July 20th – 23rd, 1998

As Heather gazed out across the lush green grass, she thought to herself that she had been on this college campus more times in her life than she really cared to. She had never attended a class here, yet, she knew her way around the campus as if she was a fourth-year senior.  At the age of twenty-one, three years removed from high school, she honestly thought she would never return here.

“Try to stay together!” Heather yelled out tentatively as she noticed some of her charges wandering away.  She still wasn’t used to giving orders. “The campus isn’t very big, but you could still get lost. Especially if you’ve never been here before.”

“Which building is it again?” a high school girl named Cindy asked.

“Moffatt Hall,” Heather replied, as she double-checked the name of the building on the piece of paper that the youth minister had just given her.

“Little Miss Moffatt sat on her toffat?” Cindy responded with a giggle.

Heather chuckled politely. “That’s muffet and tuffet, but yeah.” Heather kept walking, fairly certain the building in question was around the next corner. “I’m not really sure how it’s pronounced,” she added. “For all I know, it could be pronounced Mo-fat.”

“You mean like, she’s mo’ fat than you?” Cindy answered, laughing.

“Something like that,” Heather responded patiently. She was suddenly regretting her decision to come on this trip. Cindy was a really nice person, but Heather was now trying to imagine an entire week with this girl trying to follow her everywhere.

As they walked, Heather’s mind slipped back into memory.  From eighth grade on, every summer, she had made the annual pilgrimage to this campus with her church group for a yearly Christian conference.

The conference was a lot like church camp, but it wasn’t. First off, it was held on a college campus—obviously—which automatically made it a thousand times more exciting than any miserable church camp. Heather hated real church camps. Her rare experiences with them had been horrible. Cinder block ‘cabins’ out in the middle of the woods. Horrible food. Communal showers. No, thanks.

This was different though. This was—well, at least tolerable. Somewhere around a thousand young people from churches across the country, some from Oklahoma, some from Texas, some from Kansas (okay, so maybe not across the entire country, but enough variety to make it interesting, at least) gathered together.

But Heather wasn’t a high school kid anymore. She was a sponsor—an adult (that still sounded weird to her). Three years of college had changed her quite a bit. She’d turn twenty-one in June, and to be honest, hadn’t given much thought to her old church group in a couple of years.

That is, until one Sunday morning in late June. She was home, visiting her parents, and had decided to make a rare appearance at her old church (which she now referred to as “her parent’s church”). Heather disliked going back to church immensely. It was always an endless barrage of questions, “How’s school going?” “Graduated yet?” “Got a fella in your life?” —it was always the same. This time had been no different.

The service that day had finally come to an end and Heather was only a few feet from the door when she heard a voice.

“Heather!” the voice shouted. “Heather! It’s been so long!”

Of course, she knew the voice as soon as she heard it. It was her old youth minister, Bob. She closed her eyes and sighed. She thought she was going to make it out of the building without having to talk to him. He was a super nice guy, but… she just always felt so awkward.

“Hey, Heather, how’s it going?” Bob said as he rushed up to greet her with a big side hug around her shoulder. The two spoke for a few minutes and Heather thought he was about to let her go, when he dropped the bomb. “Say, Heather, I have an idea.”

An idea? Heather thought to herself, this can’t be good. “Oh, really?” she found herself saying out loud.

“You remember Cory, don’t you?” Bob plied.

“Sure, I remember him,” Heather answered, her mind swimming. Please don’t try to set me up on a date with Cory, she thought.

“Well,” Bob started, “Cory was supposed to go with us to the summer conference this year as a sponsor. But he’s had something come up and he won’t be able to make it.” He paused and stroked his mustache, as if in deep thought—a peculiar habit he had always had. “Your mom said that you weren’t busy in July, and might be able to go with us.”

“My mom—” Heather started, unable to hide the frustration in her voice, “of course she did.” She shook her head, getting ready to say no.

“The trip’s already paid for, all you’d be out is a little spending money. We’d love to have you along if you’d like to take his spot.”

Heather grimaced, her mind desperately trying to dream up a good excuse for not being able to go, other than I don’t want to. She couldn’t think of anything.

Just then, three girls raced up to her. Cindy, Mindy, and Lindy. (No shit, that was their real names. Well, Lindy’s real name was Linda, but since the three girls were always in each other’s company, people had started calling her “Lindy” years ago). Heather remembered the three girls from when she was in high school. At the time, they had been three annoying fifteen-year-old girls. Now, they were three annoying eighteen-year-old girls.  Three annoying eighteen-year-olds who never... stopped... talking.

“Your mom just told us!” the three girls shouted in unison. “Are you really going with us as a sponsor? That’ll be so much fun!”

Heather smiled and laughed. It was a laugh of resignation. She ran her fingers through her short, spiky black hair, and turned back towards Bob, who was now eyeing her with a triumphant look that clearly said, You know you’re not getting out of this now.

“Sure,” Heather finally agreed. “I’ll go. Why not?”

And so, three weeks later, Heather boarded the church’s greyhound-style activity bus. The trip to Colorado required a roughly ten-hour bus ride. They had left Sunday evening and driven the entire night, finally arriving sometime Monday morning.

So, here she was—walking across campus, trying to remember where Moffatt Hall was. She’d stayed in it multiple times, and knew it wasn’t the best dormitory in the world, but hey, it sure beat a cinder block cabin.

“Two girls to a room! Two girls to a room!” Heather shouted down the hall, as the girls started pairing up, and picking their room. “No, Susie, that’s too far, just these rooms down here.” Heather sighed. On one level, she was trying to figure out what she had gotten herself into. Yet, on another level, it felt really good to be back. She loved coming to this conference. She had so many fond memories of the five different weeks she had spent on this campus. Hanging out with her friends Mitch and Tracy in the Student Union (that’s where she had been introduced to fried mozzarella cheese sticks for the first time). Enjoying the beautiful Colorado weather every day during “free time”. She was snapped out of her moment of reverie by the sound of Cindy’s voice.

“Two girls to a room? But that means—”

“Oh, sh—” Heather caught herself, remembering she was supposed to be a church sponsor. All too late, Heather realized exactly what ‘two girls to a room’ meant. The three mouthketeers, Cindy, Mindy, and Lindy, were going to be split up. There were only eleven girls on the trip, which meant…

“I guess I’ll just have to stay with you!” Cindy said happily.

Heather smiled reluctantly. “Great,” she muttered. “I’m sure it’ll be a fun week.”

The rest of Monday proved to be uneventful. Heather took to being a sponsor pretty naturally. She showed the first-timers around, introducing them to the cafeteria, the student union game room, and all the other popular hangout spots on campus. Okay, so, those were really the only two, but, they still had a good time.

Each day of the conference was structured exactly the same.  After breakfast, the day started with what were known as D-Groups (the D stood for Discipleship). These were smaller, more intimate groups with about fifteen kids in each group. After that was lunch. Then, the afternoon was occupied with a series of “electives”. These were seminar-like classes with topics ranging from “How to Witness to Your Friends” all the way up to “The End Times: Are They Approaching?”. Everyone was supposed to go to two electives each afternoon.

Each evening, the entire conference would meet in the gymnasium. This was essentially a glorified church service. Lots of singing. Lots of preaching. Lots of emotional young people making decisions about their futures that they would never fulfill or live up to. Then, the conclusion of each night featured each church group meeting independently. This always turned into a sob session, with all those involved seemingly regretting every mistake they’d made over the previous year. Fun stuff, right?

Tuesday morning at breakfast, Bob found Heather and informed her that the conference needed her to fill in as one of the D-Group leaders. “I know it’s just one more thing you weren’t expecting to do,” he apologized, “but I told them that you were very responsible and have already proven yourself worthy on this trip.”

“Thanks,” Heather said with exasperation, “No pressure.”

So, at just before ten o’clock, Heather made her way to the location Bob had given her. Strangely enough, it was back in the cafeteria. A perfect spot for D-Groups, Heather realized, because they would all be able to get drinks from the cafeteria drink dispenser.  She did this immediately because her mouth and throat had just inexplicably become dry.

Taking her cupful of Dr. Pepper across the cafeteria, Heather scanned the room and saw what appeared to be another adult female talking to three or four kids who had already arrived. Heather approached the small group and awkwardly stood in front of them for a moment, not wanting to interrupt the conversation.

Finally, the other young woman turned towards her. “Hi, I’m Mandy, you must be my other sponsor?”

“That’s me,” Heather replied and proceeded to introduce herself.

Mandy smiled a brilliant, beautiful smile. In fact, as Heather examined her new partner, she realized that was the one word that probably fit Mandy the best. Beautiful. She wasn’t hot, she wasn’t cute. She was just beautiful. Her hair was long and curly, with an auburn tint to it. Her makeup was perfect and so was her outfit. She was all the things that Heather wasn’t.

Heather, wearing her shorts that were decidedly too short for a Christian conference, and her spiky black hair, and no makeup, felt almost dumpy by comparison. Mandy didn’t seem to notice though. She offered Heather a seat right next to her, and in just a few minutes, Heather felt completely at ease around Mandy.

The other kids arrived and the group proceeded as planned. The first day was largely a “getting to know you” session, with everyone talking about themselves for a little bit. Heather discovered that she and Mandy actually had quite a bit in common. They were the same age, had graduated from high school the same year, had both just finished their third year of college, and both had similar experiences attending the conference throughout their high school years. Mandy was from northern Texas, a town not too far away from where Heather’s grandparents had lived at Lake Texoma.

They also had very compatible senses of humor. They could make each other laugh and seemed to almost instantly know what the other was thinking. As the hour progressed, they also discovered that they had similar tastes in movies and music.

Needless to say, they hit it off in a pretty big way. Heather had rarely felt such an immediate bond of friendship with someone new, the way she had so instantly connected with Mandy. The D-Group time came to a close and Mandy dismissed them for the day. Yet, the two young women stayed and continued chatting.

It was odd. On the surface, the two of them seemed so radically different. In fact, as Heather had approached the table at the beginning of the session, she had been almost certain that it would be a disaster. But now, here it was nearly thirty minutes after their group had left, and they were talking like old friends. The lunchtime crowd began to drift in and Heather and Mandy decided to eat lunch together. They were eventually joined by some girls from Heather’s church group, but it didn’t seem to affect the ease of their conversation. Mandy just had that way about her. She seemed to always incorporate everyone and make them feel perfectly comfortable.

After lunch, the two young women went their separate ways, each having their own obligations to attend to. Heather had to show some of the new girls where they were supposed to go for the electives. She and the others took off in the appropriate direction, but not before Mandy could part with “I’m looking forward to seeing you tomorrow, Heather.” Heather agreed that it would indeed be exciting to see her new friend the next day.

Wednesday, Heather and Mandy spent most of the day together. As soon as Heather walked into the cafeteria at breakfast, Mandy caught her attention with a wave and signaled her over. Heather sat down, and the two enjoyed each other’s company throughout breakfast and on into the second D-Group session. They stayed together through lunch and as everyone was getting ready to leave at the end of lunch, Mandy tugged on the sleeve of Heather’s T-shirt.

“You wanna go to an elective together?” Mandy asked, a coy smile on her face.

“Sure,” Heather instantly responded. “Which one?” Heather was suddenly overwhelmed by the same giddy feeling she’d had the first time her old boyfriend Jimmy had asked her out on a date in the eighth grade. She knew this wasn’t a date, but for some reason, it felt like the two of them had crossed a major threshold. Heather even felt herself blushing slightly. She reached up and subconsciously ran her fingers through her short black hair.

They examined the day’s schedule of electives and decided that “The End Times: Are They Approaching?” would be packed (it seemed like everyone always wanted to go to stuff like that). So instead, they chose, “The Shroud of Turin: Real, or Make Believe”, deciding that it would be the one with the least people attending.

They were correct. Only a handful of people, mostly other sponsors, were in attendance. As they chose their seat, Mandy picked up her chair and move it closer to Heather’s. Had she purposefully moved her chair THAT close? Heather thought to herself. I mean, seriously, our thighs are rubbing against each other! She momentarily found it hard to swallow, but finally decided to dismiss it as a coincidence. After all, she was at a church conference.

The presenter was dull and boring. Too bad, Heather thought, it’s a fascinating topic, there’s no need for this to be uninteresting. Mandy managed to keep her entertained by whispering jokes in her ear. Each time, Heather was caught between wanting to laugh at what Mandy was saying, and fighting back the goosebumps that the other woman’s breath caused as it tickled the inside of her ear.

By the time it was over, both girls were nearly to the point of erupting with laughter. It was all they could do to make it outside before bursting into fits of giggles. As she laughed, Mandy momentarily gripped Heather’s arm, holding on just a little too long. It was a friendly gesture, but it certainly caught Heather’s attention.

“Where to next?” Mandy offered, pulling out the schedule they had examined earlier. They picked out another elective, the equally dull “Ancient Christians: Founders of the Faith”, and had a similar fun experience, cracking whispered jokes at the expense of the presenter.

As the two girls parted company for the day, Heather was absolutely glowing. She had just had an awesome day with—with—she was so confused. What is Mandy? Is this beginning of an amazing friendship? Or is there something much, much more going on? She asked herself. Aside from that, whether it’s friendship or something else, we’re only going to see each other for two more days.

Heather nervously tromped across campus, paying little attention to where she was going, or what she might be bumping into. I can’t be having these thoughts, she argued with herself. She’s been a counselor here for three years. Surely she wouldn’t be trying to make something like that happen. Heather shook her head vigorously. I’m sure she’s just being friendly. Besides, I’m at a church camp, I shouldn’t be having thoughts like that at all.

As she stepped back into Moffatt Hall, reality slapped her in the face. Eleven high school girls were in a panicked frenzy, trying to fix their hair, put on makeup, and get into their nice clothes before the evening session. Heather realized that she too needed to start getting ready, and all thoughts of Mandy were put on hold as she entered the fray.

The evening session commenced as planned. The highlight of each night’s session was really quite a peaceful moment. The entire body of those attending the conference would leave their seats and go outside. Everyone would spread out on a large field of grass, finding a spot away from all others. Each evening, the speaker would provide a certain passage from the Bible that was supposed to be studied or meditated upon for about fifteen minutes or so.

Heather found a nice secluded space, opened her Bible and started reading. After just a few seconds though, she shut the book and laid it in the grass. She simply spent her time admiring the view. The beauty of the mountains surrounding her, accentuated by the setting sun. The quaint college campus with its green, manicured grounds. The peaceful scene of a thousand high school kids not yelling or making fools of themselves.

As she gazed out across her tranquil surroundings, Heather sensed that someone was staring at her. She glanced over and saw Mandy, not too far away. They locked eyes and Mandy smiled. That same smile she had given Heather two days ago when they first met. Except, it seemed more personal somehow.

As Heather watched, Mandy did not avert her gaze. She simply continued smiling, almost as if she were daring Heather to laugh, or wave, or something. A playful staring contest from fifty feet away. Mandy made a motion with her mouth. Was that a kissy face? Or was she just shooing away a fly? Heather asked herself.

Later that night, Heather couldn’t get Mandy out of her mind. She replayed their day together. Revisiting each conversation. Scrutinizing every gesture she had made. Reviewing every look or glance they had shared. Savoring every time they had touched.

She suddenly realized how aroused she was. She could feel the heat coming from her own body. Her breathing was shallow. The thought ran through Heather’s mind that she could relieve herself of that tension if she really wanted to. I can’t do that though, can I? She thought. Not here in the dorm room. Her hand felt her own wetness. Not with Cindy sleeping four feet away from me. Heather’s fingers slipped between the folds of her own skin. Seriously, Heather, you can’t do this here, she thought to herself. She started rubbing.

Her fingers worked of their own accord. I shouldn’t be doing this. She raised her knees, spreading her legs further apart.  I don’t even know if she’s interested in me that way. She completely surrendered to her urges, closing her eyes and conjuring visions of Mandy in her mind. Her pretty eyes. Her long hair. She slipped a finger inside. Those slightly pale, but perfect legs. That smile. She concentrated on her clit, massaging rapidly back and forth.  Her own natural juices soaking her hand. Heather made an audible sound—something that sounded way too much like a moan. She bit her lip belatedly, her breath caught in her throat.  As her muscles contracted, another sound escaped. A quiet, gurgling type of sound (as quiet as she could manage, at least).

“Are you all right, Heather?” Cindy whispered in the darkness.

Heather exhaled deeply. Cindy had heard, but had obviously misinterpreted the sounds she was making. “Yeah, I’m fine,” Heather whispered back. “Just a bit of a stomach ache,” she lied as she withdrew her hand from between her own thighs. In a matter of minutes, she drifted off to sleep.

Heather’s efforts at self-relief might have been successful in the short term, but the next day, she discovered that, if anything, her feelings towards Mandy had only been accentuated. Throughout the morning D-Group session, she couldn’t keep her eyes off her friend. It pleased her to see that Mandy seemed to be having trouble keeping her focus as well.

After lunch, the two young women once again found themselves studying the same elective schedule. Mandy nearly crumpled the piece of paper in frustration. “They just all seem so—” she started.

“Crowded,” Heather finished, sure that this is what Mandy had been thinking. She knew they both wanted to go somewhere with fewer people.

“Exactly,” Mandy said softly. Then, she nervously straightened out the schedule against the table they were sitting at. “Actually, I was going to say boring, but yes, crowded too.”

Heather wasn’t sure how to respond. She wasn’t really up for an elective that afternoon but knew they had to go somewhere. She studied the cafeteria workers as they began the cleanup process. Picking up cups that kids had left behind. Wiping down tables. Mopping the floors.

“You know,” Mandy started, “there’s nothing saying that we have to go to an elective.”

“What do you mean?” Heather responded with growing curiosity.

“I mean, they can’t make us go,” Mandy explained, a hint of mischief in her voice.

“What did you have in mind?” Heather prodded.

“Do you like miniature golf?” Mandy countered.

Heather was nearly thrown off her mental track. Miniature golf was about the last thing she had expected Mandy to suggest at that moment. “Miniature golf?” she questioned.

“Sure,” Mandy continued. “There’s a great little miniature golf course just a few blocks away from here. Me and my friends used to sneak down there all the time when I was in high school.”

Heather giggled. “Sounds like fun.”

When they arrived at the miniature golf course, they were greeted by the sound of Garth Brooks singing “Two Pina Coladas” over the loudspeaker. Both girls started singing instantly. They paid a nice, elderly lady for their round of golf, and moved on to the first hole.

As they played, they chatted about anything and everything. Heather told Mandy about her friends Tracy and Mitch, and her family’s farm, and college. Mandy told Heather about her friends, and her family, and how she ended up working with the conference as a camp counselor.

They decided to play a second round and the conversation continued. They talked about guys they used to date—and why they weren’t dating them anymore—and they reminisced about the fun times they had at previous conferences. Even though they had never met each other in those previous years, they shared a lot of the same memories.

“Were you there that morning when they threw pancakes at everyone during the morning session?” Heather asked excitedly.

“Was I there?!” Mandy answered. “I caught one of the pancakes! How about crisscross day when everyone was supposed to come with clothes on backwards or turned inside out?”

“That actually happened?” Heather laughed. “I thought I just dreamed that.”

Towards the end of their second round, it began to rain. A nice, easy rain. It seemed to rain every afternoon in that part of Colorado. They were on the fifteenth hole, and they decided to go ahead and finish, even if it meant getting a little wet.

On the seventeenth hole, Heather scored a hole-in-one. She jumped up and down excitedly, clapping her soggy hands in the rain. Bending over, she reached into the hole with her slender fingers and withdrew her ball. As she glanced up, Mandy was close to her. Very close. The other girl’s perfect hair was no longer perfect. It was matted down by the rain and she pushed it out of her eyes. Raindrops beaded up on Mandy’s cheeks, accentuating her light freckles.

Mandy wore a white T-shirt bearing the slogan “My Lifeguard Walks on Water”. The rain had soaked the shirt completely, showing off the figure that God had blessed her with. Heather audibly gasped at the sight. She openly stared.

For a moment, the only sound that Heather could hear was the plip-plops of tiny raindrops. Over the loudspeaker, George Strait’s “I Just Wanna Dance With You” started playing. The two girls were only inches away from each other. Heather sensed that they were on the verge of kissing.

Then, the moment passed. Both of them seemed to wake from a trance—or realized they were in a public place. There was no doubt in Heather’s mind though. They had both been caught staring into each other’s eyes.

“I guess we need to finish this then,” Mandy said awkwardly, “—I mean, play the hole—I mean, finish the eighteenth hole.”

“Right,” Heather agreed.

They both finished the final hole and began walking back towards campus. They didn’t talk much. Something had changed. Changed for the better. It was as if they had reached a deeper understanding, a deeper connection than they had all week. Mandy once again took Heather’s hand in hers. This time, she didn’t let go.

Just minutes later, they found themselves standing in front of Moffatt Hall, preparing to part ways one more time. The two stared at each other for a moment. Mandy seemed to be on the verge of saying something but didn’t have the guts.

Neither did Heather. She started to walk away, weakly saying “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” She had only taken two steps when she heard Mandy call to her.

“Heather!” Mandy blurted out. “Why don’t you come hang out with me tonight after the main session. Robidoux Hall. Room 201.”

Heather smiled brilliantly. “That sounds fun,” she said through an uncontrollable giggle. “I’ll be there.”

Later that night, after the group’s nightly “sob session” (as Heather referred to it to herself), Heather raced back to her dorm room to change clothes. Cindy was already there, getting ready for bed. As Heather proceeded to put on her shorts, a tank top, and tennis shoes, Cindy glanced at her curiously.

“Are you going somewhere?” Cindy asked politely.

“Yeah,” Heather replied. “My friend, Mandy, she wants to—” Heather’s mind raced, “she wants to go over a few things for tomorrow’s D-Group.”

At that moment, a flash of lightning lit up the room, followed by a crack of thunder. The skies had been threatening more rain all evening, and now, it was finally coming down. A torrential downpour could be heard on the ceiling above them.

“In the rain?” Cindy questioned. “That takes a lot of commitment. Good luck.”

Heather smiled, stepped out into the hall, and shut the door behind her. She ran through the rain, splashing through puddles and completely drenching herself in the process. The entire time, she was half-terrified that she might crash into some unseen obstacle in the darkness.

Just a few minutes later, she arrived. Robidoux Hall. Room 201. Heather stood nervously in front of the door, dripping wet, creating a small river on the tile floor beneath her. She raised her hand, preparing to knock, when the door opened in front of her.

“I thought I heard you,” Mandy said with a huge grin. “Let me get you a towel, you’re soaking wet!”

Heather accepted the towel and started drying her hair. As she did, she casually sat down on Mandy’s bed, without even thinking about it. Mandy sat down as well and Heather noticed for the first time what Mandy was wearing—which could best be described as “not much”.

She had on a pair of extremely short, pink athletic shorts and a tank top similar to the one Heather herself wore. It was easily the least amount of clothing that Heather had ever seen her friend in. For a moment, all Heather could do, as she continued to dry herself, was stare at Mandy’s sculpted legs, and her firm, bare shoulders.

“So,” Mandy broke the silence, “would you like a drink?”

“A drink?” Heather replied.

“Sure, a drink?” Mandy answered. She pushed herself off the bed and stepped across the room. She pulled out a bottle of vodka, as well as a bottle of grape juice.

“Grape juice and vodka?” Heather giggled.

“Hey, we’re lucky. I ran into town during supper. This was the best I could find.”

“Please tell me the grape juice wasn’t supposed to be someone’s communion or something?” Heather joked.

“Nope, just for us,” Mandy said with a smile as she poured plastic cups full of the two liquids. She brought the drinks back to the bed, handing one to Heather, and sat back down. She took a large sip from her own and encouraged Heather to do the same.

They sat and talked for a few minutes, letting the alcohol take its effect. They laughed and carried on, discussing the events of the week. They allowed themselves to gripe a little about situations, or people, that had been bugging them throughout the week, and even poked fun at some of the other camp counselors.

“He actually said that?” Heather asked in disbelief through hysterical giggling.

“Your dad must be a baker because you’ve got some nice buns,” Mandy repeated. “Worst pickup line I’ve heard since I’ve been here.” She finished off her drink and jumped up to refill her cup, taking Heather’s with her as she did so. “How about you?”

Heather shook her head. “You know, I haven’t even been hit on this week,” she admitted.

“What a shame,” Mandy teased, shaking her head. “Maybe someone’s been flirting with you and you just haven’t noticed,” she said meaningfully. She took a sip from her drink. “It’s just not a summer conference without getting hit on by a high school kid.”

Heather took a sip from her own cup. “Or another counselor?” she asked with a sly grin.

“Exactly,” Mandy responded.

They had finally landed on a moment of comfortable silence between the two of them. They sat for several seconds, listening to the rain patter against the window, as they continued working on their second round of drinks. Mandy leaned over, setting her cup on the floor. As she did so, the front of her shirt revealed a significant amount of cleavage, and Heather couldn’t help but gape.

As she sat back upright, Mandy caught Heather in the act of staring but didn’t seem to mind. “So, tonight’s our last night,” Mandy said, matter-of-factly, gazing deeply into Heather’s eyes.

Heather swallowed another large gulp from her cup. “It sure is,” she responded, intently returning her friend’s stare.

“Have you ever kissed another woman, Heather?” Mandy asked bluntly. A flash of lightning lit up the room brightly, for just a moment.

“Several,” Heather answered honestly. A crash of thunder rolled through the mountains.

“Me too,” Mandy replied. She shuffled her legs on the bed, moving even closer to Heather. “Let’s see, where were we this afternoon?”

“This afternoon?” Heather answered.

“You know, this afternoon,” Mandy reminded her, “on the seventeenth hole. Either you were about to kiss me, or I was about to kiss you, I’m not sure which,” she said lightheartedly.

“I think we were about right here,” Heather offered.

Mandy leaned in and kissed Heather full on the lips. Heather could still taste the sweetness of the grape juice. Their tongues met each other for the first time.

Suddenly, all of the sexual tension that had been building throughout the week was unleashed. Mandy’s hands were everywhere. So soft, so feminine, so graceful. She caressed every inch of Heather’s exposed body.

Not to be outdone, Heather’s hands found Mandy’s gorgeous, pale, perfectly smooth legs. From her calf, all the way up her thigh, Heather couldn’t resist eagerly stroking her friend’s silky skin.

Mandy’s movements were quick and confident. Heather realized the other girl knew what she wanted and she was through wasting time. In another moment, Heather’s top was off and Mandy’s face was buried in her breasts, her delicate tongue kneading at each nipple.

Heather worked her own hands up under Mandy’s shirt and felt her exquisite tits for the first time.

Mandy backed away, smiling at Heather—that same beautiful smile she’d flashed so many times throughout the week. She lifted her own top up and off. “These are what you were trying to look at earlier, right?”

Heather was mesmerized. “Oh, dear God,” was her initial reaction. “They’re glorious.” Heather was not lying. They really, truly were glorious. Perfectly rounded, just as pale as the rest of her body.

Heather allowed herself to fall face first into her friend’s chest. She reveled in the soft, supple mounds, breathing in deeply—catching a hint of the perfume Mandy had been wearing that evening. Mandy placed one hand on the back of Heather’s head, holding her gently to her breasts. The other hand, Heather felt on her bare back, caressing it delicately.

Heather took a nipple in her mouth and suckled for several seconds. Then the other. Each nipple was so large and firm, they made her own almost look like boys nipples by comparison.

Heather slowly eased Mandy onto her back, so that they were both in an inclined position. She realized, for the moment at least, she had the high ground. She took control. She slid one hand down the length of Mandy’s trim torso and found the elastic of her pink athletic shorts. She tugged them down around Mandy’s knees in one fluid motion.

Mandy laughed with glee as she kicked the shorts away from her.

Heather finally brought her mouth away from Mandy’s sumptuous tits. She kissed her new lover on the lips, and their tongues darted in and out of each other’s mouths. Heather’s nimble fingers began flirting with the edge of Mandy’s panties.

Suddenly, Heather glanced down and almost felt embarrassed.

“What’s wrong?” Mandy asked, picking up on Heather’s sudden mood.

“I just feel overdressed, now, that’s all,” Heather admitted.

“That can be easily fixed,” Mandy pointed out.

Heather reached down, unfastening her own shorts and stripping them off quickly. Now, she too was only in panties.  “Better?” she asked playfully.

“Much,” Mandy replied.

Heather moved back in and resumed her kisses. She started at Mandy’s mouth, but then drifted to her chest, found those luxurious breasts once more, and then continued on to the girl’s tight tummy. As she planted four kisses, one on each side of Mandy’s belly button, her fingers once more found the trim of Mandy’s baby blue cotton panties.

The fifth kiss landed several inches below the belly button, and just above the tops of Mandy’s panties.

Mandy growled in frustration and dropped her head to the pillow behind her. “Take them off already, you little vixen!” she chortled.

Heather did as commanded, and a moment later, she was admiring Mandy’s stunning pussy for the first time. She allowed herself to study it for just a moment. Her mound featured a perfectly manicured, narrow, triangular tuft of hair, guiding her like an arrow to her waiting snatch. “Fuck, you have a beautiful body,” she said out loud, “you know that don’t you?”

Mandy raised her head. “So do you,” she replied, a note of mock-anger in her voice. “Now, stop teasing me, damn it!”

Heather didn’t need any more prompting. She moved her head between Mandy’s legs as the other girl spread her thighs apart to accommodate her. Heather planted a kiss on her mound, then just to the left of her pussy, and one more just to the right. A fourth kiss found the mark, and her lips pressed against Mandy’s wet slit. She delicately traced her tongue against the lips, and tentatively licked, very gently, before stabbing her tongue inside.

A moment later, she buried her entire face between Mandy’s legs. Her friend held the back of Heather’s head, moaning softly. To either side, Heather could see Mandy’s thighs, shaking, rippling, quaking with each movement of her tongue.

After what seemed like an eternity, Heather finally came up for air. She could feel her own spit, surely mixed with Mandy’s juices, dripping off of her chin. They were both panting. She glanced down and saw Mandy’s gash, still waiting in anticipation, and she suddenly realized that she wanted it in her mouth again. She craved it. Without further hesitation, Heather dove back in.

The sounds that escaped Mandy’s lips were something between squeals of delight and moans of ecstasy. “God, you’re good at—” she tried to say, but couldn’t get the words out. She started hyperventilating. Her back arched. She gripped Heather’s hair tightly. She shuddered, and then whimpered as her knees twitched.

Heather’s craving subsided with Mandy’s orgasm. She kissed her way back up Mandy’s body. As she found Mandy’s lips once more, she allowed her hand to rub against Mandy’s mound, massaging gently.

In turn, Mandy’s hands also began exploring Heather’s body. Heather understood she had been in control for far too long. As she relaxed and made the decision to release control of the situation, the dominant side of Mandy’s personality erupted. She nearly pounced on top of Heather, as a fresh surge of energy seemed to possess her body. She pressed Heather against the bed and thrust her tongue deep into Heather’s mouth.

Mandy’s delicate fingers fondled Heather’s perky tits and quickly made their way down to her purple panties. In a flash, she had the panties around Heather’s ankles and flung them across the room. Heather felt the other girl’s hand between her legs, rubbing her mound and slipping her fingers in between the silky folds of her labia.

She felt a digit inserted inside her and she spread her legs slightly, giving into the sensation of Mandy’s fingers. First one, then two. Mandy worked them in and out like a pro, Heather knew this wasn’t the first time she had done this.

“Now it’s my turn,” Mandy whispered. Heather didn’t need any additional information. She knew what was going to happen next.

At first, Mandy acted as if she wasn’t going to waste any time. In just a moment, her mouth was only inches away from Heather’s waiting muff. But then, she stopped. She kissed Heather’s mound, right where Heather had a small landing strip of pubic hair. Heather felt a finger being inserted once more.

“You know, you really do have a beautiful body,” Mandy teased.

Heather laughed wholeheartedly. “So do you,” she replied with a smile. “Now stop teasing me, damn it,” she finally said, repeating their earlier banter.

The words were barely out of Heather’s mouth. Mandy’s tongue plunged inside her hot slit. As Heather’s head banged against the wall behind her, only one word came to her mind. She moaned it out loud.

“Heaven!” It was absolutely fucking heaven. That was the only word that Heather could use to describe the feeling of Mandy’s tongue. She had experienced other women. But no woman had ever used her tongue the way Mandy did. As Mandy continued to work miracles with her tongue, Heather couldn’t help but marvel at the situation. That’s what makes this so intense, she thought to herself. The situation. I met Mandy only three days ago. We’re sponsoring a “discipleship group” together! And now? Her tongue is inside me.

Other than that single word “heaven,” for the next several minutes, the only thing that made it out of Heather’s mouth were noises that sounded like something from a nature program about wild animals. She gritted her teeth. She panted uncontrollably. She might have even growled once.

Heather’s thighs ached. Her knees trembled. Her ass shook. She moaned deeply. Her muscles contracted. Her left foot cramped. She sighed with the true relief that she had been seeking all week.

As Heather body unwound from her orgasm, their bodies became one. Legs intertwined. Arms wrapped around each other. Both of them took a long, deep, satisfied breath. Another flash of lightning lit up their naked bodies for no one but themselves to see.

As they relaxed, they lay side-by-side, not a stitch of clothing between them, enjoying another round of grape juice and vodka. They chatted some more and laughed a lot. Both of them knew this would be their one and only night together. Everyone was going home tomorrow.

“First time with another woman?” Mandy asked.

Heather snorted. “Hardly. You?”

“Hell no,” Mandy answered, chuckling.

Heather took a sip from her cup. “So, are we going to hell? I mean, seriously, we just had lesbian sex at church camp.”

Mandy giggled. “Nah. First off, we had lesbian sex at a church conference, not church camp. Huge difference. And besides that, camp counselors having sex at church camp is as old as the religion itself.” She raised an arm and placed her hand behind her head. “I’m pretty sure they covered that in that Ancient Christians elective we went to.”

Heather chuckled. “I must have fallen asleep before that part.” She thought for a moment, then asked, “So, is this your first time to do something like this at a conference?”

Mandy gave an embarrassed grin. “With another girl? Yes.”

“With a guy, then?” Heather snickered.

“You might say that,” Mandy added, in a tone that indicated she was holding something back.

“Anyone I know?” Heather prodded.

“Well, sort of. His name was James. My first year as a counselor,” Mandy admitted.

“James—wait, you mean—” Heather nearly choked on her grape juice as she realized just exactly who Mandy was talking about. She paused for a moment, but couldn’t resist the obvious next question. “Sooooo, how was he?”

Mandy held her fingers up, close together. “Little, that’s how he was.”

They both giggled over this revelation.

“Last year too,” Mandy revealed. “Different guy though.” Then, she kissed Heather and added, “Tonight was much, much better.”

Heather returned the kiss, and the two once again found each other in a passionate embrace.

“So,” Mandy said with a start, after pulling away from the kiss. “Are you going to be a sponsor again next summer?”

Heather smiled, and honestly answered, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Authors Note:

For the record, Mandy and I did get to spend time together the next day. We had a great day and even found a nice quiet spot where no one was looking and shared a goodbye kiss.

I will also say that these types of relationships are probably quite common at such conferences today… but in 1998, what we were doing was EXTREMELY taboo.

A couple more things I would like to address regarding this story.

First off, I have absolutely no reason to tell you this, but I was actually involved in a relationship when all this happened.  So, on top of having lesbian sex at a Christian conference, I was also basically cheating on my then-girlfriend, Sadie.

I was really nervous about it, but Sadie was the first person I told about this amazing experience, as soon as I got back home. As it turns out, Sadie was really turned on by the whole thing and didn’t hold it against me at all.  In fact, she revealed to me that she had her own fling that summer, but that’s a story for another day…

Also, you’re probably wondering what happened the next summer. The story would obviously be too long to tell but, yes, I did return for a second year as a sponsor. And yes, Mandy was there too. Beyond that, I’ll let you use your own imagination.  All I will tell you is this: Every. Single. Night!