My Best Friend Katie Pt. 01

'Because,' said a small voice in my head, 'you're an idiot.'

We arrived thirty minutes later in Cedar Bay. It was hot and sunny, and the salt in the air made everyone smile a little more. Katie's description of the bed and breakfast was accurate, except for one thing.

"Three bedrooms?" Katie's mom said as we stood in the lobby. "We asked for the floor with four bedrooms."

"I know, ma'am," said the young girl working the lobby, probably the owner's daughter. "But we had some rowdy college kids stay last week, and we're still fixing the mess they made. This is all we have left. I can try and help you find another place, but I can't promise anything with it being Spring break and all."

"It's not a big deal," Katie said to her mother. "Jim and I can share a room, it says this one has two twin beds." I was about to open my mouth and say something, but Katie stepped on my foot gently. "We won't have to try and find another place. Besides, this view is perfect," she said, gesturing to the beach rolling behind the french doors.

"I don't know, Katie, honey," her dad began. He was trying, it seemed, to not offend my parents or say anything about me. Her father had always liked me. In fact, when either of our parents were gone out of town, we stayed at the other house, but never in the same room. This seemed to stretch her father's limit of comfort.

"Katie's right," her mother said. "We can trust these two, can't we?" Everyone nodded, and in five minutes, we were hauling our bags up to the second floor.

"Thanks for stopping them from spending five hours searching for another hotel," I said, lugging my bag up the stairs.

"No problem. Besides, this will be more fun, anyway," she said, then quickly added, "I mean, we're right on the beach, you can't get any better than that." She set her bag down on one of the twin beds and stepped out onto the balcony. Just then, my father stepped into the room, waving to Katie outside and coming over to me and talking in a low voice so Katie couldn't hear.

"Listen, kiddo," he said-I hated when he called me that-"your mom and I are going out on a limb, here, letting you and Katie share a room. I want you on your best behavior."

"Don't worry, dad," I said. He smiled, looking out at Katie again, then added, "We've been friends with the Perkins's for years, and we trust you two, but still..." he trailed off.

"Dad, trust me," I said, "We're just friends." He looked at me skeptically, then patted me on the shoulder and left the room.

"What was that about?" Katie asked when she returned from the balcony. The wind had swept her hair back; she looked radiant, like I had never seen her before.

"Just the 'don't do anything' speech."

"I got that, too, when I was unloading the trunk," she said with a smirk. "Oh well, a week of depravity out the window," she said, gesturing nonchalantly out the open french doors. She then rummaged through her bag on the bed, pulling out a swimsuit and marching toward the bathroom connected to our room. When she emerged a few minutes later, I was stunned. I had seen Katie in a bathing suit hundreds of times, but it felt like I was seeing her for the first time. She wore a bikini that showed off her flat stomach. I looked her, my mouth open, taking in the sight of her. Her long, black hair fell in curtains down her shoulders. She had a few freckles on her face, which made her blue eyes sparkle even more. I was slowly getting an erection as I noticed her breasts, which were rarely on display like this. They were small but firm, matching the athletic tone of the rest of her body. Her bikini bottom, while not r-rated, showed a good deal of skin.

My best friend happened to be one of the hottest girls on earth, and we were sharing a room. The nature of the situation took hold and I stared at her in silence for a moment.

"Well?" she said, looking at me with raised eyebrows.

"Wh...what?" I asked, lost in my own thoughts. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

"I'm going for a swim," she announced, and left the room. I watched as her as swayed left and right as she walked. Her firm, round ass with the dimples on her lower back—it had always been a source of interest for me. I tried to push all of the depraved thoughts I was having out of my head. She was, after all, my best friend. I changed into my own bathing suit with difficulty (since I was sporting an erection). Five minutes later, I joined her on the beach. She was already in the water, and waved at me. As I approached the water, something else occurred to me, something Harry had said two days ago.

'...if I had a best friend like Katie, and she pouted every time I looked at another girl...'

Was Harry right? Harry, who knew about as much about girls as I did, which was close to zero? And if he was right, then several other things I failed to notice at first made a lot of sense. When I was about waist deep in the cool water she swam to meet me.

"Sorry I took so long," I said. "How long have you been waiting?"

She looked at her watch and frowned. "Aw, crap," she said, dangling her wrist in the air. "I forgot that this one isn't waterproof. Oh well." She looked at the useless watch one last time, then swam closer to me.

"Isn't this great?" she asked, splashing me to get me wet. I took a deep breath, sinking into the water and going under. When I emerged, she was right next to me, her hair slicked back from the water, droplets of seawater on her eyelashes.

"Katie," I said, aware that there were other people near us in the water. We bobbed up and down in the surf as I said as quietly as I could. "You shouldn't get down on yourself. You look totally amazing. Really."

"Thanks, Jimmy," she said. She had called me Jimmy since we were five, and was the only one I let call me that. "Took you long enough to notice," she said.

"I just can't believe I never noticed before," I said. The words came out and I knew I had said the wrong thing.

"Never, really? It took this bathing suit to make you realize that I was, indeed a girl."

"I spoke too quickly," I said, "I meant that, you know, you're my best friend, Katie. I would never ogle you like that. Of course I notice, but I've tried to keep in mind you're my best friend. I mean, I try not to stare, but I won't tell you I haven't noticed..."

"I've said it before, Jimmy, you're pretty thick for a nerd," she said.

"What's your deal? I mean, you're getting mad at me for acting like a normal teenager. What did I do to piss you off?" I asked a little too harshly.

"Never mind," she muttered. But I was confused by her mood. I caught her gently by the hand as she tried to swim away.

"Katie," I said quietly. "Come on, what's wrong?" She knew by the tone of my voice that I was really concerned. She sighed, then pointed to a top-heavy blond walking down the beach.

"See that girl?" she asked. "What do you think of her? The truth."

"Ok, the truth. She's attractive. I mean, just from a superficial glance."

"Is that all guys care about?" she asked.

"No. Well, some do, I guess. Harry and Denny do, anyway." She laughed, and I kept going. "But I'm not so easily influenced."

"So you're telling me that you would date some total hag, because she had a great personality?" Katie asked, her eyes boring into mine.

"That's not fair. I mean, I really want a girlfriend who's more than a barbie doll. I want someone smart, and funny. And, I admit it, cute."

"Someone like Alicia Smith?" Katie asked.

"No, someone smart AND cute. Someone like you." I said the words and then realized two things. First, I meant them. Second, I stood a good chance of having freaked her out. She didn't say anything for a few seconds, looking at me with her sparkling eyes, boring into my brain to try and figure out what I was saying to her.

"Am I to assume..." she began, but I interrupted her.

"Katie, when are you going to realize that you're really beautiful?"

"I've always assumed you didn't think so, that you only saw me as your friend since kindergarten," she said.

"Maybe that's why I've never said anything. What if I freaked you out and then we weren't best friends anymore?" I said.

She opened her mouth, as if to say something, then closed it and said nothing for another few seconds. "Come with me," she finally said, and led me by the hand out of the water. We passed the sunbathers, and waved to our sunbathing parents as we trudged up the wooden stairs to the bed and breakfast. She led me up the balcony stairs and straight into our shared room. She shut the door, a look of determination in her eyes I had never seen before.

"Explain what you meant by 'someone like me.'" she said in a quiet voice.

"Katie, I wasn't trying to creep you out-" I began, but she interrupted me.

"Just explain," she said, her voice still small.

"Okay, okay. I just meant that, you know, if you were interested, and I were-well, no I mean I am interested...but not if it were to ruin our relationship...but, I mean..." and I trailed off, because I just realized Katie was walking toward me. She put a finger to my lips and gestured for me to sit down. I sat on a chair, my damp bathing suit uncomfortable against my skin.

"You mean it?" she said quietly.

"Did you understand what I was saying?" I asked. She raised her eyebrows and countered "don't talk so much, Jimmy." She then stepped back from me, and did the last thing I expected her to do. She reached behind her back and unhooked her bikini top, exposing her breasts. She stood there for a second, just breathing and looking at me. Her breasts were magnificent, and were everything I imagined them to be. I took a deep breath. I had never seen a real woman like this, and I was instantly erect, my wet bathing suit even more uncomfortable. She stood, her hands on her hips, looking at me.

"Katie-" I began, not sure what I was going to actually say.

"I've been trying to get you to notice me for years," she said. "I've tried everything short of making a pass at you while I've watched you drool over dumb girls." She paused, her hands on her waist. "Well, what do you think? The truth."

I swallowed, my eyes darting between her eyes and her breasts. Then, without thinking, I said "I think you are the most beautiful girl I've ever met."

She smiled, walking toward me, "I'm also the smartest." I nodded, and she continued to walk toward me, saying "why has it taken you this long to notice.?" She stepped closer, and then, slowly, sat on my lap. Her body was surprisingly light as she rested on my lap, her bare breasts inches from me, her wet hair dripping onto my lap. She kissed me gently, and took my hand in hers. She then surprised me again, and placed my hand gently on one of her exposed breasts. And suddenly, without warning, I climaxed. The stimulation of her topless form, combined with the subtle pressure of her sitting on my lap, had taken over my body and put it into autopilot. Her eyes widened briefly as she felt my penis pulse under my bathing suit, flooding it. Surely she felt it, because she was sitting right on it as it happened. When I stopped climaxing, she looked at me quizzically. I blushed, embarrassed by my reaction, but she giggled and beamed at me.

"Well, at least some parts of you notice me," she said. She started to giggle, her breasts bouncing, her body warmer than ever. I laughed too.

"This is embarrassing," I said, not meeting her eyes. The first half-naked girl I see and I have an orgasm in my pants. She laughed again, but in a sweet way. Then she did another unexpected thing, and leaned in and kissed me on the lips briefly, then slid her tongue into my mouth. My hand was still on her breast, and I was aware of the mess oozing in my pants. She then stood up, reaching down for her bikini top and putting it back on.

"Don't worry about it," she said. "I'm flattered, really." She then looked around, realizing as I was that this would be a bad situation for our parents to stumble in on.

"I'm going swimming," she said. "You may want to clean up." She smiled at me, then turned to talk out the doors back to the beach. As she was almost out the door, I blurted out "wait, Katie..."

She paused, looking over her shoulder at me. "Let's keep this to ourselves, Jimmy. In the mean time, you should probably take a shower or something. You look cute when you're flustered, but our parents might suspect something if they saw you right now."

By the time I finished showering and was in some dry clothes, Katie had returned from the beach. She was sitting on her bed as I emerged from the bathroom, reading a book. She was wearing a pretty sundress that was knee-length. My mind returned to the sight of her bare breasts. Even in a sundress, she was stunningly pretty. She smiled at me as I entered the room.

"Hi," she said, beaming and putting down her book. "All set?"

"Set?" I asked, my mind still registering how pretty she was, and how I had missed the pertness of her nose and the line of her neck. She smiled again, then stood up.

"Come on," she said. "We're meeting our parents at six for dinner. We have time to walk around the town. Let's go." With that she took my hand and we walked out of the room. The town was on a small island, with few cars and narrow streets designed for walking. We exited the hotel, and she let go of my hand. As we walked, we said little, occasionally pointing out someone dressed like an idiot or something else she found amusing. People watching was one of our favorite hobbies, and I was relieved to partake in it with her. With our brief kiss, and my hand on her breast, I didn't know what was what anymore. How long had she liked me? And why didn't I realize it? Katie was, as Harry and Denny had said hundreds of times, very sexy, but also very smart. I guess that somehow I expected someone as cute as Katie to be dumb. Or not interested in me. I was still amazed that she had waited this long for me to realize it. She could have had another guy. But did she wait for me? Did I have her? I looked over at her, and she flashed me another grin and blushed.

"Katie," I said suddenly, stopping in front of a vintage clothing store. "About before..." I began.

"A little forward, I know," she said, blushing again.

"No, it's not that," I said. "I mean, what..." I couldn't finish my sentence. We had been friends forever, and now for some reason my tongue was tied.

"I don't know," she said, looking puzzled, too. "I mean, I wanted to get your attention, but I didn't really intend for that to happen."

My heart sank. Was she referring to my accidental climax, or the whole thing? She read my facial expression and added "I mean, physically, you know?" I brightened my mood suddenly, then took her hand and led her into a vintage clothing store. We looked among the racks of moldy clothes for a few minutes before I added.

"Katie, look. I'm sorry I've been too thick to notice you," I said quietly.

"You have been, she said calmly. "It took me taking my top off to convince you I was a real girl."

"That was a bit extreme, though, wasn't it?" I asked with a laugh. She laughed too, punching me in the arm.

"My one moment of impetuousness, combined with years of you not noticing me. I spent my adolescence wondering if you'd notice."

"Katie," I began, but she put a finger to my lips.

"Jimmy, I'm a girl," she said.

"I know, but" I said, but she cut me off again.

"And you're a boy. And we've been together for years. When are you going to stop thinking and do something?"

I don't know what made me do it, but I put one arm around her waist and pulled her close, so our bodies were touching, and kissed her on the lips. She relaxed in my arm, kissing me back. Suddenly, the shop keeper cleared her throat, clearly not amused by our display of affection.

"Come on," she said, "let's get some ice cream." We walked down the street, and she took my hand in hers.

"Katie, can I ask you something?" I asked tentatively.

"You're cute when you're unsure of yourself," she said. "And, yes, fire away."

"What's happening right now?"

"Do I really need to articulate it? You know, you're pretty smart, except when it comes to girls," She kissed me briefly, pressing herself against me. "Makes sense now?"

I nodded, dumbstruck.

"But don't let our parents know, or you'll be out on the hotel couch in a flash. Anything else?" she asked, looking at me and grinning.

"Can we still be friends at the same time?" I asked. This was the real question on my mind.

"Of course. You're still my best friend," she said, kissing me again quickly after making sure no one was around on the street.

"And, about the flashing thing?" I asked.

"I'm sorry about leading you on like that. You know I'm not ready for...for that." she said quietly.

"No, I know," I said. "And I'm fine with waiting. What I wanted to know was, would you ever let me see them again?"

"See what?" she asked, playfully.

"Your breasts," I said as quietly as possible. She giggled, punching me on the arm again.

"I was expecting 'boobs' or 'tits' or something like that. Ah, Jimmy, your vocabulary is so much better than the other boys. It's one of the things I like about you," she said, putting her arm around my waist and squeezing. My mind was in a whir. Katie, my best friend and amazingly hot girl, was actually interested in me. I had seen her breasts-and climaxed in my pants because of it. I was still reeling from all of this new information when she added, "maybe, if you're good." She then smiled devilishly as we walked on.

By the time we got to the ice cream shop a cloud had rolled by and a small shower broke out. Typical of any Florida day, the light rain lasted about an hour. We bade our time by sitting in the ice cream shop, telling jokes and talking about our band, which we both agreed needed an overhaul.

"Neither of us can play that well," she said in defeat, "it's time to give it up and retool our music," she said. She was drumming her fingers on the table, prodding her sundae with her spoon with the other hand. I was thinking about Katie's views on premarital sex. I was a typical sex-obsessed eighteen year old, and my new girlfriend would not be having any sex for a while. I was wondering if this would be a long-term problem for me, when I remember that I had already had a more intense sexual experience with my pants on that I had ever had before. The thought cheered me up. Katie was just starting to ask me what I was smiling about when our moms came into the ice cream shop, their shopping bags over their heads to protect from the waning drizzle.

"Hey you two," my mom said. Katie moved a few inches away from me without missing a beat. Her eyes were on our parents, but her expression was impossible to read. Our moms ordered and joined us, immediately derailing our conversation. Katie was her usual self at least, which was a relief. By the time we finished, our moms were still gabbing and eating their dessert. Katie stood up, smoothing out her sundress and addressing them both.

"Well, I was thinking about checking out the used bookstore before heading back to the hotel. The sun's out, and everything will be pretty dry soon. Are we will meeting for dinner at six?" she asked, not looking at me. Our moms nodded in agreement, and she turned and started to walk out of the shop when I stood up, announced I was going to go, too, and said goodbye to our moms. We met in the street, walking together but not daring to hold hands.

"Nice move," I said. She smiled, bumping into me once on purpose.

"You too," she said. "I knew you'd pick up on it."

"What now, Katie?" I asked, surveying the busy street.

"The bookstore. I did want to check it out, actually," she said. We wound our way through small shops and finally made it to the used bookstore. It was a two-story victorian house someone converted with endless bookshelves. It was a maze of books, and after saying good afternoon to the owner we were quickly lost in the stacks. The shop had books on every subject, some of them very old. Katie pulled an old cookbook off of the shelf and flipped through its contents. I found one nearby on cold war journalism, then quickly put it back. We moved toward the back of the store, taking an hour or so to flip though books as we went. After exhausting the first floor, we headed to the front again. The shop owner barely acknowledged us as we ascended the staircase to the second floor. The book stacks were crammed a little closer together on the second floor, and a whole new range of subjects were marked by fading signs.