Roomies - One

If there is one thing that you come to understand when pursing a degree in higher education, it’s that the night is an ally. The day is generally devoted to pursuing the collegiate expectations, but as the sun starts to go down, a student’s life begins to open up. Part-time jobs to cover expenses, time to study and do homework to get ahead, time to live it up and to feel like a real person rather than someone just going through the motions, and of course a time to rest, relax, and unwind. The night offers so many welcome opportunities, and it’s always knocking at the end of the day. Knocking, and knocking, and knocking, and-

“OH. MY. GAWD!” Lemony Gem shouts, throwing her hands up in the air. With a forceful push away from the desk where she’s working, she storms over to the wall and starts pounding her open palm against the drywall. “Cadence, SHUT UP!”

Utterly undeterred, the steady rhythm of the headboard slapping against the wall continues to reverberate through the small, three bedroom rental even as a giggly, broken, “So-oo-oo-rry!” echoes out from the other side. Lemony stands there for a few seconds more, her mint-colored bangs sweeping over one eye she huffs in irritation and storms back to her desk. It’s very clear that the two lovers are fully engaged at the moment. Which leaves her out of luck.

Sitting back down, Lemony grumbles and tries to focus on her work. Its a few minutes before she realizes that in her sudden leap upwards that she unplugged her laptop. As she struggles to plug the sputtering computer back into place, Cadence’s cries begin crawling towards an orgasmic crescendo. One of many, undoubtedly. Staring at the glowing screen, the bright eyed girl taps a nubby fingernail against her cheek before finally giving up on getting any work done on her midterm paper for the time being, and walks out of the room, into the kitchen.

“Took you long enough,” a melodic but tired voice sighs. Lemony turns towards the voice even as a mug of tea is shoved in her general direction. She takes it with a grunt, cradling the still warm mug in her hands. Diamond Rose gives a practiced and graceful smile, though slight lines of stress are visible at the corner of her eyes. Half a dozen curlers hug close to her head, the redhead’s dynamic hue-shifting hair held tight for tomorrow. “Drink up; it will help you sleep later.”

“Yeah, thanks, I’m going to need it.” Taking a sip, the young woman makes a face before tilting the bottom of the mug in her friend’s direction. The tea is rich and flavorful, with just enough of a bitter bite to make the corner of Lemony's mouth twitch. As expected of Diamond, this is far from a bargain bin blend. In a put upon harshness, she wheezes, “Smooth stuff, D.”

The redhead giggles and rolls her eyes. “Only the best for my friend.” Leaning over the counter, she adopts a more somber expression as she glances towards the hall and whispers, “Hey, do you think that things have gotten a little more, um, wild, between the two of them lately?”

“What was your first clue, when they started going at it every other night or when this one a.m. teatime became a regular thing?” Lemony grumbles, much more vindictive than curious. “Why did we agree to give her the middle bedroom again?”

“Because neither of us could decide who would be sleeping in the room next to her.” Both girls sigh as one. Still, Diamond Rose manages a smile and offers, “Maybe we should have given her a room on the end, that way we could have had a slumber party when she has Shining over.”

“I’m pretty sure we would need more than a single bedroom to stop us from hearing them. Or the shaking foundation.” The two pause long enough to listen and, sure enough, even with a few walls between them, the excited squeals and powerful grunts of the couple are plain as day. Not to mention the slight tremors beneath their bare feet. Lemony gives Diamond a weak smirk. “See what I mean?”

“Not to mention the stink of sex that permeates that end of the house.” The redhead nods and the two sigh together. “So, what are we supposed to do, exactly? I mean, it’s not as though we haven’t tried to take care of this in our own ways before. I know you’ve tried to correct them when they get particularly loud.”

“And you’ve left more post-its and notes on the fridge than I care to remember,” the minty-haired girl says, earning a small smile from her friend. “But it seems like whatever we try, nothing works. And, I’ll be honest, it’s really starting to wear on me.”

“Agreed,” Diamond bobs her head, “so what’s the next step?”

The two lapse into silence, sipping their tea and listening to the distant sounds of Cadence gasping for air as she orgasms, yet again. In the brief pause as the lovers recover, Diamond and Lemony’s eyes meet. “Direct confrontation?”

“Ooh, I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that. But, it seems like the next logical step.”

Lemony gives a long, slow nod. “Right. But if we don’t do anything now, we just might end up in a situation where we have to do the unthinkable…”

===

The next morning, Cadence sits on the plush couch with a roommate on either side. She stares down at the untouched tea in front of her, her plump lips pressed into as close to a thin line as they can manage. Behind those bright purple eyes, Diamond Rose and Lemony Gem can practically see the gears turning as she processes the conversation so far. And then, she speaks.

“So, wait,” Cadence begins, in a halting, breathy voice that would make any man stop in their tracks, “are you guys, are you, kicking me out?”

The girls are quick to shake their heads, Diamond Rose leaning over and placing a hand over top of Cadence’s own. “No! We would never dream of doing something like that to you Cadence.”

“At least not without talking to you about it first,” Lemony chimes in. When the other two girls turn to her, Cadence in confusion and Diamond in irritation, she shrugs her shoulders. “What? We are friends after all; why wouldn’t we try to talk things out before taking drastic action?”

Whatever comfort the bimbo may have found in Diamond’s words is quickly pushed aside as Cadence whirls back on her redheaded friend. “So you girls really are thinking of kicking me out?”

“No!” Diamond replies, before softly adding, “Unless, you know, things don’t change. Then we might have to talk about other steps we can take to resolve this issue.” As an unconvinced Cadence continues to stare at her, the redhead eventually sighs. “Steps which may include steps to help you find more accommodating living arrangements if nothing else can be worked out.”

Cadence turns away from her friend and stares back down at her tea. She remains quiet for a long minute before reaching down and taking a sip from the cup. Setting it back down, the busty babe takes a deep breath and nods. “Okay. I’ll work on being more a more considerate roomie.” The girls prepare to breathe a sigh of relief, but Cadence doesn’t stop there. “I’m not going to stop riding Shiny like a bull though.”

As the color drains from Diamond’s face, Lemony laughs and nods her head. “And I wouldn’t want you to, C. I love that the two of you are so passionate about each other; it’s really refreshing. All we want is you to remember that we’re here too.”

“Th-that’s right,” the redhead finally smiles again. “Just know that the decisions you make also have an impact on us, and the three of us should be able to live in relative harmony until graduation. And, maybe beyond, if you and Shining decide that you don’t want to move in right away. Knowing I have the two of you to rely on, emotionally and financially, has really made the past few years a lot easier to deal, even with a heavy course load.”

“For sure!” Lemony adds, making a circle with her thumb and forefinger. “Plus with all the guys you have hanging around you, I can flirt with whenever I like? Best college experience ever.”

Despite Diamond Rose’s rather stern look, Lemony laughs and is quickly joined by Cadence. After a moment, the redhead giggles and the three are left on the couch to enjoy one another’s company, at least for a little while. Even still, a line has been drawn in the sand, and Cadence, more than anyone, is acutely aware of what that means.

That night, she pulls Shining Armor aside, before they get to the business of bumping, and explains the situation. She cuts quite the figure, her tremendous bust held in place only by a silky top that stops just below her navel and two whisper thin sleeves, not enough to provide any comfort, but succeeding in giving her a shiny, soft look as she’s poised with her feet under her rump in the middle of the bed.

“So that’s the long and short of it,” the bimbo with tri-colored hair pouts. “You and I need to be a little more conscientious of my friends going forward; otherwise we’re not going to be able to be roomies anymore.”

“Mhmm,” Shining grunts as he slides the sheer fabric of Cadence’s nightie down her shoulder, pressing his lips to her flesh. She gasps, a delighted giggle ringing out as his tongue and teeth lavish her bare skin. “Be conscious, got it.”

“Shiny,” she moans, trying to keep her toes from curling up into her soles. “This is serious. I’m serious. Lemony and Diamond are my friends and I like living with them. Can you at least pretend to listen and help me?”

Through a superhuman feat of denial, Shining Armor sits back his well-muscled rump back on the bed and dons a serious frown. “Okay, Cadence. So your friends are a little put off because we’re louder than usual sometimes?”

“Well, Lemony said it was more like all the time. And every night, too.” Cadence considers this for a moment, then giggles at the pleasant memories the statement brings up. Toying with one of her tremendously long locks, the bimbo considers her hair for a few seconds, and then looks up at her boyfriend. “So, I was hoping that maybe you had some ideas on how I could help my friends, aside from, y’know, not being loud all the time? Because I really like our big lovemaking sessions and they make my tummy and coochie all squirmy.”

Crossing his arms over his bare chest, Shining closes his eyes in thought and runs through a few different ideas. Finally, he gives a frustrated sigh and cracks open an eyelid. “Well, the first one that comes to mind is we should try not to have sex here as often. We could try having sex in my bedroom more. That way they wouldn’t have anything to complain about in the first place.”

Cadence’s thoughtful pout quickly turns into a grimace. “Um, maybe, but I’d really prefer if we didn’t have to go over to your house every time we want to get busy.”

“What?” Shining gives a half-wounded look, but laughs all the same, “I thought you said you loved my family? Besides, my bed is built for those long lovemaking sessions you were just begging to keep.”

“Oh gosh, I do like your family! Believe me, I do. But,” the busty babe lets the word hang in the air for a moment, as though wondering if she should continue or not, “but I don’t really like hanging around Momma Velvet for any longer than necessary, y’know?”

At the mention of that name, Shining Armor visibly straightens. “What’s wrong with being around my mother? Did you two have a falling out?”

“Omigosh,” Cadence groans, bringing a hand to her face. “This was such a bad idea, I’m already regretting it. No Sweet’ums; Momma Velvet and I are still getting along just fine. I mean, over the weekend she took me shopping and helped me pick out this nightie, because she said it would drive you wild.”

Shining chuckles, instinctively reaching for his girlfriend again. “That’s my mother; she always knows exactly what her boy wants.”

“Yeah, exactly,” the babe pouts, placing manicured finger in the middle of his bare chest. “I’ve already said that I’m kind of okay with you being a little bit wild with your dick, at least for the time being. But that doesn’t mean I like being around when you’re checking Momma Velvet out when she’s strutting her stuff, like, all the time. It makes me feel, I don’t know, small.”

Cadence sighs, bringing an arm up under her bust as she clings to her elbow. The effect, intended or not, is immediate: her knockout knockers jerk into a tighter, higher position than they already are. Shining gulps down the wetness in his mouth, and the laugh that was coming up as well, and instead slides closer to his girlfriend. She tightens as his fingers roll across her shoulders, but eventually a sigh escapes her lips and she leans more fully into the touch.

“You’re so self-conscious sometimes,” he says as he returns to kissing her neck. “It must be from growing up around your cousins.”

“M-maybe?” the bimbo says with a breathy, uncertain giggle. “I just want to be the girl you can’t wait to come home and snuggle up with and take to bed every single night.”

Shining Armor continues to pepper her with small, teasing kisses, accompanied by the occasional nibble as he slides her nightie off one shoulder. Cadence whimpers as the silky fabric tugs sharply on an already taut nipple before the hard nub frees itself. Almost immediately, Shining has his lips on the once offending obstruction, suckling in such an unnecessary and noisy way that Cadence can’t help but laugh and give his shoulder a slap. Satisfied, Shining lifts his head and bumps the tip of his nose against Cadence’s own.

“I’ll always love my mother, Cady; that won’t change. But you being my number one girl, that not changing either.” The Eskimo kiss between the two is brief, but it’s enough to make the young woman smile again. “You’re the only one I want to spend the rest of my life with, and that’s a promise.”

A heavy pause lingers in the air, the low light of the bedroom brightened a dozen times over by Cadence’s steady smile. With a quick sniff and a delighted squeal, “Aw, I love you, Shiny!” she lunges at the young man and sends the two of them crashing to the floor. The floor shudders at the impact, but both of them are too impassioned to care.

Through wet, sloppy kisses, they create a symphony of needy human sounds. Strong and short, breathless and endless, sharp and soft; however their bodies ache to be heard, the pair is eager to oblige. Tingles run throughout their bodies, an electric sensation that seems to stretch on forever in every direction, and spread to everything it touches.

Quite literally spread, in fact. As Shining places a hand to the side of Cadence’s head, bracing himself against the floor, a rich red hue spills out from beneath his palm. The color stains the otherwise boring beige carpet, turning it a lush, Valentine’s worth shade of red, with a plush give that’s incomparable to the stiff coils around it. And as the oblivious pair roll, tussle, and otherwise romp, the color spreads until it covers the entire floor.

Not that there’s a whole lot to cover anyway, it is a three-bedroom townhouse and the space is cramped as-is. In the midst of the lover’s jostling, they manage to bump into the dresser, the closet door, nightstand, every piece of furniture in the room; it’s simply too cramped for two very large, beautiful people, even with the full-sized bed in the middle. But, somehow or another, Shining manages to heft Cadence back onto the mattress, and the two return to their nightly activities with a rigorous abandon.

The headboard shakes in time with their bodies, each dull thud echoing through the house. Somewhere along the line it’s accompanied by a series of sharp, rapid poundings that don’t follow any particular beat, but Cadence is too fully delightful dick to care. With a truly cock-struck expression of her face, she grins down at Shining. “Come on, Sweet’ums; fill me up good and proper.”

As if there were any other choice! The two lovers cries reach a crescendo, their fingers entwining together as the tip of Shining’s massive member outlines itself in Cadence’s otherwise taut belly. The two remain frozen for several seconds before time begins to move again and the breathless couple cradles one another in their arms.

After several minutes of silence, Cadence sighs and buries her face in Shining’s chest. “We got loud again,” she murmurs, “I’m going to get an earful tomorrow.”

“It is a difficult situation,” Shining replies, stroking his fingers up and down her spine. She shifts, squishing her breasts further against his side and tries that much harder to keep from having to face facts. “If it was just an every-so-often kind of thing, you could buy some earbuds or something for them to help block out the sound, but considering how often we go at it- hm?”

The young man glances down as Cadence’s fingers curl, dragging her nails gently over his chest. She lifts her head, smiling from ear to ear as she leans up and gives him a hungry peck on the lips. “That’s it! Omigosh, why didn’t I even think of that? You’re such a smarty sometimes, Sweet’ums!”

Navigating out of Shining Armor’s arms takes some doing, but soon the bimbo is bent over, pulling up her sorely too short skirt while trying to simultaneously stuff her tits into a tube top. Snapping back up with enough force to make her rear quiver, she looks back at her boyfriend and smiles. “Call your nerd friends and find out what electronic stores are open right now. We’ve got shopping to do!”

“You’re serious?” the still naked man sighs, watching as Cadence doesn’t even wait for his response but instead flings open the door and hurries out into the hall. With a weary sigh, he pulls on his discarded clothes and stumbles after her.

Hurrying by the kitchen, the boobed-out babe pauses long enough to stick her head inside and declare, “Shiny and I are going out for a bit! You can get some sleep, if you want!” before hurrying out the door, her boyfriend trudging along behind. As the sound of dragging feet fades into the distance and is replaced with squealing tires, Diamond Rose looks over Lemony Gem and raises an eyebrow.

“What do you think brought that on?”

“Don’t know, don’t care,” the bright-eyed girl grins, setting aside her cup. “All I heard was Shiny, I, out, and sleep. That’s good enough for me!”

As Lemony hurries out of the kitchen, the redhead looks down at her own tea and then puts it on the table as well. “You have a point. We may as well make the most of this time. We should have at least an hour or two, right?”

Apparently even Diamond’s conservative estimates were rather far off, because it isn’t until six-thirty the following morning that the two young women see their roomie nd her boyfriend again. Specifically seeing the boyfriend, as Shining Armor is sprawled out on the smaller couch in nothing but his underwear and a too-small t-shirt, utterly dead to the world. On the other hand, Cadence can hardly contain her anticipation, and as soon as Lemony steps out for her morning run, she’s very nearly tackled by her oversexed friend.

“You’re up! Oh gosh this is going to be so great; I’ve been waiting, like, forever!” Cadence squeals, hugging her friend tight to her chest and shaking the smaller girl about like a doll. Diamond peeks out from her own door and, after seeing the state of her friends, she walks out with a gentle, but strained smile.

“Watch out, Cadence, you’ll give poor Lemony a headache swinging her around like that,” she says with a small giggle. Shooting her more refined friend a glare, Lemony extracts herself from the bimbo’s bosom and cocks a hand on her hip.

“Yeah, good to see you too, C; but what’s up with being so grabby this early in the morning? Shouldn’t you be sleeping off whatever late-night shopping binge you were on?”

Cadence rolls her eyes and snorts in disbelief. “Uh, no; who gets tired after shopping? Besides, I couldn’t even dream of going to sleep until I apologized to the two of you for last night.” Toying with several thick strands of hair, she gives a gentle smile. “I mean, we had just talked about being a good roomie and stuff, and then Shiny and I went and got all crazy in pound-town like I wasn’t paying attention at all.”

“Yeah, I was wondering what you were thinking,” Lemony replies, crossing her arms under her modest chest. “Gotta be honest, you weren’t earning many points.”

Seeing that the blue-haired girl isn’t going to say anything nice without prompting, Diamond cuts in, “But we do appreciate you giving us at least a little time to ourselves. It isn’t a full night’s sleep, but it is progress, at least?”

“Yup, progress,’ Cadence replies, nodding her head. “And that’s what I’m here to talk with you two about, and why we had to rush out of here last night. I really, really, really want to do right by you girls, but it’s going to be super difficult to not scream while I cream.”

“Have you considered a gag?” Lemony asks, only half joking.

And, entirely serious, the bimbo replies, “Yeah, but what about kisses? You can’t have sex without kisses.” Lemony raises her eyebrows, and makes a small show of biting the tip of her tongue, which goes totally under Cadence’s attention. “Anyway, I’m still going to work on it, but I wanted to give you girls something to help you while Shiny and I are adjusting to a less, um, enthused erotic entanglement.”

Diamond Rose bites her lip as she begins glancing around the living space. “Give, as in a gift? Oh Cadence, you shouldn’t have felt you needed to buy us anything.”

“Yeah, Ol’ Skinflint over there is just going to try and hock it if it’s worth anything.”

“Only if it’s not practical. And Cadence has a better track record than you in that department,” Diamond says, choosing not to bring up the edible lingerie the bimbo had gifted on her last birthday. With that out of the way, the redhead turns her full attention to her boobed-out buddy. “So, what did you get us?”

Looking quite pleased with herself, Cadence prances over to the open couch and rummages around behind it. Diamond blushes and Lemony laughs and looks away as they see their friend’s skirt flip up, exposing her still moist cooch to the world. But that doesn’t stop Cadence at all, if she even notices in the first place, because she pulls out a bag with a flourish and places it on the coffee table.

“Open it and see!”

Lemony tries to give Diamond a sidelong look, but the redhead is already halfway to the bag, a manic grin on her lips. She plunges her hands into the opening and winces as her knuckle knocks something almost immediately. Rummaging about for a moment, she finally extracts the prize. As Diamond gapes, Lemony leans over, gets a good look at the box, and turns her attention back to Cadence.

“Oh. Cool. Noise canceling headphones. Just, uh, just what every girl needs?”

“Active, noise canceling headphones,” Diamond says as she reads over the box. “Wireless, but with a headphone jack option. Very high end.” Lifting her eyes from the script, she looks over at Lemony. “Basically it’s a week’s paycheck from teaching your classes at the gym, and then some.”

The blue-haired girl gags and coughs, shooting a worried glance over at the completely unfazed Cadence. “You blew how much on a pair of headphones?”

“Two pairs,” Diamond corrects her friend again, passing back the box as she finishes reading. Lemony juggles the airborne article as her friend pulls out a second, identical cube. Drumming her thumbs on the top of the box, the redhead looks up at Cadence. “You really went all in on this purchase, didn’t you?”

“Well of course!” Cadence gushes. “We went over this yesterday: you two are the best besties a girl could ask for. And if I’m the one causing you trouble, I want to do everything I can to fix it.”

Diamond Rose glances at the box, then rights herself and wraps her arms around Cadence. “Oh Cady, you should know by now that if you’re going to buy me nice things, of course I’m going to let you try and fix anything.”

“Material girl,” Lemony whispers as she walks by.

“Wing-girl,” Diamond snaps back, never losing her smile or her grip on Cadence.

“Whatever,” the bright-eyed girl says with a smile and shake of her head. “I guess the important thing is, are you sure, C? I mean, we can deal while you two are adjusting, as long as you’re putting in effort.”

That earns Lemony a glare from her more affectionate friend, but the bimbo shakes her head and continues smiling. “Of course I’m sure, Lemony. This isn’t just a gift for right now, it’s an apology too for, y’know.”

Weighing her options for the moment, Lemony bobs her head and shrugs. “Alright, fine. As long as you’re sure about this, I’m fine with it too.” Digging the headphones out of her box, the lithe girl gives a little snort as she turns them around in her hands. Pink metal earcups flash in the artificial light, held together by a pristine white band. “They do look pretty girly though; not that I’d expect anything less from you. Are they charged up?” Cadence gives an excited nod and Lemony grins. “Cool. I guess that means it’s time to test them out!”

“I was hoping you’d say that!” Cadence says with a toothy grin. “See, I thought that you two could try them in here and see if you can hear me getting off in the bedroom. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

Diamond and Lemony exchange looks and both of them force smiles.

“I, uh, was thinking that I could take them on my run this morning. The one that I’m about to go on. Right now.”

“Oh, and if Lemony’s going to be running, then I had better go ahead and take a shower,” Diamond holds the box close to her middle. “You know how she gets after she gets back!”

As Cadence’s shoulder’s sink, Lemony tries to salvage the situation. “Let’s just call it a test run; that way I can come back and let you know how well they worked. Sound good?”

“M’kay, I guess,” the bimbo pouts, giving her blue-haired friend a somewhat deflated look. “But you promise to let me know?”

“Cross my heart.” Lemony makes an x-shape over her chest and pulls out her mp3 player. “Let me just get everything synced up here…” she mutters a few curses as she gets the accessory situated, and then claps the cups over her ears. A quick button press later, and she’s grinning, flashing a thumbs-up at her friends. “Sounds good! See you in forty!”

And so she’s out the door, leaving Cadence waving goodbye, Diamond re-reading the contents of the box, and Shining still sprawled out on the couch.

===

As her feet pound against the pavement, Lemony syncs up a generic light-rock song with enough of a beat to measure her strides by as she begins her morning ritual. She’s a small, slender young woman, who is still quite satisfied that she managed to grow out of the petite range. Still, she’s more than happy to reside in a comfortable, compact body, which manages to avoid most of the surprised stares that result from being genuinely short while reaping the benefits of appearing relatively harmless to prospective boys. If only they knew the true nature of the tight girl they were approaching, they might think differently.

But that was a truly great thing about having an absolute babe of a roomie, who’s more or less entirely devoted to her man; when the three girls do get a chance to go out, Cadence is the center of attention, and turns down boys left and right. Of course this makes them prime pickings for the girls waiting in the wings. A few well-placed, comforting words to build them back up, and they’re like putty in her hands, begging for attention and the chance to orbit even a little closer to the slutty seductress who turned them down.

Are they using Lemony? Naturally, but she’s using them as well. Perhaps not financially, or even sexually all that often, but the minty-haired young woman is searching for something, and she will use any means to get it. That means keeping her body in comparable shape, at least as close to comparable as you can get when considering Cadence’s curves.

The song wraps up, but rather than proceeding directly to the next, there are several seconds of dead air. A slight, droning buzz echoes from the headphones, as though there were an issue with queuing up the next track. It only lasts for a little while, just long enough to register and slightly irritate Lemony, but certainly not giving her time to do anything about it before starting to play a peppy, just off the radio hit.

As she continues her run, she gradually feels everything else drop away. Cadence and Shining Armor’s almost nightly affections, school, work; it all blends into the steady rhythm of her feet hitting the asphalt and the music. And the gentle, persistent ringing that becomes ever more obvious in between the songs, to the point where Lemony eventually takes off the headphones and glares at them.

Unfortunately, the ringing doesn’t stop as she expected, lingering for quite a while longer. The light haired girl slows to a stop, trying to shake loose the sound and, after a dozen seconds or so, it finally does recede, leaving her staring down at the headphones. “I’ve got to have a talk with Cadence about these; they’re obviously defective,” she mutters after a moment, even still slipping the cups back over her ears. Just in time too, as another song starts to play.

The introduction is quick, percussive, and toe-tappingly familiar. When the vocalist starts singing, Lemony laughs and shakes her head, recognizing the slightly rough voice of that blonde country-girl turned pop star she hadn’t actively listened to in ages. Lemony was pretty sure that she didn’t even have any albums from her going back over the last five years. But still, something about the song felt good. Right.

And so she keeps running. The relatively short song seems to stretch into forever, encouraging her with every step not to be too concerned with the thoughts and desires of others, and instead focus on herself. Not that Lemony needs to be told twice. Rounding the corner towards the rental property, the sweaty girl slows her pace and begins stretching out as she walks towards the door. But as she passes by a neighboring house, someone familiar catches her eye: a tall, well-built, tow-headed young man about her age. After considering her options for a moment, she lifts her hand and calls out, “Well, if it isn’t Buck Withers!”

The blonde’s back visibly stiffens as she calls his name, earning a giggle from Lemony. She jogs up behind him, pulling down her headphones with one hand while giving the musclebound jock a firm slap on the back with the other. “Gosh, I haven’t seen you in years! What are you doing out here so early in the morning?”

Leaning against a muscle car that’s nearly old enough to have been driven by her father, the plucky runner grins and looks over the stammering young man. As if Buck’s reasoning couldn’t be clear enough from his slicked back hair, the flowers in his hand, and the nice, fitted shirt; he was here to run game. And Lemony has a pretty good idea on exactly who Buck has in mind.

Finally collecting himself, Buck squares his shoulders and gives Lemony a forced casual smile. “The company bigwigs decided to give me a break from jetsetting and making deals for a while. So I’m here to see Cadence. You know, just, dropping by to check up on her, make sure everything is going okay since we haven’t seen each other in a while.”

“Oh that’s so sweet of you!” the girl gushes, only half-kidding. “I never really pegged you as a sentimental type.”

“I’ve had a lot of time to think and grow since high school.”

Not so much in some regards, Lemony mentally notes with a smile as Buck’s awkward downward glance quickly turns into a hungry stare as he catches sight of her bare legs. While the light-haired girl certainly loves lavishing in male attention, there’s a time and a place; coming off a sweaty run is neither the time nor place to get checked out. But even still, some tingly part of her wants to encourage the young man further.

“Oh, I bet you have, B,” she finally says, leaning her backside against the hood of the car. Scooching back just enough to sit comfortably, Lemony makes a show of stretching her legs. She lets the fabric of her shorts ride up just high enough to reveal the paler skin underneath when she pulls first one knee to her chest, then the other, staring intently at Buck’s face while is gaze wanders. “You don’t get many chances with a girl like Cadence, so I can see why you might want to make right.”

She gives a small, girlish grunt of satisfaction as she stretches her legs and arms, exposing a sliver of bare belly that Buck is all too eager to drink in as well. “Uh, yeah, totally,” he says, at last shaking off the enticing vision of the girl on the hood of his car. “So, is she in?”

Lemony laughs and nods her head. “Mhmm, but I think you know that already.” Pointing to the pink car in the driveway, she smiles. “But I can tell you right now because of that,” she brings her hand around and jerks her thumb back towards the car parked on the sidewalk. “Shiny’s still here and the two of them were going all night long last night.”

Buck’s expression darkens a little at the mention of their high school classmates’ nocturnal activities. Still, he doesn’t start running his mouth right away, which Lemony finds almost endearing. “Yeah, well maybe I thought I’d come by to give him a piece of my mind too. I still haven’t forgotten what happened at the dance five years ago.”

“Yeah, I know; neither have any of us, B.” Lemony’s smile is genuine, but with a note of caution. “But before you pull a Don Quixote, let me assure you that this is no windmill. I mean, have you seen Shining since he graduated? He’s filled out something fierce.”

“It can’t be that much,” Buck replies, though without the bluster and bravado of years gone by.

“Oh, but it can. I don’t when it happened, but Shining Armor has become a masterpiece of male muscle, and believe me, I know muscle. Not to mention that he’s a genuinely sincere, good guy, his family’s loaded, and he’s sweeter than a slice of cake on your cheat day.” Placing her palms on the hood of the car, the runner leans back in the early morning sun and gives a wistful sigh. “I really wish I’d gone for him when he was still a lanky second year. If I had any idea that he was going to turn into such a stud muffin, I would have blocked Cadence so hard. But even still, I don’t think things would have played out differently.”

The momentary thought of even dating Shining Armor causes Lemony’s belly to flip upside down. Her thighs instinctively rub together, and as she clears out of her daydream, she focuses back in on the rather downtrodden looking Buck Withers, who’s staring again at her shapely legs. A devious idea flits through her mind, and the light haired girl rocks forward off the hood of the car. She saunters up to Buck and places a hand on his well defined chest, earning the man’s full attention.

“Hey, B,” she whispers in a low, barely there voice, “do you think-” in an instant, the young woman’s mind snaps back into place. What on earth was she about to ask? If she would have ever had a chance with Shining Armor? Why? To feed her own ego? To hurt Buck? A frustrated feeling tightens in her belly and she gives the blonde an affectionate pat. “Do you think you could wait out here a little longer? I’ll go inside and let Cadence know you’re here and you’d like to see her.”

Buck’s serious and dour expression softens into a gentle smile. “Yeah, please. I’d really like that, Lemony.”

The girl nods and turns towards the house. “It was good seeing you, Buck.”

“You too,” the former quarterback says with a nod. “And thanks.”

Laughing and shaking her head, the light-haired girl dons a teasing smirk. “Please AND thank you? Buck, you might begin to make me believe that you’ve actually grown up a little.”

Not waiting for a response, Lemony quickly hurries into the house. Shutting the door behind her, she leans against the sturdy surface and heaves a sigh of relief. The deep breaths she takes to calm her thudding hard are quickly interrupted however by a cheery voice cutting in, “Lemony! You’re back!” and then getting a facefirst view of Cadence’s colossal cleavage.

Wrestling free, the young woman laughs and nods in spite of her flushed face, adding, “Yeah, I am.” Walking into the house, Lemony tries to jokingly ignore Cadence hovering around her for at least a little while before giving her a big smile. “C, these headphones are a-mazing. I seriously can’t believe that you got them as gifts, especially after all that stuff yesterday. As friends, we probably could have handled things better.”

“Aw, I wanted to get them because we’re besties!” Cadence declares, putting particular emphasis on the conjunction. “But I’m super glad to hear that you like them. So, you will keep them, right?”

The shorter girl grins and offers up a teasing response, “As if anyone could say no to you.” And then, as an afterthought, she looks up at her friend. “Also, I’m not really sure how to say this, so I’ll just come straight out with it: Buck Withers is here.”

Cadence stares at her friend in confusion for a moment, but then offers a well practiced, very contained smile. “Oh, that’s nice.”

 “Yeah, I thought you might say something like that. Anyway, he wants to talk with you and I said I’d come in and say something. If you don’t want to, just let me know and I’ll go-”

“That’s okay, Lemony,” Cadence replies, turning towards the door, “I’ll speak with Buck, personally.”

The bright eyed girl can’t stop herself from asking, “Dressed like that?”

Looking down at herself, in the nearly sheer top and the same scandalously short schoolgirl skirt she wore earlier, Cadence considers her condition for a moment. “You’re right. If I’m going outside, I need to wear heels!” Giggling at her own brilliance, Cadence stops by the door long enough to slip into a pair of purple wedges and hurries outside, the too short flowing fabric picking up and revealing her ridiculous rump to the world.

Lemony sighs as the squeal of tires breaking reaches her ears, and can only imagine what’s going on outside at the moment. Cocking a hand on her hip, she shakes her head and turns towards the washroom. At least, she tries but something catches her attention.

In truth, it’s hard not to stare at Shining Armor, and that goes for everyone. He’s like the inverse of Cadence, all the girls want to eat him up, most guys want to be him, and some want to do both. So, over the years, it’s only natural that Lemony would get used to being around him. The way he looks, smells, feels when the four of them are bunched up together either in the elevator up to class, or packed on the dance floor. But even still, sometimes he catches her off guard. Like today.

Upstairs, he’s still completely out of it. Apparently midnight shopping doesn’t agree with him the way it does Cadence. But he’s still charming, with well-defined features, a steady, touch-worthy chest that rises and falls with every breath he takes, and four abs on full display that makes Lemony’s fingertips tingle with want. But there’s more, lower. Much lower.

Below his hips, snaking out of the leg of his underwear, is a delightful looking treasure. A shiver runs down the length of Lemony’s spine as she realizes that while Shining is asleep, at least part of him is reacting just as nature intended. Despite knowing that she should leave, Lemony takes a hesitant step closer to the couch, and watches in delight as the knob twitches and spills out a little more, revealing the full extent of the fat, purple head. Another step, another surge, leaving her belly tingling. Before she can consider taking things any further, a voice cuts in, “Are you going to cover that?”

“Yes! That’s exactly what I’m going to do!” Lemony responds in a far too loud voice as she grabs a pillow and throws it at Shining’s junk. The man grunts and then goes back into his stupor, smacking his lips and scratching himself. Letting out a shaky breath, the flushed young woman turns to her friend and hisses under her breath. “Diamond, what the hell was that?”

“Says the girl checking out her best friend’s man,” the redhead says with a slight smirk as she crosses her arms over her modest chest. “Or did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

“I’d hoped you wouldn’t,” the light-haired girl seethes, “but whatever, it’s not like I’m going to act on it, okay? And don’t tell me you haven’t considered it a time or two either, especially with how they’re always going at it.”

Lifting a hand, Diamond Rose waves off her friend. “Relax, I was only kidding. So, how were the headphones?”

“Well enough, I guess. They work.” Lemony shrugs her shoulders. “I think it’s a little much for a gift, but we’ll see how well they work tonight when they’re going to pound town.” Pausing for a moment, the sporty girl frowns. “There was one thing I noticed though; when I started out there was this strange kind of buzzing, ringing sound in my ears. And it never really went away. I can still kind of hear it. Think it could be the ‘phones?”

“It’s more likely tinnitus. Not really surprising, lots of people report hearing strange sounds when they’re under stress and school is stressful enough as is.” Offering a teasing smile, Diamond bobs her head. “Or it might be because you’re trying to snipe your friend’s boyfriend-”

Lemony rolls her eyes as Diamond laughs. “Oh my gawd, will you stop? Just get out of the way, I’m going to get in the shower.”

“Sure, I’ve got to get to class anyway,” Diamond says with a quick nod. “I’ll see you tonight?”

“Yeah, and get some of that nighttime good sleep whatever tea ready, just in case.”

With their goodbyes, as much as they are, said, the two girls part and head to their own duties. To her credit, Lemony Gem doesn’t chance a second glance back at the sleeping man on the couch as she walks into her room to deposit her soiled clothing. And even the second pass, towards the bathroom, doesn’t even warrant looking to the couch. Because Lemony already has her goal in mind.

As soon as that door shuts, she reminds herself, I’m going to finger myself silly. Use every bit of hot water in the house to send her to a string of orgasms worthy of the sight she’d soaked in. Collapse in the shower and air dry afterwards. It’s going to be great. That’s the plan. And as soon as she’s positioned under the showerhead and the water starts raining down around her, she realizes how wrong she was.

“Ah, shit!” she snarls, stepping back in shock as a barrage of icy drops cascade against her skin. Gritting her teeth, she can’t help but hiss in frustration. “Damnit Diamond, all of the water? Really?”

And that pretty much puts an end to Lemony’s ill-intentioned robust morning masturbation session in the shower. With a weary sigh, the light-haired girl dips back under the water, shivering and shuddering as the cool drops drag their way down her body, like ravenous, only slightly unwelcome touches. As she rests her forehead against the wall, she hears a distant voice.

“Oh, Sweet’ums, what on earth is that?” A muffled response follows, and then, “What’s that? You need someone to take care of that for you?”

“Oh no,” Lemony sighs, groaning further as the enthusiastic sounds of male pleasure reach her ears. It’s a monumental feat for her not to be irritated at the lewdly audible suck-sucking and groans of Shining Armor carrying through the walls. And even more so that she only fingers herself to a single orgasm in the cold shower while listening in.

===

It’s early evening and Diamond Rose is sitting in the library. Ever the studious scholar, she pours over the half a dozen books spread out in front of her, with several more stacked strategically along the edges of the small desk. The librarians have joked, on more than one occasion, about her book fortress, but behind the ramparts, the young woman is impenetrable. Unfortunately, books can only go so far around, and her flank is always exposed…

“So, you would not believe what the professor said to me when she saw the plans for my design today,” a girl with long, soft hair the color of faded cotton candy babbles from behind. “I was totally aiming for something classic and flowy and pink, but she said that feminine is out. Like, she literally told me that nobody likes girly-girls anymore.” A small collective gasp goes up from the collected gaggle. “Oh my gawd, I know!”

And today of all days, the Associate degree students had decided to have a ‘group study session’ in the library. Which all that really amounts to is a stitch and bitch, without the stitching. And the whole gambit is here too: fashion, cosmetology, sales; each and every one of them with something sour on their minds, and complaints on tips of their tongues. But the library is a public venue, and surely, surely, a librarian will be along soon to shoo the loudmouths out of the building and into a coffee shop where they belong.

Unfortunately, as the minutes pass, it becomes quickly apparent that there are no such things as good librarians. Or at least, no librarians that care to drive these cattle out to pasture. Sighing, Diamond takes out a pair of earbud headphones and puts them in, powering on her music player and trying to drown out the sound. But puny plastic provides poor protection against a gaggle of giggling girls.

“Like, for reals,” Cotton-Candy hair says again, with a scoffing, gagging cough, “literally everyone knows that pink never goes out style. EVER! And she’s supposed to be my teacher? Ew.”

Silencing the rather rude thoughts about how no one is requiring the girl to be here, Diamond reaches into her bag again and pulls out the still packaged headphones. She considers for a moment the depreciation that will occur simply by opening the packaging, but another round of obnoxious laughter finds the hot pink cups already in her hands. With no regrets, she slides them over her ears and finds blissful silence.

And not the silence of the library she’s used to, oh no. This is a much more pure silence, when the world itself seems still. Diamond takes a moment to look around and appreciate the quality of the product, noting that even as Cotton-Candy babbles, not a single sound slips through to distract her. With a happy sigh, she switches out the cables between her earbuds and the headphones, and lets the music tickle at her ears.

It’s a somewhat eclectic blend, with everything from classical strings and orchestras to mid-to-late-century synthesizers. Although preference seems to trend towards the latter as time goes on, and Diamond notices a slight ringing in her ears. She takes the cups off, frowning as the ringing persists for a few seconds more. Just as she’s about to switch over to the earbuds again, she hears a familiar girlish gag of disgust, and pops the headphones back on.

How long are they going to let this go on, she thinks? The ringing returns, though much more subdued now, and she finds that it quickly fades into the background as a familiar song picks up. It doesn’t fit her usual pick for a study-worthy music mix, and she’s uncertain why it would be there in the first place, but it certainly encourages her to focus back on the matter at hand.

The story of a girl who devotes every day to work and then milks every dollar that she can; hard living but honest, who doesn’t take any lip from anyone. Confident, self-assured, even with the weight of life pressing down on her, she works hard and deserves to be treated well, knowing everything will work out in the end. With a pair of hungry guitars plucking away in the background, it’s enough to drive Diamond’s nose back into the books and keep it there well after the song ends. It isn’t until a finger taps her on the shoulder that she snaps out of her study stupor. Leaning back in her seat, she pulls the headphones away and looks up in surprise at the face of the elderly head librarian.

“Uh, hi,” her still addled brain manages to push out. “What’s up?”

“We’re getting ready to close the library for the night,” the wrinkly woman informs her.

Wrinkling her brow in confusion, Diamond pulls out her phone and sees that it’s already nearly midnight, and two missed messages from Lemony. “Oh gosh, sorry,” she says with a smile, “I guess I didn’t hear the announcement.”

“I imagine not,” the woman says, looking down her nose at the redhead. While the blue eyed girl stumbles for the right words, she continues. “I hope you’ll gather your things and leave soon; we all have places we want to be tonight.”

“Yeah, sure,” she finally manages in a soft voice as the older woman marches off. Sighing, Diamond brings a few fingers to her temple and closes her eyes. “Way to go, girl.”

It’s after midnight by the time she finally makes it home. And, as one might have expected, the two lovebirds are already at it. With her bag over her shoulder, Diamond heads into the kitchen to find her minty-haired friend already waiting for her with a smile and a pair of headphones around her neck.

“Welcome back D, I was beginning to get worried.”

“Yeah, I guess I was just really involved in my research paper,” the redhead says with a tired smile as she heads straight for the fridge. “I even forgot to eat.”

“Jeez, that’s pretty bad. I don’t think I’ve ever been that focused.”

Diamond grunts, pulling out a yogurt and spoon. Digging into the cultured dairy, she decides that now is as good a time as any to talk with her friend about the headphones. “Well, I also tried out Cadence’s gift.”

“Yeah?” Lemony’s eyes light up as her hands go to the cups resting against her neck. “What did you think; they’re pretty great, right?”

“They are good, though I noticed a bit of ringing myself. But they’re also why I’m a little late getting back.” Pulling her own pair from her bag, Diamond waves them at the light-haired girl. “They’re a little too effective, I’ve found. I completely missed your messages, and the chime to leave the library.”

Lemony laughs and rolls her eyes as her friend chokes down more of the yogurt. “Doesn’t that just mean they do what they’re supposed to do: filter out sounds you don’t want to hear? So you stayed a little longer than expected, so what? Here, Cadence’s about to have an orgasm, so check out what they can do.” Pointing first towards the center bedroom, Lemony quickly pulls the headphones on.

Diamond sighs in irritation, but the minty-haired girl only offers her a cheeky grin, shrugs, and then taps the pink cups on her ears. As the squeals of delight ride ever higher, the redhead finds her teeth clenching and, still with a little reluctance, follows suit. As the pads settle around her ears, the world goes quiet, even Cadences toe-curling squeals cannot penetrate the cups of silence.

Mouthing the question, ‘Pretty cool, right?’ Lemony removes her headphones and motions for Diamond to do likewise. “Anyway, these things are amazing. Sure, there are some drawbacks, but I’m sure we can figure out a way to work around them. Like, I don’t know, setting alarms on our phones or something.”

“Maybe,” Diamond says, still seeming unconvinced.

“Well, it’s either we do that or get listen to Cadence and Shining go at it all the time and never sleep again.” Lemony offers a wry grin. “Besides, they said they’re going to work on being quieter, so once that happens, we can take the headphones off. It’s just a temporary thing.”

With a slow nod, Diamond acquiesces. “Sure, okay; just for a little while.”

“Sweet, now let’s have some of that bougie tea and get to bed.”

“My tea is not bougie.”

“D, I’ve got to be honest with you: I can’t even pronounce the kind of teas that you like to drink.” Giving her friend a mock serious look, she tries, and fails spectacularly, at hiding her grin. “It’s bougie.”

“There is nothing wrong with treating yourself to a delicacy. Now do you want my tea or not?”

“Please,” Lemony laughs as she and her friend linger around the breakfast bar and discuss their days. After finishing their drinks, the pair head into their respective bedrooms and settle in for the night.

As she’s pulling on her nightgown, Diamond gives a long look at the headphones. While they’re certainly nice to have, and quite excellent at what they do, she can’t help but feel there is something not quite right about them. Maybe it’s the pink color or the slight ringing in her ears that they cause, but there’s a sense of wrongness that she just can’t place. But as the wall across the room shudders under another brutal pounding that Cadence is receiving, the redhead finally sighs and pulls them on again.

It’s temporary, she assures herself while setting up the headphones to her phone. They will only need to be used until we’re all comfortable again, she thinks, setting up her alarm for the morning. Given enough time, Cadence and Shining will figure out how to not wake up the entire block with their lovemaking.

As the silence fills her ears, accompanied by the occasional distant, buzzing hum, Diamond rubs her thighs together and does her best to focus on the ceiling as her eyes drift closed. Everything is fine, she thinks, as though trying to convince herself rather than assure. In a little while, everything is going to be fine.