Unspoken Pleasure

"Well, now that we're apart, I was hoping maybe you would... You're so amazing Alexis, I never should have let you go. Just thinking about it -- me here in class, you helping me with homework, cooking meals. That should have been our lives. I know I made a terrible mistake."

Lexi tried to stifle a giggle, but a bit came out anyway. This? This was the creature that had killed happy, innocent Alexis? If she'd been that weak, that stupid, then she deserved to die. God, it was like pining for the prince and finding out he was actually a dung beetle.

"No," Lexi said, "But thank you. Thank you for everything you did. You taught me so much about myself that I never could have learned on my own. You made me a stronger, better person. And I don't think I can ever acknowledge you enough for that." "Alexis, I..."

"My name is Lexi," Lexi said, holding out her hand to stop Dane from talking further. Then she skipped past him. The way she should have years ago. She was glad she got the opportunity to do it right the second time around.

*

Since fall classes had yet to start, the library was mostly empty. Lexi got a computer straight off (something that would never happen during the school year) and found that her book would be on the fifth floor, if it was there. The State library system probably hadn't been upgraded since her Dad had been in school and it often sent students on wild goose chases for books that had been removed weeks before, or that were in a different place entirely, or that no longer existed at all. Lexi took the stairs, all four flights, and felt great for doing so. At each level, the library got emptier. Up on five, it was like a deserted warehouse. Just stacks and shelves of books and no one else. The only thing that gathered here was dust. On the third shelf of the tenth row of bookshelves, exactly where the computer had predicted it would be, Lexi found her book. She pulled it off the shelf and squeezed the binding like a treasured companion. Like her fingers had to reassure themselves that it was real. It made her feel special, to have what so many others would be searching for.

Lexi started to put the book in her bag, but then she heard footsteps from a few rows over. Apparently, she wasn't the only one on that floor after all. The person was coming closer. Lexi could see her now -- a woman with long red hair. No. What was it with today and uncomfortable encounters?!

"Oh my God!" the girl exclaimed.

It was Kim, the sibling from the lake shore. She had more clothing on than the last time Lexi had seen her -- jeans and a short sleeve top -- but otherwise she looked the same as before. Kim was a little shorter than Lexi, which meant she was still tall for a woman. The girl's body seemed to scream sex -- curvy with wide hips and a chest that looked ready to pop off her body -- but Lexi also thought that might be a remnant of their shared history.

Kim recognized Lexi immediately, of course. Her freckled face broke into a wide grin and, rather than be shy like a normal person, Kim immediately cheered and clapped.

"Oh, I was hoping I would run into you again! I mean, it's such a big world how could I ever? We didn't share numbers or names or anything. But then I thought that we seemed about the same age and being by that lake meant we both lived nearby and that maybe it was, like, meant to be or something and anyway I'm really happy to see you here."

Lexi didn't remember the redhead being so chatty the last time they'd met. She hoped it was nerves. The girl didn't seem to notice that all this talking was only making Lexi stay quieter. She just kept going on about kismet, whatever that meant. Instinctively, Lexi looked over Kim's shoulder for her other half.

"Oh, don't worry, my dumb brother wouldn't be caught dead in a library. Unless you wanted to see him? But, well, I still think it would be better if we had some fun by ourselves this time, you know?"

Kim stepped forward, but Lexi flinched.

"Oh! I don't remember you being this nervous," Kim said.

"I'm not," Lexi said, "Not shy. Just... maybe not in the same place I was before."

"Well duh," Kim said, "Library. Not lake." She laughed at her own joke. Lexi stared back at her. The tall brunette didn't know how to respond. She wasn't afraid of Kim or anything. Lexi didn't regret what had happened. But she didn't want to regret anything that was going to happen either.

"Fuck, we didn't like, hurt you, did we?" Kim asked, "This whole time I had it in my head that we were all doing dirty stuff together. Was it the brother/sister thing? It creeped you out, didn't it?"

"No," Lexi said, finally finding her voice, "It didn't creep me out."

"OK good," Kim said, "We don't usually tell people about that. I mean, we don't ever tell people, honestly. But I was so into it in the moment. I felt like I could trust you -- I don't know why." Kim reached over and stroked Lexi's cheek. "God, you were amazing."

"It was fun," Lexi said, "But I'm not sure I'm ready to repeat it."

"Oh," Kim said. She snatched her hand away. "Oh."

"It's not like I didn't like it," Lexi said, "On the lake. I did. It was great. At the time I was... Well I was in a place where that sort of thing made sense."

"And now you're not," Kim said. Her eyes went hard. Her lips were pouty.Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.

"Right here in the library?" Lexi said, "Not really, no. But another time? Well, I wouldn't say no to that."