Neil shook his head to say he had no opinion and Jessica just nodded happily. “This is such fun, my first dinner party! Did my Dad say it was OK for you guys to stay over?”
“Yes, and he gave us permission to use the master bedroom.” Holly exchanged a glance with Neil and her heart thudded. She turned towards the iced-up window and studied it carefully. The master bedroom almost certainly had a large bed for two people and so the choices were Holly in that bed and Neil down on the sofa, or Holly on the sofa and Neil upstairs. The ice had a grey, green twinge to it in places as through soggy grass or leaves had been mixed in but it failed to distract Holly’s calculations. Jessica would use her bed. If Holly shared the bed with Neil then she would at least want to sleep in her underwear, and so he would too most probably. She tried hard to recall what underwear she had on and whether they were a matching set. It would just be her luck to have a black bra on with hungry-hippo panties. Casually, she brushed her arm against her breast and decided it had lace on it, which meant it was either black or cream. She had set out in her sensible business shoes in order to look professional, and so almost certainly she had put on black panties. A little probing was required to forestall any awkward moments.
She walked back into the lounge and sat on the sofa, a regulation four foot from Neil. “I’d better text my boyfriend, tell him that I’m not home.”
“Oh no, was he on his way?” said Neil.
“No, he’s working in Switzerland right now, but he might have tried to email. He’s been out there for four weeks, back next month. How about you, do you need to call your wife?”
He grimaced and she saw and almost felt that look again on his face. She knew then that she had hit a nerve, something so painful that it was always just below the surface. She wondered how it must feel to be eternally waiting for a question or comment like that and living in fear of the effect it was guaranteed to have. “No,” he said, “no.” He turned away and Holly felt terrible as she listened to him breathe in deeply, struggling with his emotions.
She got up and stood in front of him, putting her hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
He patted her hand and shook his head, then took her fingers in his before looking up. His happy face had been erased by the memories she had dredged up. He twitched and struggled as though he was being eaten away, like maggots on a carcass. He looked into her eyes and she felt the strangest sensation, as though she was filling him back up with whatever was missing. He held her hand tighter and she felt a lump forming in her throat as his misery peaked then passed away.
“Not your fault, Holly, just really tough times.”
“I’m sorry. If you want to talk about it or anything,” she said, trailing off.
He nodded. “Thank you, you’re a dear.”
Holly joined Jessica in the kitchen and left Neil to track the weather and news reports online. He confirmed that it was showing twenty-seven degrees outside and still expected to drop another ten degrees overnight with increasing winds. The ham steaks were under the grill and everything else was under control. Jessica seemed to manage very well in the kitchen, directing Holly as needed and timing the cooking to perfection.
“Knives and forks are in that drawer Holly, wine glasses up there.” She pulled three plates out of the oven where they had been warming a little and put a steak on each. Holly drained the potatoes and put them in a bowl while the peas and carrots were mixed together in another. They sat and Jessica happily sat at the head of the table and poured the wine. “Here’s to,” she said, pausing for thought. “To meeting new people.”
“And making new friends,” said Holly.
“To great hospitality!” said Neil and they clinked glasses.
Jessica raised her fork and stabbed her ham theatrically, at which point the lights went out, the fridge gurgled its last gurgle and the wind howled with a low moan.
“Oh shoot, that’s all we need,” said Jessica. “Stay there, I’ll get a flashlight.” She got up and walked confidently to the kitchen, opened a drawer and a feeble beam of yellowish light danced around the room. “We have candles somewhere.”
“I expect it’s the whole neighborhood, not just this property,” said Neil. He went to the lounge window but it was impossible to distinguish anything.
“The street lights are out, there’s no glow from them like there was while we were cooking.”
“Uh oh,” said Holly helpfully. She shivered even though the room was well heated. Jessica rummaged in other drawers and pulled out two packs of candles along with a box of matches.
“Ta da!” she said, holding up her findings. She brought a candle over on a saucer, lit it and placed it in the center of the table. “So romantic, eh?” Neither Holly or Neil replied and they continued with their meal, anxious now to finish it while it was still warm. The cheesecake tasted wonderful and Jessica managed to find some cream and chocolate sauce for those who needed to indulge.
The wine appealed very much to Holly and she tried to read the name of it in the candlelight but failed. Her maxim of selecting wines based on their font though seemed to be well founded and she decided to adopt it going forward.
“Ok, so no washing up tonight, we need to conserve hot water, so let’s just pile it up beside the sink,” said Jessica. Holly looked up at her, impressed with the change that she had seen in just in the few hours since she had known her. From the small, apologetic little girl she had first encountered, fearful of her parents and devoid of friends, she now came across as a potential leader, someone who spoke from a basis of reason and common sense. She looked at Neil and followed his gaze which convinced her was doing a poor job of pretending to look at the table while he was actually looking at the sharp points on Jessica’s t-shirt which marked her nipples. The candlelight had unfairly decided to highlight them as items of interest and Neil appeared to be ready to be the ultimate tourist. Holly had to admit, whether Jessica realised it or not, they were such a natural feature of her body, conveying youth, health and vitality that they gave Holly a tiny thrill which she did nothing to suppress.
Jessica went upstairs to her room to check her phone and Holly decided that it was a good time to clear up a question that was hanging in the air. “I can sleep down here on the sofa tonight, you take the master bedroom,” said Holly as he filled her glass.
“Nonsense, I’ll sleep here, you take the bed, you’re my client!” he replied with no trace of embarrassment talking about sleeping arrangements and beds. “I’ll light the fire up in the room, you’ll be fine.”
She smiled, swirled her wine and sipped it. “It’ll be cold down here during the night.”
“Don’t worry about me, Holly.”
She bit her lip, her charitable nature shining through. “How about we share the room, so we’re both warm and can get some rest and nobody freezes to death?”
He smiled and nodded. “OK, thank you, that would probably be the best solution.” He looked at his watch. “It’s eight o’clock now, shall we aim for ten?”
“Sure, sounds good to me,” said Holly, relaxing now the decision had been made.
“I’ll get the fire going around nine then, should help to keep the room warm.” She nodded and pulled out her phone more as a distraction than anything else. She didn’t want to keep discussing the arrangements and felt that keeping it casual would be better for all.
“I’ll go and keep Jessica company for a while, is that OK?” asked Holly.
“Yeah, of course. I’ll give you a shout if there’s any major news or weather change.”
Chapter 3
Holly knocked on her door and peered in. “Everything OK?”
“Yes, thanks! Have you come to chat?”
“Yeah, if you’d like to.” She closed the door behind her and sat on the bed. Jessica was propped up against the headboard, leaning on a pillow.
“Thanks. Tonight’s been such fun so far.”
“Dinner was great, you did so well!”
“You thi
nk so? I never usually cook but I watch my Mum all the time.” She turned to the window and shook her head, then turned back to Holly, her face devoid of her smile. She patted the space next to her and Holly slipped off her shoes and lay beside her. “You’d think she would teach me about that stuff, wouldn’t you? Like how to cook, how to manage household stuff?”
“Mum’s do what they can Jess. Not everyone can teach or even realise it’s important.”
“The less I know the more dependent I am on them. My absence of knowledge is power to them. When you were my age you could get up when you wanted, see who you wanted, go wherever you wanted and make mistakes that you learned from, right?”
Holly nodded, feeling the girl’s anger developing as she screwed up the sheet. “Yeah.” She felt like she ought to add a proviso or some sort of modifier that would show she was a special case but she wasn’t. She was the same as all her friends five years ago. She was free to mess up but with the knowledge that her parents were there to advise and it necessary, bail her out.
“This place is my prison. But it’s ironic that when it really is a prison, like tonight, that my fellow inmates are wonderful people and the criminals are outside.” They smiled at each other, the anger dissipating in her face. “Sorry, my life sucks.”
Holly put her arm around her shoulders and gave her a little hug. “Hey, you have a warm house, two parents and you’re off to university soon.”
“But we’re moving house to be close to the university so I can live at home.”
“You’re joking!” Holly bit her lip. “Sorry, it’s none of my business, sorry Jess.”
“It’s OK. So in four years, Jessica Kowalski will have a degree in English Literature, which she hates, and her total sexual experience will have been this afternoon when a beautiful girl caught her, you know, doing it.”
“While watching a boy on her phone.”
“With her bum in the air,” added Jessica, laughing.
“So the t-shirt was a sort of protest?”
“Maybe, I could never dress like that with my parents around.”
“Neil noticed for sure.”
“He didn’t.”
“Oh he did, he just tried hard to disguise his glances at you.”
Jessica smiled wide-eyed at Holly, clearly pleased with the conversation and her t-shirt display. “See, I could never have this sort of discussion with my Mum or Dad, or anyone who comes to the house. But it feels so normal and enlightening.” She rested her head against Holly’s shoulder and slipped her arm across her waist. “Thank you Holly. For being here.”
Holly kissed her head and smiled. “You’re welcome. Us girls have to stick together, don’t we.”
“I came downstairs without panties on as well.”
“I did wonder if you had since you were naked when I first met you and you weren’t wearing a bra.”
“It felt so daring, naughty. It made me a little, you know.”
“Wet?”
“Yeah, how did you know?”
“It happens to all girls sweetie. Remember, whatever you think you’ve just discovered has been discovered by millions before.”
“Hol, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“Any question?”
“No, probably not. You’ll know when you’ve hit a boundary.”
“OK, so, do you do it?”
“Masturbate?”
“Yeah.”
“Of course. Everyone, men and women do it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Well, not a hundred percent sure, but generally speaking, yes.”
“Oh my god.”
“And to answer your next question, while I’m doing it I dream of sexy situations which help me.”
“Oh! Holly, I had no idea. I thought it was just me!” She hugged her harder and Holly lay her cheek against the girl’s warm, soft hair. They were silent for a little while until Jessica chuckled quietly to herself. “This is so nice, just holding you, talking. Tell me about your first boyfriend, Holly, please?”
“Oh, him. I met him in the third year at Witney. We were introduced by a mutual friend. We hung out, chatted, kissed a little but I was very focused on my course as the third year was tough. Anyway, one night we had a couple of drinks, he came back to my place and we ended up in bed. I hadn’t intended to have sex but it happened. He was my first.”
“So you’re like me, nothing when you were nineteen?”
“Nope, not even a kiss. Oh, except from a girl in High School.”
“A girl? I don’t get it though, how do you know it’s OK to kiss someone?”
Holly exhaled at the tricky question. “Oh, I’m not sure. It depends on how well you know them, your feelings for them, how they’re standing or lying next to you, what you think would happen if you did kiss them. Most importantly, though, do you want to kiss them? Look into their eyes and decide.”
“It sounds so complicated.”
“It’s not, your mind makes up its decision almost instantly. You might meet a million people but you would only want to kiss ten of them. And the ten people you choose would be quite different from the next girl’s choice”
Jessica breathed out loudly, contemplating her next question. She shifted slightly on the bed, moving her right leg so that it partially covered Holly’s thigh. She sensed the subtle shift in her demeanor, the tightened grip around her waist and instinctively knew what was coming.
“Hol, so if you were lying with someone who was warm, a wonderful listener, great company and beautiful, would you kiss them?” There it was and the mental timer started ticking in Holly’s head. She had a choice and needed to give an answer, with silence or ‘maybe’ not being acceptable. It was ‘yes’ or ‘no’. She closed her eyes and thought about Ricky in Switzerland and Neil downstairs. Was this going to become another occasion where she would have to explain to Ricky that she ended up making love to a girl even if it had turned him on? She had promised last time that it was a one-off situation, that she was coerced. Here though she could walk out the door and go downstairs. There was no coercion tonight, simply a competition between her resolve and her lust.
She placed two fingers under Jessica’s chin and tilted her head up. She looked down into her eyes and recognised the hunger, almost desperation. Her skin was soft to the touch and her hair was beautifully clean, shiny and fell over her shoulders in waves of gold. Her final thought was that she had already seen the girl’s body, so a kiss was nothing. She leaned closer gently touched the girl’s angelic face, tracing a line very slowly from her ear down over her lips. Her heart beat faster as Jessica’s eye lids fluttered closed and then she felt the absolute thrill as she touched her lips with her own. She could feel the little girl trembling in her arms, her fingers gripping her shirt more tightly and she kissed her again, very slowly so that she understood that there was no rush.
She broke away, breathing hard. “I would probably kiss her sweetie,” said Holly, caressing her face. Jessica grabbed her even tighter and Holly looked down to see that she still had her eyes closed but had an expression of surprise which was reinforced by her ragged breathing. “Shh, it’s OK”
“I feel like I’m flying Hol, weightless.” She looked back up to Holly in awe. “You were my first kiss!”
“Oh sweetie, that’s so nice of you to say that. It felt lovely, so gentle.”
“Really, I did it right?”
“There’s not much to do, just bring your lips to the other person’s.”
“I thought you needed to push your tongue inside as well?”
“You can, but that’s later.”
“Wow, my heart is beating like crazy. I feel so different, Hol, like I’ve sort of joined a new club. Did it feel like that to you?”
Holly had no idea about her first kiss. She thought it had been a kiss on the cheek from Rob which slid into a kiss on the lips after which there were no more kisses on her cheek.
It wasn’t memorable, unlike the
first kiss from Ricky. “I honestly don’t remember but if you feel like that then I’m very happy that we kissed!”
“I do,” she said, looking up into her eyes again. Both girls knew that anything further would be nothing to do with her first kiss but more of an escalation of intent. Holly ran her fingers through Jessica’s hair and tugged, pulling her head back. She kissed her lips again then around to her ear. “Oh god Hol, oh!” she groaned. Jessica shifted her leg again, covering more of Holly’s thigh but also opening herself to allow her pussy to breathe. She could feel the girl rubbing herself against her thigh, no doubt sensing the frustration of the interrupted session earlier in the afternoon.
It had been three or four weeks since Ricky left and her own attempts at satisfaction were no match for his skills. She thought about Jess, her knowledge of love limited to the past five minutes only and her desperation for confidence in sexual matters. An investment of an hour with Jess would be her gift for the evening, a thank-you both for dinner and for putting them up for the night in this once-in-a-lifetime ice storm. Holly pulled Jessica deeper into the pillows and pushed her hand over the warm skin of her hip, kissing her more deeply on the mouth as she tasted the sweet girl’s breath and the tip of her tongue. Holly could feel how slim the girl’s waist was in her hand, the warmth under her thin t-shirt and the softness of her stomach. Jess was groaning quietly now, trembling still as Holly’s hand inched up towards her breasts and those little nipples.
In a copy-cat movement, Holly felt the little hand drift up from her skirt and come to rest just below her breasts. This was the time for her to decide whether she was just going to give pleasure to the nineteen year old or whether they would explore each other’s bodies. She looked over at Jess’s angelic face, perfectly framed with her golden hair. She was truly beautiful and Holly was in awe of her looks and freshness. She took Jess’s exploratory hand, kissed her fingers gently and then laid it against her breast. She kissed her as if to confirm she had meant to put her hand there and then explored under the girl’s t-shirt further until she found the very gentle swell of her breast. Jess gasped at the touch and they kissed for several minutes, edging their fingers closer to their goal with Holly finally brushing her middle finger across a nipple and Jess flicking open Holly’s top shirt button.
Holly Heats It Up (Holly Craig Erotica) Page 3