Just when I had vowed to try to find the girl at the bar next to me attractive I saw a friend across the dance floor. He waved to me and came running up. He told me to stay there because someone was looking for me. As he thought out the details of getting us together he said he was going to his friend's apartment to get Frankie. FRANKIE!? The girl I met at lunch a couple of days ago? But she wasnt a lesbian!! As I thought this I scolded myself for thinking I had any ability to tell a lesbian by looking at her. I tried to remember Frankie's face. I remembered right away that our piercings matched like a mirror. She had been fascinated by my tongue piercing, but didnt say much. She sat down with me and a friend because she knew him. I didn't know at the time that this whole scenario was set up by the two of them, and she wasnt saying much because her stomach was in knots. When I got up to leave the dining hall, she swished her ear-length hair out of her eyes to reveal an eyebrow piercing. As I sat at the bar waiting for her, I could see this movement vividly and hear myself telling her she was cute. I couldn't think if that was dorky or really nice of me to say; I'd done it so off-handedly.

She arrived. She appeared to be only slightly more sober than me. I was very pleased to have her by my side. When she came in the door, I immediately went to her and stood next to her, listening to the music. I took the beer from the girl I wasn't interested in and handed it to Frankie. After a few moments something posessed me to take her hand. We swayed together drinking and exchanging a few words until the entourage that had accompanied her became restless and wanted to get back to their party. I readily agreed to come with them. At the apartment where she had come from there was a small gathering of people drinking blue drinks and lounging wherever they landed. I fell on a bean bag and Frankie sat on the floor next to me. I was handed a drink by a very preppy-blond-fashion-model-type-of-guy. As I began to drink, the huge quantities of alcohol in my system began to overtake my senses. I could feel swirls of activity surrounding me. There was only one thing I could sense steadily in my presence, the girl on the floor beside me. The feeling was unlike most drunken stupors I had previously experienced. I was energetic and very aware of at least one thing. I didn't feel like falling asleep, and I don't even think I was slurring.

We talked fast and furiously, trying to tell each other about our life stories and entire personalities in one breath. As she told me about her family, the Marching Band and her tatoo expiriences, I could only think of how warm and open she was. I tried to tell her things she might find interesting; that I was head of the Student Senate gay group, and that I was into body art and politics. Somehow she already knew these things. She admitted to me that she had first seen me a couple of weeks ago at the gay and lesbian student union, on the day I got my tongue pierced. She had told a mutual friend that day that she might have a crush on me. She had talked about me to all these people here, asking if they knew me and what they thought of me. I felt that by being here I was her trophy, and I liked that. I wanted to be that for her, something she could be proud to have; it was a powerful and addictive feeling. Because the rest of the world had dropped out of sight, I didnt realize why she was helping me off the bean bag and we were leaving. We were apparently heading back to her dorm room to smoke some pot with her friends. I was glad for a more intimate setting.

At the top of the stairs in this apartment building she was saying something to me. I couldn't quite make it out because I was concentrating on walking, and the stairs were going to be tricky. I thought it would be best to look her straight in the eyes and concentrate on the words coming out of her mouth. I realized it was about my tongue piercing. She wanted to what? Taste it, lick it, touch it, kiss it? Her tongue was in my mouth and I felt her strong lips pressed firmly on mine. I couldn't tell if we were kissing or if I was just strangely turned on by her tongue's examination of mine. She seemed like such a shy and careful girl--was she really kissing me so passionately in the stairwell? I had a lot to learn about Frankie. I thought I'd go with the flow.

When we reached her dorm her roomate was sleeping in the top bunk. There were four of us, so Frankie decided it might be inconsiderate for us to smoke in there. I suggested we head to my single room in another building. There we only had the bed to sit on, but the couple we were with didn't mind. Before anyone even rolled a joint both couples became involved in thier own world. Kim and Mick fell out of my mind, and I can only remember Mick putting in the Indigo Girls and telling us to have fun as he left. I will always be thankful to him for that one brilliant move. I can't describe in words what we did that night. We were both fairly new at making love to women, but what we lacked in expirience we made up for in enthusiasm. I beleive that if it weren't for my tongue piercing I may not have gotten lucky with Frankie that night, or ever.

At six in the morning I was dosing in post-coital bliss. I could feel a haze of alcohol in my system that was dragging me toward sleep. Frankie would not allow this. She just kept talking: about her parents divorce, her brother and sister, her new friends she met this quarter, the surgery she had had a week before. Soon I could not process the information anymore and asked her if she wanted to come back to bed and sleep. Maybe this was too much, she began to dress, making up several excuses as to why she couldn't stay. I realized that she had to process the implications of what she was feeling. She had made love to a woman! I didnt know much about her, but remembered her telling me last night that she had come out as a bisexual only in the past couple of months. It was all still theoretical. Our night together created a new reality for her. Trying to look understanding and easy going (in hopes of getting the chance to do this again) I walked her to the door of my dorm, and told her I wanted to call her. To my relief she agreed that I should, and we exchanged phone numbers.

I thought about this strange experience all weekend, and wondered if it was too soon to call. I tried to leave her time to think, but I wanted to know so badly what she was thinking. I knew that she was not the type for one night stands, and I knew she knew I wasn't either. My dilemma was solved by the fact that I would be out of town, and couldn't have called if I wanted to. When I returned on monday I knew the perfect amount of time had passed. On monday night I went to her dorm to watch a movie and hang out. The look of fear was gone from her eyes, she seemed more comfortable around me. We both acted as cool as we could, hoping to impress the other. I wore my three rowed spiked leather collar to impress her preppy friends. She confided in me that she had talked to Kim all weekend about the new feelings our experience had brought on. Kim had been very helpful, telling her that it wasnt a bad thing if it felt better than anything had ever felt before. This reassurance from a straight friend helped her make the decision to stick with what felt good. Though I was glad to hear that she was feeling good about sleeping with a woman, I have to admit that it was only because I knew that would mean I would get to sleep with her again. I just couldnt understand her dilemma. I had been out so long I had forgotten what it was like to realize that the way you prefer to make love is not okay with many people. I decided my chances with her would be best if I was understanding and patient about her coming out process.

Frankie and I began to see eachother every day. When only a week had passed and everyone was making plans for the bi-annual Leather and Lace party, I realized how fast our relationship was moving. A beautiful girl asked me to go to the party with her, and I turned her down. This stands out in my mind as the ONLY time someone desireable has asked me out, and been turned down. I told her that I had someone I had to go with, without even consulting with Frankie. That night when I went to hang out in her dorm room I heard her tell a friend that she was going to the party with her girlfriend. Though I knew she meant me, I could hardly beleive my ears. I had never been anyones girlfriend before! If I was hers, that meant she was my girlfriend...I had a girlfriend! The night of the party was the first time we made love since our first night together. This time it was different, and gave me a clue into the kind of relationship we were to have. She had processed her insecurities, and was not shy about fucking a woman. We were dressed in leather and lace (because of the party) and I had a pair of handcuffs on my chain belt. I had only dreamt of such erotic play. I knew then that this was a woman to hold onto. I was hooked.