Emily in the Blue House
 

Emily loved hanging out at the Blue House. It was off-campus, and really it was falling apart, but she didn't have to live there, it was a bunch of her friends that she'd met for the past two years of college. They laughed about it; all the guys were in engineering, and most of the girls were in some kind of pre-med or pre-pharmacy program. So they partied hard, even as freshmen and sophomores in the dorms, but the Blue House was the best--music, beer, and a low-key party every weekend. Seven of the guys actually lived there, plus three off-the-lease girlfriends and a few stragglers who always seemed to be around.

Emily wasn't any of those, but she used to be roommates with Liz, who had been dating Tommy and more or less living there, so on Friday night she found herself sitting scrunched on their worn-out couch next to Liz, Tommy, and Matt, playing some card game whose rules she had long since forgotten, except that most cards that got flipped up demanded a drink. Nobody seemed to mind.

Michelle was one of the stragglers, and Emily thought she might have dated Will at one time, but she somehow was still always there with a drink in one hand and the life of the party. "Last card, Ten is for Hens, ladies, drink up!"

Tommy burped; he hadn't bothered pacing himself too much and was starting to fall asleep, to Liz's obvious annoyance. Emily stifled a giggle; she knew that look from when the thermostat wasn't *exactly right* back in the dorm.

"Dude, wake up," said Danny from the chair in the corner. "Time for a new game. Truth or dare?" Liz gave him a sneaky look and a nod. Emily knew this was going to be wild.

"All right, Truth," said Tommy after some less-than-gentle prodding. Danny answered quickly, "How often do you go down on Liz?" "Must not be often enough," said Matt. Everyone except Liz and Tommy laughed; Emily saw the red wash into Liz's face. "Three days ago," she mumbled, and nobody pressed her for more.

Then it was Liz's turn. She begrudgingly mumbled "Dare," and Danny said, "Give Emily a kiss." Everyone else kind of laughed, and Liz somehow got even redder than she was, but then Emily got kissed, and her mind changed forever.

"Your turn, Emily," said Danny. The kiss had only been a second or two, and she hadn't expected anything special, but somehow, something about Liz had electrified her. Her lips had been smooth and bouncy, and beneath the light beer her breath was sweet and warm. She wasn't like this back when they lived in the dorm. Was she?

"Earth to Emily." Michelle waved her hands, and Emily snapped out of it. "Um, truth."

"Was that your first time kissing a girl?" Michelle asked. Emily sheepishly said "Yes," and the boys snickered. Michelle grew an evil smirk; Liz looked bored. "Did you like it? Taste of her cherry chap-stick?" taunted Michelle. "That's two truths," said Tommy. "I don't use chap-stick," said Liz. "We can tell from her face that that's a yes," said Matt.