Chapter 1

Ashley

I leaned on the ledge of the ridge looking over the tree-topped forest. It was so beautiful here. The leaves had turned from teal to purple and were starting to fall off the trees.

I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with some fresh air and started to pace the ridge we called ‘lover's lane.'

"Okay, so how do I feel about Axon?" I said aloud. I found that I could think best if I could walk around alone and say my thoughts out loud.

"I like him. No, I used to like him. I used to think he liked me, but I'm not so sure anymore."

He had been charming and flirtatious from the day that I met him, but he also seemed to be repulsed by my touch. Those two concepts could not exist at the same time. Someone couldn't have a crush on a person while also hating being touched by them, right?"

"Hi, Ashley!" Sarah and Talia rounded the corner to join me outside.

I liked the two youngest people in our group, but I just wanted to be alone.

"Hello," I gave them the best smile that I could muster. "What are you two up to today?"

"We were going to do some knitting and talk about boys," Talia smiled and Sarah put a hand over her mouth as she giggled.

"Hey, do you remember when you were all explaining the birds and the bees to us and Kayla said sex could be painful for your first time. Did you find that to be true?"

"Talia, I don't know that we can just ask someone about their first time," Sarah whispered to her friend.

"No, that's okay. I'm happy to answer. Although, it would be good to preface such questions by asking if someone is comfortable talking about their sex life." I gave Talia a pointed look.

"Point taken," she sighed.

This was the other reason I needed time by myself to think. It had come to my attention that the other women tend to think about sex a lot, like all the time, which I thought was weird. I almost never think about sex, which I thought was normal, but now I know that's not exactly the average experience of a human woman.

I wouldn't say I never think about sex. It did cross my mind from time to time, especially when I was ovulating, actually only when I was ovulating. But other than that, I was just not that interested in the topic at all.

I thought about other physical stuff like cuddling, and the idea of falling asleep next to someone wrapped up in their arms sounded nice. Before I got abducted, I had a period tracker, and I noticed that I only seemed to be interested in sex when I was ovulating, which I thought was the average experience until now.

"Yes, sex did hurt for me the first time I did it. The guy I was with was also a virgin and was a little too excited about the whole thing. He essentially rammed himself into me a few times before he came and then the whole thing was over."

It had been a letdown to say the least. I had experienced good sex with partners who took their time making sure I was enjoying myself as well, but that first experience left much to be desired.

"But if the person you're with for your first time is gentle and makes sure you're well lubricated first, then it really shouldn't be that bad," I assured the girls.

They looked pensive as they mulled this over.

"Thanks. I guess I'm kind of nervous about it," Talia admitted as she and Sarah sat down and took their knitting supplies out of their baskets.

"It's normal to be nervous," I assured her.

"I know you both have crushes on the younger sirret boys, but don't rush into anything, okay?"

"We won't." Talia promised.

"Okay, well you girls have fun. I'm going to..." What was I going to do? I wanted to be alone and think, but that clearly wasn't going to happen.

"I'm going to the women's cavern."

"Okay, see you later." They waved to me and I waved back as I left the ridge.