“Does that feel good?” She gently gyrated her hips.
“Aye.” Liam let out an uneven breath. As she reached down to unbutton his good suit trousers, he sucked in a deep breath.
With his hardness completely exposed, Dolly said evocatively, “Let’s see what this will feel like. Are ye ready, Liam?”
He gave no answer, but looked deeply into her moss-green eyes.
She put him inside her.
As she settled into a gentle rhythm, he was aware that he had never felt such sensations. She bent down and kissed him long and soft. For several minutes, she kept her rhythm.
“Oh, Jesus ... I ... it ... ohhh.” He was immersed in pleasure he had never experienced, other than by his own hand. There was no comparison.
She whispered to him, “Ye make me feel good, Liam.”
He fell over the edge and groaned with his release. He involuntarily pumped his hips, his hands holding hers, until the pulsing faded and he lay in limp bliss. He watched in amazement as she took his hand and had him take her to her finish. Then she gave him another one of those amazing kisses.
“I don’t climax most times,” she said, rolling off and lying next to him. Her breasts were still exposed. “But I wanted to have somethin’ special—with ye, like it was yer birthday, or somethin’.”
“It is my birthday.”
She looked at him in what seemed non-belief, and then smiled. They said nothing further for a few moments until Liam broke the trance. He rolled to his side, facing her.
“Can we do it again?” he asked softly. He traced her breasts again with a more confident finger.
~~~
When Liam came in through the kitchen door in the wee hours, Annie flew out of her bedroom off the kitchen wrapping her robe around herself.
“I didn’t think ye’d be up this late,” Liam said to her. “I’m glad ye are.”
“I told ye, I don’t sleep when ye’re out nights.”
“I’m famished and I’ve had too many pints.”
“Let me fix ye a plate. Go sit and I’ll have somethin’ in no time.” Annie spoke with a bit of irritation, but a whole lot of love. “I’m just glad ye’re home.”
“Annie, I can’t tell ye where I’ve been tonight, but I feel happy. I never felt this happy.” He wanted to tell her everything, but he didn’t think it was a good idea to tell Annie he was at a brothel and lost his virginity to a prostitute.
“I can smell ye a mile away. I know where ye’ve been. Ye smell like a pub, stale perfume, and sex.” Annie fixed him a cold plate of roast beef, carrots, and potatoes. “I can’t tell ye too much anymore. Ye’re a grown man now. I’m not even your real mother, for God’s sake. Please be careful.”
She put the plate down in front of him. Liam ate with enthusiasm. She poured him a glass of buttermilk, and cut him a piece of his birthday cake.
“Fer Heaven’s sake, Liam. Ye’ve always taken eatin’ seriously, for sure.” She smiled at his already-empty plate.
He took a giant bite of raisin cake with confectioner’s sugar dusted on top. He could see Annie was much less anxious than when he first came in.
“Umm. That’s good.” Liam’s mouth was stuffed and the words were muffled. He puffed out some cake crumbs in the process. “Sorry,” he said. More crumbs flew out.
“Stop, for God’s sake.” Annie giggled at his silliness. He pushed the plate towards her to share. She pointed to her own plate, and they sat cozily at the kitchen table in the bewitching hours of the morning.
~~~
After Dolly sponge-bathed all her customers away and got ready to sleep, she could only think of Liam Dady. None of her paying customers had ever been as gentle and sweet to her as he was. My heart. God, I’ve never felt like it was goin’ to burst so. What in Heaven’s name do I do with it? Please, oh please, let me find him again. Just as her head settled on the pillow the door burst open.
“Where’s my money, cunt?” Shaughnessy, the brothel owner, charged into her room. He was a dirty, greasy man with rotting teeth. “Ye had a lot,” he said, taking the shillings from her dresser and weighing them in his hands. “Now, if ye could do this well every night …” he grumbled. He put down a small plate of stale bread and butter on the dresser for her meal.
Dolly didn't mention that four of the five schillings were from just one man.
After Shaughnessy left with her earnings, Dolly's belly ached with a sickening fear of the man. She hated how his anger sometimes would scare her so much it would make her pee her undergarments. For so many years now, she had lived under this brutal fear, and some early mornings she was so despondent, she wouldn’t have minded if the beast slit her throat to put her out of her misery. But the young man Liam with all the schillings; surely, he was lifting her heart to new heights. Liam ... She went for the bread and ate it. Shaughnessy’s generosity was rare.
Chapter 4
Eva lay awake in a heightened state of nerves and emotions that night, feeling her monthly coming on and re-living her first intimate encounter. She decided she liked the whole thing, touching Victor’s penis when it was hard and he seemed to really like that. She ran through the gambit of feelings, from thrills and arousal to dread at coming closer to losing her virginity, yet overjoyed that she did come closer. Her parents never made an issue out of her and Eino, and now Victor being together and alone all the time, yet her mother would remind her now and again to be a good girl. Neither did his parents mind. They can see what Victor and I see now, that we will marry someday. She remembered how big his—thing—was. She couldn’t stop the butterflies in her stomach. He was so—she couldn’t think of any words that would describe how he was with her holding his penis … and how he moved his hips. That made her gasp and her belly fluttered. What happened to him when he made the groaning sound, and his face looked like it hurt but he said it didn’t? What made that wet stuff like thick milk pour out? She timidly put her hand down there, as she re-lived her physical sensations. She liked the sensations her body had, feelings that had been growing stronger for months, but she had so many questions to ask Victor. She finally fell asleep holding her hand on her body where she decided she wanted Victor to touch after all.
~~~
In bed that night, Victor was in a state of sexual bliss. He was wide-awake and full of plans. I’ll teach Eva everything, he thought. It will take time, but she will come around. I have her half way there. I just have to be patient. As he lay in bed, he was aware of his erection, his fourth that afternoon and evening. He remembered his climax, spilling himself in front of the girl he now wanted. Finally! For weeks, she wouldn’t let me touch her, even though she didn’t go all the way. It was the proposal that’s pushed her closer to the edge.
Many times, in the recent past, as he tried to get Eva to acquiesce and wasn't getting anywhere, he thought about forgetting her and turning back to Olga. Victor had been having sex with Olga since they were seventeen. When he first started with Olga, Eva was fifteen and more of a pest, like a sister. But now, as Eva had blossomed, he had become deeply attracted to her, to her long legs hugged by her skirts, her plump breasts, and her hair. Not only was she beautiful, she was strong and confident, and she could stand up to his teasing and give it right back to him. He was tiring of the three-hour ride to be with Olga even though she was the prettiest girl in town and the envy of every single male because he had her undivided attention. She also wanted him to leave the farm and live in the city to work for her father in the shipping business. He had no intention of doing any such thing. He loved the farm and that’s what he wanted to do. Eva was a ready-made wife and he felt he could fully love her, in time. She’s realizing Eino is not good for her, too. It’ll be a cinch to take her from him. He put his hand on his erection and with great pleasure, relieved himself of it. Soon he was sound asleep. His last thoughts, though, were of Eva, skirts up and lying underneath him, her legs wide open imagining how it would be when she would go all the way. It was a delightful feeling of guilty pleasure.
~~~
The next day brought more soft spring rain. There was not much anyone could do outside. In the morning Eva had helped Mamma Mattson scrub the pantry and kitchen. Then, after dinner, Eva and Victor found themselves in the barn, mucking out the cow stalls and general cleaning. She had found upon her arrival that morning, that after morning milking, Hannes and Pappa Mattson had taken Eino to Rauma to see the doctor about his injured foot. Mamma Mattson said she would do the various simple household tasks on her own, now that the kitchen was done, and she thought Victor could use the extra help from Eva since Hannes was not there.
As Eva dumped a shovel-full of manure into the wheelbarrow she said, “I want to ask you things … about yesterday.”
“What do you need to know?”
They leaned their implements on the wall and sat on a nearby bench.
“How did you know where you wanted to go when I do lose my virginity?” Eva asked.
“My school friends had a book, and they told me. They said that—”
“What makes them such experts?” she interrupted.
“I wouldn’t call them experts,” Victor was trying to explain. “I think that they—”
“Why was your—it so big?” She couldn’t bring herself to say penis out loud. Instead of waiting for Victor to reply, she blurted out, “And what was all that wet stuff?”
“Are you going to let me answer?” he snapped. He put his head in his hands, elbows on his knees. He gave her a side look, peeking out from his fingers.
“Fine. Answer,” she said, slowing herself down. She felt a bit cross, her monthly having arrived in the night.
“My friends had a book they got from a sailor, called The Kama Sutra. It's from a far-away land. It shows men and women having—doing—”
“Doing what?”
“Be quiet! I’m doing the best I can. They have pictures of men and women doing what we came close to yesterday. Having sex.”
“Why was your—penis so big?” she snapped, turning crimson.
The question apparently amused Victor, and he smiled. “It’s called an erection. My penis has to be that way. If it’s soft, it doesn’t go in.”
“In where?” she thought for a second. “Oh.” She looked at him, her face burning. She could see how he was trying to explain it all, and her irritation began to wane. “How did the wet stuff come out of you? And did it hurt you?”
“It’s called ejaculation. And God no, it didn’t hurt. It feels better than anything I know. It’s—an eruption of pleasure. It makes me want to do it to you all the time.” Impulsively, he reached for her and tried to kiss her. She rebuffed him in her usual playful way.
“Why didn’t I feel like that?” She shifted on the bench so her body was facing him, opening herself up to him. She was thinking maybe she did want him to kiss her after all.
He pulled her close and kissed her. “There’s a thing women have called the clitoris. That needs to get rubbed, then you feel good.”
“Is that what your experts say?” she said with a smirk.
It made him run a hand over his face in slight exasperation, and then he looked sideways at her.
“You brat, you’re laughing at me.”
She grinned. “Only because it’s so easy to do.”
“I’ll fix you, Eva Elisabet Maki.”
He stood up from the bench, picked her up by her arms, and flung her into a nearby clean mound of hay. She yelped in surprised delight. He fell upon her, pinning her down. She giggled.
“Why aren’t you fighting me?”
“I like you lying on top of me.”
He pushed up with his arms and looked at her. “That’s entirely new,” he said, seeming delighted.
She was becoming fully aware of his physical presence, his contact with her body. Her breathing increased, and she could feel his heartbeat. He was hard against her belly, and that hardness excited her remembering his erection. Her hips moved against him rhythmically.
“What are you doing down there?” he asked, grinning at her.
She studied his face.
“Your eyes are sparkling. What do you want?” he asked.
“I want to feel what you felt when you—erupted and got all wet.” She smiled.
“I can do it with my finger,” he said. “And you’ll still be a virgin.”
To Eva, it felt like a science experiment. “What do I do?”
“First pull up your skirt. Then you just lie there and let me …” He made a motion to slide his hand into her bloomers.
She felt a little self-conscious pulling up her skirts. “Will it hurt?”
“No, just the opposite.” He smiled at her.
She felt scared, but she trusted him implicitly. He seemed to know what he was doing. He began to rub her in that sensitive area at the top of her slit. It took several long minutes, and she watched his face in wonder as she began to move toward her climax.
“Is it feeling better?” he asked, and kissed her while he continued the massage. He moved to a breast and bit it softly through her blouse. “Do you like me kissing your breast?”
“Ummm.”
As her pleasure continued to increase, she grabbed onto his jacket, digging her fingers into it. She began to breathe deeper, moaning.
“Move your hips. Remember how I did it yesterday?”
She did so. She moaned.
“Do you want me to keep going?” he asked.
Eva could barely get a “yes” out when she felt the wave come over her. Her body rocked uncontrollably in her release. The pulsing felt so good with his finger now pressed against it steadily. She was gasping for air.
“Is that what you felt?” She was shocked and moved at the new sensation. “I never knew that could happen.”
“Yes, Eva, it’s what I felt.” He leaned in to kiss her.
“I liked it.” She kissed him back, basking in her pleasure.
“I’m happy I gave you your first orgasm,” he whispered, then kissed her again.
“That’s what it’s called? Orgasm?”
“Or climax.”
“I’m still a virgin?”
“Yes.”
She smiled and snuggled into him. “I feel sleepy now.”
After many minutes of silence with Victor’s arms wrapped around her, Eva looked up at him. “I want you to do it again,” she said.
He laughed. “Let’s get this barn mucked out, and then we’ll see where we can go to be more private.” He smiled at her as they stood up from the hay pile. They brushed each other off. For Eva, touching Victor and having him touch her, was an entirely different experience now. She wanted the orgasm again and knew he could give it to her. He was magical to her now. As they picked up their tools to resume their task, she felt full of a joy and wanting she had never felt until now.
As they worked together, Eva felt a new intimacy between them. She couldn’t work fast enough, joyfully anticipating feeling her next orgasm. When they were finished, she ran off with him to the lake and the cozy quilts of the lean-to.
Chapter 5
Liam did not go back to the brothel. He spent time with his Catholic friend Patrick O’Brien and his family in their tiny row house in West Belfast enjoying their company and staying away from his own parents. He would only go home to get fed and cared for by Annie, making sure she was all right. He knew how beastly his mother could be to her.
In mid-May, skirmishes between the Protestants and the Catholics were breaking out in a few spots in the disaffected neighborhoods. One night, Liam and Patrick, working in tandem, planned to throw a Molotov cocktail at a group of gathering Protestants, all wearing orange arm bands and brandishing clubs. Liam and Patrick had their hoods on, sneaking around the end of a row house, when a group of young adults with orange armbands came up behind them.
“We’re in deep shite now, Liam,” Patrick said. He threw the lit cocktail at the group behind them. "Run!” he shouted. The cocktail landed far in front of the small mob.
; “Let’s get those arsebites,” one of the group said. “After ’em!”
There were about a dozen of the orange after them. Liam and Patrick turned corners of streets and kept running. Rounding one turn, an eight-foot stone wall loomed ahead of them. They stopped short.
“There’s no way out but over,” Patrick huffed. He was out of breath and sounded angry.
“Let’s go over it then,” Liam said. They could hear the raving orange gang drawing closer.
Liam and Patrick were able to get fingers and toes into the cracks and holes of the old stone-and-mortar wall. They hoisted themselves over just in time to remain unseen but not forgotten. They landed in a yard with another high fence surrounding it. The yard was full of rusted metal junk and a small shed. It was a storage area for the hardware store up front. Liam and Patrick looked at each other and knew they didn’t have time to jump the other fence without being seen and eventually cornered. They ducked into the shed, going deep within the rows of cast-aside household plumbing and fixtures.
They could hear the gang on the other side of the fence.
“We all can’t go over it, so we’ll send in two,” one of them said.
Liam and Patrick, still with their hoods on and tucked into the junk in the shed, tried to be as quiet as possible. They heard the thud of the two pursuers landing inside the yard. Just when Liam heard the two come close to the shed door and rattle the knob, someone inside of the building let out two snarling dogs. Liam could hear the thundering of full-bore running on the hard-packed dirt of the yard.
“Christ, let’s get out o’ here, Jimmy!” someone said.
I wonder if that’s Jimmy Ryan, Liam thought to himself. I don’t recognize his voice. He knew him from school and church.
Liam and Patrick could hear their pursuers scrambling up the wall to the other side, but not without one of them getting bitten by a dog.
“Ahh! Jaysus Christ, he got me! If I had a gun those dogs would be goners.”
“That’d be Seamus O’Donnell lettin’ the dogs loose,” Patrick whispered. “He knows we’re here and he’s leavin’ the dogs out. We’ll stay a while. He’ll call them in when it’s safe.”
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