P. J.

I dropped Jamie off in front of the English building where Kayla and Brandi were waiting for her on the steps. I always feel a pang of jealousy when I see her with her girlfriends, specially Kayla. I know I shouldn't worry about the two of them being friends, but they are both smart and femmes, and I'm a butch dyke. I guess I'm not really that butchlike, but I'm definitely not femme. In fact, the one and only time I've worn a dress since I was a little girl, was at our senior prom. That was a great night. I let out a sigh, anyway, sometimes, I still feel like I'm not in Jamie's league. 

When I first caught Jamie staring at me during our senior year in high school, I had been surprised and very wary. I was a trouble making loser, trying to get her life turned around so I didn't end up in jail or rehab. I couldn't imagine why a popular cheerleader like Jamie would want to have anything to do with me.

It seemed to have started the first time she saw me working at McDonald's. It was like something went off in her head and she really saw me for the first time.

I had had a crush on her since ninth grade. I had suspected before then that I liked girls, but I was already having issues about my dad walking out on me and my mom. I didn't want to believe I was gay. I didn't need anything else to worry about.

My dad left on my twelveth birthday. He said he was going out for a pack of cigarettes or beer or something and then never came back. Mom thought something bad had happened to him until her brother saw him in a bar in Louisville with another chick. I was so sad when I thought he was dead. I had always thought that we were close. He always took me to do stuff with him. We camped and fished together all the time. When I found out he had left us for another women, that was it. I hated him, hated women, hated men, hated life. That was when I started hanging around with Derek Kruger and his croonies.

Thinking about Derek made my eye twitch. He had caused me a lot of problems before Jamie and I hooked up. Then,Jamie's ex-boyfriend, Todd paid him to video of me and Jamie making out for the first time,and he posted it on YouTube and Facebook. When he did that, he went beyond being a punk, to being a criminal. He'd gotten six months in jail and a year probabtion for his involvement in all that. Todd had gotten a year suspended because he had a better lawyer than Derek did.

A guy on a bike cut across in front of me as I was driving through campus, forcing me to slam on my brakes. I decided I needed to stop thinking about the past and my worries, and focus on driving. Besides, Jamie loves me and I know she does. I don't need to worry about any other chicks hitting on her.

I arrived at work fifteen minutes early, like I always do.  This job at Kinkos had been the best thing that ever happened to me, well, other than Jaimie. It was a lot easier than working at McDonald's or Markhum's. Plus, I was getting to do stuff with graphic arts, which I loved. Granted, it didn't pay as much as Markhum's would have, but you can't put a price on doing something you love.

My manager, Greg Duggar was already there getting set up to do a large run of brochures for one of the churches in town.  I started getting the cash register drawers ready so we could count the money before we put the cash registers.

"Hey, P. J.," Greg said. "I've got a project for you."

"Okay," I said, setting the drawers on his desk in the back. "Whatcha need?"

"A new client came in and asked if we could create a logo for his new company," Greg said. "I'm going to put you in charge of creating it."

"Really?" I said, surprised that he would give me a big project like this. I'd only been working there for six months, and mostly just as a copy printer and cashier. Although, I had helped him create some logos before.
"Yep, I've seen your artwork and I think you can do this," he said. "After we count the money and get the registers ready, Mary should be here and I can go over the project with you."

"Awesome!" I said, "I'm so honored that you are giving me this chance."

Greg put his hand on my shoulder. "You are a very talented artist, P. J. and I think you will do a great job with this project."

Later that morning, when I was on break, I texted Jamie about my project. It was going to be challenging because the client was a cattle farmer and he wanted a cattle head some how included in the logo.
Jamie texted me back, "That's awesome, Babe. Can't wait to see what you come up with. Kayla and Brandi want to come by to study tonight, you care?"

"That's cool. What we doing for dinner? Do you need me to stop and get anything." I wrote back. I was crazing hamburgers, maybe I would just swing into McDonald's and pick something up.

She wrote back that she didn't care and that it was up to me. I decided it was hamburgers from McD's and she was cool with that. It still surprised me the ease with which our life had become so domesticated. We had an easy partnership and I hoped it stayed like that.


Later that night, when I got home from work, Kayla, Brandi, and Jamie were sitting on the floor in front of the couch. They had their homework spread out on the coffee table and each one had their nose buried in the English Lit textbook. Jamie looked up at me and smiled when I closed the door.

"Thank God! I'm starving," she said. She got up from the floor and came over to me. She took one of the bags of food and kissed me lightly lips. "You want to eat or get a shower first?"

"Eat," I said.

Kayla and Brandi jumped to help us put the food on plates so we could all sit down in the living room and eat. We had no more than gotten started when there was a knock at the door. I got up and looked through the peep hole. It was Lori and she didn't look happy.

I opened the door. "Hey, what's up?"

"My parents are threatening to throw me out," Lori said, and wiped a tear that had escaped her eye.

"What?" I gasped. "Why?"

"Because I'm gay." Lori stated. She dropped her head, "I don't know what I'm going to do."

I took her hand and pulled her into the apartment. "Come on," I said. "Let's sit down and talk about this."

I led her into the living room, where everyone was sitting. "Have you eaten?" I asked.

"I can't eat," Lori said. "I've been sick to my stomach all day."

"What's going on?" Jamie asked.

Lori run her fingers through her hair. "I guess one of my mom's friends say me kiss some girl. It was at the game against Murray State Saturday night. This chick, Mandy invited me to go to a tailgate party with her and her friends. We were listening to the game on the radio, playing Monopoly and eating hotdogs behind some guy's truck. He was parked in the parking lot on the other side of the baseball field. We were all just having a good time." Lori looked up at us as we all listened. "Mandy sit in my lap and started kissing me, lauching a bunch of hooping and hollering from her friends. She's straight and was just playing around." Lori sighed, "Apparently, one of mom's church friends was driving by the parking lot and saw her kissing me. She called mom freaking out about it. When I got home last night, Mom went off on me."

"Bummer," Brandi said.

"For real," Kayla agreed.

Jamie got up and sat on the couch net to Lori. "So what did she actually say?"

"She said that if I continued living my sinful lifestyle, I was going to have to find a new home. She said that she had hoped it was just a phase I was going through but she could see that I was very troubled and needed help," Lori said bitterly.

"Was your dad agreeing with her?" I asked.

"Dad never disagrees with Mom, but he wasn't home. He's at a conference in Atlanta."

"So bascially she's saying that you have to stop being gay, or she's going to put you on the street?" Jamie asked.

"Yes," Lori answered.

I looked at Jamie, who looked at me sadly. She come real close to goign through something similar.

Fortunately, Jamie's dad got her mother calmed down. I hoped Jamie felt the same way as I did about this situation and I said, "You can stay will us for awhile if you need to."

"Absolutely," Jamie exclaimed, completely agreeing with me.

"I can't impose on you guys," Lori said.

"What are you going to do then?" Jamie asked.

Lori looked up at her, tears brimming her eyes. "I don't know."

Jamie put her arm around Lori and pulled her into an embrace. I sat on the arm of the couch and gently rubbed her back. "Stay here tonight," I said. "Do you have any clothes with you?"

"I've got some in the car," she said, wiping a tear and sniffing.

Kayla got up, went to the bathroom, and come back with some toilet paper. She handed it to Lori. "P. J. is right. You should stay here tonight. When does your dad get back in town?"

"He won't be back until the weekend, but him being home won't change anything. What Mom says is law." Lori wiped her. "I can't believe she would actually throw me out of the house, but she really might. She has become more and more involved in this evangelitical church thing. Her opinions have gotten stronger about a lot of things. She is absolutlely convinced I'm pretending to be gay to piss her off."

"That is ridiculous," Brandi snorted. "I mean I've heard about chicks playing around with other girls just for the hell of it, like the chick that kissed you and started all this shit. But, you are one of the gayest girls I know and I know you aren't doing it just for fun. You love women and there's nothing wrong with that. What's wrong, is your mother throwing her daughter out on the street for being who she is."

"That's right," Kayla said.

"Thanks guys," Lori said, reaching out her hand so both of them could grab it. "I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you guys. My sister is trying to be there for me but Mom has got her thumb on her." She sighed and pulled her hand back after Brandi and Kayla had both squeezed it. "I just need to figure out what I'm going to do. School is paid for because of my scholarship, thank God. But, I'll have to figure out something about a place to live if she really throws me out."

"Well, you can stay here as long as you need to," Jamie said, looking up at me.

"That's right," I confirmed. "You can crash here as long as you like."

She looked up at us, relief showly slightly behind the sadness. "Thanks. I really appreciate it."

Beginning of the First Day of Second Semester from Jamie

Jamie

The alarm went off, rousing me from a deep sleep. I reached over and hit the snooze button, and then snuggled closer to P. J. Burying my head into P. J.’s neck, I let myself fall back to sleep.

When the alarm went off the second time, P. J. reached over me and hit the snooze button.  She kissed me on top of my head. “You need to get up sleepy head.”

“I know,” I said but didn’t move out of her arms.

We lay there snuggling until the alarm went off again. P. J. gave me a nudge, “Turn the alarm off and I’ll go make coffee.” She rolled away from me and swung her long legs off the bed.

I lay there for a few more minutes, watching her get up and pad toward the kitchen in her blue, plaid boxers and black tank top. I rolled toward the alarm clock and hit the off button. Six-thirty, I hadn’t gotten up this early since last semester’s finals week. It’s amazing how lazy you can become in three and a half months.

I had classes during both summer sessions but they hadn’t started until after twelve in the afternoon. I’d gotten used to sleeping until eight or nine. Some mornings I’d get up at seven when P. J. was getting ready to leave for work, but usually I’d sleep in then call her when she was on her break.

P. J. had started working full-time at the print shop right after finals last May. She loved her job there working with designs and print jobs.  I was a little concerned that she wouldn’t sign up for classes this fall since she had found her dream job, but she signed up for three classes. It’s going to be hard to go to school and work full-time, but I’m confident she can handle it. The thing that sucks though is that she had to pick all late afternoon or evening classes to go with her work schedule. We had gotten into a route of having dinner around six after P. J. got home from work, and then we would watch movies or play games with the girls. The girls are Kayla, Lori, and Brandi, with whom I had started a study group with the during summer classes.

I was feeling quite the little housewife. P. J. would just laugh when I’d say that but it was true. I cleaned house, studied, fixed dinner, and then waited for my girlfriend to come home from work. But now, our routine was going to get completely changed.

Sitting up, I stretched out my arms over my head, and then pushed the covers off my legs. P. J. had a thing about wearing some kind of shorts or pants when she slept, but I wore only a short night gown. My night gowns had been much longer when I lived at home and on campus, but I had been wearing skimpy shorts ones, like the light blue one I had on now, ever since P. J. and I moved in together. I like looking sexy for her.

Smiling to myself, I got up and made my way to the kitchen where P. J. was leaning against the counter waiting for the coffee to finish brewing. I slipped my arms around her waist and lay my head against her back. She put her arms over mine, giving them a squeeze, and then turned in my arms and kissed me on the lips.

“I knew playing that last round of Wii tennis was going to make it hard for you to get up this morning,” she said, giving me a lingering kiss, and then pulling away to get coffee cups out of the cabinet. Both of us had developed an addition to coffee since we started college.

“I know, but it was a lot of fun. I swear I think Kayla and Brandi practice before they come over.”

“You might be right about that,” P. J. said, handing me the cup of coffee she had made for me. She knew that I took exactly one teaspoon of sugar and creamer each. For some reason, it always tasted better when she made it for me.

“And Lori is a softball player, so she’s got the swing down.” I looked at P. J. as she turned around with her cup of coffee. “I think we are at a serious disadvantage playing against any of them.”

“True, maybe next time we can talk them into playing Scrabble. You would probably win at that.” P. J. suggested.

“I don’t know. Kayla and Brandi are both good spellers but at least I wouldn’t get stomped as severely as I do in tennis.”

P. J. laughed. “True.” She kissed me again, and then headed back to the bedroom. “Let’s get a shower and then I’ll take you to the hill before I go to work.”

Taking a shower together would normally end in a making love session, but they didn’t have time for that this morning. Jamie’s first class started at eight-oh-five and it was already after seven. 

This morning’s class was English 200, one of the classes that Jamie, P. J., Lori, Brandi, and Kayla had decided to take together this semester so they could work on homework together.

Unfortunately, P. J. and Lori’s schedules couldn’t be matched up with Jamie, Brandi and Kayla’s. P. J. had to work during the day and Lori had softball practice in the mornings so neither could take early morning classes. Jamie, Brandi and Kayla were taking the English 200 class on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. P. J. and Lori were taking it on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

They were all taking college algebra this semester, except for P. J., who was taking two art classes in the evenings that she had to have for her degree. Lori had to take the algebra class as an evening class. Jamie, Brandi and Kayla were taking it in a day class, three days a week. It was going to be a rough semester but the five of them had promised to help each other get through it.

Jamie picked out a pair of pleated beige shorts, a white tank top and her beige flip flops to where today.

P. J. was putting on a pair of dark blue slacks and a black Polo shirt. I watched her for a moment as she put on her socks and black boots. “What?”

“Nothing,” I said, blushing. “I was just thinking how sexy you look in your semi-professional work attire.”

She chuckled, “You are so silly.” She looked me up and down, and then said, “You look hot in that outfit, my little college girl.” She came over and kissed me lightly on the lips and gave my butt a light pat. “You need to finish up or you’re going to be late for your first day of class.”

“Well, we can’t have that, can we?” I said, pulling out of her arms and going into the living room.

I gathered my books and backpack.  My phone buzzed and I picked it up off the coffee table. It was a text from Brandi. “Tell your girlfriend to get her hands off you so you can get your ass up here.”

Laughing out loud, I text her back. “Her hands are not on me, right now anyway. I’ll be up there in a few minutes.”

“What are you laughing about?” P. J. asked when she came out of the bedroom buckling her belt.

“Brandi. She said to tell you to get your hands off me so I could get up to the class.”

P. J. took her lunch box out of the refrigerator. She always fixes her lunch the night before, just in case we are distracted in the mornings.  “You read?” she asked coming out of the kitchen.

“Yeah,” I said, going to her and kissing her deeply. “I’m going to miss you tonight.”

“I know,” she said. “We’ve gotten quite spoilt to getting to spend so much time together.”

Nodding, I headed towards the door but stopped to kiss her again. Neither of us was into public affection. We really didn’t feel like there were people on campus who going to freak if they saw us kissing. It just wasn’t our thing to be real affectionate outside the privacy of our home.

The pizza was gone and they were working on their second movie when P. J. laid her head on Jamie’s shoulder and fell asleep. They had pushed the coffee table to the side so Kayla and Lori could stretch out on the floor with a couple of pillows. They were both wide awake and discussing making a bag of popcorn. Brandi was stretched out on the loveseat texting someone on her phone while she watched the movie.

They were watching a suspense movie that Kayla and Lori had picked.  It was okay but Jamie was tired too. She reached up and gently touched P. J.’s face. P. J. stirred a little. “You ready to head to bed?” Jamie asked.

P. J. turned her head and nuzzled Jamie’s neck, “If you are.”

Jamie kissed P. J.’s temple. “Come on,” she said getting up and pulling P. J. up with her. “We’re going to bed, girls. You all are welcome to spend the night or whatever. Just make sure to lock up if you leave.”

“Cool.” Kayla said as she looked up at them. “I’m going to crash here then.”

“Yeah, me too,” Lori said, getting up and claiming the couch.

“Ah, you dog,” Kayla said, swatting Lori’s leg.

“You can get the other end, I’ll try not to kick you off.”

Kayla got up and got on the opposite end of the couch from Lori. “You staying too?” she asked Brandi.

“Probably. I might have a date so if that works out I’ll be leaving but if not I’ll crash here.” Brandi didn’t look up from her phone while she was texting.

Jamie was pulling P. J. by the hand towards the bed. “Cool. See you all in the morning.”

After they disappeared into the bedroom, Brandi said, “They are so stinking cute.”

“I know,” Kayla agreed. “I wish I could be lucky enough to find my soul mate but I doubt that will happen.”

“Why?” Lori asked.

“I’m a dyke nerd. How many other dyke nerds do you think there are in the world?”

“Probably more than you think,” Lori said. “Why do you think you have to meet someone exactly like you for them to be your soul mate. You know, they say opposites attract.”

“True,” Kayla agreed. “But that would mean I would have to go out and meet people.”

“And?” Brandi said, turning her phone off.

“And, I hate people. I hate crowds. I’d rather talk to a computer than a real person, so  I’m probably not going to meet anyone who would like me.” Kayla said, not looking at Brandi.

“You don’t hate people,” Lori said, giving Kayla a little shove in the butt with her foot.

“No, I do hate people. Remember when we first started studying together at the first part of the summer? That was a requirement for the class to work in a group. If the teacher wouldn’t have made us work on a group project I would never have spoken to you all. The main reason I said yes to Jamie when she asked me to join her group was because I knew she was a lesbian too. She was always talking about her girlfriend, P. J. I figured, I’d have a decent chance of not feeling intimidated by her.” Kayla looked from Lori to Brandi, and then back to Lori. “You all have no idea how relieved I was that you were lesbians too. The fact that you all don’t make fun of me for being a geek was just luck.”

Lori sat up and looked at Kayla. “So have you gotten made fun of a lot for being a geek?”

“A geek, a dyke, a stripper’s daughter, a convenient store worker’s daughter, poor, freak...you name it and I’ve been made fun of for it.” Kayla looked away. “I’m going to go make some popcorn.”

Lori looked at Brandi and shook her head. “Damn, that sucks.”

“Yeah, I’ve never been made fun of. People just can tell that I’ll beat their ass if they make fun me,” Brandi said and pulled the blanket off the back of the loveseat onto her.

Lori nodded, “Yeah, I can see that. I wouldn’t make fun of you, much.”

Brandi grinned at her, “I’ll let you get by with that ‘cause you’re so damn cute. But don’t get on my bad side ‘cause I’d have to doubly kick your ass ‘cause you’re my friend and no better than to piss me off.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lori laughed.

Kayla came back with three bowls of popcorn. She handed one to Lori and Brandi. 

Brandi said, “Now that you’re friends with us, you don’t have to worry about somebody picking on you, ‘cause me and Lori will kick their ass. Ain’t that right, Lori?”

“That’s right.” Lori nodded then leaned over to hug Kayla. Brandi got up and hugged her too. “We got you’re back, Sweetie.”

Kayla smiled. “Thanks girls. I’m so glad Jamie talked me into joining you all. You guys are the first real friends I’ve had in a very long time.”

Lori kissed Kayla on the cheek, eliciting a blush from her. “I know you said that your parents know you’re gay, but did they know about all the bullying you put up with?”

“I suppose but they never did anything about it. They both worked so much that they didn’t really have time to deal with school problems.” Kayla got comfortable in her corner of the couch, “Plus I stayed on the computer most of the time and didn’t talk to them about what I was going through. I didn’t want them to worry more than they already did.”

“So when did you know you were gay?” Brandi asked.

“When I was nine or ten, I guess,” Kayla said, then put a handful of popcorn in her mouth.

“Yeah, I think I knew about then too,” Brandi said. “But there wasn’t anyway I was going to admit that myself, let alone tell my family.”

“I didn’t tell my parents, they figured it out for themselves,” Kayla said and put some more popcorn in her mouth.

Brandi shook her head, “My fucking brother was the reason my mom found out.”

“Jayden?” Lori asked.

“Yeah, stupid fucker,” Brandi growled. “I’m still mad about it even though he didn’t do it on purpose, but still Mama almost killed me when she found out.”

“Really?” Lori said, “Your mom seems so cool with it now.”

“Yeah, she got over it, especially after my cousin, Natelle got pregnant when she was fifteen. She figured at least she wouldn’t have to worry about me having a bunch of kids if I was gay.”

“True,” Lori agreed. “I wish my mom saw it like that.”

“You’re parents are way too uptight,” Brandi said shaking her head. “My mom is religious and I love God, but I know He loves me just the way I am. I can’t imagine having someone telling me that God hated me for who I am.”

“Yeah,” Lori said sadly. “I don’t think they are ever going to accept me like this, or forgive me. They think I’ve chosen this life and there are times when I really wish I wasn’t gay.”

Kayla reached over and patted Lori’s leg. She shook her head, “And I thought my parents were screwed up. Damn, man, that sucks.”

Lori patted her hand then grabbed a handful of popcorn. “Yes, it does,” she said and stuffed the popcorn in her mouth. She chewed on the popcorn for a minute then looked at Kayla. “Your mom is a stripper?”

Kayla laughed, “Man, you are slow. She was a stripper, now she works at a convenient store.”

“Well, I thought that you had said she worked at a convenient store before. In fact, I think I saw her the other day. Does she work at the one on Center?”

“Yep,” Kayla said, eating more popcorn.

“You look a lot like her,” Lori said thoughtfully.

Kayla shrugged. “I guess so. But we’re not anything alike.”

Brandi snapped her fingers, “Damn, I was hoping you strip for us.” Kayla gave her a hateful look. “I was just playing, Baby, doing get your undies in a wad.”

Kayla laughed and shook her head, “You aren’t right.”

“I know,” Brandi said. “And I’m good at it.”

“So how did Jayden out you?” Lori asked.

Brandi sighed, “I was fooling around with this girl and I was going to spend the night at her house but Mom didn’t know about it. She thought I was going to spend the night with my friend, Tanya.  Well, Jayden, was supposed to be covering for me. He knew all about me dating this girl so his only job was to call Tanya and pretend he was checking up on me in front of our mom.” Brandi wrapped the blanket more securely around herself and chewed on a piece of popcorn. “That fool called my girlfriend’s number and said, Tanya is Brandi there?” Of course, my girlfriend went nuts. You know, why is your brother calling me Tanya. Are you fucking Tanya too? Well, he was standing too close to my mother when he made this call so my mother is like, Who is that on the phone?  And Jayden’s like, “No one,” Brandi said in a deep voice like Jayden. “My mother snatched the phone out of his hand and starting asking who she was talking to. My girlfriend, who was an older woman.” Brandi rolled her eyes, “Well, like nineteen and I was sixteen, kind of older woman. She starts asking my mother who the fuck she is. Of, course my mother went ballistic and told her not to be cussing her and if I was there I had better get my black ass home.”

Lori was staring at her wide eyed, “Oh shit.”

“Yeah, oh shit,” Brandi said and ate some more popcorn. “Then, while my mother is listening, my girlfriend yells at me, I thought you said you was eighteen. I ain’t no cradle robber. If you ain’t old enough to be away from home without you mama knowing where you are, you ain’t old enough to be fucking me.”

Kayla clasped her hand over her mouth. “Oh my God!”

“Oh yeah,” Brandi laughed. “You know that Tyler Perry show where he says, You don’t make a black woman take off her earrings? That is serious shit. I got home and my mother didn’t have her earrings on, her mother rings, or her watch. I knew when she takes all her jewelry off, she is fixing to beat someone’s ass and that ass was mine. I hadn’t had a whoopin like that since I was like eight. She had the wooden spoon and everything. It was awful.”

“Wow, no wonder you haven’t forgiven Jayden,” Lori said, making a mental note not to trust him with important secret information.

“Don’t think I didn’t get him back the very next chance I got,” Brandi said. “I beat his stupid ass the very next afternoon while Mama was still at work.” Brandi put a handful of popcorn in her mouth and chewed it thoughtfully. “It took about a year for Mama to really talk to me about what was going on. I think it took her that long to realize she couldn’t pray away the gay. But, she finally came around, and we talked.” Brandi sat down the popcorn and then picked up her phone. “She finally got used to it but she still has serious rules about who we date, at least while we are in college anyway.”

“Like what?” Kayla asked.

Brandi grinned, “Like me not dating the kind of chick I’m talking to now. She’s a rapper and a little bit gangster.” Brandi got a serious look on her face, “And don’t think I won’t kill one or both of you if word of that gets back to my mother.”

Kayla and Lori both acted like they were putting zippers on their mouths, locking it, and throwing away the key.

“Good,” she said, pointing her finger at the two of them. She looked at her phone and frowned, “I knew that bitch would bail on me.” She turned the phone back off and tossed it on the floor. “I guess I’m here all night too.”

Lori and Kayla shrugged. “Cool,” they said in unison. They all turned back to the television.

Pizza and Books

After spending most of the afternoon making love, Jamie and P. J. went down to the Jeep and retrieved the boxes that contained their text books. P. J. carried Jamie’s much heavier box and Jamie carried hers.  At the top of the stairs P. J. said, “My God, these books weigh a ton. I hope you don’t have to pack all of them every day.”

“No, I have two classes that meet Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and two classes that meet Tuesdays and Thursdays. That way I only have to carry books for two classes on any given day.”

P. J. set the box down and fished her keys out of her pocket. She unlocked the door and picked the box back up.  She went into the apartment first, followed by Jamie. The door was still slightly ajar so when Lori knocked on it, flew open, scaring Jamie and P. J. “Sorry,” Lori said and shut the door. “Hope you guys don’t mind me dropping by.”

“Of course not,” P. J. said. “We were just going to check out our new books then watch a movie. Want to join us?”

“I’d love that.” Lori followed Jamie and P. J. to the couch where they put the boxes down on the coffee table.  Jamie and P. J. opened their boxes and started taking out their text books.

Lori picked up the Norton Anthology of English Literature. “This is a monster book. Surely, the teachers are not going to expect us to read this whole thing.”

“No,” Jamie replied. “I’ve printed off my syllabus for that class and we will be reading selected stories.”

“Thank God,” P. J. and Lori said at the same time.

There was a knock at the door. Lori went to the door and opened it. Kayla and Brandi stood on the other side, both holding textbook boxes. Lori opened the door wider to let them in.

“We saw you all at the campus bookstore,” Brandi said. “We tried to get your attention but we were too far back in line for you to see us.”  She set her box down on the floor next to the couch.  

Kayla set hers down next to the loveseat. “That box weighs a ton. I may have to rent one of those lockers in Grise Hall so I don’t have to pack those things around campus.”

“Do you have all your classes on the same days?” Lori asked.

“Mostly,” Kayla said and flopped down on the loveseat. “I have Lit, Algebra and Geology on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The computer science class is on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

Lori nodded. “I wish I could have done mine something like that but with my practices being the way they are, I had to take Psych and Lit in evening classes. My algebra and sociology classes are on Tuesdays and Thursday mornings.”

Brandi looked at Jamie, “I’m glad we can take ours kind of spread out. And, I totally could not be working or playing sports and going to school full-time.” She sighed dramatically and sat down next to Kayla. “Ya all make me tired just thinking about it.”

“Yeah, last year was much easier, when I wasn’t working,” P. J. agreed.

“A lot has changed since last year,” Jamie said. She looked around at her friends making themselves comfortable in her living room and smiled at P. J. “What do you guys want for dinner? I can cook up a pot of spaghetti.”

“I’ve got a little money,” Lori said. “You all want to go in on a pizza?”

“That sounds good,” Brandi agreed. She opened her book box and dug out her purse.

“Yeah, I’m up for that too,” Kayla said and pulled some money out of the front pocket of her shorts.

P. J. pulled her wallet out of the back pocket of her shorts. “Pizza it is.”

Can't Wait To Get You Home

 P. J. and Jamie stood in line at the campus bookstore, waiting to pick up their books. The fall semester would be starting next week and they didn’t want to wait to the last minute. Books often sold out, especially for the general education classes that they were both taking this semester. 

 P. J.’s scholarship had run out at the end of last year so her parents and she were paying for this semester.  Jamie had tried talking P. J. into taking a full load this semester, promising that she could get her dad to help P. J. out, but P. J. turned her down.  Plus, she didn’t think she could handle going to school full-time and working too.

She had been working full-time at the printing shop during the summer and the manager had offered to keep her on full-time permanently if she wanted the job.  P. J. had jumped at the opportunity.  It didn’t pay as much as a factory job, but she would be doing something she liked. It did pay enough for her to keep her and Jamie’s apartment, which was the most important thing to her.  Now that they had lived together all summer, P. J. could not imagine waking up without Jamie next to her.

Thinking about waking up this morning with Jamie laying half on top of her, made her wish that had stayed in bed for a little while longer.  She was off today. Maybe they would go back to the apartment after they got their books and have another round of making love.  P. J. leaned into Jamie and Jamie turned around to look at her. When Jamie saw the mischievous grin on P. J.’s face, she nudged her gently, “Stop it. You’re going to make me blush.”

“So you were thinking about the same thing as me, huh?” P. J. said, gently poking Jamie in the ribs.

“Maybe,” Jamie said, grabbing P. J.’s fingers to keep her from poking her again.

Getting their books seemed to take forever. Especially, after they had established that they were both thinking about going home and getting back in bed. P. J. was trying not to get a ticket in her hurry to get home and get Jamie into the apartment before she ripped her clothes off.  Jamie was not helping matters by running her hand up and down the inside of P. J.’s thigh.

As soon as P. J. pulled into her parking spot, they practically jumped out of the car and ran to the apartment.  P. J opened the door, pulled Jamie inside, and pressed her against the door.  She started kissing her and running her hands over her body. 

Jamie grabbed her hands and pulled her towards the bedroom, “Come on.” 

In the bedroom, Jamie pulled P. J.’s shirt off and pushed her down on the bed. “I’m going to teach you a lesson about getting me turned on in public.”

P. J. rose up on her elbows. “Bring it on, little girl.”

Let the Teasing Begin

P. J. heard someone approach the apartment door.  There was a loud knock, and then Lori poked her head inside. “All clear?”

Laughing, P.J. motioned for her to come in. “Yeah, just me here. No hanky-panky going on.”

Lori blushed. She had been very careful to let P. J. and Jamie know she was coming in because she didn’t want a repeat of coming into the apartment and hearing them making out. “Where is Jamie? I figured you’d both still be in bed. It is early on a Saturday morning.”

“Her mom came and took her shopping,” P. J. said as she got down a bowl for cereal. “You want to have some cereal with me?”

“Sure,” Lori said. She could always count on P. J. and Jamie for a free meal. It was the middle of July and she had another month before her parents would be refilling her account for food on campus.

“You’re here awful early. What’s up with that?” P. J. asked. She carried her bowl of cereal into the living room and sat down on the couch.

Lori followed suit. “My mother was having a yard sale, slash bake sale to raise money for one of church’s programs. I helped set up but when her church group got there and they started talking about the new singles program they have, I knew it was time for me to leave.”

“Singles program? Like a meet and hook-up thing?”

“Something like that,” Lori said, then stuffed a spoonful of cereal in her mouth.  She chewed her food up, and then said, “Of course, because it’s a Christian group, they are looking for that perfect someone to get married to. Because, as you know, people aren’t supposed to have sex until after they are married.”

“And I’m sure all of the people who come to that singles program, and meet someone, stick to that rule,” P. J. said sarcastically.

“I’m sure.” Lori picked up the remote for the television. “My parents aren’t going to let me move to campus this semester.” Lori let out a long sigh. “Dad says it costs too much and Mom says that she’s concerned that I’ll be corrupted by bad influences on campus.”

“Like the lesbians who are waiting to jump your bones?”

Lori laughed, but blushed at the same time. “Yeah, well, of course they don’t know about those corruptive influences.”

“I thought your parents knew you were gay?” P. J. asked, turning to look at Lori.
“I’ve told them that I prefer being with girls but they have not accepted it,” Lori said with a sigh. “That was one of the reasons I left the house this morning when they started talking about the singles program. Mom has been trying to talk me into going to it for months now. She said there’s a young man that comes to the gatherings that she thinks would be just perfect for me.” Lori got up to take her bowl in the kitchen. She held out her hand for P. J.’s, “Dad has made it clear that if I continue to pursue the gay lifestyle that he will cut off funds for school, so I’m trying to just keep a low profile as far as they are concerned until I get out of school.”

“You scholarship doesn’t cover much more than your tuition, does it?” P. J. asked.

“No, so I need money from my parents for books, food, clothes, and anything else I need,” Lori said, taking P. J.’s bowl.  “You don’t know how much I appreciate you and Jamie letting me hang out over here.”

“Do your parents know that we are a lesbian couple?”

“Hell, no!” Lori said from the kitchen. “They would never allow me to come over here. And before you say it, yes, I’m twenty years old, but I have no money, no job, and no home of my own. I have to kiss my parents’ asses for at least one more year.”

P. J. nodded, “I understand where you’re coming from. If it wasn’t for Jamie’s dad running interference for her with Jamie’s mom, she would probably have the same problem.”

“I thought her mom was finally chilling out?” Lori asked as she came back into the living room and sat down on the couch, at the opposite end from P. J.

“She tolerates me.” P. J. said with a shrug, “But only because Jamie’s dad won’t let her push Jamie to end our relationship.”

Lori picked up the remote for the television. She kicked off her tennis shoes, and then propped her socked feet up on the coffee table. “Do you think Jamie would leave if her parents cut off her money?”

“No,” P. J. said confidently, following Lori’s example, she put her feet up on the coffee table. “We’ve already talked about that scenario. I would quit school and she would get a part-time job so we could pay for her to go.  No one is going to come between us, definitely not her parents.”

Lori nodded. She turned the television on to a sports channel to see what had been happening with some of the baseball teams she followed.  P. J. and she watched sports news for a little while and then Lori started flipping through the channels.  They debated on what they wanted to watching a show about rejuvenating houses that looked really horrible.

That’s how Jamie and her mother found them two hours later.  “What are you two watching?” Jamie asked when she saw some guy painting the outside of house that looked like it should have been bulldozed.

“It’s a show about refurbishing houses,” P. J. said. “It’s amazing the difference they can make with a house and a fairly small budget.”

“Well,” Jamie’s mom said, “If you were pursuing a career that would provide you with a good income, you wouldn’t have to settle for a house that would have to be refurbished.”

“I don’t know,” P. J. said, “I think it would be fun to fix a house up from a horrible mess to something really nice.”

“Me too,” Lori said, nodding in agreement.

“You would,” Jamie’s mother said under her breath.

Jamie rolled her eyes at her mother. “Stop baiting each other,” Jamie said, giving P. J. a glare.

P. J. shrugged and turned back to the television. Lori turned around too. When Jamie and her mother disappeared into the bedroom, Lori said, “I don’t think her mother likes you much.”

“She’s a typical mother-in-law,” P. J. said with a shrug. “No one is ever going to be good enough for her only child.  I don’t think it would matter if I was a guy. Her problem with me has more to do with me coming from the lower-middle class side of the tracks, than me being a girl.”

“Does she usually call before she comes?”

“Yeah, usually,” P. J. said. “She has show up unexpected a few times. Fortunately, she hasn’t arrived during a moment like you walked in on.”

Lori turned beet red. “I knocked on the door before I came in, I guess you guys didn’t hear me.”

“So how much did you hear?”

“More than I wanted too,” Lori answered, turning even redder, if that were possible.

“More than you wanted too, what?” Jamie asked as she and her mother came out of the bedroom.

Lori looked away. “Aaa...I heard more than I wanted to hear the other day.”

“Heard more than you wanted to?” Jamie asked with a questioning look on her face.

“Aaa...you know,” Lori hesitated, looking at Jamie and hoping she would catch the hint so they wouldn’t be talking about her walking in on Jamie and P. J. in front of Jamie’s mom. “The other day, I came by and...well, you know.”

Jamie’s mom raised an eyebrow, “Why are you guys talking in code?”

“Yeah,” Jamie said, “What are you talking about?”

“Um...” Lori began, and then cleared her throat. “We were talking about the other day when I came over here earlier than I should have.”

Jamie still looked confused for a moment, and then it dawned her what Lori was talking about. “Oh,” she said looking at her mother, and then away, “that day.”

Jamie’s mother raised an eyebrow, looking from Jamie to P. J. and Lori, who were both looking away and blushing. She looked back at Jamie who was also blushing. “Oh my God!” She pulled her purse closer to her. “I’ll talk to you later, young lady,” she said, glaring at Jamie.

“Okay,” Jamie said, but never met her mother’s gaze.  Her mother turned and quickly left the apartment.

“Wow, that was awkward,” Lori said, turning back to Jamie, whose face was still blood red.

“I can’t believe we just had that conversation with my mother here.”

“I was trying not to,” Lori said. A smile creeping onto her face. “But you wouldn’t let it go.”

Jamie laughed. “Yeah, you did try to keep us from going there.”

“Yeah, I’m sure the image of you and me locked in a passionate embrace is burned into her mind now.” P. J. got up, went to Jamie, and kissed her on the lips.

“Well, good,” Lori said. “That way I won’t be the only one with that image in their mind.”

Jamie pointed her finger at Lori. “You can get that image out of your head right now. I don’t even want you to be thinking about P. J. being naked.”

“Eww,” Lori made a face, “Me, neither.”

P. J. threw the remote she had been carrying at Lori. “Bite me.”

They all laughed.