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Tidal

By: CWatson



The door swung shut beneath them on hotel hinges, but they barely noticed. They were entwined in arms, kissing, lips meeting lips. Long anticipation had boiled under them for ages, for hours that felt like years, and their appetites begged; now those appetites would finally be sated.

A day of soaring travel had brought them here to this waterbound paradise, where palms nodded in the wind and the sun made the white beaches glow with ecstatic joy each morning. The warm embrace of sunlight, the breathing of the waves... they had gloried in these things all day, blessed with them, blessed with each other. She could not remember being in a more beautiful place; he could not remember being in better company. They had never traveled together before, but they felt made for each other, felt as if all this had been made for them.

His arms around her were something she knew, a familiar thing in this vast sea of endless beauty. But they were new too, changed in the light of this alien moon, floating in its ocean of star-speckled night. His arms, his lips, the heat between his legs... they seemed transformed to her, renewed by their surroundings.

He drew her to him, his lips seeking hers, his arms cradling her. She had always been beautiful to him, but in moonglow and tropical air like warm breath it went beyond that. Her beauty was no longer a noticeable thing; now it was just a truth, like water. He could no more doubt his love for her than his breath.

Her hands reached up to stroke at the sides of his face; and then she drew him down to nibble at his ear, her touch like drops of water. He smiled even as the breath went out of him in a rush, that she knew so well what to do to his body. His arms tightened around her, drawing her in, urging her on.

She pulled back, a grin sparkling on her face, and ran her hands up under his shirt. He let her disrobe him, and then began to divest her of her own clothing. Her skin was pliant under his fingers, warm, soft, glowing like snow in the silver moonlight. She gave a sigh of pleasure as his fingers brushed across her skin; even that slight contact made her shiver.

His eyes shining, he began to back away from her, towards the bed; she gave him a smile as she pursued, letting her hips sway, leaving their clothes pooled on the floor behind them. She felt herself in the silver night: her skin tingling; her hair in a cascade across her shoulders, trapping warm air against her neck; the bristle of the carpet under her toes; the sand under her nails; the ache in her nipples, already half-erect, and the faint sliding beneath her of her nether lips rubbing against each other with every step. He was in front of her, the broad muscles of his chest kissed by silver moonlight, his member already half-erect. She felt his eyes on her skin, burning, caressing, drinking her up.

She knew he would expect her to lean up and kiss him, so instead she went down his body, sliding her hands and breasts down across his body until she knelt before him, his manhood level with her mouth, the carpet itching under her calves. He gave an incoherent noise as she sucked him into her mouth--somewhere between an exclamation and an exhalation--and brought his hands up to rest on her head. His cock was still somewhat flaccid: warm, but soft, the head still spongy. It was a different texture than she was used to, and she decided to enjoy it while it lasted. It wouldn't last long.

He gave another sigh as she gathered more of him into her mouth, her tongue already darting out to taste further down his shaft. He had had blowjobs before her, and women before her, but somehow it seemed that nobody had ever equaled her touch, her deftness. Pleasure broke over him, drawing a tingle of sweat from his skin, as her tongue began to lave up and down his shaft, stroking the ridge below, even kissing his wrinkled sac with the tip of her tongue. She couldn't reach it for long, of course, since his cock was longer than her mouth was, but she made the best of it.

As though a switch had been flipped on, he saw himself now, as he was: here, in this sun-washed paradise, the air warm around him like the breath of a lover; here, this woman before him, naked, glowing in the moonlight, kneeling, wanton, her eyes and mouth and face and body, her whole being, focused on his pleasure. The sound of the waves caressing the shore slid in through the open windows; moonlight drenched the curtains in a misty silver. And he was in her mouth; he was aware of every inch of his cock, of every bump and vein, and of the touch of her tongue. He felt it perusing gently down his shaft--the bump on the left, the scar of his circumcision, and then the ridge around the back of his head, a feather-touch of wetness rimming it round. And then the spongy, bumpy head of his cock, moistened now by her tongue as it meandered, finding the hole, flicking it gently before sliding down underneath.

Her lips closed around his shaft at the rim of his head, solid now and full of warmth, and her magic tongue continued its work, planting little guppy kisses all over it. Then she swallowed him whole, milking his shaft with her lips in a ring around it, sliding up and down as it firmed. Soon she had it to its fullness. He heard another moan escape him as her tongue went to work in earnest, sliding up and down his shaft, looping around it, sending waves of shivers down his spine. Each touch, each lick, each motion, drove the pressure upwards, drove the building ecstasy that threatened to overflow.

She knew he wasn't going to last long; they had been teasing each other all day, circling round each other like dancers, hands on flesh. She knew the fires that boiled beneath him. Still he surprised her: it wasn't long at all before his pleasure spilled over. She heard his breath catch, felt him stiffen; he felt the infinitesimal sensation of the dam breaking within him. And then it was pouring over, as his body jerked in delirium, his pleasure gushing through him in waves and torrents, his whole body it seemed being drained out through his member into her waiting mouth, as he moaned and spurted and shook, his balls discharging, clenching themselves into exhaustion, until he was spent and rocked back on his heels, his whole concentration (what remained of it) going into staying upright, and she tasted the rush of salt in her mouth, and smiled to herself, and swallowed.

She kissed her way up his body, taking her time, giving him a chance to recover. She let her lips trail over his body, little guppy kisses slowly working their way upwards. She knew these little bits of stimulation wouldn't be much compared to what she had just done to him; maybe he couldn't feel them at all. But she loved him, and that was more than enough reason to do it anyway.

But still, she was surprised when his arms snaked under her shoulders, lifting her to her feet involuntarily. His lips mashed against hers, passionate, demanding; she tasted the lust there, in his aggressiveness, in his tongue in her mouth, in the seawater taste of his seed. His chest was hard against her breasts and nipples, his heart beating strong and fast; his arms were like iron bands around her. Barely had she had time to snake her arms around him than he was drawing her away from him, casting her down.

Now she found herself face-first on the bed, sprawled, her bottom upturned, spraddle-legged from the unexpectedness of her impact. Her back tingled in the evening air, and rough cotton scratched under the soft skin of her belly. Her pussy lips parted were parted now, slightly wet; already she could feel the dull red of her desire down below. There was hair in her face, in her eyes, across her shoulders; she was reminded of an abandoned tangle of seaweed belched up on the sand, green strands in all directions.

She knew he was strong, but it wasn't something she thought about much; but now she realized that she was totally at her mercy—here, in this wet air, ass upturned and her legs opened down the front of the bed. And suddenly she realized just what an enjoyable thing that might be.

He was standing behind her, surveying all that was his: the arch of her back, the shapes of her shoulder blades under her skin, the warm curves of her ass that hid her underslung opening. He could picture it in his mind's eye, pink and deep and inviting. If he'd been hard, he might've plunged in right there; but he was not, and anyway he had a different tack in mind. He lowered himself to his knees, feeling the bite of the carpet as she had moments before, and began to kiss the soft skin on the back of her thighs.

Her body was a place of worship to him, a place of love and devotion. This was not the first time he had paid homage at her temple, but something was different today. Perhaps it was the environs, the sultry sun and endless waves. Perhaps it was the leisure and languor with which they had spent their day. The teasing and flirting—had that done it? It was not for him to know or say. But he was happy to use it to his advantage.

He laid a trail of kisses along her leg, taking care to find the sensitive spots no one ever touched: the inside of her knee, the crease of her buttock, the tender skin on the inside of her thigh (as much of it as he could reach, with her legs together like so). Her skin was warm to the touch, and startlingly soft, and fragrant as well: the faint smell of sweat, of the seawater they'd splashed in; the warm red scent of her skin. And over it all, faint but growing, was the musk of her arousal. Her breathing had thickened by the time he switched over to her other leg; by the time he had completed his journey up and down it, she was squirming on the bed.

He permitted himself a single grin.

It might've been better for her to move straight on in and get to work, but he wanted to tease her, to entice her, to draw out her desire. He began to scatter kisses across her buttocks, tasting the soft, pliant flesh there, and the skin at the small of her back. He found the tickly places on her flanks, nipped at the flesh of her butt, laid individual kisses on every vertebra he could find. All the while she continued to fidget, the undulant waves of her hips bringing fresh eagerness to his cock, as she waited for him to have his fill of her body; he could feel the warmth of her flesh under him, practically taste the tension in her muscles. When finally he began to kiss downward towards the inner skin of her thighs, she parted her legs, bringing her pussy into view. All at once the scent of her pussy was stronger, and he could see the signs of her arousal: the flush there, visible even in the dim moonlight, and the pursing of her lips, opening her secrets to his touch.

Her skin was a marvel—tender and pale and beautiful. He trailed feather-light kisses up her thighs and then into the cleft between them, circling her opening. He tasted the flesh of her underside: the warm fleshy buttocks, the sprinkling of grassy hair, even the little seams between leg and lip. Her breathing was harsher now, and her snatch warm with her need; he could practically feel the tension in her body as he lowered his face to her center secret, caressing it first with his breath, then with the merest touch of lips, and then finally with a kiss.

He let his tongue wander free over that perfect flower, tasting the sea-salt residue of their ocean play, laving it out until only the taste of her remained. He delved her petals—the outer ones fleshy and wide, the inner ones delicate, both of them now a darkening pink, awakening to match the tension within her. He leafed through them, taking one this way and that, before forming his lips around one of hers to suck at it with firm, steady pressure. Under his chin he could feel her wet tides rising, the increasing damp of her body. Finally, knowing it was time, he found the perfect pink bud at the bottom of her slit and gave it a single tentative lick.

She felt that swipe and jumped, her whole body seeming to contract; it was a good feeling, a wonderful feeling, maybe the best she'd ever known. She was awakened, sensitive, helpless; she could feel everything, she could feel things she'd never noticed before: the warm muscles of his arms in the crook of her knee, the stubble of his chin, the whoosh of his breath against her opening—his nose, she realized, was practically inside her, and her body was wanting, her body wanted, wanted anything. Anything. She hoped that he would give.

He put his lips around that little bud that was the center of her universe, and began to suck. Her hands clenched the pillows, her breath matched the roars of the sea, her body shuddered with sensation; she pushed her ass up in the air, offering her clit up for his pleasure, his and hers as well. He was happy to oblige. He widened his lips a little and placed his tongue right where it would be perfect for her, just inside her slit, and gave himself another smile as he sucked and rubbed and her breath grew ever more ragged.

He knew when it happened. Her moans reached a crescendo and he could feel with the tip of his tongue the way her muscles clenched, feel the tides that rose towards infinity. He knew when it happened: she stiffened, jerked, and there was a moment of perfect stillness. And then pleasure washed over her, her body pulsing in perfect abandon, as wave after wave of ecstasy crashed within her, rushing back and forth to gush out onto his mouth and tongue.

In the silence after, she might have breathed his name.

He crawled up on the bed to sprinkle kisses on her neck and shoulder, on her perfect cheek glowing silver in the moonlight. Her lashes were dark, her eyes closed, her face the utter repose of sleep; only her faint gestures, the smile that grew as she felt his lips brushing her skin, the sigh of contentment, suggested otherwise. That and her hand, reaching up to stroke his face, his chest; and then reaching lower, reaching to find him ready and wanting. Reaching to guide him. Soon he was positioned over her, and without turning over she drew him in, drawing him towards that aching gap within her, the yearning hunger that, still unsated, needed to be filled. She was his vessel; without him she was empty.

And then he penetrated, and then she wasn't.

For a moment they lay still, breathing against each other, wanting nothing but sensation. She felt the strength of his chest against her back, the rush of his breath in her hair, the pressure of his legs slanting over hers. She propped herself up on her elbows to offer him her face, her lips, her kiss, her smile, and felt one hand slip beneath her to cradle her breasts. And he was home--his hard length, his manhood, his penis, his dick, his cock: it was with her, in her, filling her, her snatch cradling him, as it was meant to be.

To him she was warm and welcoming, a beauty beyond measure. Her pale skin, unblemished in the moonlight, stretched over her shoulder blades, down to her waist and out of sight. To him she was shy in that moment, her face veiled by a curtain of hair as she turned to him over her shoulder. Her breast was firm in his hand, her nipple a pebble against his palm; her ass pressed against his front, soft and warm and curvy and delightfully feminine. And her snatch had him; he was in to the root, pubic hair against his balls, and he could feel every ridge and fold and crevice opened to him, her whole body opened to him, welcoming him home.

The first time he moved, she felt a sense of loss as he withdrew; but the first trickle of pleasure washed it away, and she heard herself moan with the sensation. She felt the release of pressure as his hips backed away from her ass, felt the veins and ridges of his cock as they slid through her snatch. The head was always the best part, large and warm as it was, stimulating her inner walls. Then he thrust again, pushing into her, opening her up, bringing her home, and she felt that she could die of joy. To be here, beneath him, her ass upturned, her lips on his and her lips around his shaft, to have him buried here balls-deep within her--at this moment it seemed to her that there could be no greater joy in life.

And that was just one thrust!

But there were more; there always were. She moaned beneath him as he moved again, and again, and again; soon his pace had accelerated, and she was rocking back to meet his thrusts, their bodies flowing together and apart in a timeless liquid dance. Her head came back, showering her shoulders with hair, and he bent to kiss at her neck and ear. His every movement brought him into new places within her, but every thrust was aimed now at that perfect place, which seemed to make her melt with pleasure; his balls brushed her clit with every thrust, but the feeling of his shaft rubbing slick against that spot inside her seemed to awaken her further. Sometimes he stopped, pushing himself deep within her and remaining there, and at those times she felt the featherbrush sensation of his lips and tongue on her face, his fingers beneath them at her clit, each touch a new wave of pleasure rolling over her. She could feel her body trembling, feel her internal muscles squeezing in instinctive reaction; her whole self was submerged in pleasure, and she could do nothing but ride it out as she was ridden, bucking against him, driving them onwards towards the summit of their pleasure. And then she was there, her body a leaf on the raging current, and the world seemed to drown in a wave of ecstasy, and the only constant was the cock posted inside her, driving her on as her body clenched on him helplessly, and she could not feel the sky.

When she came to, she had collapsed again on the bed, and he was still in her. He was lying on top of her (mmm; just the way she liked it), and she felt the rumble of his voice against the skin of her back. She had grabbed his ass in the throes of her pleasure, and she thought she might have left finger marks.

He was lying there, pleased, kissing her, feeling the ebb and flow of her breath under him, waiting for the awareness to flicker back into her eyes. He had always loved to see her cum, and loved to feel it too; it always seemed especially explosive when he was inside her, but he had no cause to complain. But now he was still within her and aching for release, the pressure heavy in the tip of his cock; he was close, and wasn't sure what to do about it.

Then he felt her muscles contract on him.

It must have shown on his face, because she opened her eyes and gave him a sidelong smile—a smile of seductive promise. He was beginning to ask her when he felt it again—the warm walls of her snatch clenching on him, squeezing him, caressing him. It was nothing he had ever felt, nothing he had ever expected. He was very close, he realized... And, he realized, she knew.

The next one took him over the edge.

Again, she knew. She heard his moan, his gasp, heard them cut off mid-way; felt the shudder, the sudden tension in the muscles against her back. And then the groan, and the rush, and his shaft swelling within her, and the way he sagged against her, and the sudden liquid warmth against her walls as his pleasure gushed out to mingle with hers deep inside her, her body cradling them together, her body cradling him as he spurted and clenched and subsided down against her, spent.

She gave a single sigh of contentment as his lips touched hers again. He rolled away from her, and she rolled up to meet him, their bodies curled together like shrimp on a rack. And they slept, cradled against each other, deep in the warm air.

Tidal Passion



Celestial Reviews Rating: 10,10,10
Top 15 Stories of March, 1996: #7
Top 100 Stories of 1996: #82



                for K.



"Florida!?" Tandra cried.

"Yes, Florida. Sanibel Island, just off Ft. Myers. A friend of my family owns a house down there that we can rent dirt cheap."

She looked at me as though I had just proposed marriage. "Patrick, that's a long ways away. I don't think spending a week with you in Florida is such a good idea."

"Tandra Sue Danforth," I admonished her, "you are 21 years old. You are quite capable of acting like an adult. As am I. Think of it as a chance to get away from this freezing hell-hole and spending a week in the sun...and I just happen to be there."

She sighed. "It is damn cold up here, isn't it?"

"Freezing."

"All right. But you'd better behave like a gentleman."

"Don't I always?"

She smirked and gave me a swift poke in the ribs.

Tandra drove down to meet me on Thursday. I slept on the couch, she in the bed. She got up at 6 am, just in time to find breakfast ready for her on the nightstand. By the time I got out of the shower, she was taking hers. When she got out, all our luggage was loaded and we did a quick sweep of the apartment before locking up, then dropped the spare keys off at the Stewart's next door.

It was a long drive, but we had it planned all the way. We stopped in Macon, Georgia for the night. The room was small, but cheap. We tossed a coin over the bed and she lost. I felt guilty, but she insisted on taking the floor. When she came out of the bathroom, though, she was surprised to see me sleeping on the floor. In the morning, I was equally surprised to wake up with her next to me. Some people have a strange sense of honor.

We reached Ft. Myers late in the day on Saturday. It took a while to get out to the island, as the causeway drawbridge was up. But we finally made it, passing by all the landmarks, which I pointed out. We finally reached the one story house at Pelican Cove. As promised, the keys were hidden in the garden and I escorted her in. It took us a while to unpack and choose our rooms, but we managed to agree. In spite of the opportunities to go out, we decided we were tired and ordered a pizza instead. We watched some movie on HBO while we munched, then decided to turn in. Deep down inside I was aching to feel Tandra against me in the bed, but a promise was a promise.

The next morning I awoke to a wonderful smell. Tandra had either prepared a very scrumptious breakfast or she sneaked out earlier and bought it, then dumped the packages as evidence. Either way I was happy and the meal was delicious. We cleaned up afterwards and took a short walk down to the beach. We sat out in the deck chairs and planned out some of the week's activities. We decided to explore the shops in Periwinkle Place that day, then hit the Thai restaurant for dinner. The day was wonderful, as we found all sorts of things that we liked. In particular, Tandra liked this wonderful sea shell-flower sculpture at the Sand Piper, though it was a bit pricey. She seemed to be having a great time as we explored the island and I was glad. After we polished off some Gai Tom Kah and Red Curry Chicken at the Bangkok Inn, we returned to the house.

"Be right back," she said, then disappeared into her room.

"What are you up to now?" I asked.

There was a pause and her door opened a little way, barely revealing the fact that she wasn't wearing anything. I blushed.

"I wanna go for a moonlight walk on the beach."

Oh. Well...

"OK. Sounds good. Anything else on the tour, ma'am?"

She smirked and threw a sock at me, then closed the door. When she came out...

...I was wearing my shorts and T-shirt, as I had for our morning walk. Tandra stepped out wearing a phenomenally beautiful one-piece bathing suit, which accented her every curve and bulge. I swallowed hard to keep my eyes from popping out of my head. She smiled, knowing she had hooked me, but what she wasn't prepared for was the neatly-wrapped present on the table behind me, which she saw after I stepped away from it. There was a card on the ribbon:

"To Tandra, for being my friend and helping to save my life...Love, Patrick."

Tandra stammered out something about how I shouldn't have done anything like that, but I guided her hand toward the bow. She smiled at me, realizing there was no point in arguing with me, and started to open the package. The ordinary cardboard box underneath told her nothing about the contents of the present. She had to open it further. I watched in anticipation, hoping she would be pleased. Her eyes widened in excitement as she pulled out the packing paper and realized that it was the sea shell-flower sculpture from the Sand Piper that she had liked so much. I could see that she was upset with me for buying it, but that she was glad to have such a sweet gift, especially one that she had wanted so much.

"Oh, why did you do that?" she said, with a smile.

"Because I wanted to. Because you are special to me."

"And you're special to me, don't ever forget that," she responded and put her arms around me in a tight hug. I held her for a long time -- it seemed like all night -- but then she ended the embrace by giving me a soft kiss.

"Let's hit the beach, Pat."

We left the house via the screened-in porch and walked down the sandy path to the beach. The sound of the waves and the smell of the salt air greeted us as we looked out over the expanse of the Gulf, as it disappeared into the dusky horizon. Tandra took my hand and we walked north along the sandy shore, small birds running here and there to get out of our way. Conversation was minimal for the next half-hour. The sun was gone, replaced by a waxy moon, the light of which cast the appearance of an oil painting across the sea. It was perfect. We stopped to look at it.

"It's so perfect, isn't it?" she asked.

"It is, with you here," I whispered back.

Tandra turned and embraced me. I felt her arms as they clasped me warmly to her body. Her head rested on my chest and I snuggle her hair. The salt air, mixed with her pleasant scent, began to stir warm feelings in me. Was she really letting me hold her this long, touch her like this, because she had stronger feelings than she let on before? I took a chance and softly stroked her cheek, turning her head upward toward me. Her mouth opened a little and our lips gently touched -- no, I wasn't imaging things: Tandra wanted more from me. I felt her warmth flowing over me as we made the kiss deeper. Her tongue gently pushed into my mouth and my knees began to buckle. I fell into the wet sand, just as a wave crashed to the shore, covering us both with spray. She pinned me to the ground, half-riding me, and we kissed passionately once more. Sensual electricity flowed through me as her kisses ignited my passion. My hands explored her back, sliding down toward her behind, then coming back up to wrap around her head and ruffle her hair. Finally, the assault of kisses broke off.

"Oh, Tandra!" I gasped, needing air, but almost willing to suffocate than break the passion of Tandra's kiss.

She sat upright, straddling me in a blatantly suggestive and arousing position. It was quite obvious to her that I was aroused, as she could feel how firm I was through my shorts and her swimsuit. Her hands stroked my chest, tugging at my T-shirt.

"This is in the way, Patrick," she said, softly.

"I know...so is this," I responded, tugging at the straps of her swimsuit.

She worked my shirt up, slipping it off me and tossing it into the sand. I slid her straps down as she pulled her arms up. Soon they were free and her swimsuit fell easily past her breasts and to her waist. I breathed deeply at the sight of her beautiful chest. Even though it was night, I could still sense her face flush as she realized that I was seeing her this way. But my only response was admiration for the beauty which she was given by nature: her firm, round breasts, each with a tight little nipple, firmly erect and awaiting my attentions. Her skin glistened just a little bit from the misty salty air that was forming around us from the crashing waves. I pulled her chest down to mine, feeling the softness of her flesh against my skin, as well as the firmness of her aroused nipples. Our mouths locked in a passionate kiss and another wave crashed near us, closer than before...the tide was coming in.

Not long afterwards we began removing each other's clothing. I was very embarrassed for her to see me as she removed my trunks, but she didn't seem at all dissatisfied with my size. As she began to stroke my erection, I pulled on her swimsuit, sliding it gently past her behind and her knees, then off her feet and tossed it over somewhere by the rest of our clothes. We were each facing the other's sex. She looked longingly at my penis, stroking my balls and placing angel kisses all around the base of it. I gently nudged her legs apart, allowing myself better access to her mound of dark hair. I began to nuzzle her between her legs, which parted even more. Her labia slowly opened to reveal her soft, pink slit. I gently slipped my tongue down into her, sliding it in slowly and sensually. She gasped softly, then started to take the head of my erection into her own mouth. I moaned into her, which caused her to moan, which began a circle of intense pleasure for both of us.

As Tandra sucked me, her fingers grasped my balls and rubbed them. Her other hand began to stroke my behind, brushing the cleft. I did the same to her, clutching her buttocks with both hands and kneading her bottom. I pulled her cheeks apart, gently running my fingers between them. At the same time I was pushing my tongue as far into her mound as it would go. My finger found the opening of her anus and, using the lubricant from her vagina, I began to slide it inside. Once my finger was inside, I pulled my other hand back to caress her clitoris. Her moans got louder and her hips began to buck. Her mouth assaulted my penis with such intensity that I couldn't imagine going on much further. She sucked me hard and used her hand to stroke me back and forth quickly. Her fingers caressed my balls, then she felt my bag tense in her hand and my erection grow in her mouth. I started to buck.

"Oh, Tandra!" I cried into her mound. "Oh God!"

Tandra felt me beginning to pulse. Her mouth slipped off my penis and she stroked it wildly back and forth. She watched as semen jetted out toward her breasts, leaving two or three streaks of white across her bosoms and several more on her arm and in the sand. I continue to gasp her name, but I was still trying to give her pleasure. Now it was time for Tandra to come, her hips thrashing and her behind thrusting up into the air. I could feel her orgasm inside her anus as her muscles lost control.

"Oh, Patrick! Oh yes! Uhhhhhhn. Oh!" she cried.

She came in my mouth, lubricant spilling out all over her mound, my face and her thighs. I held her body tight until every last pulse of her orgasm had passed. Then her body collapsed in the wet sand, next to mine.

I'm not sure how much time passed as we lay there together. The moon seemed to have moved a little, but the water had moved up a lot. The tide was coming in...

I heard Tandra stir next to me. Her hand was trying to coax me to sit up, which I happily did. I looked at her laying there, still glowing from the pleasure of her orgasm. The water had rushed over her a few times and her body seemed refreshed. Her breasts glowed and the hair of her mound glistened with moisture. Her hand reached gently for my limp penis, guiding it toward her body. She lay back in the sand opened her legs to me. My penis began to grow rapidly as I moved between them, then a wave rushed up around her body. She reached out for me, wrapping her arms around me, then her legs. I felt the heat from her sex as the tip of mine slipped down amongst her pubic hair. She raised her hips a little and suddenly I slipped inside her. She must have been very excited still, because I slipped into her effortlessly. Sensual warmth flowed throughout my body, originating from our joining. I began to pump my hips slowly back and forth, sliding my penis almost all the way out of her, then slowly back in. We both watched this act for some time, as my firm erection, wet from her moisture, slid back and forth inside her silky-smooth vagina. I gently lay my chest against hers and the act of lovemaking really began.

Tandra's body arched against my thrusts. She could feel the shaft of my penis as it pried deeper and deeper into her body, pushing its way toward her womb. She felt my balls as they slapped against her wet behind. Her pleasure increased after she shifted her hips a little and brought her clitoris closer to my pistoning erection. She began to thrust back against me regularly, her muscles tightening with every pump of my shaft.

Meanwhile, our mouths were filled with passion as our tongues explored each other. Then I felt her mouth suckling my nipples so I, in turn, suckled her luscious breasts. I kissed her neck, nibbled her ear, ruffled her hair, kissed her nose, kissed her mouth, stroked her face with my hands. In response to that, Tandra gave me angel kisses all over my face and neck. Her arms locked around my back, holding me against her during each and every thrust I made. Our bodies pounded together in a natural, sexual rhythm. The moment was close at hand.

Tandra felt her head beginning to spin. Her behind, anus, and vagina began to squeeze more tightly. Some kind of force began to lift her back high up in the air, arching in a way she never thought possible. Warmth flooded throughout her loins, pulsing in a soft rhythm, then throbbing, then squeezing, then pounding, then exploding! Wave after wave of pleasure burst amid her hips, thighs, and buttocks. Her vagina screamed for release as it clasped my penis over and over again in its tight, passionate embrace.

"Patrick! Oh God! Patrick! Yes, yes, yes! Oh God! Uhhhhnnnnn!!"

A wave crashed over us. The explosion of the wave coincided with the most powerful pulses of her orgasm. Her mind spun out of control as she climaxed over and over and over again...the tide was coming in.

Tandra's screams of passion filled my ears. The pulsing of her orgasm and the pounding the surf finally drove me over the edge. I pushed all the way into her. The head of my penis butted against her cervix and she gasped. My hips and thighs pounded uncontrollably against her body.

"Ohhhh, Tandra. Oh God, Tandra! Yes! Oh, yes!"

I felt an incredible explosion of pleasure and light and force inside my loins. The base of my pounding erection throbbed as I began to come. The head of my penis swelled and the whole organ pulsed as semen began to spurt out, gushing into her vagina and striking her cervix. I kept thrusting and bucking as it spilled out of me and into Tandra's warm, passionate body. It seemed like I was never going to stop, filling the ocean of her passion with a river of my own.

"Oh, Tandra!" I cried. "Oh God, I love you!"

My mind began to blank as the last waves of my love spill into her. Another real wave rose up and crashed over our joined bodies. The tide had come in...



It was noon before I awoke. I was back in my bed at the Johanssen's beach house, with no clear idea how I had gotten here. I was still a little disoriented, but starting to sit up I realized that something was in the bed with me. I turned around to see Tandra staring at me, smiling. We were wrapped tightly in the covers, but she worked them down to reveal the fact that we were both nude. She looked into my eyes and said only a few words, words that still ring in my ears...

"Make love to me, Patrick." And I did.

For us, the tide will always be in... 

END



---

Patrick Donovan 

Amateur Romantic E-rotica * Share your passion.



Tidal Wave on a Blind Date



(F/F, oral, anal, masturbation, toys, angry cab drivers, perverted subway riders)

NOTE: I know this is long for a one-part piece. For a while I considered breaking it up into two parts, but as I patrolled the story for a breaking point nothing screamed at me. Not even a 'maybe here' or a 'this could work'. You might disagree and find that perfect place, and maybe I worried too much about finding a perfect place. But I also worried about breaking the flow and energy I feel the story has from start to finish. Either way I just wanted to let you know that I tried. 

DISCLAIMER: Don't do anything stupid because of what you read here.

5.

Normally I'm relaxed on a Friday because it's the start of the weekend, but this one was very different. I couldn't decide if I was more excited than nervous or more nervous than excited. Some would say it's easy to tell because one has positive feelings and the other has negative feelings, but they both have many of the same sensations, and when you're switching between the two about once every four minutes it can be hard to tell which one is more predominant. Unfortunately things at my job were so uncommonly slow that I wasn't provided much distraction. Even worse, the two people who knew I was going on a blind date kept coming over to my cubicle.

"The amazing Miss Wang," Marcus announced as he put a folder on my desk. "You excited about tonight?"

"Are you kidding? This is my first date in almost two years. The other day I got excited when a woman on the subway started eyeing up my shoes."

Later when Gwen came over I was busy holding fingers to my wrist. "So Gretchen," she asked. "You nervous about tonight?"

"Jesus Christ Gwen this is my first date in almost two years." I held out my wrist to her. "Try and find a pulse, I think I'm having a heart attack."

4.

So things weren't much better by the time I left work. At five o'clock the streets of Manhattan are teeming with working stiffs like me, on their way to happiness, sorrow, boredom, or in my case, nervous excitement. When I first moved to the city I thought I would miss having a car, but as it turns out navigating the busy sidewalks is no different than driving on the street -- there are several lanes of traffic on any sidewalk and you have to pick a lane otherwise you get into a collision. Then the guy in front of you is moving too slow, probably talking on his cell phone, but suddenly you see an opening and you switch lanes and speed up. Luckily running red lights at the crosswalk is more acceptable if you're a pedestrian. 

I took the subway downtown and started walking the four blocks to my apartment, trying to get home as quickly as possible. The date was happening at a hotel bar in Midtown at seven o'clock and I had plenty to do in the next hour and forty minutes. I needed time to shower and get dressed. I also needed time to catch a cab rather than take the subway, since the train involved more walking and a cab could drop me off right at the bar. And finally, I needed time to fret over every single thing that could go wrong.

Suddenly there was a loud boom. I slowed down, because if I stopped I'd have been run over, and looked around nervously for the source. Ever since 9/11 a sound like that makes me freak a little. I wasn't alone either; it was in the eyes of others around me and some of them were looking around too. As the sound of the boom rolled away into the sky, I felt a drop of water on my face. Looking up at the steel gray clouds I took my umbrella out of my bag thankful that it was only nature.

3.

I was no longer thankful it was only nature by the time I turned down my block. Those first few drops turned into a full-on downpour, and despite my umbrella I was soaked to the bone. This wasn't the type of rainstorm where you merely seek cover; this was a 'start building an Ark and grab two of every animal' rainstorm. When I got into my apartment I found the only animal I'd acquired so far, my black cat Angus. He was lounging atop his perch on the cushioned seat in front of my makeup table, King of the Apartment. 

I kissed him on the head and proceeded to peel off my clothes and jump in the shower, where the warm water felt so good compared to the cold October rain outside. Afterwards I put on deodorant, covered myself with a new body spray that made me smell like a peeled orange, and put makeup on my face. Most of my facial features reflect my Chinese father, and I usually joke (mostly to my therapist) that all of my mother's German features are on the inside of my head. I fiddled with my mop of black hair until, hopefully, it looked like I hadn't fiddled with it at all. 

All during this time I tried to keep my mind off of what could go wrong tonight, with mixed results. This was my first date in almost two years. It had been a voluntary sabbatical, for several reasons. First, my last relationship ended as badly as a relationship can, second, the lesbian dating scene in New York City is smaller than you think, and third, I hate having to go through a whole night of effort only to discover you don't like her or she doesn't like you. The first reason was the strongest, but the second came in a close...well, second. After dating more than six or eight lesbians in this town, the next girl you date has probably been with one or more of your ex-girlfriends. These exes tend to mention a few things about you that they liked, and then blab plenty about what they didn't like. Imagine you're on a first date, and then suddenly she realizes you're 'that' girl, the one she heard has odor issues, or is cheap or controlling, or is cheap and controlling and has odor issues, or, worst of all, cheated on them. Suddenly your new relationship is over before it started.

Only two things kept me feeling good about the date. One was the red dress I found in the window of a small boutique on Mott Street, which was a nice combination of subtle and sexy, cut just enough in the right places to make people say, "Look at that..." without the next words being, "...what a slut!" This was important for me, because after feeling like crap about myself for the last two years I wanted to look good and feel sexy. The other thing is that I finally have a chance to wear my lucky dating anklet again. I put it on and looked at it, a simple gold chain around my left ankle. It had been giving me good luck on dates for years, which I would need if I ever hoped to have sex with a real live woman sometime soon instead of the electronics I've been using.

That's all it took to get me thinking about sex, that and looking at myself naked in the mirror. It's the most live nudity I've seen in almost two years. I'm pathetic. Suddenly I jumped on my bed and reached underneath to the box that held my sex partners. Opening it up, I took out a clitoral kiss, a vibrator, a set of anal beads and a bottle of lube. I lubed up the anal beads and then put a glob on my finger, reached under my butt and fingered my rosebud until it opened up, sticking my finger all the way up there and then fingering myself until I popped in the anal beads one by one. While I did this Angus gave me a look that said, "This again?" I used a fresh towel to wipe off my hand and then I slid the clitoral kiss's ring part over my finger and started it up. Spreading my lower lips with my fingers, I started moving it over my love button and moaned. I took my other hand away from holding my lips open and tweaked my right nipple, pinching and pulling at it. 

Angus probably got tired of watching this spectacle again. He jumped down off his perch and left the room. I brought my hand back down to hold open my lips again, and a few moments later tweaked my nipples again. Then I reached over to the night table and grabbed two clips. They were nipple clamps, but with soft, rounded plastic edges, so they would keep pressure on my nipples without hurting. As I clipped each one on it increased the sensations coursing through me. I was going good and strong at this point, so I grabbed the vibrator and brought it to my now soaked crotch. After rubbing it around to get it lubricated, I started slowly sliding it into my hole. I let out a load moan as it slid in, and then let out a gasp as it got to the innermost point. Bringing it back out slowly again, and then increasing the speed as I pushed it back in. I took away the clitoral kiss for a moment and then put it back, teasing my nub and making sure I didn't over stimulate it.

I felt the orgasm coming, so I left the vibrator halfway inside me and grabbed the end of the anal bead string. I brought the clitoral kiss up just enough to where it was just teasing my clit, and that was it. As the orgasm exploded inside of me I started rocking hard back and forth on the bed, and that's when I slowly pulled out the anal beads. I cried out as the added sensation doubled the power of my orgasm and kept it going until the last bead moved past my rosebud. A few last spasms rocked my body as I lay there, a quivering pool of flesh and nerves. My breath was coming in ragged gasps, but as I lay back to catch my breath my eyes caught sight of the clock. Holy shit I was going to be late! Not a great first date move. 

I started to put my dress on, but in my rush I didn't unzip the back far enough and got stuck with it halfway over my head. That's right when the phone rang. "Crap!" I yelled out. Blindly stumbling over to the handset sitting on the floor, I used my toe to deftly stab the 'Speakerphone' button.

"Hello?" I started struggling with the dress some more. 

"Hey sweetie!" It was my friend Olivia, who had set up tonight's date. "You getting ready for the big night?"

"Well," I grunted in frustration with the dress still over my head. "I'm halfway dressed."

"Great! I can't wait for you two to meet! I just know you and Josie are going to hit it off."

"Can I get that in writing?"

"Guaranteed results sweetie." Then she quickly added, "But no returns and no money back. And if tonight's meeting results in a long term commitment, then you, heretofore designated the date-ee, assumes all risk of heartbreak and emotional turmoil as a result of said commitment."

I stopped struggling. "Okay, you've been doing contract law wayyy too long."

"Rule number one, always cover your ass."

"And what a cute ass it is."

"Hey! No flirting with the straight girl. Stay in your silver star lesbian corner."

"It's gold star silly. Girls only. And I was just giving you a compliment."

"Oh please give'em! Justifies the gym membership. But you've got a date with one of your own tonight, so eyes on the prize sweetie."

"And exactly how did the straight girl find another gold star lesbian anyway?"

"That's rule number two, always keep industry secrets secret."

"You're in the industry of mating lesbians now?"

"I think every person on this planet deserves romance."

I finally got the dress onto my body, but despite the clothing I suddenly felt a chill. It was the feeling that had been haunting me for these past two years. "I'm not sure I deserve romance..."

"Oh God, not this again."

"I'm just not sure I'm ready to get back out there."

Olivia was silent for a moment. When she spoke again it was in her serious tone, which meant she wasn't looking to hear any bullshit. "Sweetie, did you join a convent since the last time I saw you?" 

"No."

"Then you're ready! You are beyond ready. The sex toys under your bed would scream that you're ready but they're too damn tired."

"I know, I just..."

"Gretch, it's been almost two years. I think it's time to move on. Don't you?"

I remained silent. Finally Olivia asked "I gave you Josie's cell phone number, right?" Which meant the pre-date jitters part of the conversation was over.

"Yes Miss Overly-Competent."

"Oh wow, look at the time! You'd better hurry up or you'll be late! Don't want to be late on a first date."

"Well if I wasn't on the phone..."

"That reminds me, after you guys part for the night I want a phone call."

I smiled. "I thought this was guaranteed results. Why do you need a phone call afterwards?"

"Not because I'm looking to confirm how it went, sweetie. I just want to gloat and hear that you'll buy me drinks forever."

2.

By six twenty-five I was out the door. It was still raining, but this was no longer an apocalyptic downpour. The drops were coming down soft and steady and my large umbrella kept me dry. The sun was down and my long coat was buttoned against the cold as well as the rain. I'd opted for calf length black boots to get me around the huge puddles of water that always collected at the corners during a big storm. And there were plenty of them. The streets were full of water and every corner had a miniature lake around it. I walked to the end of my block where Eighth Ave would give me a straight shot up towards Midtown. All I had to do was catch a cab. 

Of course every cab that passed was already occupied thanks to the rain. Into my head came the thought that this was a sign I should call off the date, but I quickly dismissed it as the thinly disguised fear I'd been feeling before. I considered calling Josie to let her know I might be late, but I didn't want to hit the panic button just yet. So I gave it a few more tries, then gave up when I looked at my watch and saw it was six forty-three. A cab was no longer an option.

I walked a block, took two flights of stairs underground and hopped on the E train. It wasn't until the doors closed that I remembered calling Josie. No signal down here. I'd have to wait until I got on ground level again. The subway car was packed and I unbuttoned my coat to keep from sweating. It was standing room only, and bodies bumped up against each other as the train rocked around a bend. That's when I felt a hand grab my ass. He was slow compared to all the other times I'd experienced this, because I half turned and whacked his hand with my closed umbrella.

"Ow!" he yelled. He was around forty, with a big, meaty face and wearing a baseball jacket.

I looked right at him and said, "Scumbag."

The idiot didn't even try to deny it, just stared at me for a moment before he turned and pushed his way to the end of the car. A woman around my age smiled and said, "Nice one." She'd probably experienced it herself. I smiled. It's rare when you can catch a perv doing that.

1.

Two minutes after seven I was climbing the stairs to the sidewalk. It was still raining. I didn't stop to button my coat, just opened my umbrella and proceeded to walk briskly. Now I was already late and had to cover two blocks to get to the bar. If it were two blocks going north or south I wouldn't complain because those are average length blocks, but I had to go east to west and those blocks are two to three times longer. Making things even worse were the aforementioned corner puddles that required six strides just to get around. One was so big that I christened it 'Piss-Me-Off Lake'. While waiting for a red light at the next corner I remembered about calling Josie. Shit! I started fumbling through my purse for the phone, and that's when I heard a horn honk. I looked up and saw a cab coming at high speed. The wheels hit the mini lake in front of me and sent up a wall of water the size of a tidal wave. It was one of those moments where time slowed down, and for some reason I can never move any faster in these moments.

When the wave hit it covered every inch of me: my legs, my dress, my face, my jacket, my hair...everywhere. I was soaked. If I'd closed my coat when leaving the subway I would have spared the dress, only my hair and makeup would have been screwed up and those would have been fixable. But the dress was drenched, and I had turned into a walking puddle. I stood there frozen, my mouth agape, my brain trying to process what had happened while at the same time trying to deny it. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, but nothing came out of my mouth except a little bit of water. 

0.

I found refuge under the awning of a Broadway show, Spring Awakening, oddly enough. It was time to call Josie and cancel the date. Obviously this wasn't about my fears anymore. And yet, I couldn't help feeling a bit of relief as I dialed her number.

"Hel-lo." Josie answered in an almost singsong voice.

"Is this Josie?"

"Yep. Is this Gretchen?"

"Yes. Listen, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to cancel. I'm really, really sorry."

Josie chuckled. "That's okay. At least I got to meet Dan here. Say hello Dan."

I heard a muffled "Hello."

"Dan's in town for a convention and he bought me a drink before I could tell him I only date the same sex. So now I have a chance to buy him one back."

"That's good," I said, my voice garbled as I swallowed and tasted more of the street water in my mouth. "Again, I'm so sorry about canceling."

"So, uh, when do you want to reschedule for? How's tomorrow night?"

"Oh shit!" came out of my mouth as a cold wind blew and chilled me to the bone.

There was a pause. Josie asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm all wet."

"Huh?"

"It was a tidal wave."

"Hang on, what happened?" she asked. "And what's that noise?" 

I hadn't realized my teeth were chattering. The cold didn't seem so bad when I was dry, but now that I was dripping wet it felt like I was standing inside of a freezer. I explained that to Josie, and what led up to it as well, finishing the story with, "Ten minutes ago I smelled like an orange peel and now I smell like a sewer."

"Where are you now?"

"About a block away on Thirty-fourth. I'm sorry, but there's no way we can do this tonight. I've got to go home, if I can catch a cab."

"You stay put. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"No, wait," I protested, but I realized she'd hung up and I was only talking to my cell phone. "Aaarrrggghhh!!" I growled. This had to be the worst night in my life next to the time a drunken ex-girlfriend threw up on me during sex. Part of me wanted to leave, standing her up seemed more favorable compared to having her first visual impression of me reminiscent of the last wet cat she saw. But another part of me felt so defeated I couldn't even move. A fleeting idea to find a mirror and fix my hair and makeup was met with hugging myself harder and starting to cry. I thought about the last two years of my life and how pathetic I'd been. Going out and getting drunk with friends or staying at home and watching TV with my cat, anything to avoid thinking too hard about Elizabeth and how that all ended. 

A car horn pulled me out of my thoughts. I hadn't noticed the cab that had pulled up to the curb. The window rolled down and a blonde haired girl stuck her head out. 

"Gretchen?" she asked. I nodded and she smiled. Actually 'smiled' doesn't cover it. Her whole face lit up, and it was a face that conveyed plenty. It expressed warmth, compassion, joy, and little bit of mischief. She opened the door and said, "Come on!" 

I hesitated. No, I was stunned. Rendered immobile by how much just seeing her face had affected me. My teeth were no longer chattering, and suddenly I realized I wasn't so cold anymore. It took a moment to deduce the cause -- my pulse was racing at the mere sight of this girl. 

Finally I moved and got in the cab, across the seat from Josie in the flesh. Her facial features had a Nordic quality, her pale complexion only colored by a few freckles on her cheeks, her lips were full and inviting, her eyes big and blue and warm. Even in the dim light she looked incredible. She said, "Are you okay?"

At the same time the cabbie turned and asked, "Where you ladies going?"

I looked at him. "Did you drive past here fifteen minutes ago?"

"Nope."

"Well one of your buddies did, and if I ever find him I'm going to kill him. Probably by drowning."

Josie said, "So that's a 'no' on the okay question..."




Tidal Wave on a Blind Date



I turned to her. "I'm sorry." I started fixing my hair, regretful of not finding a mirror. "God I must look like hell."

Josie smiled and said, "Actually you look cute." Once again her face and the smile that sat on it took my breath away. Now I could actually feel that my pulse was racing.

"I look cute?" I smiled and held out a lock of wet hair. "For what? A drowning victim on that Law & Order show?"

She paused, and then said, "For my date. I've seen dry women who don't make me swoon like you do."

My jaw dropped open and I sat there as frozen as when I was waiting for Josie. She turned her head away with a sheepish smile on her face. Finally I said, "I'm not sure if I should say thank you or offer my first born."

Josie laughed. "I'll take the thank you. Not interested in kids."

"Me neither, but I'd have one if you were."

"Ladies," the driver said, "this is all very fuckin' sweet. But I'm losing out on fares. Is there an address I can take you to?"

I said, "Yeah, it's-"

Josie broke in, "Just head to the West Side Highway. I'll guide you from there." She looked at me. "No arguments." 

Not that I would have. That smile, her face...I'd have gone anywhere.

1.

Anywhere turned out to be a factory-turned-condos building on Washington Street. I paid the fare despite Josie's arguments, and when we got out of the cab I could see that Josie was around my height, about five foot six. Inside the foyer I felt like we'd moved into another dimension. The building entrance and hallways were well lit and paneled with blonde wood that looked new, and the place looked like it was cleaned and vacuumed very often.

"Nice place." I said as we rode the elevator to the tenth floor. "Can't imagine what they rent for," 

"Me neither. I'm apartment sitting. In a month I'll probably be squatting again."

Her last statement prompted so many questions that I decided not to bother. Something told me I'd have plenty of time with Josie to find out all about her. When we got to the apartment Josie pulled out a key chain with at least twenty-five keys on it, all of them with color tags or tape with writing. I'd have to ask about those too...but later.

The door opened to a brick lined living room with a ceiling at least fifteen or twenty feet high. There was a U-shaped sectional couch, a coffee table the size of my bed, a stereo next to a CD rack, a bookcase, and a huge flat screen TV mounted to the wall. On the opposite wall there was a huge window, and despite being only ten stories up we could see over some smaller buildings before the view was blocked by a much taller one. The other two walls were covered with framed movie posters. Some of them were classics but most were for more recent films of the B grade horror variety. As we walked in I said, "Owner's a big movie fan."

"Actually she works in the movies. Special effects. She's on one right now in the Canadian woods. Won't be back for another month."

"And she pays you to watch her place?"

Josie made a face. "She doesn't exactly pay me...it's more like a mutually beneficial situation."

I smiled. "Uh huh."

"It doesn't involve sex! You have got a dirty mind hiding behind that innocent face. No, we met at a gallery opening and she liked one of my paintings. We got to talking and I mentioned that I was between places and voila!"

My eyebrows rose. "You're a painter?"

The smile came back and her face practically exploded with glee. "Oh yes! Painting is my passion and my career. I don't make shit for money, but I love it and I'm not going to stop, even if I don't..." She made quotation marks with her fingers. "Make it."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, that dammed feeling that I wasn't ready for this came back over me. It was followed by an overwhelming urge to make an excuse for why I had to leave. And that's when I heard panting. Up walked the cutest little dog I'd ever seen; so small and compact it could almost fit in my hands. It looked up at me with the saddest little eyes.

"Oooohhh!" I squealed. "How cute!"

Josie kneeled down and started stroking the dog's hair. "This is Fearie, she's my little sweetheart. Aren't you? Aren't you my little sweetheart?" She kissed Fearie on the nose. I knelt down and Josie said, "Say hello to our guest little Fearie."

I reached out to pet the precious dog, and just as my hand got to her head Fearie showed her teeth, uttered a deep growl that sounded like it came from the pit of Hell itself, and started barking at me with the viciousness of a dog eighty times her size. Suddenly I was back on my feet.

"It's okay," Josie said with a smile on her face. "Fearie just likes to play around."

The dog lunged as I reversed until my back hit the wall. At this point Fearie wasn't exactly barking and not exactly growling, she had somehow combined the two into a sound akin to a hellhound on its worst day. She looked at me with these dead dark eyes that seemed to swallow the light around them and gnashed her teeth at me like she was showing off the tools she would later use to peel my skin off.

Josie got up and calmly walked into the living room. "Don't worry, her bark is worse than her bite."

I wasn't exactly comforted by that thought. While I don't know much about dogs, of one thing I was certain -- if Fearie had the chance she'd climb up my body and chew my face to shreds, stopping along the way to rip off one of my breasts.

Josie put her keys on the table and said, "Fearie!"

The little dog turned and ran towards her owner. Josie leaned down and petted the now docile animal, which licked Josie's face with tenderness. As I stood there waiting for my heart rate to drop below a thousand, I was dumbstruck at how oblivious Josie was to the lethal nature of her dog.

Josie looked up from her 'sweetheart' and said, "I can imagine you want to get out of that dress and take shower."

"Yeah, that'd be great."

Josie pointed down the hallway. "It's down there at the end. Feel free to use the shampoo and soap and stuff, it's all mine. I'll go get you something dry to wear. And prepare yourself for the bathroom, it's a little weird." She didn't explain anything beyond that.

Weird didn't cover it. At first everything seemed normal when I opened the door and was greeted with an old style bathroom, all white with a claw foot tub that doubled as a shower, tile on the floor and halfway up the wall until paint finished the distance to the ceiling. What stopped me was the shower curtain. It was opaque white with the silhouette of a matronly looking woman holding up what looked like a large kitchen knife in striking position.

I looked down. The rug was black with a strange white line pattern on it, and it took me a moment to notice that said pattern was in the shape of a human body, like how police outline the dead ones. This was starting to freak me out. For a second I considered skipping the shower, but things were going good with Josie and if they started getting better the last thing I wanted was to literally smell like a New York City street.

When I shut the door something behind it caught my eye and I jumped. It was another framed movie poster, Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho'. Suddenly the freak show bathroom made more sense. I climbed out of the dress, which was even harder than putting it on because now it was wet, then looked at the curtain and felt a moment of trepidation as I pulled it aside...and found nothing in the shower but a shower.

I made the water hot and stepped under the stream for my second shower in so many hours, and this one felt better than the first. My shoulder muscles relaxed for the first time in...well days I guess. This date had had me so nervous, so stressed out that I didn't realize how tense my body had become. The shampoo and conditioner were way off-brand stuff, so cheap that after I washed my hair I realized I needed to do it again to get the smell out. I felt bad for using so much shampoo, and that made me think about Josie. She was an interesting character. A starving artist who probably lived hand to mouth and kept a ferocious yet travel size animal. Even though I'd only been around her for about an hour I sensed so much of her personality...forceful yet understanding, tough yet sensitive, with equal doses of sweet and sexy.

Without even thinking about it, my hand had slid down to my pussy and my fingers started playing with my wiry black pubes. I thought about what it would be like to touch Josie's skin, to kiss her on the lips, to wrap my arms around her body. A finger slid over my clit as I continued to fantasize. Josie's tongue slips into my mouth, my hand slides over her breast. She slides the straps of the dress over my shoulders and I rip open her blouse and send buttons flying everywhere. Her bra is red and lacy, fitting with her personality. She pulls away from me and stands up, unbuttons her pants and slides them off, revealing a red thong. Josie smiles that smile again and I melt again. Then she goes to take off the bra and panties and...what does she look like naked? I open my eyes, look around, and think about how Josie stands naked in here everyday. That turns me on even more.

I cup my right breast and squeeze as I slide a finger inside my hole. Moving it slowly in and out, I close my eyes and imagine Josie standing here, washing her naked body, maybe even masturbating like I am. My thumb and forefinger pinch a nipple as I slide another finger inside, moving in and out and twirling around. The more I think of Josie, of her smile and her face, and not to mention her imaginary nude body, the harder I start pumping in and out of myself. I put a foot up on the side of the tub and bring my other hand from my breast down to my clit and massage it back and forth. I imagine Josie is the one touching me, stimulating me, first with her fingers and then with her mouth. Low, deep moans begin emanating from my throat like mating calls. Now I'm right on the edge.

Suddenly I hear a click. I open my eyes and look around to see if something fell. As my vision sweeps the tub and comes towards where I'm standing, they see nothing, nothing but me with my fingers in my crotch. That's when I really start to think about what I'm doing -- masturbating in a stranger's shower. Even worse -- masturbating in the middle of a first date. My shoulders slump at the thought of how pathetic I've become. And that's when I hear something again, an indistinguishable sound just outside the shower curtain. It's really hard to make out over the sound of the running water. I get really quiet and strain to hear something, anything. There! Again, like a rustling sound. I couldn't see beyond the opaque curtain with the oh-so-not-helping image on it of a woman with a knife. Maybe it was Fearie the Mad Dog here to rip off my face? I didn't want to ask who was there, because if it was Satan's hound she might attack. 

Somehow I found the courage to inch towards the edge of the curtain. I pulled it back just enough to peer around it.

"HEY!"

I screamed. Josie screamed. She stood there holding my dress.

"Wow you're jumpy!" she exclaimed

"In this bathroom, yes. I heard noises."

"So did I." Her face held no indication that she knew what I was doing. "Just wanted to tell you that I'm going to hang up your dress to dry. I was going to throw it in the dryer, but it's dry clean only."

I looked at the dress and said, "Stupid dress."

"I left you some clothes too. Hope you don't mind PJ's, but I figured we'd get comfortable." Josie pointed at the pile of clothes sitting on the toilet lid. That's when I noticed she wasn't wearing her date clothes anymore. She'd changed into a white T-shirt and blue plaid pajama pants. Her feet were bare except for a gold toe ring on her right index toe. On the T-shirt was printed, "Nobody Knows I'm A Lesbian".

"I'm in love with comfortable."

She smiled. "Good. Interested in ordering some take-out?"

"That'd be great."

"Cool, I'll get out some menus. Sadly the Italian place around here sucks, but there are a few good Chinese places, if you're into that..."

I pointed at my face. "Do I look like I'm not?"

Josie laughed. "I just don't want to assume. I'm sure most of the take out around here probably doesn't compare to the home cooking you've had."

"And obviously you've never experienced my dad's cooking." I physically shuddered. "Ugh."

2.

I finished showering and quickly dried and clothed myself. Josie left me a pair of red plaid pajama pants and a black T-shirt for some heavy metal band. Both were well worn and comfortable. I put my gold anklet back on, hoping that might bring me luck later.

Walking into the living room I heard Cat Power coming from the stereo. Josie was sitting on the couch and Fearie was right next to her. I made sure to sit on the other side of Josie, who was sipping from a large mug. She indicated another mug on the table. "I made us some hot chocolate, figured you needed something to warm you up."

"Thanks," I said and took a sip from the mug. It was good hot chocolate...spiked with something a little extra. I gave Josie a look that asked the question.

"I figured a little Peppermint Schnapps would warm you up even more."

We looked at a menu. Sitting so close to Josie I felt the heat from her body. Actually this all felt so good, being in a warm and cozy place, wearing comfortable clothing and ordering take-out. From the window lightning flashed, and looking at the harsh weather conditions outside caused a shiver through my body. Then came the thought that I shouldn't get too comfortable, a flash of Elizabeth ran through my head and I remembered how quickly things could go bad. My eyes squeezed shut and I shook my head to get rid of the thought. It passed, and taking a deep breath I opened my eyes and we went about deciding on way too much food. Josie got up to grab the phone and I suddenly found myself staring at the potential object of my demise. Fearie started growling and bared her teeth at me. 

"Nice Fearie," I said with optimism and a smile. The animal must have taken that as a threat, because suddenly she jumped and I found myself diving to the other side of the couch. Josie was on the phone placing the order, and she didn't notice that I was on my back with my legs flying and kicking trying to fend off her dog. Somehow Fearie found an opening in my defenses and deftly pounced on top of my chest. I grabbed Fearie's ears to keep her head back as she came within an inch of biting off my nose. She kept lunging forward, her jaws snapping in an effort to take something away from my face. I held onto her ears for dear life, and every time those fangs got close I managed to twist her head away. 

We struggled like that until Josie got off the phone and turned around. I thought for sure I was saved. But then Josie just smiled. "Glad you two are getting along. Fearie, are you hungry? You are, aren't you sweetheart? I'll get your dinner ready. "

From my viewpoint Fearie was already working on dinner. As Josie walked to the kitchen I tried to call out for help but Fearie sprang forward and my lower lip almost became her first course. This was a strong little dog, and she pushed in hard enough so that I had to turn my face away. Fearie was about to have my left cheek in her jaws when the sound of a can opener in the kitchen made her jump right out of my hands. The evil little creature scrambled into the kitchen and left me panting and sweaty. A few seconds later Josie walked out of the kitchen saying, "Sorry to break you two up. Wow, you really got into playing with her."

She must have been referring to my heavy breathing and sweaty face. I forced a smile. "I love animals," except the kind that belong in a cage.

Josie sat down with a slightly devious smile pointed at me. "So while we're waiting for food, I have five questions for Gretchen Wang."

I caught my breath and sat up. "Okay," I said with a hesitant tone, and hopefully, a cute look.

"What do you do for a living?"

"I work for a book publisher."

"Doing what?"

"Marketing."

"And how old are you?"

Feigning an offended look I said, "A proper lady never reveals her age." Josie just stared at me. "Okay, twenty-nine. But I'm known to lie."

"Do you keep in contact with your family?"

"I call my parents once a week. My brother is in the military so we converse by email. My sister...not so much."

"Why not so much?"

"'Cause she only calls when she needs money."

Josie nodded. "Did you go to public school or private?"

I smiled. "That's more than five questions."

"Some of your answers were vague, ergo additional questions."

"So how many do we have to go?"

"This one and one more. Public or private?"

I sighed. "Private. So what's the last question?"

Josie looked right into my eyes. "Would you mind terribly if I kissed you?"

I smiled. "I'd mind terribly if you didn't."

Josie moved closer as our heads leaned in and our lips came together. There were two hesitant pecks, followed by two more confident kisses, followed by a joining of the mouths. Josie's tongue and mine were working hard together, my hands were caressing her back and hers were caressing my front. Her hand moved down slowly until it got to my left breast. She squeezed. I moaned. The phone rang. 

Without breaking the kiss, Josie used her hands to guide me over until she could reach the phone on the table. She picked it up, hit the answer button, and then hit another button that I assumed buzzed in the delivery guy. She switched it off and tossed it on the other section of the couch. We continued kissing as Josie's hand again came to my breast, caressing it through the shirt. My nipples were hard at this point, and right when Josie pinched my nipple there was a knock at the door. She broke the kiss and looked into my eyes. "To be continued later." She pinched my nipple again, and I moaned and rolled my eyes. Josie reached over and grabbed money she had lying on the table.

"Hey," I said. "Why don't you let me pay for this?"

"You paid for the cab. And don't think the squatting thing makes me a charity case."

I sighed. "Can I at least give the tip?"

The doorbell rang again. Josie smiled. "Don't worry, I'll cover that easy." She jumped up and as she skipped to the door she pulled off her T-shirt. Just before she opened the door she dropped her pajama bottoms. I couldn't believe it; she stood in front of the delivery guy buck-naked. The delivery guy was a beefy Asian kid with short spiky hair and a soft, friendly face. He didn't look shocked at all, but he did give her body a good once over before he said, "Hey Josie."

"Hey Ben. How're you?"

Ben was about to answer when his eyes caught me. "Apparently not as lucky as you."

"Well then here's something extra. Later, she and I are going to..." and she leaned over and started whispering in his ear. Ben's eyebrows rose slowly until they almost became an extension of his hairline. He smiled as Josie finished.

"Wow, good deal." And with a hangdog smile he said, "Guess there's not a chance I could watch, is there?"

With a broad smile and cheer in her voice, Josie said, "Not on your life."

Ben nodded and looked at me. "Well, you guys have fun."

She handed him the money and he handed her the food. The door shut and she walked back over with a smile on her face. Suddenly she stopped cold and stared at me like she just remembered I was there.

"Um...wow, I'm naked...in front of you."

"Yeah," I said with a smile. "You were naked in front of the delivery guy as well."

"Oh, Ben?" Josie gave a brief laugh. "Well, since I'm kind of on a tight budget I feel terrible about not always being able to tip, so I started nude tipping. You know, answer the door naked...better than nothing."

I looked down at her body. "From where I'm sitting, I think they like it better than a lot of things."




Tidal Wave on a Blind Date



She looked down at her body and back up at me. "Still, this is a little presumptuous, isn't it?"

"Not as much as when you spoke of our plans later."

I could practically see Josie's face light up with the realization that she'd done that. Her mouth opened wide and she said, "Oh..." in a long drawn out fashion as she brought her lips together. Her eyes conveyed the rest of the statement, which was "...shit." When she was done with that she smiled and said, "I'm just batting a thousand tonight. Look, I'm sorry, I just...I don't know...figured sex, a good thing, what we're all striving for here. Least, that's what I was striving for, hoped it's what you were striving for. I mean, you let me drag you back here, we're in PJ's, all comfortable and ready for bed, kinda halfway there already...."

As Josie dropped the food at the table she watched me. I stared at her with a non-committal look on my face. She threw up her hands and said, "Oh come on! Help me out here...am I saving myself or just digging a bigger hole?"

I started chuckling. "I'm not sure, but it's fun watching you try."

She smirked. "You're getting too much enjoyment out of my pain." Josie turned and walked back to retrieve her clothing while my eyes tracked her the entire way. She said, "I suppose it's too late to warn you that I say what's on my mind. And that I'm a little impulsive."

"A little?" I said. When she leaned over to pick up her PJ's I was mesmerized by her ass. I enjoyed what I saw until I looked back up and saw Josie looking over her shoulder at me and smiling. So I looked away.

Josie started laughing. "You're blushing!"

I dropped my head and stared at the couch. "No I'm not."

She walked purposefully across the room. "Yes you are! You embarrass easy!"

I opened my mouth to say something, stopped, and sighed, conceding her point. Josie started pulling food out of the bags with a giddy smile, and began singing, "I know something about you now, I know something about you..." until she suddenly stopped and an angry look crossed her face. "Where are the egg rolls?"

I looked at the food covering the table. "They must have forgotten them." 

Josie grabbed the phone and a piece of paper sitting on the table. She started dialing a number written on it. "Luckily I keep Ben's cell phone number around."

I said, "It's no big deal. My hips can live without them."

"No. This is unacceptable. I tip too well for this kind of treatment." I heard someone answer on the other line. "Ben! This is Josie. We are egg rolless! Where are my egg rolls?" A pause, then, "Well they do me no good when they're on your counter. I need them on my counter, ASAP...because you do not end a meal with egg rolls, they start the meal, that's why they're on the appetizer portion of your menu...I know you're busy, I know it's raining out, but egg rolls were promised, egg rolls were paid for, and egg rolls need to be in my tummy!" A longer pause, and then, "Tell you what, make us your next stop back and I'll have my friend nude tip you."

My eyes widened. I held up my hands and shook them and my head as violently as I could as I whispered, "No, no, no, no, no". 

Josie looked me in the eyes and smiled. "She'd love to do it for you." I raised my voice with the no's, but the look in Josie's eyes said that volume wasn't the problem. "Okay, cool, see you in ten." Josie hung up the phone.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I am not nude tipping this guy!"

"First of all, we don't have the time or the psychiatric degrees to fully understand what's wrong with me. And second, you are nude tipping this guy."

"Remember a few minutes ago, the part where I embarrass easy!"

"And we'll soon have you cured of that."

"Who says I want to be cured?"

Josie pointed a finger at me. "People like you never think they need to be cured because they don't know they have the disease." She shook her head. "You're a classic case. Be glad I got to you early."

I stopped, took a breath, tried to compose myself, and calmly said, "It's simple. Embarrassment equals I am not nude tipping this guy."

"But as I mentioned before you also have a dirty mind behind that innocent face. Your embarrassment is covering something."

I froze. It sounded so logical, like when my therapist hits me with something deep. Ben must really have wanted to see me naked, because suddenly the phone rang. An excited look came over Josie's face. She answered it and hit the button to buzz him in. "Decision time. And you look like you're right on the fence. Are you going to do it?"

I was in a panic. "I don't know." And I really didn't. The thought of doing it was turning me on, but I kept thinking about the embarrassment I'd feel afterwards. 

As if reading my mind, Josie held out a finger and said, "It's not as embarrassing if it's around people you don't know. I'm the only one here you know, and I want you to do it!"

There was a knock at the door. I looked at it, then back at Josie. She was smiling, the kind of smile that people would kill for. Another knock. I smiled back, got up and took off the pajamas. Josie's eyes widened as she said, "Oh, mama." 

Completely naked now, I felt every inch of my body tingling with fear and sexual energy as Josie looked at me. That feeling increased tenfold as I looked up at the door. I took a deep breath and slowly let it out as I marched up to the door with a smile still on my face and opened it. My smile dropped. There was no Ben. Only two young men, one with blonde hair and the other with red hair, dressed identically in black rain slickers, white button down shirts and slacks. The blonde held a Bible, and the redhead held a handful of pamphlets. 

I was standing stark naked in front of two Mormon missionaries. 

The blonde quickly held up the Bible to cover his eyes while the redhead just stood there, his eyes wide and staring at my body. His jaw was hanging open and a whiny moan emanated from his mouth. I heard Josie cry out in laughter.

"Miss," the blonde said. "Could you please put some clothes on?"

From behind the couch Josie yelled, "We're doing laundry!"

Another whiny moan came from the redhead. He was looking at my body like this was the first time he'd seen a naked woman, which was probably the case. The blonde soldiered on. "Okay...well, uh, have you heard the good word Miss?"

Again Josie yelled, "No she hasn't! Tell her all about it!"

"Well, here in the Book of Mormon," he gave the book covering his eyes a shake. "The good word is..." 

"Fuck!"

That came from Ben, who walked up behind the Mormons holding a bag. "This was totally worth the rush!" he said.

Suddenly I heard myself scream, "Give me the fucking egg rolls!" Ben's smile dropped as he held up the bag and I snatched it from him. I looked at the redhead. "Give me a fucking pamphlet!" Red looked up at my face for the first time and held out a pamphlet. I grabbed it and slammed the door in their faces.

I heard a cackle and turned around. The boiling anger I felt was increased tenfold by the sight of Josie laying on the floor next to the couch, her eyes squeezed shut, body doubled over and both hands holding her stomach because she was laughing so hard. 

"That was fucking priceless!!"

After dropping the pamphlet and the egg rolls on the floor I stormed into the bedroom. I took my dress off the hanger and struggled into it, which was twice as hard as earlier because it was still wet. I got into my shoes and jacket, grabbed my purse and walked up the hallway. In the living room Josie had recovered from her laughing fit and was leaning up on the couch. She took one look at me and the merriment on her face dropped into confused disappointment. "Where are you going?"

"Leaving. Goodbye."

"Wait a second!" Josie was on her feet and across the room before I got to the door, which she threw herself in front of like she was holding off an attack of Huns.

I stopped. "Let me out."

Josie held her palms out in front of her. "Hang on. Hang on one second, just hear me out."

I crossed my arms. "Okay."

"But first you need to do something." Without a hint of irony in her voice and a confused look on her face, she asked, "Tell me what exactly you're angry about?"

I dropped my arms and stared at her in disbelief. "How about the fact that you humiliated me?" I started towards the door but Josie threw herself against it again.

"Okay! Okay!" She took a breath. "Let me ask you this, and think about it before you answer. If I humiliated you so badly and you hated it so much, tell me one thing..."

I crossed my arms again. "What?"

"Why didn't you shut the door as soon as you saw they were Mormons?"

My mouth opened, but not because I had something to say. Suddenly I realized that I'd stood there the whole time and done nothing.

"You were turned on weren't you?"

I shook my head. "No."

"Yes! Yes you were! Admit it! It turned you on to be naked in front of them."

I bit my lip in frustration. She was right and I couldn't argue that. "Fine, maybe I was. But you laughed at me. And you made it go on even longer."

"Because it was funny! I mean c'mon, you open the door naked and there's MISSIONARIES standing there! That's a once in a lifetime event. Somewhere in the universe stars had to align to make that happen!" I felt a smile start to form on my face. Josie continued. "And think about it, of all the people in the world it could've happened to, it happened to YOU! That's a great story to tell!"

The smile dropped as I gave her a glaring look. 

"...once you've had some time and distance from the embarrassment of it. But c'mon, you have to laugh at yourself some." Josie bent down, picked up the pamphlet and held it out towards me. "And look, you even get a keepsake! I guarantee you, months from now you'll look at it and laugh."

My smile started to come back. I took the pamphlet and said, "I guess it was kind of funny."

Josie smiled, put her arms around me and drew me in for a kiss. It was short but had some heat to it. She pulled away and said, "You're learning. Now let's eat before the food gets cold."

"Okay, but first...could you help me get out of this dress? I think it's stuck to me."

3.

During dinner we stared out of the large picture window admiring how the rainstorm continued to assault the city. It had intensified, with the wind blowing hard and the sky flashing with lighting. But it was fun to watch, being inside all safe and cozy. As she stuffed her mouth with noodles, Josie said, "It's funny, you embarrass easy but you were wearing that dress tonight."

"What about my dress?"

"You know...it's sexy."

"Kind of the point. But it isn't slutty."

"No. Someone like you wouldn't do slutty. But you were pushing your envelope."

Again I fell silent. Josie wagged a finger at me. "There's a dirty side to you that wants out, I can tell."

She left it at that for a while. We ate some more and talked about Josie's living situation. After graduating from art school Josie got a job doing graphic design at a medium-sized company to earn a living while she painted. But after two years she became bored with the work and between the stress and long hours of the job her painting had become uninspired. A conversation with her parents changed all that. They said if she was serious about wanting to be a painter she should stop 'dicking around' with the corporate world and dedicate herself to her work. 

The next day Josie quit her job and ever since she's been earning minimum wage at coffee shops while she worked on creating paintings and getting them seen. She was fired from her last job for giving away free coffee to the homeless people whom the manager had been trying to keep away from the store and his corporate level clientele. That kept her and Fearie living on friend's couches and occasionally squatting in abandoned buildings. We were finishing up eating when I said, "So I have five questions for Josie...shit, I'm sorry. I forgot your last name."

"Carter."

"Josie Carter. Question number one...how did you get a cab so fast on a night like tonight?"

"Resourcefulness. Where was I waiting for you?"

Clueless, I said, "In a hotel bar..." then I smiled as I wised up. "You walked into the lobby and out the front door like you were a guest."

Josie looked gleefully proud of herself. "The doorman got right on it for me. Besides, cabs haunt those high class hotels."

"And how old are you?"

"Twenty-five. I'm not old enough to want to lie yet."

I shot her a nasty look. "And how often do you talk to your family?"

"Whenever I can. Part of its money, but also my parents reunited the punk band they used to play with so sometimes they're hard to reach, busy playing gigs or practicing. They live in Cleveland, Ohio by the way. And my brother does real estate stuff in Chicago. Has a wife, two kids, house in the suburbs. He's the black sheep of the family."

"Where did you get Fearie?"

"Found the poor thing on the street."

That explained plenty. "What made you want to be a painter?"

"Easy way to get women naked in front of me."

I'm sure I looked startled.

"I'm kidding...mostly. No, when I first saw Edward Hopper's stuff, like New York Movie, Automat, Office in a Small City, A Woman in the Sun, they just hit me so hard and I could feel exactly where he was going. He captured the spaces in between the things you'd normally look for in a subject. I still feel his stuff, you know, like, here we are in one of the biggest cities on the Earth and there's days when I feel like the loneliest person, no one talks to me, no one pays attention to me. I can..." at that point she came out of her reverie and she was looking at me again. "...I can obviously go on for hours about this stuff."

"You've got lots of passion. Can I see some of your work?"

Suddenly there was a devious smile. "Even better...how'd you like to be one of my works?"

The second bedroom of the apartment had been converted into an office, which Josie had apparently taken over and started using as a studio. The ceiling in this room was extra high as well, giving it a very spacious look, and the window was obviously left over from the building's factory days. It was extra wide and split into two sections, a smaller lower section that looked like it pivoted open on a hinge, and the rest of it stretched almost to the ceiling. There was a settee in the center of the room, and an easel surrounded by small silver paint cans and a table covered with different brushes. Leaning against the wall in a corner were three canvasses stacked up against each other. I went over and looked. Two were nudes, one of a man and woman together and the other of just a woman, and the last I recognized as the view out of the room's window during daytime.

"My buddy Don has the rest of my work stored at his place, that way I don't have to move them every time I do."

"This is really good," I said, admiring her realistic style with hard lines and vibrant coloring. It was easy to see that Hopper influenced her.

"Thanks. Now take off your clothes."

I looked up from her paintings. "Take off what?"

"You seriously think I'm going to paint such an attractive woman wearing someone else's PJ's?"

"Oh." I said. The first immediate thought was to back out of it, but instead I figured why not? I've already exposed myself to religious missionaries and a horny delivery guy. Taking in a deep breath, I turned around and started stripping. I could hear Josie working on getting her stuff ready. After the PJ's were off, my brain had one more thought about how crazy this was. I went on a blind date and ended up naked in the apartment of some stranger I've never even met, about to have my nude body committed to canvas. I shut my eyes tight and took another deep breath. Then I turned.

Josie was naked too. She held a color palette and was selecting brushes. Mimicking Josie's tone from earlier I said, "Oh mama."

She looked up. "Ah, sorry, should have warned you. I always work in the nude. Helps keep me centered."

For a second I thought she was just doing it to make me more comfortable. Either way I didn't mind the view. When she was nude tipping earlier I noticed that Josie had several tattoos but now I was able to get a good look at them. There was a line of Chinese going down her back that translated to "Live, Love, Paint", on her left hip was 'In Voluptate Mors', the Salvador Dali work that was seven naked women formed into a human skull, a ring of stars created an anklet on her left ankle and when she turned I saw she had "Pucker Up" tattooed on her right butt cheek. When she turned I noticed her muff was shaved in a strange pattern. It looked like two dots and a line, and at first it was hard to make out what it was. The line was bowed down in the middle, and there was another short line at each end of the big one. Suddenly I burst out laughing.

"Did you shave your pubic hair into a smiley face?"

Josie chuckled as she stuck out her hips. "It's my latest work. Like it?" Then she went to the stereo, turned it on and hit play. Jazz poured out of the speakers. "Okay," she said, "if you wouldn't mind, sit on the settee." I laughed and parked my butt. She said, "Now chose a pose."

I opened my mouth and eyes wide and threw my arms and legs into the air. Josie shook her head, rolled her eyes and mumbled to herself, "Now she lightens up." Looking straight at me she said, "Do you really want to hold that pose for such a long period of time?"

I dropped everything. "You're no fun. How do you want me?"

She thought for a second and then came over to help position me. When she was done I was sitting angled towards the canvas with my left side against the back of the settee, so most of the front of my body was facing Josie. My left leg was bent at the knee with my foot behind my right leg, which lay straight out. She told me to look towards the window, stood back, smiled satisfactorily, and jumped behind the canvas.

Josie worked for a while and I just sat there. Stuck looking out the window I could see over a few smaller buildings until there was a much taller building, the same view as from the living room. The taller building looked like housed apartments, almost half of which had lights on, which wasn't surprising on a night like tonight. The storm raged on, with lighting and thunder and rain all working in unison to make it miserable for anyone stuck out there. Again I was thankful to be inside. I started thinking about all the unfortunate homeless souls out there, cowering wherever they could to steel themselves against the rain and cold. A week ago I got a mailer from a group helping the homeless asking for money, and I left it sitting under a pile of bills vowing that I'd give if I had any extra next month. At that moment I decided to write a check as soon as I got home. Then I thought of Fearie and that made me think of all the poor homeless animals stuck out there too, so I vowed to give to an organization for that as well. Great, I was going to be broke by the end of the month.

Suddenly Josie said, "You can talk if you want to."

"Oh, okay. I just figured I needed to stay super still."

"Your body and your head yes. But I'll let you know when I get to your mouth."

"Fine. So, um..." I struggled to think of a decent conversation to have while one is being painted in the nude. 

Finally Josie said, "So how about five more questions for Gretchen Wang?"

"I got a better idea. How about tit for tat?"

"Sounds kinky."

"I mean lets go back and forth. I'll go first. Is that Miles Davis on the stereo?"

"Ornate Coleman."

"Ah," I said. "So now you know I'm a super Jazz expert." 

Josie laughed. "Okay, um...how old were you when you had your first kiss?"

I sighed. "I was sixteen, and it was with this girl named Tracy Campbell. She really knew how to kiss and I really didn't. So who or what got you into jazz?"