********
TITLE: College Confidential
WRITER: Laragh
CHAPTER RATING: NC-17
DISCLAIMER: Willow, Tara and any other characters from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise belong to Joss Whedon, FOX, ME and a whole host of other entities, none of which are me.
SUMMARY: The first part of the prequel to
Hacker Confidential and
Family Confidential - the college years!
SPOILERS: Perhaps minor references to the show or stealage of dialogue, but nothing that would spoil the series.
FEEDBACK: Yes please
NOTE: And this marks the third last chapter! ‘Two to go’…
Chapter 106 ********
Willow woke up her favourite way; with kisses to her face and nicely timed lips against her eyelids moments before they flickered open.
Her hand reached up lazily, touching Tara’s face, then fell down her arm.
“Finally,” she said, inhaling in a sleepy half-yawn, “A birthday where I actually wake up with you.”
Tara tapped Willow’s nose affectionately, knowing it made her smile.
“Good morning, birthday beautiful.”
“Did you get confused whether you were saying birthday girl or beautiful?” Willow asked with a giggle, then tucked herself under Tara’s chin, “Mmm, I love this spot. Can I stay here all day?”
“You can do whatever you want on your birthday,” Tara answered, kissing the top of Willow’s head, “But it’ll be hard to eat your special breakfast or open your present…”
Willow’s head lifted and cupped Tara’s breast through her tank top.
“Are you both?”
Tara shook her head.
“But I think you’ll like it even better.”
“Doubtful,” Willow replied with a longing glance to Tara’s legs under the blanket, “But gimme, gimme, gimme.”
Tara swung out of bed, giving Willow a better view of her long legs in those short shorts. She went to the desk, where Willow noticed a full trash bag of small blue boxes was hanging off the side of the chair. She was perplexed, but just waited for Tara to return with a paper plate with two large pop-tarts on it, slightly larger than normal, but more so, looked like it had been broken apart and put back together.
“It’s all your favourite flavours,” Tara explained.
Willow’s eyes widened as she realised she was looking at an Ultimate Pop-Tart.
“All of them are my favourite flavours,” she squeaked.
“I picked your top sixteen,” Tara replied good-naturedly, “This one is chocolatey, this one is fruity.”
Willow could hardly breathe with excitement, but then suddenly looked up at Tara seriously.
“Where are all the discarded parts?”
Tara grinned.
“Wrapped up in foil for you to sneak into the movie theatre and break into your popcorn.”
Willow’s eyes glazed over.
“I’m so horny for you right now.”
She stole a kiss and nibbled gently on Tara’s bottom lip, then pulled back and picked up her chocolatey pop-tart but paused with it halfway to her mouth.
“You didn’t use glue, did you?”
Tara shook her head with a curious smile.
“I used a special sugar glue they use in baking.”
Willow nodded, then smiled sheepishly.
“Tasted paste once when I was in kindergarten. It was enough to last a lifetime.”
“You were the paste-eater,” Tara replied, grinning, “It was legend in my kindergarten class. The bravest we had was a crayon up the nose. Poor kid had to go to the ER.”
“I was a very curious child,” Willow replied as she took a big bite, spanning four different squares, “OhmygodTarathisisamazingohmygodohmygodohmygod.”
She floated back down onto the bed, as if swooning, and chomped her way through her constructed treats.
Tara scooted down with her and started to curl Willow’s hair around her fingers.
“Mmm…I’m so happy,” Willow said, licking her fingers clean, “I love when you play with my hair.”
“Want me to wash it?” Tara asked, wiping crumbs off the sheet.
Willow nodded keenly.
“Yes please!”
She took Tara’s hands as she stepped out of bed and pulled her, giggling, into the bathroom. She pulled Tara’s shorts down and stripped her tank off, then pressed herself nice and close to her for a moment before disrobing herself and hopping into the shower.
Tara stood behind Willow and let the majority of the warm spray hit her girlfriend. She had Willow lean her head back and massaged her temples, gently moving back over her head.
“You give the best head massages…” Willow complimented with a sigh.
Tara kissed Willow’s forehead, right under her widow’s peak, then got the shampoo and gave her hair a thorough lathering.
“Mm-mm-mm-mm,” Willow moaned, in time to the fingers weaving through her scalp.
Her eyes were closed in contentment through the whole lather, rinse, repeat process until her hair was squeaking as Tara’s fingers slid through. She then took great pleasure in getting the shower gel and making sure Tara’s body was cleaner than clean.
She rubbed herself up and against Tara to ‘share in the cleaning’ and made them both wetter from more than just the water.
That was put to pasture pretty quickly when they used up their fifteen minutes and started to get sprayed with ice cold water. There was some shrieking as Willow scrambled to turn it off, and they both jumped out to wrap up in towels.
Tara tucked Willow’s towel in, and Willow tucked Tara’s, then they both giggled and met for a soft, sweet kiss. They held hands as they walked back into the room and over to the closet.
“What do you want me to wear?” Tara asked, leaning back against the wall.
“Hmm…” Willow replied, hands on her hips as she thought, “I love you in a dress. What about the red one with the flowers?”
Tara found the dress in question and held it against herself.
“Yes, definitely,” Willow nodded, “It’s so pretty.”
Tara started to change into the dress, while Willow picked out a marbled black, grey and white shirt, with purple jeans and a grey jacket, which she left out until they were going outside.
She turned around, quite pleased with her outfit, but grew even happier when she saw Tara securing her locket around her neck.
“
You’re so pretty,” she corrected, coming over to hold Tara’s hips, “Every day I see something else in you so much more beautiful than the last.”
Tara rested her forehead against Willow’s, kissed her again, then went over to her nightstand. She produced a fairly flat square, wrapped in red tissue with a gold ribbon on top and a card tucked under the ribbon.
Willow stood on her tiptoes with excitement, and using all the restraint she had, didn’t tear into it as Tara presented it to her. She sat on the end of the bed and opened her card first, another beautiful hand-made one that Willow could have easily mistaken as some expensive boutique buy.
She smiled at the picture of a dog and a bunny holding balloons that spelled out ‘Happy Birthday’, then started to laugh as she realised it was Snuggles and Mr. Hoppy. She opened the card and read the sweet message with a lump already forming in her throat.
She read it again to make sure she’d absorbed every word, then let the card stand on the bed and pulled the ribbon to release its ties. She folded back the tissue so Tara could keep it to use with her art, but froze when she realised what was inside.
Her eyes shot up to her girlfriend.
“Tara…”
Tara perched next to Willow and smiled demurely.
“I went back and got it.”
Willow looked down at her gift; the childhood book she’d found at the used book store that day but had left behind. She lifted it from the tissue reverently and started to flick the pages, the words jumping out at her and allowing her mind to fill in the blanks from memory.
She was totally taken aback and had to take a moment, but it didn’t stop her eyes growing glassy.
“Oh, Willow,” Tara said softly, catching a tear in the corner of Willow’s eye the moment it fell from the duct.
“I’m sorry,” Willow replied with a sniffle, “Just…thank you. So much.”
“You’re welcome,” Tara replied, pulling Willow close to her, “C’mere.”
She kissed the top of Willow’s head warmly.
“I didn’t want to disturb it by reading it. What’s it about? I like the cover.”
The book was called ‘Make A Monkey Out Of Me’ and featured an anthropomorphised monkey with a big smile swinging on one arm off a tree.
“It’s about Cheeks the monkey and his journey trying to find out what he’s good at. The elephant is good at stamping, and the mockingbird is good at singing and the duck is good at swimming but Cheeks doesn’t feel like he can do anything. Then one day a lion cub gets stuck in a tree and he’s able to climb it and rescue it and he realises he's good at climbing,” Willow explained, then blushed lightly, “I guess it’s stupid.”
Tara shook her head.
“No, it’s sweet.”
Willow shrugged one shoulder.
“I guess I always felt that push from my parents to be good at something…and this gave me hope.”
Tara hated that Willow had felt that immense pressure as a four year old but didn’t want to dampen her girlfriend's spirits. She leaned her head down against Willow’s.
“Thanks for sharing it with me.”
Willow wrapped the tissue back around the book to keep it safe and left it with her card. She wrapped her arms around Tara and held on tight.
“I’m gonna keep it in plastic and make sure it doesn’t get dirty and take care of it, I promise.”
“You can do whatever you want with it,” Tara replied with an easy smile, “It’s yours.”
Willow kissed Tara’s nose.
“Like you.”
“Just like me,” Tara confirmed, taking both of Willow’s hands in hers, “Where do you want to go to lunch today? It’s my treat.”
Willow smiled gratefully.
“That’s sweet, baby, but you’re not exactly loaded yourself, and I know that book was expensive.”
“I came back with a little money from France and I want to treat you,” Tara insisted.
Willow’s instinct was to reject, but had to remember being in the exact same position with the roles reversed on Tara’s birthday.
“Okay. Well. I’m not just saying this because it’s cheap, I swear, but I’d love to get some subs and go on the swan boats and eat in the gardens. Plus, the movie theatre we like is only a couple of blocks away from there.”
“That sounds lovely,” Tara agreed, lifting Willow’s hands and kissing both her palms, “And what do you want to do this morning?”
Willow began fidgeting nervously on the spot.
“Don’t hate me, but can I read my quiz book for a bit? I’ll be able to relax much easier if I did.”
“I could never hate you,” Tara replied sincerely, “And you can do whatever you want on your birthday. I can help, quiz you if you want.”
Willow’s eyes lit up.
“I’d love that!”
She went to get her book and sat in the corner. Tara followed, but only hunkered down without sitting.
“How come you always sit in the corner to do this?”
Willow looked around, as if surprised by her surroundings.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said with a shrug, “I had a beanbag in the corner in my bedroom growing up, I liked to sit and study in it. Guess it reminds me of that… reading was the only time I was happy there.”
Tara nodded sympathetically.
“Can we use pillows?”
“Pillows!” Willow replied enthusiastically, jumping straight up, “Genius!”
She grabbed their pillows and made a little love nest. She sat and patted the spot next to her. Tara sat down nice and close to Willow and took the book from her after being shown which page to start at.
“Wait!” Willow said, moments before Tara was going to ask her first question, “I don’t have any M&Ms.”
“Do you want me to go to the vending machine?” Tara asked.
“It’s just, I usually reward myself with an M&M with every question I get right,” Willow explained, “Not that I need to or anything. I’m not a dog.”
“We can substitute kisses,” Tara suggested.
Willow grinned and nodded and closed her eyes to send signals to her brain to warm up and earn its reward.
They got through quite a few pages of questions with a decent success rate, but as their appetites were whetted, the kisses grew longer and Tara was choosing questions she knew Willow would know the answer to.
Willow’s brain, heart and somewhere lower were all fighting for dominance until finally she grabbed the book and tossed it away.
“Screw it, it’s just a quiz.”
Tara knew that attitude would cease the moment they picked up their pencils that evening, but she was happy to appreciate it in that moment. Her mouth latched on to Willow’s, who was quick to offer her tongue for playing.
Tara held Willow’s face in her hands and welcomed her in, sliding her tongue against Willow’s.
Willow rubbed Tara’s shin and pulled her closer so she could slip her hand under Tara’s dress and let her fingertips sink into the soft thigh skin. She pulled on the waistband of Tara’s panties and delighted in the hip jerk it triggered. She slid back down to Tara’s knee, then moved above the waist and cupped Tara’s breast through her dress.
She was beginning to reach under and was just brushing up against a hardening nipple when there was a knock at the door.
Willow pulled away with a groan.
“Why is it always when we’re kissing?”
“Because we kiss a lot,” Tara replied, puffing out a breath.
Willow groaned again and got up to answer the door. Becky immediately pushed her way in, with a cupcake in one hand and a gift in the other.
Tara jumped up and turned her back so she could adjust her dress, then sat on the bed near her nightstand and cleared her throat.
“Hi Becky.”
“Hi Tara,” Becky greeted warmly, then thrust the contents of her hands at Willow, “Here’s the cupcake and I will get down to the beer toasting at some stage later.”
Willow smiled, less annoyed about the intrusion.
“Thanks, Beck.”
She set the cupcake down and turned the present over in her hands to reveal the tape. She tore it open with less care than Tara’s, knowing Becky wouldn’t mind, then stared in confusion as she saw a familiar book cover, but larger and with absolutely no pages.
“It’s a kindle case,” Becky explained off the look, “I’ve seen you carrying yours around.”
Realisation dawned on Willow’s face and she smiled.
“Northanger Abbey,” she said, then looked over to Tara, “It’s the first book Becky and I ever discussed when we became roommates. About how we were both were guilty of blurring the lines of fiction and reality. I was a Catherine and she was an Isabella.”
Becky grinned and nodded.
“I would have totally tried to score a rich husband however I could in the 1800s.”
“You still would now,” Willow replied with a scoff.
“Holy matrimony is soooo not in my life plan,” Becky replied, holding her hands up, “My parents have married enough for six people, I need to even out the score a little.”
She tapped Willow’s shoulder affectionately.
“But, hey, Isabella wasn’t all bad,” she said, sharing a smile with Willow, “‘There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature’.”
Willow was unbelievably touched and immediately moved in for a hug.
“Thank you, Becky.”
They embraced for several moments, then Becky moved back to lean against the door.
“So I talked to Jack about that couples dinner – and we are
not calling it a double date after the disaster that was our last double date. Capisce?”
Willow and Tara both nodded.
“Anyway, he’s up for it when he’s finished up his new movie,” Becky finished, “Sometime in the next week, week and a half. He has to submit it before the end of next week.”
“Well we’re both pretty busy with classes, but we can do weekends,” Willow replied as she fetched her kindle to put it in its new home, “You guys decide on a place if you want. Maybe we could meet first in this bar we go to. It's nice.”
She snapped the kindle in place, admired it for a moment, then set it down to pick up her cupcake again. She peeled away the side of the paper casing and took a huge bite.
“Oh my god, this is so good,” she said, moving over to Tara and offering her some on her finger, “Try this frosting.”
Tara took the offering and Becky immediately grabbed the doorknob.
“And on that note, I’m outta here. Happy Birthday.”
“Tank youb,” Willow replied through a mouthful.
“Bye Becky,” Tara said with a blush, “See you soon.”
Becky waved and left, and Willow shared the rest of her cupcake with Tara.
“That was a very thoughtful gift,” Tara commented as Willow tossed the paper case.
Willow picked up her kindle and smiled down at it.
“Yeah, it really was. Might have to reread Northanger Abbey. Good memories.”
“Why don’t we head down to the park early and bring a book?” Tara suggested.
Willow looked up and slowly smiled.
“Yeah. Yeah, why not?”
Tara got the book she was reading and put it and Willow’s kindle in her bag. She waited at the door for Willow to put on shoes.
“Don’t forget your pop-tarts,” she said as Willow approached her.
Willow spun on her heels and went over to the desk to retrieve the broken pieces wrapped in foil. She noticed again the trash bag full of boxes as she did so.
“Wait, you bought all these boxes. It must have cost a fortune. Where’s all the unopened packs?”
“In our secret stash for midnight munchies,” Tara replied with a smirk, “We have at least two months’ supply, even with your consumption rate.”
Willow skipped back over.
“You are so awesome.”
Tara just about fit the foil into her bag and they took each other’s hands as they headed outside. They took the train to their favourite sandwich shop, where Willow ordered the meatiest, cheesiest and sauciest concoction she could imagine up, with chips and a 3-pack of cookie as a side.
Tara was quite impressed and gave Willow the thumbs up as the sandwich was being wrapped.
“Is that a sarcastic thumbs up?” Willow asked with a raised eyebrow.
Tara shook her head.
“No nagging on your birthday. Might just order one myself.”
Willow gave her a challenging look and Tara nodded to the server.
“I’ll have the same.”
Willow gaped at her, wide-eyed, and remained like that right up until they were back on the street.
“No way will you eat that.”
“I think you like to imagine me as a much bigger healthy eating freak than I am,” Tara said, holding the paper bag in her hands as there was no room left in her bag, “All I’ve suggested is that maybe you don’t treat fries as their own food group and swap a pudding cup for an apple every now and then.”
“Baby steps, Tara,” Willow replied seriously, “You don’t jump from pudding to apple just like that.”
“Okay, honey,” Tara replied, switching the bag to her other side, “I envy your appetite sometimes, you know. I had to leave the chips and cookies. And you stay so tiny.”
Willow smirked lasciviously.
“I get a good workout most nights.”
Tara blushed and chuckled at the same time. They walked the rest of the way to the gardens and decided to eat first so they’d have nothing to carry onto the swan boats.
They found a nice patch of grass and stretched out with Willow’s legs strewn over Tara’s lap. Willow launched into her sandwich right away, tearing the packaging to empty her chips into. She then gallantly offered Tara one of her cookies.
“You’re a sweetheart,” Tara said, returning it to her, “But I have enough to get my mouth around.”
Tara had to eat her sandwich in parts, unable to hold it all up at once, but did have to admit it was deliciously decadent. She had to mop up Willow’s face a few times, but Willow loved it and started eating messier just to annoy her.
“You’re doing it on purpose,” Tara accused playfully, dabbing her with the napkin again.
Willow giggled and took another big bite of her sandwich, a chunk of cookie and a chip all at once.
She grew lethargic not long after finishing all her grub and fell asleep with her kindle over her, thankfully clean, face.
Tara took her own book out and enjoyed reading in the beautiful surroundings, while still trying to finish her monstrous sandwich. It took the best part of an hour, with several breaks and a lot of glugs of iced tea to wash it down, but she managed it all and without making herself sick.
She used her compact mirror to check her mouth, the movement of which stirred Willow.
“Hmm-hugb?”
She batted at her kindle, which Tara lifted before it got broken. Willow blinked several times as she looked around her, then looked at Tara and smiled.
“Hello, angel,” she said, watching Tara’s head light up like a halo with the sun behind her.
“Hello, cutie,” Tara replied, rubbing Willow’s shin over her jeans, “You had a little snooze.”
Willow stretched her arms out behind her head.
“I was dreaming that we lived in a land made of food. We could take bites out of everything and it rained nacho cheese.”
“That’d get the hair real messy,” Tara replied with a smile, “But if there were tortilla chip trees to catch it…”
“Wouldn’t that be something?” Willow said with a wistful sigh, “Mmm. How long was I out?”
“A little less than an hour,” Tara replied, checking her watch, “I was just reading.”
Willow sat up, stifled a yawn and kissed Tara’s cheek. She looked at her watch too as she stretched her arms over her head.
“Wanna go do the boat and head to the movies?”
Tara nodded and they packed up their stuff, disposed of their trash and Willow smoothed out her clothes as they made their way to the lake. They took the back row of the swan boat, as they always did when they went on a ride, and sat close with their hands held tightly between them.
“So relaxing,” Willow commented as they rode around.
She rested her head on Tara’s shoulder and smiled when she felt Tara’s head rest on hers. Tara admired the pretty greenery and flowers – it was her favourite part of coming to the Gardens. She loved how the colours popped and how the different plants were landscaped so delicately. It reminded her of her mother’s yard before she died and how she’d worked so hard to maintain it after.
It had eventually grown wild as its requirements outgrew Tara’s skill, but she would always value the months she’d gotten, as it had made her feel close to her mother and helped her grieve.
The boat docked and they hung back until they absolutely had to get off. Willow jumped over onto the grass and held her hand out for Tara, then twirled her as her feet planted on the ground. Tara gracefully spun and landed with her hands on Willow’s hips. She moved in for a kiss, but Willow stopped her just short.
“Save it for the bench.”
As was their tradition when they visited the Gardens, they walked over to the bench they’d shared their first kiss on, but there were two guys already sitting there. By some fluke, they’d never encountered such an obstruction before, but Willow wasn’t about to let it go.
“Wait here.”
Tara watched Willow go over and talk to the two men, who almost immediately jumped up and started patting themselves down, before walking away in disgust. Tara strolled over to Willow, who was sitting on the bench, grinning like the Cheshire cat.
Tara held the hem of her dress as she sat down next to Willow, with a crooked smile.
“What did you do?”
“I just asked if they’d seen my dog,” Willow replied, draping her arm around Tara’s shoulder, “Last I saw Fluffer Mutter MacBarkenberg he was taking a whiz on this bench…”
Tara rolled her eyes playfully and shook her head.
“If we ever get a dog, you’re not naming him.”
Willow leaned in and pressed her lips softly to Tara’s, then pulled away but went back in for a quick peck. She bumped their noses together, then laughed quietly.
“I still can’t believe you used tongue during our first kiss.”
“I thought you were expecting it,” Tara replied with a blush and bashful smile, “Are you going to tease me forever?”
Willow leaned over and kissed Tara again.
“Yup.”
They respectably cuddled for a few minutes until they decided to keep moving to the theatre. On the way there, Willow linked her arm through Tara’s and looked all around with a smile.
“This is what we did on our very first date. Swan boats, bench kissing and this very movie theatre.”
“I remember,” Tara replied, smiling warmly, “So what movie are we seeing?”
“What do you want to see?” Willow asked, glancing somewhat sketchily at Tara.
“Whatever you want to see,” Tara replied as if it was obvious, “I assumed you’d picked one out and checked the time. It’s your birthday.”
“Well…” Willow started, adding a little jump to her step, “There is one I
really want to see…but I don’t know if you’ll hate it.”
“What is it?” Tara asked, prepared to say yes to whatever it was.
“Horton Hears A Who?” Willow asked, more than stated.
“Like the Dr. Seuss book?” Tara asked cheerily.
Willow’s eyes brightened.
“Yeah!”
“Sounds great,” Tara replied, very happy to sit through that rather than one of Willow’s sci-fi flicks.
“I checked, it’s still playing here,” Willow replied, motioning ahead where the theatre awning was now in view, “It’s been out a few weeks, so I wasn’t sure, but if you really want to see it too…”
“Do I want to see it too?” Tara questioned with a lilt in her tone, “I do, I really do.”
Willow grinned.
“I see what you did there.”
She bumped Tara’s hip and they giggled their way up the street. They got tickets to the show and got in line at the concession stand. Willow stared intently at the candy window.
“I know I have pop-tarts, but I kinda want candy.”
“Get some,” Tara replied, trying to retrieve her wallet without showing the foil full of pop-tarts.
Willow rocked back and forth on her heels in thought.
“I don’t know if I want nerds or milk duds.”
“Get both,” Tara said, finally pulling her wallet out.
Willow’s eyebrow lifted in surprise.
“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were angling to give me a tummy rub later.”
Tara leaned over and kissed Willow’s cheek
“I think you should everything you want on your birthday. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t treat you like a princess?” she said as she stepped forward to counter, eliciting a huge grin from Willow, “Can I get two medium popc–”
“One!” Willow interrupted.
Tara smiled apologetically at the server and whispered back to Willow.
“You can have your own. It’s my treat.”
“I like sharing,” Willow explained sheepishly.
“One large popcorn,” Tara corrected with a smile, getting them a large drink to share and Willow’s candy too.
Willow was grinning from ear to ear as she carried her bounty of candy in her arms into the theatre. They got seats in their favourite row, the back, and Willow opened her boxes of candy and poured everything in with the broken pop-tarts, making the unhealthiest trail mix ever.
She rebuffed Tara’s suggestion to add a few handfuls of popcorn as it would eliminate the possibility of their hands brushing as they reached in together - the whole reason she’d insisted they share.
She smiled over at Tara as the lights went down and they shared a brief kiss before offering their attention to the screen for the next eighty six minutes.
Willow had a predominant bulge in her stomach by the time the credits rolled, having polished off every piece of candy and most of the popcorn, since Tara was stuffed still from her sandwich.
“I cannot believe you ate all of that,” Tara said as she helped a bloated Willow stand, “That was the equivalent of 14 pop-tarts.”
“Pfft, not even my one-sitting record,” Willow replied, though did have to waddle out of the seat, “You said I should get what I want.”
“I’m not expressing anything other than my disbelief,” Tara replied with a shake of her head out of Willow’s view, “Did you enjoy them?”
“Every single bite!” Willow replied triumphantly, though was getting a little shaky on her feet, “Okay, maybe I overindulged
a little.”
“Let’s get a coffee next door while you deflate,” Tara suggested, putting a hand on the small of Willow’s back for support.
Willow managed to get to a table outside of the café next door and Tara left her purse on the chair opposite. She was about to go in to order, when Willow’s head craned around to try and look inside.
“Do they do like muffins or something?”
“Are you serious?” Tara asked and got a confirming look, so she checked quickly, “Blueberry or chocolate?”
“Blueberry,” Willow replied, a pleased smile on her face.
Tara returned a few minutes later with a bottle of iced tea tucked under her arm, a mug of hot chocolate with extra marshmallows in one hand and a blueberry muffin with a lit candle in the other.
She placed the latter two in front of Willow and sang her a quick version of happy birthday. Willow was delighted and blew the candle out with one big gust of air.
“They were nice in there. Had some candles in a drawer,” Tara said as she plucked the extinguished candle out of the muffin, “Happy Birthday, sweetie.”
“I love birthdays with Tara!” Willow replied, picking the blueberries out of her muffin to eat, “And look, fruit!”
Tara could only stare as Willow ingested the muffin on top of everything else she’d eaten that day. She was starting to realise that the diet Willow normally subscribed to wasn’t anywhere near as unhealthy as she had thought, at least in comparison.
“You are insane.”
“But you looovvveee me,” Willow replied with a giggle.
“It’s true,” Tara replied, twisting the cap off her bottle, “I adore you.”
Willow blushed and smiled at the ground.
They ended up chatting over coffee for hours, talking about places they wanted to see and things they wanted to do together. They talked about eating and drinking their way around the city and under the influence of sugar, Willow even agreed to go to some art museums, though Tara knew that would never come to fruition.
They only remembered they had plans for the evening when dusk began to settle and had to make the thirty minute walk in a tight twenty to get to the bar on time. Willow ran off some of the energy from her feasting and reminded Tara to order their usual wings and sticks for the halfway point. Tara was starting to feel peckish herself, so added some onion rings and brought their respective drinks back to the table.
Willow took a long sip of her beer as she picked up the pencil and tapped it nervously against the table.
“Now or never, huh?”
Tara reached over and covered Willow’s hand with her own.
“It’s just some fun, baby. Remember what you said the first time? It’s like a fun pop quiz without having to worry about a grade. So don’t worry.”
Willow was soothed a bit by the inclusion of her favourite pet name and the lift it gave her heart. She turned her hand in Tara’s and gave it a squeeze.
“I’ll try not to ruin our lovely day with my spaz.”
For the most part, Willow stuck to her pledge. She answered diligently and sweated out a few questions, but she also shared some hushed conversation with Tara and sipped her beer casually instead of downing in spaced-out, stressed-out glugs. She handed in the answer sheet after only rechecking it a mere three times.
“That was fun,” Tara said, drawing circles in Willow’s palm, “See, sometimes it’s okay to just breathe.”
Willow breathed out in demonstration and shared a smile with Tara, until she suddenly got a rush in her brain and found her breath caught in her throat.
“Rupee!”
“I’m sorry?” Tara asked, feeling Willow’s pulse speed under her fingers.
“The god damn rupee!” Willow spat, holding her palm against her forehead, “Not ruble! Pakistan use the rupee! Stupid brain!”
“Oh Willow,” Tara soothed softly, “It’s your birthday. Don’t get upset.”
Willow dropped her head into her hands.
“I blew the whole thing.”
“It’s one question,” Tara said, trying to calm her.
Willow kicked the leg of the table.
“One question is the only difference in points.”
“So we come second,” Tara replied, beginning to play footsie with Willow under the table to distract her, “That’s still amazing, and we get a voucher for a swanky restaurant. Won’t that be nice?”
“Yeah, it will,” Willow replied, and Tara knew reluctance in her tone wasn’t to do with them having dinner together.
“Cheer up, pumpkin,” Tara said, reaching over and tickling the corner of Willow’s mouth to produce a smile, “Come on, you can make it bigger.”
Willow’s lips spread into a bigger grin and she playfully pushed Tara’s hand away with a giggle.
“Stopppppp,” she said, though didn’t object when Tara squeezed her nose affectionately, “These onion rings are good, I’m glad you got them. You make everything better.”
She clinked her beer against Tara’s wine glass, cheered up once again. She had accepted their fate by the time the host got back on stage to announce the winners, but deflated when the team that had remained a steady third behind their rivals and themselves, Les Quizérables, scooped the second place.
Willow slowly sank down in her seat, eyes downcast.
“And the winners…with the only team to answer correctly that The Great Wall Of China
can’t be seen from space…”
Willow suddenly straightened up and clutched Tara’s hand tightly.
“The Quiz Whizzes!”
Willow’s mouth was agape in stunned silence, making the loud ‘damn it’ from a few tables away quite coherent. She snapped her head around to them and stuck out her tongue.
“Ha! Suck on my freshman astronomy class, Red Hot Quizzy Losers!”
“Willow, be gracious,” Tara said, with a hint of caution in her tone.
“Would you like to come up here to collect your prize?” the host asked into the microphone.
“Go,” Tara encouraged proudly, patting Willow on the back as she passed.
Willow practically skipped up to the stage and accepted the cheque with glee. She leaned over to the microphone.
“A speech isn’t really requir–” the host started, but Willow cut him off.
“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to–” she said, then after a quick glance to Tara changed her response from ‘kick your asses’, “Participate.”
Tara nodded to her that that was acceptable, so Willow continued.
“Also, black holes aren’t really holes, in case you didn’t know. You get that one for free,” she said, then finally blew a kiss across the bar, “Oh and thank you Tara for all the help, I love you baby!”
There was some half-hearted clapping and a few snickers as Willow came back to their booth, but she didn’t mind in the slightest. She kissed Tara before she retook her seat and waved the cheque at the men in the table opposite.
Tara clicked her tongue.
“Willow.”
Willow put the cheque away, but didn’t give in completely.
“They started it. Sneering ‘number two’ at me and calling me ‘silver medal’,” she said with a grumble, then raised her voice, “Well sucks to be you, because you couldn’t even land two! The musical theatre nerds beat you!”
The guys all hung their heads into their beers, shame-faced.
“Willow, for god’s sake,” Tara said, finishing the last of her wine with a long sip, “Can we not get into a flame war, please?”
Willow was bouncing on the seat.
“I’m excited.”
“I know,” Tara replied softly, “That’s okay. You did great and I’m so proud of you. But other people are disappointed and it’s not nice to rub their noses in it, even if they did it to you too. Be the bigger person.”
Willow nodded solemnly and reached for her beer, but it was empty. She decided the temptation to gloat was too much to stay, and she was far too excited to be restrained by four walls.
“Wanna take me home?”
“I’d love to,” Tara replied with a momentary glance down Willow’s top.
It was brief but Willow caught it and blushed. She made sure the cheque was safe in her wallet, taking a moment to grin at it as she did so, then stood up and took Tara’s offered hand.
They walked towards the door, but she stopped them at their rival table.
“Um. Well done. You were worthy competitors.”
She didn’t wait for them to respond, just continued on with Tara, who kissed her cheek and smiled proudly.
“Can’t believe we won,” Willow said, giddy, “Best birthday ever. Absolutely, 100% best birthday ever. Can you believe it? I can’t believe it.”
She went on like that for most of the journey home, but Tara didn’t mind in the slightest. She was happy Willow was so happy and it was a thrill to win for her too.
“We make a good team,” she said as she unlocked their dorm room and held the door open.
She closed the door behind them and Willow stepped up close to her.
“We make the best team.”
She lifted herself onto her tiptoes and kissed Tara. Her hands curved around the back of Tara’s neck and she teased her tongue into Tara’s mouth, before pulling back.
“Want to play some team sports?”
“Are you able with all the food in your belly?” Tara questioned, quirking an eyebrow.
Willow grabbed Tara’s ass and pulled their hips together.
“I’ll rock your world.”
Tara walked Willow backwards to bed, having her sit back when it hit the back of her knees.
“I’ll do the rocking.”
Willow felt that twinge between her legs and tried to make a grab for Tara again to pull her into her lap.
Tara rebuffed her gently.
“Patience…” she said, bending her knees and pulling out a little boutique bag from under the bed, “I have something from Paris I’ve been saving…”
She straightened up, but slowly, and ‘accidentally’ pressing her breasts very close to Willow’s face as she did so. She departed for the bathroom with a flirty look and her ass wiggled all the way until the door was closed.
Willow watched her go, practically drooling, until she was gone. It was only then that Tara’s words hit her.
Paris. From Paris. Paris, France. French. French lingerie? French lingerie!Realising she’d paid no attention to the underwear she’d thrown on that morning, she rushed over to the dresser, stripping on the way. She desperately waded through her underwear drawer.
Why don’t I have anything that matches?!The black bra she was wearing was clean and, she thought, gave her breasts some kind of shape, so she left it on. Her yellow panties made a quick trip to the hamper, however, and were replaced with Halloween-themed one; black with an orange cat on the front. It wasn’t a perfect match, but Willow hoped it wouldn’t be noticed under the covers.
She slid under the sheet and smoothed it all down, moments before the bathroom doorknob jiggled and Tara appeared in lacy, grey bra and panties.
They hugged her everywhere and sat loosely so the tops of her breasts and the curve of her ass were exposed alluringly. Tara leaned with one arm against the doorframe and let Willow get a good look at her, then strutted over and crawled on top of her, over the sheet.
“Do you like?”
Willow’s hands hovered an inch away from Tara’s skin, moving all around as they tried to figure out where to touch first.
“So much.”
“I got especially fitted with your birthday in mind…” Tara said as she thrust her chest softly in Willow’s direction, “Want me to rub them in your face a little?”
Willow’s eyes went wide and she could only nod, then surrender, as Tara’s soft breasts rolled around her mouth and nose. Her hands roamed Tara’s back; fingertips following her spine and slipping underneath the lace waistband of her panties.
She made several attempts to lift her head away as her lips longed for a kiss, but the allure of Tara’s breasts was too great. With great resolve, she finally popped up from her silken heaven and tugged on Tara’s hair to bring her down to kiss.
Their bodies pressed together through the sheet, but its interference became bothersome fast. Tara lifted herself up and swatted and kicked it away until their skin was sliding together and warming each other.
Willow rubbed the back of Tara’s thighs and moved up to cup her butt cheeks through the lace. While she was busy there, Tara was kissing Willow’s collarbone and making a beeline for her breasts.
Willow arched her back when hands went to undo her bra and moaned as Tara wet her nipples with her tongue and pinched them into peaks. Tara continued kissing down Willow’s abdomen and along her hip bone, until she made her way back up, a crooked grin on her face the whole way.
“I see you brought your orange pussy along to play.”
“Oh, yeah,” Willow replied, happy to launch into wherever Tara was going with this, “I–”
Her head suddenly dropped as she felt the barest hint of pressure between her legs and noticed Tara had her finger on the cat of her panties. Her eyes went wide and her cheeks turned a flaming red.
“Is she friendly?” Tara asked, pressing her finger in just a tiny bit more.
Willow squeaked, which Tara took as an affirmative noise.
“Does she like to be petted?”
Willow managed a nod and her eyelids began to flutter as Tara’s finger found her clit and began to rub it through the fabric.
“Mmm, Tara…”
Tara rubbed until Willow’s arousal was seeping through, then remove the sticky hindrance and sank her fingers between Willow’s lips. Willow’s hips jerked and she moaned deeply, feeling herself clench and gush.
Tara got her fingers wet and played with Willow a little more, until Willow’s hips were squirming. Tara pressed her mouth to Willow’s ear and tongued it for a second before whispering.
“Turn over.”
Willow obeyed and turned onto her stomach while clutching the pillow with both hands. Tara slipped her hand under Willow and ran them along her lips teasingly. She was pressed against Willow’s side and Willow tried to reach behind to her.
“Bra--off.”
Tara unsnapped her bra and flicked it away, where it landed around the knob of her nightstand drawer. She threw a leg over Willow and moved on top of her so her breasts were pushing into Willow’s back.
“Is that what you wanted?” she whispered in that same low, erotic tone.
Willow was too turned on to speak, but nodded repeatedly and let the pillow swallow a moan. Tara slid her fingers up and probed Willow’s opening, then slid inside when she got the first taste of her tight heat.
Willow felt the sweet fullness of Tara’s fingers and cried out a mixture of sounds. She wanted it hard and fast and right that second, and began pushing her hips back to show just that.
Tara understood and followed her lead, all the while kissing Willow’s back and tonguing her neck. Her breasts were rolling into Willow’s back as their bodies moved together. She knew by the sounds Willow was making that she was loving it, but she wanted to give more; she wanted Willow to feel as much pleasure as she ever had.
She moved her thumb under Willow to find her clit, and curled her fingers inside at the same time. Willow practically screamed and kicked her legs at the surprise double hit, then buried her head deep into the pillow.
Tara dropped her mouth to Willow’s ear again and began whispering dirty things. Willow was about ready to explode.
“Oh Jesus, Tara.”
She closed her eyes as things began to haze and took the pillowcase between her teeth as the orgasm began slamming through her. Her body shook and quaked with spine-tingling pleasure that seemed to last forever.
When she took her next conscious breath, she felt Tara’s lips on the back of her neck and her hand resting on her buttocks. She couldn’t quite speak, but her hand tightened in the pillow and moments later, Tara’s hand covered it and those lips pressed into her cheek instead.
“Happy Birthday, beautiful.”
Willow turned her head and had enough energy to pull Tara’s lips in for a soft kiss. They nuzzled for a few moments before Tara started to lift herself off.
“Nooooo,” she said lazily, only half-joking, “Tara, that was amazing…”
Tara laid down on her back and crossed her arms behind her head. She didn’t get a chance to speak before Willow did again, grinning.
“You are soooo satisfied with yourself right now.”
Tara blushed and smiled, but didn’t deny it.
“I like making you feel good.”
“Frickin’ amazing more like,” Willow replied, blowing out a long breath and getting a shiver along with it, “Can still feel it.”
Tara mistook the shiver and covered them both up with the sheet. She tucked Willow in one side and tucked herself into the other one so they were nice and close.
“So what are you going to spend your money on?”
“Um, I don’t think I was the only one in the team,” Willow replied, resting her cheek on Tara’s shoulder.
“You did most of the work,” Tara replied honestly, “I want you to have it.”
Willow suddenly lifted her head to look at Tara.
“I had an idea,” she said, then took an audible swallow, “But for both of us.”
Tara nodded for her to continue, so Willow did.
“We were talking earlier about all the stuff we wanted to do together.”
She paused and smiled unsurely.
“But we never mentioned if…after we did all that stuff…if we’d be going back to the same…” she tried again to speak, thinking of a hundred and one different ways to word it, before finally blurting, “I thought that we could use it as a deposit for a place together.”
Tara was silent for only a second, but Willow felt the need to fill it quickly.
“‘Cause, you know, we need to start thinking about where we’re going to go after graduation…and I hope you still want to live together… and if you don’t–”
Tara cut her off with a kiss, which Willow relaxed into after a moment, but still had to ask.
“Is that a yes?”
Tara’s eyes were glassy but her smile lit up her whole face.
“One hundred percent.”
She moved her hands up to hold Willow’s face and looked at her with an intense adoration.
“I fucking love you, Willow Rosenberg,” she said, her emotions momentarily overwhelming her.
Willow returned the look with all its passion and moved her forehead against Tara’s.
“I fucking love you too,” she breathed, feeling the ache of how deeply her love for Tara went.
They kissed and the air slowly returned from fervency to its pervious playful amorousness. Willow rolled on top of Tara and glanced over at the clock.
“Hey, it’s still my birthday for another twenty minutes…”
Tara followed her eye and then looked back to Willow with a seductive grin.
“So it is…how are you going to see it out?”
Willow matched her grin and moved her hand down to grab Tara’s panties.
“I'm going to unwrap my very last present…”