Bernie tells a big lie to her lesbian old flame

Lillian and Bernie looked around the sexy clothes and accessories displayed at "Hot".

Bernie looked over at Lei, the Chinese clerk in spike heels, who seemed to be looking her and Lil up and down. Especially Lil.

"What do you think, Bernie?" Lillian asked, her voice sounding idly bored. "Should I give up men entirely, or should I tease 'em and dump 'em?"

Bernie hmmmed to indicate she had heard. "Your call," she said. She tried to think of something to distract Lil and get her onto a more cheerful topic.

"I think maybe I should try girls instead," Lil said. "Nothing to lose. Wait, Bernie, Gary said when he first met you, you were going with that Arab girlfriend Bibi? So now you can tell me. Are men or women bigger heartbreakers?"

Bernie coughed, uncomfortable with Lil's sharp question. "Um, yes," she said. "It wasn't really a big heartbreak or anything," Bernie said. "It just didn't work out for us."

Lil went back to seriously browsing the clothes, looking for something flashy to soothe her wounded heart and pride.

As Bernie and Lil drifted around the store, Bernie's attention was attracted by a curtained alcove in one corner. "Intimate Accessories", read the sign beside the curtain. She paused and wondered if the curtain might discreetly screen off an assortment of sex toys.

When Bernie looked back to Lillian, she saw her in conversation with Lei, looking through a rack of invisibly skinny little clothes. Bathing suits? Lingerie? Bernie wasn't sure, but it was clearly the sort of thing that would look good on Lil but not on her.

Bernie heard a giggle from behind the curtain. She stepped closer, wondering what was going on.

"That one, that one," a woman's voice said. "Put it on her." It sounded like a young woman, but with a bit of a pushy edge to her voice.

There was a little rustling, and little jingling and tugging noises.

"Does that feel comfortable?" another woman's voice, even and calm. Another salesclerk. "And if I move this here, like this? Good, we have it seated firmly. All good?"

"Yes very much, thank you Lynn," a third woman's voice said, soft and a little hesitant.

Bernie blinked and listened closer. It sounded like Habiba, her dorm roommate from last year. Last year Bernie had been sure she was a lesbian. She went to Sisterhood and Hillel Lesbian Club meetings. Habiba was intrigued, and after going along, she thought that after her sheltered childhood, she might be a lesbian too. She and Bernie fell in love, or at least in hopeless dreamy lust. Bernie brought Habiba to her mother's Pleasure Circle and helped her learn to masturbate along with the other women. They read The Joy of Lesbian Sex together like a cookbook and tried out lots of recipes. But things ended awkwardly when Habiba got sick and had to miss spring quarter classes. Recovering at her conservative family's home, Habiba couldn't communicate freely, and she and Bernie had fallen out of touch just when they were missing each other the most.

Bernie had been lonely, and plunged back into sex with men, first her cousin Ben, then her new boyfriend Gary. She hadn't seen Habiba for over a year.

"That looks good on you, Habiba!" the first woman's voice said. "Wrap it up, we'll take it home and Habiba can try it out on me!"

Habiba giggled softly.

"And you wanted this as well?" salesclerk Lynn asked.

"Yes, Habiba needs her own so she can stop borrowing mine, and we know this one fits."

"Done," said Lynn. There was a crinkling sound of tissue paper.

The curtain drew back, and Lynn walked to the register carrying what looked like a shoebox gold-stamped with the "Hot" store's flaming logo. Following the salesclerk walked a wiry young woman with light brown skin, tight short brown curls on top of her head, and hair shaved velvet-short above her ears. She looked familiar, maybe someone from Hillel Lesbians.

Two steps behind walked a tall young woman with long, silky black hair. A richly patterned scarf covered the top of her head, tied under her chin. She wore a loose, sleeveless black blouse and knee skirt. Habiba.

Her eyes met Bernie's. "Naomi?" she said. She hadn't been going by 'Bernie' when she met Habiba.

"Yes, Habiba," Bernie said. Bernie stepped forward, and her vision swam with tears. She saw dimly that Habiba was crying too, and stepping forward. They fell into one another's arms and hugged deeply, cheek to cheek. Then they stepped back to look each other in the face again, still clasping hands.

The curly-haired brunette stepped back from the sales counter and looked quizzically at Habiba and Bernie.

Habiba introduced them, "Naomi, meet my girlfriend Raquel. I think you met her at Hillel last year. Raquel, this is my, my roommate last year, Naomi Bernstein." She squeezed Bernie's hand, still holding on.

Raquel! thought Bernie. Of course! Last year she had a full head of curly hair, and wore long dresses all the time. Now she was wearing a tank top and shorts. How could she forget? Raquel had seduced her the first time she went to the Hillel Center's lesbian discussion group. Nothing much came of it since Raquel had a steady girlfriend at the time, and Raquel scared her a little back then.

"Naomi Bernstein," Raquel said. "Haven't seen YOU at Hillel Lez in a while. I heard you have a BOY FRIEND now."

Bernie flushed pink, angered at Raquel for 'outing' her in front of Habiba. Lil had stepped up, wondering what was going on. "Of course not!" Bernie protested. "I'm here with my girlfriend Lillian."

Lil startled for a second at Bernie's flat lie. Then she smiled brightly and took Bernie's right hand in her left. She reached out her right hand and shook Raquel's hand with confidence. "Charmed," she said to Raquel. She squeezed Bernie's hand and kissed her cheek. "Lei found something perfect for me, sweetheart," she said.

"What a cutie," Raquel said. "Where'd you find her?" she asked Bernie.

"She saved me from my rotten boyfriend," Lil said. "Excuse me, time to go pull out my plastic," she said. She went over to the counter, where Lynn rang her up.

"I guess I owe you an apology," Raquel said. She leaned forward and whispered in Bernie's ear. "She is so hot. I wanna see you do her." She stood straight. She whispered something to Habiba, who giggled and nodded quickly, her head scarf jumping.

Lil came back with her purchase in a bag. "Success!" she said. "We can call it a day now," she said to Bernie.

"Say, would you two like to come back to our place?" Raquel asked. "Bibi and I need to take some new equipment for a test-drive, and I thought if you're in the mood for some lazy afternoon hanging out?"

"I have to go pee-pee," Lil said. "Mommy come with?" she teased Bernie.

"Hold on a second," Bernie said. "We'll be right back."

There was a restroom right across the mall aisle from "Hot". Bernie and Lil entered and checked to make sure it was empty.

"Girlfriend?" Lil said. "I think you just got Raquel to invite us to come over to her place and watch her and her girlfriend try out her new sex toys."

"I'm terribly sorry," Bernie said. "Habiba is my old girlfriend, and I felt so embarrassed at her hearing what Raquel said, it just popped out of my mouth that you were my new girlfriend."

Lillian laughed. "Why not?" she said. "Maybe I could be your girlfriend today and we can go have fun with them. My brother might be keeping you well boinked, but I could use some good sex." She lowered her voice. "And...and I know I can trust you to be good. We don't even have to go with them." She looked down, then back up at Bernie. "Girlfriend?"

Bernie swallowed. A moment of thoughtlessness was growing more complications. But she didn't want to just walk away from Habiba. Or disappoint Lil.

She flashed on an image of Habiba's face in orgasm, then Raquel's, then Lil's. She felt hot all over, and a little dizzy. She steadied herself with her hands. She loved Gary, but she was suddenly hungry for the taste of a woman again. Meeting Bibi had brought it all back. She licked her dry lips.