Fate of the Fishbowl

"Yeah, she really does," I agreed, looking over to her, now chatting with her usual group of friends.

"Still terrified?" she asked, knowing me so well.

"Oddly," I replied thoughtfully, looking over at Beth again while saying, "as you could probably tell from my face, initially I had serious doubts about pulling this off, but after everything she just said, I'm now more curious to see how it goes than I am terrified."

"That's good."

"Although a complete anxiety-riddled breakdown is still lingering in my subconscious," I joked.

"Well, those are on your schedule every day," Jamie teased, as we headed for lunch together.

"She's driving me to her house to start working on our skit right after school," I added.

"Really?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah, she seems really excited for us to get started."

"Well, that's good, I guess."

"Yeah, I guess," I agreed, just a little part of me still skeptical that this could be all part of some sinister plan to humiliate me.

The rest of the day went by like most school days do... boringly... with only the odd thing of interest... or some sly checking of Instagram during idle moments... and various other whatevers.

Immediately following the bell to end the last period for the day, I stuffed most of my binders in my hallway locker, retained my English binder since I didn't have homework in any other class, and headed out to the student parking lot.

Beth was there waiting for me, leaning against her red car, a very nice one I suppose, although I have no idea what kind it was, since I've never had a clue about cars. I mean if you compare it to a peaceful lake in the mountains for instance, any car strikes me as boring. Useful as a conveyance of course, but otherwise no biggie.

When she spied me coming, she waved gaily at me and gave me a bright smile, which oddly sent another chill up my spine.

I awkwardly waved back, and came over to her... feeling oddly nervous, yet equally excited.

As I approached, her cheerleader skirt blew up in the air, somewhat like in the famous Marilyn Monroe promo shot from the epic Seven Year Itch.

I caught a glimpse of her light blue panties and the crotch of her tan pantyhose for a brief moment, before she pushed her skirt back down.

I could feel my cheeks flush, which confused me as I reached her.

"Stupid wind," Beth giggled, shaking her head.

Playfully I joked, "It was very Marilyn Monroe."

"Really? I love Marilyn Monroe," she replied, appearing flattered.

"You do?" I asked, Marilyn Monroe being my second favourite female icon, right after Audrey Hepburn.

"Well, she wasn't Audrey Hepburn," Beth said, "but she was still pretty cool."

"Are you kidding me?" I asked.

"What?"

"You're fond of Audrey Hepburn too?"

"Love her."

"Favourite movie?" I asked.

"Roman Holiday," Beth said.

"My Fair Lady," I said.

"If you're such a fan, you probably know that a singer named Marni Nixon overdubbed almost all her singing in that movie," Beth pointed out, as she opened the passenger door for me, as if she were a chivalrous man.

"Yeah, but Audrey absolutely nailed that delightful Cockney accent in her speaking lines all by herself," I replied.

"You know," Beth mentioned after giving me a closer look, "you look a lot like Audrey did back then."

"I do?" I asked, feeling completely flattered.

"And you dress like her, too," Beth said, checking out my long skirt.

"Thank you," I said, my style indeed heavily influenced by Audrey Hepburn.

"You're welcome," Beth said, smiling warmly. After a moment, while we both seemed unsure of what to say next, Beth said, "Well, my fair lady, your chariot awaits."

"Bewitched?" I asked.

"Bewitched," she nodded. As I sat down in the car, she watched me, and I couldn't help but feel she was admiring me... as absurd as that might seem. Beth was the most popular girl in the school, and actually in the entire town. She was also without a doubt the prettiest. She was even dating a college boy! Obviously, any such fantasies were all in my head.

"I didn't know anyone still watched those old movies and television shows," I said.

As Beth kept holding the door open, observing me the entire time with apparent pleasure, she pointed out, "It was called the Golden Age for a reason."

She closed the door before I could respond, skipped around the car, and buckled herself into the driver's seat.

The inside of the car was immaculate, and it smelt of cherry. Somehow, which makes no logical sense, I felt the car was sexy, and it was obviously hers instead of her mother's. It just felt like Beth. Perhaps that mountain lake I'd contemplated didn't outclass this car all that much after all.

As she started driving, almost the entirety of her long right pantyhose-clad leg was within clear view, which I was slyly admiring, since I also really liked pantyhose. Until this moment, I'd just liked them for me. I wore them every day. I'd found from watching those old movies and TV shows they were very popular in the fifties and sixties, which was the time I wish I'd been living, partly because of the garter-belts and stockings, of which I also owned a few... and I even wore them to school sometimes... although not a single person except Jamie and my parents had a clue I owned them.

"So, I see you like pantyhose too," she said out of the blue.

"Pardon?" I asked, startled by her words, since I was a little too preoccupied in admiring her right leg, and lost in my own little world.

"Pantyhose: you seem to like them as much as I do," she rephrased her observation, looking at me as she stopped at one of the only three stoplights in our town.

"Um, yeah, I do, actually," I admitted, looking away from her leg, worried what she'd think, since she'd caught me staring. I wasn't a lesbian. I'd never considered a girl in any romantic or sexual way. Which is to say I could tell when a girl was pretty or beautiful, and I admired some women's fashion sense, but that was as far as it went. But with that said, I also didn't have a crush on any boy, and I never had. But I'd always downplayed that as an official sexual preference, since I'd known every guy in our town near my age for years, and had always found them all incompetent fools, or just not my type... although I wouldn't be able to describe what my type was.

"I think you and I are the only two people in the entire school who particularly like them," Beth said.

"Well, us and Mrs. Walker," I pointed out, Mrs. Walker having been our English teacher for the eleventh grade, but she'd been promoted to Vice-Principal this year.

"Yes, she always dresses with class," Beth agreed.

"I think so too," I said.

"I think pantyhose are sexy," Beth said.

"I've always seen them as an accessory to my outfits," I said.

"But you don't think they're sexy?"

"Pardon?" I asked.

"Pantyhose," she repeated. "Don't you think they're sexy?"

"I've never thought about it," I answered, which was mostly true. I mean I saw them as an accessory, something that enhanced my outfits stylistically, but I'd never thought of them as sexy... at least not on me... of course I never saw myself as sexy in any way, shape or form... but on the other hand, on Beth, especially with the shiny gleam of the pantyhose (I needed to get some of that brand, whatever it was), they did indeed look sexy.

"Well trust me," Beth said, bringing her hand to my leg, which sent a confusing chill up my spine, "they definitely make you look sexy."

My eyes went wide as she gave my leg a brief squeeze, before returning her hand to the steering wheel.

I was speechless.

Beth, the prettiest and most popular girl in the entire school, had just called me sexy.

As she pulled up to a house three times the size of mine, I blurted out, needing to say it, flustered beyond anything I'd ever felt before, "I think they make you look really sexy, too."

"Ah, you're so sweet," she smiled warmly, bringing her hand to my leg and giving me another squeeze. "Let's go inside."

"Okay," I said, feeling flustered... confused... and... and... my vagina was tingling.

I climbed out of the car and followed her into her house.

She slipped out of her heels... so I slipped out of my flats and followed her into a living room that was larger than my entire house!

"Wow!" I said, looking around.

"Thanks," she said, smiling. After a moment she added, making me blush yet again, "Oh, you meant the house."

"I-I-I..." I stammered, flustered beyond words.

"You really are so cute," Beth said with a kind of squeal, as she came up to me.

"I-I-I..." I repeated, as she took my hand.

"Come downstairs with me, I want to show you something really special."

"Okay," I said, her hand feeling so good with her fingers intertwined with mine.

"You won't believe this," she said.

"I imagine I won't," I said, trying to figure out what she had in mind.

She led me downstairs and into a large room filled with movie memorabilia... including a large section devoted completely to Audrey Hepburn.

"Oh my," I gasped, seeing a dress preserved in a glass enclosure that Audrey had worn in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

"I've never invited anyone down here before," Beth said, her fingers still entwined with mine.

"Really?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I didn't think anyone else would appreciate it."

"Really?" I repeated, wondering at how amazing this was.

"Yeah, none of my other friends have any idea who Audrey even was, although they could tell you Cardi B's entire life story," Beth said, in the same tone I would have used... judgemental.

I scoffed, "Don't get me started."

"Can I tell you something I've never told anyone outside my family?" she asked, looking at me with a vulnerability I didn't think a popular girl like her could have.

"Sure," I said, as she took both my hands in hers and looked into my eyes.

I couldn't explain it... but I instantly knew something... something I was as sure of as a math equation or scientific fact... I liked this girl... a lot. But of course I could never tell her!

"Audrey Hepburn was my great-grandmother," Beth said.

"No way!" I gasped, even though I believed her... it was just the most surreal truth ever.

"Yes and this entire collection consists of authentic heirlooms," Beth said.

"You're so lucky," I said.

"I've been blessed," Beth said, still holding both of my hands. After a few seconds, as she kept looking into my eyes, I was unsure of what to say,

"Did you know she was bisexual?" Beth asked.

"I did know that, yes," I nodded, having read that even though she'd had two sons, her relationships with men had often ended in heartbreak.

Then... after a lengthy pause... while I thought Beth was gearing up to tell me something else significant... instead, she leaned in and kissed me.

My eyes went wide, as I felt her lips pressing against mine.

Yet although I was shocked... I did what came naturally as my entire body warmed inside me... and I kissed her back... my second kiss ever... the first one having been with Simon at a Debate Club night. And the best that can be said about that one was it had been... awkward and embarrassing.

This one was soft and tender... tentative... sweet... however, when she broke the kiss after only a few seconds, she apologized, "I'm so sorry, it's just, just, just...."

"It's okay," I said. "I mean... it was very unexpected, but very nice."

"Nice?" she asked, with just the slightest smile.

"Okay, now I'm sorry. No, it wasn't just nice; it was great... amazing... unbelievable... surprising... marvelous," I listed, knowing the word nice wasn't very flattering... I'd been called nice all my life, and I'd never once taken it as a compliment. Then something just popped into my head, as I tried my hand at flirting for the first time ever, by quoting Audrey Hepburn, having a couple dozen of her quotes on the wall in my bedroom, "I believe in kissing, kissing a lot."

Beth smiled then, leaning in and kissing me again with more confidence before saying, employing an English accent that was so similar to Audrey's in Breakfast at Tiffany's, "Elegance is the only beauty that never fades."

"Oh my," I said, my entire head going light.

"And you... are so elegant," she said, kissing me once more, "and beautiful," before she quoted my favourite Audrey Hepburn line, "And a woman can be beautiful as well as intellectual."

"T-t-that is my favourite quote! It's engraved on my bedroom mirror," I said, trembling as she kissed me again.

Beth continued speaking, interspersing her phrases with butterfly kisses, "I believe..." a kiss, "...every day..." another kiss, "...you should have at least one..." yet another kiss, this one lasting a little longer, before she completed another great quote from Audrey, "...exquisite moment."

"And I believe in miracles," I said, as I kissed her this time, with a lustful need I'd never felt for anyone before that moment.

We kissed for a few minutes... before we heard a door slam.

"That was the front door; my Mom's home," she explained.

"Oh, "I said, not wanting this unbelievable moment of intimacy to end. For after all, a special moment like this one alone with her, was likely no more than that.

"Let's go upstairs," she said, this time not taking my hand.

I followed her up the stairs and was introduced to her Mom, who was very sweet and nice, and indeed had more than a passing resemblance to Audrey Hepburn... so I was a little starstruck.

"We'll be upstairs brainstorming for our English class," Beth said, surprising me again by taking my hand and leading me to her room... fireworks sensations popping inside me from just her simple but affectionate touch.

Her bedroom was huge. She didn't close the door and said, "So what do you think we should springboard from?"

"I don't know," I said, a little disappointed to be now addressing the actual reason I was here. For the first time in my life, I didn't care a fig about school.

"I have an idea, but it's kind of wicked," Beth confided in a hushed voice, even though there was obviously nobody else upstairs to listen in on us, as she sat down on her king-sized bed.

"Oh?" I smiled, gaining some confidence, which was very unlike me, as I approached to join her on the bed, "As in something lesbian?"

"Actually, yes," she smiled. "We think alike."

"As I sat right beside her, our hips almost but not quite touching, I asked, "So what's your wicked idea?"

"How about Hamlet? In our version Ophelia is a lesbian, and she's having an affair with her maid," Beth suggested.

"Oh my," I gasped, this departure from Shakespeare not at all what I was expecting.

"We can create a scene where they're making out and are caught by her father Polonius, and that's what leads to her going crazy," Beth explained.

"We'll be making out in front of the class?" I asked.

"Well that's my idea, yes. But only if you're willing," she said, placing her hand on my leg again... and for the first time ever, I wished I wore short skirts like Beth and the other popular girls, so I could feel the warmth of her hand directly on my leg.

"I don't know," I said, that being a whole other level of risk. As I've mentioned, I was super comfortable speaking in front of a class about inconsequential things... and I also had an eidetic memory... which meant I could remember an entire script after reading it only once. But when I was portraying strong emotions? In spite of Beth's earlier reassuring words on the subject, if I was kissing her in front of everyone, even though I'd be allegedly playing a role, I didn't think I would be acting!

"Why don't we start writing the script and see where it takes us?" she suggested.

Taking a risk... one that was scarier than jumping off a cliff... but needing to do it... I placed my hand on her leg... her pantyhose-clad leg... and said as I did, "Okay, why not?" followed by, "Oh my, are these ever so soft!"

"They're Wolfords," Beth said as I moved my hand back and forth ever so slightly on her leg... fascinated by the sheer soft silk... briefly forgetting as I became fascinated by the pantyhose that I was attempting to flirt... not that I actually knew how.

"No way," I said, knowing they were an expensive brand. I'd done some googling about them, and they were an Austrian company, but since they had a prominent outlet on Regent Street in London, they were often called 'tights'.

"Yeah, Mom used to model for them," Beth said, and then added, continuing to shock me over and over again during this most surreal, confusing and life-altering day of my eighteen years of life, "And now I'm one of their models."

"You're what?" I blurted out with a huge exhalation. If I'd been chewing gum, it would have hit her right in the nose.

"Yeah, when I missed class last month, I was in England doing a photo shoot for Wolford," she said, not in a bragging way... just a matter of fact.

"Wow," I said.

"Yeah, so I'm now getting free Wolfords for life," she added.

"You are the luckiest girl in the world," I said, as my automatic pilot continued to move my hand aimlessly around on her thigh.

"I especially feel like that girl right now," she said, looking into my eyes.

I asked, really wanting to know what was going on between us, since there was no doubt of some sort of intent in her eyes, her gaze and her touch, "I hate to ask this and ruin the moment, but..." and then I stopped. I didn't want to ask this. I didn't want to terminate this beautiful, intimate interlude.

"But it's common knowledge I have a boyfriend," she finished the sentence for me.

"Yes," I said, trembling with uncertainty... knowing I'd just detoured our conversation into a realm that could break my heart... a bit less than an hour after I'd surrendered it to someone for the first time.

"Frank is gay," she said.

"He is?" I asked, this statement far from what I was expecting to hear.

"And I'm gay, too," she added.

"You are?" I asked, trying to process. Usually I was a quick study, but today I felt like I was constantly two steps behind events as they happened.

"Yes, you silly goose," she said, kissing me just once this time. "I only have eyes for one person in this world, and she's a girl, and she has the loveliest green eyes, and I'm utterly lost in them at the moment."

"Y-y-you do?" I stammered, "y-y-you are?" feeling my face flush, my body tremble and my vagina tingle.

"Yes, Frank and I date for appearances, since he isn't ready to come out yet, and we've been family friends since I was three and he was six," she explained, her hand still on my leg, mine still on hers... although both hands were now static, just resting in place. "And I'm not ready to come out yet either, and my having a college boyfriend who's 'common knowledge', keeps pigs like Joey from hitting on me. Or in Joey's case, it keeps him from being too much of a pest most of the time."

"Oh," I said, still processing all these truths, especially that she'd just declared how much she liked me.

"This is all likely a lot to take in," Beth said, just as my phone rang.

"Yeah," I said, reaching for my purse.

"Go ahead and answer that," she said.

"It's my Mom," I said, a ringtone of 'House of the Rising Sun' playing.

I answered the phone, and explained I was at a friend's house working on a school project. She reminded me she had to work tonight, and I'd promised to watch my younger siblings, which I'd completely forgotten, being swept away as I was by Beth. I said I'd be home soon, hung up, and told Beth I needed to go home.

Beth nodded. She said, "Look, I have no idea if you have any feelings for me."