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It all began at the party.
Karen was sitting in a circle, laughing and chatting with all of her friends, when the game was suggested. Unsurprisingly, it was the Matt and Foggy duo that everyone loved who brought it up.
“Hey!!!” Matt shouted over the noise, leaning heavily on Foggy for support. As everyone looked at him and Foggy, Matt brandished a mostly-empty bottle with his other hand. “Y’all want to play ‘Spin the Bottle’?!?!?!”
Foggy, who didn’t seem to mind the already very drunk college student who was using him as a wall, grinned broadly at the idea, shaking Matt up and down a little in excitement.
“Yeaahhhhh!!!” he exclaimed, taking the bottle from Matt to hold it up even higher. “‘Spin the Bottle’!!!!!!!”
Karen watched as the pair dissolved into a fit of giggles, an amused smile on her face. With the rest of the group’s enthusiastic cheers, there was no possible way that this couldn’t get out of hand. Alcohol and kissing games? Not a good match.
“There is no way that this will end well,” a voice said into Karen’s ear, making her jump. She turned to where Marci sat next to her, a smirk on her face.
“What,” she said slyly, leaning in closer, “did I scare you?”
Karen chose to ignore that comment and the butterflies it brought her, instead choosing to look back to where Matt and Foggy were fighting over who would get to spin the bottle first. Matt seemed to be winning, despite the fact that he was blind.
“Get off me, Fogs!” he was saying, narrowly avoiding an elbow to the face. “I’m blind! It will make this more interesting!” Karen chuckled.
“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.” That this wouldn’t end well. Not that she was scared.
Marci shrugged and bobbed her head, taking another sip from her drink. Her long blond hair flowed freely, and Karen fought the urge to reach out and brush a strand of it behind her ear. Friends didn’t do things like that, after all. Especially not them.
“So,” Marci asked, running a tongue over her lips to get rid of any excess alcohol. She looked at Karen, cocking an eyebrow. “You gonna join, or what?”
Karen shrugged. “No, I don’t think so.” There was no way she was getting into that . “You can go if you want, though.”
“Come onnnn….” Marci drawled, shoving Karen lightly in the shoulder, the contact shooting sparks up and down Karen’s arm. “It won’t be any fun without you there to tease!” Karen looked away, not wanting her to see the blush that had spread over her cheeks at the word ‘friend.’ It seemed, however, that Marci had other ideas, grabbing Karen’s jaw to turn her head so that they were looking straight-on each other.
Marci was very close, so close that Karen could feel her soft breath on her lips. Her mouth went dry, as Marci’s eyes turned sultry, eyes flicking down to her lips.
If Karen hadn’t been blushing before, she certainly was now, and her mind raced as she wanted to run and hide and close that immense gap between them all at the same time. Marci was so close-- Why was she so close?!?!
Marci let out a puff of air, eyes flicking down to Karen’s lips then back to her eyes one last time.
“Why,” she said deeply. “Do you think you're not a good kisser?”
Who was Karen to argue with that?
Marci pulled away, replaced by a chill in her absence. Karen felt frozen, unfocused, and had she not been thinking as clearly, she might have run the soft pads of her fingers over the still-tingling skin where Marci had touched her.
Luckily, she had more common sense, and she didn’t have to wait too long before she could move again, thank goodness.
‘Keep it subtle, Karen. Keep it subtle.’
Karen let out a long sigh, as much for dramatics as it was to clear out her head, to shake these thoughts of Marci.
“I’m not drunk enough for this.”
Marci smirked as Karen took her drink out of her hands, taking a big swig before setting it down. Karen ran her sleeve ungraciously over her mouth to dry it, before standing up and offering Marci a hand.
“Coming, loser?”
Marci gave a sly grin as she took her hand.
“Of course.”
The first couple spins of the game weren’t too bad, with Foggy and Matt each getting each other in successive order. If Karen hadn’t known any better, she would’ve suspected that they’d orchestrated the whole event, with them dancing around each other as much as they had been the past few months. In reality, though, Karen knew that that was impossible, considering how hammered they both were.
After them, a couple other people who Karen didn’t really know too well went, some getting flustered and embarrassed, and some acting like it was the funniest thing to ever happen to them. Soon, though, the fun ended, and it was suddenly Karen who was staring down the bottle, it taunting her to spin.
“Come on , Karrie,” Marci whispered into her ear, causing the hairs on the back of Karen’s neck to rise. Karen sighed. She really couldn’t back out now, could she?
The bottle spun, round and around, but Karen couldn’t see it. All she saw was how she could’ve gotten into this, and if there was anyway to get out of it. This was going to be so embarrassing. Karen didn’t want to kiss some rando at a party she barely knew! In fact, there was only one person who Karen truly wanted to kiss, but that would be even worse!
Loud cheering broke Karen out of her turmoil of thoughts. All around her, people were clapping and laughing like they always did when a match was made. She looked up, and saw where the bottle was pointing.
All of a sudden, Karen’s face was very hot.
Marci sat in front of her, giving her usual smirk, and looking directly at Karen. The bottle seemed to be illuminated by a neon light. If Marci was a target, the bottle had struck a bullseye, there was no doubt about it. Karen would be kissing her.
Karen would be kissing her best friend.
Or, more accurately…
Karen would be kissing her crush.
On the lips.
Shit.
The stares of the people around them were suddenly too strong, too restricting. They’d all seen where the bottle was pointing, and there was no way that they’d be letting Karen leave without playing her part in the game.
Not that Karen even wanted to leave.
Did she want to leave?
The thought of kissing Marci was so real now, so close. Karen wished she’d had more of that beverage, clasping her hands together to still them, as they had started to shake. Her first kiss with her crush was going to be a part of a silly game. Nothing romantic, nothing real. She couldn’t do this.
But Marci was leaning in, and Karen could smell the alcohol on her breath, and all around her people were chanting: “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” and there was no backing out now so Karen did the only thing she could do and leaned in and--
~~~
“Some party, huh?” Marci said, the cool night air chilling Karen through her thin shirt and jacket.
“Yeah,” she said dully. She didn’t really feel like talking right now. She’d rather just go back to her dorm, kick back the covers on her bed, and go to sleep.
The low pony in which she’d had her hair for most of the evening had come partially undone, and now the small strands of hair were getting in her eyes. The breeze that filtered through the air did little to help with the problem, pushing the hairs into her mouth, against her ears, and all across her face. She brushed them aside, noticing how the blond strands caught the moonlight, shimming against the dark sky.
Marci and she walked in silence for a moment, Karen pulling her jacket tighter around her. Finally, Marci spoke, pausing and turning to look Karen in the eyes.
“You’re quiet.” It was a statement, not a question, so Karen just shrugged, turning her face away. Marci’s green eyes were piercing, even in the worst of light, and she couldn’t face that right now. Marci bit her bottom lip, thinking.
“Is this because of our kiss?”
Karen felt her cheeks turn red, which she tried to hide, and she did her best to keep her voice steady as she replied.
“No.”
Karen had always been bad at hiding her feelings.
Marci let out a gasp, her face breaking into a smile.
“It is , isn’t it!?” she cried out, stepping closer. Karen tried to back away, but found her legs unable to move from their spot on the sidewalk. She instead shook her head, strands of hair bouncing up and down her shoulders.
“ Liar ,” Marci said, almost mocking. “What, was it bad or something?”
Karen shook her head again.
“ No .” She actually liked it. More than she should’ve. But her feelings didn’t matter since it was just a game, and that meant that it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was that Karen had felt her heart break about two dozen times in the instance since the kiss, and it was still going.
“So you did like it, then?” Marci’s words were teasing, but when Karen looked over, heart in her throat, Marci’s eyes were not. When their gazes met, Marci quickly looked away, tugging on one of her sleeves in an uncharacteristically anxious way.
“I, actually.” She coughed. “I sort of liked it too.”
Karen didn’t think she heard her right.
“What?” Was this really happening? Or was it all just a dream? If it was, and it was going where Karen thought it was going, Karen didn’t want to wake up.
“Listen, Karen,” Marci said, sounding more awkward than Karen had ever heard her before. “I know I like to flirt with you a lot, and you take it as a joke, but…” Their eyes met. “I’m only really half-kidding.”
Karen’s tongue was just a muscle in her mouth; she didn’t know what to say. Had Marci really just confessed her feelings to Karen, right in front of her? She must have been silent for too long, because Marci quickly added on:
“And I might have really read this wrong-- So correct me!-- but after tonight, I’m getting the impression that you might like me too…?” Her words were hopeful, and Karen felt a hand brush lightly against her wrist, before taking a firmer, almost pleading hold. Karen looked at her, blue eyes staring into green. Finally, she found the ability to speak.
“You’re not wrong,” Karen said, almost gasped. “I-- I like you, too.”
The hand on Karen’s wrist tightened, and Marci smiled, for once one that wasn’t sly, or smirking, or mocking. It was one of pure bliss, and Karen wanted to make her look like that for eternity.
Slowly, Karen brought her hand up, cupping it around her cheek, in almost the same position that Marci had had her in earlier. Her other hand, ensnared by Marci, twisted around to loop their fingers together.
Karen’s heart was beating fast, and she was sure that Marci’s was too.
Careful, but purposely, Karen ran her thumb over Marci’s bottom lip, feeling the chapped surface under the sensitive pad of her finger. It was a question, an answer, and a promise.
“Can I--” Karen gulped. “Can I kiss you?”
Marci nodded, leaning into Karen’s warm touch.
“Yes,” she breathed. “For real, this time.”
If earlier had been a shock, this was an experience , and Karen felt her world explode as her lips met with Marci’s. Warm tingles spread throughout her body, and fireworks burst under her eyelids. Under her, Marci pressed impossibly closer, seeking out the warmth that they could provide for each other.
When they came up for air, Karen was out of breath, cheeks tinted red as she looked down at Marci, who had a euphoric smile on her face. Karen was sure she had one too.
“That was…” Karen began, unable to describe it. All she knew was that now that it was done, she wanted more, more .
“Unbelievable?” Marci suggested, looking up at Karen with an unsure expression, as if neither of them knew what to do next. Honestly, that was probably the case, and Karen shifted from foot to foot, the touch of Marci’s hand in hers growing hotter and hotter until it was unbearable.
Karen wanted to kiss her. Karen wanted to kiss Marci until they were both red and hot and panting. When she looked at her, Karen could feel her face heat up, and when Marci looked back up, the look in her eyes almost killed Karen right then and there.
“Do you want to--?” Marci started, but Karen didn’t need her to finish.
“ Yes. ”
With a tug, Karen’s hair tie can undone, and she threw it to the cement ground, letting her blond hair flow freely in the wind as she crashed her mouth to Marci’s in a desperate kiss. It was awkward at first, neither quite knowing what to do. Their lips found each other’s cheeks, chins, and sides of the mouth, but missed each other completely.
But then Marci reached up, sticking her hands into Karen’s hair, tugging them in together, and oh , their lips finally met and Karen’s mind went blank.
Latching her hands to Marci’s sides, Karen pushed on her, backing her up until she was pressed against the nearest wall, unable to go any farther. A moan escaped her mouth as Karen held her in place, captive except for her mouth and hands, one of which had started to journey down farther.
Karen nearly lost it when the hand that was trailing down curled around her thigh, tugging it so that Marci was practically between her legs, sinking lower on the wall as Karen kissed harder. Soon, she’d had enough waiting, and she was sure that Marci had had too.
Eyes lidded and panting, as she stilled for a moment, Karen bit down lightly on Marci’s lower lip, pulling gently as she asked for permission.
Marci’s nod was all she needed.
Karen pressed her tongue into Marci’s mouth, pleased when she moaned under her at the sensation. Karen pressed harder, Marci pulled her in tighter, and Karen let first her fingers, then her hand under Marci’s soft shirt.
Her skin was smooth under her hand, cool in the evening air. Softly at first, then harder, Karen began rubbing circles with her thumbs, the noises Marci made at the touch all the response she needed.
Marci’s gorgeous blond hair tickled Karen’s nose as she pressed a kiss into the soft area where her jawline met her neck. Marci made a pleased sound at the action, her fingers digging into Karen’s leg, and pulling slightly on her hair. Carefully and systematically, Karen worked her way up to Marci’s ear, which she kissed firmly.
Arms curling around Marci’s back, Karen’s voice was rough when she leaned in to whisper in her ear.
“Do you want to continue this back in my dorm?” she asked, noting with satisfaction the way Marci shivered under her.
Slowly, Marci’s head turned so their cheeks brushed together, breathing on each others’ cheeks, the small bit of heat appearing so much more prominent in the night’s chill.
Marci’s response pulled Karen’s panting lips into a smile, and made rows upon rows of goosebumps to appear up and down her arms.
“ Yes. ”