“Wow, we really lucked out with this place,” said Vivian Hannity. She was talking about the apartment they had just rented on Sedgwick Avenue.

Her new roommate, Miranda Grossman – or just Mandy – replied, “I’ll say, I especially like this view looking out at the reservoir. How about we celebrate by smoking a doobie?”

“It’s a bit early in the day for that, isn’t it?”

“Naw, you’re just fooled because of the time of the year and how light it still is out there. If it was February you wouldn’t have a second thought about it.” It was indeed mid-July, and the daylight lingered until after 8:00 PM.

Mandy didn’t wait for a response. She got up to go to her bedroom to get the smoking materials. That Vivian is always a bit on the cautious side, she thought.

When she came back to the living room she said, “Go easy on this stuff, it’s pretty potent.” The two of them sat side-by-side on the sofa so they could reach the ashtray on the coffee table. At that moment The Traffic song “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” was playing on their stereo system.

Vivian asked, “Do you think drugs were involved in the making of this song?”

Mandy laughed, “In 1971? I’d say that they were involved in the making of the whole album.”

“I mean, what is this song even about?”

“Ask Steve Winwood, although he probably doesn’t remember.”

Vivian knew she was taking them out of context, but the part about 'living beyond one's means' reminded her of her roommate. It was really a rather straightforward issue of paying the rent on the apartment.

Both young women had just graduated from Lehman College, part of the city university system, as members of the class of 1977. However, only Vivian was paying her share of the rent entirely from her own efforts. During the final semester, she had put some real effort into finding a job and had landed a full-time position at a publishing company in Manhattan.

Mandy, on the other hand, had mostly goofed off during the last year and she now mostly did some temp job gigs, if she bothered at all. Somehow she had talked her parents into helping her pay her expenses.

I guess we just have different temperaments, Vivian thought. Yet she noted that her friend still had money to spend on pot and even, once, cocaine, which wasn’t cheap. She didn’t quite resent her friend, but she felt there was something not quite right about the situation. I wouldn’t dare ask my parents for rent money. To top it off, they had a two-bedroom apartment which allowed Mandy to have her own room.

She’s lucky she’s not sleeping on a cot in some living room.

Mandy, meanwhile, was calmly gazing out at the Jerome Park Reservoir to the east as the sun went down behind their building. She said, “Maybe we’ve had just enough pot for the moment,” and she giggled. “I mean, I can still talk and hold a conversation!” Then she ventured an architectural opinion, “Those buildings over there, Tracey Towers; they sure are ugly.” Those were recently built tall twin gray apartment buildings.

“Our building is so much nicer than those two.”

“Yeah, if you like mock Tudor.” That was a popular style during the 1920s when their building had been constructed. “I guess they were trying to attract people from the Lower East Side who wanted to live like lords of the manor.”

Vivian had heard that opinion before when they had been hunting for apartments about a month earlier. Instead, she referred back to Tracey Towers. “I wonder what it is like to live thirty stories up.”

“I don’t know, our five here seems like more than enough.”

The drug in Mandy’s system was putting her into a contemplative mood. “It’s kind of funny, we can see Lehman from here too.” Their alma mater was also on the far side of the reservoir, about a mile to the southeast of where they were sitting. That inspired her to bring up a topic that had been on her mind in the ten days since they had moved in together.

Mandy said, “It’s notable how meager our romantic lives were during our senior year.” Actually, those had been nonexistent. Mandy had broken up with her last boyfriend the previous autumn; Vivian hadn’t had anybody since the summer of ’76.

“Well, as you approach graduation, people start thinking beyond school. Campus affairs don’t seem as important then.”

Mandy scoffed at her. “No, two hot chicks such as ourselves should be able to land somebody. Could I ask you a personal question?”

They had been friends – best friends actually – since they had met in their sophomore years. It seemed that they had always shared everything about each other. “Sure, of course, go ahead.”

Now Mandy asked about had been on her mind for several days. “Vivian, have you ever wanted to kiss a girl? In fact, have you ever done it?”

Vivian considered herself to be pretty bold, but before going to Lehman she had always attended Catholic schools. Even though she had lapsed in her religion, she had once said, when you’ve been raised as a Catholic, some of it always sticks with you. At that point, some of that old training came back to her, but she was stoned enough to answer truthfully. “Yes, I have done more than think about it; I’ve actually done it.”

Even when sober, which she wasn’t at this point, Mandy was usually quite blunt. “Have you ever considered more than kissing?”

Vivian knew what she meant, but she still said, “And what would that be?”

Mandy was prepared for that. “You know. To be explicit about it, have you ever masturbated thinking of another female? I’ll make it easier for you. I admit that I have, a number of times.”

Her friend had attended an all-girls Catholic High School, the Mount St. Ursula Academy, and Vivian remembered the intense crushes she had on some of her classmates. It went beyond mere emotions. Sometimes the girls would secretly show off to each their “dirty-girl” panties under their school uniforms. When seeing this, Vivian would want to put her hands and then her mouth inside the other girl’s underpants.

If they were caught by the nuns while wearing naughty knickers, they would be paddled or spanked, often on their bare behinds. When this happened to Vivian, despite the pain, her genitals would become wet. Later, at home, she would masturbate while imagining the “panty-check” punishment she had received that day.

Later, at Lehman College, a public institution, there were plenty of guys around, and Vivian’s Sapphic side had become dormant. She decided to reply to her roommate by saying, “Okay, I have had sexual fantasies about other girls. It was particularly strong at the Mount St. Ursula academy, that’s for sure.”

Miranda was amused, “I’m not surprised to hear that. The more they tried to repress you all, the more perverse you all became.”

“I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a lesbian, however.”

“That’s irrelevant. What did Kinsey say? That most of us are bisexual; it’s just a matter of degree.” Then she got to the main point she had been thinking about for several days. “You see, sweetie, just because we don’t have men in our lives doesn’t mean we have to forgo some passion. We just have to be flexible in terms of gender.”

Even though she could guess the answer, Vivian said, “And who would we do this with?”

Mandy laughed, “That should be obvious. With each other!” She was sitting on Vivian’s left side, between her and the window, and she took the other girl’s hand in her own. “Haven’t we known each other for three years now?”

Vivian had another question to which she knew the likely answer. “And when and where should we do this?”

“You know that one too. Right here and right now. I mean, why delay it? Besides, pot always makes me horny. After smoking it, I always want to either screw or beat off.”

Wow, she doesn’t mince words! Nevertheless, Vivian said, “It does the same thing for me too.”

“Great, and we have this lovely summer evening, which is perfect for – well, some warm-weather lovemaking.”

They were still holding hands; Mandy noted that her friend seemed comfortable with this affectionate touch. For a few moments, they sat quietly and assessed one another.

Miranda was a tall, well-built girl with dark-blonde hair that came down just below her chin. It was a little on the short side for that period. Tonight she was wearing a halter top, light-weight cotton trousers, and sandals.

Vivian was shorter and thinner, and her blonde hair was longer and lighter than Mandy’s. She had on a short-sleeved white blouse that was buttoned in the front, a denim skirt, and her own sandals.

She said, “Mandy, I admit I have had fantasies about you.”

“So then, we’re even! It’s too bad I didn’t know you back in high school; we could have had a good time together.”

“But you’re Jewish; you could never have gone there.”

“It’s fun to think about anyway. I would be one of those bad outside girls you were warned about. We could chase guys and girls too, namely those repressed classmates of yours.”

Vivian said, “So you’re chasing me right now?”

“That’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? Look, you can tell me if anything I’m doing makes you uncomfortable, okay?”

“Maybe we should close the Venetian blinds first?”

The street was five stories down, and there were no buildings across the way from theirs. Nevertheless, Mandy understood that it was a psychological thing, and she closed the blinds as requested.

When she sat down again, without saying anything, she put her arms around her friend and Vivian did the same to her. They had briefly hugged before, but this time they held each other longer and more tightly than before. After a couple of minutes of this, Mandy backed off and tried to interpret the other woman’s expression.

Vivian said, “Mandy, I have to admit something I've never told you about. At that school, for over two years, I had an affair – a fully sexual affair  – with another girl my age. Her name was Cathy Morrow. We did it as often as we could. One of our favorite spots was an isolated part of Bronx Park.”

“Oh my God, so you're not a virgin with the lesbian thing.”

“That’s right, but I have t seen Cathy in more than four years. She went away to college upstate. Since then it’s always been guys as lovers.”

Mandy said, “Well, we can deal with that.” She escalated things by gently rubbing her friend’s face, then she kissed her fully on the lips. That went well, so they kissed more. They moved their lips over each other’s faces, including the eyelids, and Mandy put her tongue into one of Vivian’s ears.

Vivian said, “Oh my.”

“So you like our little make-out session?”

“Yes, very much so.”

“Well, you’re in luck, because I like it too!”

After more kissing, Vivian said, “I want to do more. It's been so long since those days.”

“You Catholic girls are pretty fast. What would you like to do next?”

A bit of shyness came over her, “I’m not really sure.”

“Think of what you would do with a guy. We could play with each other’s boobs. Well, guys don’t have boobs per se, but both of us do.” Since she was taking the assertive role, Mandy reached forward and unbuttoned Vivian’s blouse.  Then her hands went back and unbuckled her bra. Vivian noted that while some guys fumbled around with unhooking a bra, her friend had no trouble doing that simple act.

Vivian heard her friend say, “Just as I expected, they’re nice and perky.” Her bared breasts were small but they jutted out. Mandy put her mouth around each nipple in turn and sucked on them. She held the other girl around the waist to steady her. In a few moments, she was moaning in pleasure.

“That feels so good, don’t stop.”

She did stop long enough to say, “I know, your nips are stiffening very nicely. What do they call this in that stupid analogy, second base?”

Vivian had heard that before, but she couldn’t think straight, “I don’t know, something like that.”

“No big surprise, but in a couple of minutes, it’s going to be my turn.”  When that came, she undid her halter top and let her breasts fall out. They were bigger and rounder than Vivian’s, but not by an excessive amount.

“Come on, baby, you know exactly what to do with these.” For several minutes, the two women fondled and kissed each other’s tits. They also put their warm hands on other parts of their upper bodies. Outside, the sun had just set and dusk was coming on.

Eventually, Mandy said, “You know, sweetie, you look a little flushed or something. Maybe we should take a break. Would you like a soda?”

“That would be great. Mandy, this is all delightful. You seem to know exactly the right ways to touch me.”

“That goes with my theory that only another woman truly understands a woman’s body and what it needs.” As she got up she said, “Don’t go anywhere, there is more to come.”

When the topless Mandy returned, she sat on the sofa with her own soda. Vivian was so quiet that she asked her, “Are you doing okay, baby?”

“Oh yeah, I’m fine.”

“Let me put another record on the turntable; I’ll keep it low.”

When it was in place, Vivian said, “You actually like Fleetwood Mac?”

“What can I say? They are a guilty pleasure of mine.”

“Sort of like what we are doing right now?”

“It may become one, but as I implied this is my first time. Now, honey, it’s time to escalate this to petting below the waist, as they used to call it. Am I going too fast for you?”

“Oh no, I want to do more.”

“All right, come over here and straddle me, cowgirl style.”

Vivian moved into position and Mandy lifted her denim skirt. “Hm, nice little white panties. Would these pass the panty-check with the nuns over there?”

“Not at all, they’re not ample enough. The color is good, however, we always were supposed to wear white ones.”

“So you had to be uniform under your clothes too.”

“I guess God would know.”

It took Mandy a second to realize that this was meant to be tongue-in-cheek. “Well, darling, they pass inspection with me, thus I don’t have to spank you.” She slipped her hand up Vivian’s thigh and into the back of her panties. Then she squeezed the other girl’s behind for a short time before moving forward and caressing her vulva, back and forth.

“I can see from your expression that this is going well.”

“It certainly is!” In a little while, Mandy put a finger into Vivian’s vagina and used it to gently rub the area around her clitoris. Vivian began to rhythmically moan.

“I’m not overdoing this, am I? I know sensitive that place is on many women.”

“You’re doing great, you sort of a have – a deft touch, I’d say.” It occurred to her that none of her previous three boyfriends did this kind of genital fondling as well as Mandy did. She made a mental note to instruct the next one – there’s bound to be a next one, I assume – in the art of pussy rubbing.

While this was going on, Mandy leaned forward and sucked on her nipples while getting her own breasts handled by her friend’s eager hands. Eventually, she asked, “Do you think you could come from this?”

“I don’t know, but it feels so good.”

Mandy replied, “Because I don’t mean to be selfish, but I’d like some of this too.”

“Of course, I’d love to do it for you too.”

“Okay, if you don’t mind, get off me for a moment.”

When she did, Mandy took off her blue cotton trousers. Her panties were lacey black ones. She took those off too and twirled them on a finger.

“So would these pass muster at those the panty-checks they had at your school?”

“Not at all; you would have been paddled if you had been caught wearing those.”

“I think some of those nuns enjoyed disciplining young girls.”

“Some of the girls, including me, enjoyed getting their spankings.”

“Who set the standards over there? Were you all supposed to wear granny-panties?”

“I once thought of wearing those old-fashioned bloomers – white of course – but that wouldn’t work. The skirts were too short and the bottom part of the bloomers would have shown.”

“I see. God-fearing underpants but little Catholic schoolgirl skirts. The whole thing is just weird.”

“The hypocrisy of it all – there were a lot of other things too – ultimately made me leave the Church.”

Mandy was now nude except for her sandals, which she kept on. “Okay, sweetie, just sit there and I’ll straddle you too.”

During this session Vivian fondled the other girl’s behind, genitals, and breasts; Mandy rubbed her crotch against her friend’s legs.

“Miranda, I just love your nice solid body.”

“I like yours too - lithe, I’d call it.” In a little while, she said, “This is wonderful, but I think if we are going to come, we have to use our mouths on each other. Not in a sixty-nine though; that takes a bit of practice.”

“Okay, let’s do it already. I’m getting so horny.”

“You can get it first. Just take your panties off and sit against the back cushion. I’ll kneel in front of you.” She noted that the other woman was still wearing all of her clothing, although her blouse and bra were gaping open.

Somehow Miranda instinctively knew how to give pleasure to the other woman. Her lips and tongue went over all over her genitals. Vivian had been licked by her three previous boyfriends – although one claimed not to like the taste of cunt and would only do it under duress. But this was much better. Mandy was aware of how another woman would react to her movements. She ran her hands through her lover’s dark blonde hair.

Vivian was quite charged up by this point and she climaxed suddenly. She said, “Oh my God, I’m going to come, right now.” Her hips came off the cushion and she pressed her crotch against Mandy’s face. She moaned – yelled actually – so loudly that she briefly wondered if someone five floors down on could hear her through the open window.

In the aftermath, they sat on the sofa and kissed. Mandy said, “I assume you can taste yourself on my mouth.”

“I’ve tasted myself before, just to find out what it was like.”

“Okay, a brave girl! Not that yours truly here hasn’t done it for the same reason.”

Vivian said, “I once tasted this cream-pie a guy left in me. He was right there and he seemed to be disgusted. He was the same one in fact who was reluctant to eat out my pussy.”

“I wonder why he was bothered by that cream-pie? After all, it had come out of his own body. Some people just refuse to admit how dirty sex really is. Yet I bet he had no qualms with getting a blowjob and having you swallow his precious cum.”

Vivian laughed, “That’s right, how did you know that?”

“Because I know how most men think. They may not know it consciously, but they can be trained in the right techniques. Come on, I’m going to sit on the couch, and you will be one kneeling on the floor.”

When she was about to put her mouth between Mandy’s spread legs, she had a moment of doubt. “Gee, with all this talk of eating pussy, now I’m not sure I remember how to do it.”

“Just do what comes naturally. Lick and kiss me all over, including the sides of my cunt. Don’t be afraid to put your tongue into me, your fingers too. Go around my clit and gently flick it. I may put my own fingers down to help you out.”

When she tasted  Mandy's cunt, she noted that its flavor was mild yet it had a bit of tang to it. It didn’t seem that different from her own pussy. Then she spread the lips and went in deeper. Mandy must have liked it, because she was squirming on the sofa cushion and saying things like, “That’s it, eat out my pussy; you are a natural at this.”

Vivian liked being praised. Even though Mandy was about the same age, she was like a big sister or mentor for her. Mandy’s clitoris looked quite prominent and Vivian gently licked it. At this point, Mandy moved her legs through the air and moaned. Vivian was amused when she looked up and saw the white sandals waving around above her head. She was inspired to put a hand under the other girl’s buttocks and lift her hips higher.

With a combination of Vivian’s mouth and the hands of both women, Mandy soon reached her orgasm. She sat up and grabbed Vivian’s head to move it around to her liking. She wasn’t as loud as her friend had been, but she did babble some things that neither one of them would remember.

In the afterglow, they again sat together, but they were slumped down further. When she could speak, Mandy said, “I guess you could say you busted my cherry.”

“Is it really that significant?”

“Banging your first chick? Yeah, assuming that’s what you want, it’s a pretty big deal.”

“Somehow it’s qualitatively different from being with a man. Not that I would necessarily give up on them.”

“Nobody said you had to. By the way, is this how it went with your classmate at St. Ursula’s School of Eternal Chastity?”

“I was something like with Cathy, but I don’t feel like talking about her right now.”

“That’s okay, no rush.” She looked through the Venetian blinds and saw that it was almost fully dark outside. “Just think, that school is only a couple of miles away, right there on Bedford Park. Anyway, we really should have some dinner soon.”

She went into her room to get a nightgown. All Vivian had to do was close and secure her blouse and bra. She left her white underpants on the living room floor.

Neither one felt like cooking, so they just had soup and toasted cheese sandwiches. They were quiet during the beginning of the meal, so Miranda said, “What’s the matter, honey? Was my little show today a bit much for you?”

Vivian decided to be honest, “It was fun, but it was all kind of abrupt. I mean I’ve known you for three years and we’ve had a warm relationship, but I didn’t know you felt this way about me – that you wanted me sexually.”

“I think you’ve felt that way about me too, but you didn’t say anything about it. We had boyfriends to satisfy us – well, I admit that hasn’t been so recently. Something about living here with you, the intimacy of sleeping in the same apartment, just got to me.” She thought more about it. “I’m the kind of girl who moves fast when I know what I want.”

Vivian blurted out, “At our school, it was pretty exciting to bend over next to the other girls and get spanked together when we were caught wearing bad-girl underwear.”

“That place was pretty wild in its own pious way.”

At the end of the meal, Vivian brightened and said, “Why don’t we go into one of our bedrooms and – you know, do it again?”

“I’d love to; let’s use my room.”

In a little while, they were on the bed. They had decided to try a sixty-nine on each other and see how that went. Mandy stripped off her nightgown and said, “Do me a favor, leave your denim skirt on. I have a little fetish for denim skirts.”

“I’ve noticed that you have a couple of your own.”

Once they were in position, Vivian as the lighter girl was on top. It turned out that they still had to give priority to one girl and the other girl had to go next. Vivian went first, and when she climaxed she sat straight up and flapped her arms around almost randomly. Mandy thought she looked like a big seagull using its wings in preparation for a takeoff.

When Mandy came, she spread her legs wide, and then she clamped her thighs tightly around her lover’s head. Her sounds of pleasure were more like grunts than moans, but it was unmistakable that she was having an intense orgasm.

Afterwards, they lay in that position for a couple of minutes and relaxed. Mandy said, “Hey, I hope I didn’t hurt your neck or something. I was just running on pure instinct.”

“That’s okay, it went fine. You see, it wasn’t that complicated after all.” She rolled off and lay there, cuddling Mandy.

Mandy said, “It’s still way too early to go to sleep.”

“You want to go and smoke some more weed? It’s wearing off.”

“No, I’ve had enough. Let’s just have a couple of beers.”

In the living room, Mandy opened the Venetian blinds and looked out into the night at the reservoir and the buildings beyond it. “It’s interesting that I spent eight years of my life over there getting a so-called education. First, it was Bronx Science, and then it was Lehman.” She was wearing her nightgown again.

Vivian said, “You’re actually from Riverdale.” That was a couple of miles to the west, in the other direction. “You didn’t travel too far for all of that.”

“You grew up on Mosholu Parkway, so you didn’t stray too far either.”

“I know; sometimes I wish I could have gone away to college but we couldn’t afford it.”

“Good old CUNY; a commuter school and it was tuition-free until last year. It’s still pretty affordable anyway. But they never had dorms.”

She went back to the sofa, and Vivian asked her, “Just wondering, hypothetically, if we did meet suitable guys – what then?”

“I think I already suggested this: so what? We can still do what we want to do with each other. As for myself, I’d still like to get the high-hard ones that only members of the male gender can provide.”

“Wouldn’t that actually be a form of cheating?”

Mandy thought about it for a couple of moments, “I guess technically, you’re correct, but that’s not going to stop me. Your Catholic upbringing is showing again. ‘Forgive me father, for I have sinned. I had my cherry busted by a guy years ago, and then I just did it again with a girl I live with.’ I'm talking about myself, of course. ”

Vivian was amused, “If I confessed, I wonder how many Hail Marys I’d have to say?”

“Thousands probably. Plus a whole lot of, what is that called? The Act of Contrition.”

“I bet he’d get the nuns to paddle me too. Maybe have all of them get a crack at me.”

“Like that would restore your virginity. Vivian, under your sweet exterior, you actually have a very kinky mind. You mean to tell me that those holy ladies, the brides of Christ, would do such a thing?”

“I already told you how – avid, that’s the right word – they were for ‘correctional discipline,’ as they called it, of their young female charges.”

“I wonder how sexually frustrated some of them were, including their desire for lesbianism.”

Vivian said, “It used to be easier to recruit young girls, especially Irish ones, into the nunnery. In the last couple of decades, it’s become harder to get people who want to go into the Church that way. The clergy too. They have to go to places like South Korea and the Philippines to find new ones.”

Mandy said, “I’ve noticed that they started to liberalize those nun’s outfits – they no longer look like they stepped out of the Middle Ages. You know, I’m hardly the most observant Jew around, but at least rabbis can get married.”

“Well, so can Protestant ministers.”

Mandy had to make a joke about it. “It’s not the only reason, but maybe the Reformation was driven by a lot of people who just wanted to get laid.”

She moved closer to her friend and put her arm around her. Vivian said, “I wonder where this is all going, I mean this new thing between us.”

“Don’t worry about ‘where it is all going.’ It just is what it is, okay?”

#######