Were the Fates heartless or wise or simply making a joke when they threw them together?

They met that first day at the new school. With the unconscious cruelty of tradition, the teacher had the students sit in order by height. Tomasina, the shortest, was in the front; Roberta, the tallest, was in the back. The separation did not last long. When it was lunchtime, the other students all grouped with friends from the previous school year, leaving the new two at the end of the cafeteria line. Carrying their trays and scanning for an available seat, they exchanged a shrug and found an empty table.

Awkwardly, both began in unison, “My name is,” and said their names at the same time, so neither heard the other.

“Since they put you in the back, why don’t you start?” offered Tomasina. “I’m tired of being first.”

The other smiled at her logic. “My name is Roberta, but everyone calls me Erta. When I was younger, people would think I was a boy, so I avoid the male part of my name.”

Tomasina thought her lanky build and long face might still mislead people, except for her long blonde hair. “I’m Tomasina, and even though I’m named to honor my cherished grandfather, I’ve always hated having a boy’s name. Maybe I should use your trick.”

“Sina sounds pretty,” suggested Erta. “I should mention that no one here calls me that yet because I’m new.”

“So am I and, from now on, I’ll be Sina,” she tried on the name.

From that shared convention grew an improbable friendship. It was cemented by the inevitable teasing of their classmates—and occasionally their teachers.

Separately, they were just two female students; next to each other, the sharp contrast between them begged for comic interpretation. Erta’s genes came from the far north, yielding pale skin and flaxen hair. Her height and slim build worked to emphasize each other. She resembled her brothers more than her mother or grandmothers.

Sina’s heritage was closer to the equator, yielding a richer hue, strengthened on that first day by a summer of outdoor activities. Her dark hair was thick and easy to care for, where she wanted it to grow, and an annoyance everywhere else. Years before, she had been the first in her grade to need a bra; her round face and short round shape were common to all the women in her family.

Seeing a tall, thin, powdered sugar stick next to a short, round, cinnamon ball inspired ribbing, some less good-natured than others. The two played along; sometimes one would introduce the other as her twin sister, causing strange looks until the truth was revealed.

There is a long tradition of comedy duos with a similar configuration. Bud Abbot and Lou Costello were one famous pair; Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were another. Both had one character as a simpleton and the other as a more worldly sort. It was the rounder Lou who would cause the trouble for Bud to resolve; it was the thinner Stan who would play that role for Ollie.

The girls’ familiarity with those classic comedians led them to adopt private names for each other. One time Erta had done so poorly on a test that she wasn’t allowed to go to a movie. Sina didn’t want to go alone, so she unleashed her best Ollie imitation, saying, “Well, here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into, Stanley.”

From that day on, Sina would call Erta “Stan” when she was foolish and “Bud” when she was bright; Erta returned the favor, calling Sina “Lou” when she was dimwitted and “Ollie” when she was smart. After she helped Erta get a better grade on the next test, Sina told her, “I knew you could do it, Bud!”

“Thanks for the help, Ollie!” replied Erta.

Their classmates got used to this odd couple and came to enjoy their mirthful behavior.

One day, the girls saw the old Marx Brothers movie Duck Soup, which has the famous “mirror scene.” Harpo’s character, dressed to look like Groucho’s character, tries to avoid detection by pretending to be his image in a mirror when he is actually on the other side of a doorway.

Groucho tests the mirror by doing various silly things and Harpo tries to copy him. Inspired by the film, Erta and Sina would play what they called The Mirror Game. They would either take turns leading or both slowly change, trying to follow the other while doing something the other didn’t notice until it was too late.

Variations on that trope have been done in many shows and movies over the years. Usually, the two participants would try to look the same. Although Sina and Erta would wear similar clothes when they performed it to amuse their friends, part of the comedy was that, of course, the two didn’t look at all alike, despite their skill in replicating each other’s poses and actions. Erta being a southpaw while Sina was right-handed made some things easier.

The BFFs became so close they would get into disputes on each other’s behalf. One day Erta was suggesting they see the movie that was Sina’s usual preference and found Sina arguing for Erta’s usual preference.

“We need to stop being Stan and Lou,” Erta interrupted. “How can we decide if each of us doesn’t say what she wants? Let’s count down from three and say our honest preference at the same time. If we agree, great; if not, we can negotiate from there.”

“Three… two… one… Star Robot!” they said in unison.

“See?” said Sina. “I know I usually go for a rom-com, but I’m not in the mood today.”

“Okay, you’re right,” conceded Erta. “This way we’ll answer without waiting to hear what the other one thinks.”

Although pursuing different degrees, the two friends went to the same college. As the summer between their freshman and sophomore years drew to a close, both had recently ended relationships. They decided a camping trip was what they needed to put things behind them and get ready to start the new school year.

“Stan, I told you he was no good,” said Sina as they hiked up the trail.

“You did not, Lou,” shot back Erta. “Besides, if Zack hadn’t dumped me, I would still be with him, and you know better than to criticize my boyfriend!”

“Well, you told him you weren’t ever going to get breast implants, and I figured he wouldn’t stay after that,” Sina sympathized. She knew it could be a sensitive subject. “The truth is that I wish I could give you half of mine. Jake—and I definitely dumped him—just wanted to fuck my tits all the time. What is that supposed to do for me?”

“I don’t think that would work, Lou,” Erta teased. “Then we’d both have one big boob and one flat one!”

“You know what I meant!” Sina groused. “If I had known he was only interested in me above my navel, I could have saved a lot of time waxing and shaving to keep my legs smooth and my pubes where they are supposed to be.”

“I know I’m lucky in that regard.” It was Erta’s turn to commiserate. “My hair is light and fine, so some guys don’t even notice I don’t shave down there until they get some hair in their mouths! Before they can complain, I lock my legs around them until they make me cum!”

“Well, once I get a cock inside me, I roll on top of them and smother them with my tits,” smirked Sina. “They squirm so much trying to breathe, I usually cum before they do—at least before they pass out!”

The two laughed so hard, they had to stop and catch their breath. As they did, they heard some other gasping laughing approaching from behind.

“Pardon me, ladies, coming through!” a male voice called, just before a guy came into sight. Although dressed for a hike in shorts and boots, he was jogging up the trail. The two stood on opposite sides of the path to let him pass. Blond, tanned, and apparently in good shape, he muttered, “Have a good day!” without slowing down.

A dozen yards ahead, he paused, took a few steps back toward them, and called, “That guy is chasing me. I’d appreciate it if you could grab him.” He laughed, turned, and continued up the path.

“Hey, that’s cheating!” yelled his apparent pursuer as he approached the girls. He slowed to a walk, so they got a better look at him, similarly blond, tanned, and well built. “I apologize for my friend’s behavior,” he said. “We’re supposed to be racing to the falls, but he has been doing everything he can to slow me down.” He added in a loud voice, “Because he knows I’m faster!”

“You’ll never catch me if you stop to hit on all the hot chicks you meet on the way,” his friend called back from where he had stopped.

Silently throwing kisses to them, the second guy took off at a run, hoping to close the distance before the first one realized the race was back on.

The girls giggled to each other. “Hot chicks indeed,” said Sina, wiping her brow. It was a warm day and despite much of the trail being shaded, they were both sweating. “

“Not the best place to make a first impression,” agreed Erta.

“What are you worried about? I thought you were swearing off men for a while,” teased Sina. “Are you going to chase after the first guy you see?”

“It doesn’t hurt to window-shop,” quipped Erta. “You know guys do it all the time. I certainly noticed Zack checking you out whenever you wore something low cut. I guess I should have known he wasn’t going to be happy with me.”

“You know Jake was always looking at your long legs. Men are just horny, always looking for someplace to stick or rub their dicks,” Sina griped. She had suggested this camping trip to take Erta’s mind off her breakup.

They continued their hike up the trail in and out of the trees, giving them great views of the valley and glimpses of the waterfall. The sound of the water grew as they got closer.

“Wait!” said Erta, interrupting whatever they had been talking about. She put her hand up to her ear. “It sounds like someone yelling.”

Sina turned her head to try to localize it. It came from up ahead, so they marched on in silence. Unfortunately, the rush of the falls grew as well, so they couldn’t make out any words.

A few hundred yards farther, the downhill side of the trail got steeper, allowing them to see the bottom of the falls through gaps in the foliage. In the pool, the two who had rushed by them were splashing and yelling at each other. They must have found a way to scrabble down from the trail.

“I wonder who won,” said Sina, pulling her binoculars from her backpack to take a closer look.

Erta got hers out as well and bent down on one knee to see through the gap in the leaves. At first, she saw only one of them. The other had apparently submerged and rose up under the first, lifting him on his shoulders then dumping him back into the water.

“You didn’t tell me they were naked!” exclaimed Erta.

“The water was over their waists, so I didn’t know,” said Sina.

The two men roughhoused in the water for a while, then moved out of sight, coming towards the near bank.

Sina moved off the trail to a lower position saying, “Come here, I can see where they left their stuff.”

Erta carefully stepped down and saw the opening through the trees where Sina was looking. There was a small clearing against the cliff and their boots and clothes were tossed on the grass. The two were in animated discussion, but the sound of the falls drowned it out.

“They look like surfers to me,” said Erta. Both were in good shape, roughly the same height and build, with tan lines suggesting time at the beach.

“What are they doing?” wondered Sina. “Skinny-dipping is one thing, but they must think no one can see them there if they’re standing around naked.”

The men did rock-paper-scissors; the winner grabbed the loser’s hands behind his back and pushed him toward a group of trees. There was a branch a foot or so above their heads and the one in charge placed each of the other’s hands at spots on the branch. He then poked his victim in the gut, making him struggle to hold onto the branch.

“Some kind of game, I guess,” speculated Erta. He was made to endure various tickles, spanks, and more than a few yanks and pinches on sensitive areas, all while maintaining his hold on the branch. It was strong enough so he could lift himself off the ground and kick, which apparently was allowed since the other grinned as he dodged the foot. They were laughing and shouting loud enough that their voices carried indistinctly to the girls.

“Have you noticed the difference between them?” asked Sina. Not waiting for a reply, she continued. “The one guy is pretty hairy and the other isn’t.”

When Erta looked closer, she saw the contrast. Having fair hair, she knew it was hard to tell from a distance, but she zoomed in on the one with his arms up in the air. “You’re right, Sina,” she said. “I don’t see any hair at all on his crotch or even his armpits. Do you think he shaves or waxes?”

“Some swimmers do,” Sina recalled, taking a closer look. She had first noticed the damp matted hair on the back, ass, and legs of his hairy friend who faced away from them, but now she saw the disparity was more substantial. As she zoomed in on the hairless crotch, she noticed something else. “Check out his penis, he’s got a turtleneck!” she cried.

It was easy to see that, although his organ was semi-erect as it dangled, the cockhead was completely hidden by a sleeve of skin. “More like a balaclava,” laughed Erta. “If we call the other one Hairy, we’ll have to call him Skinny.”

“Good one, Bud!” said Sina, giving her a high five. “So which one do you want? Three… two…”

“Um, you better take a look,” Erta interrupted their ritual. Hairy had just dropped to his knees in front of Skinny and taken his uncircumcised cock in his hand.

“Well, blow me down!” giggled Sina. Tickling and poking were replaced by licking and stroking as he went to work on his friend.

“I wonder if that’s what they call this game,” snickered Erta.

The two watched in silence as Hairy pumped the hairless cock, its growing length and his action allowing the head to occasionally peek out from its shelter. He applied his tongue and lips, making his friend squirm—but not to get away.

The sound of someone coming up the trail distracted them. Trying to be quiet, they moved a little more down the hillside, hoping they wouldn’t be seen as the group of hikers went by.

When they passed, the pair returned to their voyeurism. Hairy had Skinny’s cock glistening with his saliva as he held the shaft in one hand while cupping the balls in the other. Both women gasped as they watched his technique.

Rather than moving the foreskin out of the way, he inserted his tongue between it and the glans, swirling around it.

“I’ve never seen that before,” mused Erta. “I’ve only known a few uncut men, and no one suggested it.”

“Ouch!” whimpered Sina, reacting to the next thing he did. Pulling the loose skin forward, he took it between his teeth. The way Skinny jumped, it must have been an intense experience but, the way they looked at each other, it wasn’t meant to be painful as he tugged it back and forth.

They couldn’t hear his words, but the hungry expression on his face made it seem like Skinny was begging for his release. Hairy pushed the foreskin down the shaft and attacked the head with his tongue, then took the whole cock into his mouth. Tongues licked the lips of the two watchers as they saw more familiar forms of stimulation.

The victim struggled to keep his legs under him, using the branch to steady his writhing body as his tormentor bobbed faster on his pole. Four watching eyes were entranced by the scene. A unison “Oh!” was gasped as they thought they heard a shout over the persistent low roar of the water. With or without the sound, they could see the bucking of his climax and the follow-through of the one who caused it.

“Whew!” whistled Sina. “I feel a little guilty, but that was something to see.”

“Well,” rationalized Erta with a grin, “they did put it out there for all the wildlife to see. Who knows who else might have been watching?”

Lowering the binoculars, they continued to observe somewhat less-invasively as Hairy stood and Skinny lowered his arms to a passionate hug and kiss. Hairy’s now-drier body hair made the difference between them less visible without the glasses.

The spectators hadn’t noticed as they were kissing, but when they broke the hug, Hairy ended up holding Skinny’s hands behind him.

“Is the game not over?” asked Sina.

The one still in charge guided the other to a downed tree. Probably from the hillside, it was over a foot in diameter and had lost its bark from the flood seasons since it fell. Their clothes were nearby and Hairy picked up both of their shirts, folding them a few times to make sort of a pillow, and set it at the end of the log.

Skinny knelt and began to suck his lover’s circumcised dick, returning the enthusiasm he had received. Before long, it was as hard and wet as his own had been. Hairy caressed his cheeks and drew him to his feet, giving him a long kiss.

Straddling the log and leaning back, Skinny used the combined shirts behind his neck to cushion the broken end of the trunk as he positioned his head out past it.

With his legs to steady him on either side of the natural bench, Skinny lowered his head back to stretch his neck as the other knelt above him. Both men wiggled a bit as they adjusted to a comfortable position with the tip of Hairy’s cock between his lips.

Recognizing what was going on, Erta gasped, “He’s going to fuck his throat.” Sina could only stare with her mouth open.

The women moved to hug each other in amazement as they gawked at the men. Neither considered the binoculars; eyes provided enough detail. As Hairy supported his partner’s neck, Skinny reached his hands up to hold his lover’s waist as he glided in and out.

Not as frenetic as the earlier act, it also didn’t last as long. Mesmerized, they couldn’t say exactly how long as Hairy gradually moved faster. Before they knew it, he froze at his deepest and his body shuddered in orgasm. Skinny didn’t seem to react, but with naked eyes, they wouldn’t have been able to see him swallow.

After some moments of stillness, Hairy slowly slid in and out a few more times, shivering with the bonus pleasure, then retrieved his organ. Standing, he helped his lover sit up and he sat next to him on the log. They kissed and held each other for a few minutes, then reached for their shirts and began to get dressed.

It broke the spell on the girls. They giggled; the only word each repeated as they stowed their binoculars and climbed back up to the trail was, “Wow!”

They were hungry when they reached the top of the waterfall an hour later than they had planned. As they ate their sandwiches, they finally were able to talk about what they had witnessed.

“I never would have guessed they were gay when they ran by us,” said Erta. “They were certainly cute. But watching them make love made me want them all the more!”

“Well, maybe they are bi,” laughed Sina. “If they were, which one would you want? Three… two… one…”

Erta chose Hairy and Sina picked Skinny.

“I don’t know why, but I just want to play with his foreskin!” Sina gushed. “And he’s so smooth. I’d like to have a guy who understands all that I do to keep up appearances.”

Erta was a bit more pensive. “The way he treated Skinny—even when he was fucking his throat!—I’d like a guy who would treat me like that.”

As they packed up their remains and prepared to continue their hike, Sina pondered, “Do you think it would have been the same game if Skinny had won?”

“That’s it!” Erta insisted. “No more talking about those two or any other males for the rest of the day!”

Instead, they discussed the coming school year, classes, and other plans as they continued the loop trail back to their campsite before sunset. From time to time, one or the other had to remind themselves that they were out in Nature and should appreciate a view or a flower or a bird.

As dusk approached, they built a small campfire to boil water for their freeze-dried dinners. They talked about their likely careers and the prospect of having children while they toasted marshmallows.

“It’s harder to do both as a woman,” observed Erta.

“We just need to get ourselves wives to cook and clean and take care of the kids,” laughed Sina.

When they were finished, Erta gathered everything that might attract wildlife and carried it to the food locker.

“Good idea, Bud,” Sina said, staying to douse the fire.

“Good job, Ollie,” Erta said, checking that it was completely out before going into the tent.

The air mattress covered almost all of the floor of the small tent, just big enough for two sleeping bags side by side. It was a balmy night, so they slipped off their jeans as well as their boots and crawled in, not zipping them up, so it didn’t get too warm.

Having talked themselves out, they were both soon asleep.

Sina woke in the darkness. The dream that was quickly evaporating from her memory involved Skinny. Somehow it was her instead of Hairy who had him at her mercy as she chewed and tugged his foreskin. When her head cleared, she remembered where she was. It was quiet except for the sounds of the forest. The moon had set; she guessed it was after midnight.

Holding her breath to hear Erta’s regular breathing, she dared to move her hand into her panties. The dampness was unexpected. She pushed them down, so they didn’t get soaked. Her fingers spurred a sigh as they relieved the itch that her dream had created.

Her other hand pushed aside the sleeping bag flap and unbuttoned her shirt, the cool night air feeling good on her chest as her fingers traversed it. Seeing almost no difference between her open and closed eyes, she felt concealed despite Erta’s proximity. She had masturbated while her friend slept a few times over the years, but never with her this close.

Her mouth moved as she mimed what she would do to Skinny’s penis. Her left fingers seized her right areola, gently tugging her jello-y mound around her chest, stirring a current that flowed down her body. Her legs parted to allow her right fingers full access to her vulva, the middle two pressing in to bracket her clitoris.

She imagined tasting his smooth shaft and had to suppress a moan as her pussy tasted the approaching orgasm. Sina decided a quick, quiet climax would have to do, so she washboarded her fingers back and forth across her demanding dollop. Her heels pressed into the mattress as her legs tensed with her final push, hoping to minimize her usual thrashing.

With a soft groan, Erta rolled over, her left arm flopping against Sina’s right. Freezing, she held her breath, her throbbing pussy crying at the interruption. Listening for any sign her friend had awoken, she slowly exhaled when she was satisfied she had not. Under normal circumstances, the inadvertent contact would have been no big deal, but it would be tricky to retrieve her masturbating arm without jostling her.

She was considering the best way to extract herself from the situation when Erta moved her arm. Feeling her movements through the mattress, Sina realized she was conscious. Keeping her breathing even as if in sleep, she hoped her friend would not notice her disarray in the darkness.

Erta woke for the third time. It was darker than before. Her dreams had been unsettling. Hairy featured in them, but so did Skinny and Sina. Whether her hands were bound to the tree limb or her back was balanced on the log, all three attacked her body—a most pleasant attack that was nonetheless confusing.

Feeling drained, Erta knew she needed to get some sleep before the drive back. They had planned to watch the sun rise, but that assumed she would be asleep when the alarm went off. In desperation, she thought an orgasm might relax her and let her finish the night.

She heard Sina’s steady breathing and decided she could try it, shifting her panties down. Her folds were dry, so she licked her left fingers and began to caress herself. Unbuttoning her shirt, her right hand found her nipples. Despite her small breasts and areolas, her nipples were long and sensitive. As she tugged them, she felt the first tingle between her legs.

Erta had used this “sleeping pill” before and knew she could be quiet. Those times, they had been in different beds; if Sina had ever noticed, she never mentioned it. Feeling her opening becoming slippery, she inserted one then two fingers, pressing the heel of her hand against her clit as her fingers fucked her. The familiar excitement spread through her as she conjured a favorite torrid movie scene. It and her fingers worked their magic and she was soon on the edge.

She was startled by a sudden sound outside the tent. Holding her breath, she identified it as something—probably a raccoon; there weren’t bears in the area—hitting their food locker. After a dozen or so whacks, it must have given up. In the silence, Erta exhaled a sigh, then realized Sina had done the same thing!

“Are you awake?” Erta whispered, desperately hoping for no response.

“Yeah,” confessed Sina. “I was waiting for you to fall back asleep.” She gulped, having said more than she intended.

“Why?” Erta asked, hoping for some way out of this. With her fingers still inside her, it dawned on her what Sina might be doing. She didn’t know whether to feel more embarrassed for herself or for her best friend. Rather than prolong the situation, she decided to lay her cards on the table: “What are we doing? Three… two… one…”

“Masturbating,” both admitted.

With the ice broken, Sina explained, “I had a weird dream about those guys and woke up horny. I was just trying to get some sleep before we have to wake up before dawn.”

“Me, too,” giggled Erta, omitting Sina’s role in her dream. After thinking a moment, she continued. “At this point, I’m never going to get back to sleep if I don’t finish. I can do it outside if you want some privacy.”

“Don’t be silly; we don’t know what’s out there,” Sina warned, reminding her what had sparked their mutual discovery. “With everything we’ve done together, we can handle this.”

“You’re right,” agreed Erta. “I guess we should get comfortable.”

Both rearranged themselves a bit on the mattress and tentatively resumed touching themselves.

“If you don’t mind my asking, what were you thinking about?” Erta asked, hoping for an erotic inspiration.

“I was thinking about Skinny,” Sina blushed. “It’s crazy, but now I want to try a cock like that. Whenever I ran into one, I never knew what to do with it.” She waited for Erta to volunteer her fantasy, but when she didn’t, she prompted, “What about you?”

“I was just getting started,” Erta was reluctant to tell the whole story. “But I wanted to be Skinny and have Hairy do to me what he did to him.”

Trying to get herself back into the mood, Sina took a slow, deep breath. As she often did, she stroked with her free hand from her neck down her arm, her forearm compressing her breasts. The friends weren’t touching but were closer than she realized. Her fingers grazed Erta’s arm, making her jump at the contact.

“Oops, sorry,” Sina said.

“It’s okay,” Erta said, “You just surprised me.” She found herself unable to resist the impulse to touch her friend back. Reaching blindly, her hand gently but briefly landed on a warm mound of flesh. She had occasionally seen but never touched Sina’s breasts. They were so soft.

“Oops, sorry,” giggled Erta.

In the dark, Sina reached to retaliate, her hand moving around Erta’s chest, finally encountering a prominent nipple. Her fingers briefly flicked it before returning to her own chest.

“Oops, sorry,” giggled Sina.

“Okay, truce,” said Erta. “Let’s get back to what we were doing.”

Sina resumed massaging her boobs as her fingers plied her pussy, getting it tingling again. No longer constrained to silence, she let out a low moan. Hearing the sound seemed to relax Erta and she responded with a loud sigh.

The curiosity to know what the other was doing grew in both of them.

“If it weren’t so dark, we could do the Mirror Game,” Sina mused. It started as a thought, but somehow it came out of her mouth.

Erta’s ears burned. She had been unable to chase Sina out of the scene in her mind. They had already knocked down one wall between them. Did they dare go further?

“We could still do it,” Erta spoke quietly, reaching to touch her friend’s shoulder. She waited tensely to see if she understood.

They didn’t do it as often anymore and it had been a while. Both recalled the wonderful camaraderie it inspired as they faced each other, actions evolving, anticipating, daring, sometimes producing surprising results. Feeling a twinge of excitement, Sina was game to try it and moved her hand to Erta’s shoulder.

They wiggled closer together, Sina’s right arm and leg against Erta’s left. The adjacent arms stayed between their respective legs; the opposite ones reached across.

Their hands began to move, Erta’s longer arm arching over Sina’s. Crossing their collar bones, they moved up their necks to caress their faces. Fingers moved over lips, which parted to accept them, whether inserted or sucked in. Sightless, each could lose track of whose hand moved, whose was felt.

Erta’s finger pushed the hair behind Sina’s ear and traced the question mark shape of it. She shivered as she felt the same on her ear. The ambiguity of the sensation amplified it. From ear to neck to clavicle to chest, the touches progressed.

Sina felt fingers on the swell of her breast as she unsurely sought the corresponding location. Lying on her back, her friend’s modest boobs gave only a minimal layer of softness, but when she encountered the tower of a nipple, she knew she was in the right spot. She had occasionally seen Erta’s small areolas and long nipples, that latter which would cause her to wear a bra to mask them even when she needed no support.

Erta’s hand massaged the mass of her friend’s breast. She located her less-prominent nub by first sensing the bumpy skin texture around it. Merging the softness that her fingers grasped with the warm tingle in her breast from Sina’s fondling, she imagined how it would feel to have large breasts.

As the two paralleled their exploration around their bodies, Sina perceived the strength in her friend’s lithe frame. Many attempts to lose weight had left her with the same pillowy shape that her genes decreed. Tracing Erta’s ribs, she wished she could move with her easy grace. Erta surveyed the welcoming warmth in her friend’s softness. Her awkward self-consciousness always restrained her. She wished she could give the fulsome hugs that bespoke the generosity and compassion of Sina’s spirit.

Sighs and soft moans guided their explorations. Each taught the other how she liked to be touched and learned the advantages of the other’s techniques. Erta’s tugging and rolling brought Sina’s nipples to a firmer state, making them even more sensitive. Sina’s palming and pinching ignited sparks of anticipation in Erta’s chest.

Their excitement built slowly, but surely. Erta hesitated to move lower, but as Sina’s fingers reached her navel, she followed, finding and teasing the deeper indentation in her friend’s soft stomach.

Moans and sighs suggested that their hands on their pussies were achieving their goal with the aid of their mutual caresses.

Sina’s shorter left arm could not go farther down Erta’s longer torso. The sounds she was hearing amplified her hunger and inspired her to find a solution. She took her right hand from her crotch and replaced her left hand on Erta, giving her more reach. She encountered Erta’s left hand, now trapped by her arm.

“Oops!” said Erta, surprised and unsure how to proceed. In her dreams, she had already felt Sina’s hand there. Could she push it away now?

“Sorry,” said Sina. Withdrawing her arm, she grabbed Erta’s left forearm, not giving her time to resist. Lifting that long arm away from Erta’s genitals and over her short arm, Sina rested her right hand on Erta’s flat abdomen and dropped her friend’s left hand on her round belly.

Erta was stunned by the change. Sina slowly walked her fingers lower, but her friend did not copy her. Drawing small circles to encourage her, Sina worried she might have gone too far and stopped. Wanting to feel those fingers continue, Erta took a deep breath and began drawing circles on her friend.

Resuming lower, Sina was confused when Erta’s fingers found her bush, but she felt none. Only when her fingertips detected the shape of her friend’s vulva did she retrace her path and understand that Erta’s pubes were sparse and fine, unlike her own thick curly patch.

Erta was less surprised, knowing most women were hairier than she was. She stroked the soft fur until she recognized the contour of her vulva. The hair there was damp, as were the folds that had been opened by Sina’s fingers. Two moans harmonized as both reached their most sensitive areas.

Erta’s long fingers sought Sina’s opening, drawing a gasp as the middle two dipped inside for a few thrusts. Sina’s thicker fingers felt much bigger to Erta as she did the same. Erta then applied circular motions, stirring her vagina, then withdrawing to skate circles around her pussy, leading to a spin around her clit, then a widening spiral back to her entrance.

Sina did her best to mimic the unfamiliar moves, enjoying the effect they had on her genitals. She was not as fond of the thrusting when Erta entered her vagina, but a breathy “Yes” when she did so to her friend told her it was something she liked.

After a couple of circuits, Sina turned the clit circles into her preference, vertical sliding with the apex of the inner lips between her middle two fingers. She alternated that with swiping back and forth with all four fingers. As her partner did the same to her, she moaned her endorsement.

The mirroring created an odd but exciting sensation. Sina’s fingers felt warm wet flesh flow between them as she wiped back and forth; her pussy felt the corresponding but somehow different stimulation. When she switched to the up and down focus on Erta’s clit, there was a moment’s delay before she felt the same on hers.

With mutual understanding and intent, they played that special Mirror Game, by feel and sound instead of by sight. They took turns showing what they liked and enjoying the other’s choices. Erta fancied penetration and would do more and faster thrusts each time her fingers were inside. Sina relished fingers rippling across her clit.

They went back and forth as their excitement grew, inadvertently teasing each other when one’s desire to accelerate led to a change that slowed the other.

“Please!” Sina groaned as Erta reinserted her fingers, leaving Sina’s clit begging for a few more strokes.

“Oh!” said Erta, pausing as she realized the predicament.

“Game over!” called Sina as she also understood. She plunged her fingers into Erta as her friend went back to scrubbing her pussy.

Out of sync, but each providing what the other needed, they sighed and moaned themselves to their peaks. Sina groaned and writhed as the ecstasy flooded her. Erta was rigid and trembling, noisy breaths and gasps announcing her orgasm.

It had taken longer and been more intense than they expected. Memories of events and dreams had disappeared in the sensations of their own and each other’s bodies.

Floating in the afterglow, it took a while to realize that the hands providing the post-orgasmic caresses were not their own. Both withdrew their hands, each discreetly sampling the nectar of the other.

As their bodies cooled, they closed their sleeping bags.

“I think that worked,” sighed Erta groggily.

“Yeah,” mumbled Sina. “I don’t think we’re going to be up for sunrise.”

The sun was well up before Erta opened her eyes. Sina still slept, so she quietly adjusted her clothes, slipped on her pants, and picked up her boots to put them on outside the tent. She went to find the food locker where something had batted it during the night.

Sina was getting dressed in the tent when she returned. When she emerged, Erta had laid out water and breakfast bars. They ate in silence, unable or unwilling to meet each other’s gaze. In the light of day, the activity of the night before was too intimate, too divulging, too perilous.

“I let the air out of the mattress,” Sina said. Erta rose to pull it out of the tent and together they folded it up. Happy for the distraction of breaking camp, they took down the tent and packed things into the car.

Each stole furtive glances at the other as they did. Like a mental Mirror Game, similar thoughts and considerations occupied both: remembering their history; recognizing the unique beauty and vitality of the other; admiring, enjoying, feeling close to, and caring for the other.

Before yesterday, both would have easily said they loved each other, but with a limited meaning of the word.  Were they ready to remove that limit?

Standing side by side as they surveyed the empty campsite, they turned into a hug, long and tight, with explicit closeness they weren’t ready to share the night before.

Unsure of their own feelings, much less of their friend’s, they tried to resolve them in that embrace. Locking eyes showed they shared the ambivalence.

“Well, here’s another nice mess we’ve gotten ourselves into,” Sina paraphrased Ollie.

Erta laughed, then wondered aloud, “So what do we do now?” She saw the worry in Sina’s face that was a reflection of her own. Uncertain what either response might be, she nonetheless started counting, “Three… two… one…”

In unison, they blurted, “I love you, but not that way,” smiling in relief as they understood each other.

When they broke their hug, in unison, they mentally added the postscript, “yet.”