by Romi Hart
“Oh, probably no quicker than she would get killed in LA.”
“Doesn’t he worry about her?”
“Of course, he does! But he still must go on with his life. I imagine she is also on a beach, but a far more tropical one.”
“He doesn’t date other girls in the meantime?” Cody asked suspiciously.
She shrugged. “Not often. Do you think your dad was fooling around when he was on the road?”
He gave me a thunderous frown, his gold-dusted brows slamming down heavily over his eyes. “That’s different. My dad is a family man.”
“I see. Only family men don’t fool around.”
“And family women. That’s right. And maybe nuns. Nuns probably don’t fool around, but you’re not a nun, are you?”
“Oh no. It requires entirely too much commitment!” I replied.
“Well, I’m relieved. I mean, it would be pretty bad if I started getting interested in a nun, wouldn’t it?”
“It could be a problem.”
I drew my arms up over my knees and gazed at him. He was incredibly appealing at this moment. He appeared so vulnerable; partially dressed, trying to appear casual, unable to keep his thoughts from wandering and puzzling over the complete lack of concern over sexuality among the nude sunbathers.
It amused me. I had heard Mendocino was very liberal, but I supposed, rural society was probably divided in much the way it was in urban areas, with some social groups never seeing the lifestyles of others.
You only hear about it and decide just by what you’ve heard, whether or not it’s right for you. When Cody entered my life, he stumbled into a world that was as strange to him as semi-trucks were to me.
Angelique ran up, shaking the sand away from him like fleas, and flopped down next to us. “I’m hungry. And thirsty. We should have stopped somewhere along the way.”
“We could do lunch in Sausalito,” suggested Cody. “If you’re not in a hurry to get back right away.”
“Oh, I know a place where they put fresh berries on their pancakes. They pile them on. So delicious.”
Cody brushed away the fallout from Angelique’s sand shedding body and stood up. “You want pancakes at two in the afternoon?”
“Please? I’ll put my clothes back on.”
He chuckled and held out his hand to help me to my feet. “There must be thirty different restaurants in Sausalito, and you want pancakes.”
“Angelique would rather eat pancakes than enchiladas,” I laughed.
“Not true!” He protested. “Don’t listen to this woman. My native food is sacred – sacred! It’s just that they don’t have a good Mexican restaurant in Sausalito. They’ve got all these fancy seafood places. If you want good seafood, I’ll cook you good seafood.”
Noticing Larson and Alice taking another turn on the beach, he held his arm and waved them over. “We’re going to Sausalito for pancakes,” he announced. “Unless, you want some fancy seafood that won’t taste nearly as good as my own.”
“Ah, the humble fare of a journeyman has always been of the most agreeable sort to me!” Larson said approvingly.
“As long as there is whipped cream. I must have my whipped cream,” said Alice.
Some days are remembered not for the events that took place, but for the simple joy of their existence. They are sparkling days, when the sun is neither too hot nor too bright. When everything seems funny, and all you truly remember is laughter.
Maybe it was the big rig, roaring like a boss down the main highway. Maybe it was just the silliness that began with Muir Beach. We ate our pancakes, somehow feeling radical for rolling up our pant legs and tying our shirts in the middle. We were sure we appeared scandalous enough to attract attention, although the waiters and customers continued to go about their business with unruffled ease.
We had just enough time before returning home and readying ourselves for our evening performances to do a little shopping.
Cody wanted a souvenir of Muir Beach and settled for a snow globe with the Golden Gate bridge in the middle. “Mom will like it,” he mumbled.
I noticed a very large and very old record player in the window of an antique shop and immediately demanded we buy it. Due to its bulk, which included a cabinet for the record collection and a large, square, built-in speaker, would take a substantial part of our carefully allocated free space, the others quarreled about it at first.
“They want four hundred dollars,” said Angelique, pretending it was the cost. “What if it doesn’t work?”
“Then we will find someone who can make it work. Look, it even has speed for seventy-eight’s. We can play all the old artists straight from vinyl.” I wheedled. “The authenticity, my fine-feathered friends. There is no price too high for the authenticity.”
“It is impossible to resist such passionate appeal,” said Larson. “Ah, those lovely rolling voices of the past. Their eloquent precision.”
“Why can’t the English teach their children how to speak?” Sang Alice in a high, haughty voice. “I say, old chap, we must have it.”
So, we agreed on the purchase and because we did, Angelique decided he needed four new pairs of sunglasses, a tube of very dark red lipstick and a floppy hat with an extremely wide brim. “I suppose,” he sighed. “We could move the couch closer to the wall to make more space. It’s just such a crass arrangement. The couch is like an island of peace, and now it will be a huddling captive in a corner.”
“We could put it in the dining room,” I suggested. “There’s room for it there.”
“But darling, it has only this one speaker in its belly. How are we to listen to it properly if it’s in the dining room?”
“We’ll ask Keri’s band members. They could probably set us up with a speaker system.”
“With microphones,” suggested Alice.
“Heavens, you will be rearranging the whole house. We might as well take out the couch.” Angelique crossed his arms.
“We need a place for our audience.”
“If Keri’s band puts in microphones and speakers, I hope they won’t start thinking they can practice here. We’re making the sacrifice for you, Diana.”
The record player stood now in one corner of the living room, untested. A cardboard box with half-a-dozen records were piled on top. “Plug it in, Diana!” Angelique said.
“What if it fries out the electricity when I turn it on?” I asked anxiously.
“I don’t think that’s a big worry,” said Cody. “There’s no fraying in the cord, no wires sticking out anywhere. I’ll plug it in if you want.” He knelt by the socket, plugged it in, then jumped back, grabbing his hand with a grimace of pain.
“Are you alright?” I gasped. Instinctively I placed my hands on his shoulders and looked at him anxiously.
He laughed. “I was fooling with ya. All of you have been playing around all day. I thought it was my turn.”
I slapped at him. “That’s wicked.”
“Okay,” he said. “Here’s the big test. Time to turn it on.” He flicked the knob. The turn-table moved sluggishly, then stopped. He tried a different speed. It moved a little faster. “It looks like you’ll have to have somebody look at it.”
“Maybe it’s just dust,” suggested Angelique. He brought out a can of air and sprayed it over the entire top, then stuck the nozzle up to every crack he could find. A soft yellow cloud rose into the air and settled around them. He turned the knob again. This time, the turn-table spun smoothly. “The records. The records,” he said. “What have you got?”
I rifled through them. “Want to try Billie Holiday?”
They listened critically to the warm, husky voice. “I can so do this!” said Angelique excitedly. “I can so do this!” He strolled up and down the room, lip-synching to the music. He was so caught up in his new discovery, he didn’t even notice the others as we drifted off to do our own evening preparations.
* * *
I walked Cody out to the truck. “Thank you,” I told
him. “For a very enjoyable day.”
He took the blue-streaked lock of hair that hung in front of her face and tucked it behind her ear. “I think you may have lost your record player.”
“We partner well. In large families, you get used to sharing.”
“I don’t really understand it all, you know. You could have your own place. An independent life.”
“You play on a team, Cody. You know that nobody is truly independent.”
“That’s the game! We all have our own homes. You don’t. You rent a house with four other people. Do you intend to live like that forever?”
“And if I do?”
“If you do…” He studied my face as though trying to decide something of grave importance. “I guess, it’s not the worst life a person could choose.”
It seemed his hand could not let go of cherishing my cheek. The soft stroke of his thumb went up over my temple, gliding along the soft tendrils, smoothing them back to join the long, slick fall of my hair.
He drew my face close and kissed me gently. I kissed him back with the same delicacy. “We are who we have to be, Cody. But what we have to be doesn’t come to us all at once.”
He kissed me again, this time harder, more intense and with real feeling! He touched the back of my head and pulled me in, welcoming me to his moist, warm lips. I kissed him back and lost all semblance of reality and prudency. I just wanted him…again. No explanation, no promises needed.
“Let’s go into the truck,” I whispered with a breathy voice.
We climbed into the back and giggled as though we were teenagers, kissing and cuddling. Cody pulled the curtains closed and we gave ourselves to each other one more time.
Once inside, he picked at the collar of my blouse, pulling it back to reveal a little white flesh. He brushed at it idly, gently, so that I barely noticed when he unfastened one more button.
He continued to stare at me as his finger trailed down between my breasts and released yet another button so that the front of my blouse was completely open. His eyes traveled down to view the lacy, low-cut bra covering my perky tits.
“What have you got hiding in there?” he said, right before kissing and necking me until I shuddered. I stirred and moaned but did not resist when he finished removing my blouse and unsnapped my bra. His hands spread over the soft, velvety flesh, letting the bra fall away and expose my nakedness from the waist up.
“Would you look at that? Little pink and blue nipples. That’s the biggest turn-on I’ve seen in ages. Look at that.” He touched one. “Pure milk and honey. I want to see all of it. Do you have a strawberry patch down there?”
“Yeah…” I half-giggled, then blushed, neither responding to his touch nor pulling back. “Take my clothes off…”
“You’re so naughty, Diana,” he whispered as we kissed passionately again and lay down on the truck bed and blanket. As he necked me and caressed my body, leaving me in trembles, he completely removed my pants and left me naked and cold…which instantly sent an erotic chill up my spine. I spread my legs and let him enter me, slowly, gently, feeling every bit of the encounter together. Within seconds, we were rolling about together with complete abandonment.
“Make love to me,” I said.
“How can I say no to you?” He frowned. “Say you don’t think the friends in there know what we’re doing, huh?”
“So, what if they do?” I smiled. “They’re fine with it, I’m sure.”
“That’s not weird?”
“Oh that. It isn’t any different. Just more out in the open.”
I reassured him with a kiss. He cupped one of my perfectly shaped breasts admiringly.
“These shouldn’t be hidden. They’re beautiful. You’re beautiful.”
The pink nipple swelled, and I cooed in ecstasy. He wet his finger and thumb to pinch it gently. I caught my breath but released a moderately loud moan…and it only made me wetter.
“Let’s see the rest, honey. I need to see the rest.”
“Oh, do you need it?” I giggled.
“Mmm-hmm,” he said, cradling my bare breasts, rolling my tingling nipples between his fingers. I arched my back and groaned loudly, hands unclasping.
He removed the rest of my clothes reverently. I was a little plump from the hips down, but he liked it. Within seconds my self-conscious thoughts left me. He was consumed with passion! He was like a god of fertility, a sex god; making mad, hot reckless love to me. He suckled at my round breasts and spread my wide-flaring thighs. Wanting to push in deeper, so wet and deep…
As he had suspected, my mound of curly, pussy hair matched my exotic hair perfectly.
“Oh my God, yes!” he groaned, tasting my breasts and touching me all over—my firm belly, the inside of my thighs…
“You are magnificent.”
I squirmed impatiently and grasped at him. “Ohhh God! You make me feel so good.”
“Shhh,” he said, taking her hands and putting them over her head. “This type of thing should never be hurried.”
“Take all the time you like…I don’t care who knows.”
He took my wrists and then held my arms high over my head. He touched and kissed the soft underarms, tickling and dizzying me with passion. His head traveled slowly until it reached down to my belly, sucking, licking and kissing my tender skin.
He squeezed a nipple in each hand, rolling them until I cried out loudly with pleasure. Probably loud enough to be heard by a few neighbors! My back arched, my wet bush rose, and I offered him my heavenly jewels, all of me, as my legs flung wide open wanting his cock to go in deeper.
I was all his, to do as he pleased! I writhed with frustration then bucked, again and again. He really was magnificent. We made crazy, messy and free sex all over his truck and came right at the same time! God, how we both enjoyed learning how to share the way they do in the big leagues.
The afterglow was the best part. Just sitting there, naked, our flesh touching, our kisses still tremoring and tasting each other…
* * *
And all we could think about was when we could meet again.
“I’ll see you Tuesday,” he said getting dressed.
He released me somewhat regretfully, his hand trailing across my shoulder as I backed away.
“I’ll be here early,” he called out. “Around nine.”
“Make it ten. I need my beauty sleep.” I smiled at him.
I remained on the front porch until the truck had roared down one hill, disappearing, then climbed into view again, appearing much smaller as it blended into the distant traffic.
In time, Angelique, Larson, and Alice came outside and watched beside me.
“Had fun?” Alice asked.
“Like a cat that broke into a creamery,” I told her, crossing my arms. I wasn’t ready to dispense with sentimentalities yet. By definition, this was a fling, and you never invested too many emotions into flings.
“What a splendid day,” Angelique said. “I do hope we do this again soon.”
“Until then, I shall be lost in the road not taken,” Larson said, exuding a great deal of profundity.
Alice scoffed and placed her hands on her hips. “And what road have you not taken, my dear?”
“The most obvious one.”
6
Cody
I’m a man who keeps my appointments, never too late or too early, always arriving on time. I rolled into their driveway promptly at ten. Angelique answered the door, wringing his hand and apologizing. “Oh, dear,” he fussed. “Diana is still in the shower. She over-slept. Don’t just stand there. Come on in. Have a cup of coffee while you’re waiting.”
I followed him into the kitchen. Larson and Alice were both at the table and greeted me with, “Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth...”
“And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings…”
I had grown accustomed to their strange greetings, and it was one poem I was familiar with. “It’s a truck, not a plane,” I laughed, bu
t then my heart sank as I heard an acid voice reply.
“I’m sure you’ll make it feel like you’re flying, barreling down the road, terrifying every vehicle in sight.”
Keri, of all people, had claimed her member rights by sitting down at the table and boring her eyes into me sharply enough to make me reconsider any thoughts about also casually seating myself.
I shuffled from one foot to another, making polite conversations about the latest box office hits, which I hadn’t viewed yet but had been told had critical flaws in their construction.
As Larson and Alice were willing to criticize all things box office, they happily joined in the discussion of something they had not yet seen either, although Keri continued to scowl and stamp her foot.
A smile of relief broke out on my face when Diana finally appeared. I quickly set my coffee cup down and offered to carry her bag. This left her hands free to give each roommate a hug. The others gave her sloppy kisses and murmured encouragement for a safe and happy journey, but Keri was not content until she had walked Diana to the door.
“You may fool the others,” she told me. “But you don’t fool me. You’re empty where it counts. Not here in the head.” She pointed to her heart. “Here. Where it counts. That’s why you’re going to lose. No matter what happens, you’re still going to lose.”
I laughed it off once the two of us were settled in the truck and had slowly moved through the residential zone on their way to the main highway.
“Leave it to Keri to put a damper on things,” I groused.
Diana looked at me curiously. “You don’t really know why she’s angry?”
“She was making things more than they were. I told her not to get involved with me when she came around to my table the second time. She didn’t listen. All the girls who come over to the bachelor pad end up getting passed around. That’s just how it works. We’re bachelors. I thought I did the right thing by not taking advantage of her innocence.”
“They agree to it?”
“I’ve never forced a woman to do anything. Did I try to stop Keri when she said no to the other guys, even though they were let down? She left, and I let her leave because that was her decision. I respected that. I didn’t make her do a single thing.”