My Playmate Ch. 02

The two girls were able to maintain the place. Courtney felt bad about abandoning them and her modeling fees would more than pay for her share of the apartment. And so for the rest of the year that apartment remained my haven. Sure, both Anna and Christine had photos of Courtney on the walls. Sure, every little object in there reminded me of her. But those little touches did not torture me. I know some people couldn't stand to be reminded of a loved one once they were gone. But I felt an extra comfort seeing them, as if she was still with me in some small way.

Anna noticed and, per usual, had her own snarky remark. "Dude, she's not dead or anything."

In fact, Courtney would often call to catch up. It took a few weeks before she go the courage to ask Christine to hand the phone to me, but when she finally did we were able to talk like the old close friends we truly were. She was no longer a romantic lover in my life, but I couldn't hold anything against her. At least, that's what I kept telling myself.

So we stayed in touch, and she filled me in on all the pitfalls and misadventures beyond the glitz and glamour of the Playboy empire. She'd already done another small pictorial as well as two Playboy videos. The money was good, the people were friendly, and she was delighting in the micro-fame it brought her for now. A Playmate of the Month pictorial was just around the corner.

But apart from those calls, I was alone. So I buried myself in my schoolwork. I had no interest in the social scene. I was on a break from the hassles of dating life. Sleep, eat, attend lecture, play video games, eat, study, shower, and sleep again. The mindless routine kept me moving forward.

Courtney once told me I had to find another girlfriend. I had to get out of the girls' apartment and drag some cute coed into my bedroom. But I just didn't have the desire. I should have known then that even from afar, Courtney wasn't done scheming with my life, wanting to know that I was happy.

***

I'd just finished a shower and was half-naked in my bedroom, changing into my bedclothes when a knock rapped at my bedroom door. "Hang on a minute!" I yelled.

"You naked or something?" Brian's voice echoed through the wood.

"Well, yeah," I hollered.

"Good!" And then my door swung open.

"Shit!" I yelped and I fought to get my underwear up from their position around my ankles.

"You always did have a nice ass," a feminine voice called out.

**The hell...?** My eyebrows screwed up in confusion and I turned around.

Christine was smiling at me, her cute face looking oh so pretty and her green eyes sparkling. She was wearing a soft V-neck sweater that showed off her big, firm tits. My eyes were automatically drawn straight to those before I looked up to see Brian closing my bedroom door once again, leaving me alone and half-naked with his girlfriend.

"Christine... hi..." I managed to stammer.

She didn't say anything else as she walked forward, crossing her arms down and then lifting the sweater up and over her head in a single smooth motion.

"Um, what are you doing?" I gulped. It had been a rather long time since I'd had anything remotely resembling sex, and I found myself suddenly very nervous.

"I think you know." She stopped two feet in front of me, eyeing the noticeable tent forming in my boxers while she reached back to undo the clasp to her bra. One click and then I found myself holding my breath as she shrugged her shoulders, letting the cups first separate slightly from the huge, round orbs, and then the thin material was falling away to land on my carpet.

**Oh, my gawd...** I was in absolute awe of the first breasts I had seen in months. They were as large and firm and perky as I remembered, nipples at attention as if they were reaching out to me.

And then those nipples were coming a helluva lot closer as Christine pressed her boobs into my chest and wrapped her arms around me for a juicy kiss. I moaned into the kiss, reveling in the wonderful feeling of my first kiss since Courtney left.

It was that thought that broke the spell, and the sadness flooded back into my heart. I pulled back, already blinking the tears away. "I can't."

"Sure you can." Christine's voice was soothing and maternal. "It's not like we haven't done this before."

"I know." I nodded and hung my head, then looked up into Christine's eyes again once I realized I was staring down at her still-naked tits. "But, please. I'm not ready yet. Don't push me."

"Oh, it's okay. It's okay." Christine reached up and gave me a warm, friendly hug. I did my best to ignore the fact that we were both still topless and my erection was still rubbing against her leg.

I sagged against her, leaning my weight down, tired of the heavy burden I had created for myself. I needed to truly get over Courtney. I needed to get on with my life. If nothing else, Christine's visit and my inability to clear my head was proof that I wasn't there yet.

When Christine released me, she smiled and said, "I don't know how I'm going to tell this to Courtney."

"You don't have to tell her."

"It was her suggestion. She'll want to know how things turned out."

"Well, you can tell her the truth. But if you two are ever going to try this again, I really don't want a pity-fuck."

"Who says this was just a pity-fuck?" Christine looked at me with a twinkle in her eye. "Me, I've been craving your cock for months! I just had to make sure it was cool with Courtney before I made a move."

"Well, sorry to disappoint. But Brian is next door and I'm sure he'd be happy to satisfy your urges."

Christine giggled and then pulled her sweater on, leaving her bra in her hands for efficiency once she got next door. "I'm sure he will be. Well, at least you can masturbate while listening to us. See you later."

I sat down heavily on my bed. Letting my pent-up emotions drain out of me like grains of sand through an hourglass. It was only a matter of time. I could handle this.

So when the whimpers and moans and rhythmic pounding started wafting through the wall, I lay back and let my hand drift down to wrap around my engorged member. Listening to the sexual aria, I let wonderful visions flutter into my head. The women in my mind were gorgeous, but faceless. For the first time in a long while, I didn't have to dream of Courtney. My recovery had truly begun.

***

Anna and I were in front of the TV, pummeling each other (virtually) into bloody pulps on the PlayStation. Brian and Christine were out on their own somewhere, perhaps at our boys' house fucking each other's lights out.

After some time, we both leaned back against the couch and caught our breaths, rolling our wrists and pleasantly listening to the cracking of our knuckles and other finger joints. It was a good thing we stopped or I would have had hand cramps for a few hours.

My stomach gurgled, loudly, and Anna looked at me before laughing. "Come on, let's go find some food."

The two of us had picked up dinner many, many times together over the years. But still with my sense of humor intact I mimed as if I were pulling flowers from behind my back and offering them up to her. "And what cuisine does the lady desire, mon cherie?"

Anna slapped my hands away. "It's just food, not a date, stupid." Her grin was infectious. Still, Anna went into her bedroom to change.

When she came out she was wearing a cute blouse, a blouse I remembered Courtney pointing out as one Anna had picked out specifically because she thought I would like it.

So we got our food and stayed at the fast-food joint for an hour and a half just talking. Then it was back home to finish homework and get some sleep.

The next evening, the four of us were playing Uno together when my stomach started gurgling again. I made the suggestion to get food this time. But then Christine piped up that she wasn't hungry and didn't feel like going out. And everyone was too lazy to cook on this particular day.

So Anna and I were the only ones to leave and find dinner. We offered to bring the food back so we could still hang out. But Brian ordered me not to come back to the apartment for at least an hour. He and Christine had precious few opportunities to use HER bedroom as it was.

And then the very next evening, Christine had a project team meeting for one of her classes. Anna was planning to cook this night, but just as the food was about ready, Brian got a phone call and said he had to leave.

Three times in a row I could almost understand. But when more lame-ass excuses came up for the fourth night in a row, Anna and I began to suspect something.

Anna was the first to comment, "You think they're trying to leave us alone together?"

"Looks that way to me," I snorted. "Manipulative jerks."

"Come on. Would it really be so bad to be alone with me?"

I stopped moving, dead in my tracks. The tone in Anna's voice had been plaintive, fully sincere in their worry, without the usual snarky sarcasm that accompanied such a comment. I turned and looked right into Anna's eyes. "No. Of course not. I love being here with you."

The words poured out of me, and I felt a blush rise into my cheeks as I realized how seriously I had just said those words and how seriously Anna had just taken them. I was suddenly very confused and worried that Anna might misconstrue my meaning for something romantic, and immediately I cut in saying, "So, let's eat and then I wanna kick your ass at Turbo Pong."

I had put as much of a playful, casual-friendly grin into my words. The moment soon passed and then Anna and I were chatting and laughing as if the awkward moment had never existed.

By 2am it was clear that Christine would not be returning to the apartment, likely crashing with Brian. I could feel my head getting very heavy, and for the past twenty minutes I'd been keeping up my end of the conversation while leaning sideways into the backrest with my head flush against the cushion. I was drowsy and realized I was dangerously close to falling asleep.

By this time, Anna had showered and changed into her nighttime attire. It was the same cute pajama set I'd seen her in a hundred times, often without a bra, like tonight. In my half-conscious state, I wasn't aware that we'd both been silent for ten minutes or so, just staring at each other in curious wonderment.

Anna was my friend. In her gamer competitiveness and book smarts I had sometimes forgotten she was a girl. She was never the most socially outgoing person or the most drop-dead gorgeous girl around. But she had always been honest and open with me. And every now and again I found myself wondering what dating her might be like.

And so tonight, already halfway to the dream world, I looked lovingly at my friend as if she were a peaceful angel watching over me as I slept. She'd removed her glasses and sat on the couch just a few feet away, facing me with her head against the backrest like me, looking as sleepy as I felt. In her sarcastic sense of humor, Anna's face normally had an edgy defensiveness when she looked out upon the world. But now she was softer, fresher, and more beautiful than I'd ever seen her.

**No, really. When did Anna go and become hot?** There was a smile across my face as I gazed upon her form, feeling a warm contentment with the way our night had gone. She saw the expression on my face and mirrored it with a smile of her own.

I blinked just once. I could feel my eyes close for only a second, but when my eyes sharpened again I could see the clock had shifted by six hours, morning sunlight peering through the curtains.

I was lying rather more comfortably across the couch, my back trapped into a corner with my legs stretched out in front of me. The warm weight of Anna's body was cuddled in between my body and the backrest, her head cradling against my chest and on top of my arm that had wrapped around her back.

I shifted fractionally in momentary disorientation at my surroundings. And the twitch in my body was enough to stir Anna along the pathway towards her own wakening. She breathed deeply against my chest, still asleep, and then I realized she had one hand underneath my shirt and holding the skin of my side.

The hand tickled a bit when she shifted in her sleep, and the uncontrollable cycle began to repeat itself. The more she tickled, the more I moved. And the more I moved, the more her hand tickled me.

I was chuckling slightly at the sensation. Somehow, the harder I tried to remain still the more impossible it was to do so. Until suddenly the strength in Anna's hand came back and she clutched against my body, and I could feel her head moving against my chest as she fully began waking up.

I simply held her in the warm embrace, and blinking slowly Anna looked up to see me smiling down at her. She smiled right back at me, and gently rolled her head back, her lips pursed.

It felt so completely natural to lean my head down and meet Anna's lips with my own. Instinct of doing this a thousand times took over while I let my hand stroke the spine of Anna's back while she turned into my embrace to more fully give herself to our kiss.

It was her tongue that first breached the barrier between our mouths, and then my lips opened up to fully receive her and return the passion flooding into me. She moaned into our liplock, a note of arousal both familiar in tone and yet unfamiliar in its voice.

Her body slid across mine until she was straddling me from head to toe: chest to chest, hip to hip. My morning erection, bolstered by the hormonal adrenaline pouring through my arteries, was grinding into her body where she could undoubtedly feel it. This lovely morning makeout session was something I had done many times, almost like a habit, and yet the feeling of something being off, something different was nagging in the corner of my mind.

The full realization came with the full awareness of my waking mind. "Anna!" I gasped while physically pushing her body up and away from me. It was as if I never truly understood who I was with.

Anna's brown eyes were wild storms and she panted to catch her breath before asking me, "Yes?"

"Anna?"

She looked at me a little funny. "Yes..."

A wave of embarrassment shot through me. "Oh, I'm so sorry I kissed you."

She had a quizzical grin on her face. "Yeah, I really hated that." Anna's trademark sarcasm dripped through her comment. And then my nostrils were filled with the sweet scent of her skin as she leaned down and captured my lips with hers once again.

She couldn't be any clearer that this was what she wanted. But I felt my own desires a rioting mass of confusion in my head. I wanted to kiss her back. But I felt like something was wrong. Was I cheating on Courtney? But I wasn't even WITH Courtney anymore. Did I still have feelings for Courtney? Was this fair to Anna?

The questions and issues were coming at me so fast I couldn't even process them any longer, my face on autopilot as I groaned and kissed Anna back. But just when my brain felt overloaded I pulled away, shaking my head, still in shock at what was happening.

The sound of a key in the door lock saved me. Anna slipped away and sat on the couch next to me, glancing at the front door. It popped open a moment later, Christine and Brian's bodies silhouetted in the morning light pouring through the doorway and blinding us.

Christine's sexy and insinuating voice came straight away, "What have you two been up to?"

***

Neither Anna nor I mentioned our more-than-friends morning for the rest of the day. The four of us simply returned to our classwork and daily routines.

Once Brian realized that I had not returned to the house, he was considerate enough to bring me my book bag. Like true college students our breakfast, the most important meal of the day, went completely forgotten as we all hustled out to our classes.

One cute girl who'd been trying to flirt with me ever since Courtney left commented on the fact that I was wearing the exact same clothes I'd worn the day before. She wasn't my type, though, and I was still trying to sort out what had happened with me and Anna, so I just sort of grumbled and ignored the remark.

However, Christine and I had a class together at 11am, and she wasn't going to be quite as easy to brush off.

I was already in the lecture hall, waiting the five minutes for class to begin. Christine came and sat in the seat immediately next to me, as opposed to our usual one space in between us for the added elbow room. The first words out of her mouth were, "So, give me the gory details!" She giggled as if relishing the latest gossip with her girlfriends.

"There's nothing to say. Nothing happened."

"The hell you say. I saw the look on that girl's face. Anna was absolutely glowing. And you tell me nothing happened?"

"Really, nothing happened."

"Absolutely nothing? Come on, this is Anna. She's my roommate and I know what she looks like in the morning. And today she was GLOWING. Did you fuck her?"

"No!" My hissed response was a little too loud, and we drew the attention of several people around us.

"Why not? I know for a fact that she wants to."

"What?"

"Never mind that." Christine suddenly looked a little embarrassed, as if she'd divulged too much information. Her eyes darted back and forth, as if searching through her brain for just the right deduction. "Oh, I know. Did you kiss her?"

"Uh-"

"I KNEW it! Well, it's nothing like getting a nice fuck. But for Anna, I'll bet that's just as good. So, you finally kissed her!"

"Whaddaya mean 'finally'?" I hissed. I could feel the volume in my voice rising once again.

"Good lord, you're not that dense are you? The girl's been crushing on you for years. And now Courtney is gone and given her blessing to Anna. We all knew there would be a mourning period or something. But that poor little girl has been pining and waiting for you to make your move."

We were interrupted by a voice from behind me. "Wait, he finally kissed Anna?"

Courtney turned around and looked at the red-headed girl sitting behind me. "Yeah, took him long enough to get his head out of his ass."

"I'll say," the red-head responded, then leaned back into her chair, shaking her head.

I glanced back at the red-head and then glared daggers at Christine. "Wait, who else have you told about this whole thing?"

"Told? No one. I didn't have to tell anyone. Like half the campus already knew Anna's been crushing on you. Her personality switches from night to day when you walk into the room."

"I never noticed."

"That's because you're a stupid BOY." Christine's grin was priceless.

So everyone knew how Anna felt about me. Deep down, I guess I knew all along as well. But that didn't mean I knew what to do about it. The bonds holding me to Courtney just weren't that easy to let go of.

***

Well, when life throws a curveball at you, you've got two choices. One, duck away and hope you don't get knocked upside the head. Or two, grip the bat and give it the best swing you've got.

Ducking Anna didn't seem like a good solution. And I'd already told myself more than once to move on with my life and find out what existed beyond my first love.

**Time to give it the best swing I've got.** So I was waiting on the couch when Anna came back to the apartment just before lunch.

She seemed surprised to see me. It wasn't part of our normal routine to meet up for lunch. I had a 1pm class clear on the other side of campus and usually just picked up some food on the way over there. But today I needed to make the time to do this.

As Anna looked at me I stammered and stuttered like a nervous fool. I'd never even felt this nervous in front of Courtney before. A comfortable attraction to the girl I'd always known as a friend was mixed with trepidation and worry at knowing we could never be the same again. I couldn't find the words to express what I was feeling. So I let my actions speak for me.