week, so I had a good amount of time in the first week to study. My grades improved back to their average high B range. I didn¡¯t have to worry about scoring a crazy score to successfully pass my classes. I planned a maximum of three hours of studying per day with hour-long resting between them. Everything went well. When Friday came, I backed off, learning to rest my mind. I knew everything I needed to know, so it was pointless to continuously study the same subjects I read for days.


    I used my resting time to bother Yosefin with my attention. She was studying at the time but didn¡¯t mind the welcomed intrusion. My curious sister barged into my room to catch me talking with Yosefin. I had to introduce her to my sister then, which led to the whole family getting to see her. Everything went well as virtual greets can get. No one embarrassed me or made her feel uncomfortable. Yosefin promised in private that she¡¯d meet my family in person after we finished our finals.


    Since the cat was out of the bag, Yosefin and I returned to our private video call.


    ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll like me?¡± Yosefin asked as she angled her phone on her desk to get a good shot of herself. I did the same before answering her question.


    ¡°Yes. They will.¡± She tightened her mouth to not smile and looked down for a moment. ¡°Why are you making that face?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m nervous.¡±


    ¡°Just be yourself.¡±


    ¡°Bro, that¡¯s the worst thing I could ever do. You know me. I¡¯m odd, outgoing; I¡¯m not a girly girl.¡± She rolled her sleeves to point at the tattoos on her right forearm. ¡°Would they be comfortable with my tattoos?¡± All I could think about was my dad¡¯s point of view of women with tats. If he saw her tattoos, I strongly felt he would ask me stupid stereotypical questions.


    ¡°My dad won¡¯t like it.¡±


    ¡°Shit.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him. You¡¯re my best friend. He¡¯ll notice your friendly personality and forget your looks.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll cover what I can when I come over.¡± The thought of hiding her awesome tattoos made me shake my head in disappointment. But if she believed it to be the best choice, I wasn¡¯t going to advise against it. Her comfort was more important than what I felt she should do.


    ¡°All right.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she sighed yet chuckled for a quick moment. ¡°First impressions are everything. I want them to see I¡¯m friendly.¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re already there. They know how much I see and talk to you. You¡¯re good.¡±


    ¡°If you say so. Anyways, have you found out what kind of career you are interested in? I¡¯m still searching my niche.¡± I quickly searched for my notebook under my bed to read what I had put down.


    ¡°Uh, police officer.¡±


    ¡°Very funny, Josh,¡± she said sarcastically. ¡°I can¡¯t see you as an officer.¡±


    ¡°That was my last choice option.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your first option?¡±


    ¡°Game programming.¡± She let out a long, loud gasp, then told me it was her first choice too. ¡°I don¡¯t know if all be able to do it. I think I should focus on getting my associate¡¯s first.¡±


    ¡°That is what my papa told me. We can focus on our degrees later when we transfer. There are a lot of classes to complete for this AA.¡±


    ¡°No kidding.¡±


    I leaned back in my chair to reflect on the entire fall semester. There were so many highlights of my life. First was meeting, Yosefin, an old, almost forgotten classmate from my past. Next, it was her outgoing, adventurous charisma. She took me on wild mental rides I would never have thought I would do consistently in a million years. Then there was Kat. What a fun yet horrible shit show that was. She was the definition of a real-life succubus. I haven¡¯t talked to her since leaving the apartment. For the last few weeks left in the first semester, she never once spoke a word to me. There were instances where I noticed a couple of indirect glances when I was minding my business, but according to Yosefin, Kat tried several times to look at me when I wasn¡¯t looking. Each glance was met with Yosefin¡¯s watchful eyes.


    ¡°Josh!¡± Yosefin said. My mind flew out of my daydreaming like I got jumped scared. I flinched so hard that my phone fell flat on the table. ¡°Did you hear me?¡±


    ¡°Sorry. I didn¡¯t. What did you say?¡±


    ¡°Never mind. It was nothing.¡± Her smile made it seem like it wasn¡¯t. Whatever she said to me lingered on her face. I watched her keep that smile, then it became bigger when she said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, Josh. Stop looking at me like that.¡±


    ¡°Not until you tell me what you said.¡±


    ¡°Fine. I was complimenting your smile. I like the way it looks.¡±


    ¡°You know, I¡¯ve smiled so many times before. Mind if I ask why you¡¯re telling me now?¡±


    ¡°Maybe because I haven¡¯t been too open with you.¡± I leaned forward out of my chair from being extra curious.


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± I asked, raising my left brow as far as it could.


    ¡°I¡¯ve always asked you about the things you like about me and not the other way around.¡± She was right. Most questions were about how she looked to me. I assumed she wanted another opinion, yet she had always been attractive to me.


    She continued saying, ¡°You¡¯re a cute-looking boy, you know, right? I don¡¯t think anyone can top the way you look to me.¡± It sounded like a lie. I scoffed and denied being good-looking, but she added, ¡°I¡¯m super serious. Dude, you¡¯re hot to me.¡±


    There were no words for me to say at that time. I froze like a deer in headlights. Completely flabbergasted. When I snapped out of it, I said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say.¡± My face blushed so badly that I nearly broke a sweat. ¡°You got to be exaggerating.¡±


    ¡°Nope,¡± she said, pitching her voice an octave high. ¡°Hey, do you mind doing this one thing for me?¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Can you let your hair down? You always have it in a bun.¡± I removed the hairband, holding my hair back, then used a hair pick to even out the length. Her eyes blew open, including her mouth. The expression reminded me of clickbait thumbnail videos on the internet, but her reaction was genuine. ¡°Okay, now I got to see you in person with it down.¡±


    ¡°Maybe during finals week.¡±


    Once finals week came, we forgot about the whole conversation about my hair. The tests were long and tedious. In all three of my classes, everyone had to go through the full length of the period. No one was allowed to leave. Sitting for hours made me so bored. All I wanted to do was take the exams and go home.


    No one could talk or use their phone to pass the time. Some students, like Collin, resorted to napping. Others decided to sit in silence. Yosefin took the third option. Our professor had seating arrangements that made all students sit apart. Two per table. I sat near the wall of my table all by myself until Yosefin scooted her chair against mine. I was surprised and worried that she would get called to move away.


    ¡°Are you nuts?¡± I whispered as softly as I could.


    ¡°She won¡¯t care. No one around us is working, so we¡¯re good,¡± she said, holding my left arm near her chest so she could mess around with my hand. ¡°Just don¡¯t make a scene.¡± For a small moment, I felt uncomfortable that she was messing with me in such a way with a room full of people. Once I saw no one cared to look at us, I stopped feeling uneasy. She didn¡¯t do anything weird like holding hands. All she did was individually mess around with my fingers. ¡°So, any plans after this?¡±


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Home.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so boring. How about we go to the din, yeah? It¡¯s been months since we had fun there.¡± The thought seemed intriguing. I wanted to go home to nap, but seeing her excitement made me reconsider it.


    ¡°Okay, but I¡¯m a bit tired.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll wake up once we play some games.¡± I checked the clock to see how much time remained. There was an hour left in the class, and half of the class was still taking the exam.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take my nap right now.¡±


    ¡°Sweet dreams.¡± She let go of my arm to put them under her head on the table.


    I laid my head down on the table. An hour felt like ten minutes. Yosefin¡¯s cold hand woke me up before the professor told the class to get out. I stayed in my chair till the last person headed out.


    ¡°Finally!¡± Yosefin cheered. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± She pulled me out of the seat and held me by my hand out the door, keeping her eyes on me. ¡°We¡¯re finally free!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± The second she turned around, something caught her eye to her left. She stopped smiling, and I felt her hand grip tighter. ¡°Yosefin?¡± I took a step forward to see what she was staring at.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Before I could check to see who it was, she leaned to my ear to whisper. ¡°It¡¯s Kat.¡± She let go of my head to cross her arms.


    ¡°Is he in there?¡± Kat asked in a quiet voice.


    ¡°I am,¡± I said, cutting Yosefin off from whatever she was about to say. I got a stern glance from Yosefin like I wasn¡¯t supposed to react. Something about that quick look made my heart skip a beat. Even though it was short, it made me nervous about how she would act around Kat. The last time they spoke, they yelled at each other over the phone. ¡°Uh, what¡¯s up, Kat? Do you need something from me?¡±


    ¡°I miss you, Josh.¡±


    ¡°Oh, please,¡± Yosefin cringed by letting out a fake gag. ¡°No, you don¡¯t. You miss how much he makes you wet.¡±


    ¡°No! I do miss him! I made a mistake.¡±


    ¡°Several mistakes.¡± Yosefin¡¯s voice slightly growled when she snarled. ¡°You made several mistakes, you whore!¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°You heard me! What type of bitch would take advantage of someone for pleasure? You didn¡¯t even bother to become his friend!¡± People around us started to stare at them. Their gazes gave me a sick feeling in my stomach, so I asked Yosefin to tone it down a bit. ¡°You know what.¡± She walked up to Kat with her arms still crossed, then the unimaginable happened. In a blink of an eye, she gave Kat a hard, quick slap to her face. ¡°Fucking, bitch!¡± Three people behind me gasped then overreacted with awes to rile up a fight.


    ¡°Yosefin!¡± I shouted in a quiet voice as I pulled her away from Kat. ¡°Why the hell did you do that for?¡±


    ¡°Let me go! I want to give her another one!¡±


    ¡°Ugh! Bitch!¡± Kat grunted. They tried to fight in the middle of the hallway. Two bystanders had to restrain Kat. I was strong enough to hold Yosefin in my arms even though she nearly broke free multiple times. ¡°You¡¯re just as problematic as me!¡±


    ¡°Do not compare me to you. I wouldn¡¯t use him for my pleasure!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a manipulator too! You tried controlling his opinion of me before we even dated!¡±


    ¡°Josh, ich werde dieses Mistst¨¹ck umbringen! (Josh, I¡¯m gonna kill that bitch!)


    ¡°Settle down,¡± I begged, trying to fight against her breaking out. A side door to my left led into a stairwell separate from the main ones most people used. I took her there to make her settle down.


    ¡°Let me go, Josh!¡±


    ¡°Not until you calm down.¡± She continued to wriggle in my arms until she exhausted herself. ¡°Stop it!¡±


    ¡°Let me go,¡± she said exhaustedly. Twice, she tried to push me away. We stumbled into the wall where I cornered her. I used my body as a barrier she couldn¡¯t get out of. ¡°Okay, okay! I¡¯m good.¡± She calmed down enough that I felt comfortable giving her some space.


    ¡°Do I have to keep you in this corner?¡± Instead of a straightforward answer, she gave me a strange smile. She bit the corner of her lip and looked around the room behind me before looking into my eyes. ¡°Do I?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she answered, smiling with her lips in. ¡°I¡¯m good.¡± I stepped closer to make myself seem more intimidating. I didn¡¯t smile nor break my gaze. She seemed to find it funny. All she did was chuckle and shake her head. ¡°I¡¯m done acting like a madwoman.¡±


    ¡°Are you?¡± Those words were put to the test when Kat barged through the door.


    ¡°Let me talk to him,¡± Kat begged. Yosefin kept quiet with her arms crossed. Her smile became a judgmental stare. I saw the upper part of her lip curl in like she was gnawing on it from the inside. ¡°Josh...¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t have the right to call you by that name,¡± Yosefin mumbled quietly through her teeth.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a name,¡± I told her, then focused my attention on Kat.


    ¡°It¡¯s special to me,¡± she said, raising her voice and softly yanking my shoulder back. ¡°Do not let her say your name, or I¡¯m going to break her teeth.¡± She took Kat, saying my nickname to heart. My name became exclusive to two people in my life. Her anger was stressing me out. I thought at any moment if Kat said my nickname, Yosefin would beat the living shit out of her.


    ¡°Yosefin,¡± I said, massaging her shoulders and arms. ¡°Will you do me a solid?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Behave.¡± For a few seconds, I could see her think deeply about whether to comply or not. Her eyes stayed forward. She didn¡¯t blink nor make them fidget. ¡°Will you do that for me?¡±


    I watched her walk over to the wall to my left, where the doorway was. She rested her back on it with her head turned to the right, facing Kat, and said, ¡°You have my word. I¡¯ll behave like a good girl.¡±


    ¡°Thank god,¡± I sighed in relief then turned my attention to Kat. ¡°What do you want?¡±


    Kat apologized for everything she did to me from the things we did together, including how she negatively talked about Yosefin. She also wanted to start over again, erase all the sexually intimate times we shared to begin a ¡°normal friendship.¡± The problem with that was I didn¡¯t care for her anymore. I moved on. I knew if I tried to rekindle a spark between us, things would probably return to what it was. Nothing but dirty pleasure.


    ¡°Kat,¡± I said, walked over to the staircase that headed downward, then glanced back at them. There were no words I could think of to tell Kat in a polite way I didn¡¯t want to be her friend, so I told her bluntly. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be your friend.¡± I saw Yosefin¡¯s eyes pop open. She covered her mouth and looked at Kat, who had her head down.


    ¡°Fine. But you¡¯ll be missing out,¡± Kat said.


    ¡°I highly doubt it,¡± Yosefin said instantly after Kat¡¯s statement. ¡°Es gibt viele Fische im Meer f¨¹r ihn. (Plenty fishes in the sea for him.)


    ¡°What the hell did you say to me?¡±


    ¡°Shoo,¡± she said, waving her hand.


    Kat stormed out the door with her left forearm over her eyes. A small part of me felt sad that it had to end with her crying.


    ¡°Damn,¡± I said, feeling bad.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look sad. You had to tell her off. Kat would have resorted back to her ways.¡± Yosefin said as she slowly came down the steps, taking heavy stomps to reach my level.


    ¡°How can you be so sure of that?¡±


    ¡°If we had a friendship,¡± she air quoted, ¡°like that and you did all that stuff to me,¡± she said, pointing at her chest. ¡°If you did that to me,¡± she emphasized the last word. ¡°I would try everything to keep it going.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I chuckle.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she blushed with a contagious giggle. ¡°I think any woman would.¡±


    ¡°Good thing I got out of it.¡±


    ¡°Thank goodness,¡± she praised while gently holding my right arm with her arms. ¡°Let¡¯s go play some games, ja? I wanna try out that fighting game they brought in.¡±


    ¡°Sure, but I warn you. I¡¯m extremely good at it.¡±


    ¡°Good. You can coach me.¡±


    *ONE WEEK LATER*


    My doorbell rang when I turned into the foyer to head upstairs. Vanessa had just reached the first floor coming down the steps when it rang. She asked me if it was Yosefin at the door because our door window had a design pattern that blurred the glass pane. I couldn¡¯t tell, so she blurted out if it was Yosefin behind it.


    ¡°Ja... it¡¯s me,¡± Yosefin answered.


    Vanessa opened the door on my behalf. Yosefin¡¯s outfit looked comfy. She had on a black beanie, a black zipper jacket with the word ¡®You Rock¡¯ on it, black sweats slightly conformed to her legs, and high-top shoes with thick white soles on the bottom. Her hands were in the pocket of her pants. I felt like she was doing that to hide some areas of her tattoos. The weather outside wasn¡¯t that freezing, but it could be the reason why they were covered.


    ¡°Hello, Yosefin,¡± Vanessa said after she closed the door and then offered her hand to be shaken. I saw Yosefin¡¯s arm hesitate twice before she shook it. ¡°I¡¯m Joshua¡¯s little sis, Vanessa.¡±


    ¡°Hello, Vanessa. It¡¯s nice to finally meet you.¡±


    ¡°I love your accent. It sounds immaculate in person.¡± Yosefin gave me a big smile and thanked Vanessa for the fangirl compliment.


    ¡°Come on, Yosefin. Let¡¯s go meet my parents,¡± I said. Her happy smile turned into a nervous one. She didn¡¯t want to move when I tried to guide her to the kitchen. ¡°Yosefin?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Yosefin said with her hand over her mouth. ¡°I¡¯m nervous.¡±


    ¡°Nervous about what?¡± Vanessa asked. Yosefin looked at me, then tugged on her sleeve.


    ¡°Does she know?¡± Yosefin whispered out of earshot from Vanessa.


    ¡°Yeah. She knew about them in the first month I¡¯ve known you.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Vanessa lightly shouts. ¡°Can I see them? Joshua says they¡¯re cool.¡± Yosefin looked at me as if she didn¡¯t know what to do. I told her it was fine, but she feared my dad would walk in on her. ¡°Aw, you shouldn¡¯t care about our dad.¡± Vanessa grabbed Yosefin¡¯s hand and exposed her arm to see a portion of the artwork.


    ¡°Hey, hey,¡± Yosefin panicked, turning around so her back would face the living and family room.


    ¡°Whoa... These are freaking awesome, Yosefin.¡± Yosefin¡¯s frightened voice made me jump between them to add an extra privacy wall.


    ¡°Vanessa,¡± I said, pulling down Yosefin¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Leave her alone. Go watch Dad cook or something.¡±


    ¡°Fine. Geez,¡± She walked away towards the family room.


    ¡°What an asshole. I¡¯m sorry about that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Yosefin chuckled out through her nose. ¡°I think that was a sign for me not to hide them.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t. Let¡¯s stick with the plan you wanted to do.¡± We walked through the living room to enter the kitchen. She held my arm almost like she snuggled when we were at that park near her home. The left hand took a grip on my bicep. Her right hand held my forearm. ¡°Are you ready?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she said before taking a big gulp.


    ¡°Mom, Dad.¡± It took some time for their attention to focus on us because of the demand for cooking. I focused on my dad¡¯s face more than my mom¡¯s due to his position on people with tattoos. ¡°Look who¡¯s here.¡±


    ¡°Hi,¡± Yosefin said with a voice crack. She let go of me to slap her hands over her mouth in response to how she sounded. I took the opportunity to clutch her close by her waist side. My sudden move made her look at me with her hands slowly moving away from her mouth.


    ¡°Guys,¡± I said, looking into Yosefin¡¯s eyes. ¡°This is my best friend.¡± Slowly, like a giant turtle on the run, a smile came.


    ¡°Hello, Mr. and Mrs. McEwan,¡± Yosefin said with a clear, strong voice.

 Closer than Ever - Part One

    It was the morning of Christmas, and my family was up early, sharing the presents we had stored under the tree. Most of our gifts were clothing or little things like gift cards. The moment was short because my family had a planned day ahead. My parents went into the city to see a play while my sister and her friends scheduled a sleepover. I was the only one who had nothing to do on Christmas until Yosefin planned an impromptu sleepover of her own. Her parents were also seeing the same play my parents left to see and weren¡¯t coming him to later the next day. I knew I was independent enough to leave the house and explain later where I¡¯d been. She would fall under the ¡°safety standard¡± my mother expected me to follow. So, I packed some clothes into a backpack to stay overnight.


    When I got to Yosefin¡¯s street, her parent¡¯s SUV pulled out of the driveway and headed my way. I didn¡¯t know if she had told her parents I was coming, so I looked off to my right, looking at someone¡¯s house as they passed me to avoid being spotted. I watched them in my rearview mirror until they turned off down another street. My heart was racing as some butterflies grew in my stomach. Even though I turned nineteen a week ago, I felt like a teenage rebel sneaking behind my parents¡¯ backs to be with someone they were not fully aware of.


    I parked near the house¡¯s curb but sat in the car to take in the moment. This was my first time coming to Yosefin¡¯s house to be alone with her. The time I shut my door and took four steps up the walkway, Yosefin cracked open the door and poked her head out.


    ¡°Josh!¡± Yosefin shouted with a joyous smile as she ran to me. She had on a festive grey sweater with snowmen stitched on it. Her pants were festive leggings with snowflakes, and she wasn¡¯t wearing shoes or socks to combat the chilling weather.


    ¡°Merry Christmas.¡± I caught her in my arms for a long hug.


    ¡°Merry Christmas to you too!¡± My nose was consumed with a perfume that smelled like cinnamon. It smelled so good on her that I didn¡¯t want to let go immediately. ¡°Fuck, it¡¯s freezing out here. Come inside.¡± She pulled me by my arm with one hand holding my hand as we jogged up the walkway. Once I got out of the way for her to close the door, our fingers perfectly interlaced. Her hand was warm, soft, and small inside my hand. It didn¡¯t seem like she knew we were holding hands like this. She was busy locking the door locks.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I said, putting my other hand on hers.


    ¡°Yes?¡± She looked up at me with a brow raised, with her hand still stuck to mine. I had to open my fingers for her to become aware. ¡°Oh!¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I laughed.


    ¡°Sorry. My hand was cold,¡± she said, resting her face on my chest for a quick moment. She remained close to me with her hands crossed over her heart. I felt compelled to hug again, so I did. ¡°Another hug? What did I do to deserve that?¡±


    ¡°I just felt like it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll accept that answer, even though it was a lame excuse.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because you smell good.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Josh,¡± she said, slowly slithering out of my grasp. ¡°You can sniff me later. I got some hot cocoa to make for us. Make yourself comfortable or become my big helper.¡± She twirled around in her heels to head into the kitchen. I dropped my backpack near the door without looking where to place it and followed after her. ¡°Okay, sous chef. Start by giving me the milk in the fridge.¡±


    ¡°Yes, chef!¡± She coached me through the whole process of how to make cocoa. It was a homemade recipe she partly knew. We had to refer to her mother¡¯s cooking book to find the finer details. Once we had everything we wanted, she poured the mixture into the pot and started lightly dancing.


    ¡°Do you mind if I put a song on while we wait for this to warm up?¡± I found it amusing in a cute way that she asked me if she could put music on in her own house.


    ¡°This is your house, Yosefin. Do what you like. I¡¯m here for a good time.¡±


    ¡°Good time, eh? Is that what you¡¯re here for?¡± She made it sound like I said something wrong.


    ¡°Yes?¡± The wireless speaker behind me turned on a catchy pop song I¡¯d heard on the radio before. I turned around to face it; she shimmied her shoulder on my arm as she danced to the beat.


    ¡°We can do better than having a good time.¡±


    ¡°All right then,¡± I said, watching her dance around the kitchen while singing the lyrics.


    ¡°Dance with me, Josh.¡± I didn¡¯t want to because I was so fixated on what she was doing. It amused me how hyper she moved. I wasn¡¯t a dancer but watching made me jiggle on the beat.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to.¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re one of those guys.¡± She took me by my hands and swung them to the song¡¯s rhythm. Once I got the jig of everything, her hands left me. I took them back to keep the moment going. It made her gasp with the biggest grin I had ever seen from her. From the corner of my right eye, I saw the pot of cocoa steaming.


    ¡°Is it hot enough?¡±


    ¡°Hot?¡± She looked at me with a slightly open mouth. I think she took what I said as something off-topic, so I pointed at the pot with my eyes.


    ¡°Cocoa.¡± Our hands let go while hers rested on my chest. For a moment, she looked over her shoulder, then turned back to me. Her hands came off, but the sensation of where they lingered stayed.


    ¡°It¡¯s ready. I got marshmallows in the pantry behind you. Get them for me, please.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    We sat in front of a fireplace on a couch, drinking our hot cocoa while watching a Christmas movie from the nineteen nineties. It was a classic from our childhood. Halfway into the film, we sat in silence. Our cups were empty, and my mind was focused on what I was watching. I was so immersed in the plot that when Yosefin leaned on my arm, I jumped.


    ¡°Oh,¡± I jerked. ¡°You scared me.¡±


    ¡°Whoa, there, horsey. It¡¯s just me,¡± Yosefin said.


    ¡°Sorry. I was getting into the movie.¡±


    ¡°I can see that. How many times have you watched this? You should already know what happens.¡±


    ¡°Countless.¡± Her attention went off somewhere rather than to the movie. At first, I thought she was bored or had a short attention span. It wasn¡¯t till she clutched my arm into her body to snuggle more on me I got an idea she truly lost interest. I was a bit annoyed she wasn¡¯t paying attention, but I had to tell myself she wasn¡¯t me when it came to watching videos.


    ¡°Hey, Josh. I gotta ask you a serious question.¡±


    ¡°Here we go again,¡± I said in my head, rolling my eyes. ¡°What?¡± I said out loud.


    ¡°Would you cuddle with me if I asked you to?¡± My focus went from the movie to her in an instant.


    ¡°Uh... why are you asking me a question like that?¡±


    ¡°Because,¡± she blushed, looking at her lap while digging her hands in and out between her thighs. ¡°I just wanna know if you would.¡± When I imagined us cuddling, I pictured how Kat held me but swapped in Yosefin. It was grossed out. There was no way in hell I would touch her intimately.


    ¡°No. I don¡¯t want to touch you like that.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡± She asked, looking at me. I was scared to describe what I would do, so I tried to beat around the bush, hoping she¡¯d figure it out with less context.


    ¡°Y¡¯know... I don¡¯t wanna touch... you.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± She turned half her body to face me. Both of her legs came on the couch and she had her left arm over the back the rest.


    ¡°Y¡¯know,¡± I said, nervous as hell to look her in the eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna do dirty things as I did with Kat,¡± I said, putting my eyes on the rug below my feet.


    ¡°You think it¡¯ll turn like that?¡± She chuckled.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    She left to head to her room to grab a thick white book. The second thing I noticed was the colorful bookmark tabs sticking out the top of the pages. Each label was marked in black ink. I couldn¡¯t read the one she opened to because her hand was covering it.


    ¡°What am I looking at?¡± I said.


    ¡°This one,¡± Yosefin said. She pointed at a bold-headed paragraph on the second that briefly described uses for cuddling. I read words like comfort, peace, security, and warmth. They were catered to comforting purposes.


    ¡°I never thought it could be like that,¡± I said, scratching my head.


    ¡°Good,¡± she said, slapping the book shut, ¡°thing you have me to show you what¡¯s right.¡± She put the book on the coffee table. I got to read the title of the book and the author before she snuggled on my arm again.


    ¡°Passion and Etiquette by Konishi Sanako,¡± I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s such an eye-opener. I¡¯ll let you borrow it.¡±


    ¡°No thanks.¡±


    ¡°Josh,¡± she whined, snuggling her face in my arm while holding it firmly. She gave me an anxiety level that was arousing in a what should I do kind of manner. The feeling of her face constantly rubbing my arm alongside her hold gave me a fuzzy feeling. ¡°Do wanna try cuddling the correct way?¡±


    ¡°Uh,¡± I hummed.


    ¡°Just say no if you don¡¯t.¡± Her grip loosened a bit. ¡°It¡¯s okay. If you want to continue watching the movie, we¡¯ll continue. I was just curious.¡±


    When she let go of me and sat upright, I thought I was about to lose my chance to feel what that was like. She seemed passionate about cuddling in the way her book stated. I was curious to feel what that was like, but there were second thoughts when I recalled what she was without her girly facade. That image scared and sickened me. It didn¡¯t feel right thinking I could comfortably let her hold me so close and not make it awkward between us. Ultimately, curiosity decided I should man the fuck up and at least give it a shot instead of imagining it.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I blurted out. She squinted when I said that.


    ¡°Yes? You wanna keep watching this?¡±


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°No. Yes, to the cuddle, you idiot.¡± She let out the loudest, exaggerated gasp I had heard, then shrieked into a hypnotized giggle.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you,¡± she paused to throw me on my back, so she could carefully lay on top of me, ¡°ever call me an idiot.¡±


    My whole body was clutched under her cradle. The first thing I immediately felt was her tits press into my chest. I didn¡¯t know where to put my hands. Before I booted Kat out of my life, when we cuddled, we kissed and touched each other sexually. But with Yosefin, I didn¡¯t know what to do. I had my hands far away from her. Plus, I worried she would feel or notice my slowly growing erection, so I tried my best to keep my mind occupied with random things.


    ¡°Das ist sch?n (This is nice),¡± she said.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you holding me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know where to put them.¡±


    ¡°Anywhere you can reach. My back, legs, or ass if you feel bold enough.¡±


    ¡°Your ass?¡± I said in a shaky voice.


    ¡°Just choose something,¡± she snapped at me in a playful voice. ¡°This only works when we¡¯re both involved.¡±


    It was still hard for me to choose where I could hold her. I didn¡¯t want to make things uncomfortable since she wasn¡¯t like Kat. Kat, right off the bat, loved being touched in all sorts of places. With Yosefin, I worried about offending her in any way. The last thing I wanted was to make her angry for misreading the situation. She had to take charge to show me the proper way of doing things with a close friend like her.


    ¡°Can you decide one for me, please? I don¡¯t wanna mess up,¡± I said.


    ¡°Josh,¡± she whispered, making a chill crawl down my neck. ¡°How are you going to mess up?¡± Her voice remained gentle. ¡°I showed you what the book said. Just grab something, dude.¡±


    ¡°I recently got out of a bad relationship with Kat. I want you to show me how this should go.¡±


    ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s do this.¡± Out of all the three options, she picked the safest spot for my hands to go. She put my arms around her lower back. ¡°Hold me like you are glad to see me but afraid to let me go.¡± That thought was deep. In my mind, words like gentle, happiness, enjoyment, and sadness came to me.


    ¡°Wow, this feels good.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to try this with someone. I read it can be very therapeutic.¡± When she repositioned, the top of her head moved up to my right cheek, and I froze. This was the closest we¡¯d ever been. She lifted her head to look at me. Our eyes locked on each other, but she closed them after a second.


    It felt amazing to hold her close to me, but I began to question my actions. I wanted to get her off of me, but I didn¡¯t dare to tell her or move. She looked comfortable and at peace laying on top of me. I was too nervous to disturb that.


    ¡°Josh,¡± she said as she looked at my chest. ¡°Your heart is beating hard and fast.¡±


    ¡°A lot is going through my mind.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡± She said, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°Promise you won¡¯t get mad at me.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re about me, aren¡¯t they?¡± She correctly guessed when she suddenly got off of me. ¡°What are they?¡± She said, looking at the rug with her arms crossed. ¡°Unfiltered.¡± When she said not to hold back, I hesitated and tried to think of ways to water down my issues. I couldn¡¯t get a word out my life depended on it. ¡°Okay, stop,¡± she chuckled. ¡°Clearly you¡¯re afraid to speak your mind.¡± Her arms were uncrossed when she sat crisscrossed. She turned her whole body to face me and then told me upfront I didn¡¯t want to hold her anymore because she wasn¡¯t a girl.


    ¡°Yosefin...¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t Yosefin me,¡± she giggled. ¡°I know you,¡± she pointed. ¡°You¡¯re probably thinking why the hell am I hugging this dude? This is gross.¡± There was nothing I could say other than nod. Those were the unfortunate thoughts that began riddling my mind. They tore down all the happy things I was picturing and feeling, then left me feeling revolted. ¡°Don¡¯t look so sad. I totally get it. You¡¯re not that kind of guy.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± I quietly mumbled. ¡°But, I felt the things I read.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡± She softly smiled, nearly blushing. ¡°Are you saying that to be nice?¡± I shook my head, no. ¡°Okay,¡± she said after momentarily biting the corner of her lip. When she glanced at the TV screen, my awareness of its existence came into my ears. I was so focused on everything we¡¯d done that the world around me was muted. ¡°Hey, do you still care for that, or do you wanna do something else?¡±


    ¡°Do something else.¡±


    ¡°Cool!¡± She hopped off the couch to turn the TV off with the remote. ¡°Wanna finally see my girl cave for the first time?¡±


    ¡°Girl cave?¡±


    ¡°My room, duh,¡± she said, pointing down a hallway behind her. ¡°It¡¯s time to see my rad PC setup that¡¯ll make you eyegasm at its glory.¡± I followed her into her room. The computer was to my right, but the size of her bed took my attention. It was big and messy. The blankets were hanging off the corner of the bed. Her sheets were wrinkly but clean. She had five pillows sprawled through the bed. Two were comforters while the rest were regular-sized. Her bed was the only thing messed up when I skimmed the rest of the room. ¡°Hey,¡± she said, snapping her fingers. ¡°Check it out.¡± Her RGB colorful PC radiated like a vibrant rainbow when she turned it on.


    ¡°Damn!¡± I gasped. ¡°How much did this cost you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t fucking know, bro. A couple of seasonal jobs here and there to get some parts. Also, my parents bought some parts, so here we are.¡±


    ¡°Jesus. My setup is not as flashy as yours.¡± The whole setup screamed to be used. ¡°I wanna play with it.¡±


    ¡°I figured,¡± she said, smiling.


    We stayed on the computer for an hour as we did random things on it. The sun was down, and the room showed how dark it got. I turned on her light switch to turn on the fanlight. She had it set to pink rather than the typical orange or blue light.


    ¡°Is everything in your room not normal?¡± I asked.


    ¡°This place isn¡¯t supposed to be normal,¡± she said, changing the light colors to a proper color with a white remote with black buttons. ¡°We can let loose any abnormalities in this space.¡±


    ¡°What a word.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Josh.¡± Even though she said it with sharpness and a quick voice, it was followed by a giggle. She fell on her bed face first, then sat crisscrossed facing me. ¡°So, what do you wanna do now?¡±


    ¡°Um,¡± I said with a noticeable nervous voice, taking a seat on the bed a good distance from her. ¡°I don¡¯t know. What do you wanna do?¡±


    ¡°Ugh,¡± she sighed, trying to pull me close by my arm without looking at me. ¡°Why are you so far away?¡±


    ¡°You want me close?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she said with a smile. I had a feeling she was itching for another cuddle or wanted to snuggle. When she saw I was watching her, she quickly looked away. It made her smile grow into a grin that she tried to hide by covering it with her hand.


    ¡°What was that about?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. I had a stupid bizarre thought.¡±


    ¡°This is the place for that, right? Something like that to be freely expressed.¡± She rolled her eyes when I reminded her of her motto.


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    ¡°So?¡± I said after taking a deep breath to calm my nerves. ¡°What was that bizarre thought?¡±


    ¡°Remember what I would let you do when we were in that private room?¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± I said with a voice crack. ¡°Are you seriously about to do that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± She took off her sweater alongside her shirt. The shirt snagged on her bra, making her tits bounce once they separated. My eyes were firmly glued to the jiggle, even after they stopped. ¡°Pervert! They¡¯re not even off and you¡¯re staring at me!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± I said, covering my eyes.


    ¡°Just kidding!¡± She laughed so hard she snorted like a pig. I tried to refrain from laughing but let some of it slip out. ¡°Yo,¡± she said softly. I heard a faint pop from the latch of her bra. Her tits drooped slightly from being held up. She held her bra with one arm crossed over her chest. ¡°You ready?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡± The first thing I noticed was that each nipple was pierced by a thin black bar. The nipples were darker in color than the rest of her body. They were pink, perfectly round, and pointy. At first, I thought they were like that because the room was a bit cold. But it wasn¡¯t.


    ¡°Hey,¡± she said.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± I said, looking her in the eyes.


    ¡°Tell me what¡¯s going on in that head of yours.¡± Nothing looked abnormal about them. There was no form of scars anywhere I looked. They were as best I could describe them, natural looking and big.


    ¡°They seem... normal to me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s one myth debunked,¡± she said smiling after letting out a nervous, shaky chuckle. ¡°Go ahead and touch them.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± She nodded to give me consent. I grabbed a handful of the right one. I caressed, squeezed, lifted, bounced, and then did the same with the other. They were both soft and warm to the touch, and I felt both nipples slightly enlarged in my hand. ¡°They feel... normal.¡±


    ¡°Told you. They¡¯re the real deal.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Your mutations gave you some nice tits.¡±


    ¡°Nice?¡± She shouted. My unintended remark made her fall back on the bed with her, screaming in laughter. After ten seconds passed, she calmed down. She was red in the face with some veins bulging on the side of her forehead. ¡°I appreciate the compliment. I developed these bad boys when I hit fifteen.¡± For some reason, when she referred to her boobs as bad boys, I busted out laughing.


    ¡°Your boys?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± She raised her voice and shoved me to my side as I continued laughing. Her laugh came out when I couldn¡¯t control myself. ¡°Okay, I got to admit. I could¡¯ve given them a better name.¡±


    ¡°You could have said boobs, tits, or nothing at all.¡±


    ¡°Whatever.¡± I was laughing so hard that my stomach was cramping. The pain eventually stopped me from continuing and left me in tears of joy. ¡°Are you done?¡± She slipped the sweater back on, minus the shirt and bra.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m done.¡±


    ¡°Great, ¡¯cause I wanna cuddle now. After that kind of exposure, I deserve it.¡± Then she added after a momentary pause, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind,¡± she stuttered and nervously chuckled afterward. ¡°Forget I asked.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said, opening my arms. ¡°Come here.¡±


    ¡°Wait... you¡¯re serious? You won¡¯t be weirded out or anything?¡± I nodded no.


    ¡°I think it was first-time anxiety,¡± I said in hopes it would erase the weirdness I felt. Instead of what we did before, she laid on her back next to me in the middle of the bed with two pillows propping her up. ¡°What are you doing now?¡±


    ¡°Can we try this? You get on me this time,¡± she said, twiddling her thumbs.


    ¡°Uh...¡±


    ¡°The book says this is normal too. It¡¯s just a position swap. You¡¯ll get the same feelings.¡±


    ¡°If you say so,¡± I said, steadily coming closer to her. I somewhat laid on top of her. I hovered a few inches to not let my full weight come down on her.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. You can lay on me.¡± She tugged on my shirt to make me come closer. ¡°Come here,¡± she playfully whined. I let all my weight come down as if I was lying down. The air blew out of her nose when she pulled me closer.


    ¡°I¡¯m I too heavy?¡±


    ¡°Not at all,¡± she answered when she tucked my head between her shoulder and neck. ¡°It¡¯s comfortable.¡± Her beating heart pounded in my ear when I turned my head to the left to put it between her tits. They acted like pillows. They were cozy against my face and like lemon perfume. Her breathing started to become slow and long-winded as if she was beginning to settle down and relax. She got a little bit too comfortable with me when her feet anchored over my calves, somewhat locking me in place. I felt like I was adhered in place.


    Her hold on me felt arousing in all the wrong ways. All of those feelings she showed me I would feel from that book, I felt, but there were a few others I couldn¡¯t believe lured me. The way I was on her reminded me of the time I laid on Kat in the same position. We were somewhat naked, kissing until our mouths were wet with saliva. I pictured doing the same with Yosefin, minus being naked and wildly kissing. One kiss seemed okay given the fact of how close we were physically, mentally, and friendship-wise. If I did we would probably find the moment comical, yet the idea became frightening the more I thought about it. What if she interpreted the kiss as an advancement? She could think I wanted her as more than a friend.


    To add to these possibilities, Yosefin¡¯s standout attractiveness and character captivated me within the first few days of talking. Those were what I knew daily. But the truth of what she truly was put a brick wall between us any time I got too comfortable.


    ¡°Your heart is racing again,¡± she said.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± I lifted myself enough that I could touch my chest. ¡°It is.¡±


    ¡°You okay?¡± She said, touching my chest where my heart was. Her fingers gently wrapped the side of my chest where my ribcage was. My nipple was between her middle and index fingers while her thumb was caressing my sternum. ¡°It seems to be slowing down.¡± Her small hand tickled in not a laughing sort of way. It didn¡¯t make me smile nor did I want her to stop touching me. ¡°You okay, Josh?¡± Her gentle voice brought my attention back to what I wasn¡¯t comfortable with. ¡°Do you want to stop?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I said, lifting myself to look at her face. ¡°I¡¯m getting mixed signals from this.¡± I crawled off to sit on the bed with my back facing her. ¡°I don¡¯t want to do this.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she said, sitting up with her legs curled to the side.


    ¡°I hope you¡¯re not frustrated with me.¡±


    ¡°Not at all.¡± I was relieved and sad to hear her say that. ¡°Let¡¯s just not try that anymore, ja?¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± I said, quietly.


    ¡°Hey,¡± she said quietly as well, scooting over to sit next to me. ¡°Is it the same issue as before, isn¡¯t it?¡± I nodded, tucking my eyes into my hand. ¡°No,¡± she softly said several times, moving my hand off my eyes. ¡°I understand. Don¡¯t be sad about it. There are just some things we can¡¯t do together.¡±


    We sat without talking to each other for a good minute. Then she rested her head on my shoulder while messing with her hands. I clutched her closer by pulling on her waist. Her light giggle made me chuckle and made me embrace her closer.


    ¡°Why am I fine doing this?¡± I asked, hoping she could figure me out better than I could. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense.¡±


    ¡°I think you know why,¡± she said then began playfully rocking me. ¡°We¡¯ve done this many times before. You know.¡±


    ¡°It must be what I tolerate.¡± She chuckles out her nose. I don¡¯t know if it was a validation type of laugh or the opposite.


    ¡°Hey... Josh,¡± she quietly said.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°I... uh,¡± she stuttered while putting parts of her hair behind her right ear. ¡°I planned for us to go ice skating tonight.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re kidding?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± she giggled. ¡°Do you want to come with me?¡± I had no experience doing that, but I didn¡¯t care. If I went along with it, it would reset the mood into something exciting. ¡°Or, would you prefer to do something else? I¡¯m down to do whatever you want.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good. Let¡¯s go skate.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± she said five times. ¡°Just like that?¡± I told her yes, but she wouldn¡¯t believe me. ¡°Where¡¯s the whining? The groaning? Where is the introvert boy complaining about going anywhere?¡±


    ¡°You put me in a good mood. You better take it before it goes away.¡± She immediately rushed to her wardrobe to pull out several jackets and beanies.


    ¡°Okay! Let¡¯s go!¡± I had to bring her back into the room the second she left it to remind her to wear shoes. ¡°Fuck!¡± Her voice echoed down the hallway. She came in, put on black boots then yelled at me to get my ass out of bed. While she ran to the front door, I walked.


    ¡°Slow down.¡±


    ¡°No! This is like a once-in-a-lifetime moment. You never want to go anywhere,¡± she said with frantic excitement.


    ¡°It seems like you¡¯ve changed me.¡±


    ¡°I did?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± she said, locking the door and putting both of her arms around my right arm. ¡°I hope it¡¯s for the best.¡±

 Closer than Ever - Part Two

    Yosefin jogged across the front yard to get over to a car. Two motion-activated lights turned on, illuminating a gray-colored two-door car it didn''t notice when I came to her home. The paint shined in the light. I could see that the tires were waxed, and the wheels were black.


    "A coupe?" I said, amazed by its oval shape.


    "Hell yes," she said then started the car. "It''s mine."


    "It''s yours?" I shouted, cracking my voice. The car blew out a stream of white smoke as the AC kicked into high gear.


    "I got it today. I wanted to surprise you when you came over, but I forgot all about it." After thirty seconds, she unlocked the car and sat in it. I immediately got inside to escape the cold. The warmth and the fresh smell of the interior hit me all at once.


    "Comfy." My back fitted wonderfully in the seat. There was plenty of legroom to stretch out my legs. The infotainment had two screens. The top one had her phone connected wirelessly to a rock station while the other displayed temperature gages for the air and seats.


    "Okay, now I''m beginning to roast." She turned the heat down to seventy-five at a mild wind speed. "I wanted to get a car like yours."


    "What made you choose this one?" I asked, looking at her.


    "Love at first sight," she said, glancing at me before looking at the backup camera. "It''s turbo-charged duel clutch, quick, good on gas."


    "Wow," I said in awe. "How much did this cost?"


    "Thirty-two thousand," she giggled.


    "Yosefin!" I gasped, laughing.


    "Don''t judge me!" She put the car in drive and gave it some gas to show the quickness of the car. "Feel that?"


    "Don''t get us killed."


    "I''m a responsible driver," she said with her hand over her heart. "I''ll show you. Sit back and relax."


    She drove for a while without making any noticeable mistakes. I had nothing to worry about. The ride was smooth, and worry-free until she got to the highway. My anxiety went through the roof and made a gaping hole in it. I hated taking highway routes, especially the ones I barely drove on. When her car accelerated, the engine''s power roared. We went from a coasting forty to a thundering seventy-five in a few seconds.


    "Jesus," I whispered for the Gs I felt in my stomach. I pulled on my seatbelt to tighten the straps.


    "Oh, shit," she said on her breath. "Josh..."


    "Yeah?" I said, keeping my eyes locked on the road, watching every car she passes.


    "I just noticed something I forgot to wear," she said nearly laughing between her words.


    "What is it?"


    "I forgot to put on my bra!" She snickered so hard, she had to press her hand against her mouth to suppress it.


    "Huh?" It took me a moment to figure out how it happened. Then I remembered she never put her bra back on after she showed me her boobs. "Oh! It''s still on the ground where you left them."


    "Shit! Oh well. I''m wearing baggy clothing so it shouldn''t be an issue."


    "Why would it be?"


    "What happens to your nipples when it gets cold?"


    "Oh..."


    "Yup," she giggled then glanced at her navigation. "We''ll be there in a half an hour."


    Half an hour later, Yosefin exited the highway to drive down the city. Our hometown was going all out this year. Every street light, sideway, and building sign had festive Christmas colors. People were out and about, walking, shopping, eating, and seemingly having a good time. Sound speakers mounted on lamp posts were blaring old-timey Christmas music. Yosefin shut her music off and cracked open her window to listen to it.


    "Oh! This one is my favorite," Yosefin said.


    "What''s the name of this one?" I asked.


    "The Chrstmans Waltz by Doris Day." After she answered my question, the band in the song started playing without the singer''s voice. It was loud and echoed through the streets. She hummed the entire harmony, pitch for pitch, then sang along with the singer when she came back. I felt like I was sitting in the front row of a concert. She sounded amazing. The short performance left me with goosebumps and wanting more.


    "I didn''t know you could sing like that," I said. "I got goosebumps."


    "Wow!" She giggled. "You liked my voice that much?" Another old fashion song came up that I recognized.


    "Do you know It''s Beginning to look a lot like Christmas?"


    "Yes," she blushed. "Want me to sing it for you?" I nodded my head fast like an excited child. "Okay." She sang it with so much joy and enthusiasm, I had to join in. When the song went into an instrumental, we whistled the part. It broke us into laughter for a moment. We continued to finish the rest of the song without missing a beat. "Oh my goodness! You sounded amazing!"


    "Thank you," I said twice, bowing my head with my hand over my stomach.


    "It''s so nice to see you in a happy mood."


    "Why''s that?" I chuckled. "Have I been too much of a downer lately?" She looked like she was taken aback by that comment. Her eyes were flushed open with both eyebrows raised into her forehead.


    "Not at all. Where did that come from?"


    "I haven''t been in the mood to hang out as much since I cut ties with Kat," She rolled up her window and kicked on the heater before speaking to me.


    "That doesn''t make you a downer," she said then poked my arm. "Look at the fun we''re having, dude!"


    The reminder of our time spent was happy to hear. From the moment I told Kat off to the time I came over to Yosefin''s house, I hadn''t talked much with Yosefin. I damned near forgot to bring personal hygiene items like deodorant and a toothbrush when she asked me if I wanted to spend the whole Christmas day with her. I thought that was the chance to reconnect and erase the distance between us.


    "Yeah!" I smiled nearly laughing at myself for thinking I was a downer. "I would''ve been bored alone at home if you didn''t ask me to come."


    "Bored?" She chuckled slowly, nodding her head. "I could cure you from any moment you feel bored," she said then pointed at herself. "Just let your girl know. I will fix that right away."


    "With that attitude, I might as well live with you." She let out a quick gasp but it was immediately followed by her curling her lips. The corners of her lips were angled up like she was trying not to smile.


    Once we got to the parking lot of the skating rink, it became apparent that everyone had the same idea. There was a plethora of cars parked. It took Yosefin five minutes. She was making vulgar jokes about how dare people delay our fun from happening. The second she saw the white backup lights of a white crossover her hands tensed up around the steering wheel. She slouched her neck forward and was locked in on that car. The bumper of her car was nearly riding that car''s ass when she took the spot.


    "Finally," Yosefin growled when she aggressively shifted her car into park. "Hurry before we''re told there are too many people in the room." She hurried out of the car. I wasn''t that much in a rush so I got out calmly.


    The whole building was booming with more modern holiday music. It was dark, but the ambient Christmas lights were bright enough to see where I was going. The atmosphere, the people conversing, and skating inside the rink gave me the impression I was entering a party. No one I saw was not smiling or standing by themselves.


    Yosefin handled all the payment processes. Since we didn''t bring skates of our own, we had to rent two pairs. The shoes were worn. There were some scuff marks on the white, shiny leather coating, but they weren''t too bad. Once she put on her shoes, she wasted no time showing off on the ice. She twirled, skated backward, and looped around the rink once before returning to me.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "It''s just like riding a bike," Yosefin giggled. "So! Ready?" I looked behind her to watch the others skate around. No one I could see seemed to be falling on their asses or having a tough time balancing.


    "Would this be the right time to tell you that I don''t know how to ice skate?"


    "I''ll show you the ropes," she said, offering me her hand. I held it tight while I walked with her out onto the ice. The second my skates touched the ice, I could feel a lack of friction. I held on to her for dear life to prevent myself from falling on my ass. "Don''t bring me down with you!" She moved me to the wall but kept holding my hand while I tried to figure out how to balance.


    "Okay, now what?"


    "Baby steps." With each step I took, I gained the confidence to not use the wall. But, I wasn''t confident to let go of Yosefin''s hand. "There you go!"


    "Don''t you let me go."


    "I''m not going anywhere, dude. I promise." She let go of my hand to hold my arm. For a second I thought she was about to break her promise and let me embarrass myself in front of people. "Bend your knees if you feel like you''re going to fall." She bent her knees alongside me. Next, she showed me how to gain speed by swaying from side to side off every step. There was not enough space for us to move together, so she suggested letting me try on my own. Five seconds into free skating, I fell on my ass when I lost my balance.


    "Shit!" I said through my teeth. Yosefin stood over me with her three fingers covering her mouth. I thought she was going to laugh at me, but it never came. Not one slip managed to break through even though was was smiling hard.


    "Are you okay?" She said, offering me her hands. Before I could grab her hand, a familiar voice yelled my name. Whoever it was, they caught her attention. She looked to her right. When I looked, I saw Colin staggering his way over here while holding a woman''s hand. She was short and curvy in a fat kind of way. Her body had the shape of an oval where the widest part of her peaked around her waist. She wasn''t that attractive, but she wasn''t ugly either.


    "Yo! Surprise seeing you two here," Colin said. He nearly fell into me. He wobbled widely as if he were a cartoon character about to fall off a cliff. Luckily, the woman he was holding prevented him from doing it. "Thanks, babe. So, the skater chick can ice skate, eh?"


    "So," Yosefin paused to help me up. "The dude that slept a lot in class isn''t single."


    "Yeah," he chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Merry Christmas by the way."


    "Merry Christmas," Yosefin and I said together.


    "I just wanted to say hi. I''ll let you two love birds go," he said wabbling off.


    "Did he just call us¡ª"


    "Love birds?" I said. When we looked at each other, she averted her gaze several times before looking me in the eyes.


    "What?" She stuttered. "Stop staring at me like that."


    "Sorry." I looked at the ice between her feet and saw her right hand holding her thumb. Her right thumb was rubbing the meaty part between her index finger.


    "Josh!" She whined quietly. Her hands pressed into her crotch when she quickly turned away to her right.


    "What?"


    "Let''s go skate," she said in a soft voice.


    She skated away at a slow pace. I was afraid to move, fearing I would fall on my ass again. The moment she checked over her shoulder and realized I hadn''t moved, she came back to hold my hand. We skated holding hands without talking until I questioned why we were being silent. She let go of my head, but I held on for a short moment.


    "Sorry," she said.


    "What for?"


    "Am I acting weird?" I nearly rammed into her when she hit the brakes. My crotch was inches from bumping her ass. I had to grab her hips to stop. "Josh," she gasped. I completely froze. She had to touch my hands for me to snap out of it.


    "Sorry!"


    "We need to stop apologizing," she giggled. "Let''s... go find somewhere to sit."


    We sat on a comfy bench that viewed the rink. I watched people go in circles. Sometimes I saw Colin and his girlfriend pass by. I''m a bit shocked to see him with a girl. He never gave me the impression that he was with one or liked them. He didn''t talk to any of the hot ones in our class during the fall semester, so it was weird to see him with her.


    "When did Colin get a girlfriend?" I said to Yosefin. After five seconds of no response, I looked at her to find she was blankly staring at a couple a few feet to our right. They were talking close with their faces about a foot apart. When the woman kissed him, Yosefin''s lips puckered up. She smiled when she touched them with the tip of her fingertips. "What are you doing?" I said.


    "Oh!" Yosefin gasped and covered her mouth. "I wasn''t looking at them. I swear."


    "Why are you lying?" I chuckled.


    "Because... they were... I just..." She waved her hands and pointed them at the couple sporadically as if she were trying to tell me something. Her exaggerated movement made me laugh. "Stop laughing! I was curious!"


    "Why?"


    "I''ll tell you after you stop laughing. I''m a bit embarrassed by it."


    "I''m good," I said after taking a deep breath to restrain myself. "You can ask me now."


    "I was picturing being kissed... by him."


    "Do you find him cute?" I asked, keeping my voice down.


    "Not at all," she said nearly laughing. "But the way she leaped into his lips must''ve been... nice." She tapped her lips while watching the two slowly make out. "I can''t believe Colin said we were that," she said, looking at me with her thumb pointing at the couple. "Do we seem that close?"


    "Well," I paused to carefully say my next words. "To be honest, we are."


    "Close enough to do... that?"


    "No," I said after choking on my words. "I don''t think I can kiss you," I slipped out, mumbling my thoughts.


    "Why not?" She giggled. "Am I too ugly?"


    "No," I said many times. "You''re..."


    "Yes?" She scooted close with her hip touching mine without breaking eye contact. "Were you going to say something on the line like... Oh, I don''t know... beautiful?"


    "I''ve already told you how I see you," I said even though I nodded to confirm her question.


    "Doesn''t that gross you out knowing what I am?"


    "Not entirely."


    "Why though?" I shrugged my shoulders not knowing how to answer. It was a simple question and should have been answered without a complex answer. My answer would be too complicated to say out loud. "You''re weird, Josh," she said blushing and smiling.


    "Sorry. I would have to think about it."


    "That''s fine," she said when she stood up. "Do you wanna skate some more?" She asked, holding out her hand for me to take. Instead of taking it right away, I took it after I stood up. "I''m surprised how many times we''ve held hands," she said as we skated. "Aren''t you bothered by that?"


    "I''m holding your hand to keep my balance."


    "Sure you are. I think you like holding my hand."


    "No," I said like I was unsure, or not confident in what I felt. My voice was pitched when I tried to avoid smiling. "I do not."


    "Is that the truth?"


    The truth was I didn''t know when I should let go. Something about it felt like we were beginning to bond closer to a part of our friendship unknown to me. I weirdly found holding her hand nice and comforting. It was soft and cold from the temperature inside the building. The only few times we weren''t holding, was when we playfully chased each other around the rink like energetic kids or held arms.


    Once we had our fill of fun, we were about to head out when the DJ turned on slow Christmas music. People began slow dancing with whoever they were with. Yosefin saw Colin slowly dance with his girlfriend. He held her close with one hand on her lower back while the other was a few inches above it.


    "Is there something on your mind?" I asked when I stood closer to Yosefin. She looked at me and then looked up at the speakers above us.


    "I feel," she paused to hold herself. Before she spoke again, she looked at the people around her. "I feel sad."


    "How come?"


    "Look around us. It looks like we are the only ones not dancing." There was a hand full of people that weren''t dancing but I understood her point. The majority was.


    "Do you want to dance?"


    "Dude!" She yelled in a soft voice, hiding her mouth with her fingers. "I''m fine." I was shocked to hear her say no. Her blushed frown and lack of direct eye contact left me with no choice but to act upon the moment.


    "Let''s do it," I sighed. "You and me."


    "Bro, I''m good."


    "No, you''re not," I said quickly, waving my hand to make her come closer to me. It took her a moment to stand in front of me. When she finally got to me, she ducked her head down to hide her face and used her hands to cover her mouth again. It was cute seeing her so timid.


    "Oh, mein Gott. Er meint es ernst!" (Oh, my god. He''s serious!)


    "English, Yosefin," I chuckled. "What did you say?"


    "Why do you want to dance with me?"


    "I don''t want us to be left out," I said almost shying from ever saying it. "Are you going to hold me or just stand there with your head tucked?" She kept her head tucked while she put her arms around my back. "They go around my neck." I had to guide her arms to place around my neck. I got the feeling she never danced before when I was the only one moving. "You''re supposed to be moving."


    "Right," she said in a shaky voice. "Can you move so I can see what I''m supposed to do?"


    "We don''t have to move that much. Picture like we''re at prom."


    "But... I was homeschooled. Remember?"


    I forgot that she was homeschooled. I pulled her into my body so she could see how I saw it done at my high school prom. The students didn''t do anything fancy. Some held hands, and others were hugging or dancing at arm''s reach. I chose to have her close, seeing she was shy and vulnerable. She wouldn''t look me in the eyes as we danced. Since it was Christmas, I felt like I had an obligation to create a moment she might remember for a long time, even though I never got the chance to dance in my prom.


    "It''s fine to look at me once in a while," I chuckled. "I don''t want to keep looking at the top of your head." She turned her face sideways on my chest, tilted her head up slightly, then opened her eyes.


    "There," she said and looked away. "I looked."


    "A longer look."


    "I can''t... I''m too shy to look at you while we dance."


    "It''ll be worth it," I playfully said, pitching my voice higher. Her eyes slowly locked on me before she turned her head. She stopped dancing as she stared at me. I couldn''t help but smile at how awkward the whole situation was. "You''ve... stopped."


    "I did?" She said, keeping her attention on me. "It''s hard to focus on dancing when... when..." The more she struggled to speak what was on her mind, the redder her cheeks got.


    "Stop or you''ll blow up," I said almost laughing.


    "I''m so sorry, Josh! Th- this is a dream come true! I''ve never had this before!"


    "Then you better make this moment last, right?"


    "I will!"


    I made sure to perform my best to show Yosefin some things a slow dance can offer. We held hands and held each other in different ways. Her favorite dance was what I called a standing-up snuggle wobble. She had the side of her face lying on my chest with her arms locked behind my back. We swayed like an old couple without taking a step off the ground. I got so comfortable with us being so close that I found myself stroking the back of her head or rubbing her back gently. She never told me to stop, so I kept going until I got tired of doing it.


    Yosefin called it quits when she saw that people began to leave. She drove us back to her home with a smile that never faded away. Once she put the car in park, she slowly began chuckling then stopped when she turned the car off.


    "What was funny?" I said.


    "I want to kiss you for being an awesome friend and making this night so special to me," she said leaning on the center armrest. "Unfortunately, kissing isn''t... suitable. So, you must give me an alternative." Getting a kiss oddly didn''t sound gross to me. My mind was so high from having fun, that I felt like I should welcome the chance of letting her kiss me. A kiss between friends didn''t sound wrong to me. No one would know but us and the moment seemed to be right. But alas, I chose it was in my best interest to go for an alternative.


    "Let me think about it."


    "Y''know what. I''ll make it easy for you. You''ll get three options."


    "And they are?" Her slow-approaching smile gave me a mixed bag of excitement and worry.

 Closer than Ever - Part Three

    ¡°Here are your three options,¡± Yosefin said, opening the front door. She engaged the locks on the door and strolled into the kitchen with an exaggerated style of walking. Her feet slapped the tile floor like she was performing in a military marching parade, and then she stuck her head inside the fridge, scanning for something with her index finger and pinky.


    ¡°What are they?¡± I asked, taking a seat on the stool behind the counter.


    ¡°I know it¡¯s hella late, but the first option is I make us dinner.¡± The thought of food sounded wonderful. It made my mouth water and my stomach growl a bit.


    ¡°Option two?¡±


    ¡°You park yourself on that,¡± she pointed to the couch, ¡°and we can try again. If you are up for it again.¡± Before I could make a comment, she said, ¡°I know. It makes you feel weird because of what I am. But... I don¡¯t know...¡±


    ¡°And the last one?¡±


    ¡°I,¡± she paused to glance over her shoulder at me. ¡°I¡¯ll get back to you on that,¡± she blushed.


    ¡°Must be something you want to try, hmm?¡±


    ¡°You know me so well. It¡¯s kinda creepy.¡±


    ¡°Creepy?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I never had anyone other than my parents know so much about me. It¡¯s creepy, yet, I like it.¡± The realization made me more aware of how good a friend I am to her. I was like a personal safe for her emotions. Her concerns about any issue stayed tightly against my chest.


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll take option three. Whatever it may be.¡± She stopped looking at me to look at the kitchen island. A smile came crawling on her face, but she tried her hardest to prevent it from coming.


    ¡°I¡¯m still figuring out what it¡¯ll be.¡±


    ¡°That smile tells me you might have an idea.¡±


    ¡°Several things came to mind,¡± she said, covering her mouth. ¡°But how about I just do number one first? Then we¡¯ll see what happens next, ja?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± While she prepared dinner, I kept thinking about how option two would go down. I didn¡¯t want to do anything I would regret, like touching her the wrong way, making her sad because I decided not to, or succumbing to total disgust towards my actions.


    After dinner, we headed for the couch. At first, we sat together watching TV. Yosefin had her legs crossed while mine was normally hanging. I was so nervous about what she might do out of the blue that my heart stayed elevated, waiting in anticipation. She made her move on me by leaning on my arm with her right hand resting on my chest.


    ¡°Jesus, dude. Your heart is beating hard,¡± she said, lightly squeezing my left chest muscle.


    ¡°I¡¯m nervous, okay.¡±


    ¡°Are you scared of me?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said in a way I wasn¡¯t sure about.


    ¡°Josh, we¡¯ve literally just done this.¡± She rested her face on my shoulder as she snuggled closer to me. ¡°I won¡¯t do anything unless you want me to.¡± I believed. Once we got comfortable and watched more Christmas movies, I saw her stare at me from the corner of my eye. When I looked down at her, she didn¡¯t flinch away. ¡°Can I tell you something I find scary yet amazing?¡± Yosefin whispered.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I find you cute.¡±


    ¡°Cute?¡±


    ¡°Yeah...¡±


    ¡°Yosefin,¡± I nervously chuckled. ¡°You¡¯ve said that before. Why is it scary yet awesome now?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t freak out, okay?¡±


    ¡°Yosefin...¡±


    ¡°Please,¡± she begged with her hands together. ¡°I have to tell you this. I don¡¯t want to let this go to waste. So, please, don¡¯t freak out, okay?¡± Her panic state gave me anxiety from what happened when she told me she was Yose. I feard whatever she was about to say we would end up not separating again on a non-talking basis.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say anything,¡± I said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll have the confidence later if I don¡¯t tell you right now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you will,¡± I tried to pursue as I began to internally panic. ¡°Just... hold that thought.¡± She puffed her cheeks and shook her head, no. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Josh! I¡¯m going to tell you!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°I... I... like you!¡± This was the moment I feared. I was scared she would see me as more than a close friend, but I had to ensure she was extra serious.


    ¡°You like me?¡± She nodded. ¡°Like, really, really like me?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm,¡± she answered with her lips curled to prevent herself from smiling. ¡°I really, really like you.¡± She put more emphasis on the second ¡®really.¡¯ It was said out slowly, yet louder than the first one.


    ¡°You want me as your...¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± she confirmed after taking a deep, quick breath. There were no words I could think of to reply, so I stared at her to help me find something to say. ¡°Cat got your tongue?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say.¡±


    ¡°I feared you might say that.¡± She sat away from me with her head back and eyes closed. ¡°Excuse me,¡± she said suddenly walking off. Her forearm went over her eyes when she got up. Schei?e. Ich weine (Shit. I¡¯m crying.¡°) Both hands went covered her face. They slowly circled around her eyes, moving in an inward motion. Once I heard her sniff up mucus several times, it became clear to me she was trying to prevent herself from crying.


    ¡°Yosefin...¡±


    ¡°I need to go remove my makeup.¡± She stormed towards her room.


    ¡°Damnit,¡± I whispered then followed after her. Her bedroom door was open, but the lights were off. The bathroom door was closed and the lights were on. I could hear the shower running. I didn¡¯t dare to go into the room, so I stood outside to wait for a good chance to come in. The shower ran for thirty minutes before I heard it stop. Another thirty minutes of what sounded like she was walking around opening different drawers. After that stopped, my phone received a text message, blaring the ringtone. I heard her gasp something in German before she stuck her head out.


    ¡°How long have you been there?¡± Yosefin said. Her hair was still wet. She had no makeup on.


    ¡°An hour,¡± I said.


    ¡°An hour?¡± She said as she stood in the hallway. Her outfit nearly gave me a heart attack. I thought she wasn¡¯t wearing any pants until she told me she was wearing shorts. She wore a long sweater that went down past her hips. ¡°Sorry,¡± she said, tugging down on her sweater. ¡°I can¡¯t figure out what to wear.¡± Her voice sounded like she was exhausted. It was quiet and low. ¡°If this bothers you, tell me. I¡¯ll go put something else on.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I said then attempted to make a lighthearted compliment. ¡°You got nice legs.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± she said, cracking a small smirk and crossing her legs for a moment. I didn¡¯t want us to enter an awkward silence over what happened. Whatever she was going through at that time, I wanted to clear the air and put our minds on something else.


    ¡°May I come in?¡± I asked, hovering close over her head. She moved out of my way so I could step in. Suddenly, she slipped her arms between my arms to hug me from behind. I had to wobble like a penguin over to reach her bed.


    ¡°Hey, are you going to stop?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± I quickly turned around, grabbed her back, then fell on the bed with her.


    ¡°Josh!¡± She shrieked but giggled when we landed. ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± I cuddled her close to my body with my face dug into her tits. ¡°Oh my goodness!¡± She continued giggling non-stop the more she kept asking what I was doing. ¡°Dude, answer me or I¡¯ll suffocate you with them.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± I asked with my face away from her chest to make her see me.


    ¡°You¡¯re playing with my tits and making me laugh!¡±


    It wasn¡¯t the answer I hoped she¡¯d say, but my actions had brought some joy to her face. The happiness I brought had to continue without ceasing. I didn¡¯t want to give her any chance to remind herself about what happened an hour ago. Whatever we were going to do, I told myself to let the moment happen and worry about it another time.


    ¡°Are you horny or something?¡± Yosefin said.


    ¡°What if I am?¡± The cat had her tongue for a second when all she could do was smile. ¡°Can I come back to them?¡±


    ¡°One sec,¡± she said, pushing herself off of me to prop on pillows. She set up in the same position that I called it quits when we cuddled for the second time. I had a feeling she was doing this on purpose to rekindle a different outcome. ¡°Ready when you are.¡± I laid on top of her without hesitating. I buried my face into her tits and thought of our fun time at the skating rink to prevent uncomfortable thoughts from slipping through. ¡°Can you get my phone?¡± She said, pointing with her left hand.


    ¡°Plan on taking pictures?¡± I said when I handed the phone to her.


    ¡°If it¡¯s all right with you.¡±


    ¡°Send the pictures to my phone.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± Ten photos went to my phone. More than half of them she posed in. She made funny faces in four pictures, three were us smiling at the camera, she had one picture of her putting her legs on my back, and in the last two, she took off my hair band to pose for the picture.


    ¡°You¡¯re a goofball,¡± I said with half of my face resting on her tits as I viewed our pictures.


    ¡°Tell me something I don¡¯t know,¡± she said as she played with my hair. ¡°We got to take more pictures together next year. The last ones I got of us were months ago.¡± I agreed with my face pressing deeper into her tits. ¡°Oh my gosh,¡± she giggled. ¡°What is up with you tonight, dude? This is so out of character.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in the holiday spirit.¡±


    ¡°Whatever your reason, I like it.¡±


    We stayed cuddling for a long time. She gently massaged the back of my head and back like I did when were dancing. I nearly dozed off from being overly comfortable. When I got up to go pee and came back to the bed, she crossed her legs and arms, denying me from lying back on her.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a break, ja?¡± Yosefin said.


    ¡°You okay?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re... let¡¯s just say you are overwhelming me.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound good.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she said with a quick eye roll. ¡°It¡¯s a girly issue.¡±


    ¡°Girly?¡±


    ¡°Girly,¡± she repeated, nodding her head rapidly.


    ¡°Can you explain what that means? You never do.¡±


    ¡°Uh,¡± she nervously chuckled when pulled the hem of her weather down her legs. ¡°I don¡¯t think you want to know.¡± From the constant fidgeting of her hands and feet, I felt something was eating at her.


    ¡°Whatever it is, you can tell me.¡±


    ¡°I rather not if that¡¯s okay.¡± There was no way I could make her open up by telling me what was happening, so I lay in silence until she wanted to do something. My non-verbal tactics began to work its charm. She pouted her face, scoffed, clicked her tongue, rolled her eyes, and playfully hit me a few times in an attempt to make me say something. ¡°I liked it, okay!¡± She confessed.


    ¡°Liked what?¡±


    ¡°The feeling of your weight on me, messing with my tits, and cuddling like there¡¯s no tomorrow!¡± Her outburst left me speechless but happy to hear I did all of that. ¡°It felt awesome,¡± she said quietly. ¡°God, I¡¯m so fucking weird!¡±


    ¡°You and me both.¡± My remark made her burst into laughter. I laughed with her but with a quiet chuckle. Once she calmed down, she asked me a serious question that came out of the blue. I thought I heard it wrong so I asked her to say it again.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Do you want to... see... them again?¡± I nearly hesitated to say I wanted to. At first, she lifted her sweater above her chest to show me them. For a moment I was content but I craved to not see them partially covered.


    ¡°Could you take off your sweater completely?¡±


    She did what I asked without questioning why then sat close to me and told me to touch them like before. Christmas night was beginning to become a night to remember. I didn¡¯t know why we were acting so impulsively. Something had to be in the air to make us do that crazy shit again and not bother to ask why. We were in some sort of automatic mode where anything and everything was going by without stopping.


    ¡°Josh,¡± Yosefin said when she put my hands down. I looked at her, quietly waiting for her to say something. ¡°Take off your shirt.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I gladly said. Once it was off, her eyes wouldn¡¯t stop examining my body. She was drooling like a fangirl seeing one of their favorite muscular celebrities shirtless. The weird part about her was that she was drooling over a guy who had an average, non-muscular structure. I was skinny but fit.


    ¡°Mein Gott, du bist so hei?. (My god you are so hot.¡°)


    ¡°Translate, please.¡±


    ¡°I... I...¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± I said, taking a step closer. My stomach touched her nipples. The piercings felt cold while her nipples were warm.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± She jogged into the bathroom with her sweater and locked the door behind her. She didn¡¯t come out until minutes later with the sweater on. ¡°Hi,¡± she said with an awkward slow wave.


    ¡°Is everything okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± She put her hands on her hips and quickly glanced at the bathroom. ¡°I... had to pee.¡± During the time she spent there, I didn¡¯t hear anything. Not even a flush. The most I heard was her whispering. She didn¡¯t bring her phone, so I was extra curious to find a good reason than peeing.


    ¡°Why are you lying? I didn¡¯t hear anything but you talking.¡±


    ¡°Um...¡± She wandered to the other side of the bed to scoot backward into me. The odd pathway she took just to sit next to me left me more curious. ¡°So, we¡¯ve accomplished two options.¡± The change to another topic bothered me. She crossed her arms and averted her eyes to the ground while frowning. ¡°Sorry,¡± she said in the cover of a sigh.


    ¡°I wish you would tell me what¡¯s going on with you,¡± I said calmly. Her arms tightened. She stayed silent as she continued to not look at me. I stood in front of her with my chin resting on her shoulder to intentionally make her uncomfortable. She giggled then hugged me. I hugged her back and asked what was the third option.


    ¡°I want to kiss you.¡± I froze when she turned her head to see me from the side. My lips were inches from her cheek. All she had to do was turn a bit more and she would get what she wanted without any resistance from me. The thought of her kiss didn¡¯t bother me. I was still high from the shenanigans we did a few moments ago. ¡°If it¡¯s okay with you, of course,¡± she laughed in a nervous chuckle. She faced palmed and laughed like she was in pain. It was forced with some whining in the mix. ¡°Why am I being such a fucking weirdo?¡±


    ¡°Okay. Go ahead.¡± She stopped laughing in an instant. ¡°Yeah, I said it. Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°No... no. You can¡¯t be serious. I¡¯m a... I¡¯m not... I wasn¡¯t that seri... Josh...¡± Every sentence she tried to speak, I could fill in the rest of the words she wanted to say.


    ¡°I know what I¡¯m getting into.¡± I snapped. ¡°But this might be the only time I¡¯m not thinking about that.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re intentionally trying to ignore that about me?¡± I slowly nodded my head. ¡°Why? Will it bother you later on?¡±


    ¡°It might,¡± I said, holding in my smile.


    ¡°Then I won¡¯t do it. I don¡¯t want you to look at me as a gross mistake that¡¯ll haunt you for the rest of your life.¡±


    ¡°Why did you say that then?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± She yelled before repeating it again in a softer voice. Her face scrunched up like she was about to cry. ¡°I¡¯m not thinking rationally.¡± Once I saw her hand come up to her face, I quickly kissed her on the cheek.


    ¡°See?¡± I said as I held her in my arms. ¡°I won¡¯t regret this moment.¡± She poked my face with her pinky finger and waved it near my face. I caught and locked it around my pinky then swore I won¡¯t be bothered by her kiss.


    ¡°Okay,¡± she said in a quivering voice. She kissed my right cheek. Her soft, warm lips left some wetness on my skin. ¡°How was that?¡±


    ¡°It was... okay.¡±


    ¡°I wanna try again.¡± The second felt the same as the first. It was longer and left more wetness. ¡°Shit!¡± She whispered, wiping the saliva off with the back of her hand. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to do that. Fuck!¡± I used my hand to fully dry it off.


    ¡°It¡¯s bound to happen.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± she sighed with her hand over her heart. ¡°It must get super wet when making out, huh?¡± I instantly thought of making out with Kat.


    ¡°Yup,¡± I said with emphasis on the first letter. ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± she giggled and put some of her hair behind her ear. ¡°Thank you for letting me have my first kiss.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± When she smiled at me, I smiled back. We stopped smiling at the same time and then stared at each other. I caught her looking at my lips several times before she looked to her left where the computer was. That small detail told me she wanted to do more, so I had to ask the big question. ¡°Do you want to make out with me, Yosefin B?hme?¡±


    ¡°Why did you say my full name?¡± She blushed with her hands covering her face for a short moment. ¡°Are you crazy? Friends don¡¯t do that sort of thing.¡±


    ¡°Yes, they do.¡±


    ¡°Kat doesn¡¯t count.¡± That was the only reason for me to say that.


    ¡°What if I give you the opportunity for this moment? Will you take it?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe my best friend has gone geistig. (Mental),¡± she said with her hands over her mouth, looking directly into my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to pass on it if you¡¯re okay with that.¡± I liked yet found it somewhat annoying how she wanted to make sure that I was okay with it. A straight-up no would be fine.


    ¡°I¡¯m okay with that.¡± One hand rested on my lap while the other stayed on her mouth. I put my hand on top of it without thinking. ¡°So...¡±


    ¡°Uh,¡± she smiled. ¡°Do you regret those kisses?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°Can I ask you why?¡± I explained my drunken fun state to her. ¡°Ah, I see what you mean.¡±


    ¡°I feel like doing anything you want.¡±


    ¡°Will that same mood continue tomorrow? Will it continue for a week or a month?¡± Those questions hit me with a thought I should have considered. Would the fun Josh continue or will he stop and return to his introverted shy self? My promise could break if I saw her being more upfront with her advances. Then my image of her might tarnish if I remembered the secret truth about her.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that far. I¡¯m only thinking at this moment.¡±


    ¡°I think I understand why you are doing this.¡±


    ¡°You do?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s mainly because I look like a girl. You didn¡¯t want the truth to ruin your image of me. Like, look at me...¡± I skimmed at her smile and every part of her body. ¡°I¡¯m a walking contradiction. I shouldn¡¯t look like this. I was supposed to look more like you.¡± She came closer to point at various parts of my body. Our faces were roughly less than twelve inches away. ¡°You¡¯re tall, hairy, bigger in body size, and you have a deep voice,¡± she said then touched her chest. ¡°That stuff didn¡¯t happen to me.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there a way to reverse what happened?¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± she sighed. ¡°But it involves so much medical crap.¡± The sadness in her voice sounded soft and monotone. It reminded me of a time I felt so defeated that all my emotions left me.


    ¡°What kind of medical stuff?¡±


    ¡°Josh,¡± she said with a single chuckle that went back into a frown. ¡°I rather not shock you with details I was offered to potentially reverse my mutations.¡± Even though she never mentioned what they were, I knew enough about what they could be. Doctors would probably subject her to all sorts of injections to reverse whatever mutated her body.


    ¡°Do you want to change back?¡± She stared at me for a few seconds before I got a response.


    ¡°Nein,¡± she smiled, swaying her head from side to side. ¡°I¡¯m... comfortable with what my body did. I just hope it doesn¡¯t become an issue with others.¡± The situation she was in made me sympathize. If I was her, I would probably be depressed beyond belief.


    ¡°It will never become an issue with me,¡± I said, holding her hand. She nodded her head with her eyes closed and monetarily laughed before looking back at me.


    ¡°Yeah, whatever,¡± she scoffed yet giggled. ¡°If I was more open, you¡¯d want nothing to do with me.¡± The sad part about that statement was that she could be right. Even though I wished she opened up a bit more, she knew something about me I didn¡¯t understand at the time. ¡°Like I said. There are some things we can¡¯t do together because of what I am.¡±


    ¡°Hey,¡± I said, quickly thinking of something stupid to lighten the mood. ¡°You technically live in both worlds.¡±


    ¡°Gott, du bist so ein Dummkopf. (God, you¡¯re such a goofball.) Then she said in English with a grin, ¡°More on the girl side,¡± she giggled. ¡°In a weird way, you do realize you let a guy kiss you several times.¡±


    ¡°Uh, no,¡± I said with pauses in my words. My stomach sank, and my heart shortly paused from the sudden shock. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡± She pointed at my face while giving me a side-eye.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± she said then nudged my chest. ¡°I won¡¯t tell a soul.¡±


    ¡°Jesus,¡± I said, holding my heart.


    ¡°Even though you are deliberately blocking one teensy-weensy thing about me out of your mind, I¡¯m fine with the way you want to see me.¡± Then she added, ¡°You could¡¯ve said fuck you, Yosefin. I don¡¯t wanna be anywhere next to you. But... you stayed and became my friend.¡± Those words felt so good to hear. They made me feel warm inside. ¡°Do you mind humoring me a little?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Sure!¡±


    ¡°Can you tell me who you befriended back in August? Was it Yose? Yosefin? Or a bit of both?¡± My heart sunk deeper into my stomach. It sounded like a trick question that needed a perfect answer. I stepped closer in preparation for my most honest yet humorous response. Her muscles in her shoulders and arms tensed up when I grabbed them.


    ¡°Oh, you know. This crazy woman that shared lots of interests we liked and a few I despise,¡± I answered, jokingly, almost laughing. She suddenly wrapped her arms around my lower back for a hug before I could react to open my arms. My arms were over her shoulder, so all I could do was put them around her upper back. We stayed tight like this for a relaxing moment before letting go.


    We stayed up late in the night, watching videos on her computer despite my tiredness. I had to call it a night when I could no longer focus on the videos we watched.


    ¡°I can¡¯t keep my eyes open, Yosefin,¡± I said then yawned. ¡°I¡¯ll go sleep on the couch.¡±


    Once I turned around in my chair, Yosefin said, ¡°Wait. The couch isn¡¯t comfortable sleeping on, plus I don¡¯t have an air mattress.¡±


    ¡°Where am I going to sleep?¡± She slowly pointed with a crooked finger at her bed. ¡°Where are you going to sleep?¡± Her finger straightened. ¡°You want me to sleep with you?¡±


    ¡°No! We¡¯re.... just sleeping together,¡± she said, sitting on her bed. ¡°When you say it like that, it sounds like we are going to fuck.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± I stuttered. ¡°What if your parents come home early?¡± I said, taking a spot on the bed. ¡°I don¡¯t want them to assume I laid with you.¡±


    ¡°Ha! My father would lose his shit.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°He thinks you might be... gay because we¡¯re so close. He thinks we¡¯re dating in secret.¡±


    ¡°Huh? I¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± she said, lying under the covers. ¡°I have to remind him sometimes that you¡¯re not.¡± We entered into an awkward silence that lasted roughly ten seconds. In that short time, I played on a curious thought about what it would be like to date her. My mind got distracted by the bounce of the bed when she aggressively cuddled a pillow.


    ¡°Yosefin,¡± I said, accidentally cutting her off when she said my name. ¡°You go first.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve read this thing where friends don¡¯t wanna be around each other if the other didn¡¯t want to take the friendship to something more,¡± she said, twirling the tip of her hair. ¡°I don¡¯t want that to happen to us.¡± I kept quiet, trying to process how that could happen. It sounded so absurd.


    ¡°What book gave you that idea?¡±


    ¡°Same author of the book I showed you.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t happen to us,¡± I said once I crawled closer to her. ¡°Trust me.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she said, coming closer to my side of the bed. ¡°Just so you know, I¡¯m not that crazy for you.¡± Then, she leaned into my ear with her tits nearly touching my nose and whispered, ¡°Or am I?¡± Goosebumps grew on my neck as a tingle went down my spine. She kissed my forehead when she returned to her side of the bed. ¡°Goodnight, Joshy.¡±


    ¡°Joshy?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the last thing I¡¯ll do while I¡¯m high off the Christmas spirit.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± I chuckled. ¡°I see.¡±


    Before Yosefin went to bed, she had to double-check if the house was locked, then returned to lock her room. She snuggled under the covers, moving around to find the perfect spot. I planned on facing the other way the whole night to make sleeping together not awkward for me. When on was on the edge of falling asleep, she moved closer to my side. Her body heat warmed my back. She got close enough to where her boobs pressed into my back, then rubbed her knuckles slowly up and down. It felt good how she was massaging it, but I had to ask her why she was doing it.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a good answer,¡± she said with the most gentle voice. ¡°I kinda don¡¯t want you to sleep. I don¡¯t want the night to be over just yet.¡±


    ¡°Sorry to tell you, but it¡¯s over. Go to sleep, Yosefin.¡±


    ¡°Ugh,¡± she said, giving me a tender shove with the hand she was rubbing me with.


    ¡°Goodnight,¡± I said, chuckling.


    **


    Yosefin¡¯s gentle alarm woke me up. For some strange reason, I dreamt of us cuddling around the fire with the TV on a random station. An article I read a long time ago stated that people tend to dream about the last good thing they remembered, but for some odd reason, my mind picked cuddling. It could have chosen the moment like us skating, dancing, cooking, kissing, or when she let me mess around with her tits.


    Yosefin was the first to sit up out of bed. She turned off her alarm on her phone, scrolled through her phone for something, and then smiled at me when she noticed me watching her.


    ¡°Morning, Joshy,¡± she said, locking her phone and putting it back on the nightstand. I rolled my eyes over that name. ¡°Would you like some breakfast?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still high in spirits.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in the mood to do something for you.¡±


    ¡°What are you cooking?¡±


    ¡°Eggs, toast, bacon,¡± she said, counting them out with her fingers. ¡°I think I go some OG as well.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take all of that if you don¡¯t mind.¡± She headed to her biggest wardrobe sorting through the pants she wanted to wear. She picked out a candy cane loose-fitting sweatpants that fit around the ankles.


    ¡°This¡¯ll do,¡± she said then slid her shorts off her legs. ¡°Hey, Josh!¡± I grunted to make her know she had my attention. She lifted her shit and hopped several times to make her ass jiggle.


    ¡°What the hell, Yosefin?¡± I said. I wanted to look away to act like I was disgusted, but it was hard to act fake about liking what I saw. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± She walked back to the side of her bed with her pants folded in front of her crotch.


    ¡°There is no good reason I can think of at the moment.¡± I crawled up to her with my head peering over her right ¡°I guess I wanted you to look. I don¡¯t know...¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that isn¡¯t a good reason.¡± Her whole body jumped as shrieked in my ear.


    ¡°Jesus!¡± She gasped. She pulled on the hem of her shirt past halfway her thigh and kept it there. ¡°You scared the fuck out of me, bro,¡± she softly said. ¡°Do you mind backing away for a moment?¡± When got behind her, she put on her pants. ¡°Put your clothes on and stay here,¡± she said, facing me as she fixed her hair by clawing down it with her fingers. ¡°If my parents are home early, go out the window and pretend you just came up to visit me, okay?¡±


    ¡°You got it,¡± I said with a thumbs up.


    ¡°See you soon,¡± she said with a tight lip smile.


    I quickly brushed my teeth and untangled my messy hair to put in a bun to freshen up before Yosefin¡¯s parents came early. While I waited for something to happen, I sat on the bed, browsing my phone. There was nothing on there to steal my attention so I tossed my phone on the nightstand. It tumbled and bounced inside the drawer. The loud thud sounded like it was empty inside. I reached in to grab my phone and felt nothing but soft fabrics and wood. So, I opened it all the way out to see where it went. It was on some socks next to a pink wand-looking thing with a power button on the bottom.


    ¡°The hell is this?¡± I said. I grabbed it, pressed the button, then dropped it once I felt it vibrate in my hand. ¡°Yosefin,¡± I whispered almost laughing. ¡°That¡¯s what you bought?¡±


    I shoved Yosefin¡¯s vibrator far back in the drawer and hid it with some of her socks after I put my phone into my pocket. Once I heard Yosefin speak German, I darted out the window and peeked around the house¡¯s corner to the driveway. The first thing I noticed was my car out in the open. Her parents could have seen it when they passed.


    ¡°Crap,¡± I whispered as I slowly crept out to the front lawn. The window shutters were closed, including the door. To play off, as I had just arrived at their house, I opened and shut my car door loud enough that they might hear. I walked up to the door and then knocked on it. Thank god Yosefin answered it. ¡°Are we good?¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she said, trying to hold in her laughter. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you took off before I came back to tell you to leave. My dad was right behind me.¡±


    ¡°Yosefin, bist du das, Josh? (Yosefin, is that, Josh?)¡± her mother said from the living room. Yosefin replied in German, then told me to come in. Her parents gave me their greetings but couldn¡¯t ask me about my day because Yosefin dragged me by my arm to her room.


    ¡°That was close. My heart is pumping,¡± Yosefin said. She placed my hand up her sweater to touch to be over the heart. My hand skited over her nipple before reaching the spot.


    ¡°Sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to touch that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Do you feel my heart, bro?¡± Her heart rate pounded against my hand, plus she giggled nonstop. ¡°Imagine if they found out you slept with me. My dad would probably beat you up.¡±


    ¡°Or think I¡¯m gay.¡± For some hilarious reason, that made her cry-laughing to the point she nearly blacked out on the bed.


    ¡°Josh, please. Make me stop laughing.¡± My hungry stomach gave me the solution to end the laughter.


    ¡°Are you still making breakfast?¡± Her happy, painful-looking laughter slowed down as if it was going to a rolling stop. ¡°I¡¯m craving something sweet too.¡±


    ¡°Change of plans. I know a place we can go to,¡± she said with a slowly increasing smirk.


    ¡°Oh, shit... Where are we going?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡±


    ¡°Come on, Yosefin. Let¡¯s just eat here.¡±


    ¡°Not going to happen.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because,¡± she stopped to surprise me with a kiss on my cheek, ¡°I know your introverted self hates going out unless you¡¯re forced to. Therefore, we¡¯re going to Tit Tastic!¡±

 Make Your Move

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe we¡¯re eating here,¡± I said, gazing up at the Tit Tastic massive boob logo through Yosefin¡¯s car window. Yosefin had one of the biggest smirks on her face while she adjusted her hair inside her beanie. ¡°Can we go somewhere more... discreet?¡±


    ¡°What? You rather eat in a German household with my parents breathing down your neck rather than dine at a place where women in exposing outfits serve your food?¡±


    ¡°Uh... um... Yeah?¡±


    ¡°You must be super gay,¡± she said with much sarcasm. ¡°My papa was right about you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not gay,¡± I said, feeling agitated. ¡°I like women,¡± I reminded, lightly forcing my index finger into her meaty upper arm.


    ¡°Then you¡¯ll have fun here.¡± There weren¡¯t any more words for me to show how annoyed I felt coming out here. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± She got out of the car and waited for me near one of the two stone benches outside the front door. ¡°Joshy, let¡¯s go!¡± She said in a high-pitched voice similar to a typical annoying English female voice in an anime show. A couple came out of the restaurant when she yelled that. They looked my way after staring at her for a measly second. I pretended to mess with the radio so they wouldn¡¯t think it was me she was talking to. ¡°Joshy, get out of my fucking car, you shy boy,¡± she said, laughing between her words. ¡°Come here!¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay. Calm down.¡± The moment I shut the door, the couple looked back at me. Their glance made me feel embarrassed to be called out like that in such a manner. ¡°Yosefin, don¡¯t say my name like that ever again.¡±


    ¡°Why not? Doesn¡¯t your ears melt to the way it sounds?¡± I cringed but laughed a little when she spoke again in that same hyper-punctuated anime English voice. ¡°Or would Joshy prefer I said in this voice instead?¡± Her British came out so perfectly that my mouth dropped in awe. ¡°Such a cute face,¡± she said, caressing my cheeks with her cold thumbs. ¡°Come on. My hands are freezing out here.¡± We rushed inside to get out of the cold. The warm heat of the establishment washed me with its warmth. I saw a sea of hot waitresses serving people in their black denim booty shorts, fishnets, and pink bra-like shirts with the logo behind them.


    Someone ahead of me asked for a table for two. I didn¡¯t realize it was Yosefin getting us a seat because I was so focused on looking at the hot women walking throughout the room. She had to call my name twice for me to snap out of it.


    ¡°Dude,¡± Yosefin said, snapping her fingers in my ear. The subtle pop made me flinch. My eyes immediately went to Yosefin but focused on the short hostess. We both raised our fingers at one another. She claimed to know me before I could confirm my suspicion of what her name could be.


    ¡°Kaga Kamie?¡± I said.


    ¡°Joshua McEwan!¡± Kaga screamed with joy before ramming into me for a hug. ¡°Oh my god! Look at you!¡± She reached for my face, curling her fingers rapidly. I bent forward so she could touch my face. ¡°Jesus, dude. You¡¯ve grown!¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯ve...¡±


    ¡°Stayed short?¡±


    ¡°I was going to say you made your hair grey.¡±


    ¡°Looks steller,¡± she said, clawing her fingers down her hair to put some of it over her right shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°It looks great on you.¡± Out of my peripheral, I saw Yosefin tug on the tips of her hair. The second she saw me looking at her, she looked away but came back.


    ¡°Oh, shoot! I¡¯m sorry, you guys.¡± Kaga ran back behind the desk to grab two menus. ¡°Is this y¡¯all¡¯s first time being here?¡± She asked enthusiastically. Her wonderful smile came out with pearly white teeth. A wave of infatuation hit me like a raging bull. That smile brought back old memories of my childhood and our friendship before she left for a different high school.


    ¡°Dude,¡± Yosefin said, lightly elbowing my arm. ¡°She asked you a question.¡±


    ¡°Sorry. I was distracted.¡± Kaga pushed her lips forward slightly in a smiling way while lightly humming.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s his first time here. Including me.¡±


    ¡°Well, welcome to Tit Tastic. I hope y¡¯all enjoy your time with us. Follow me to your table,¡± Kaga said with a cheerful, lively voice.


    She found us a booth with a nice window out to the parking lot where the highway is. I took a seat that faced the inside of the building, where all the women were moving around.


    ¡°How¡¯s the view?¡± Yosefin asked. Kaga¡¯s back faced me while she talked with one of her employees. Her ass looked firm and round. She had toned legs. Ever since I knew her, she always rolled her feet every step. I saw people perform that in workouts, but for her, it was natural.


    ¡°Perfect,¡± I said.


    ¡°Um,¡± she said, leaning to her left to look at Kaga. ¡°I was talking about the girls.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± I looked around to see all the other women. Everyone was fine, like wine, including the chubby ones. ¡°The view is amazing.¡±


    ¡°So... You two seem... acquainted.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Kaga was my friend in middle school.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°We went to different high schools and started talking less.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that.¡±


    ¡°Yup,¡± I sighed, feeling a little bit depressed. ¡°We also dated.¡± Kaga came to our table to be our waiter right when Yosefin¡¯s eyes blew open from what I said.


    ¡°Howdy again!¡± Kaga said in a high-pitched voice to me before coming back to her normal voice to greet Yosefin. ¡°Hiya! What type of drinks would y¡¯all like?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take,¡± Yosefin paused as she read the menu. ¡°Iced lemonade. Cherry.¡±


    ¡°All right.¡± She wrote down her order but didn¡¯t write mine. ¡°Lemon-lime?¡± I nodded rapidly like an excited boy. ¡°Coming right up!¡± Yosefin and I watched her walk off. Once she moved passed Yosefin, Yosefin locked her eyes on me without moving her head.


    ¡°I thought I was the only one who knew what soda you liked.¡± She stared at me angrily, yet it felt like it wasn¡¯t.


    ¡°You look bothered by that,¡± I snickered.


    ¡°Does she call you Josh?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Joshy?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I snickered some more. ¡°You¡¯re the only one.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± she smiled with her lips forward.


    ¡°Do I detect a bit of envy?¡± I whispered. All I got from her was a cheeky smile.


    ¡°Dude,¡± she said, shaking her head after taking off her beanie. ¡°I brought you to a restaurant full of hot women for you to droll over.¡± She combed her hair with a black comb out of her back pocket. ¡°If I were envious, I wouldn¡¯t have done this.¡±


    ¡°So, is that truly your reason for bringing me here?¡±


    My question got several excuses. One excuse was about me seeing the hot girls. Another reason she said was the restaurant¡¯s great food selection. Whatever the case, I didn¡¯t want to push for the truth. I knew she liked to get me out of the house to spend time with her. But, the day at Tit Tastic gave me an unusual feeling I never got the answers to. The day before this, she confessed her deep interest in me. If she wanted me, why did she put me in a situation that¡¯ll put my focus on other women? Was it a test, or was she looking for something?


    After breakfast, Kaga gave me her phone number by inputting it into my phone. Not a minute had passed before I got a text from her asking if Yosefin was my girlfriend. Before Yosefin and I headed out the door, I turned around and shook my head to tell Kaga no. Kaga rolled her eyes at me, then said, ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± with her lips.


    ¡°Joshy,¡± Yosefind randomly said in a hyper-fake orgasmic voice.


    ¡°Yosefin,¡± I timidly grunted in cringe as I turned around. ¡°Don¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°Give me a kiss, and I might stop,¡± she playfully said. She tapped her right cheek with her index finger and turned her head to make it face me.


    ¡°Huh?¡± I blurted in shock. She came closer with her eyes fixated on me. Her boobs pressed into my stomach. All I had to do was lean down to her lips. ¡°I won¡¯t do it.¡±


    ¡°Then I will.¡± She got on her toes to get in reaching distance to my lips. I thought she would kiss me on the lips, but she kissed my cheek instead. The weight of her boobs moved back when she stepped away. I nearly stumbled forward into her if it wasn¡¯t for her pushing on my waist.


    ¡°Yosefin...¡± I couldn¡¯t look at her for a good moment. The kiss made me blush with warmth and feel uneasy that she did that in public. It grossed me out in a way that wasn¡¯t disgusting, but I wished she hadn¡¯t done that. ¡°Why did you do that?¡±


    ¡°I wanted to see if that Christmas buzz was still controlling you,¡± she said, then winked before sitting in the car. It quickly dawned on me that she foresaw that I would end up losing that high from Christmas day. On that day I was willing to go the whole nine yards for more than a kiss.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± I sighed. ¡°That was quick.¡± She yelled through her car to tell me to jump in. I took one more glance at the restaurant entrance to see Kaga. Yosefin honked the horn before I could look at Kaga¡¯s face. ¡°Okay! I¡¯m coming!¡±


    ¡°Come faster, or you¡¯ll freeze your balls out there!¡± My body was warm from the kiss. The cold didn¡¯t creep in until the skin of my back touched the leather seat.


    ¡°Jesus!¡±


    ¡°Here.¡± She turned on the heat for my seat. ¡°So, where do you wanna go?¡±


    ¡°Uh, home.¡±


    ¡°Okay, my place.¡±


    ¡°Yosefin...¡±


    ¡°God, dude.¡± She put the car into reverse and backed out. ¡°You really want to get away from me.¡±


    Before I could tell her that was a stupid thought, a black SUV T-boned us hard. All the airbags on the left side of her car deployed. Every window on that side shattered, throwing some glass into my face. Our car skidded and lifted on two wheels but luckily fell on all fours.


    I remained conscious of the whole event. Unfortunately, Yosefin didn¡¯t take the accident well. She was slumped over to her side with a gash across her forehead over her left eye.


    ¡°Yosefin!¡± I screamed in a panic. The car¡¯s emergency system dialed 911 and sent ambulances our way. Many people came out of the restaurant to surround us, including some of the women from the restaurant.


    ¡°Joshua!¡± Kaga said from the front of the car. ¡°Are you okay?¡± I unbuckled my seatbelt to get closer to Yosefin. I said her name several times, but she never responded. My heart sank into my stomach from seeing how quiet and still, she sat. I couldn¡¯t tell if she was breathing.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°No,¡± I said many times.


    ¡°Oh my god! Is she dead?¡±


    The ambulance came and took us out of the car. Somehow I made it out without any sort of injury. Paramedics took her into a van on a stretcher. My parents took me to the nearest hospital where she was heading. We waited in the emergency room for hours with her family to await the doctor¡¯s results of Yosefin¡¯s surgery. Once the doctor entered the hallway, her parents and I stood out of our seats to hear the news.


    ¡°Mr. and Mrs. B?hme,¡± the doctor calmly said. ¡°Yosefin will be all right.¡± Her mother broke down in tears. I nearly did the same when I saw her father embrace her mother. ¡°She suffered minor shoulder and collar bone fractures and a mild concussion.¡±


    ¡°May we see her?¡±


    ¡°You may.¡± They followed the doctor. My dad came over to me to ask if I was okay.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Dad. I didn¡¯t get hurt,¡± I said.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking about that,¡± he said.


    ¡°I¡¯m... shaken up. But I¡¯m okay. Once they¡¯re done, I¡¯m going to go see her.¡± He didn¡¯t bother me with any more questions. I waited patiently for her parents to leave so I could be alone with her. Hours went by. I thought about popping in until Kaga randomly stopped by.


    ¡°Thank god you¡¯re okay,¡± Kaga said, squeezing her little body on me. ¡°Did you get hurt?¡±


    ¡°Somehow, I didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s your... uh, your friend doing?¡± Something sounded off when she said, friend. The last three words were slower than the rest of the sentence.


    ¡°She got lucky. All she got was a concussion and minor fractures.¡±


    ¡°Jesus...¡±


    Kaga and I spend an hour together in the waiting room. We reminisced about our middle school memories and talked about our lives during high school. Then, she reminded me of our first failed kiss attempt and how she tried many times to make it feel right.


    ¡°God, Kaga,¡± I cringed while laughing. ¡°I remember that as if I did it yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Same,¡± she replied, blushing severely. ¡°Gosh, we sucked at dating.¡±


    ¡°What do you expect? It was our first time.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± she said with a poke to my rib cage. ¡°Did others improve it?¡±


    ¡°You were the only one.¡±


    ¡°Huh? I can¡¯t be the only girl.¡± For a split second, I thought about my interesting relationship with Kat. My love for her wasn¡¯t the type I shared with Kaga or the logic Yosefin advised me to follow.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said, nodding my head. ¡°You¡¯re the only girl.¡±


    ¡°So far,¡± she smiled. ¡°I saw that kiss Yosefin gave you. Are you two dating?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± I stopped because of my nervous laughter. ¡°It¡¯s complicated.¡±


    ¡°Complicated?¡± She leaned closer to say, ¡°Y¡¯all have a kid?¡±


    ¡°Whoa!¡± I shouted before slapping my mouth at how loud I was. ¡°No. She can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°She can¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°I meant,¡± I stuttered to say something that wouldn¡¯t expose Kaga to the strange truth about Yosefin. ¡°We didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Have you kissed her?¡± Kaga asked me quietly. I nodded, smiling. ¡°No, you must¡¯ve done more than kiss. Made out?¡± My smile got bigger the more I tried to hide it.


    ¡°No,¡± I said, covering my mouth until I stopped grinning. ¡°We¡¯ve done many things together. She took me out of my comfort zone a lot.¡±


    ¡°Sounds awful. Why are you still around her?¡±


    ¡°They weren¡¯t all bad. She became my best friend.¡±


    ¡°Yet,¡± she paused to look at Yosefin¡¯s room. ¡°Y¡¯all are seriously not dating?¡±


    ¡°Yeah...¡±


    ¡°But y¡¯all kissed?¡± I reiterated, telling her how complicated our friendship was. ¡°Joshua, what are you doing, man?¡± There were no words for me to say. ¡°How are y¡¯all still friends?¡± That constant exposure to what I was doing with my life pissed me off in a funny way. She was telling me to date a


    ¡°What should I do, Kaga?¡±


    ¡°Do you enjoy being with her?¡±


    My heart started beating faster. Every special moment Yosefin and I created flooded into my mind. I thought about the crash and how lucky I was that I didn¡¯t lose her.


    ¡°I do,¡± I said. ¡°She¡¯s amazing in a crazy yet fun sort of way.¡±


    ¡°When she¡¯s well, let her know.¡± Yosefin¡¯s parents came out just in time. A nurse went in into the room but kept the door open. ¡°There¡¯s your chance.¡± Kaga tried to shove me from my seat so that I could hurry. There was a nurse with a clipboard inside the room. She didn¡¯t notice me walk in until she turned her head to view the mounted TV.


    ¡°Oh! Hello,¡± she said, clutching the board against her chest. ¡°Are you coming to visit?¡±


    ¡°Yes. How¡¯s is sh-¡± I said, catching myself. I assumed the nurse had access to Yosefin¡¯s medical records and read them thoroughly. ¡°How is... he?¡±


    ¡°He she should be sleeping,¡± she said with her finger over her mouth. ¡°I applied some drugs to help with pain while sleeping.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± When I passed her, she put her hand on my stomach to stop me.


    ¡°Sorry for being nosey,¡± she whispered. ¡°Who operated on Yosefin?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I whispered back.


    ¡°He could¡¯ve fooled me.¡± The answer to her question clicked into my head a second later.


    ¡°He naturally looks like that. No surgeon did that.¡± The nurse looked like she didn¡¯t care or believe what I said. She walked away before I could defend Yosefin¡¯s life-changing mutation. ¡°Whatever,¡± I said loudly, hoping the nurse would hear it.


    ¡°You sound mad,¡± Yosefin said in a soft voice.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Did I wake you?¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t sleeping, but I might be soon with the drugs they¡¯re giving me.¡± I sat in a seat on the right side of the bed so I could hear her better. ¡°Poppa told me you didn¡¯t get hurt. Lucky.¡±


    ¡°It was more emotional hurt I got,¡± I said in an attempt to lessen the traumatic experience.


    ¡°Thank goodness you¡¯re okay. I wouldn¡¯t want to see you here.¡± Her caring words made me cry. I hid my face to avoid her seeing my tears.


    ¡°I thought you died.¡±


    ¡°Good thing I didn¡¯t. My parents would probably rummage through my room and find that I secretly bought a vibrator.¡± Her attempted humor stopped me from crying. ¡°They could realize how much of a freak I am.¡±


    ¡°That would be,¡± I paused to clear my nose, ¡°terrible.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she sighed, then yawned in laughter. ¡°What a fucking day.¡±


    ¡°I know, right?¡±


    ¡°Hey.¡± Her voice got softer, probably due to the drugs kicking in. She opened her hand out to me, then curled her finger inwards. I got closer until her finger stopped. ¡°Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°Just in case,¡± she chuckled. ¡°Y¡¯know... something stupid happens.¡±


    I stayed in the room until the same nurse forced me out even after Yosefin fell asleep. The next day the hospital discharged her. Her family came by to take her home, but she insisted I do it. I didn¡¯t hesitate to say yes. A nurse wheeled her to my car even though she told them she could walk.


    The next morning, I came to the call for another time to hang out. Yosefin¡¯s parents headed to work before I arrived, so I felt the day could be exciting. Maybe not as crazy as Christmas was, but with some of that energy.


    To pass the time while she kept herself busy making hot cocoa, I messed around on her computer, spying on the type of things she watched daily. It ranged from gaming, beauty tips, skating vlogs, and a rave music playlist.


    ¡°Incoming! Live cocoa on deck,¡± Yosefin said, rushing into the room with two steaming thermos cups in her hands. She put the pink cup on the desk and handed me a blue one.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s hot!¡± I said.


    ¡°Let them cool down for a bit.¡± She took the cup from me to place it with hers on the desk. We sat together while we waited for them to cool down, discussing various things based on the videos we watched. Most of what we saw were drama channels of toxic internet couples.


    ¡°Jesus, dude,¡± I said with one side of my cheek filled with warm cocoa. ¡°This makes me so mad.¡±


    ¡°Just saying, you could have headed there,¡± she illuded while slowly sipping her cocoa.


    ¡°Are you actually bringing her up again?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, Joshy,¡± she playfully said in a pitched voice. ¡°But it is the truth.¡±


    ¡°I get it. I fucked up,¡± I said with a raised voice.


    ¡°Josh,¡± she said softly with her hand gently rubbing my arm. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for bringing her up again.¡± To add to the apology, she got out of her chair to hug me despite the pain she expressed through her teeth. Her boobs pressed into my face for the full moment. Even though they felt nice and smelled wonderful, I wasn¡¯t going to let this go easily.


    ¡°Can we move on from her?¡±


    ¡°We can. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°I know you are, but let¡¯s not mention her. I don¡¯t want to be reminded of what I did and what it did to you.¡±


    ¡°Sorry,¡± she repeated in a soft voice.


    ¡°Yosefin,¡± I said in the same calming volume while looking her in the eyes. ¡°Enough.¡± She stayed quiet throughout the twenty-minute episode of the toxic couples we watched. On the next auto-played video, I noticed she wasn¡¯t paying attention. She kept finding other things to put her mind on. Her fingernails and phone kept her attention away from the video for some odd reason. I saw nothing interesting, but her nails took the most attention.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± She quickly responded with a quick head turn to look at me.


    ¡°Something wrong with your nails?¡±


    ¡°I wanted to paint them before you came here. But, I was impatient.¡±


    ¡°Why were you impatient?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to find this silly,¡± she said, blushing. ¡°I wanted to greet you at the door so that you won¡¯t stay outside another second in the cold.¡±


    ¡°Yosefin,¡± I chuckled at how cute that sounded. ¡°That¡¯s not silly.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± she smiled.


    ¡°Hey, how about I paint your nails for you since you didn¡¯t have time to do them.¡± She glanced at all her nails, including the ones on her feet. ¡°I¡¯ll paint those too.¡±


    ¡°This is so out of character for you.¡±


    ¡°Nah,¡± I scoffed. ¡°I¡¯ll do it without any hesitation.¡±


    ¡°Um...¡± Her lips tightened before she bit down on them. After that, her eyes darted all over the room to find where she had last left the nail polish. They were on the ground next to the nightstand near the bed. It was a black bottle with black polish in it. ¡°Ah!¡± She hopped out of her seat, walked over to pick up the polish, and then jumped on the bed with her toes pointing at me. ¡°Do feet bother you?¡±


    ¡°Um, I don¡¯t know,¡± I said, sitting near her feet. Her feet looked fine to me. They were soft, clean, moisturized, didn¡¯t have any calli, and smelled peachy.


    ¡°Jesus, Yosefin. Do you go to spas daily?¡±


    ¡°Nope. I¡¯m just really good at taking care of my skin.¡±


    I painted all twenty of her nails with such amateur attempts. The process went longer than I expected. Painting nails were for those with artistic skills. I sucked major ass at keeping the paint on the nails. Yosefin had to step in to clean up my mistakes. In the end, I did a pretty good job doing someone¡¯s nails for the first time.


    ¡°I give you a passing grade for effort. Well done, Josh,¡± Yosefin congratulated.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Wanna try doing my makeup next?¡±


    ¡°Are you crazy? Where would I even begin?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll do it. You can pick the colors you want to see.¡± Oddly, I liked that idea. Since we first met, the most she wore was when we went to the rave, but that wasn¡¯t something she wore all the time. She naturally looked beautiful. There wasn¡¯t a need to enhance her looks. ¡°It¡¯ll take a while to finish, so get ready for some boring moments.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine with me.¡±


    ¡°Awesome. What¡¯s your least favorite color?¡± When she asked me that, my mother texted me a shopping list of items to get for New Year¡¯s dinner. Since I was the closest to the grocery store, she made me the delivery man. She had already ordered the food, so all I had to do was pick it up.


    ¡°Damnit. I gotta go run an errand.¡± A different message came in. This one was from Kaga. Her text asked if I had asked Yosefin out yet. ¡°Shit,¡± I said under my breath.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Uh, my mother wants me to get New Year¡¯s fixings.¡±


    ¡°Drive safely, you hear? It¡¯s snowing out there, so remember to drive slowly.¡±


    ¡°What are you, my driving instructor, now? I¡¯m a safe driver. You¡¯ve seen how I drive.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she whispered with a smile.


    I could tell she didn¡¯t want me to leave right now by her hand resting on my thigh. She tried every move in the book to prolong my stay with hugs, intentional hand-holding, small talk, and questionnaires about random things. I gave in to everything. She became the one to ultimately send me away after staying for half an hour.


    ¡°Go,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m being clingy.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want me to go, I¡¯ll stay.¡±


    ¡°No. Your mother needs you to get food.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to you later.¡± When I got halfway out the door, she tugged on my hoodie, but her finger slipped. I came back inside to be with her, but it was just her being clingy. ¡°How about you come with me.¡±


    ¡°God knows I would, but I have to take another dose of my medication. It¡¯ll put me to sleep.¡± She forced me out with a gentle push. ¡°Text me when you get home,¡± she said behind the door.


    ¡°I will!¡±


    I calmly left her to get the fixings my mother wanted. The time spent with Yosefin left me sick with so much happiness that I had a hard time not thinking about her every minute. I found myself going through the gallery on the phone with pictures of her I had taken over the months. They were enough to make me talk on the phone with her while I shopped for food. We were like magnets that couldn¡¯t separate from one another.


    For New Year¡¯s Eve, I spent the entire day with my family. Some of my friends surprised me with a visit. They went to different colleges to pursue the degrees they wanted to achieve right after high school. I hadn¡¯t talked with them for my entire semester at community college. It was nice to see they¡¯re doing well. We told stories about our time through the fall semester. Everyone had their run-ins with girls. Some had one-night stands, but I was the only one out of the group who got a close best friend. Neither one of them talked to the girls as much as I did with Yosefin. I was amazed at their success with their hookups yet failed to befriend at least one of them.


    Fast forward to February, I enrolled in the Spring semester with a part-time job in a gaming store inside a massive mall. Yosefin and I took the same classes to pursue our interest in game design. Like me, she got a part-time job as a barista at the Come and Go Caf¨¦ inside the mall. Lucky for us, we were close enough to see where we worked. All we had to do was walk across the cafeteria.


    My shift ended half an hour before Yosefin finished for the day. At the time, Yosefin was searching for a new car since her previous car was totaled to oblivion. I became her chauffeur for rides back home. Every time she came out of the shop to greet me, I¡¯d always look at the pink scar above her left eyebrow as a reminder of how I almost lost her in that stupid accident.


    On the third of February, after work, I bought Yosefin cinnamon rolls when her shift ended. We ate our fill in the cafeteria before heading out to my car and talking about things on our minds.


    ¡°I wanna go on a car trip,¡± Yosefin said.


    ¡°Let me guess,¡± I asserted, knowing the potential answer. ¡°You want me to join you.¡± She stood in front of me with begging hands.


    ¡°I will love you forever.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said as I unlocked the car.


    ¡°Joshy!¡± She blew out her cheeks to make herself look mad. I gently pressed them back in and held her face until she stopped frowning.


    ¡°No, Yosefin.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯ll have fun.¡± I found being peer pressured in this amusing. I knew if I kept saying no, I would say yes later down the road.


    ¡°Where would we go?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll start small. A few hours from out of town. Two days max.¡±


    ¡°But we just started working, Yosefin, and we¡¯re in school.¡±


    ¡°Save your money,¡± she said, smacking my right thigh where my wallet was. ¡°I¡¯ll pay for all the food. You pay for the gas.¡±


    ¡°Jesus, Yosefin,¡± I chuckled. I rested my back on the left side of my car, staring at her in silence. She did the same but laid her shoulder on mine.


    ¡°What?¡± Her smile made me feel warm inside. I felt butterflies grow in my stomach. ¡°You¡¯ll love it,¡± she said, resting her head on my shoulder. The butterflies grew more. She was making me feel too good by doing the smallest thing. ¡°I promise. Money back guaranteed.¡±


    ¡°Money back guaranteed?¡± I said, laughing.


    ¡°Mhmm,¡± she chuckled, looking up at me. ¡°What do you say?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡±

 Opposites Retract

    Three months later, Spring came at the perfect timing. Yosefin and I had three days off during the weekend. We worked the week of Spring break, but our shifts went smoothly. It felt like God was trying to keep me less stressed about going on a trip with her. I never went outside my city without my parents. This was my first time somewhat being on my own for a journey miles away from home.


    Yosefin mapped out what we would do for three days. Throughout the months, she hinted at various activities we would do. She would be the primary driver unless she got tired, and I would have to take over.


    At seven in the morning, I rolled up at her house with my stomach turning from the anxiety of leaving my comfort zone for something I might like. In the driveway, I saw a black car I had never seen before. It had temporary license plates on the back bumper.


    ¡°New car? That was quick,¡± I said. I hopped out of my car and leaned against the hood as I texted Yosefin I¡¯m here. She came out five seconds later after I sent the message. ¡°That was quick,¡± I said to myself. Her yellow sundress took me by surprise. It was the brightest color in the neighborhood and looked amazing on her. The dress didn¡¯t hang on her shoulders. It looked like it rested over her boobs.


    She had a brown straw hat with a white ribbon around it and golden reflective sandals. Her toenails and fingernails were polished with white tips. This was the most I have seen her so girly. She looked so stunning.


    ¡°Hey, Joshy,¡± Yosefin said, walking up to me with a distinctive shy girly voice.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I said with a weak, shaky voice. ¡°You look...¡±


    ¡°Hopefully good, ja? This ain¡¯t my usual wear.¡±


    ¡°You look fucking beautiful,¡± I blurted the moment her parents stepped out. ¡°Oh! Good morning!¡±


    ¡°Good morning,¡± Mrs. B?hme said, waving her hand. ¡°You two have fun and be safe.¡±


    ¡°We will, mama. Don¡¯t you worry,¡± Yosefin said without looking at her. Her eyes were looking at her car. She snapped her eyes to me, smiled, then asked me where are my begs.


    ¡°In my trunk,¡± I answered, pointing my thumb at my car. ¡°Where are yours?¡±


    ¡°In my car.¡± I was confused. I thought we were going in my car, but she would drive it.


    ¡°Get your stuff and throw it in the trunk.¡± She walked over to her parents while I grabbed my suitcase and backpack from my car. They talked in German while I packed my things into the car. The trunk space was spacious for a coupe and had plenty of room for more bags. She could easily pack a week¡¯s worth of clothing.


    Once I put everything away, I inspected the car. The tires were waxed and low-profile with a good amount of thickness and had carbon fiber wheels. Her entire car was black with glitter-like paint that reminded me of the stars in the night sky. Yosefin jogged over to the driver¡¯s seat to open the door to let me see the car¡¯s white interior.


    ¡°Jesus, Yosefin. This car is...¡± I said, unable to comprehend how awesome her car was.


    ¡°Rad, yeah?¡± Yosefin said, sitting down in the seat. She threw her hat behind her and rubbed the passenger seat with her eyes on me. ¡°Come on, Joshy. Let¡¯s hit the road!¡± Butterflies crawled into every cavity within my stomach of how happily she said that. I could tell she was excited. Her smile was contagious to look at.


    ¡°Alrighty.¡± She left the driveway as soon as I buckled myself in. My eyes leaped from checking out how highly technologically advanced the center console was, to examining the details of her wonderful dress. I closely viewed and saw more elements I didn¡¯t notice before. The hem rested high up her thighs from the seat buckle, pulling up on it. It had a stitched pattern of different-sized holes looped around in a circle.


    ¡°You know I can see you,¡± Yosefin said as she eased behind a stop sign to let passing children walk across the street. I played with the car¡¯s touch screen to play it off like I wasn¡¯t staring at her.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°I told you I don¡¯t mind being looked at.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± I confessed, feeling guilty.


    ¡°Did you pack your swimming trunks?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm,¡± I hummed slowly, nodding my head while picturing what kind of bathing suit she brought. Since she was different, I thought of her wearing a typical top with trunks. It was hard for me to see her in a two-piece. I didn¡¯t think she could wear something that conformed around her crotch because of what she had. ¡°So,¡± I said, wanting to ask her what she¡¯d wear.


    ¡°Sup?¡± Her constant smile kept making me smile.


    ¡°Nothing.¡±


    ¡°God, what is up with you today?¡± She faintly giggled.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. A lot of things are going through my mind.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± she said, taking her right hand off the wheel to rest her arm on the center armrest. ¡°I¡¯m all ears.¡± For roughly five minutes, I ranted about how I was not used to being far from home. She understood how introverted I was and promised I would be okay. I also told her my concern about her wearing a two-piece because of her circumstances. I didn¡¯t want anyone to look at her funny.


    ¡°Josh,¡± she said, holding my forearm for a short second. ¡°I appreciate your concern, and I¡¯m sorry you feel this way.¡±


    ¡°I want to be excited, y¡¯know?¡±


    ¡°And you will. I promise.¡± She locked her pinky around mine. So far, the things we did together were enjoyable.


    Our first stop was at a gigantic gas station that looked like a small supermarket. It took us an hour to get there. There were so many cars and people walking about. I saw several families with their kids, groups of friends, couples, and the elderly. Something about that place made people buzz in the hundreds.


    ¡°What is this place?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Our first wonder.¡± She took out her phone to take a couple of pictures of the building and took pictures of me when I wasn¡¯t looking her way. ¡°Hey! Come here. Take my picture.¡±


    One picture turned into ten pictures we took together. We went overboard with them. There were so many pictures in her gallery that it filled one page. My favorite image was when I held her from behind. She had most of her body leaning back into me. My head was over her left shoulder, and half of my face was covered by her hair.


    ¡°I will never delete these,¡± Yosefin said, stuffing her phone in her small black handbag. ¡°Shall we go see this thing inside and out?¡±


    ¡°After you.¡± Instead of walking ahead, she took my hand to make me walk with her. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I blurted, whispering.


    ¡°Fine.¡± Her fingers opened, but her hand stayed. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to hold hands, let go.¡± My hand stayed firmly grasped. One by one, her fingers came down on my knuckles. I had to readjust my grip so I could hold her hand better. ¡°Why the change of heart?¡±


    ¡°I... panicked.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Josh,¡± she said, tapping my hand with her other hand. ¡°Relax, or the time you¡¯ll spend with me will suck for the both of us.¡±


    ¡°How would that happen?¡± Her hand came out of my grip then both hands gripped my shoulders when she hopped in front of me.


    ¡°Hey,¡± she said momentarily pressing my shoulders in. ¡°I want us to have fun but you got to stop being tense about everything.¡± Her words made me feel uneasy. But it was something I had to do to enjoy myself.


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°You can start by holding my hand.¡± She faced away with her left hand open for me to reach for. ¡°Don¡¯t think about it. Just be impulsive.¡±


    ¡°Impulsive,¡± I said, rolling my eyes as I held her hand. ¡°God, you make me feel nervous.¡±


    ¡°Sorry but not sorry,¡± she giggled.


    The mood Yosefin wanted came out gradually from me after we explored the massive gas station. She came out of there with a mug for a souvenir. I didn¡¯t feel the need to buy anything. Just being there was enough for me.


    We went back on the road. It took us three hours to reach our hotel. Yosefin told me to bring my bathing suit so we could walk the beach later that day. Once I walked into the lobby, I saw Yosefin chatting up a storm with the front desk clerk. She was talking about the horrible traffic she went through to get here. The clerk was also livid about the traffic he had to go through to start his shift. When I stood next to her, the clerk stopped talking to greet me by nodding his head.


    ¡°Hey, Joshy,¡± Yosefin greeted me with a quick wave and then handed her driver¡¯s license to the clerk.


    ¡°Hello,¡± the clerk had a tough time pronouncing Yosefin¡¯s last name.


    ¡°It¡¯s B?hme,¡± I pronounced with clarity.


    ¡°Thank you, sir.¡±


    The clerk called out the room number and said what type of room Yosefin had bought. It was a suite that had two queen-sized beds. Yosefin took the bed closest to the bathroom by throwing her beg on top of it. She called me to come to sit with her on the bed while patting the space beside her. I sat down and immediately became overwhelmed by her snuggling on my arm.


    ¡°Hey! Too tight!¡± I said. Yosefin laid me on my side so she could snuggle her whole body on me. I found myself confused yet loved how she threw herself at me for no reason. ¡°Yosefin, what¡¯s gotten into you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just so excited!¡± Yosefin nearly yelled. ¡°These days are going to be the best!¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay. Calm down.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she giggled, slowly moving closer to my face. ¡°I¡¯m gonna get into my bathing suit.¡± She poked me on the nose with her nose and then said, ¡°Boop,¡± before heading into the bathroom to put on her bathing suit. I was so stunned that happened that I didn¡¯t move a muscle for a minute. It was so random yet cute that she did that to me.


    ¡°Just go with the flow, Josh,¡± I said quietly to myself as I took out my bathing trunks from my bag. I got dressed before she came out of the bathroom. She had on a generic black loose-fitting shirt and white short shorts. ¡°It took you five minutes to do that?¡±


    ¡°Sorry for taking so long. I wanted to put on sunscreen.¡±


    One short five-minute trip later, we made it to the beach. The forecast in the car stated peak weather conditions would reach seventy-nine degrees. There were no clouds in the sky.


    ¡°Good day for a tan,¡± Yosefin said, grabbing her hat from behind her chair. ¡°But, this is not the day for that.¡±


    ¡°So, what do you plan on doing for today?¡± I asked as she got out of the car.


    She slipped off her shorts and took off her shirt, revealing her two-piece for the first time. Most of the car¡¯s frame was obscuring her. I had to walk around to her side to see what she had on. Her two-piece was a greyish-blue color. The top piece came across her boobs instead of over her shoulders. It had a center buckle design. The bottom piece used rings to connect the two halves together. They were situated around her hips.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Yosefin asked, proudly posing with her hands on her hips. I stared at everything. She turned around to let me view her backside for a good unforgettable moment. ¡°So? I wanna know if you think it¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°Why do you wanna know if I think it¡¯s good?¡± I said, hiding my erection by pressing my hands into my crotch. ¡°Is there something wrong?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± she mumbled when she put crossed her hands over her crotch. ¡°I thought about if I should wear trunks. This is my first time wearing something like this.¡±


    ¡°Oh..?¡±


    ¡°I do have a pair in my trunk,¡± she said with her eyes on the trunk. ¡°I¡¯m kind of tempted to put it on.¡±


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Why?¡± I said to appease my curious mind.


    ¡°It¡¯s not obvious, is it?¡± She mumbled without looking at me. I had to ask her to say it again but louder because I didn¡¯t hear a word she said. ¡°It¡¯s not obvious, right?¡± She said loud enough I could hear.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I asked softly, leaning closer to anticipate her quiet response.


    ¡°Do I got to say it?¡± She nudged her head down to make me take a glance at her bottom-piece bikini. I looked everywhere, even checking her ass to see what I was looking for. I saw nothing obvious.


    ¡°What am I looking for?¡±


    ¡°You... you don¡¯t... My... hips!¡± She cheered after stuttering heavily. ¡°They... look... nice in this outfit... right?¡± Since I had something to focus on, I stepped back to check them out. She was right in saying they looked nice. Her whole figure looked amazing.


    ¡°Yosefin, you look great in that,¡± I said as I continued to lay my eyes on every inch of detail.


    ¡°Really?¡± She said, pitching her voice.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I nodded and flexed my arms to my body to prevent myself from being overly excited. ¡°Would it be all right if I took a picture?¡±


    ¡°One won¡¯t be enough. Take tons and send some to me.¡±


    I got several pictures before we headed to the beach. The day was hot but bearable. The beach sand was clean and free from any type of debris like paper bags, soda cans, beer bottles, and sharply-edged rocks. Yosefin was bold enough to walk in the water without her sandals. I didn¡¯t feel that carefree to tempt a random chance of stepping on something painful. Luckily, she came out pain-free and more joyous than ever.


    Yosefin made me jump in the water with her. We acted like little children, splashing water at each other, playing tag in thigh-deep water, and playfully wrestling.


    After we exhausted ourselves of fun, we had brunch at a restaurant on the beach and returned to the hotel to rest for later activities she wanted to try out. She decided to come lay with me on my bed when I was starting to doze off.


    ¡°Yosefin,¡± I said, keeping my eyes closed.


    ¡°Mhmm?¡± I felt the bed bounce then her arm crawl over my stomach. When I opened my left eye to see her, she was lying on her side, head propped up by her hand, and smiling.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± The second I closed my eye she parked herself halfway on my body and began snuggling.


    ¡°Yosefin,¡± I chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m trying to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Then go to sleep,¡± she said softly in my ear. ¡°I got an alarm set for later in the day.¡± For a moment, I thought about telling her to get off so I could sleep by myself, but then I remembered her saying to live in the moment. This felt like a test to see if I was following the rule.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said then held her close like she was one of her full-body pillows. I had most of my face in her boobs while the pillows kept it propped up. She didn¡¯t have any perfume or cologne, but there was a faint scent of the hotel¡¯s soap lingering through her shirt. It wasn¡¯t strong enough to bother me.


    ¡°Good night.¡±


    **


    Yosefin¡¯s phone alarm woke me up. I napped like a baby without wanting to change my sleeping position.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I whispered and poked Yosefin¡¯s stomach to make her wake up. ¡°Turn off your phone.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± she said in a groggy voice. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Your alarm.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± she yawned and rolled over to reach the phone on the nightstand. My face slipped off her boobs and fell face-first on the bed. The soft impact woke me up. ¡°Is it time already?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm,¡± I mumbled. I wrapped my arm around her stomach to keep her close to bring her back to me once the alarm turned off. ¡°It¡¯s time for you to take us somewhere fun.¡±


    ¡°Before we do that,¡± she said, rolling on her left side to face me. ¡°Dude, look at me for a sec.¡± I sat up to look at her. She squinted and then shook her head like she saw something disappointing.


    ¡°What?¡± I said like I was about to laugh.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± She lunged a kiss on my lips without any warning. Her lips retracted but came back two more times before giving me some space. I was almost left in a state of utter shock. I couldn¡¯t believe she kissed me, yet it didn¡¯t bother me in the slightest.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I whispered. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said three times with her head down. ¡°I should¡¯ve asked if you wanted one. Please, don¡¯t be mad at me. I couldn¡¯t resist.¡±


    ¡°Do you like me that much?¡± I joked, laughing between my words. ¡°Yeah, you should have warned me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± She whined with her face on the bed.


    The shyness she displayed surprised me in a way I liked it. She regretted what she did, but I felt the impulsiveness in me was energized. It wanted to return the favor. I lifted her blushing face to kiss her lips in the same fashion I got. But, it didn¡¯t stop there. We made out for the first time since we¡¯ve known each other. After we stopped, I thought I would hate what I did. Oddly, it made me want to do it again.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it again,¡± I said somewhat out of breath from not breathing correctly. She sounded out of breath too.


    ¡°You are right,¡± she said, clearing my saliva off her lips with her forearm. ¡°It can get wet,¡± she giggled, took her shirt off without warning, then sat in my lap. I played with her boobs while we made out and when I got tired of them, I grabbed her mildly chubby hips. I was beyond horny from all the things we were doing. My mind went blank as my body took full control of my actions. The moment I came to my senses was when she stopped me from pulling her shorts down. They were a few inches below her belly button. Her skin looked smooth without a single hair in sight.


    ¡°No,¡± she said, holding my hands against her thighs. ¡°Not that far.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Just,¡± she paused to sit on the edge of the bed to put her shorts back up. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go there.¡± Then she added after a few seconds of silence, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to see that.¡± I knew what she alluded to without the need for any more details. I had forgotten that major fact about her and was extremely glad she stopped me from making the biggest mistake of my life.


    ¡°There are some things we just can¡¯t do,¡± I said to myself yet loud enough for her to hear.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she sighed. I thought she was sad but when I looked at her, she was smiling. But, I couldn¡¯t tell if it was sadness or genuine happiness.


    ¡°Hey.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± Her smile remained the same.


    ¡°I¡¯m having fun,¡± I said honestly, hoping it would erase her pessimistic thoughts. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see what you have planned.¡± Her smile got bigger but she nodded as if something was wrong.


    ¡°You¡¯ll love it,¡± she said gently.


    Yosefin brought us to an arcade-style restaurant with arcade machines lined up on every wall. We tried out nearly every game before sitting down to eat. After we ate, we played some games till the sun went down, then lollygagged around inside the pool at the hotel until a group of college-aged guys took over. Their rowdy behavior made her feel uncomfortable to the point she huddled close to me. They were loud and aggressive with each other, and some that came near me reeked of beer.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting out of here,¡± Yosefin said.


    ¡°Right behind you,¡± I said. Instead of getting out from the steps, she hauled herself out of the pool using the ledge.


    ¡°Get a load of that,¡± a man said. Two men catcalled with whistles. Yosesin turned around to face the group. She wagged her finger and swayed her hand as she was ashamed of them. All of the men reacted in awes and laughs.


    ¡°Irgendwo muss eine Verbindungsparty im Gange sein.¡± (There must be a frat party going on somewhere.), she said quietly before she spoke out loud in English. ¡°Bye-bye, boys! Have a good night!¡± She waved them as we walked towards the exit.


    ¡°Awe, don¡¯t leave us,¡± a guy cried out to her. ¡°Stay awhile.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, guys. My boyfriend is looking to rock the boat later.¡± All the guys looked at me and began clapping. Some cheered while the rest gave two thumbs up. I was confused about why I was getting so much attention.


    ¡°Uh,¡± I said once I got outside. ¡°What the heck just happened?¡±


    ¡°Boys,¡± she chuckled from her nose after drying her face. ¡°Let¡¯s get back to the room. I don¡¯t want to be around them.¡±


    We headed back to our room. I took my shower first because I knew Yosefin would take thirty minutes to shower. She liked to thoroughly dry off and make herself presentable before anyone saw her. After I got out, she went. Roughly half an hour later, she came out wearing an oversized shirt that came down past her waist. I watched her navigate over to me with her head in her phone vigorously texting someone using both thumbs.


    ¡°Who are you fighting with?¡± I asked.


    ¡°My momma,¡± she snickered then put the phone on the nightstand. ¡°She wanted to know the details of how my day went with you.¡±


    ¡°What did you tell her?¡±


    ¡°Oh, y¡¯know,¡± she said, leaning on my shoulder with her hands crossed in her lap. ¡°That I¡¯m having fun, yada yada.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like you¡¯re not having fun,¡± I joked. ¡°Am I boring?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m having the best time of my life,¡± she said calmly when snuggled on my arm as she shifted some of her weight on me. ¡°What do you want to do now?¡±


    ¡°Whatever you want to do,¡± I said without thinking about what we could do.


    ¡°I got some ideas but they¡¯re,¡± she paused, crossed her legs, and hummed. ¡°I got a question,¡± she said, laughing.


    ¡°Oh dear,¡± I said, fearing she¡¯d ask a tough question.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be scared,¡± she giggled. ¡°It¡¯s just a question.¡± No question was just a question when it came from her. They were mostly loaded with an amount of importance. Her questions needed some sort of deep understanding or valuation for something that stumbled her. After what we went through, I knew her question would need some time to answer.


    ¡°I have a feeling this one will be hard to answer,¡± I said. Her lips curled in her mouth before I saw her smile. ¡°Do I have to answer it?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to. But,¡± she stopped to give me a gentle hug. ¡°I would prefer you clear up this eternal battle I¡¯m having.¡±


    ¡°Okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay...¡± She scooted about a hand length away. Her eyes stared at the ground for a time before they came back to me. ¡°Why do you have to be so cute?¡± She asked nearly laughing. ¡°Why do you have to be so freaking cute?¡± She said, raising her voice. ¡°Why?¡± She said through her teeth, flexing her arms to the point they vibrated. ¡°Why are we acting like this?¡±


    ¡°Whoa,¡± I said twice. ¡°Settle down.¡±


    ¡°Nope!¡± she said sharply, emphasizing the last letter with a pop. ¡°Dammit, Josh!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I,¡± she sighed, shaking her head. She went silent for a moment before speaking again. ¡°I wish I could have you.¡± Tears suddenly fell out of her eyes and more came out when she blinked. I tried holding her hand in hopes it would make her stop crying. She held it tight but cried more in silence.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± she whimpered. Her cries made me feel sick to my stomach. I felt like I was responsible for making her feel this way. If I hadn¡¯t been picky about what I liked about her, I probably would have been more comfortable with the things that were an automatic turn-off.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for doing this to you.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Slowly, she started to ease off the crying. ¡°What did you do to me?¡±


    ¡°Not liking you wholly.¡±


    ¡°But,¡± she passed to sniff her mucus. ¡°You had to. There are things about me you don¡¯t like.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I should ignore those feelings.¡± She leaned back a little like she was stunned. The crying stopped completely. ¡°You said I should be more impulsive.¡±


    ¡°I said that because I wanted us to have fun on this trip,¡± she reminded as she was reprimanding me. ¡°You are a shy boy who doesn¡¯t go out very much.¡±


    ¡°But,¡± I stuttered. I stopped when she held my hand and said my name softly.


    ¡°Remember what I said when you felt disgusted cuddling me?¡± We quoted what she said to me about not doing certain things because of what she was. I didn¡¯t know what to say after that. The truth was a hard pill to swallow. I was eager to appease all the desires she dreamed of since the day we met. She liked me sincerely but she understood where my limit was.


    ¡°So,¡± I scoffed. ¡°Does your author have an explanation for what we¡¯ve done?¡±


    ¡°She called it an unlikely connection,¡± she said when she looked at her feet, spreading her toes. ¡°Close friends who could love somewhat platonically. Sometimes they do, but it is mostly guaranteed that they don¡¯t¡±


    ¡°Sounds about right,¡± I sighed loudly as I fell back on the bed. ¡°Now what?¡±


    ¡°Bed,¡± she said calmly without any emotion in her voice. She laid on her bed for the first time since we entered the hotel. The back of her head faced me. Half of her body was under the blankets and only had one pillow under her head. I was afraid to end the night on a sad note.


    ¡°Why sleep by yourself when you can snuggle with me?¡± I said in a nervous attempt to make her smile or at least laugh at me. She rolled on her back and then turned her head to see me. When I tapped my bed she puckered her lips. It seemed like she was tempted. I got some attention but I needed to reel in an action. ¡°You heard me. Bring your ass over here.¡± Her right leg kicked out from underneath the covers and she whipped them off her as she sat up. She kept her lips puckered but squinted her eyes. It looked like she was pouting.


    ¡°Move over.¡± She walked slowly, taking her absolute time to walk three to four steps. Before she sat down, she turned around, lifted her shirt with her ass in full view, then laid on top of me.


    ¡°There we go,¡± I said, holding her close to my body. ¡°I can¡¯t end the night without you here.¡±


    ¡°Do you feel happy I¡¯m here?¡± She asked in a quiet monotone volume.


    ¡°I do,¡± I said with my face against her boobs. ¡°Do you feel happy you¡¯re here with me?¡± She kissed the top of my head without responding to the question. I kissed her chest even though her shirt was in the way. She tucked my head closer before heading off to bed.


    All in all, Yosefin made the trip enjoyable. On our last day, we visited parks, museums, and an aquarium. During slow moments during the day, we talked more about our feelings toward each other. She said we should try to avoid letting our ¡°advances¡± drive us. At night, I could tell she wanted to act upon something. Her gaze, blushed cheeks, and the fact she kept wearing no shorts under her long shirt gave me the impression she wanted me. Somehow, we made it through the night without going against our word.


    On the way home, Yosefin told me she wanted to plan future trips out of state. It scared the living shit out of me to think about going that far with a woman who loved going everywhere, but I knew some enjoyment would come out of it. My introverted days were coming to an end the more I spent time with her. Plus, I began to stop caring about the one issue I had against her. The door of something more than the interesting friendship we had began to creep open. A small part of me wanted to give it a shot to see what kind of outcome I could get. The other part warned me of the massive regret of diving into an experience I wasn¡¯t fully comfortable doing. I told her what was going on in my head and asked what side I should take. She oddly told me to fear her. I agreed yet I found it stupid, but I understood the meaning.


    When we got back, it was one of the hardest moments of my life once the car¡¯s engine turned off in Yosefin¡¯s driveway. I was frustrated our days went by fast. There was so much energy for us to have a great time with. Unfortunately, our jobs got in the way of that.


    ¡°That¡¯s the last of it,¡± I said, handing Yosefin her scented sunscreen suitcase with her bathing suit inside it.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Yosefin said. Once she headed inside, I thought my day was ending. The door closed but cracked wide enough for her to peek her head out. ¡°Do you wanna come in?¡±


    ¡°You still wanna hang out?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you? I mean... the day isn¡¯t over yet.¡±


    ¡°Uh,¡± I stupidly said, wrongfully thinking if I did or not.


    ¡°You don¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°No! I do!¡±


    ¡°Oh! Come in before my parents come home.¡±


    Her hand came out, luring me in for one last good time before the day ended. I held it firm yet gentle as she guided me into her room to finish the day on a high note. Casual talk led to us watching a movie. A few kisses were exchanged, but we kept ourselves tamed to not dare to make out again. My mother called me during the movie and demanded to know why I wasn¡¯t home yet.


    ¡°I gotta go,¡± I said. ¡°My mom wants me home.¡±


    ¡°Your mother picked the worst time to take you away from me,¡± Yosefin said with her face in her hands. ¡°Ugh!¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯s that??¡±


    ¡°Because I want to keep you here,¡± she whined, tugging on my shorts. ¡°I think I¡¯ll cry if you go.¡±


    ¡°Wait? Seriously?¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± she said after blowing fast air past her lips.


    ¡°Why? Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m just being clingy.¡± There was a slight hesitation on her face when she tried not to smile. ¡°Stop looking at me like that, Josh. You¡¯re making it worse.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± I somewhat shouted. ¡°Making what worse?¡±


    ¡°Dude,¡± she answered, glancing away at her computer momentarily. ¡°Stop. You¡¯re making me blush, like, hard right now.¡± I looked away to make her comfortable. She took that opportunity to sneak a kiss on my cheek.


    ¡°Really? I thought you said we should avoid making advancements.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so gullible,¡± she happily reminded me, smiling with all her teeth. ¡°We can¡¯t date, but I know you won¡¯t mind some kisses here and there.¡± The second I was about to agree with her, she quietly mumbled and coughed, ¡°And playing with my tits.¡± All I could do was look at her and try not to smile. ¡°What?¡± She said, tilting her head to the right as she smiled. ¡°Embarrassed by the truth?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said, hiding my mouth with my shirt. ¡°I¡¯m just getting used to it.¡±


    Yosefin would remind me once every other week, indirectly and directly of her feelings for me. There were times I felt like I was the wrong match for her. I thought of asking her to stop making advances on me or look for another guy, but I was too nervous to tell her to stop. Something big whether it was a positive or negative outcome was on the horizon between us, and the outcome could surprise us both. It was a matter of when or how it would go down.