Date: Sun, 19 Aug 2001 13:55:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jennifer Douglas <jennydude15@yahoo.com>
Subject: A Brand New World Chapter 4

Over the next two months and a half things went on pretty smoothly. Jason
provided me with Jenny's phone number, and we got talking. She was on a
grade level above mine and we shared quite a few things in common. We had
agreed that a relationship between us wouldn't be a very good idea, but the
occasional make out session couldn't hurt anyone. We were great friends
though. Jason and Jimmy were as happy as ever. Haily had gone through 3
guys already, complaining on how immature they were. Scott and Amy were
headed for their three months anniversary. School work was straining and I
was looking forward to the weekend. My parents were going out of town and
were taking Joey with them, thus leaving the house all to myself.

I awoke on Saturday morning at around 10:30 to the sounds of water
splashing on my roof. I loved it when it rained. It looked like it was a
thunderstorm. I skip out of bed down the stairs and prepare myself some
breakfast. After breakfast I made myself confy on the sofa and pulled out a
copy of "Madame Bovary". I heard loud thunders crash outside along with the
rain. I curled up in a ball and continued reading. Yet, I was quickly
disturbed by a knock on my door. Confused, I got myself up to open the
door. What I saw I wasn't expecting.

Amy stood there, soaked to the bone, tears streaming down her face, shaking
from the cold. It took me a few seconds to register the image.

"Oh my god Ams, get in here!" I yelled pulling her inside the
house. Without a word I made her follow me into my room.

"Ok honey, you need to take a warm bath to try to keep that cold away, ok?"
She nodded in agreement. I filled up the large tub with water. I brought in
a few towels and was about to leave when she pleaded me.

"Could you help me undress, I don't have the energy, please," I felt
strange about it, but wasn't about to bail on her. She lifted her arms
weakly as I took off her shirt. I went on to undo the buttons of her jeans
and pull them off, leaving her in her bra and panties. She asked for me to
help her take those off also. Slowly my hands went around her back to
unclasp her bra, and then down to her waist for her matching panties. I
couldn't even look at her I was so embarrassed, I had never seen her naked
before. I tried not to stare at her, and I didn't. I quickly maneuvered her
into the bathtub and let her in there. I went out and searched for a fresh
pair of underwear for her. As we were pretty much the same size, she would
fit into it. Next I got some PJ's for her, and headed down stairs. I didn't
know what was wrong, but I wasn't about to go asking. She would tell me
when she was ready. Opening the fridge I took out some cheese and milk. Her
favorite food was grilled cheese and warm chocolate milk, and that's just
what I prepared.

With the grilled cheese sandwich and milk in hand, I went upstairs once
again. She was sitting on my bed with a towel wrapped around her.

"Here, put these on, you need to stay warm," I said handing her the
clothing. She stood up, dropped the towel and began to dress. I was caught
up by the sight for a second, but quickly turned around, pretending to be
setting things straight on my desk. When the fumbling noises stopped I
walked over to the bed and handed her the food.

"My favorite," she smiled with the bits of energy she had and took a
bite. I took a seat by her and waited patiently for her to finish.

"Would you like me to put some music on for you?"

"Could you please put Dido on," she too found comfort there. I stood up and
placed the CD on. She finished the sandwich and placed it on the night
table. I sat next to her, Indian style, awaiting for what was to happen
next. I placed my hand on her shoulder causing her to look into my eyes. A
tear slid down her face.

"Oh sweety," I couldn't help by saying. This seemed to open up the
floodgates. She threw her arms around my neck and began sobbing into my
chest. I put my arms around her, holding her tight to me, brushing my hand
through her hair.

"Let it all out sugar, let it all out," following the great advice Jason
had given me just a few months back. After about 10 min of sobbing she
looked up at me, red-eyed.

"You want to tell me what happened?" She simply nodded. It took her a few
minutes to get it together, sobbing here and there.

"It was our 3 month anniversary. His parents were out of town but he was
home. I wanted to surprise him with a silver nameplate I had bought him. I
rang the bell for a couple of minutes, but no one answered. I knew he was
he was home because his car was in the driveway. So I went it, the door was
unlocked. Maybe he had fallen asleep, I thought, that would make a great
surprise, you know? So I went up the stairs to his bedroom. I went in and
it was empty, but the music was on. That's when I heard him come out of the
bathroom, with a towel around his waist.  I smiled at him and said 'Happy
anniversary honey'. He just looked at me in horror. I couldn't understand
why," she paused, she was sobbing again. I stroked her hair, and handed her
another Kleenex.

 "And then, sniff, and then I saw her come out after him, with a towel
around her too. She called out to him 'Honey, what's wrong?' and then she
saw me. That slut Diana.  I thew the gift at him. 'Fucking asshole!' I
said, and stormed out. He tried to run behind me saying 'Wait Amy, let me
explain' But what is there to explain! He was fucking her! On our 3 month
anniversary. I didn't know what to do, so I just ran here."

"I'm glad you did, it's gonna be ok Ams," I tried in a soothing voice. I
was going to kill that bastard. I was going to strangle him for what he
did.

"Why? Why?," she demanded as she cried against my chest. "Was I not good
enough, am I not good enough?"

"Oh no no honey, don't ever say that! You're the most wonderful girl in the
world. You're perfect. You're incredibly intelligent, you're funny, you're
sweet, and caring, and kind, and you're absolutely gorgeous. You're
anyone's dream, perfect, just perfect. Scott is the biggest idiot I have
ever met for loosing you. The only reason he did it is because you have
self-respect.  He just lost the best anyone could ever have." I whispered
to her. She suddenly stopped crying. Uh-oh, I thought, did I over do it by
telling her how I felt.

"Do you really mean that?" She asked lifting herself up and stating into my
eyes.

"Yes, absolutely," I hope I'm not making a mistake, but I want her to feel
better. She stared into my eyes even deeper and smiled, her face getting
closer to mine. I suddenly shot up from the bed.

"I better get this stuff downstairs," taking up the empty plate and glass.

"Yea, you should," she said, dejected.

I placed the plate in the sink. What had happened up there? Nothing,
nothing had. She's just confused right now.

About 20 min later I re-entered the room. Amy was cuddled up under my
covers. I slowly made my way back out, but she called out to me, apparently
not completely asleep.

"Mandy?"

"Yea?"

"Could you hold me, please?"

"Anything you want," I whispered crawling up behind her, wrapping myself
around her. I knew this wasn't a good idea, but she needed me.

I awoke to the gentle stroking of my hair. Slowly I opened my eyes, trying
to understand where I was. Just inches from my own face was Amy's, smiling
at me, still stroking my hair.

"Hi," she said in a sweet, low voice.

"Hi," I replied groggily. "How are you feeling?"

"Much, much better. Thank you Mandy."

"It was my pleasure," My god she was beautiful. Her face closed up the
space between us and she kissed my cheek, and backed away. Then came back,
but I slipped out of the bed, avoiding her lips. She was confused, she
didn't know what she was doing. I couldn't let her make that mistake. She
looked hurt.

"I..I..," I stammered. "We better call your parents, tell them you're
here. You can stay if you want." I handed her the phone.

"Ok, I'll stay the night. Thank you. Oh hi, mom? Listen, I'm at Manda's,
I'll be staying here tonight, ok? Thanks, love you, bye," She handed the
phone back to me.

"So what do you want to do, watch some movies?" I asked

"Sure!" and she went to look through my DVD collection. She searched for a
while , until finally sighing with pleasure at her finding. She handed me
what she wanted to see, smiling slyly. I looked at the cover. Warning bells
went off in my mind . She had picked "When night is falling", a Canadian
movie, and a lesbian flick. The movie was about a supposedly straight woman
falling for a seductive circus actress.

I put on the DVD and sat next to Amy on the bed. About 10 min into the
movie, she asked if I could give her a massage, she was feeling
tense. Nervous about the request, I said yes. Who could resist those
pleading eyes? So she stretched my legs open, and sat down between them. I
began to massage her back as we both gazed at the film. Not 5 minutes later
Amy asked me to stop.

"Hold on, I want to take off my shirt, so I can feel it better"

"I don't think that's such a good idea Amy," But her shirt was already off,
revealing my own light blue satin bra.

"Oh be mature Manda" I was staring at her back, trying to get my hands to
touch her. She seemed to be getting impatient and grabbed my hands and put
them on her back, as she went back to concentrating on the movie. Her milky
white skin was so soft to my touch, it sent electric impulses all through
me. I continued to massage her back best I could, trying to concentrate on
the movie as I went along.. Occasionally she would give a little sigh of
pleasure, encouraging me to work harder. She seemed to really tense up
during the love scene. She was barely even breathing.  All of a sudden she
turned around. She looked deep into my eyes, and began to lean it. I once
again, managed to slip out of the bed. She looked frustrated this time.

"That's the third time you've done that! Why won't you let me kiss you?"
she asked seeming upset and hurt.

"Because you don't know what you're doing, you're frustrated and confused,
and vulnerable. I will not take advantage of you like this." I replied,
although there was nothing I wished for more than to kiss her.

"But I do know what I'm doing!" she protested. "I thought you had meant
what you had said before, about me being perfect and all, I thought that's
how you felt. Now I see you meant nothing of it, it was just consolation
words," She looked at me, her eyes watering.

"No! That's not true! God, I've been in love with you since the moment I
met you," I was getting started. "I have shielded you from those feelings
because your friendship means the world to me and I wouldn't be able to
live without it. I couldn't risk loosing you to my feelings. I meant every
word I said, and much more. And .... And....it's not fair of you to play
with me like you're now. I know you're confused, but I have feelings, and
I'm getting hurt. You already broke my heart after you went with Scott, you
can't shatter it again," I yelled right back at her, tears rolling down my
face. What had I done? The friendship I had so nurtured flushed down the
toilet in seconds. I ran out of the room with my face in my hands, sobbing.

She ran right after me and wrapped herself around my waist before I reached
the stairs. She too was crying.

"I'm so sorry to have put you through all of this. I'm sorry that it has
taken me so long to figure out how much I love you. I'm sorry that I was so
afraid of my feelings for you I had to go out with that jerk. I'm so sorry
for hurting you. Please forgive me. I love you, and I have come to realize
how much I love you just today, after seeing how much you truly
cared. Please forgive me." She pleaded, holding me tight against her. I
turned around.

"Is that how you really feel?" She nodded. We had both stopped crying, and
were now looking into each others eyes. We stared at each other for
minutes, reading each other's minds. Then finally we leaned in, closing our
eyes, letting our lips meet at last. Electricity ran through us both as I
savored her long awaited lips. I felt high, I felt in heaven. My knees went
week as our kiss got more passionate. My arms massaged her almost naked
back, as hers were wrapped around my waist. Her essence was filling me
whole, I felt as though I was going to faint. And we pulled away. We smiled
at each other, knowing how powerful that kiss had been.

I led her by the hand back into the bedroom. Night had already come and the
moonlight was filling the rook with silver lighting. I pulled her close,
and we embraced in each others arms. I had never been happier in my
life. She was sharing the same feelings for as we pulled apart a tear of
joy slid down her face. I wanted this night to be so special. So I took her
by the hand again and led her towards the bed. She pulled me towards her
and our lips met again. Those luscious lips. Her tongue traced my lips,
asking for permission to enter. I didn't hesitate. Our tongues met briefly,
it sent chills through me. We became braver, entwining them. It was all so
soft. I ended the kiss and looked at her. Her eyes were still closed. I
kissed them. I moved with her towards the bed again. I then grabbed a
blanked and opened the sliding glass door. I got hang of my recliner and
slid it outside to the balcony. She followed me.

The night was beautiful. The stars were shining bright and the full moon
decorated the sky with her lovely gaze. I pulled the blanket around me and
sat on the arm-chair, arms open, awaiting for her to follow. She did, she
took a seat between my legs. I wrapped the blanket around both of us and
held her tight, as she leaned against me. I loved her smell, even through
the Herbal Essenses shampoo and body wash she had used, I could still sense
her scent.

"I love you Amy Smith," I said into her ear. I kissed it softly, she
giggled.

 "I love you Amanda Sammons," she said back. I had just noticed, we had the
same initials. That had to be a sign.

We gazed into the stars and the crashing waves of the ocean, whispering to
each other. A cool breeze blew. She shivered a bit and I held her
closer. We soon were asleep, she in my arms. I had the most peaceful sleep
in my life.