Volume I, no. 2, mid-June 2026

For me, this June has been more joyful than all the Junes past, in part because I’ve gotten to live with Lauren and Steph’s words in my hours. With them, a morning egg is not just that, nor is a bedroom just a room, more like a portal or—at least—an outward-opening closet door. These two writers allow their minds to wander. Luckily, we are permitted to wander alongside them, to see Lauren’s tender daily devotions and Steph’s unconscious-at-first rebellions, touches, revelations. These days, I am thinking about the Montréal Victoire “wife line” and the look of pride on my girlfriend’s face when she successfully sets the needle down in the LP outer groove. Most of all, I am thinking of Lauren’s calm and Steph’s playfulness, of these two poles between which the dyke everyday resides.

xo,

Lillian

Bacon in the pan lifts me
through the morning,
strong tea, one sugar,
coffee could overdo it.
If we get another sunrise,
I’ll make us the Turkish eggs
from the blue cookbook
dog-eared with promise.
Slow breath makes space
in this dream house,
I open the fridge for milk
—and there, your love!
The last perfect tomato you left me,
I slice it like gold on the Willow plate.
This great exchange,
each time an ode
to someone who taught me
—who taught you?
There is no talking,
just a perfect sandwich.
Today we’ll play pool,
an endless afternoon,
hope and hard feelings
held in good faith.
Our dear friend’s body
leans across green felt,
the neat clack of the cue
on a yellow, or a red
on the 172, mind on you
and all who I have lost
—absence,
like a river from me.
This morning by the stove,
I was a tall glass of milk,
Electric Dreams between
the Thames and the Tate
where the city meets itself,
stitching old selves together,
heart snagged in the zip.
If I could tell you something
and laugh it into the air,
strong within from all of it, of you:
Life takes, and it takes a lot,
but listen when it pays the bill.

“You need to stop undermining me at practice,” Nora fumed, once it was just the two of them in the locker room. It was Friday, and Nora wanted nothing more than to go back to her dorm and start her weekend early. She had a Pride and Prejudice DVD and a paint by numbers kit with her name on it. But no, Ryan was determined to make Nora’s life miserable. “It’s unprofessional, and your coach thinks it’s important that you practice your edge work. I’m not trying to bother you. I’m only trying to do my job.”

The post-practice team meeting had been an extreme exercise in patience. Nora had stewed in the corner while Head Coach Marin not-so-gently reminded her players to take their figure skating drills seriously. Ryan was supposed to set an example for the other girls. If she wanted to antagonize Nora at practice and goof off instead of actually putting in effort, then Nora might as well just hand in her resignation as student team manager. So, once the meeting was over, she’d waited until the other girls had filed out before laying into the infuriating hockey player.

In response to Nora’s demand, Ryan rolled her eyes and snorted humorlessly. “Jesus, you really need to get laid,” she said under her breath.

Nora froze, certain she had misheard. “I beg your pardon?”

Ryan shrugged and began lacing up her sneakers. “I’m just saying, maybe you wouldn’t have such a gigantic stick up your ass if you were getting laid regularly.”

That brazen comment had sparked an argument that quickly spiraled out of control. Nora had protested—she had a boyfriend, they had sex, and Ryan could fuck off—but apparently, she hadn’t been convincing enough. Despite Nora’s pushback, Ryan had picked up on the part that she had purposefully left out, which was that despite having a loving boyfriend, Nora had never once had a sexual experience with him that she would consider gratifying. Still, Nora wanted to wipe that smug look off her face, so she said something that she would come to regret the second the words left her mouth.

“Why are you so interested in my sex life? What, are you offering or something?”

She never could have imagined Ryan’s response: Would you take me up on it?

A week had passed since then, and Nora had avoided Ryan like the plague. She’d been showing up to practice exactly on time and leaving as soon as it was over to minimize the chance of an accidental run-in. While at practice, Nora refrained from correcting Ryan during drills, which kind of killed her because Ryan seemed to be messing up on purpose. That day, Nora had watched with clenched teeth as Ryan pronated her ankles again, and the hockey player had the audacity to look Nora right in the eye and smirk, as if daring her to comment on it. Which proved Nora’s suspicions correct, so she kept her gaze resolutely on her clipboard to deny Ryan the satisfaction.

Since their conversation, Nora had slept poorly, her thoughts unable to stop racing. What had Ryan meant by that? The idea that Ryan was actually offering to have sex with her was so preposterous that it felt more plausible that Nora had imagined the whole thing. Even crazier: Nora found herself actually considering it. She’d never thought about being with a woman before, but she wasn’t exactly opposed to the concept. Was it crazy that she was only just now coming to this potential realization at the ripe age of twenty? Most people tended to know these things earlier, right? To be fair, she’d never had cause to think about it before, because the opportunity had never presented itself.

Until now.

The more she thought about it, the more her mind spun. How could she possibly be entertaining this, with Ryan of all people? For one thing, they hated each other. For another thing, fucking her would be a shitty thing to do to Will, her sweet boyfriend of two years, and her friend for much longer than that. They’d met as preteens at the start of their respective figure skating careers and had even been pairs partners for a stint. When they each decided to go solo, their friendship had endured, and eventually, dating just seemed like the natural course of action. Nora did love him, and had a very low opinion of cheaters, so it had never crossed her mind to cheat before.

Thirdly and perhaps most importantly, fucking teammates was always a disaster. A few girls on her figure skating team in high school had messed around with each other, and it was always evident when things went sour. She and Ryan couldn’t afford to mess up the team dynamic. There were a lot of girls hoping to be drafted by PWHL this year, so everyone needed to be on top of their game. As starting center, Ryan was (unfortunately) the most valuable player, and seeing as she was one of the only people with a spot secured in the professional league, the team would be looking for her to lead them to the finals. Nora would never forgive herself if this…thing between them got in the way of that.

These were very compelling arguments, so it was alarming that she was still considering sex with Ryan. God, what was wrong with her? Thoughts of Ryan were like gnats, incessantly buzzing in her ear, and Nora needed to squash them before she completely lost her mind.

When her last class for the week was finally over, Nora bolted out of the lecture hall and booked it to her dorm. Once she was safely ensconced in her room, she committed herself to brainstorming ways she could end this weird, absurd situation. She pulled out her phone and clicked on Ryan’s contact, which she had never used outside of the team group chat. She started typing out potential messages: I appreciate it, but I’d rather keep this relationship strictly professional. No, Ryan would probably laugh and call her stuck up. Sorry, but I can’t. I have a boyfriend. That made it sound like she wanted it. I’m not interested, so fuck off. Hard to do, since they saw each other at practice every day.

Nora deleted the last text in frustration, before what can only be described as raw animal impulse took hold of her brain. She loved Will, she really did, and when it came to the bedroom, he was a very considerate and attentive partner. But Nora’s lack of fulfillment in their sex life had become a point of resentment for her in recent months, and Ryan calling it out had only intensified her feelings of dissatisfaction. Maybe agreeing to Ryan’s proposition would be a good thing. At least this way, Nora would know for certain if her orgasm issue was actually due to some failing on her part, and not Will’s.

She typed a new message with trembling fingers, and before she could talk herself out of it, she hit send.

3:53 Nora | So, it seems like you’re offering. Is it still on the table?

Then, she tossed the phone onto her bed like it was a bomb about to detonate. Her heart pounded painfully against her ribcage, and after what felt like eons, her screen lit up.

4:01 | Torres: Knew you’d cave eventually 😏

4:02 | Torres: When and where?

Nora gritted her teeth, as her thumbs flew furiously over the keyboard.

4:03 | Nora: Shut the fuck up.

4:04 | Nora: My room, 10pm. Don’t be late.

Nora watched with bated breath as the text bubble appeared. Then:

4:06 | Torres: Wouldn’t dream of it, Your Highness.

***

The knock sounded at 10 p.m. on the dot. Nora had been expecting it, but her heart still jumped into her throat at the sound. She turned from where she’d been staring unseeingly out the window and took a deep breath. She felt like she was going to pass out. Or throw up. Maybe both.

When she opened the door, she was greeted by Ryan’s infuriating smirk. Ryan was already leaning against the doorjamb in that irreverent way that made Nora want to strangle her. She was wearing a sleeveless hoodie that showed off her impressive biceps. Which she probably did on purpose, the bitch.

“Evening, Callahan.”

Nora rolled her eyes, annoyance momentarily outweighing her nerves, and gestured for Ryan to come inside. There was plenty of room, but Ryan made sure to brush against her as she passed. Nora inhaled sharply.

Once the door was closed and locked, Nora’s nerves returned in full force. She’d tried watching lesbian porn before Ryan arrived, just to learn the basics, but couldn’t make it through more than five minutes without getting embarrassed and turning it off. All the exaggerated moaning and perfectly staged camera angles made the whole thing seem unnatural and unrealistic, which kind of defeated the point of the enterprise.

Now, Ryan was in her bedroom. At 10 p.m. Alone. And if all went accordingly, Ryan was going to fuck her.

Ryan seemed to be a fan of leaning on things. She placed her hands against Nora’s desk behind her and crossed one ankle over the other. Conversely, Nora didn’t know what to do with her hands. She was pretty sure they were shaking, so she crossed her arms in an attempt to appear casual. She’d never felt like this with Will. Sex with him was a well-rehearsed performance, and it always had been. Nora knew her lines, had memorized the staging, could accurately judge when the play was about to reach its climax. She’d had a bit of pre-show jitters the first time, but it was nothing compared to the anxious anticipation she was experiencing now. Judging by Ryan’s widening grin, all of this must have been plainly written on Nora’s face.

“Nervous?” Ryan teased, although her voice wasn’t mocking. Her brown eyes were dark in the low light, and Nora stood frozen, as Ryan’s gaze raked over her.

Nora hated to admit it, but Ryan was breathtakingly hot. Her dark curly hair was cropped short in a way that framed her stupidly handsome face, and she had a small beauty mark on her right cheek that Nora wanted to kiss very badly, a desire so tender that it caught her off-guard. Ryan’s deep olive skin seemed to glow, and her eyes were framed by thick dark lashes that most girls would kill for. Not to mention, she was built like a fucking Greek god. But what Nora found herself truly fixating on were those full, soft lips that were almost always pulled to the side in a smirk. That aggravating half-smile usually ignited anger in Nora’s chest, but now, it drove her to utter distraction. Looking at Ryan made her feel unrecognizable in her own body. Nora was out of control, completely unmoored, hungry for something she didn’t have a name for.

And Ryan was waiting for her to respond, something Nora had been taking an awkwardly long time to do. Since the opportunity to seem cool had more or less been squandered, Nora decided there was no point in lying. She cleared her throat.

“I’m a bit terrified, to be honest.”

Mercifully, Ryan didn’t laugh at her. In fact, her expression looked soft. “Have you ever been with a woman before?”

Nora fidgeted. “No.”

Ryan seemed surprised by the answer. Finally, after what felt like years, Ryan said, “We don’t have to do this, if you don’t want.”

Her voice was gentle, and the message was clear: She wouldn’t make fun of Nora if she decided to back out now. This side of Ryan was something Nora was completely unfamiliar with, and she couldn’t help but feel a little affronted by the gesture, considerate as it might be. She was nervous as hell, of course, but she wasn’t a blushing virgin. She’d known what she was getting into when she gave Ryan her room number. And damn it, she wasn’t a quitter.

To prove this, she took a decisive step towards Ryan, then another, until she was standing close enough to share breath. Ryan had a good five or six inches on her, so Nora had to tilt her head up and stand on her tip-toes.

“I want to,” Nora whispered in a voice she hoped sounded sexy. Clearly, something about it worked, and she felt smug satisfaction at the way Ryan’s breath hitched.

Ryan recovered quickly though and gave Nora her signature crooked smile. “Sure thing, Your Highness.”

Nora had expected Ryan to go all in immediately, the same way she’d seen her charge through the defensive line on the ice, but the kiss was surprisingly tender at first. She held Nora’s face in her warm hands and caressed a thumb against her cheek. Then she threaded her fingers into Nora’s hair and used that leverage to gently tug her head back and deepen the kiss.

Nora let out an involuntary moan, which was mortifying, but Ryan seemed to like it, judging by the way her grip tightened. Nora was fully leaning into her now, and Ryan wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled, until every part of their bodies was pressed together.

Ryan broke the kiss, and Nora was about to complain until she felt Ryan’s teeth at her neck. Nora gasped and tilted her head back even farther to give better access. It felt so fucking good, but she had enough self-preservation to squeeze Ryan’s shoulder in warning.

“Don’t leave any marks,” she said, because the last thing she needed was to walk into practice tomorrow morning with a giant fucking hickey on her neck. Will had never attempted to give her one—something about it being juvenile and about Will thinking of himself as above that sort of thing—although Nora had always harbored a secret fascination with the idea of being marked like that. She wondered what it would be like to have a tangible reminder on her skin that someone wanted her, and wanted other people to know it. Nora had never felt possessive of Will, had never felt the desire to stake a claim in that way. She realized she did desire this evidence of possession when it came to Ryan, but as team manager, she needed to maintain some decorum.

Ryan acquiesced with a hum. Her hands roamed down Nora’s sides until they reached the hem of her t-shirt.

“Can I take this off?” she asked, her breath tickling the underside of Nora’s jaw.

Words felt very difficult at the moment, so Nora just nodded. She helped Ryan pull off the shirt, which revealed her nondescript black sports bra. She took a second to kick herself for not wearing anything more…exciting. She’d debated putting on the lacy black set her best friend had jokingly bought her for Christmas last year, but she’d feared that Ryan would think she was trying too hard. So, she just said fuck it and wore what made her most comfortable.

But with the way Ryan was looking at her, like she was starving and Nora was her first meal in weeks, it seemed like the fancy lingerie wasn’t necessary. Ryan brushed her knuckles against Nora’s ribs, thumbed at the edge of her sports bra, and then raised her eyebrow in question. Without further ado, Nora pulled the bra off as well, baring her breasts to the air. She watched Ryan’s pupils dilate as she took in the sight, and Nora only had a second to feel self-conscious before Ryan was lowering her head to her chest and sucking a nipple into her mouth.

It took everything Nora had not to shout, though a strangled squeak did manage to escape. Ryan’s mouth was hot and wet and perfect, and she clearly knew what she was doing with it. She palmed Nora’s other breast and rolled the nipple not currently occupying her mouth between her thumb and forefinger, tugging it lightly. Nora hissed as a jolt of lightning went straight to her core, and she felt Ryan smile. Smug bastard. This wasn’t new physical territory for Nora, and it shouldn’t have felt any different from when Will did it. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, it did.

Ryan eventually pulled off to give her other breast some attention, and by that point, Nora could feel that her underwear was utterly soaked. Suddenly impatient, she shoved at Ryan’s shoulders until the hockey player looked up.

“Are you going to fuck me or not?” she asked petulantly.

Ryan chuckled, and straightened up so she was looming over Nora again. “Someone’s eager,” she said, but Nora could tell that her self-control was also slipping away by the minute.

Ryan slid her hands down Nora’s hips to grip her ass, and then she was being lifted into the air like she weighed nothing. Nora wrapped her legs around Ryan’s hips as she was carried to the bed. Then, she was unceremoniously dumped on the mattress.

“Hey!” Nora snapped. But then Ryan was already tugging her hips to the end of the bed and slipping her fingers beneath the waistband of her shorts.

“Can I—”

“Yes,” Nora interrupted breathlessly.

Ryan made quick work of removing her shorts and underwear. There was something undoubtedly erotic about being fully bare while Ryan had yet to remove a single piece of her own clothing. Nora felt a bit like a slut and was surprised, and more than a little horrified, at how much she liked it.

Despite her impatience, she let Ryan trail kisses down her body, featherlight and reverent, until she reached the apex of Nora’s thighs. Ryan knelt at the edge of the bed, and for a moment just stared at her. Nora debated saying something bitchy like hurry up, but then Ryan looked back up at her, eyes wide.

“Fuck, baby, you’re so wet. Is all this for me?”

Nora sucked in a breath and felt her core pulse again. “Jesus Christ, just…shut up.”

Ryan mimed pulling a zipper across her lips and throwing away the key, her eyes sparkling with mirth. Then, without warning, she dove in.

At the first brush of Ryan’s tongue against her, Nora yelped. It was warm and wet, and the pressure of her licking was so soft that it slowly lit up all of Nora’s nerves. Ryan spent some time just dragging her tongue up and down, keeping the pressure light, until Nora was positively aching. It seemed like Ryan was able to tell as much, because she immediately increased the pressure. Soon, Nora was panting, her head thrown back as she writhed against the bed. When Ryan finally flicked the tip of her tongue against her clit, Nora had to bite her hand to keep from crying out.

Ryan must have heard the aborted noise because she paused what she was doing to look up in disapproval. “Callahan. I want to hear you.”

Nora removed her hand from her mouth, surprised by her own obedience. Ryan gave her a pleased smile before she resumed eating Nora out with great enthusiasm. She traced her tongue around Nora’s clit teasingly before sucking it into her mouth. This time, Nora moaned loudly.

Encouraged, Ryan kept up a constant suction with her mouth, while she continued to flick her tongue against Nora’s clit. Nora’s hips jerked involuntarily, and for a second, she was worried she had broken Ryan’s nose. Ryan just huffed, not seeming to mind, and placed her rough hands on Nora’s hips to hold them in place.

Then, Ryan moaned, and the vibrations against her clit were enough to tip Nora over the edge. She cried out, as pleasure unlike anything she’d ever felt before rolled through her. Ryan continued to lap at her until Nora pushed her head away, overstimulated.

Ryan stayed between her legs, kissing the soft skin of her inner thighs until Nora came down from her high. She’d come embarrassingly quickly, but also, she didn’t really care. Mostly, she was in mild disbelief that she had been able to come at all. She had almost hoped that she wouldn’t. Ryan being able to make her orgasm in less than ten minutes had implications that Nora wasn’t quite ready to process.

When Nora looked back down, Ryan was grinning in a self-satisfied way, which Nora supposed was warranted.

“You doing okay?” Ryan asked.

“I think I just died for a second.” Apparently, Nora’s post-orgasm brain didn’t have a filter.

Ryan laughed and placed another kiss dangerously close to where Nora was still sensitive. “See, that wasn’t so hard was it?”

Nora leveled an unimpressed look at her, although she was fighting a grin. “You’re an idiot.”

Ryan nipped her inner thigh playfully, and Nora’s breath hitched.

“Good thing I have that hockey scholarship,” Ryan purred.

Nora rolled her eyes, gearing up for a clever retort, but then she felt Ryan’s warm breath on her cunt and all thoughts promptly left her head.

Ryan resumed the gentle lapping motion she’d started with, careful not to tip the scale into overstimulation. Nora’s brain still hadn’t come back online quite yet, but she had enough wherewithal to feel slightly embarrassed at the attentive way Ryan was taking care of her. She was probably soaked down there, but Ryan seemed unbothered.

Feeling a bit brave, Nora looked down to watch what Ryan was doing. She jumped slightly when her eyes met Ryan’s, which were already trained on her. She was looking at Nora with the same intensity she’d direct at her opponents during a face-off, which made Nora’s breath catch in her throat. When Ryan licked her lips with deliberate slowness, Nora damn near choked. Ryan pulled off again, which made Nora whine, but she quickly replaced the movements of her tongue with her fingers.

“God, you taste so fucking good,” Ryan said, voice low and husky, as she pressed slightly into Nora. She punctuated her statement with a sucking kiss to Nora’s hip. “Could eat you for every meal…”

Nora felt like she was going to combust. She closed her eyes because it was suddenly too much to look Ryan in the face. Fortunately, Ryan decided to have mercy and returned to taking Nora apart with her tongue. Nora felt herself trembling, and Ryan moved her hands to her outer thighs. The way she rubbed them against Nora’s skin was probably meant to be soothing but only succeeded in setting her skin on fire.

With horror, Nora felt her eyes begin to sting. She hadn’t anticipated…this.

Nora had expected Ryan to be arrogant, like she’d been in all of their interactions leading up to this. Ryan clearly had experience, and Nora expected her to gloat about it. She’d thought they’d get each other off quickly, and that Ryan would lord it over her afterwards. All of that, Nora could have endured. She figured she’d get Ryan out of her system and then go back to life as usual. If everything went as planned, she would never have to think about Ryan’s stupid handsome face ever again.

She hadn’t been prepared for Ryan to be sweet. Considerate. Still a little annoying, but in a way that was kind of charming. But what Nora really couldn’t wrap her head around was the fact that Ryan seemed just as desperate for this as Nora was. It didn’t make sense, and Nora didn’t have the emotional capacity to think about it too hard. Instead, she gripped Ryan’s hair and pulled her closer to where she needed her.

Ryan huffed, and then yep, that was her tongue pushing into her. Nora gasped, which trailed off into a needy moan as Ryan began to fuck her with her tongue.

It wasn’t long before Nora felt herself reaching the edge again. She was babbling some string of incoherent curses, maybe just Ryan’s name, and she thought hysterically that Ryan’s jaw must hurt. Then, Ryan pressed a thumb to her clit, and that was it. Nora came almost violently, soaking Ryan’s face with a truly astonishing amount of her release.

“Fuck,” Ryan moaned, like she was the one who had just come twice in the span of fifteen minutes.

She looked up at Nora, her pupils blown out. Her nose, lips, and chin were drenched. Nora would have felt embarrassed, but only one thought invaded her brain: She needed to kiss Ryan right the fuck now or she was going to die.

She hauled Ryan up to her mouth. Ryan went willingly and covered Nora with her strong body before devouring her mouth in a filthy kiss. Nora could taste herself on Ryan’s tongue, and shivered at the depravity of it. She didn’t know that sex could be this good, feel this right.

They kissed lazily for a while, and awareness came back to Nora in increments. Ryan propped herself on her elbow and idly ran her fingers through Nora’s hair, murmuring praises into her ear. Then, Nora felt the rough fabric of Ryan’s jeans brush against her still-sensitive skin, which reminded her that Ryan was, in fact, still fully clothed. She had regained enough wherewithal to find this very unfair, so she tentatively slid her hands underneath Ryan’s hoodie. She ran her fingers over Ryan’s sides, her abs, until she reached the edge of her sports bra.

“Off,” she whispered into Ryan’s mouth.

Ryan chuckled, and straightened up so she could remove her hoodie and bra. Nora felt her heart stop dead in her chest at the miles of smooth skin and muscles and holy fucking shit, Ryan’s nipples were pierced. Nora’s eyes zeroed in on the small metal barbells that glinted in the soft light, and her mouth dropped open in astonishment. She didn’t notice the smug smile that lit up Ryan’s face.

“Like what you see?”

Nora didn’t dignify that with an answer. She sat up, tugged Ryan forward by the waist, and sucked a pierced nipple into her mouth. Ryan hissed, and Nora began to roll the piercing across her tongue. She relished the taste of the metal and palmed Ryan’s other breast.

Ryan had unfairly perfect tits. They were full and perky and apparently very sensitive, judging by the sounds Ryan was making. She was not as reserved as Nora when it came to being vocal during sex, which Nora filed away under “information that will never be useful again.” She switched to Ryan’s other breast, and she heard her blow out a shaky breath.

“Yeah, just like that baby.”

Emboldened by the praise, Nora took a chance and gripped Ryan’s nipple between her teeth, before tugging on it lightly. Ryan jolted with a curse, and Nora immediately released her. She was about to start apologizing profusely, but she was pulled into a bruising kiss, to which she gladly complied. Kissing Ryan was addictive in a way that was a bit detrimental to Nora’s plan of never doing this again.

She moved her hands to the button on Ryan’s jeans, and after a few moments of fumbling, she succeeded in undoing it. She dragged the zipper down, and Ryan pulled back to help her slide the jeans off. Then, when she was just kneeling there in a pair of gray briefs, Nora’s mouth suddenly went dry.

With a stab of icy panic, she remembered that she was extremely out of her depth. She wanted to return the sexual favor very badly, but she had no idea what she was doing. Ryan was still looking at her with barely concealed lust, but there was an edge of concern there too.

“Are you alright?” she asked. “We can stop here, if you want.”

“No!” Nora said quickly, then cringed at how panicked she sounded.

Ryan frowned and looked like she was about to argue, so Nora turned her gaze down to her fidgeting hands. She couldn’t look at Ryan for this next part.

“I just…want it to be good for you,” she admitted quietly, cheeks burning.

For an agonizing moment, there was dead silence. Nora refused to look up. She didn’t think she could bear Ryan’s pity. But then Ryan shifted toward her, and a warm palm cupped her cheek, urging her to look up. Nora nearly gasped at the raw desire burning in Ryan’s eyes. She leaned in close and pressed her lips to Nora’s in a tender kiss.

“We’ll take it slow, yeah?” she murmured. “I’ll guide you.”

Nora’s chest eased. She let out the breath she’d been holding. “Okay.”

Ryan gave her another sweet kiss and then stretched out onto her back. She beckoned Nora to her, and Nora went obediently. She decided to first go back to what she had been doing before and brought her mouth to Ryan’s breasts. Ryan seemed to be crazy for it, and Nora knew that foreplay was important.

Ryan threw her head back and moaned, threading her fingers through Nora’s hair. “That’s good, baby.”

So Nora kept it up while she explored Ryan’s body with her hands. She ran her fingers up and down Ryan’s ribs, across her toned stomach, until she reached the edge of her briefs. She dipped her fingers beneath the waistband and heard Ryan gasp sharply.

Nora took that as permission to proceed. She slowly started to slide Ryan’s underwear off, which took a bit of awkward finagling.

“They make this look a lot easier in movies,” Nora lamented, and Ryan laughed, the sound so jubilant that Nora had to join in. They’d never shared a laugh like this before.

Then, Ryan was fully naked, and she was so fucking hot that Nora was pretty sure she was going to pass out.

Ryan grabbed one of the pillows on Nora’s bed and shoved it beneath her own hips. Nora suddenly had a very good view of Ryan’s cunt, which was glistening with wetness, and her mouth began to water. She looked up at Ryan, who was looking back at her, amused.

“It’s not going to bite you,” she said sarcastically.

Nora spluttered. “Do you ever stop talking?” she snapped, though she suspected Ryan had said it on purpose, to get Nora out of her own head.

Ryan just wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and then placed her arms casually behind her head. “By all means, feel free to shut me up.”

Oh, Nora would shut her up alright. She lowered herself to her stomach, until she was directly facing Ryan’s cunt, and then licked a long stripe from her opening to her clit. She heard Ryan curse, which seemed like a good sign, so she tried to mimic what had been done to her earlier. She kept her tongue soft as she explored Ryan’s folds and quickly discovered that she didn’t mind the taste.

“Good,” Ryan said after a bit, her voice strained. “You can apply a little more pressure.”

Nora obeyed, grateful for the instruction, and preened when Ryan whined in response. Her hand landed in Nora’s hair, and she tucked a strand that had flopped in front of Nora’s face behind her ear.

She continued murmuring encouragements, but after a while, Nora’s jaw began to ache. It must have started to show because Ryan tapped Nora’s cheek to get her attention.

“Move your head instead of your tongue,” she said. “It’ll put less strain on your jaw.”

Nora did as she said, because she wanted to be able to eat Ryan out for as long as possible, and then sucked Ryan’s clit into her mouth. Ryan whimpered, which was hot as fuck, and let out a breathless laugh.

“Fuck, I’m a lot closer than I thought. Keep going, baby, feels so good.”

Nora wanted to be good. She wanted to make Ryan come. She needed to, actually, the same way one needs to breathe in order to live. She swirled her tongue around Ryan’s clit teasingly and then flicked it with the tip of her tongue, like Ryan had done to her. Then, in a burst of inspiration, she slid her index finger along Ryan’s cunt experimentally. Ryan’s hand tightened in her hair, so Nora pressed forward and slipped a finger into her.

“Mierda…” Ryan groaned.

Nora began to pulse her finger in and out, reveling in the feel of Ryan clenching around her. She took a chance and added another finger. This was, evidently, the right choice.

“Please baby,” Ryan begged. “Don’t stop.”

Nora went faster, feeding off of Ryan’s increasingly frantic moans, and realized belatedly that she’d forgotten about her clit. She sucked it back into her mouth and was quickly rewarded.

Ryan shouted, back arching off the bed, and Nora could only watch in awe. Ryan’s face as she came was beautiful. Her full lips were parted, her eyes screwed shut, and her chest was heaving with exertion, like she’d just completed an hour of bag skates. It was the first time that Nora had seen Ryan look anything but in control, and the display of vulnerability was so heady that Nora felt drunk. She kind of wished she could take a picture of Ryan’s blissed-out expression and frame it.

When Ryan collapsed to the bed with a shiver, Nora carefully withdrew her fingers. She instinctively brought those same fingers to her mouth, licked away Ryan’s release, and looked up to see that the other girl was watching.

“Jesus fuck, Callahan,” she said with a breathless laugh.

Suddenly at a loss for what to do, Nora pushed herself up until she was kneeling at the foot of the bed. She sat there with her hands in her lap as she waited for…what exactly? For Ryan to tell her she’d done a good job? Or was this the part where Ryan was going to make fun of her for her admittedly clumsy performance?

Ryan sighed, noticing Nora’s internal struggle, and outstretched her arm. “Get over here, dummy.”

Despite the unsavory name-calling, Nora went a little too eagerly and fit herself into the space next to Ryan. She placed her head on Ryan’s chest, and Ryan wrapped an arm around her shoulders. They held each other close as they both caught their breath.

For a moment, neither of them spoke, but the silence wasn’t uncomfortable. Nora idly traced patterns onto Ryan’s sternum and wondered what the other girl was thinking.

“Was that…okay?” Nora asked quietly, because she was dying to know.

Ryan turned to look at her and flashed that goddamn smirk. “Better than okay. You’re a natural.”

Nora rolled her eyes and turned her face into Ryan’s shoulder, to hide her smile. She was glad Ryan had enjoyed herself. If she’d been a bad lay, it would’ve been tough to live that down. Nora realized then that there was something she probably should have confirmed before the mind-blowing sex.

“You’re not going to tell anyone, are you?”

Ryan grabbed Nora’s chin and gently tilted her head up so she could look at her. Her expression was utterly serious, which Nora hadn’t known she was even capable of. Nora wanted to discover all the different parts of Ryan, she realized with startling clarity. She wanted to see what Ryan’s bedhead looked like when she woke up in the morning. She wanted to know how Ryan liked her coffee, if she liked coffee at all. She wanted to listen to the same music Ryan listened to and to know how each song made her feel.

God, she was so fucked.

“This stays between you and me,” Ryan promised, and she sounded so sincere that Nora couldn’t help but believe her.

Lauren Hurrell (she/her) is a writer and editor based in southeast London. Find Lauren on Instagram at @lvhurrell.

Steph (she/they) is an avid reader, cat parent, plant enthusiast, part-time witch, and devout lesbian. Find Steph on Instagram at @steph_mariaaa.

A reader wrote in to respond to Jennie Mathewson’s story, “Memory Work,” published in our Early June 2026 issue.