A Blind Date (Completed)

Part 15

My eye lids split open the next morning as sunlight streamed through a window. The light was so bright that I couldn't see anything. For a moment, I had absolutely no idea where I was or what I was doing. I had a slight headache and a somewhat strange taste in my mouth. I remembered that I had been drinking the previous night. I then had three realizations in a row. First, I remembered who I had been with the night before. Second, my eyes cleared and I could see Riley asleep, facing me just a few inches away. Third, I could feel her body against mine. We were intertwined as we had been the whole night.

What had we done! For a moment I felt a cold panic. I hadn't really realized the previous night that I'd been drunk. But now, in the light of day with the headache and the girl I barely knew to prove it, I realized that I'd been making some rather unexpected decisions. Before I could fully process what I was thinking, my first instinct was to just get away. Something strange had happened and I wanted to be alone, in my condo, to think about it. Figure out what it meant. But, before I had the chance to attempt an escape, I realized that Riley was essentially on top of me. It would be impossible to leave without waking her. I settled back into the bed, my heart and brain pounding the same rhythm.

I found myself staring at Riley's sleeping face, trying to make sense of it. I now remembered the way she'd looked the night before, her features flush with sexual desire. I saw her innocent, sleeping face now. No matter what, I'd crossed some sort of barrier the previous night. It was no longer possible for me to pretend that I was not attracted to Riley. Or to women in general. I could not deny I was lesbian. She looked so beautiful, her body felt so...right against mine. That I knew it was the truth. Now, sober, that realization seemed even stranger than it had the night before.

I still hadn't figured out anything beyond that fact when I saw Riley's eyes start to flutter open. I held my breath, trying not to wake her. For some reason, I was nervous about it. I don't know what I expected. Maybe she would be angry or ashamed. She'd pushed away her friend from college after a night of drinking got out of hand. Maybe I was in for a rejection as well. My efforts were in vain, after a few moments, Riley's beautiful blue eyes were looking right at me. She seemed confused for a moment, and then smiled sheepishly.

"Uh...Good morning," she said and then laughed nervously.

"Morning," I replied. Her eyes moved away from mine, unable to meet my gaze. I was glad, I felt so awkward. But neither of us dared moved, our naked bodies remained tangled together and I could feel her muscles move slightly against mine. After several agonizing minutes, Riley's gaze returned to me.

"Sorry, just not used to this," she apologized. I shrugged a little.

"Waking up with a girl?" I asked.

"Well yeah, obviously that. But I mean, waking up after a drunken hookup and having the person still in my bed," she explained, "It is a little weird." I remembered my attempt to bolt.

"Well I guess that shows how men are different from women, it would have being so disrespectful for me to just abandon you," I said, trying to lend a knowing air to my voice. Riley seemed to pick up on it.

"Couldn't get out from under me eh?" she asked.

"Not for lack of trying," I said and now she laughed, this time without anxiousness. I loved the way she sounded, that musical, feminine quality of her laugh and I joined her. Riley rested her head on the pillow next to me, looking at me with some concentration.

"So what happened?" she asked after a long pause. It seemed like a simple question, but wasn't. I gave the simple answer.

"We had sex," I said. Riley made a raspberry noise with her tongue.

"Well yeah," she said, "But I mean...What happened? One second we were drinking and being friends, the next we were baring our sexual dirty laundry, and then all of the sudden we were back here having sex. Like incredible sex." I blushed at her description, but it was accurate. The best sex I'd ever had. And very sudden.

"I don't know," I responded honestly, but the more I thought of it, my mind now sober, the more it made sense. Well, some kind of sense. So I decided to share it with her, "I think our friends realized that we wanted something that we'd hidden from ourselves. And last night, in an unguarded moment, we'd both been exposed at the same time. We both, at least for the night, accepted what we wanted and were surprised to find someone else who wanted the same thing. And we grabbed onto one another both because we knew what the other was feeling and because we knew that if we stopped then, if we backed down, we would just hide from ourselves again. We both knew without thinking or saying anything that...if we stopped then we might bury ourselves forever." It was the only explanation I had, and it felt so right in my mind.

"Thank you," Riley said after a long moment. I shook my head slightly.

"Why?" I asked. I hadn't done anything that I could think of that deserved thanks.

"I think you are right about last night. And I don't think I could've done that without you. And I don't just mean the obvious, like that I couldn't have had sex without another person. I mean, I don't think I could've gone through with doing anything with anyone, except for you. Someone who was feeling and thinking the same things."

"Well then thank you," I responded, "Because I feel the same way." I leaned forward now and kissed Riley gently on the lips. It felt like the only thing to do. Our eyes closed, it felt much like our first kiss the previous night. Chaste but somehow sexual, gentle but powerful. I felt my body begin to react and I could feel Riley respond as well. Slowly, our kiss broke. We looked at each other again for several minutes, just smiling like two kids in love for the first time.

"What does this mean? Like for me...or for...us?" Riley asked after a long while. I'd been thinking about the same thing but lacked the courage to ask. I let out a sigh.