Black Lingerie Chronicles, Part Twenty-Five

Looking out the window as her mother drove her to the mall, Erin wondered what it would be like to meet Melanie in person. They had talked a few times on the phone and sent emails, but that wasn’t the same as looking someone in the eye for the first time. Still, she thought their shared experiences would give them something to talk about, at least.

In her purse, Erin had a little notebook with things she wanted to talk to Melanie about. There were so many questions she and her friends didn’t know the answer to, and Erin was sure Melanie had just as many. What they hoped to get from this meeting was a chance to compare notes and see if they could fill in some of those blanks for each other.

If nothing else, Erin had a hug coming and who didn’t enjoy an appreciative squeeze.

Erin glanced away from the window at Ashley sitting next to her in the backseat. She smiled, glad the girl was coming with her. It wasn’t that Erin would mind meeting Melanie by herself, but she was generally speaking happier when Ashley was around. That had been true even before she became her girlfriend and was especially true now.

She had to keep reminding herself not to take the girl’s hand. It might raise an eyebrow if her mother saw them holding hands in the backseat. If they were younger, they might get away with it, but, with both of them being thirteen by next week, it’d probably attract the wrong kind of attention from her mother. She and Ashley hoped to stay off their parents’ radars as long as possible.

Especially if we want to keep doing things like we did last night, Erin thought, the corners of her mouth turning up in a smile.

That smile slipped some as Erin wondered what would happen when their parents did notice that she and Ashley weren’t just friends anymore. She figured it was bound to happen eventually, that their luck couldn’t hold forever. That and the closer she and Ashley became, the more obvious Erin felt. Even before they started dating, she felt like she was different around the girl. After the intimacy they had shared, how could they be the same as before Erin met Natty and had her whole world turned on its ear.

In some ways, her parents had already noticed that difference, even if they missed the mark on the reason behind it. They just thought she was growing up, becoming a teenager. That was part of it, she guessed, but she wasn’t going to tell them the real reason. Let them think it was just the hormones flowing through her body that were causing the changes in her. They didn’t need to know about the kinky fun one beautiful dead girl named Natty had introduced her to.

Thinking about Natty, Erin wondered if Ashley’s party would end like hers had with a visit to the Place of Locked Doors. Smiling, she thought she might suggest it. The corners of her mouth turned up even more as she thought, let Natty wish her happy birthday, too.

The Craziness seemed to be moving away from the Place of Locked Doors, so the girl was going to be left out of the fun. It wasn’t just The Craziness, either. Erin- and soon, Ashley- would be technically older than Natty. Arguably, Natty was in her sixties, but she was stuck in a twelve-year-old body. Erin and the girls were growing up, but Natty never could. What happened as that age gap continued to grow?

Suddenly a little sad, Erin pulled her phone out of her pocket and called Natty. When the girl picked up the phone on the second ring, Erin said, “Hey.”

“Hey,” Natty said, sounding like she was smiling.

“What are you up to?” Erin asked, noticing Ashley looking at her. She mouthed, “Natty.”

“Just chilling,” Natty said.

Laughing, Erin said, “Just chilling, huh?”

“Another saying I picked up from you ladies,” Natty said.

That line made Erin smile. Natty has changed a bit since that first time Erin met her. Gone was the dated hairstyle and clothes, replaced with a look that would be right at home in this time. Even the way she talked has changed as she adopted some of today’s slang. Sometimes, Erin almost forgot that Natty wasn’t just another girl her age.

“How are you? It’s been a couple of days since we talked,” Erin said.

She could almost hear Natty frowning in the pause before she answered, “I’m okay. Are you?”

“I was just thinking about Ashley’s birthday,” Erin said, sighing.

“Okay,” Natty said, waiting for Erin to go on.

“It’s just… She’s going to be thirteen, and I already am… You…” Erin said, then ran out of words.

Still, Natty seemed to get the message. There was a hint of sadness in her voice as she said, “I know. You are growing up, and I can’t.”

“Yeah,” Erin said.

“And you are wondering what’ll happen you are twenty and I’m still twelve?”

“Yeah.”

“I’d like to think we’d still be friends,” Natty said.

Smiling, Erin said, “That’s not going to change.”

“Ah,” Natty said, laughing, “this is about sex, then.”

“Um, yeah,” Erin said, blushing.

“I’d probably still be interested, if you were,” Natty said, her tone playful, “I think you’ll be a beautiful woman when you grow up.”

“It’d be a little weird, don’t you think?” Erin asked.

“I think we crossed the line into weird a long time ago,” Natty said, amused.

Erin couldn’t really argue that point, so she said, “I guess we’ll have to see what’s what when the time comes.”

“Yeah,” Natty said, then, “until then…”

She thought she knew what Natty meant, and it made her smile, “Speaking of which… Do you have plans for next Saturday night?”

“Nothing that can’t wait. Why?” Natty asked.

“I thought we might stop by.”

“We?” Natty asked.

Erin glanced at Ashley, raised her eyebrows. The redhead smiled and nodded, so Erin said, “Me and Ashley, for sure. Maybe the others.”

“Oh, my,” Natty said, sounding like she was grinning.

“Yeah,” Erin agreed, laughing, “listen, we are pulling into the mall. I have to go.”

“Okay. I’ll see you Saturday,” Natty said.

“Love you. Bye,” Erin said.

“Love you, too. Bye.”

Ashley was smiling at her, and Erin said, “I thought she might want to wish you a happy birthday, too.”

“I know what you were thinking,” Ashley said, giving her a knowing look, “and I like the way you think.”

Laughing, Erin said, “Yeah, I thought you might.”

“Saturday is going to be crazy.”

“The craziest yet,” Erin agreed.

“Which is saying something,” Ashley said.

Erin’s mother pulled the car to the curb in front of the mall, and the girls hopped out. After the obligatory confirmation of their pick up time, they were free to go into the mall. Inside, they weaved their way through the crowd to the food court where they were supposed to meet Melanie.

They found her sitting with her Ipad propped up on a napkin holder. Erin blinked in surprise when she saw the girl. Gone was the hollowed eyed, limp hair teenager she had seen on the website. The crushing sadness that had hung above her in that video seemed to have been lifted from her shoulders.

Spotting Erin and Ashley, Melanie stood up and gave them a hug in turn. Melanie squeezed Erin so hard, her ribs protested, but she was smiling when the girl finally let go.

“God, I’ve wanted to do that for a month,” Melanie said, smiling warmly at Erin, “you have no idea.”

“You look good,” Erin said, meaning it.

A little embarrassed, Melanie said, “Thanks to you.”

“Me?”

“I was in a pretty dark place before your email,” Melanie said, sitting down, “I wasn’t sleeping, eating… Thinking about suicide a lot…”

“I…” Erin said, then ran out of words. She hadn’t realized just how depressed Melanie had been or the impact her email had had. Now, she understood why Melanie wanted to hug her so much.

“Your email saved me,” Melanie said, meeting Erin’s eyes, “I mean that.”

“I’m- I’m just glad I could help,” Erin said, swallowing hard.

“Oh, you did. Believe me, you did,” Melanie said, smiling at her tablet, “for both of us.”

“Turn me around, Babe,” a voice from the Ipad said.

“I want you to meet someone,” Melanie said, turning it around, “Becky, this is Erin. Erin, Becky.”

For the second time in her life, Erin found herself talking to a dead girl over Skype. Her experiences with Natty should have prepared her, but it was still a shock. Behind the girl, she caught a glimpse of Becky’s version of the Place of Locked Doors. The fact that it didn’t look any different than this time only made it seem that much more incredible. At least in Natty’s case, there was a time gap to lend the Place of Locked Doors a surreal feel. With Becky, it was like she was just looking into a girl’s bedroom.

“Hi, Erin,” Becky said, smiling warmly at her, “that hug was from both of us.”

“Um, it’s nice to meet you, Becky,” Erin said, then glanced at Ashley, “um, this is Ashley… my girlfriend.”

“Really?” Melanie asked.

“Yeah,” Erin said, then sheepishly, “it’s a recent thing. You are the first person other than our friends to know.”

“Fitting since you were the first person I told,” Melanie said, smiling at them. The girl looked at them a long moment, then said, “You know, even if you hadn’t told me, I would have wondered.”

“Are we that obvious?” Ashley asked.

“If you know what to look for,” Melanie said.

“Great,” Erin said, groaning.

“Keeping it a secret?” Becky asked.

“As long as we can,” Ashley said, then blushed when the girl laughed.

“We’ve been there,” Melanie said, sympathetically. Seeming to remember something, she pointed over her shoulder, said, “I ordered us a pizza. Is pepperoni okay?”

“Perfect,” Erin said, sitting down.

While they waited for their number to be called, they started discussing the differences and similarities in the Places of Locked Doors where they have visited and in the afterlife in general. Erin and Melanie had talked about some of these things over the phone and in emails, but it was surprising how many gaps they managed to fill in for each other. It was amazing the number of little details Erin had overlooked or took for granted.

The conversation continued even after the food was picked up from the window. Without a delicious pizza to distract her, Becky became the center of the conversation. Erin listened with interest as the dead girl talked about hers and Melanie’s experiences. Erin had to smile at the obvious affection between these two. She thought it was that bond that had allowed Melanie to flip over to the Place of Locked Doors.

It got her thinking about her connection to Natty or the lack thereof. Other than the fact they shared a bedroom, there was nothing to tie them together. Erin hadn’t known her in life or even knew Natty existed until she met her in the Place of Locked Doors. Erin thought part of it was Natty. The girl was so full of life even after death. Maybe she pulled Erin to her like a lodestone, her spirit drawing Erin in like a moth to a flame.

Frowning, she thought back to her search of the internet for information about the Place of Locked Doors. There hadn’t been a lot of results, which led her to believe not many people knew about the place. She was pretty sure if people were having out of body experiences in what had to be the afterlife, they’d be talking about it.

Finally, she had to ask, “Why do you think we can go to the Place of Locked Doors, but others can’t?”

“What do you mean?” Melanie asked.

“I found your website while doing a little research into the Place of Locked Doors. Not a lot of information popped up,” Erin said.

“Okay,” Melanie said, interested if not completely following Erin’s train of thought.

“Don’t you think if it were a common thing, people would be talking about it?” Erin said.

Her eyes widening, Melanie asked, “You think there is something… different about us?”

“I understand your connection to Becky,” Erin said, smiling at her, “it’s obvious you love each other very much… I didn’t know Natty before this, though. We shared a bedroom, but that’s our only connection.”

“Maybe you are a medium,” Ashley said, jokingly. Suddenly, she blinked in surprise and said, “Maybe you are. If you are sensitive to the afterlife, it’d explain why Natty got through to you.”

“What about you?” Erin asked her girlfriend.

“I only made it to the Place of Locked Doors because of you,” the redhead said, drumming her fingers on the table, “you are my connection to the place. Same goes for Mindy and Sarah.”

“Huh,” Erin said, thinking about it. Finally, she shrugged, “I guess it doesn’t matter. Whatever the reason, the connection was made.”

“Do you think we could talk to Natty?” Becky asked.

Laughing, Erin said, “You could be her friend on Facebook.”

“She has a Facebook page?” Melanie asked, her eyes wide.

“I never told you about that?” Erin said, realizing she hadn’t, “um, yeah. I made her a Facebook page.”

“And no one finds it weird that a dead girl is posting on her wall,” Becky said, then slapped her palm to her forehead, “never mind.”

“I guess it might freak some people out if you start updating your Facebook page,” Erin said, sheepishly.

“Might be worth it just to see their faces,” Becky said, laughing, “probably not a good idea, though.”

Erin pulled her phone out of her pocket and opened Face Time. She smiled as Natty accepted her invite, said, “Hey, Natty. There is a couple of people I’d like you to meet. Natty, this is Melanie… And the girl on the screen is Becky.”

“Oh,” Natty said, recognizing the names, “it’s nice to meet you.”

“Wow, that’s weird,” Becky said, leaning forward, “it really looks like it’s from the sixties. Your Place of Locked Doors.”

“And yours is from Erin’s time,” Natty said.

“Close enough, yeah,” Becky said.

Melanie snorted, said, “Who needs to be a medium when you have smartphones.”

That line made Erin laugh, and she said, “I don’t think the afterlife was meant to have Wifi.”

“But it does,” Melanie said, smiling at her, “because of you. Half the things you’ve figured out we could do… I wouldn’t even have thought to try them. Hell, I never even tried opening the doors until your email.”

A little embarrassed, Erin said, “Just got lucky.”

“Maybe, but thank you, anyway,” Melanie said.

“You’re welcome, I guess,” Erin said, making the girl laugh.

“You could probably set up a dummy Facebook account, Becky,” Ashley said, circling back to the original line of conversation, “post pictures of your Place of Locked Doors as you explore it… Maybe make some new friends in the process.”

“You think?” Becky asked.

“Works for me,” Natty said, then added, “you’ll have to send me a friend request if you decide to do it.”

“Definitely,” Becky said, then frowned, “won’t people recognize me?”

“There’s always a chance, I guess,” Erin said, then laughed, “like your stepsister, Ashley.”

“Loren figured out who Natty is from our pages, but I think she just got lucky,” Ashley said, then to Becky, “if you are worried about people recognizing you, change how you look… New hair cut, maybe some hair dye… Brand new you. Ask Natty. She blends right in now, but she used to look like a young pin-up model.”

“Huh,” Becky said, chewing on that.

Smiling at Melanie, Ashley said, “That goes for you, too.”

“Me?” Melanie asked.

“I was a brunette for a couple of hours,” Ashley said, winking at Natty on Erin’s phone.

“What? You changed your hair color? Just like that?” Melanie asked.

“Yeah,” Ashley said, then added when Melanie just shook her head, “there is probably a lot of things we could do in the Place of Locked Doors if you just knew how. Hell, we could probably fly.”

“I think I’ll stick with driving,” Erin said, then to Becky, “Ashley’s right, though. You’d probably have to use some hair dye, but Melanie could change her hair by just thinking about it. I gave myself a tattoo that way. I’m not sure if I was more relieved or disappointed that I didn’t wake up with it.”

“You would have ended up grounded,” Ashley said, then seemed to think of something, “have you had anything bleed over from the Place of Locked Doors?”

“Um, yeah,” Melanie said, looking around. Finally, she scooted back from the table and lifted her shirt up to reveal a still healing belly button ring. Smiling, she said, “Becky and I gave each other matching belly button rings over there, and I woke up with mine here. I know I should take it out before I get in trouble, but I love it.”

“That’s cool, but… Do you have anything else?” Ashley asked.

“Why?” Melanie asked.

“I was just thinking about the first time I flipped over to the Place of Locked Doors while I was still awake,” Ashley said.

Erin looked at her wide-eyed, asked, “You mean… Do you think that is even possible?”

“I don’t know… Thought maybe we could try,” Ashley said.

“Mind filling me in here?” Melanie asked.

“Natty gave me a necklace for my birthday and, like your belly button ring, I woke up wearing it over here. We decided to see if we could visit Natty during the day and I used my necklace as a sort of-“

“Lodestone?” Melanie guessed, nodding, “I remember you telling me that in an email… And you think if you had something from Becky’s Place of Locked Doors, you might be able to go there?”

“Maybe,” Ashley said.

“I’m not supposed to take the belly ring out for another four months,” Melanie said, then laughed, “wouldn’t be very sanitary, anyway.”

“Right,” Erin said, making a face.

“You don’t have anything else?” Ashley asked.

“Um, not here,” Melanie said.

Erin gave her girlfriend’s shoulder a squeeze when they fell.

“Melanie could come here,” Natty said, drawing everyone’s attention, “the twins to the necklaces you and Erin are wearing are still here.”

“Hey, yeah,” Ashley said, perking back up.

“You want me to do it?” Melanie said, nervously.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to,” Erin said.

“Yeah, there’s no pressure,” Ashley said, then started grinning, “but how cool would it be if it worked.”

“It would be pretty cool,” Melanie admitted. She took a deep breath, then said, “Let me see one of your necklaces.”

“Wait, not here,” Erin said, looking around the half-full food court.

“Why not?”

“Have you ever seen someone flip over?” Erin asked.

“Well, no,” Melanie said, frowning, “why?”

“It’s kind of weird to watch… Might freak some of our fellow diners out a bit,” Erin said.

“Where then?” Melanie asked.

“Um, the restroom?” Erin suggested.

“Ugh,” Melanie said, making a face, “I don’t know if I could focus enough to flip over in there.”

Laughing, Erin said, “Fair enough.”

“There’s the park,” Ashley said.

“How far is it?” Melanie asked.

“Not far,” Erin said, then added, “an easy walk from here.”

“Mom is picking me up at seven,” Melanie said.

Checking her phone, Erin said, “We would be back by then.”

“The park it is, then,” Melanie said.

They gathered up their stuff and deposited the remnants of their meal in the trash on their way out of the food court. Weaving through the growing crowd, they made it outside. Compared to the stuffy mall, the evening air was chilly. Luckily, everyone was dressed for autumn, so it wasn’t uncomfortably so.

Burning through data, Natty and Becky were still with the girls as they walked to the park. They weren’t just tagging along, but active in the conversation. It made Erin think about all the cell service commercials about keeping people connected, especially the old Verizon one with the guy walking around testing their coverage. She smiled as she pictured him in the Place of Locked Doors, saying, “Can you hear me now? Good.”

When they made it to the park, they headed over to the gazebo. Even this time of year, it appeared to be something out of a fairy tale. Erin knew Sarah loved this place, and she could understand why. Something about it just spoke to a young girl’s heart, a sense of romance and fantasy about it that lent itself toward daydreams of love and adventure.

“Wow,” Melanie said, pausing to take in the vista.

“Kind of magical, isn’t it?” Erin said, smiling.

“Yeah,” she said, turning the tablet so Becky could see the gazebo.

“It’s beautiful,” Becky said.

Under the gazebo, Melanie stretched out on her back on one of the benches. Taking off her necklace, Erin handed it to the girl. She hasn’t had it long, but it felt wrong to have the pendant not nestled against her heart. Feeling incomplete, she’d be glad when the necklace was back around her neck.

“So, how does this work?” Melanie asked.

“Close your eyes,” Erin said, waiting for the girl to do that, “now picture the necklace in your mind. Not the one in your hand but the one on Natty’s coffee table. Really concentrate on it. When you have if fixed in your thoughts, just let yourself travel. Hopefully, you’ll end up in Natty’s Place of Locked Doors.”

“Got it,” Melanie said, taking a deep breath to relax.

Erin saw the girl’s brow furrow as she focused on the necklace. As she watched, the girl took another deep breath, then let it out in an impossibly long exhalation. Melanie had flipped over, but Erin didn’t know where to. There was a long moment that no one under the gazebo breathed, air growing stale in lung as they waited to see the results of their little experiment.

Then Melanie appeared on Erin’s phone screen, standing next to Natty. Erin let out her pent up breath in excited laughter. Melanie grinned at her, said, “I guess this works.”

“Let me see,” Becky said.

Ashley turned the tablet so Becky could see Melanie on the phone screen. Laughing, she said, “That’s so weird.”

“Tell me about it,” Melanie said, looking around, “I feel like I’m on a movie set.”

“Before you come back, you should take a look outside,” Ashley said, grinning, “you’ll really feel like you are in a movie.”

As the girl walked outside to look at the nineteen-sixties, Erin said to Natty, “It looks like you might have more visitors.”

“Looks like it,” Natty said, grinning.

“Um, me too?” Becky asked.

Turning to the tablet, Erin said, “If Melanie has something we can use as a lodestone, then yeah. We’d come to visit you.”

“Awesome,” Becky said, excitedly, “I could give you a hug, for real.”

“Babe, you have to see this,” Melanie said.

Erin smiled as Melanie turned Natty’s phone around to capture a slice of history. For all the times she has been to Natty’s Place of Locked Doors, it never got old the feeling that temporal displacement gave her. Experiencing it for the first time was almost magical, and Erin could see the wonder written all over Melanie’s and Becky’s face.

Melanie spent a couple of minutes in the Place of Locked Doors before returning to the real world. She walked out into the middle of the street, filming up and down the road. Finally, she went back to the porch and handed the phone back to Natty.

“I’m coming back,” Melanie said.

“Okay,” Erin said, looking at the girl stretched out on the bench.

While she had needed the necklace to find her way to Natty’s Place of Locked Doors, Melanie wouldn’t need it to return to her body. When she flipped over, Erin could always feel a connection to her body, a gentle tug in that direction. It made her think of a retractable spool of wire- one little tug, and she would go flying through the void, her essence rejoining her physical form.

Sure enough, Melanie took a deep breath that seemed in danger of bursting her lungs, and she was back. The girl opened her eyes, sitting up. She was grinning as she said, “That was so cool.”

Laughing, Erin said, “Yeah. Tripped me out the first time I saw it.”

They started walking back to the mall. When Erin glanced at Ashley, she saw the girl frowning. When the redhead looked up, she asked, “What are you thinking about?”

“Time didn’t stop,” Ashley said.

“What?” Melanie asked.

“When you flip over, time doesn’t pass over here, right?” Ashley asked.

“Right.”

“But time did pass while you were over there… about ten minutes worth,” Ashley said.

“Huh,” Erin said, realizing the girl was right.

This wasn’t the first time they had experienced this phenomenon, now that she thought about it. When Sarah had flipped over to the Place of Locked Doors to walk Mindy through some of the repairs around the cabin, had time passed normally for the girl? Erin blinked in surprise, realizing the girl would have been lying still as a stone on her bed for hours.

She frowned when she wondered why Sarah hadn’t mentioned this loss of time. Surely, Sarah would have noticed if she lost three or four hours. Right?

“Call Sarah,” Erin said.

“Why?”

“I want to ask her if she noticed time passing when she visited the Place of Locked Doors while she was grounded,” Erin said.

Her eyes widening, Ashley said, “You think it’ll be the same for her as it was for Melanie.”

“I don’t know,” Erin said, shrugging, “she never mentioned it.”

Ashley pulled her phone out of her back pocket, called Sarah. The girl picked up on the second ring, said, “Hey Ash. Are you back from meeting with Melanie?”

“No,” Ashley said, then added, “she’s right here. She visited Natty.”

“What? She put on the black lingerie?” Sarah asked.

Erin glanced at Melanie, saw her eyes wide. She had hoped the girl had missed the bit about the lingerie, but she hadn’t. Cringing, she waited for the inevitable question.

“The black lingerie?” Melanie asked.

Her face a little hot, she said, “Um, that’s a long story.”

“No. She used the lodestone trick,” Ashley said, then added, “she didn’t know about the lingerie. Way to go.”

“Oh,” Sarah said, laughing, “sorry.”

“Anyway,” Erin said, shaking her head, “we wanted to ask you about the times you flipped over to the Place of Locked Doors and Skyped with Mindy.”

“What about it?” Sarah asked.

“Did any time pass from when you flipped over and when you came back?” Erin asked.

“No. Time doesn’t pass in the Place of Locked Doors,” Sarah said, then seemed to pick up on the reason they were calling, “right?”

Erin quickly told Sarah about Melanie’s experiment and about the time that had passed. At the end, Sarah said, “Nothing like that happened to me.”

“Are you sure?” Ashley asked.

Sarah snorted and said, “I think I’d have noticed if I was suddenly missing like four hours.”

“Right,” the redhead said, sheepishly, “stupid question.”

“Are you with Mindy?” Erin asked.

“Yeah,” Sarah said.

“We’ll let you go, then. Bye,” Erin said.

“Bye.”

“That’s weird,” Melanie said, frowning.

“Maybe not,” Becky said. When everyone looked at her on the screen, she went on, “usually when you flip over, Babe, you are alone.”

“Well, yeah,” Melanie said.

“And time passes normally for you when you talk to me over Skype,” Becky said.

“Yeah,” Melanie said, frowning, “what are you getting at?”

“Maybe time only passes if you are observed in both places,” Becky said, then went on when they just blinked at her, “it’s like Erin’s time loop theory, only seeing you in two places at once causes a paradox. Time has to pass, otherwise, you would have gone back in time when you flipped back over. Does that make any sense?”

Erin snorted, laughed, “About as much sense as anything about the Place of Locked Doors. You could be right, though.”

“It would be pretty easy to test,” Ashley said.

Nodding, Erin said, “Maybe we’ll try it when we get back to my place.”

——————————————

“I thought we were going to try the experiment.”

“In a minute,” Erin said, kissing Ashley’s neck, again.

Laughing, the redhead said, “You say in a minute, but we both know what will happen if you don’t stop.”

“Would that be so bad?” Erin asked, playfully.

Ashley gave her a lingering kiss, then said, “After the experiment.”

“Then you shouldn’t have kissed me like that,” Erin husked.

Smiling at her, Ashley said, “I promise it’ll be worth the wait.”

Erin believed her, seeing the look in Ashley’s eye. Her heart beating faster, she nodded, said, “Okay.”

“I’ll flip over,” Ashley said, slipping out of Erin’s arms and closing her eyes.

“Skype me when you get there,” Erin said.

“See you in a second,” Ashley said.

Erin watched Ashley brow furrow as she concentrated, then came the creep exhalation that signaled Ashley’s essence leaving her body. Shaking her head, she thought, that never stops being weird.

A minute later, Erin’s phone chimed with an invitation to Skype from Natty. Accepting it, Erin expected to see just her girlfriend but saw Natty and Ashley smiling at her on the screen instead.

“Natty volunteered to keep me company while I kill some time,” Ashley said.

“I see that,” Erin said.

“I don’t know what she’s cooking, but it smells amazing.”

Right on cue, Erin’s stomach grumbled, and she said, “That reminds me- Mom said dinner would be ready in about fifteen minutes.”

“I know,” Ashley said, her emerald eyes flashing, “that’s the real reason I wanted to wait… The ONLY reason I wanted to wait.”

“What about the experiment?” Erin asked, playfully.

“Wanted to get it out of the way, so I could have my way with you after dinner,” Ashley said.

“Do you two want to be alone?” Natty asked.

Blushing, Erin said, “Sorry, Natty.”

“You could come here. Natty already offered us a plate of whatever she’s cooking,” Ashley said, inhaling deeply, “Babe, it smells so good.”

“What about the experiment?” Erin asked.

“It will take only a couple of minutes… Just long enough to prove time passed while I was over here,” Ashley said, glancing at the clock, “I’ll flip back over to you, check the clock, then we can be back here in time to eat.”

“What about what Mom’s making?” Erin asked.

“We’ll just have to stay long enough to get hungry again,” Ashley said, her eyes flashing again.

Laughing, Erin said, “Then get back here before Mom yells for dinner.”

“On my way,” Ashley said, handing the phone to Natty.

A moment later, Ashley suddenly inhaled deeply and opened her eyes. They both looked at the clock, saw two, maybe three minutes had passed.

“You remember what we talked about?” Ashley asked.

“What?” Erin asked, blinking at her.

“I’m making sure I didn’t go back in time,” Ashley said.

Kissing her, Erin said, “You didn’t go back in time. Let’s go see what Natty’s cooking.”

“Wait,” Ashley said, closing her eyes, again, “go to the bathroom.”

“Why?” Erin asked, frowning.

“I want to do the experiment again, but without you being able to see me,” Ashley said.

“I don’t know if we have time for this,” Erin said, feeling like her mother was already on the stairs.

“Won’t take but a couple of minutes,” Ashley said, taking a deep breath. Then she was gone again.

Shaking her head, Erin got off the bed and left the room. She didn’t go to the bathroom like Ashley said, but stood at the top of the stairs. When the notice popped up on her phone, she answered it.

“Where are you?” Ashley asked, frowning.

“Top of the stairs,” Erin said.

Laughing, Ashley said, “We have time, Babe.”

“Just count off two minutes and get back here,” Erin said.

“Alright, alright,” Ashley said.

Still looking down the stairs, Erin asked, “What do you expect to happen with this experiment?”

“I don’t know,” Ashley said, frowning, “Sarah said she didn’t lose any time when she Skyped with Mindy.”

“That’s weird, right?” Erin said, then snorted, “then again…”

“Yeah,” Ashley said, laughing, “we are talking about the Place of Locked Doors.”

“What do you think about Becky’s theory?” Erin asked.

Shrugging, Ashley said, “Sort of makes sense, but who knows.”

“Right,” Erin said, shaking her head and laughing, “who knows.”

“I’m giving it another minute, then I’m coming back,” Ashley said.

“Okay. I’ll see you when you get back,” Erin said, ending the Skype session. She was watching the clock on her phone, waiting for the minute to change. Proving that Einstein really was a genius, those sixty seconds took forever to tick off. Even when those numerals changed, she made herself wait at the top of the stairs.

The door to her room opened behind her, and Ashley waved her in excitedly. When Erin walked into her room, she saw what had the girl grinning. The numerals on her alarm clock read seven-oh-two, the time Ashley had flipped over the second go-round. Blinking dumbly, Erin just stared at it a moment, then thought to look at her phone. She gasped when she saw the time had changed on it, as well. Out in the hall, it had read five after seven, but now it read just three minutes past. It was the same, considering her alarm clock was a minute slow.

“What the hell?” she said, showing Ashley the time.

“I don’t know,” Ashley said, laughing.

“We went back in time,” Erin said, her head hurting even as she said it out loud.

“Yet, I still remember everything that happened,” Ashley said.

“Me, too,” Erin said, rubbing the back of her neck, “how does that make any sense?”

“I- I don’t know,” Ashley said, shaking her head.

Some of the shock of time traveling wore off, and Erin remembered their plans to visit the Place of Locked Doors. Straightening her spine, she said, “Let’s flip over to Natty’s. We can try to figure this out over there.”

“Right,” Ashley said, going to the bed.

Stretching out next to her, Erin tried to clear her mind so she could flip over. After what she had just witnessed, it took a lot more concentration than usual, her thoughts hard to clear from her mind. Finally, she felt herself traveling, then stumbling as she was suddenly in the Place of Locked Doors.

They headed downstairs, found Natty loading up soup bowls. The girl looked up and smiled as she heard them enter the kitchen.

The smile slipped a bit, and she raised her eyebrows, said, “You two look like you’ve seen a ghost… besides me, I mean.”

“My little experiment had some… unexpected results,” Ashley said.

“What happened?” Natty asked, handing her a bowl of food.

As succinctly as possible, Erin told her about the clocks rewinding back to when Ashley flipped over the second time. The three of them were sitting around the table with forks in hand by the time she wrapped up. Erin paused to breathe in the curious red soup Natty had given her. The crimson hue was a little unsettling, but it smelled delicious.

“What is this, Natty?” She finally had to ask.

“Borscht,” Natty said, smiling, “my mom used to make it when I was little. I found a recipe online.”

“It’s very… red,” Erin said.

“It has beets in it,” Natty said.

“Ah,” Erin said, nodding. She could handle beets. Trying a bite, she found it a hearty, comforting soup. Just what she needed to calm her nerves after the results of the experiment. After a few more bites, she was thinking a bit more objectively about what they had witnessed. Finally, she said, “Maybe the results of our experiment shouldn’t surprise us.”

“Really?” Ashley said, laughing, “I’m pretty surprised.”

“We kind of treat the Place of Locked Doors as a removed, weird place with a bunch of rules we don’t understand completely… What if… What if reality is layered. The Place of Locked Doors is a layer and the place we go when we sleep here another… the real world, a third. Just layers upon layers.”

“Alright, Shrek,” Ashley said, grinning. Doing her best Shrek impersonation, she said, “Reality is like onions. Onions have layers. Reality has layers.”

“I’ve seen that movie!” Natty said, laughing. Sobering up some, she said, “Erin’s probably right, though.”

“Maybe every layer has a set of rules,” Erin said, thinking out loud, “different rules for different layers.”

“Okay,” Ashley said, looking at her expectantly.

“Maybe us being here is messing with those rules,” Erin said.

“Alison already said as much,” Ashley said, then her eyes got wide, “which is causing Becky’s paradoxes.”

“Maybe,” Erin said, chewing on her lip, “maybe its like a computer program that encounters something it isn’t programmed for. Maybe it’s a glitch.”

“A glitch in reality?” Ashley said.

“Yes,” Erin said, hesitantly.

“I don’t think I like my reality being glitchy,” Ashley said, then added, “or a computer program… A little too Matrix-y for me.”

“I don’t mean reality is a computer program… I only used that to make a point,” Erin said.

“I know,” Ashley said, smiling at her, “you are saying reality is like… I don’t know, a pond, and we threw a rock into it.”

“We are causing ripples,” Erin said, nodding.

“Hopefully, reality is a pond and not a mud puddle,” Ashley said.

Laughing, Erin asked, “What?”

“You throw a rock in a pond, it causes some ripples but everything eventually calms down and returns to normal. Throw a rock in a mud puddle and waters splashes out of it, and it’s not the same anymore,” Ashley said.

Blinking in surprise, Erin said, “That’s pretty deep.”

Ashley grinned, said, “I’m not just a pretty face.”

“Not just,” Erin said, smiling at her. She didn’t just love the girl for her looks.

“So… Does what we learned change anything?” Ashley asked.

“I don’t think so,” Erin said, thinking about it, “I don’t see any reason why one of us would flip over here while the other is in the same room. That’s the only way we lose time.”

“Right,” Ashley said.

“Nothing else has really changed,” Erin said.

“So… We are still going to kill some time before we go back?” Ashley asked.

Smiling at her, Erin said, “Yeah.”

“What’s your plans for this evening?” Erin asked, turning to Natty.

“My friend Caroline and her girlfriend Riley are going to Face Time with me later,” Natty said.

“You still talk to Caroline?” Ashley asked.

“Just talk,” Natty said, smiling.

“Ah,” Natty said, laughing, “no more funny business.”

“No,” Natty said, then added, “probably not, anyway.”

“Probably not?” Erin parroted.

“Caroline said she wanted to talk to me about something… Something at involved her girlfriend,” Natty said.

“Oh?” Erin asked.

“I don’t know,” Natty said.

“We’ll leave you alone, then,” Ashley said.

“You are welcome to borrow a room here, if you want,” Natty said.

“I don’t know… I kind of want to go somewhere,” Ashley said.

“Where?” Erin asked.

“I don’t know,” Ashley said, sheepishly.

“You mean like the beach?” Natty asked.

“Nowhere that far… but like that. Somewhere… new,” Ashley said.

“You know,” Natty said, suddenly grinning, “there’s Forest Overlook… Or, Make Out Point as it was more often called.”

“Make Out Point?” Erin asked, frowning. Then it dawned on her why it was called that, and she laughed, “Never mind.”

“Where is it at?” Ashley asked.

“Just outside town,” Natty said, then added, “past the railroad tracks.”

“I think I know what you are talking about,” Erin said, frowning, “but it’s all overgrown. Abandoned.”

“In your time, sure. It’s still open for business now,” Natty said.

“Right,” Erin said, then frowned, “how would you know that?”

“Alison and I might have gone there once,” Natty said, with a sad smile.

“How? Could either of you drive?” Erin asked.

“Not legally,” Natty said, laughing, “Alison could hotwire a car, though.”

“She stole it?” Ashley asked, her eyes wide.

“Borrowed it. We put it back when we were done,” Natty said, grinning.

“Wow,” Erin said, laughing.

“Do you think you can find this place?” Ashley asked.

“I think so, yeah,” Erin said, meeting her eyes, “do you want to go?”

“Yeah,” Ashley said, smiling at her.

“You’ll need to take some blankets with you… unless you want to do it in the backseat,” Natty said.

“We’ll take the blankets in case we need them,” Erin said, thinking they might try the backseat first.

——————————————————

“Here?”

“Yeah,” Erin said, pointing. She had let Ashley drive so she could look for the entrance to Forest Overlook. In the dark, it wasn’t easy to find, especially since she only roughly knew where she had seen the sign. In their time, the wooden sign was faded by the weather and the passing of time, but it was still vibrant here and now.

Ashley piloted the car up the lazily spiraling road to the overlook proper. Sodium vapor lamps only illuminated the middle of the parking area, leaving pools of gloom on the edges. Erin thought those parking spots were probably coveted by high school kids coming up here to make out. With no one else around, Ashley parked under one of the lights, turned off the car.

They got out and walked over to the log safety rail, looking back toward their hometown. With their arms around each other, they just took in the view for a minute. At this elevation, they could easily see the lights. It didn’t look like a ghost town from here. Erin felt like there should be people in those houses and businesses. Then again, that was true of all of the Place of Locked Doors. The potential for life was all around them, the buildings waiting to be lived in and visited. The Place of Locked Doors was like an empty glass ready to be filled again.

“Kind of makes you forget where you are,” Ashley said.

Erin glanced at her and nodded. She thought Ashley’s thoughts were in the same place hers were. Looking back toward town, she said, “Doesn’t look like a ghost town from here.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Ashley agreed, rubbing her arms, “it’s getting cold, though.”

“Yeah,” Erin agreed, inclining her head toward the car, “let’s get out of the cold.”

They walked back to the car. Ashley slipped out of Erin’s arms and opened the driver’s side door. Getting in, she turned the car over, then cranked up the heater. Getting out, she closed her door, then opened the door to the back seat. She was grinning as she waved Erin in, said, “After you.”

Laughing, Erin crawled into the car, turning to watch as Ashley followed her. She gave the girl a kiss, then smiled as she said, “I figured I’d at least be in high school before I made out in the backseat of a car.”

“There are a lot of things I thought I’d be in high school before I did,” Ashley said, shaking her head, “and the list is getting longer every day.”

“True,” Erin said, kissing her, again, “we just got a running start.”

“Babe, most of the girls at school aren’t even at the starting line, yet, and we are three or four laps in,” Ashley said, then laughed, “Not complaining, though. Just saying.”

“They’ll figure out they are missing, eventually,” Erin said, pulling the girl onto her lap.

“Mm,” Ashley said, kissing her, “they’ll be kicking themselves.”

“Yeah,” Erin said, her hands slipping under Ashley’s shirt to touch bare skin.

The girl gasped, said, “Your hands are cold!”

Laughing, Erin said, “Sorry, Babe.”

It didn’t take long for Ashley warm belly to heat up Erin’s hands, and the girl didn’t seem to mind when they slid up to cup her breasts. Ashley moaned into Erin’s kiss, her back arching and pressing her breasts against Erin’s hands. Even through the bra she wore, Erin could feel Ashley’s nipples stiffen in response to her touch, and she teased those nubs until the girl’s breathing got funny. Smiling, she pushed the t-shirt up over her breasts, leaned in, and kissed the creamy slope of one of them. Pushing the cup down, she trapped the straining nipple between her lips, making Ashley’s breath catch in her throat mid moan.

Ashley finished what Erin had started, removing her shirt completely. Erin reached around, unfastened the hooks on Ashley’s bra. It ended up on the seat next to them with the shirt. As the girl leaned back against the rear of the front seat, Erin returned her attention to the girl’s pale breasts. With her hand and mouth, she worked the girl into such a state that she almost missed Erin’s other hand popping the button on her jeans. Her eyes were shining with interest as Erin ran the zipper down on the jeans she wore.

With the girl in her lap, her hand was at a weird angle, but she could still use her thumb to tease the girl’s bud through the thin panties she wore. It must be doing the trick because Ashley’s body started moving with a mind of its own, and the girl’s little sounds of excitement filled the cabin of the car.

At Erin’s urging, Ashley slipped off her lap and stretched out on the seat beside her. Turning on the seat, Erin hooked her fingers in the waist of Ashley’s jeans, wriggling them off her hips. In the confines of the backseat, it was a bit of struggle, but she managed to get the girl out of her pants, then her panties. Ashley had one leg up on the back of the seat and one foot on the floorboards, her back to the door. Erin.

Smiling, Erin kissed the leg that was up on the seat just above Ashley’s ankle. She took her time, leaving a trail of moist lip prints up the inside of the girl’s leg. Listening to the change in Ashley’s breathing, Erin knew she had the girl ready by the time she ran out of thigh. She tasted the salt on the girl’s bud, the flick of her tongue forcing a little cry from the girl.

Breathing in the musky scent of the girl’s excitement, Erin thought, we are going to need to roll down the window to air the car out after this.

When she eased her fingers into Ashley’s girlhood, she was slick and ready for them. As Erin’s fingertips found that sponge spot deep inside of Ashley, the girl’s cries got that much louder in the confines of the car. Erin saw the girl’s fingers digging into the seat cushion even as her body pushed against Erin’s mouth and fingers. Erin smiled, knowing it had to feel good if Ashley’s body didn’t know if it wanted to run away or beg for more.

The backseat of this old car was pretty spacious, but Erin thought it was lucky they were petite. Two full-grown adults might have had trouble with fooling around like this. Even with their smaller frames, Ashley’s back was pressed against her door and Erin ass against hers. Still, they were managing.

Listening to Ashley’s wordless cries of encouragement, Erin thought, I’d say we are doing just fine… Ashley definitely is.

With her fingers and mouth, Erin continued her relentless assault on Ashley’s nerve endings. Having been on the receiving end of such an assault before, Erin knew the girl’s body had to be ready to pop. When this had been done to her, the pleasure just built up and built up inside until she had to come or go crazy.

She heard a new urgency in Ashley cries as her body reached that point. Erin didn’t let up until the girl’s hips jerked as she came. Easing her fingers out of Ashley’s still fluttering girlhood, Erin used them to massage her bud, keeping the lovely sensation washing through her girlfriend’s body.

In the indirect light from the sodium vapor lamp they were parked under, Erin could make out the dazed smile on Ashley’s face. With a smile of her own, she asked, “Good?”

“Yes, you are,” Ashley said.

Laughing, Erin said, “I’m glad you think so… Means you’ll let me keep doing it.”

“No worries there,” Ashley said, kissing her deeply.

Her hands found the hem of Erin’s shirt, pulling it up. Still on her knees between Ashley’s legs, Erin put her arms out so Ashley could remove the shirt completely. Leaning forward so Ashley could reach the hooks on her bra, Erin kissed the girl’s neck.

“Lie back,” Ashley said.

Erin did as the girl said. She watched as Ashley popped the button on her jeans and ran down the zipper. Lifting her backside off the bench seat, she let the girl work the pants off her hips then down her legs. Erin’s panties joined the jeans on the back of the seat, and she was as naked as her girlfriend. She shivered as Ashley ran her hands up the inside of her thighs, but not because the girl’s hands were cold. With the heater blowing at full blast, it was getting stuffy in the car. It was Ashley’s touch that made her shiver with excitement.

In no rush to get to the main event, Ashley used her mouth and hands to tease Erin into a horny mess. Her caresses and her kisses on Erin’s skin built her desire to a fever pitch, had her almost begging for the girl to move onto the one spot she had been avoiding. When Ashley’s lips finally found Erin’s bud, a moan exploded from her. The redhead smiled because she knew she had Erin in trouble. The flick of her tongue only proved that point, another little cry escaping Erin.

Luckily, the torture seemed to be over, and Ashley was ready to let Erin have what she wanted. First with her mouth, then with her fingers as they eased into Erin, the girl returned the favor for what Erin had done to her. As her body pushed against Ashley’s mouth eagerly, Erin thought, No wonder Ashley came so hard when I did this to her.

The flick of Ashley’s tongue and the insistent pressure of her fingertips on Erin’s g-spot overloaded Erin’s nerve endings. The pleasure washing through her young body had her back arching and her fingers digging into the headrest of the passenger seat. Like Ashley’s, her cries were loud in the cabin of the car, but she couldn’t help it. What was happening to her just felt too damn good.

Ashley didn’t relent, kept pushing Erin toward greater heights of ecstasy. Erin was helpless but to go along for the ride, the tension building up inside of her as she rose to meet her orgasm. Closing her eyes, she surrendered to the intense pleasure, crying out as Ashley sent her headlong into that climax. Ashley didn’t let her come crashing back down, used her mouth to keep Erin floating like a feather on a breeze as she returned to her senses.

When Erin opened her eyes, she saw the girl grinning at her. Ashley asked, “Good?”

Sighing happily, Erin said, “You can do that anytime you want.”

Ashley laughed and leaned in to kiss her.

————————————————

Stretched out on the hood of the car with their backs to the windshield, Erin and Ashley watched the sunrise. Not bothering to get dressed after their second round of lovemaking, they were naked under the blankets, enjoying the warmth put off by the running engine. They were holding hands, their bodies close as they watched the new day peak over the horizon.

“It’s beautiful,” Ashley said, a bit of awe creeping into her voice.

“Yeah,” Erin agreed.

“Thanks for staying for this,” Ashley said, smiling at her.

“I wanted to see it, too,” Erin said, kissing her.

“I guess that’s the benefit of dating your best friend,” Ashley said.

“We like most of the same things,” Erin said, affectionately, “even if I can’t get into horror movies.”

“You’ll come around,” Ashley said, kissing her, “but I’ll still love you, even if don’t.”

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