The arcade was empty. Matsuri and Harumi had gone to the movies, but they were barely watching. After the film, they found a dark corner and started French kissing. It was a long, passionate kiss that they had been holding back for quite a long time.
It was so wet and deep and long that they forgot about time. Eventually they left the movie theater. Harumi didn't know how to deal with these new feelings. For a long time, she had acted as if everything was OK. Now, everything was not OK. Everything was a huge mess.
"We can't tell Nene about this," said Harumi.
"Why? She has a right to know eventually, doesn't she?" Matsuri gave her the usual wink and a smile.
Harumi stopped and looked around them, then she put her hands up to Matsuri's face and felt her cheeks and the sides of her face, smoothly touching her to get a sense of her. She looked deeply into the pink haired girl's eyes.
"Why am I like this?" she asked. Matsuri just looked up at her, "Because I'm here, maybe?" She put her hand on the taller girl's waist, then her lower back, and rubbed up and down. Harumi plunged her face down to her friend for another kiss, but they heard people and reversed course and just kept walking.
"This is crazy, why why…." Harumi was panicking. This wasn't what good girls did.
"Relax, relax!" said Matsuri, as she elbowed Harumi playfully. "It's fine, it's just what people do."
"But I didn't know I was like this?" Harumi said with anxiety. "What if I was always like this? What if I'm a…"
"A L-E-Z?" asked Matsuri. "Yeah, them," said Harumi with a laugh.
"I'll protect you, I hear they're dangerous woman eaters or something." Harumi turned a shade of crimson. "You what? Oh no." She felt so embarrassed.
They walked to a coffee house to get tea. It had turned cold at the end of the day. They wanted to warm up. Harumi had never been so nervous in her life, she hadn't ever been in a real relationship and had just experienced her first kiss. She wasn't known for this sort of thing. Maybe her gyaru look was armor against a world she didn't understand? Maybe it was a sign? She felt cold externally and internally. She didn't understand who she was anymore.
"Matsuri…" she asked more sweetly than she ever had before, and noticed the change, as did Matsuri. Matsuri smiled sweetly in turn, "Have you kissed anyone before now?" Matsuri's eyes bulged, "That was your first kiss just now wasn't it, Harumi?" She blushed red.
"That's good! It's never too late to learn. Did you like it?" Harumi was totally embarrassed, she got very quiet and crossed her legs, "Yes. Very much so."
"Do you mind that it was with a girl?" Harumi thought about it, "No, it was fine either way. It was sort of… wet and soft." Matsuri smiled, then grinned broadly, "Yeah, that's kissing."
"Can we do it again some time?" asked Harumi. Matsuri nodded, "Of course! I was afraid I would have to ask first!"
Harumi now felt a little more relaxed. She stared out of the window at the changing light of dusk. They had felt a connection between them, and maybe it had been simmering for a while, but it had overflowed just within the last hour or two. It felt nice to be in a determined relationship with goals that she could sense. She felt bad now for always having teased Yuzu about getting a boyfriend. That was a mouthful when she had just had her first kiss with another woman.
A server came by with their tea and milk, they prepared their drinks and sipped. They both looked into the other's eyes. It felt like a dream in this tea house, like some nostalgic thing you could only imagine.
They were content for a while with no words. Everything had been said in that passionate kiss. They were both terrible at communicating things in words, everything erupted from a dull roar in their reptilian brains, Harumi thought. They were both probably brilliant people but so stupid with relationship stuff or reading into any of this three and four months ago. She should've noticed how close Matsuri was acting with her, always trying to be in her personal space. This tension had released itself moments ago and now they were left with a sweet afterthought. It was hard not to notice Matsuri's lips sipping her tea. For the first time ever, she was noticing another girl's body in minute detail. Her eyes, lips, nose, for one; her hands were pretty, tiny and cute. There were a lot of things to like and admire about Matsuri.
"Uh, Matty—oh, is it okay if I call you that?" Matsuri seemed a little perturbed, "Okay, doesn't matter." She gave her a look with a raised eyebrow.
"Uh, Matsuri, did what we just did, were you serious about it?" Matsuri was astonished and put on a grim face, "You—what? Seriously!?" She could've got up and left at the remark but reminded herself how difficult it had been to get Harumi this far, perhaps she could be allowed to misread things a little. She calmed herself down, put down her tea and folded her hands, "Serious. What is serious to you?"
Harumi had a casual face, it was a fun question, "I was serious, Matsuri," she grew more lascivious, "I don't mean to insult you. You joke with me all the time. I think it was serious, I don't want to insult you, okay?" There was real concern in her tone.
Matsuri left off the gas a little, "Yes, it was serious," like a child to her parent who asked her if she was doing her homework. "I care for you, I want to get to know you better, I took that kiss very seriously and I understood what it meant."
"Oh, good. I know it's prudish and piggish to act like you didn't care or it wasn't honest—I know how sincere you were, I felt your sincerity. I just wanted to be sure it was in good faith—" Matsuri looked like she might cry, Harumi reached her hand out and held Matsuri's, "No. I don't mean that. What I mean is…" Her mind blanked and wandered, "You're important to me now. And I feel really confused, I'm sorry. This is all so overwhelming, I deeply care about you, Matsuri."
Matsuri thought this was a good start, she reached and met Harumi's hand and Harumi held her hand back, intertwining their fingers. "It felt good, didn't it?" The question hung in the air like gold plated lettering.
"Yes," responded Harumi, peering deeply into the other girl's eyes before letting go and drinking more tea.
On their way out of the tea house, their shoulders bumped. It had typically happened before while hanging out with the gang, but now it felt more alive. There was a resonance to their touch that rang through her body. Harumi pulled Matsuri to an alley that looked somewhat dark, and hugged Matsuri tightly. "I'm sorry, all of my feelings are getting released today and I can't stop it." She felt desperate to release some part of herself now, some long neglected part in intimacy, courage, touch.
She rested her chin on Matsuri's shoulder and had her hands around her back, smoothly touching her friend to search for her figure. "Is it ok when I touch you? Do you like it?" Matsuri blushed, "Of course."
They both closed their eyes and held onto each other. Their body heat could be felt through their clothes, it was intoxicating, especially to Harumi who barely touched anyone.
"I'm kind of frigid, I'm sure you can tell."
Matsuri just rolled her eyes, "You just take a minute to warm up, is all. You're a very passionate woman. Don't put yourself down. Our kiss in the theater didn't feel cold or frigid." And she felt her friend more, pulling more into her, rubbing her hands around Harumi's waist.
"I want to explore this."
"Yes, of course," replied Matsuri. "How do you want to go about it?" she said as they separated and looked into each other's eyes.
"Can I stay at your place tonight?" asked Harumi.
Matsuri blushed and smiled, "That would be great. My parents are almost never around."
Harumi smiled down at Matsuri, she closed in and they sucked and felt their lips together, tasting each other's mouths and bodies, enjoying the sensation, exchanging a little spit and wanting more of it.
"You taste amazing," said Harumi. "You equally," said Matsuri, with her eyes shut, lost in this dream. "I'm extremely happy right now," said Matsuri, "You've made me so very happy by expressing yourself so much today. I was afraid I'd never unlock your heart the way I wanted to."
Harumi softly touched her forehead to Matsuri's, shutting her eyes, and then opened them to find Matsuri had opened hers.
"Let's go to your place!" Harumi let out, and they held each other's hands inconspicuously between them, linking only a few fingers so people wouldn't notice.
"Actually, I don't think I've been there before," stammered Harumi.
"It's lovely, you'll like it, I promise." And Harumi felt content.
