Tuesday, November 8th, 1960 It was a happy night. The 1960 presidential election had just reached its conclusion. Well, for the most part. The election had pitted Senator John F. Kennedy against Vice President Richard Nixon. What a campaign it had been. Loretta and Penny had been enthralled by every moment of it. From the party conventions, to the debates throughout the fall, and election night itself, they felt as if they had truly been a part of this campaign.The two girls were both juniors in college, and this was the first presidential election that either one of them had really cared about. They both remembered the elections in 1952 and 1956, but those had been Dwight Eisenhower’s elections—and everyone knew Dwight Eisenhower was going to win. This year had been different.This year, people had really cared about the election. All across campus, everyone seemed to have an opinion, and everyone was taking a side. Loretta’s boyfriend, Johnny, had sided with Richard Nixon, saying he would keep America on the same path that Eisenhower had laid out. But Loretta and Penny were both infatuated by John Kennedy.Kennedy was young and handsome. He was a fresh face with new ideas. By comparison, at least in Loretta’s mind, Nixon seemed old and crusty. Some were bothered by the fact that Kennedy was Catholic—she’d heard a lot of that. Others said he didn’t have enough experience. None of that mattered to Loretta, though; she’d picked her candidate and she was sticking with him.She and Penny had thrown themselves into the election with gusto. They had become members of the campus’s Young Democrats group and volunteered to help in every way they could. They’d knocked on doors encouraging people to get out and vote, they’d handed out flyers, they’d made signs which were now hanging in various places around campus. They’d worn their campaign buttons every day, and they’d debated with classmates over the merits of each candidate. Loretta was particularly proud of that last fact, since she and Penny were in the first class of females at her college that was allowed to attend courses with male students. She’d even had disagreements with her parents over who the next president should be. It seemed like most of the older generation was backing Nixon. Yet one more reason to support Kennedy, in Loretta’s mind, at least.Election night had come at last. Loretta and Penny had spent the evening in the same place as everyone else—glued to the television. Most of the girls in their dormitory had watched the election returns in the dorm lounge—which featured the only television in the building. There were supporters from both sides watching, and all the girls had fun viewing the broadcast as the returns came in. They were chatting, teasing each other, and laughing. Some, like Loretta and Penny, were genuinely interested in the results, while others were treating it more like a party—but they all had a great time.Now it was over. The final results of the election had not been officially announced yet, but at the time the station went off the air, it was beginning to look more and more like Kennedy would prevail. The party had broken up, and the dorm mother had shooed them away, telling them all to get to bed.Loretta and Penny returned to their room that evening, glowing, with smiles etched on their faces. All that work, the emotional investment they had made in the election—it had really paid off. Sure, deep down, both of them knew that their efforts had not really altered the outcome of the election, but it still made them feel good—like they had really been a part of something big.“I knew he’d win, I really did,” Penny said, beaming as she shut the door to their room behind them. “Ever since that debate. Ugh, Nixon looked so bad.”Loretta flopped down on her bed and kicked her saddle şişli escort shoes off without untying them (something her mother always hated). “Well, it’s not over yet,” she said cautiously. As she rubbed her tired feet, she added, “For all we know, we could get up in the morning and Nixon will be president.”“It’ll never happen,” Penny retorted. Penny took off her shoes as well, and stretched her toes, wiggling them playfully. “Hey, I’ve been saving something for a special occasion.” She went over to a closet and produced two bottles of coke from their private stash. She used a bottle opener and opened both before handing one to Loretta.“A bottle of coke?” Loretta laughed. “That’s not exactly something we save for a special occasion,” she chided. Loretta set her bottle of coke on a nearby desk and flipped open her red and white record case, searching for a good song to play. She selected “Maybe Baby” by Buddy Holly. As she gently placed it on the record player, she closed her eyes reverently and softly said, “We miss you, Buddy.”“The coke is not what I’ve been saving,” Penny said. She then opened up one of her drawers and rummaged through it, finding something that she had clearly hidden underneath her clothes. She withdrew a bottle of vodka and showed it off to Loretta with a smile.Loretta snorted with laughter and put a hand over her mouth. “Where did you get that? We could get in so much trouble if anyone found out.”“No one’s gonna find out,” Penny said as she stepped over and locked the door. “I stole it from my parents,” she explained, “they’ll never miss it.” As she spoke, she carefully broke the seal on the bottle and opened the top. She drank a small amount of coke out of her own bottle, so there would be enough room for the alcohol, and poured some in. She then turned to Loretta and held out the bottle.Loretta had never drunk before—well, not really. She had taken sips of her parents’ wine, and she’d taken a drink of a beer that Johnny had been drinking one night. But she had never ‘drank’ before. She studied the bottle carefully, trying to make that crucial decision.“Come on, you know you want to,” Penny teased.With a sip of her coke, Loretta made up her mind. She accepted the bottle from Penny and poured the vodka in.The first drink was revolting. It was so strong and foul, she nearly spat it out. “Ugh, is it supposed to taste like that?” she asked.“Yeah,” Penny responded. “You’ll get used to it.”Loretta took another drink. The second wasn’t nearly as bad, because she was expecting it. “Yuck, I’m not sure I want to get used to it. It tastes about like Richard Nixon looks.”Penny took a swig of her own coke and rolled her eyes. “Ugh, no more politics. I’ve had enough of that to last me about—oh, four years, I suppose.”They both laughed wholeheartedly and each took another drink of their pop. Penny was right, Loretta got used to the taste pretty quickly, and before she knew it, she had finished off the entire bottle of coke. She could tell her cheeks were very flushed, and a somewhat pleasant buzzing sensation seemed to be filling her entire head.She and Penny chatted up a storm as they unwound from their exciting evening. They changed into more comfortable clothing as they prepared for bed, but neither one of them was in any kind of mood to go to sleep. They each put on a nightie that came down to about mid-thigh. Showing off that much leg might have been scandalous if anyone else had been in the room, but with just each other, neither one felt the slightest reservation.After they had changed, Loretta sat back down on her bed, leaning with her back against the red brick wall, her bare feet and legs stretching out in front of her.“You want another?” Penny asked, reaching back into the closet for two more bottles of coke.“I don’t know, two mecidiyeköy escort cokes in one night, I’ll have to pee in the middle of the night! What the hell, you only live once,” she finally agreed.With that, Penny uncapped the two bottles, took a drink out of each one, and poured in more vodka. Loretta couldn’t help but notice that Penny poured in quite a bit more than she had the first time around. As the other girl brought the drinks over to the bed, Loretta smiled at her. “I saw how much of that you poured in.”“I know, I know,” Penny admitted. “It’ll be a little stronger, but—like you said, you only live once. Now, scoot over.”Loretta shuffled her body, making room for Penny on the bed. The two girls had known each other practically their entire lives, so this type of closeness was common. They’d slept on the same bed before. They’d changed clothes in front of each other, and when they were little kids they had even taken baths together on occasion.As Penny made herself comfortable on the bed, the old metal bedsprings creaked loudly beneath them. She tilted the top of her bottle towards Loretta, as if to toast. “To the new President—whoever he may be,” she said.Loretta tapped her own bottle against Penny’s, making the glass clink together. “To the new president,” she repeated. They each took a big gulp from their bottles. This time, Loretta didn’t gag, or recoil from the taste, she simply drank it down, eagerly.As they drank their second bottles, they talked about a lot of different things—anything but politics. They discussed their classes, they dreamed about what they were going to do after they graduated, and they chatted about guys. They’d had dozens of late-night conversations like this over the years, and ever since they were about twelve, it always seemed to come back to boys—always boys.“So, why don’t you go on a date with Brad already?” Loretta asked. “He obviously like you.”Penny seemed to shy away from the question. “I don’t know, I guess I’ve just always had bad luck with boys that have blond hair.”Loretta snorted. “Oh, come on, it’s not like you have to marry him. Just go on a date with him. Who knows, you might hit it off.”Penny was quiet for a moment, as if she was contemplating something. She took another sip of coke and then said, “I have a question.”“Okay, shoot,” Loretta said playfully as she took another swig of her own drink.Penny seemed to hesitate, as if she wasn’t sure how to ask what she was wanting to ask. “How do you kiss?” she finally blurted out.Loretta giggled. “What do you mean, how do you kiss? You know how to kiss, I’ve seen you do it. You just put your lips against the guy and, voilà, you’re kissing.”“No, that’s not what I meant,” Penny explained. “I mean, how do you kiss?” she asked again, emphasizing the word ‘you’. She raised her knees and placed her hands on them. “I mean, I’ve watched you do it before—out of the corner of my eye, I mean—and you just look so confident, like you really know what you’re doing.”Loretta thought about it for a second, trying to find the right words. “I have no idea, to be honest. I don’t think about it, I just do it.” She was quiet for a moment, still attempting to put her kissing technique into words. She curled a lock of her short blonde hair around her finger, contemplating. “Why do you want to know?”Penny rested her head against Loretta’s shoulder. “I’ve just always been very self-conscious about my own kissing ability. I never feel like I’m doing it right.” She sighed, “I’ve felt that way ever since Tony Scaponi.”“Tony Scaponi?” Loretta said, trying to remember the name. “Oh, I remember him. Little rat-faced guy that moved away—you kissed him?”“Sure did,” Penny admitted. “At that Halloween party, remember?”“Ohhhhh, yeah, I remember,” Loretta replied.“Anyways, he told me I was a lousy kisser and I needed to learn how to do it right,” Penny explained. “Ever since then, I’ve always…” she trailed off, not finishing her sentence.“You shouldn’t worry about what Tony Scaponi or any other guy says. You kiss just fine and if they don’t like it, forget them,” Loretta said emphatically.“How would you know how I kiss,” Penny replied, now twirling her own curly brunette hair through her fingers.“Well, you’re right, I don’t,” Loretta agreed, “but I’m not sure there really is a right way to kiss someone. You just do it.”“Would you teach me?” Penny said suddenly.“Teach you? How can I teach you, other than—” Loretta started, then assumed a look of dawning comprehension. “You mean you want me to—”“Kiss me,” Penny said with a nod.Loretta balked. “But, we can’t—that’s not—”“Please,” Penny begged. “No one will ever see it. It’s just you and me. No one will ever know.”“Are you really that self-conscious about your kissing abilities?” Loretta asked, more than a little nervous.“Yes. It would really mean a lot to me if you would,” Penny answered. Then, she assumed a playful expression and gave Loretta her best imitation of a sad puppy dog. “Come on, do it for me,” she said, in a mock-tearful voice.This made Loretta laugh. Penny could always make Loretta laugh—every time. No matter her mood, no matter how bad of a day she had been having, Penny could make her laugh. Penny also had a way of getting Loretta to do every single thing she wanted. So, from the moment the request was made, subconsciously, Loretta knew she would give in eventually… and she did.“Well, if it means that much to you, then, come here,” Loretta said. Her heart was thumping inside her chest so hard, she was surprised Penny couldn’t hear it. She had never even dreamed of kissing another girl before. The thought had never crossed her mind, not once.The two girls leaned in towards each other, and their lips met. That was the first thing Loretta noticed. Penny’s lips. Penny’s lips were so soft, so delicate. She was used to Johnny’s lips. Johnny was, well, a man. His lips were coarse, and she could always feel his stubble where his mustache would be if he had one. But not here. Penny’s skin was so soft, her lips moist. There was a delicacy to the way their lips came together.Something about it felt so perfect, so right. It felt like nothing she had ever done before—because she hadn’t. Loretta backed away just a bit, and whispered, “And then, when you know it’s the right time, you do this.” She kissed Penny again, and this time, slipped her tongue inside Penny’s mouth. Penny accepted it eagerly, feeling Loretta’s tongue with her own.The second thing Loretta noticed was Penny’s freckles. She had always known her friend had freckles, but seeing them from this close was a different experience. She liked them. It made Penny’s face distinct, and cute.The second kiss lasted for ten or fifteen seconds before Loretta pulled away again.“That was amazing,” Penny said, stunned. “You really are an incredible kisser. How was I?” She asked apprehensively.Loretta giggled. “I don’t know, I forgot to check,” she admitted. “We better try it one more time,” and she leaned in once more, kissing her friend for a third time.This time, it lasted longer, and Loretta could sense that both of them were losing their inhibitions towards the act. She pulled away once more, sucking on Penny’s lower lip just a little as she did so. “Oh, Penny, you’ve got nothing to worry about, you’re a great kisser.”“Really?” Penny said, blushing just a little. “I mean, you’re not just saying that? To make me feel better?”Loretta smiled coyly. “If I was just saying that to make you feel better, would I do this?” she asked, as she leaned in again, and placed her lips on Penny’s for a fourth time. Now they weren’t practicing. There was no more instruction, no more teaching—she was just kissing Penny because she wanted to be kissing her… and Penny was kissing back.