Gretchen somewhat lost track of time as Ginger kissed her, but at one point Ginger broke off. "You sure you haven't done this before, sweetie?" Her long fingers were tangled in Gretchen's hair, the other hand resting lightly on the girl's waist. She used her nose to nudge some of Gretchen's hair back from her cheek and whispered slowly and sensuously in the girl's ear, "You're very good."

"Thanks. I'm sure, though." Gretchen felt a kick of pleasure at the compliment, excited that she seemed to be able to give pleasure to someone as sophisticated and alluring as Ginger. She hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. "I mean, a few kisses. But nothing like this." She gazed at Ginger's face, captivated by her glittering green eyes and her full lips. She tilted her head a little and touched her own lips to Ginger's in a wondering, soft kiss.

Ginger smiled against Gretchen's mouth and licked the girl's lips lingeringly as she pulled back slightly. Gretchen shivered and gasped with the unexpected sensuousness of the gesture, the thrill spreading out from somewhere deep inside her. Ginger made Gretchen shiver again, by moving her mouth to the girl's neck for a quick kiss, and flicked her hand off Gretchen's waist to point her thumb at the bedroom where Hannah was dozing. "With her?"

Gretchen laughed quickly. "God, no. Sadly." Gretchen re-crossed her legs, feeling her skirt gather higher up her thighs. She squeezed her legs tightly together as the continued brush of Ginger's lips on her neck, and the tickle of the woman's breath on her skin, sent pulses of pleasure through her whole body. She wondered if she should have been so open about her frustrated feelings for Hannah, but she knew Ginger somehow already knew. And it turned out that Ginger was doing very well at helping her to care less about Hannah, at least in that moment. "But a couple of other girls at school, you know? One girl back home..."

"Just girls?" Ginger returned her hand to Gretchen's waist, and smiled when Gretchen frowned and nodded her head decisively. She immediately trailed a finger gently up the line of buttons on Gretchen's top, to the open collar. She made sure her knuckles lightly rested against Gretchen's breast as she traced the line of the collar on her bare throat. She moved her head again and kissed Gretchen teasingly on the lips. "And just kisses? Nothing more?"

"Just kisses," Gretchen whispered back against Ginger's mouth, distracted by the woman's finger on her throat. The woman's immaculate, vivid green fingernail was scratching gently at her skin in a way guaranteed to make the tingles shoot through her more urgently. She wondered where the finger was going next. She cleared her throat. "But like I say, nothing this good..."

Ginger grinned. "You feel like you know what you're doing, honey."

Gretchen grinned back. "I must be a quick learner."

Ginger suddenly looked a little serious, gazing into Gretchen's eyes as if trying to read her thoughts. Then she flicked her eyes down the girl, her gaze lingering on the way Gretchen's skirt was crumpled high up around her crossed thighs. Very deliberately, she moved her hand from Gretchen's throat to adjust the hem of the skirt so it was straight, then let her hand rest against the girl's knee. Gretchen didn't move her legs, apart from to squeeze her thighs a little tighter as the excitement pulsed through her. Ginger hesitated then grinned again, trailing her thumb lightly across the girl's bare knee, sending more shivers through her, then moving her hand away. She brushed her thumb across Gretchen's cheek, instead. "And you want to learn more."

It wasn't a question. Gretchen nodded. It was so true. She immediately missed the touch of the woman's fingers on her leg, those long elegant fingers she'd spent quite a lot of time thinking about in the last few weeks. She watched Ginger lick her lips quickly, then closed her eyes as the woman gently used the hand in her hair to tilt her head up, and started kissing her again.

Now the kisses were different, more charged somehow, although no more rushed. But Ginger kept one hand moving constantly over Gretchen's face and neck and throat, and down over her body – brushing her waist and navel, then lightly over the shape of her breasts in her blouse, then trailing a fingernail over the material of her skirt, or up the inside of her bare arm. It was a restlessly teasing exploration, leaving a tingle of shivery pleasure all over Gretchen's body wherever Ginger touched her, and Gretchen lost all sense of time again.

*

They had to stop when they heard Hannah getting up. The room was a little dim as the day faded slowly outside the big windows.

Ginger moved a little distance away on the sofa although her hand lingered on Gretchen's leg, where her fingers had been working their way under the hem of the girl's skirt and between her now-uncrossed and slightly parted thighs. Gretchen reluctantly refastened the top few buttons on her blouse, which Ginger had also undone, and tried to control her heavy breathing.

They listened to Hannah stumble about, then heard the door of the en-suite and relaxed. Ginger flicked on a standing lamp next to her end of the sofa, then turned back to Gretchen and gently squeezed her knee. She leaned in for a soft but lingering kiss. "OK, we might have to come back to this. She's going to be hungry – and eating wouldn't be so bad an idea for all of us anyway."

Gretchen bit back a sense of disappointment and nodded. "What have you got in?"

Ginger laughed lightly. "I was thinking about ordering a takeaway. Pizza?"

Gretchen shrugged. "We both like that."

"Everyone likes takeaway pizza, honey." She stood up and retrieved a menu from a drawer in the kitchen. "Do you want to choose?" She went to take a call on her mobile.

Gretchen realised she was actually quite hungry as she looked at the menu, and took it through to Hannah's bedroom. Her friend was sitting on the bed, looking a bit groggy and hurriedly dressed in her shorts and top again. Gretchen handed her the menu. "Ginger's going to get us takeaway pizza."

"Sweet. What have I missed?" Hannah asked, and yawned. She squinted in the light spilling in from the main room. "How long was I asleep for?" Her hair was loose and tangled, and she looked both vulnerable and innocently beautiful.

Gretchen shrugged. "A few hours. And we were just, you know, on the sofa." She didn't know whether to feel guilty for what had happened on the sofa while her friend slept, or cross with Hannah for interrupting it.

*

Ginger ordered a huge pizza each and a fourth because it was on a 2-for-1 deal, plus sides, and the girls wondered why – it was way too much for them. But Ginger waved her phone when Hannah queried the amounts of food. "The other call was a friend of mine, who said she'd pop by. She's a modelling agent," she added with a significant look at Hannah.

Gretchen glanced at Hannah as well, and could tell her friend was even more swayed than before by the idea of modelling. She asked about posing again, but Ginger shook her head, saying it was time to have fun and relax. There was plenty of time tomorrow for more work. She went back to the kitchen for something, and Gretchen wondered how long they were actually going to stay here. She didn't think it had ever been discussed in detail. Hannah started brushing her tousled hair.

*

The pizzas and the agent friend arrived around the same time, not long afterwards. Ginger's friend – a calm, petite woman called Blanche, in an elegant cream summer dress – put some music on, Ginger produced more drinks, and they all settled on the sofas to eat and drink. Hannah listened attentively as Ginger and Blanche discussed modelling, and Gretchen tried to pay attention and look like she was interested. Ginger was sitting with Hannah on the sofa where she'd been kissing Gretchen earlier, while Gretchen herself and Blanche were in the opposite corners of another sofa at right-angles to it. Despite Blanche's repeated attempts to include her in the conversation, Gretchen realised that she was very much on the outside of the group during any discussion about modelling, and was being virtually ignored (at least by Hannah and Ginger), so she found her mind beginning to wander.

She did wonder, not for the first time, why she was there. Watching Ginger – who was openly flirting with Hannah – she felt as if Ginger only paid her attention when Hannah wasn't around – especially now the woman knew she had the girls hooked. Hannah had always claimed that Ginger asked about her, wanted her to be part of things, wanted her to come along – but that didn't fit with how Ginger basically ignored her when she could focus on Hannah instead. She thought about the kisses on the sofa, and felt her irritation rise at the idea of Ginger trying to do the same with Hannah (which she plainly wanted to). The woman couldn't stop touching Hannah – brushing her arm or touching Hannah's midriff while she made a point, keeping her leg pressed against Hannah's all the time. Gretchen watched the way Ginger rested her hand lingeringly on Hannah's thigh as she got up to change the music, and looked at her friend carefully to see whether she realised she was being seduced. Hannah had never shown any awareness of Gretchen's own feelings for her, and didn't seem to be responding to Ginger particularly either, and Gretchen smiled grimly to herself: maybe Ginger had underestimated quite how oblivious Hannah was. She was good at picking up signals from men, but completely unaware when it came to women.

Gretchen decided that she would do everything she could to prevent Ginger getting anywhere with Hannah. She didn't like the idea of her friend being preyed on – after all, she'd hidden her own feelings for her friend for years, so she wasn't going to let anyone else swoop in and take advantage; but also, she thought it was unfair of Ginger to concentrate on Hannah when she herself was also here, and much more willing to give Ginger what she wanted in that respect. Had Ginger just been stringing her along, fooling around to pass the time, when they'd been on the sofa before? Because it hadn't felt like that to Gretchen.

Ginger suggested to Hannah she go and change into the dress they'd photographed earlier, so Blanche could see it in the flesh, then went to fetch more drink from the kitchen. For some time after Hannah returned the conversation was still about modelling, Blanche quietly approving of how Ginger was posing the girl – and, Gretchen noticed, Blanche was just as openly appreciative of Hannah in that dress as Ginger.

Then things got more mellow: yet more drink appeared, but Gretchen managed to get away with drinking slowly as Ginger and Hannah got more drunk. Hannah had always liked having a good time, and the constant attention combined with free vodka was right up her street. Gretchen was keeping an eye on all of them, though, and had noticed that Blanche was pacing herself as well, whereas the other two were really pursuing the party vibe. Ginger had undone the top button on her blouse, and was getting slightly sloppy as she poured herself more drink. Gretchen moved a little closer to Blanche on their sofa, intending to try and get a second opinion on whether she should be worried for Hannah or not. But just as she was going to make some sort of opening comment, Ginger stood up suddenly and decided it was time for a joint, fetching her stash of weed and some rolling papers. Gretchen felt Blanche stiffen slightly next to her, and caught a brief frown cross the woman's face. Hannah was sprawled across the other sofa, too far in drink to be anything other than enthusiastic about every new pleasure suggested.

"Blanche?" Gretchen whispered. "Is this a good idea?"

Blanche shook her head. "Ginger can get carried away sometimes." She looked at Gretchen. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah. Just...I'm a bit worried about Hannah. She likes a drink and, you know, a smoke sometimes, but she can get carried away as well."

Blanche put a hand on Gretchen's knee briefly. "You're OK, though? I notice you've been taking it easy." She nodded at Gretchen's still full glass and was going to say something else, but was interrupted as Ginger passed her the joint. Keeping her eyes on Gretchen, she took a brief puff and blew the smoke out, then leaned in close as she passed the joint on. "Just take a short puff, don't inhale. Just pretend."

Gretchen did as she was told then got up and took the joint back to Ginger, who was lowering herself back onto the sofa next to Hannah, moving the girl's legs to make space, but taking advantage of the opportunity to stroke her knees and calves. She took the joint back without really looking at Gretchen.

After Gretchen had frowned to herself and moved back to her seat, Blanche turned to her with a kindly smile. "Are you interested in modelling as well, Gretchen?" She looked over her with what Gretchen thought was a professional eye.

Gretchen wondered what she saw, but was pretty sure it wasn't model material: sure, she had a similar build to Hannah and was only a bit shorter, but she wasn't nearly as pretty and didn't make an effort to present herself especially well. She was still in the same plain top and cotton skirt as earlier, and she'd kicked her shoes off some time back: the skirt was a little creased from where it had bunched up earlier under Ginger's kissing; her hair was just gathered loosely back in a plastic grip; and unlike Hannah she wasn't wearing makeup. "Er, no. I couldn't compare. And those clothes were bought for Hannah." She gestured quickly at Hannah in her dress.

Blanche looked at her again, carefully, resting her arm on the arm of the sofa and resting her head on her hand. Her expression was difficult to read as her eyes travelled all over Gretchen. "I don't know. You're the same size as your friend, why don't you try something on?" She looked round as Ginger took the much-reduced joint back off Hannah and took a good pull on it. "That'd be OK, wouldn't it, Ginger? If Gretchen here tried something on?"

Ginger looked at Gretchen as if remembering she was there. She shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

Blanche stood up and held out a hand to Gretchen. "Come on, let's find something." Gretchen didn't quite know how to refuse – Blanche had the same persuasive charm as Ginger, and at least she was still relatively sober and capable of talking. Hannah and Ginger were just sprawled on the sofa in a haze. She let herself be led into the room Hannah had been using, slightly uncertain about using what she knew Hannah thought of as "her" clothes now.