"Touch them."
My mind was white. "I- uhh, ummm... are you-"
Lilah sighed, grabbed my hands, and yanked them onto her breasts. Much like the kiss earlier, there wasn't even really anything physically special about it. Her skin was deliciously soft and warm, like a smooth heated pillow. Her nipples pressed into my palms like rubbery little nubs. I could feel them getting harder under my touch. Really the only thing that made the act perfect was again, the thought of what it was and who I was doing it to. I had been kissing Lilah earlier, and now she was sitting topless beside me with my hands cupping her breasts. Tearing my gaze back up to her face, she was wearing the cockiest grin I'd ever seen.
"If this doesn't make you less awkward, then I'm not sure if anything will. Do ya like em'?"
"Uh, yeah?" My confidence was slowly returning with the faith that this wasn't going to completely crash and burn in front of my face. No amount of confidence was going to make my hands start moving. I held as still as a statue even as Lilah pulled her hands away and dropped them to her sides.
"Mhmm. My mom gave them to me. They're a little small, but I like them. They're also not gonna break, so grow a pair and start squeezing."
I gulped and nodded at her confirmation. I experimented with delicate, gentle probing from my fingers. The skin was soft and pliable under my touch- bending in the perfect way as it conformed to the new shape. Lilah sighed and smiled. I was locked there for several moments, unable to do anything but play with my friend's boobs. She was probably looking at me. My gaze was fixed downwards.
"Alright," said Lilah, "that's enough."
She stood up, pulling my hands from her chest. Before I could even begin to stammer, she reached down and worked at the button on her jeans.
"Take off your shirt."
"Uhh..." was all I could manage. Lilah finished with the button but made no further move towards lowering her pants. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest like she was waiting for something. Since the act had a double effect of hiding her breasts from view, it helped me come back to reality. Kind of.
"Take off your shirt, or I'll put mine back on. Your choice."
Why did this feel like a trap? Surely this was some kind of test, yet there was no way I wasn't falling for the bait. I slowly reached my hands to the collar of my shirt and tugged to slide it off over my head. Lilah smiled. She lowered her hands, once again baring her breasts. Her thumbs hooked into the waistband of her denim. She wasted no time before sliding her jeans down. Even as she bent over to push them off all the way, her soft eyes never left mine.
When she stood back up straight, she was left only in a pair of simple gray panties. As expected from a girl who did several years of soccer, her legs were fantastic. Shapely and toned, the caramel skin was perfectly smooth all the way from her thick thighs to her dainty toes.
"Same deal as before. Take off your pants and mine stay off, too."
I was a bit more hesitant this time, but again, the bait was too good to resist. Soon, my jeans were cast to the side just like Lilah's. Her eyes flicked down towards the fabric tented by my erection and she smiled.
"Now lie back against the headboard."
I was confused, but didn't dare ignore her instructions. I shifted from sitting on the edge of the bed to sitting against the wooden headboard, only taking a moment to move the pillows out of the way. Lilah turned around and grabbed something off of the other bed. My eyebrows raised even more when she walked back over while holding her laptop and our headphones.
"Scooch over, make some room."
I did as she asked, and Lilah slid in beside me. She handed me the laptop for just a moment while she undid the blankets from their tightly made position and slid her bare legs underneath. She adjusted her pillow so that she was sitting up against it, slid right up into my side, and took the laptop again. I was so entranced by the way her mostly nude body felt up against mine and the way her small breasts jiggled with each small movement that I didn't even notice she had opened up the paused episode until she was handing me my headphones.
"We're gonna cuddle in our underwear and keep watching until it's time for dinner, got it?"
It wasn't phrased like a question. It was a command that I hastily accepted. Lilah grinned, put on her headphones, and pressed 'play'. I did the same but didn't even have a chance to ponder where I should put my hands. Lilah decided that for me, too.
She grabbed my left arm and wrapped it around her back before placing my hand directly on her breast. When I hesitated, she chuckled and paused the episode mere moments after it started playing. Lilah turned her head towards me, grinned, and gave me a quick kiss that seemed laced with whatever devilish magic she possessed. I could barely even think when she pulled back and stared me in the eyes.
"If you need to eat shit, you don't nibble. Bite, chew, swallow, repeat. Until the end of this weekend, I am your girlfriend. No pretending. No acts. If we keep being awkward, then this weekend will only end up as a nightmare for both of us. By jumping in head-first, then we might be able to enjoy this. Got it?"
"You... don't want to pretend?" I tested.
"Dude," Lilah smirked, "If we were just pretending, then we wouldn't be cuddling in our underwear. As far as I see it, this serves two purposes. One, it might just get you a little bit more comfortable with me. If you turn into a mannequin everytime I hold your hand, your mom is gonna see right through that shit. Two, it just makes this whole thing a lot simpler. I don't have to worry about acting like your girlfriend whenever your mom's around if I am your girlfriend for this weekend. Screw the act. We'll figure the rest of this shit out when we get back home. For now, let's just full-send this bitch and worry about making it through the next forty-eight hours."
"I- uhh... okay?"
Lilah winked. "Good. Now remember when I said it feels nice having my tits played with?"
I took the hint. My fingers gently probed and massaged at the delightfully soft flesh like it was a warm stress ball. That was, if the stress ball had a steel ball bearing nipple on the front and a heartbeat from underneath that pounded almost as fast as mine. Lilah turned her gaze back towards the laptop, let out a content sigh, and settled into my side before pressing 'play' for the final time.
Oh, what had I gotten myself into?
Aside from a quick scramble to put back on our shirts when we heard Mom knock on the door, nothing of note happened all the way up until dinner. Well, I scrambled. I slipped my shirt and jeans back on as fast as I could. Lilah took her sweet time. I was ninety percent sure that Mom could see Lilah putting her bra back on through the open doorway. I wasn't sure how to feel about that; one one hand, it was almost as embarrassing as Mom seeing her naked photos yesterday. On the other, it may have actively helped push the narrative that we were dating. After all, if we were only pretending to date, then why would we be rushing to put our clothes back on?
I only hoped that Mom didn't notice the erection tenting my jeans. I knew Lilah saw it underneath the blanket the entire time we were watching, but surprisingly, she never acknowledged it. Her eyes would occasionally flick over, but nothing more. No scathing remarks, no witty jokes at my expense. She just left me alone, other than ensuring my hand continued to play with her breast throughout our session.
And oh boy, was that an experience. If it wasn't for that, I might have actually gotten somewhat accustomed to the circumstance and let my arousal diminish. Yet every time my hand faltered even slightly, Lilah brought hers up to coax me into a continued tit massage. By the time that Mom knocked on the door, my dick was throbbing. It was even harder than the nipple drilling a hole into my palm. Based on the way that Lilah would occasionally shift ever-so-slightly, I could safely assume she was probably as turned on as I was.
Still, she never did a single thing more.
What the hell was that supposed to mean? Furthermore, she was my girlfriend for the weekend? If you need to eat shit, you don't nibble. Bite, chew, swallow, repeat. The line may have been from the show, but she used it to describe us being together. Did she genuinely despise the thought of us, but was going full-tilt on the act in a hope that it made it easier to deal with? As much as I hated the thought of upsetting Mom if she found out Lilah and I weren't dating, I despised the idea of forcing my best friend into a situation she didn't want to be in.
However, she seemed to be genuinely enjoying some aspects of this, which only served to confuse me even more. If she was so uncomfortable with us acting like a couple, then why did her eyes sparkle so much when she kissed me before we got in the car? Why did she once again insist on holding my hand for the entire ride to the restaurant? Why did she sit so close to me in the booth and rest her head on my shoulder?
"Just because we're not actually dating doesn't mean we can't have some fun."
"What about after the weekend- after we get back?"
"That's up to you, Jacobs."
Those words rattled around in my head like a handful of nails in a glass jar. They mixed with the ones from yesterday saying almost the exact same thing. Take the leap. Every image of Lilah frowning when I didn't reciprocate her actions. Every time she smiled brightly when she took another step in our pretend relationship.
It was impossible to determine if she genuinely wanted to be my girlfriend for real, or if she despised the thought but was playing along in the hopes that it would turn out better than she imagined it would be. Oh, how I wanted it to be the first one. It physically hurt how much I longed for her to share my feelings. However, what about the nightmare that would be if it was the second option? What if this whole thing weirded her out so much that we couldn't even be friends anymore after the weekend? She was willing to try it out until then, but if it didn't click- if it didn't work out the way it needed to, then everything we had built would crumble. I would lose my heart, my best friend, and my neighbour. Not only that, I would lose the trust of my mother. If this crashed and burned to reveal my deception, she would be devastated.
It wasn't fair. I couldn't even enjoy my burger. I was too busy trying not to let my inner turmoil show on my face. Well, that and fighting off Lilah's constant attempts to steal my fries. The only thing that helped to alleviate the tension in my chest happened after dinner. The four of us walked from the restaurant to the falls, which were barely two blocks away. Naturally, Lilah held my hand. I had expected that much. However, it was the sight of Mom and Gary also holding hands in front of us that made the forced smile on my face become genuine. At the very least, I knew that Gary could cheer her up if things fell out between Lilah and I after the weekend.
As expected, the falls were stunning. Under the darkening sky, they would have been harder to truly appreciate- if it weren't for the coloured spotlights that illuminated every inch of the natural wonder. Reds, blues, oranges, greens, purples, yellows, and every other colour I could imagine was glittering through the rushing water and mist to create a shimmering rainbow curtain. One of my hands was held onto the steel railing at the edge of the observation deck. The other was also on the railing, but my fingers were intertwined with Lilah's. I could barely register Mom and Gary shifting a few dozen feet off to the side. Thankfully, the falls didn't seem to be too busy tonight which left plenty of room for us to spread out and have a small semblance of privacy.
"I wasn't expecting much, but that is gorgeous," Lilah said. My response was automatic- leaking from my lips faster than I could catch it and clamp down.
"Not as much as you."
Lilah twisted her head to look at me with a raised eyebrow. I could see myself wince in the reflection of her doe-like eyes.
"I'm sorry, was that supposed to be a pick-up line?"
I had to quickly weigh the pros and cons of both possible answers before selecting one. "Yes?"
Lilah grinned. "Pretty cliche and cheesy, but I'll give you some points for effort. C minus."
"Only a C?"
"C minus," she corrected.
"I'd like to see you do better." I immediately discovered my mistake when Lilah's grin softened until her lips were just barely touching each other. She let go of my hand and raised her fingers to trace gently against my cheek. Once she cupped my face in her hand, she pulled me in. There was no tongue action, no lip biting, or anything else that I figured would be present in a makeout session, but this also was not one of the few chaste kisses we had shared throughout the day. Instead, this one was identical to the one I gave her in the car before we entered the hotel in every way except one; this time, she was the initiator.
It was a long, slow, passionate, and powerful connection that made me feel as if I was moments away from total heart failure. I didn't even notice that we turned to face each other until my hands were on her hips. The kiss was eventually broken by Lilah pulling her lips back a fraction of a centimeter. While our foreheads were still touching, and her hand still on my cheek, I watched her big, beautiful brown eyes blink twice.
"I can't seem to find my bed anywhere. Can I share yours tonight?"
"I- uhh, umm... I-" I could feel my cheeks flushing with red as I desperately tried to find words.
"Score." She wrapped both arms around my neck with a quiet laugh. I could feel her breath on my face- soft, warm, and smelling faintly of her dinner. "That's how it's done, Jacobs. You gotta throw out a line that knocks 'em dead."
I found my tongue again. "You cheated."
"Why, because I kissed you?"
"Yeah."
"What are you gonna do about it? Spank me for being a bad girl?" She lifted the corner of her lip in a cocky challenge. I shook my head, keeping our foreheads pressed together.
"Nah. I'll just have to cheat, too."
I went for it.
Our lips met once more, but something told me that I ended up playing right into Lilah's hands. Perhaps it was the way her arms tightened around my neck to pull our mouths together. It might have been the way she stepped into me so that her chest was pressed into mine. Or it might have been the fact that I could feel her smiling against my lips when I wrapped my hands around her waist. When she tapped her tongue against our connection, that made her earlier words crystal clear.
Until the end of this weekend, I am your girlfriend.
I realized she wasn't lying. For all intents and purposes, Lilah was my legitimate girlfriend for the next forty-eight hours. When it inevitably changed things between us, good or bad, it would happen after we got back. I wasn't entirely sure how to feel about that. On one hand, if this weekend went really well, there was a higher-than-zero-percent chance that this might just become a permanent thing between us. No more acting. Lilah would be mine, just like I wanted since so long ago. On the other hand, if the weekend went badly, then I would lose Lilah forever. There was no coming back from something like this. Even if we somehow managed to stay friends, my heart would never be able to accept it. I was broken once- I couldn't heal from that again.
Either way, it meant that I got what I wanted for two days. Two days of guaranteed sunshine before the next weather report, where it either results in more beautiful weather or a vicious storm. Two days to experience the forbidden fruit before punishment or bliss. Two days was enough.
I opened my mouth and let my tongue meet hers. The evening November air was chilly, but there was no chance of it dimming the heat that pulsed between us. Inside of our locked lips, our tongues danced a moist duet- a challenge to see who would claim more of the other. For every centimeter I delved into Lilah's mouth, she did the same with mine. The sensation was odd beyond words. Once again, it was special only for the knowledge of what it was and who I was doing it with. There was something deliciously naughty about licking the inside of someone else's mouth- sharing saliva and drinking their flavour. Lilah was almost like a lollipop- a Lilahpop, if you will- as I lavished in the taste of her mouth. I could even catch a hint of the ravioli she had during dinner. It was clear that neither of us really knew the 'proper' way to use tongue while kissing, but neither of us cared.
I don't know how long we spent like that- making out with the roaring falls as our backdrop. It might have just been seconds, it might have been minutes. It felt like hours, but also felt instantaneous. When Lilah pulled her tongue from the front lines of the battlefield, her lips only lingered for a moment upon mine before breaking free. When my eyes opened, they were greeted by the rolling waves of brown mixed with blue sparkles that stared back at me. We were both panting, holding each other so close that we may as well have been inside of each other's hoodies. The smile on her face and red flushing her cheeks almost made it look like she was drunk. I didn't forget my promise, though.
"You must be one hell of a thief, because you stole my heart right from my chest."
I grinned. She groaned.
"God, that was worse than the other one."
"Do I get extra points for the kiss?"
"... B plus."
"I'll take it."
We shared a quiet laugh using the same air between us. I noticed Lilah's eyes flick over my shoulder to something behind me, and her smile became a little bit more defined. When I turned around, mine did the same. Thirty or so feet away, Mom and Gary were leaning on the railing like they were looking out over the falls. However, their attention wasn't on the water. That's because they were locked into a sweet, slow kiss. They weren't making out like Lilah and I were a moment ago, but it was clear that the kiss had lasted for several seconds so far based on the way Gary's hand was on Mom's cheek. It continued to last for several more moments before Gary gently pulled back and gave a smile. I saw him glance up at Lilah and I, who were staring, and he muttered something that I couldn't hear. Mom whipped around, noticed the two of us watching, then covered her mouth while blushing like a teenage girl.
My smile only grew wider.
The walk back to the car was silent aside from the general noise of the city. All four of us held hands with our respective partners like we had on the way to the falls, but everything felt different. If I ever locked eyes with Mom, she blushed and turned away. Gary walked with the confidence of a man who had struck gold. Lilah was leaning her head on my shoulder with a giddy smile on her lips. The car ride was equally silent. There was simply nothing to be said. Not for the walk back into the hotel lobby. Not during the elevator ride up to the fourth floor. Not during the short stroll down the hall to our rooms. The quiet was only broken when I was tapping the keycard against the lock to the room.
"I'll come over a quarter after eight to help Lilah with her dress and makeup, so make sure you two are up, showered, and ready by then."
I nodded. "I already have my alarm set for seven. Don't worry. You two just enjoy your night."
Once again, Mom's cheeks turned red and she nodded quickly. Gary just chuckled from behind her and offered a small wave before the pair slid inside their room. Lilah and I did the same. When I shut the door behind us and turned around, Lilah had already kicked off her shoes and was pulling off her hoodie. Her shirt rode up a little in the process to show off her perfect skin, but that didn't matter since it was the next article of clothing to go. I nudged my own shoes off, slipped out of my sweater, and emptied the contents of my pockets onto the nightstand as Lilah did the same.