Love, Lust and Landscaping

by Morgan Rouge

  Slowly, as they continued to kiss, they undid each other’s clothes, she the buttons of his shirt, he lifting her t-shirt up over her head. She discovered a hairy and muscular torso, heaving at her scent, with a small tattoo of a celtic symbol on the inside of his arm.

  ‘I didn’t know...’ she whispered.

  ‘Shhh...’ he responded.

  Looking down he found a small and svelte body with rounding breasts clinging to a black bra, calling for him to let them out. At every inhale of air, which at this moment was frequent, they rose up, whispering to him. He needed no further encouragement. Slowly, he undid her bra, looking at her in her eyes, solemn and tender, serious questioning. She half-smiled back, eyelashes slow and sleepy-looking, subsumed in passion and want for Hamish. She slowly became aware of her body, her toes, fingers, shoulders and legs, yes every part of her wanted him, here and now. Her heart was skipping in anticipation, it almost felt like it was missing a beat. Her mouth was slightly open, and time itself seemed to have stopped as he slowly undid her bra and looked into her eyes. Once the bra was off, there was no return for either of them, wherever they might be.

  Far off, she was vaguely aware of a cooling wind, of the irregular call of the curlew, pulsing and piercing in the wind, the scream of a sheep in search of its’ lamb. But his kind and wanting face, his gentle yet passionate body was before her, gauging her moves, her wants, her needs, she looked up at him from the ground, smiling, encouraging him, saying to him this is what I want, Hamish I want you.

  Her small body, her breasts now uncovered. Hamish couldn’t control himself anymore. Once again he put the weight of his body onto her and kissed her passionately, long, slowly and deeply. Fingers through her hair, he stroked her head as he kissed her, she stroking his bare and hairy torso.

  Suddenly he was off, his lips left her and kissed her chin, just under her chin, her neck, the centre of her small and delicate decollage, both of her breasts. Meanwhile, his hands with the lightest most sensitive touch slowly followed his lips but gently stroking the side of her neck, her arms, down the sides of her body as he slowly went further and further. Kissing both of her breasts on the nipples and then working his way down, where her ribcage could be seen beneath her breasts, just above her navel, just on her navel, just below her navel.

  Meanwhile, Bryony knew she was being teased. His tall and muscular yet slender body, his grey eyes filled with passion and wanting, already were sending pulses of hunger through her. She closed her eyes as he kissed her, in a long line of kisses, further and further down. She let out a smile, she could feel his deft fingers on the button of her low cut jeans, undoing the button, undoing the zip and quickly pulling them of him to reveal her underwear, small and black, enticing him further on.

  His hands around her belly, her voluminous hips, his eyes closed, mouth kissing her hips, he slowly took her underwear and took them off, looking at her face, checking she was okay. He saw she had her eyes closed, a sleepy and passionate smile exuded her lips, her head turned to one side, her cheeks and lips slightly flushed, a dab of sweat on her decollage.

  Suddenly from between her thighs, rivers of pleasure washed up and down her body, she no longer knew where she was, her body twisting and writhing in the waves of pleasure, soaring up and down her body. Moaning, she turned her head, squeezed her hands, opened her legs more, her eyelashes opening and closing slowly but seeing nothing. There was nothing she could do: she was helpless to the intense pleasure which Hamish was creating. There was nothing she could do but call through her moaning ‘Hamish!’, not in surprise, not in shock, but in applause, and encouragement, in want.

  Slowly, his mouth returned to hers, his lips moist, their tongues entwined, her hands on his body, dragging him closer to hers. As she dragged him closer, she realised that he no longer was wearing his jeans and an extra weight had been pushed between her thighs. The weight of him on her just encouraged her, reminded her of what she wanted, of what she had dreamt of.

  Looking into her eyes, questioningly he paused and she gently smiled back in encouragement.

  ‘Bryony...’ he began, but quickly she put her finger to his lips.

  ‘Quiet...’ she whispered, ‘I don’t want any talking’ she smiled at him.

  ‘Okay...’ he said quietly.

  Chapter Ten

  They lay for a long time in the heathery, Scottish hills, he on his back, her closely hugging next to him. Her eyes were still fluttering from the pleasure and his body had beads of sweat from their exertion. Neither of them were sure how long they had been there but they knew it was quite a considerable time. She blushed thinking over everything they had done on this secluded section of the Scottish countryside.

  If ever there was a time for his honesty, it was probably now. They couldn’t get much more honest with each other now, after all.

  ‘Hamish?’

  ‘hmmm?’

  ‘Why were you so terrible and awful when I first arrived?’ She looked up at his face, trying to gauge his opinion, his thoughts.

  ‘Bryony...’ he paused, how could he tell her this story? Apart from Phil, who had witnessed everything, he hadn’t told anyone anything.

  ‘It just seems strange that you were’

  ‘Yes, I know. Look, a long time ago I was in love with a woman called Melissa. She was beautiful, funny, gorgeous even, the life and soul of the party.

  When she organised a party, it was a Party. People would come from far and wide to visit, to have a laugh, get drunk, and enjoy each other’s company. She was the life and soul of the party. She would move round, chatting to everyone, everyone chatting to her, her beautiful smile welcoming everyone, encouraging everyone to have a good time. She had friends who were actresses, who were actors, she had previous links with some of them, or so I believed. I was in love, she was so beautiful, so wonderful, so funny! And then, I discovered her dirty little secret one day.

  All that time! Why was she with me? I had no idea! But I loved her, dearly. Anyway, it turned out she was a criminal. She was a prolific shoplifter. And I don't mean the odd piece of jewellery. It was her job. She couldn't even shop in Glasgow anymore because all the major shops knew her and her trade. And she always told me she didn't like shopping! Well, she certainly didn't like paying for things'.

  Bryony looked at Hamish, he was clearly upset by all of this.

  'So, what happened?'

  'Well, I was her one phone call. I had to drive all the way down to Portsmouth where she had been caught shoplifting again. Her record of previous offences certainly weren't in her favour and she had been caught trying to steal DVDs and CDs from a music shop. So they definitely wanted to prosecute. So, she pleaded forgiveness from me, she knew how bad she had been. She wanted to change. She wanted to find a new line of work, one which was good, which was wholesome, which wasn't illegal. She wanted to travel so maybe a job as a travel agent would be a good way to go.

  So, I waited for her. Six long months she was locked up, she got out early on good behaviour and she returned to Glasgow. We made plans, we were going to have children, get married and then -'

  Bryony could see where this was going. He hugged Hamish closer. She felt a bit chilled in the March weather with their clothes on, lying in the grass.

  'She was caught again. I thought she was going to see a friend in Newcastle, turns out she didn't have any friends from Newcastle. She went there to steal things. I felt completely compromised. I had put all this faith in her and she had abused it'.

  Bryony sighed. She understood why Hamish had been so worried about her criminal history initially, that was why he had tried to guard his feelings. He had tried to ignore her from his life. She was glad that he hadn't been able to because she really liked him, more than any man she previously had done at this stage.

  'So, I went to Newcastle and told her I wanted nothing more to do with it. It was all I could do. And after that I vowed never to get involved with someone with a criminal record or an inkling for crime', he
paused and smiled 'well, until I met you of course Bryony'.

  And he leant over and kissed her on the lips, a full and passionate kiss, deep and loving and fulfilling. He stroked her hair gently and looked deep into her eyes. After a long pause they both sighed.

  'Shall we go and try and find the others? They had a lunch rendezvous at the Fox and the Hound and I imagine this was all part of their master plan', he smiled, 'no doubt Pony and Phil had something to do with it', he laughed then suddenly went quiet and worried 'how's your ankle?’

  ‘It’s fine. I am shocked you didn’t kiss that better, too’.

  Hamish smiled. Such a beautiful, gorgeous, wonderful woman. He couldn’t believe that now they had made up and were together. He went down to her feet, kissed her ankle, her toes, then slowly further and further up her leg.

  She stretched out in pleasure.

  ‘Well, Hamish, maybe we don’t need to go just yet...’ she tailed off

  ‘Just what I was thinking...’

  * * *

  It was a quiet morning and there was only one table occupied. It certainly was a strange mix. From the bar, the waitress could see a strange collection of people sat around the table. There was one beautiful couple, a girl who laughed all the time and a man who was quieter but still laughed with her. They were surrounded by a table full of people: an older man, a very tall and slim man with stubble and a woman who was maybe in her forties. Although they had all met in this pub, they didn’t seem to know each other too well. Perhaps it was a sports meet, this was after all a country meet. And yet, none of them were in sports gear. They didn’t look related and they seemed to be waiting for someone or something. They kept looking at the doors as if someone was going to step in.

  Suddenly someone shouted ‘they’re here! They’re here! OK, everyone look normal: you know nothing!’

  And they all turned back round from looking at the window and began to theatrically look at the menu, asking each other questions, whispering quietly.

  Suddenly through the front door came a woman, small and petite and a tall man both in their twenties, holding hands and laughing. They looked free and happy, no cares in the world: new and crisp love. The waitress turned back to her cleaning of behind the bar. Strange to think that such an odd mix of people could get on.

  Bryony and Hamish, holding hands, approached the table with some amount of trepidation, worried at the meeting which they would receive with these people who they had recently spent so much time with.

  ‘Bryony! Hamish!’ Pony said suddenly ‘where did you two get to? We waited but...’

  ‘Pony! Don’t tell lies! You all went somewhere else! You left us to climb by ourselves! It was done on purpose!’ Bryony said, smiling.

  ‘Well, you two had some things to discuss and needed a healthy way to let out all of your anger!’ piped up Gerry. Bryony and Hamish turned to look at each other and smiled.

  ‘So, I am ravenous! Squeeze up everyone!’ called Hamish and they both sat down amongst their new found friends and colleagues.

  * * *

  Bryony closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could smell lilies and roses, the fresh coffee which her father had made and the hint of Dior perfume which she herself was wearing. What seemed like a long way off downstairs, she could hear the buzz of conversation of her family: her mother scurrying about making last minute alterations to everyone’s clothes; her father sighing as she redid his tie for the fifth time; Pony chatting away to anyone who would listen and the tinkle of champagne glasses being brought out by Declan.

  She was so proud of Declan. There had been a while when her and Pony had been so worried for him, worried of the path he was going to take, the mistakes he was almost destined to take. But Hamish had changed all of that. He had given Declan an opportunity and Declan had taken the bull by the horns and had flourished. He was so flattered that he had been offered a job by Hamish and he quickly rose to every challenge that he had been given. He was going to college after the summer to study horticulture in more depth and Bryony knew he was going to do really well. He had a genuine interest in the work and a natural flair for it. Of course, Hamish was going to miss him. He had already had to start looking for someone else to take Declan’s place after one and a half years of hard work and dedication. Declan said that he would come back and help out in the summer, but Bryony and Hamish both knew he would find new and exciting challenges further afield.

  Bryony was sat in her childhood bedroom with all of her things from childhood around her: Boy band posters from her teenage years still hung on the wall, reminding her of times past when she had longed for boys at school, written small lists of them in her diary, drawn little love hearts with their initials intricately intertwined. Her small bedroom was painted fuchsia, a colour which she had loved and which still was a huge part of her life. It was funny to think that her and Pony had had such a love of pink and it had continued endlessly into their small flat in Glasgow.

  She stood up to look out the window. From her window she could see the local village which she had grown up. In front of her parent’s small house were lots of other houses which, although they had the same overall design, all had their individual styles and decorations. She remembered playing in the long summer days in this village, remembered cycling, running races, knocking on neighbours’ doors and running away, going to the local shop to buy ice-cream... that person who had been so excited for life seemed very far away. That person who had not believed she could truly find anyone whom she could be tied down by. She expected that she would be focused on her work and that probably she wouldn’t need a man. That had obviously changed when she became a teenager.

  ‘Bryony! What are you doing? We are running out of time!’ called her mother, slightly anxiously from downstairs.

  ‘Coming!’ she replied, almost choking from tears. She was going to cry already and she hadn’t even left her bedroom yet! No one had seen her! She smiled at herself and turned to the mirror where she checked her make up once more. The make up artist had done a terrific job, giving her a natural look to go with her understated dress, a little hint of lipstick, a touch of mascara just to bring out the hints of her eyes without too much. She took a deep breath and stepped into her shoes and slowly began to leave her bedrooms at her parent’s house and walk down the stairs.

  A creak of the floorboards and the rustle of her dress gently sliding down the stairs brought the chattering participants to a standstill. She knew that their breathing had stopped in anticipation for her entrance.

  Stepping into her parent’s cozy living room, Bryony was faced with the people who she cared about most in the world. There was her mother elegantly dressed in a turquoise dress she had had made especially for the occasion of her daughter’s marriage. Her nails were a beautiful colour of dark blue and with her new haircut, Bryony knew that her mother looked gorgeous.

  Turning to her father, she was impressed to see how smart he looked: a typical Scotsman he was dressed in the full highland kilt regalia, which he had inherited from his father years ago. When he had first worn it, it hadn’t fitted, but slowly as the years had gone by he had become the same build as his father and now it fitted like a glove. The beautiful dark greens and blue of the kilt were complemented by the sprig of purple heather which her mother had found for him that morning on one of her early walks.

  She turned to smile at Pony. Pony looked positively stunning. Her only bridesmaid, Pony had gone for a pastel pink grecian-style knee-length dress which was beautifully offset by a small diamond heart-shaped necklace which Phil had bought her for their one year anniversary. She was wearing her engagement ring, too and Bryony smiled to think of those two so happy together.

  Declan was looking at her and smiling slightly embarrassed as she turned to him. He was wearing a kilt which he had chosen to complement her father’s kilt and which made him look extremely adult and, Bryony admitted, handsome. She was extremely excited that he had brought his new girlfriend to the wedding an
d that later Bryony would be able to meet her.

  After the short pause, there was suddenly commotion: deep breaths from the two women in the room, then suddenly

  ‘Oh Bryony, you look gorgeous’

  ‘Stunning!’

  ‘Perfect!’ called Pony, which made Bryony laugh a little nervously. She looked around at their beaming faces and then turned to her father. She got a shock. There were tears in her eyes.

  ‘Oh Bryony...’ he smiled through his white and grey beard, his eyes creasing gently. He took a step towards her and suddenly she was enveloped in his arms, ‘Bryony, you look angelic’ he whispered gently in her ear.

  ‘Our cars are here!’ piped up Pony who had turned to look out of the window! ‘Let’s go! Let’s go! We don’t want to keep Hamish waiting!’

  Her mother, sister and Pony all left first, calling through the door, ‘see you there!’ The door slammed and her father turned to her