Chapter six

Homework

Elsa turned to Anna. "Well?" she asked as the credits rolled across the screen. "What did you think?"

"That was awesome!" Anna exclaimed, raising her fists in the air triumphantly. "I loved the action, I loved the story, I loved the ending – it was all great!"

Elsa giggled, buoyed once again by her sister's energy. "Well, I'm glad you had a good time." She pulled out her phone and typed Does Khrush have an after credits scene into her search engine.

"You said that all Bollywood movies are like that?" Anna asked.

Elsa smiled at her. "Not all of them. Some are even more batshit crazy."

"Oh, then we've gotta do this again sometime!" she said.

"Of course," Elsa said. Receiving an answer to her query in the negative, she closed her phone and stood up.

"Like, that part where the guy was doing a handstand on the motorcycle," Anna gushed, following right behind her. "And then he grabbed the gun with his feet – how do you come up with stuff like that?"

Elsa shrugged. "I guess Indians just don't give a shit about logic in their movies," she said.

Anna continued to gush about the movie as they left the theater and walked through the lobby, though she lowered her voice to avoid spoiling it for the people they passed.

Outside, it was cool, as the three-hour movie had brought the sun to the horizon and bathed the parking lot in moonlight. She shivered slightly as a cool breeze swept through. Which reminded her…

"Uh, Anna, my hoodie," she said.

Anna stopped her train of thought. "Huh? Oh, right. Sorry!" she said, grabbing at the hoodie's neckline and tugging.

"Easy, don't stretch it," Elsa said.

Anna's tugs slowed down, then stopped entirely. She turned to Elsa with the garment halfway off, face obscured and arms high in the air. "Uh…a little help?" she said in a muffled voice.

Elsa laughed. "Oh my god, are you serious?"

Anna wiggled, trying to free herself. "Don't laugh," she said.

Shaking her head, Elsa grabbed the hem and slowly lifted it. "What am I going to do with you?" she asked playfully.

Anna's head popped out the bottom of the shirt. "Hold me, feed me, never leave me?" she suggested.

Elsa laughed. "You got it," she said, pulling the hoodie free.

Anna chuckled, then stopped. She shivered in the cold as Elsa reversed the hoodie. "So, there's the bus stop," she said, gesturing to the glass structure. "I guess I'll see you later," she said, a trace of sadness entering her voice.

Elsa nodded. She wished that she could say no, that she could just spend the weekend with her. But if the two hours she'd spent poring over her notes and textbooks had taught her anything, it was that she could not afford to miss another study group.

"Come on," she said, putting her arm around Anna. "I'll walk you to your car."

"Okay!" Anna said, nestling into her sister's arm.

They walked slowly across the parking lot, reveling in their closeness.

Elsa took a deep breath, taking in the familiar scent of Anna. "I've really missed this," she said softly.

"Me too," Anna said. "I haven't had this much fun on a date since…well, for a very long time."

"Me either," Elsa said.

It took her a moment to realize the implications of what she had just said.

"I mean, I had fun, too," she corrected.

Anna chuckled. "I knew what you meant."

Good, thought Elsa. Because I didn't.

"So," Elsa said, recovering, "do you feel like these dates are helping you figure things out about yourself any? Your sexuality?"

Anna thought about it. "I…think so," she said. "Sorta. I'm having a lot more fun with you than with my other dates, but I don't know if it's just being with you that makes the difference."

Elsa nodded. "I thought that might be the case," she said. "That wasn't the main point of these dates, anyway."

"Yeah," Anna said. "How did you figure that out for yourself, anyway?"

Elsa shrugged. "Just by watching porn."

Anna blushed, but motioned for her to go into detail.

"I was just watching vanilla, softcore stuff," she continued. "I realized I was watching the girl more than the guy, so eventually I just started watching girls only. Then I met Belle, and, well, then it was off to the races."

Anna, clearly fighting through her embarrassment, nodded.

"So, if you want my advice, I'd say you just have to…do your homework, so to speak. Figure out what you like and what you don't like. That make sense?"

Anna nodded. "I think so. Thanks for the advice."

Elsa smiled. "Anything for you, sis."

They had made it to Anna's car. Reluctantly, Anna detached herself from her sister and started fishing around for her keys.

"So, anyway," Elsa said, "I'm busy all day tomorrow, but I'm free Sunday."

Anna looked up at her. "That's great! Do you want to do something?" She frowned. "Or…wait, is it weird to go on three dates in one week?"

Elsa laughed. "Not if you really like the person."

"Well, I certainly do," Anna said. "So what did you have in mind?"

"Well, I heard that Angel Island has a new roller coaster," Elsa said. "I thought we could go there, just like old times!"

With that remark, Anna seized up for a second, then her shoulders drooped. "Oh yeah," she said dejectedly. "Helios's Journey. It's alright."

Elsa frowned. "What's wrong? I thought you loved that place."

"I just went there a couple months ago," she said. "With…"

Elsa nodded in understanding. "With him?"

Anna took a deep breath. "Yeah. Him."

Elsa's heart twinged in sympathy. "Okay," she said, giving Anna a reassuring smile. "We don't have to go there."

It was a damn shame. Back when they were little, Anna's eyes used to light up at the mere mention of Angel Island. She had so many fond memories of going there with her sister, holding hands on all the scariest rides, scarfing down all the cotton candy they could stomach, coming home exhausted but proud. And now, all of that was eclipsed by one lousy boyfriend.

"Are you sure?" Anna said, looking into Elsa's eyes. "You sounded excited to go."

"Pfft, it's fine," Elsa said, waving a hand dismissively. "Your happiness is way more important to me than some crummy amusement park. I've been there a million times, anyway."

Anna didn't respond. Instead, she looked down, seemingly in deep thought.

After a while, she looked up. "You know what? No," she said determinedly. "Let's go there."

Elsa blinked. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes," Anna said. "You're right. Angel Island is ours. He doesn't get to take that from us."

Elsa swelled in pride from the confidence in her sister's voice. Yet she also saw her hands shaking.

"Okay, really think about this, Anna," she said carefully. "If you really want to go, I think that'd be good for you. But it might also be painful. Are you sure you want to subject yourself to that?"

Anna took another deep breath. She held out her hand, and Elsa took it. "No, I'm not sure," she said. "But if I have to face them…I'd rather do it with you."

Elsa saw the trust and love in Anna's eyes, and her own eyes started to water. "Okay," Elsa said. "Let's do it."

Anna nodded sharply. "Okay!" she said. "I'll meet you there Sunday at…9?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," Elsa said. "There should be a bus that takes me right there."

She heard a low rumbling and glanced to the left. A green bus drove by on the highway, the same bus she had ridden in on. She remembered it taking roughly five minutes to get from there to the theater.

"Speaking of buses, I should probably get back to the stop," she said. She turned back to Anna. "I'll text you when I-"

Then Anna kissed her on the lips.

Elsa froze in place. Whatever she had just been thinking about was flushed away in an instant by the taste of strawberry chapstick.

After a half second that lasted two minutes, Anna stepped away, blushing heavily. "Uh…I'll s-see you Sunday!" she said, waving as she got into her car.

Elsa waved back, dazed. "See you," she said. She waited until Anna had pulled away, then slowly walked back towards the theater.

Okay, she thought to herself. First question: what was that? Anna never kisses me, especially not on the lips. Was that a kiss for Elsa Schneider, or me?

Second question: why did it affect me so strongly? That was a closed mouth kiss with my sister, so why am I feeling butterflies?

The parking lot offered no answers, only blackness and silence. But silence was good. She could use silence right now to help her think.

I guess I've been getting a little too into this whole 'fake date' thing. It's fun, and it lets me spend more time with Anna, but my brain must be stuck in 'real date' mode. It doesn't help that I haven't seen Esmerelda in a couple months.

Satisfied with her explanations, Elsa felt her heart rate return to normal. She was starting to feel foolish for panicking in the first place.

And why shouldn't she kiss me? Sisters kiss all the time, it's not weird. And she clearly had to work up some courage to do it, so the least I could do is appreciate it.

She reached the stop just as the bus pulled into the parking lot. She hopped on and settled in for the ride back.

Maybe it was a little weird, she admitted. But Anna's put so much of her trust in me. I think I can trust her on this.

xxxxxxx

Oh my god, Elsa, why did you have to turn your head so fast?

Anna felt her heart pounding away at her eardrums as she drove home, hands locked on the steering wheel.

It's funny, how quickly a simple plan can derail. A quick peck on the cheek, then a nice hug, would've been the perfect conclusion to this excellent night. But nope, instead she had to take the last exit to Awkwardtown.

Still, it hadn't been unpleasant, she had to admit. The taste, the smell, the feel – she wouldn't mind doing it again.

With someone who wasn't her sister, of course.

xxxxxxx

The house was…empty without Elsa. No emptier than it had been a week ago, of course, but it sort of felt like it was. Anna flipped on a few extra lights as she walked through the house in an effort to weaken the illusion.

It was going to be a long Saturday without Elsa. Maybe she'd go jogging again – she'd been meaning to for a while. Or maybe she'd send out a few more college applications. She'd already applied to all the schools she wanted to go to, but a few extra couldn't hurt. Or she could always just lie on the sofa and watch Pawn Stars all day. She was sure the History channel would happily oblige.

She stepped into her room. Not tonight, though. Tonight, she had…homework.

She locked the door behind her, fully aware that she had absolutely no reason to. She powered up her laptop, its blue glow illuminating her room in a ghostly pallor.

She started to feel nervous again, and her hands began to shake as she opened up her browser in incognito mode, same as last time. Except this time, she wasn't going to back out at the last second. For this time, she was on a mission from her sister.

You just made it weird again, she told herself. Stop making it weird.

Powering through her nervousness, she pulled up her search engine and typed in the words "Vanilla Pornography." She switched the search results to videos, then began to look at the previews.

A few seconds later, she frantically closed the tab, blushing profusely.

Jesus Christ, that's vanilla?

She stared at the now blank screen, trying to erase the images the previews had planted in her brain. She willed the images out of her head, then opened up her browser again for a second try. She couldn't just quit after one single attempt.

What was that other word Elsa had used? Softcore? Yeah, that sounded about right.

Repeating the same steps as before, Anna typed in her new query. A very different series of videos appeared.

All women. Of course. Well, I have to start somewhere.

She perused the videos until she found one that looked promising – a leggy blonde in jean shorts and a red tank top.

Well, here goes nothing.

As the video started, she was surprised as a smooth jazz song began playing. The gentle saxophone helped ease some of the tension in her body as the video opened on the woman, leaning back in an armchair. She really was gorgeous, with big, pouty red lips and ivory skin. She smiled coquettishly at the camera, and Anna felt her heart flutter.

Okay, question answered. You're a lesbian. You can close the video now.

But she didn't. She kept watching as the woman writhed, slowly and sensually, on the armchair. Anna trembled, and she felt a warmth between her legs.

The woman grabbed her tank top and pulled it over her head, her every movement graceful. She tossed the garment at the camera, giggling and crossing her arms over her chest, now concealed only by a lacy pink bra.

Anna felt the heat between her legs increase. No longer content to just watch, she spread her legs and reached a hand down beneath her waistband, her fingers brushing through the tuft of hair.

On her screen, the woman had turned her back to the camera, and she was unbuttoning and pulling down her jean shorts. Anna traced the outline of her sex, then plunged her fingers into herself.

The feeling was electrifying. Anna inhaled sharply, the sudden feeling of pleasure catching her off guard. Presently, it started to fade, so she kept moving her fingers, thrusting them back and forth.

The woman writhed over the armchair, her gyrating body contrasting with Anna's stock still figure. She seemed to be looking directly at Anna.

Anna curled her toes, barely registering the satisfying cracks they gave off. She moved her fingers faster, and her breathing accelerated as well.

The woman pulled one of her bra straps off of her shoulder, and smiled wickedly as she unhooked it. She shrugged it off, revealing her large, melon-like breasts and hard nipples. It was a flawless body.

So, Anna thought to herself, her mental voice fighting for her attention over the mounting pleasure, do I just keep doing this, or is there some special trick I should –

Her fingers drifted to the side, and touched a new place. Anna gasped.

The pleasure she had been feeling before felt like nothing compared to the euphoria that now blasted through her body. She moved her hand across the sensitive spot again, and another wave shot through her.

Okay, there's the answer.

Anna kept rubbing, faster and faster, the euphoria growing stronger and stronger. The woman danced around on the screen, but she could no longer hear the music. Her hand moved back and forth, back and forth, and she felt her fingers grow wet, and her heart was racing, and the pleasure only grew more and more intense, so much so that she thought she might explode, and the woman was looking at her again and

FUCK

Her back arched off of the chair, and she let out a moan. Then it was done.

Anna slumped back into the desk chair, breathing heavily. Her senses, which seemed to have stopped working in that moment of ecstasy, slowly returned to her.

The smooth jazz caught her attention again, and looking at the video, she realized that the woman had not even fully undressed yet. Raising her right hand and finding it sticky, she instead grabbed the mouse with her left hand and closed the browser.

The clamor of feelings and pleasure that had just clouded her head were now gone, leaving only a general feeling of relaxation. Presently, she noticed the damp spot that had appeared on her panties.

I could use a shower.

She gently closed the laptop and exited her room, heading for the bathroom. As she walked, a thought occurred to her.

Holy crap, that's what that feels like?

How does anyone ever leave the house, when they could just do that all day?