Chapter 4

“How’s color guard?” I ask. I look at both of them, but it’s Johnny who answers.

“It’s really great. I don’t think I would have had the guts to even try out for it if it weren’t for my silent partner over here.” He cocks a thumb at Sarah. She sticks her tongue out at him, but then settles her head on his shoulder, wrapping his arm up in her hands.

“The first day of practice, some jock thought it would be fun to tease me about it, being the only boy on the team and all.” Johnny pauses, no doubt replaying the events in his head. “But after Sarah laid him out flat, and he and his buddies think twice about messing with me now.”

After all the chaos ended and the infection passed, we all figured out that there was more to our individual stories than we had initially let on. Parts were true, other parts had been embellished, and some had simply sprung up from our imaginations.

Like Sarah really did know how to fight, just not Capoeira, that was just something she saw in a movie and thought it looked cool. Sarah’s fighting skills came from a combination of Taekwondo classes after school at the local Y, and street fighting that she learned out of necessity, being a small girl in a rough neighborhood.

The costume making though, that was real. Sarah’s got amazing sewing skills. Johnny once told me that she finds clothes at thrift shops and garage sales, and uses them to create fabulous new outfits for herself. Sarah also designed and made the uniforms for the color guard. She won’t perform with them though, because god forbid someone actually see her and realize that she’s amazing.

Sarah really did come to the university that day to apply for financial aid, and I hope she gets it. She’s planning to major in fashion design and merchandising, and I can’t imagine a better career for her. She and Johnny have even talked about starting up a side business together, maybe even before starting at the university in the fall.

You might get the idea from all of this that Sarah and Johnny are boyfriend and girlfriend, but they’re not. They just seen to fit together and their personalities complement each other really well. Besides, Johnny’s still as queer as a two-dollar bill, even though he’s planning to take Sarah to prom.

Johnny’s real name is actually James, but Ngomi, Sarah and I still call him Johnny to this day. And he wasn’t at the university for a figure skating competition. He lifted the whole idea from a magazine article he happened to be reading about Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir. I think there’s more than just a little hero worship going on there.

That leaves Ngomi and me, the Valkyrie and the maiden she’s sworn to protect. We’re doing alright, but we’re still getting used to being a couple so we’re taking our time.

I really do have meathead guys trying to hit on me all the time, that was no lie. But all I ever really wanted was to go on a date with a girl and see what it was like. I’d known since high school that it’s what I preferred, but I was so scared about what other people might think that I never came out of the closet.

It took an international student from Zimbabwe with an interest in Norse mythology and the art of fencing to show me that it was OK to be myself. And Ngomi isn’t actually a Valkyrie, she’s just a shy girl far from home, who spends a lot of her time alone reading when she isn’t busy studying.

It turns out my girlfriend’s a pretty smart cookie. She has a dual major in aerospace engineering and applied physics. I like to tease her about being a rocket scientist sometimes, but not too much ’cause I like it when she helps me with my math homework.

I went from a D at midterm to a B-minus thanks to her tutoring. I’ve offered to pay her, but the only currency she says she’ll accept are my sweet girl-kisses, as she calls them. And that’s just fine with me, I’ve got plenty of those for her.

The Sharpie hash-marks on Ngomi’s arm eventually faded away, so no wedding bells. But I did take her with me last weekend to visit my parents. They loved her so much that she’s going to be staying with us over spring break. I’m not sure what the sleeping arrangements are going to be, but I imagine we can find some alone time.

Ngomi and I both have two more years until graduation, and I’m really hoping things continue to work out for us. Who knows, maybe I can find a nice outdoor space with a gazebo by then. I haven’t exactly told her about my dream yet, ’cause I don’t want to scare her off.

“Anybody for a cup of coffee?” I offer. “My treat.”

“Can’t,” says Sarah, the first words to cross her lips since I arrived. “I have a history quiz tomorrow.”

“You didn’t tell me you had a quiz.” Johnny pokes her in the shoulder.

“You would have made me stay home and study.”

“Instead of sitting here with us and saying absolutely nothing the whole time? Oh the horror.” Johnny puts the back of his hand against his forehead in a mock fainting gesture. Sarah sticks her tongue out, and they both grin.

“Come on,” I say, standing up, “Valkyrie and I will make sure you get to your bus safely.”

“Same time next month?” Johnny asks as we all wait in the shelter for the number nineteen bus to pull up.

“Yep,” I say, and there are nods all around.

Sarah and Johnny board their bus and Ngomi and I wave as they pull away. We sit together in the shelter for a few minutes, just holding hands.

“Want to come over to my place tonight?” Ngomi asks. “I’ve waxed my pussy for you.”

“Fuck off, you did not.”

“Why don’t you come around and see for yourself, my sweet maiden.” She’s looking at me with a sly grin, and I begin to believe she might just be serious when she continues. “My roommate is working late tonight, so you can be as loud as you want.”

“Damn,” I say. “I wish I would have know earlier. I volunteered to sub for the overnight DJ again at the radio station.”

“I could come with you.” She grins and brings her lips up to whisper in my ear, “As your protector of course.”

The mere suggestion of us fooling around in the record stacks again causes me to shiver. “Oh Valkyrie, you spoil me.”

I wrap her face in my hands and pull her in for a long, passionate kiss, then hop up and start skipping down the sidewalk with Ngomi in tow. I don’t even wait to see if she pulls out a Sharpie marker or not.

We tumble into the broadcast studio, barely able to keep our hands off each other. The evening DJ is staring at us, so I offer an explanation of what’s going on. “I’m Hannah, I’m subbing for the regular overnight guy. He’s sick.”

He just nods slowly. “And I’m outta here. Going home to make some tea and crawl in bed. Been a little under the weather myself.” And with that, Ngomi and I are alone.

“I’m going to find some funky music to put on.” I slip my arm around Ngomi’s waist and pull her tightly to me. “Something long and uninterrupted.” I plant a quick peck on her lips.

She grins. “Get up or get down?”

“Oh, I’m definitely going down.” I reach out with my free hand to pet the crotch of her jeans before scurrying off to pull some selections from the shelves.

When I return with my stack of vinyl, Ngomi’s got her hoodie unzipped, and I see her t-shirt and bra in the corner on the floor. I smirk and rest my fingers on the waistband of her jeans.

“Not so fast, my sweet maiden.” Ngomi pulls me in tight and wraps her hoodie around both of us. I realize my plan to get in her pants has been foiled as I hear the sound of the zipper. Ngomi has me trapped inside the sweatshirt with her.

“You can’t keep me here,” I argue. “Somebody’s got to flip the record over.”

Ngomi holds up her arms to show me her hands sticking out of the sleeves. “I won’t have any problem doing that, my sweet maiden.”

Ooh, you little tease. “What do you want with me, Valkyrie?”

“I want you to kiss me first, like a proper maiden, before I allow you to plunder my treasures.”

“I’ve plundered you before.” And I know you love it.

Ngomi just smiles and shakes her head, so I press my lips to hers. They are soft, warm, and inviting. Mmm. I feel her tongue sliding and pressing into my mouth, and press back with my own. Inside her sweatshirt I am able to slide my hands up and over the smooth skin of her back, but that is all I can manage in the confined space.

Ngomi still has the full use of her hands, and I feel her squeezing my ass and then reaching into the space between us. It’s not until I feel the pop of the button on her jeans, that I realize what she’s up to. That little tease. I moan into her mouth and struggle to bring my hands around. But Ngomi is there first, and stops me short.

“Patience, my dear maiden.” Ngomi has managed to slide the waistband of her jeans down around her hips, and her panties have followed along. “Can you see?”

I strain and struggle, craning my neck to one side and then the other, trying to see what she’s been hiding. Damn it. I am nearly ready to give up when Ngomi takes my face in her hands and directs my gaze downward through the middle.

Her sweatshirt is stretched to the limit as I pull back, trying to open a clear line of sight. Ngomi thrusts her hips forward and there it is. Beyond the valley of her breasts, framed in denim, I see the smooth skin of her mound beckoning me. Mmm.

But my lust is interrupted by a scratching on the door. Startled, I look up from Ngomi’s treasures and see the shuffling mass congregating outside the studio window. “Oh fuck, not again,” I say.

Ngomi turns her head and gasps as she confirms what I saw. “I did not think to bring my sword,” she says, and quickly unzips her hoodie to free me. “Shall we call Johnny and Sarah?”

“Later,” I say. I reach around behind me to lock the studio door and then yank on Ngomi’s waistband until it comes to rest around her knees. “I’m not done with you yet, Valkyrie.” I slip my hand between her thighs and bring it upward to rub against the smooth bare skin of her mound.

I hear a long, passionate exhale, and feel my Valkyrie melt in my arms.

“Get up or get down?”

“Oh, I think you should definitely go down.”

We do our best to ignore the groans and snarls from the other side of the window as we slide down to the floor together.

“I love you, Valkyrie,” I say and run my tongue upward along the inside of her thigh.

Ngomi’s hands come to rest on my shoulders as she shudders. “And I you, my fair maiden.”

Sly and the Family Stone are singing about how they want to take us higher as Ngomi arches her back and I concentrate on sending my sweet Valkyrie over the bifröst and into the realm of the gods.

There are a few references to funk music and lyrics in this story. Most of them can be figured out by listening to the songs that are referenced. For example, Sweet Sticky Thing really is a song by the Ohio Players and Sly and the Family Stone sing a song called I Want to Take You Higher. Find them on your favorite streaming service.

But there is one reference that may have escaped you, and that is the discussion about get up or get down that Hannah and Ngomi were always having. For an explanation of that age-old debate, I suggest you search the net for a satirical article from The Onion entitled National Funk Congress Deadlocked On Get Up/Get Down Issue.

I hope you enjoyed the story.