Finding Beth Ch. 01

I was twenty when I moved into my two bedroom-apartment in Downtown Feltville Luxury Apartments. You've never heard of Feltville? Yeah, not surprised. It's a pretty small town in Minnesota, but to me at that age it may as well have been New York.

I grew up in a truly tiny town called Botaka -- less than a thousand people. My parents were decent, honest, hard-working people and I grew up in a loving but very sheltered home. Small-town girl syndrome -- big time. I grew up without a smartphone or a boyfriend until I was eighteen -- but got both at nineteen. Mark (that was the boyfriend, not the phone) was sweet enough, at least at first. I lost my virginity to him and after that Mark and I had sex a few times more, but not often. If you think that sounds boring it's because it was. He would kiss me, rub my tits, finger me for about twenty seconds then he would lay me down on my back, put himself inside me and go at it for maybe thirty seconds; forty on a good day, kiss me again and climb off. So pretty quickly I became one of those 'I have a headache' girls and after only a few months together we broke up.

After we broke up I felt more embarrassed than heartbroken. I hadn't really loved Mark if I was being honest with myself we just kinda... defaulted to each other? And that was the problem. Maybe I'd never had a proper rebellious teenager phase, I thought. I'd always been a good girl, never really did much of anything bad, never snuck out to go to parties (okay fine, once but Laura Patterson's parents were out of town and they had a freaking pool), I never tried to get a boyfriend until I turned eighteen, never argued with my parents, never did this, never did that etc.

So at twenty, recently dumped and coming to the realization that I was on the whole pretty damn boring, I decided I needed to get the heck out of Botaka.

My parents argued with me a little, but ultimately supported me moving out of town -- it's not like I was going halfway across the country, I'm still only an hour's drive from home.

I decided on Feltville. I found a place to rent online, applied to a few jobs and eventually got a job working in a restaurant, packed my things and left.

Was it scary? Hell yeah, at first. But it made me feel more alive than ever, braver than ever. Like a new woman, a worldly woman. Yes I know you've never heard of Feltville and you probably won't find in on a map unless you know where it is already, I know! But like I said -- Feltville could have been a vibrant metropolis for all I had to compare with. And it wasn't long before 'the big city' got its hooks into me and I started on a journey of discovery that would change me forever.

Let me start by telling you about Jamie.

Jamie lives in the apartment next door to mine and became my first friend here in Feltville. In fact I met her for the first time the afternoon I moved in -- just a few hours after my father drove off with the car. I'd gone out to shop for groceries just have something in the fridge and was getting my keys out when the door next to mine opened and a tall, thin, beautiful woman stepped out, looked at me and said:

"Hi, you must be the new neighbor." I smiled politely and introduced myself.

"Yeah, I'm Bethany, but you can call me Beth."

"Jamie!" she shook my hand and asked where I was from. I told her the name Botaka and watched her eyes glaze over and had to explain where it was.

"Oh, country girl, huh?"

"Guess so." I said, feeling a little put-upon. Jamie must have noticed because she instantly seemed sorry and offered to show me about the town. I was pretty tired but said yes anyway. I wanted to be polite, and I wanted to make friends.

Jamie took me out for a walk and showed me main street, some closed cafés she liked and then brought me to a bar. I'd never been to a proper bar before (I'd had alcohol before, to be clear -- I wasn't a complete dork) and today I would find Allyson's Bar & Eatery quaint but then I didn't -- it was downright glamorous. Jamie seemed to know a handful of people there and maybe I should have noticed how some of the guys who said hi to her looked at her but it slid past me at the time. She bought me a drink and we sat down at a table together; it wasn't very busy on a random Thursday.

"So, Botaka. What's it like?" Jamie asked me and I had to think about it for a while.

"Small." I finally said. "Small and boring." Jamie grinned -- I'd learn to recognize that grin later and what it meant.

"Not enough action for you?"

"No action at all." I laughed, as if I had any idea what kind of 'action' I was after.

"Your family still there?"

"Mhm. Mom, dad and my brothers."

"Oh brothers, how many?" Jamie sipped her drink.

"Six." She very nearly spat her drink in my face.

"SIX?!" she exclaimed after wiping her face. "Fuck me!" I laughed back, the drink starting to buzz my head a bit.

"Mhm. There were nine of us in total, in a house that could comfortably house four people."

"Good god!" Jamie laughed again, and I think that was when I realized I liked her. She asked me more about life in Botaka and I asked about hers. She was an only child, born in Canada, moved to the US when she was a teenager. She came to Minnesota for a business degree, got it and liked the place (it was far enough away from her parents) so she stuck around after university. We spent a good two hours chatting, laughing, sharing stories (she had a lot more good stories than I did) before we headed home because the drink hit me pretty hard -- it was moving day and I was exhausted. Before we left Jamie asked to exchange numbers and told me if I needed anything she was usually pretty quick to reply to texts. She hugged me goodnight in the hallway and cheerily said 'See you around, neighbor'. I went to bed feeling happy -- I'd made a friend on my first day in town! She was fun, cheery and seemed super-nice! She was beautiful, too. She looked the way I often wish I looked: Tall and thin, with gorgeous green eyes and curly, beautiful dark hair. She had curves where it counted, but no more. Not like me.

My mother was broad around the hips and so are all my brothers, and me. I'm barely 5' 5 and if you're being nice you can call me 'curvy'. I can fill out a bra, though, and people often complement me for my blond hair, which I take good care of and usually wear down to my shoulders. Because pants never fit me very well I prefer wearing skirts or dresses with leggings in winter and nothing in summer. I guess I didn't hate the way I looked, but Jamie was how I wanted to look, at least back then. She dared to wear jeans that showed off her butt, for example, something I never did then. If I wore trousers I picked big sizes and regular fit, to hide, never show off. And Jamie dressed well, too. I don't know if I noticed that at the time, but she usually wore brand clothes and often new ones. I found out a little later that she worked at a supermarket and I probably should have put two and two together and asked myself how she could afford clothes like that. But I didn't. Not then.

Two nights later I was back in bed, unable to sleep. It was the night before my first day at work and I was nervous as all heck. I'd planned on getting an early night but it hadn't worked. I kept lying in bed not falling asleep. Eventually I gave up, put on headphones and tried watching some TV on my phone to tire myself out: I still hadn't bought a TV and I was wearing headphones out of habit; I shared rooms with one of my brothers growing up and anyway our walls were thin.

After maybe half an hour I thought I heard something through my headphones. I took them off and listened. I heard voices, a door opening and then the voices became clearer. I thought I heard Jamie and someone else. Someone moved something and then I heard some giggling. I put my headphones away and listened a little more closely and as I did I realized that I'd taken the smaller room in my apartment for my own bedroom -- I wanted to make the larger room into a living room with a TV in time, but if Jamie's apartment looked the same as mine and she'd used the larger room for her bedroom, then my bedroom and hers were wall to wall. Suddenly my heart was going faster and I was unsure what to do. The second voice definitely belonged to a man. She had told me she was single at Allyson's. There was more giggling and quiet (though not that quiet) whispering, and the thought ran through my head: She's having a one-night stand. The thought was so alien, having one-night stands was almost unthinkable to me back then. But now my heart was positively racing and I hesitated on what to do. Slowly, the sound of my beating heart filling my head, I leaned in and cocked my ear against the wall and listened.

"Ready for this?" the male voice said, like a challenge.

"Oh I think I am. Let's see what we have to work with." I heard Jamie's voice -- and it was definitely hers -- in almost a sing-song voice, then she gave a little gasp: "Oh wow. Not bad. Not bad at all."

"Think you can handle it?"

"Ooooh I don't know... it's so big. Let me have a try. Oh wow I can barely fit my hand around it." she gave an audible little laugh.

"How about your lips?" Jamie laughed again; louder, this time.

"Let's see." I heard a soft moan and maybe I was imagining it but I could have sworn I heard Jamie's lips smack as she was kissing someone... or something. "I bet a lot of you watching are jealous now."

"Mmm... I bet they wish they were me."

"Mmm yeah. Well if they play their cards right maybe they will be." more soft moans, then I heard Jamie's voice again: "Okay, time to get serious."

"Oooooh fuck!" I heard the man loudly; I wouldn't have needed to keep my head pressed to the wall for that. "Ooooh fuck fuck that's so good."

Jamie's voice again, a little out of breath: "Man I can only just fit in my mouth it's so big."

"Please keep trying your mouth feels amazing." His groans and words of encouragement seemed to work, even through the wall I could hear a sloppy sound that stronger, but never faster: The pace stayed the same, and every now and then I heard Jamie's muffled moans. There was a loud slopping noise and a brief 'pop'.

"Mmm I've got the best fans; this cock is so nice and thick. Mmm..." her voice trailed off and I heard a loud kissing sound. "Next contest I post is definitely gonna have to include fucking."

"I mean who's stopping you?" the man said, as I felt my mouth go dry.

"Oh sweetie I'd love to but it wouldn't be fair to all my loyal fans." another kissing sound and a brief moan in reponse. "I'm sorry."

"Guess I'll just have to make do with this then, huh?"

"Guess so. Want me to get back to it?"

"Please."

After that it mostly devolved into groans and the occasional smacking sound. After several minutes I almost screamed as something slammed into the wall and the man grunted out between moans:

"Oh fuck, fuck I'm coming; I'M COMING!" there was a pause where I heard nothing and suddenly Jamie voice moaning, too. The man suddenly gave a long, animal-like groan that almost turned into a scream, he slammed the wall again and then I heard nothing except breathing. Finally, there was some whispering I couldn't make out and I heard Jamie's voice, sounding cheery:

"I hope you enjoyed that; I know I did. Remember I do fan contests once a month, next one should be up in a week and you could be the lucky one recording with me next time. For now, bye everyone!" I could hear her blowing a kiss.

"How was that?" the man asked, still breathing heavily.

"Great as always hun, shouldn't be too much to edit in that. Thanks again sweetheart."

"Anytime, babe." he said, laughing; "Seriously: Any time."

"Oh you're sweet." I heard a kiss. "You need a shower?"

"No I'm okay, I'll let myself out." I heard some rustling as if someone gathered up their clothes and doors closing and then everything was quiet. I could hear Jamie moving about, maybe putting something away. It was quiet for several minutes apart from a few noises here and there; a closet door closing, shuffling things around. Then I heard the sound of bedsprings. And then... then I heard Jamie moaning. It was quiet at first and I might not have heard it if I wasn't listening so intently, but soon it became louder. She moaned and I could hear the bed moving, creaking ever so slightly. As her moans became louder the sound of movements grew louder, too. Eventually she grew louder but seemed to back down a little, perhaps remembering she had neighbors but she didn't stop. After several minutes she paused in the middle of a drawn-out moan and I almost felt like I was in there with her -- a thought that passed through my head only for a moment but would stay there for days afterwards -- and I could see in my imagination her arching her hips and straining to make that last leap: Then her climax came in a stuttered, raw groan and I heard the bed briefly thud against the wall. I heard her rapid breathing and in that moment I felt I wanted to be there as she caught her breath, holding her as the moment washed over her.

After that, she got up and I heard noises from the bathroom; running water and a toilet flush. Minutes passed and she must have come back to bed but I didn't hear anything else. I lied back in bed, my heart still pounding. My pyjama bottoms were soaked but I didn't dare do anything -- I felt like a voyeur; a perv and my head was full of thoughts I'd never before had to deal with. I lied alone, my nether regions almost aching, but I couldn't bring myself to do anything. Hours later I drifted off and woke up feeling not at all rested and headed off to my new job.