Sweet Friends

Part 7

Shilo had been sad to see the Grave Robber go, even if he was a drug dealer. He was nice to her. The evening dragged on and Shilo had another sex on the beach. She’d never tasted alcohol before, hadn’t even touched her father’s extensive liquor cabinet after he was gone. By the end of the evening she was almost giddy. Amber had made her dance with a young man who tried to grab her, but she had dodged him easily, instead spending the evening watching Amber interact with others in the club.

She would flatter and smile at some, or turn away others. One man got a hard slap across the cheek when he tried to approach. “What did he do?” Shilo asked after he had gone.

“Nothing,” Amber had answered, her voice tight.

*****

It was after midnight when they left. Shilo wanted to say goodbye to Grave Robber but he was nowhere to be found. Instead of driving to her house or the Largo residence the car moved deeper into the ghetto of the inner city, where the buildings were old and homeless people slept in huddled piles in doorways. “What are we doing here?” Shilo asked as they got out of the car in front of an apartment building in slightly better condition than the rest of the neighborhood.

“What are we doing here?”

“Gotta pay the Grave Robber,” she said, her voice short.

“We couldn’t do that at the club?”

“No.”

The Grave Robber answered the door in just a pair of jeans—bare chest, bare feet. There was dusting of dark hair across his chest and one long vertical scar. “What did you bring her for?” he hissed at Amber, who only shrugged and pushed her way in. Grave Robber followed. Shilo felt wounded. Hadn’t he brought her a drink at the club? He wasn’t a good friend, she thought, but he was one, wasn’t he? How could he not want her there for something as simple as settling a debt?

To her surprise Amber threw herself against the Grave Robber, covering his mouth with hers. Shilo stepped backwards to shut the still open door of the apartment and looked around, anywhere but at the couple pressed together in the center of the room. It was all one big space—a loft—with a couch and TV in one corner near the door and a kitchen in the back. Against one wall was a bedroom area with a bed and a dresser. Grave Robber had grasped Amber by the arms with both hands and was backing her towards the bed.

She hit the mattress with a moan and the springs squeaked under her weight. Shilo stood frozen as she watched Amber struggle out of her dress. She was wearing only a few scraps of lace as underwear but Amber’s nudity didn’t bother her nearly so much as when Grave Robber dropped his pants and Shilo caught sight of the pale expanse of his ass. She muffled a yelp and turned away, going over to the couch and sitting down facing the black screen of the TV.

She felt her face grow red listening to the sounds of their lovemaking. What am I doing here? Why am I putting up with this? But she had made a deal, and Amber had been a big help. She had even been almost nice to her since she came back, not like after the funeral. Shilo expected that maybe running Geneco wasn’t such a fun job, and maybe Amber needed a friend after all.

Amber cried out especially loudly and Shilo couldn’t help but turn around to see what was going on. Amber was on her hands and knees facing Shilo, her eyes closed. The Grave Robber was behind her on his knees, his hands on her hips while thrusting into her. His eyes were not closed. He was looking right at Shilo as he pounded into Amber. She met his gaze, a bold question on her face. Why are you doing this? Why with her?

He winked at her—actually winked—before his hands tightened on Amber and he shoved into her one more time hard and fast, letting out at loud guttural cry. He and Amber both fell into a sweating, heavy breathing heap on the bed, and Shilo turned back around before Amber noticed that she had been watching them.

Later in the car, Amber spoke to her. “What did you think of that?”

“I didn’t watch,” she said.

“Bullshit.”

“You said you were paying him. Why didn’t you just give him money? You didn’t need to do that.”

“Sometimes slumming it is fun, little girl. You’ll see.”

“No I won’t,” she said. “Not ever.”

Amber laughed. “So you think you’re better than him? You won’t lower yourself to fucking a drug dealer?”

“That’s not what I meant,” Shilo said in a near whisper. “I’m not better than anybody.”

“Sure. That’s why you look at me with such disgust when I’m high. You think you’re better than me, and you’re not. But you are better than him. He’s just a drug dealer. He doesn’t mean anything.” Amber turned away to look out the window.

“He’s been nice to me,” Shilo said cautiously.

“People are only nice when they want something.”

“You’ve been nice to me,” Shilo challenged. “What is it you want?” They had pulled up to Shilo’s house at that point. Amber didn’t turn back to her, and after an awkward silence Shilo said goodbye and got out of the car. She watched it roll away before she went in the gate, shutting it behind her.

Shilo went upstairs, passing the portrait of her mother. She pulled her shoes off on the landing before continuing up, passing her old room and her father’s room. She had taken up residence in a dusty old guest room that had of course never been used for guests as long as she had been alive. The wallpaper was red with small white flowers scattered across it, the draperies and bedding a gold-colored velvet. It was an adult’s room, which is what she was now. No place for little girl things.

She took off her club clothes. They smelled of cigarettes and sweat. She checked the tags—dry clean only. Of course. She set them aside and took off her new metallic purple underthings, putting on a filmy white nightgown. It wasn’t anything Amber had picked out. Shilo liked it because it wasn’t a little girl’s nightgown, but it wasn’t as slutty as some of the other things Amber tried to make her wear. She looked at herself in the mirror, noting that she could still see everything through the fabric—the dark areolas of her nipples, the crease between her legs where light hair was beginning to grow in, like the stuff on her head but coarser and darker, almost red.

She turned off the lights and crawled into bed. In the dark she couldn’t help but replay images from the night through her mind, and Grave Robber’s eyes staring at her as he screwed Amber. She let her fingers find their way under her nightgown and to that little patch of hair between her legs, touching herself until she fell asleep.

*****

Part 8


Shilo couldn’t decide if she was disappointed or relieved when no car showed up for her the next day, or the evening. It meant she had some time off. Shilo dressed in clothes somewhere in-between what Amber had bought her and what she was used to wearing. She put on a black skirt and gold flats. On top she wore a dark purple shirt with a gold fleur-de-lis pattern silkscreened across the front.

She walked to the gourmet grocery store near her house and bought a fresh loaf of bread, strawberries, cheese, pasta, alfredo sauce, chicken, so many good things to eat, and she had a mini feast when she got home. There was a good movie on television that night, and she was happy to stay in with a bowl of popcorn, curled up on the couch, the smell of chicken alfredo still filling the house.

*****

It was another two days before the Largo car pulled up to Shilo’s home, and when she got in, Amber was with her. “Aren’t you supposed to be working?” Shilo asked.

“We’re playing hookie,” Amber said with a small grin. “Get in the car.”

Shilo’s home was in a middle class side of town, but Amber took her to the side of town full of semi mansions and trimmed lawns that did their best to glow green despite the smog of the city. Their destination was a spa.

“I’ve never been to one of these,” Shilo said, unable to bottle back a bit of real excitement when they got out of the car. “I’ve always wanted to go.”

“We’ll spend the afternoon with everyone taking care of us for a change,” Amber said, a tired look on her face.

As soon as they walked through the double glass doors they were met by two beautiful woman in tiny white skirts and tube tops. Both took Amber’s hand and kissed it in turn, and then did the same to Shilo. “Welcome, Ms. Sweet and companion,” one of them said.

“Shilo,” she offered, and one of the girls took her hand and led her through the lobby. In a room full of plants and artificial sunlight brighter than the real outdoors Shilo and Amber changed into white bathrobes and sat down in chairs where a small fleet of scantily clad, beautiful women gave them manicures and pedicures.

“I feel very pretty,” Shilo said as she examined her new pink nails and wiggled her toes. She never thought about her feet before, but she certainly would pay attention to them now.

Amber flexed her red claws. “Let’s go get a massage.”

The massage room looked like a small jungle paradise, complete with a trickling waterfall and a pond full of fish. Amber disrobed immediately and climbed up onto one of the soft padded tables. After a slight hesitation, Shilo did the same.

“Are all of the employees here women?” Shilo asked when a girl started working on her back, her hands rubbing low, not quite rubbing her buttocks.

“Why? Would you rather have some hot, strong man feeling up your ass?” Shilo jumped a little when the girl’s hands slid over her backside.

“I don’t know,” she muttered, feeling the girl’s hand slip too low.

“Women are softer, nicer, for when you just want to relax,” Amber said. She turned over and her girl began to massage the muscles above her chest. When the woman working on Shilo suggested the same thing, she gave her a look.

“It’s a full body massage, very relaxing.”

“Don’t be such a baby,” Amber suggested, her eyes closed as well oiled fingers moved over her breasts.

Shilo sighed and flipped over, keeping her eyes closed so she couldn’t see her own nudity as slippery hands moved over her body. She felt fingers teasing her nipples into hard buds before sliding down her stomach. “Relax,” the girl said, as her massage oiled fingers slipped down between Shilo’s legs. Her heart jumped at the first touch, but she tried to do as she was told.

She opened her eyes to glace over at Amber. Her legs were open, the girl rubbing one hand over the scarred expanse of Amber’s stomach, the other buried between her legs. Amber had her eyes closed and her head thrown back as she breathed in heavily.

Shilo’s own breathing had increased as the feelings she normally only felt when she was alone in her bedroom washed over her and the girl’s thumb rubbed against her clitoris. She gasped out loud when one of the girl’s fingers slipped down lower and pressed against her opening. She stopped and pulled away. Shilo let out a small cry of disappointment as the girl moved to whisper in her ear. “You’re a virgin.” She nodded. “I’ll be careful then.”

She returned to her ministrations. With care she slid one slender finger inside of her. Shilo had never even done this herself, had never used a tampon, it was the first time anything had been inside her body. It didn’t hurt, the discomfort disappearing immediately as the girl’s fingers kept moving across her clit. Her climax built and built until it washed over her like a tidal wave. She bit back a cry, squeezing her eyes shut and clutching at the padding of the massage table. She was still gasping for breath when the girl moved back to her and kissed her on the lips. “You’re welcome,” she said with a smile. Shilo could only nod.

“Are you two done romancing over there?” Amber asked, and Shilo pushed herself up on her arms. Amber was sitting up on her table, robe wrapped around her. Shilo hadn’t noticed her finish.

******

“I feel better,” Amber said a short time later while they were changing back into her clothes. “You?”

“Yes.”

“You certainly sounded like it.” Shilo blushed and ducked her head. “You’re allowed to make noise,” Amber assured. “Your partner likes it when they know you’re having fun.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“As my official companion it would be appropriate for us to sleep together.”

“I don’t think so.”

Amber looked at her carefully. “Okay, not me. Someone else?”

A vision of Grave Robber winking at her while buried deep inside Amber flashed across her mind. “Maybe,” she said, shy.

“Man or woman?”

“Um, I think I prefer boys.”

“Though you admit now that girls are nice too?”

“I suppose.”

“Congratulations. You are officially a bisexual. That’s good. All the best people are.” Amber stretched and yawned. “I think I need a nap. We’re going to go out tonight. I’ll pick you up at ten.”

“Okay,” she said, wondering at the experience she had just had.


When Shilo was dropped off she went to bed for a nap, but instead lay awake. She was ready to be an adult. She had been telling herself that since her father died. And sex…well, sex was part of being grown up. She had pieced her sexual education together from books and television. She remembered her first period, she thought she was dying. It had taken her father a stumbling hour to explain what was happening to her body—and he was a doctor!

Her sexuality was another thing her father had done his best to eradicate. She wanted it back.