My Friend and I Experimented in the Hot Tub

This happened while we were both in high school, way back in '06. Everyone in the story is 18. In fact, being that age is basically the reason this story happened at all.

When I was an early teenager, I met who I thought was the love of my life. We dated for years, but she after she graduated (she was a year older than me) she left me for someone she met at college. I was bitter about it for a long time. Didn't really have an easy time getting over her.

Well, one of my good friends--let's call her Clarissa--wanted to help me take my mind off the ex. Plus, once we had both turned 18 (we were about 2 months apart in age), we were given more freedom to hang out just me and her (not on "dates" or anything like that; however, my parents were strict and didn't let me hang out with girls until I was an adult and could think for myself). She was a good friend of mine, someone I didn't see "that way". After all, I was still hung up on her. So she suggested one January morning right before class started that we go skiing. Cool idea. I had my season pass, and she had never been, so I was able to help teach her how. She used to live in Arizona before she moved way over here so it wasn't exactly like she had some great skiing spots nearby to learn.

Anyway, Clarissa was excited because she had never been, and because she trusted me not to assault her somewhere on the backmountain (thanks, I guess?). So I picked her up around 5:00 AM that weekend and we went up to the mountain. Got her fitted in rentals, and off we went. She had a fun time. I secretly felt a little more frustrated because we were stopping every 5 feet and stayed on the bunny hill 90% of the day, but I was patient and I think I did a good job hiding it. I did finally convince her to go on a blue square, which she later claimed was "a 90° angle" (I still laugh about that sometimes). After that, though, she had had her fill of skiing for the day. My bad. We left early, and I went to take her home.

Both of us complained about how sore we were on the ride back. She said she couldn't wait to get into the hot tub when she got home. I said, "Damn, that sounds like heaven right now. D'you think your parents would mind if I hung out with you guys for a while?" She responded, "Oh, they're not home. They went to a concern in \[next town over\] with my sisters and won't be back until, like... 1:00 AM."

\*Damn.\* Obviously that would break a rule or two, even if it was platonic and friendly. Now, I know I said that I didn't see Clarissa "that way". But at the same time, it had been nearly 5 months since I had any spot of intimacy. And even then, my ex never let us do anything more than, like, make out. Any time I tried to go further she'd stop me, which always kept me sexually-frustrated because I wanted more. But I respected her and never took it further. And she decided to sleep with another dude the minute she was free of me. That stung. So on top of constantly being inches away from taking it steps further for YEARS, I was now stuck without a partner for a long time. I didn't care that Clarissa was only my friend at this point: My hormonal teenage ass saw her like a starving cartoon character sees their friend as a roasted chicken. But, at the same time, we were both adults now. \*What if we just skirted the rules?\* 20 years of hindsight has caused me to since realize that I was fucking desperate in ways I could scarcely describe. I decided to give it a try. "Well..." I hesitated. "Would they have a problem if it were just the two of us?"

She decided to call her mother and ask. \*Fine...\* It's not like they would see me as a creep; her parents had known me ever since we became friends, from schooling events and birthday parties. Anyway, her mother simply said, "Don't do anything that results in me becoming a grandma." That was her way of saying, "I'm gonna trust you, Clarissa". Phase 1 of the multi-phase plan I was building on the fly had been complete! I stopped by my house to grab my swim shorts (Phase 2), though I contemplated "forgetting" them and going to her place directly, having to soak in the buff. She would never go for that, I knew. So rather than risk not going in at all, I decided to get them.

Finally, we made it to her place. She made some box macaroni for dinner for us and we watched some TV while were eating. Then, we headed downstairs and she let me use the bathroom to change. "You know how to turn the hot tub on," she told me, basically inferring that I start the thing. So, I went out into the cold and got it ready while she changed. Luckily, it was basically all ready to go, almost as if someone had prepped it beforehand (sometimes I wonder if she had done it the night before with the same experience in mind that I was having; after all, she knew about the concert and that we'd have the opportunity to be alone). I got in the tub and waited. She finally came out in a swimsuit I had never seen her wear before. Normally, she would have this dark blue one-piece with a skirt over it. Tonight, however, she was wearing a pearl-white bikini. Perhaps it was because she tended to have more conservative clothing, but I never really noticed how large her bust size really was until now. I did my best to play it cool and said, "Wow, nice swimsuit."

"Shut the fuck up," she said nervously, stepping over the threshold and into the hot tub with me. "My mom got it for me as a birthday present; said it was time for me to impress some boys." \*Well, color me impressed.\*

The night went on for a while and we talked about school, college plans, etc. The whole time, though, I was trying as hard as I could to think of ways to broach the subject. If anyone were viewing the transcript of my brain, they would know quite plainly that my dick was the author. It was all I could think of. I was too afraid to act on that impulse, though. Afraid of rejection, that once again I'd fumble right at the in-zone of sexual experimentation and I wasn't sure I could handle another failure.

Then, she said, "How're you holding up?" I blinked. "Hmm? Oh... You mean like, emotionally after--"

"Yeah."

"Eh. I'm managing the best I can. How about you? Anyone in your life right now?" I knew the answer was no but I felt like this was my in. She confirmed the answer and I asked when she would be interested in dating someone. "In college, probably. But it would mostly be like experimenting unless I find the one." \*I have you now!\* "Wouldn't it be better to experiment before college, maybe with someone you trust?"

She looked at me. I went one sentence too deep and I knew it the instant I said it. She whispered to me, "\[my name\], it would be awkward afterwards, wouldn't it?"

Here I had two options. I could either laugh it off and say, "What? You think I meant you and me? Haha! No, we're just friends!" or I could shoot my shot. And since my penis was the conductor of this particular orchestra, I instead went with option B:

"I understand the risks here, but this is kinda a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. A guy and girl are together alone in a hot tub with no one else around? If ever someone wanted to experiment, this would be the time."

"Well..."

"You mean to tell me you aren't the least bit curious to know what it's like?"

"I-I mean... Yeah... That makes sense."

"We can take it slow. Nothing that'll result in a kid."

She looked at me hard. Then, wordlessly, she sunk down below the bubbles so only her head was exposed above the water. "Kay," was all she said, with a nervous smile on her face.

Normally, Clarissa was full of bravado, stubborn and forceful with her opinions. So it was strange to see her so hesitant. She would later on tell me that this was an outcome she too had been hoping for, and I was reminded again that the hot tub was already prepped.

Alright, sorry for the blue-balling, but this post is already getting long enough. Stay tuned for part 2 where I get into the spicy shit!