House of Straw

by Marc Scott

  ‘Have you been drinking?’ she asked, recognising the strong taste of whisky in his kiss.

  ‘I had a few while I was waiting for the train,’ he replied, adding, ‘I had a skinful lunchtime too, which is why I couldn’t drive.’

  This was also becoming something of a bone of contention with Krista. He was rarely, if ever, sober when she saw him. She felt concerned that he may have a drink problem, but never brought it up for fear of ruining the limited amount of time they were able to spend together. ‘Tequila!’ Dean said out of nowhere. ‘Let’s get a bottle of tequila and head for the lake.’

  Krista never argued with his choice of alcohol, but she was curious about the destination. ‘Lake?’ she asked. ‘What is that, is it a restaurant or a bar?’

  Dean simply grinned. ‘It’s a lake, Nylund, it is just a lake, lots of water, probably a few fish swimming in there, it is just a lake.’

  She was slightly confused, but to her it did not concern her where they might be going. He was there, they were together that night, that is all that really mattered. ‘Two minutes,’ Dean said, leaving her side and running across the road to a small mini-mart.

  He returned a few moments later carrying nothing but a large bottle of tequila. ‘Neat?’ Krista asked. ‘Are you expecting me to drink that neat?’

  Dean’s all-knowing smile appeared on his face. ‘It’s the only way to drink tequila,’ he said.

  As she drove off, away from the small town centre and into the dark country lanes, Dean navigated Krista through a series of small roads, which he suggested would be a shortcut to their destination. ‘Won’t it be cold?’ she asked, now realising that the venue was going to be nothing more than just a lake.

  ‘That’s where the tequila comes in,’ he pointed out. ‘You see, always prepared, that’s me, always prepared.’

  He seemed to be in a buoyant mood, he even sang a few bars of a song playing on the car radio. Krista didn’t know if it was the fact that she was there that put him in this frame of mind or the excessive volume of alcohol he seemed to have consumed that day. As they approached a badly lit roundabout, his mobile phone made a sound indicating that he had a new text message. He ignored it, as he did a few others on their journey. Their conversation was light, but there were some questions that Krista felt she needed to ask him that night. ‘How is she?’ she said.

  Dean knew exactly who she was referring to and kept his reply brief. ‘Still the same.’

  Krista waited for more information, but it was not forthcoming. She tried a different approach. ‘Where does she think you are tonight?’

  Dean shrugged his shoulders. ‘Out with some clients. Turn left when you get to this junction.’

  She followed his instruction, but his silence had given her another reason to wonder what this relationship, if that’s what this was, was all about. Why did he never talk about his wife, what was there to hide? Maybe he was lying about her medical condition, maybe she was not ill. Her heart did not want to process what her brain was telling her. What if he is happy with her and this is just one big game to him?

  When they reached the small road leading to the lake, Dean told Krista to veer off onto a dirt track just before the locked gates. It led them over the neatly cut grass and within twenty feet of the water’s edge. Krista felt slightly uncomfortable and overdressed for this excursion. She glanced down at her newly bought skirt from the latest Dior range. ‘I had better not get stains on this,’ she said. ‘It was very expensive.’

  Dean asked her to leave the headlights on in her car. Their beams shone brightly and seemed to dance on the still waters ahead of them, creating a mystical and enchanting setting for the evening. Another call on Dean’s mobile went unanswered and a subsequent text was left unread. Dean could see that the constant bombardment of unwanted attention on his phone was beginning to aggravate Krista, so he switched his mobile off.

  The evening was very mild, the warm and humid air cooled by the gentle breeze escaping from the lake. Dean took off his suit jacket and spread it out for Krista to sit on. Maybe her comment about her designer skirt had struck a chord with him. ‘Why here?’ Krista asked. ‘I mean, it is nice and everything, but I would have preferred a Chinese restaurant or a country pub.’

  Dean inhaled, filling his lungs with the fresh countryside air. ‘It just feels so good to get away from the town, all those car fumes and people rushing around everywhere. This place is just so, well, it is just so peaceful.’

  ‘I am not complaining,’ Krista said. ‘I love peace and quiet, but it is a bit out of the way.’

  Dean smiled, the cheeky smile that always put Krista at ease. ‘No one can hear you scream,’ he said. ‘Nobody can hear you shout out here, however loud you holler, no one will hear you.’

  Krista played along. ‘Oh so you have brought me here to kill me?’ she asked. ‘Can I at least have a shot of that tequila before you do it?’

  Dean passed her the bottle and then kicked off his shoes and undid his tie, throwing it backwards towards the parked car. ‘Is that the only time that you scream?’ he asked. ‘When you are being murdered?’ Suddenly it dawned on Krista what he may really be talking about. She smiled.

  The two of them sat in silence for a few moments, taking in the tranquil setting and watching the bright rays from the car’s headlights flicker across the ripples on the lake. They sat close together, Krista’s hand clutching his, their legs touching. It was so peaceful they could almost hear each other’s heart beating. ‘I love this place,’ Dean said. ‘Here, away from all the shit at work, all the shit at home. I could be anywhere on the planet sitting here right now.’

  Krista nodded and added her take on the setting. ‘Yes, I agree, it is amazing, but I would have brought a picnic if I had known, I am bloody starving. I thought we were going for a meal tonight.’

  Dean laughed. ‘How can you think about food or anything like that? The whole universe is here, right in front of us.’

  Krista looked puzzled. ‘What, in a lake, in the middle of nowhere?’ she asked.

  Suddenly Dean kicked off his socks and began to unbutton his shirt. ‘Let’s go for a swim,’ he said. ‘Come on, Nylund, live dangerously for once, let’s get naked and go for a swim.’

  Krista was taken by surprise. ‘Are you kidding me? I would have to be mad to strip off and get in that dirty water.’

  Her negative response did nothing to dampen Dean’s enthusiasm. Within seconds his shirt was thrown sideways onto the grass, followed by his trousers. He made his way down towards the lake wearing only his polka dot boxer shorts, the strange image bringing a grin to Krista’s face. He walked into the lake until the water rose above his knees. It was still lukewarm, it felt refreshing. ‘This is real!’ he said. ‘This feels so real. God, it makes you feel so alive!’

  Suddenly, the shining lights from the headlamps seemed to darken as the shadow of a moving body passed in front of them. Dean could feel a presence behind him. He turned his head slowly and his body stood frozen, as if he had been trapped in Medusa’s line of vision. She was standing there, she was naked, she was completely naked, one arm outstretched across her small pert breasts, the other nestled at the join between her legs. It was a perfect vision, a sublime beauty, an eighth wonder of the world had suddenly appeared at the side of a lake in the middle of the Surrey countryside. It was extremely rare, but Dean Jarvis was completely lost for words. Krista moved closer to the edge of the lake, her tiny feet trembling as they tested the still water ahead of her. Finally, Dean found his voice. ‘I thought you said that you wouldn’t get naked and get into the…’

  Krista stopped his sentence by moving her hand and putting it firmly on his lips, her action fully exposing the firm nipple on one of her breasts. ‘I didn’t say that I wouldn’t do it, I just said I would have to be mad to do it. Well, maybe I am mad, I must be mad to be here with you, right?’

  D
ean nodded. ‘Completely mad, as mad as a box of frogs.’

  ‘Shit!’ Krista said, seemingly alarmed. ‘There won’t be any frogs in there, will there?’

  Dean shook his head. ‘No, of course not.’

  Krista could not help but notice that a bulge had grown in those polka dot boxers. It was desperately trying to burst its way out. She placed her hand on his naked chest and ran her fingers down his torso until she found her target. Rubbing it gently, she watched as his eyes closed tightly and he released a small groan. ‘You had better get these off if we are going in,’ she said, slowly manoeuvring both of her hands to relieve him of his underwear. Dean kept his eyes closed for a few seconds, taking in a moment that would live with him for the rest of his life.

  The pair held hands and walked slowly forwards into the lake, tiny ripples moving around their naked bodies as the water reached their waists. Dean pulled Krista close to him and kissed her on the lips before moving his mouth to caress her tiny nipples. She began to realise now just what he had meant before, at that moment in time they could have been anywhere in the universe. This wasn’t just a lake, it wasn’t just a green field, it was paradise. They shared a long lingering kiss and said nothing to one another. There were no words that could possibly describe how they were both feeling at the precise moment, so why try to find any?

  The beams from the headlights began dancing once again on the lake as that moment they had both waited for since their first meeting had finally arrived. Dean led Krista by the hand to the water’s edge and pushed her gently down onto her back. Their lips met again, each devouring the other’s hungry mouth as their eager anticipation began to build up inside them. Dean’s hand moved slowly downwards and pushed her trembling legs apart. She closed her eyes as his fingers found her pleasure zone. His head moved away from hers as she lay motionless. He licked across her nipples, moving from one breast to the other, feeling her tremble slightly each time his mouth found the spot that made her tingle inside.

  As Dean moved his body on top of her, to lie between her legs, Krista opened her eyes and looked up at the darkening sky. She could see a thousand stars or more, they were bigger and closer than she could ever remember. She let out a small cry as she felt him enter her, followed by a long groan of sheer pleasure. Their bodies moved up and down as the stars in Krista’s line of vision seemed to draw nearer and nearer. Dean moved slowly at first, each penetration being met with a moan of satisfaction from Krista. As she wrapped her legs tightly around his body, she felt something stirring inside her, a feeling she had not felt before. She didn’t want it to end, it was a burning feeling, as if the inside of her body was on fire. She let out one scream followed by another, as his movements became more rapid. Her breath began to shorten as she gripped him tighter, her fingernails digging deeply into the flesh on his back. His hands were now beneath her bottom, squeezing her buttocks tightly as the momentum of his thrusts became even faster. Krista moved her glance from the starlit night to Dean’s eyes. They were full of passion, he was staring deep into her eyes, deep into her soul. She wanted to let out a huge scream, but found her teeth sinking deep into his shoulder, like a bloodthirsty vampire. The headlights from the car shone brightly, projecting a shimmer of light across the silhouettes of their writhing bodies. Krista could feel the fresh breeze from the lake running gently across her body as Dean’s thrusts became faster and faster, each penetration being met with a groan of unequivocal pleasure. Their bodies had moved closer to the edge by now. They could feel tiny streams of water gently caressing their skin. Dean began to sweat slightly as the motion of his strokes became more rapid. Krista’s nails were digging deeper and deeper, cutting into the flesh on his bare back. Suddenly, she let out a small scream followed by a much louder one as her ecstasy reached its peak. Her body gyrated from head to toe. She wrapped her mouth around his shoulder blade and bit hard, hard enough to draw blood. Suddenly, Dean’s breath began to shorten as he neared his climax. Krista clenched her legs tighter around his back, as if she was trying to squeeze the life out of him. His mouth switched backwards and forwards from her mouth to her nipples, and then, just as he became aware that he was at that point of no return, his head moved upwards and he looked into her eyes, those amazing brown spheres of indescribable beauty. They were on fire now, flames dancing across his reflection, like a raging inferno. He pushed harder and harder and finally his body erupted, sending his bodily fluids deep into her aching loins.

  They lay at the edge of the water, wrapped in a tight embrace for a full five minutes before either of them found the strength to speak. Suddenly, Dean decided that there was something that they both needed. ‘Tequila?’ he asked Krista.

  ‘Tequila and a stretcher,’ she replied. ‘I don’t think I am going to be able to walk for days now.’

  Dean leant down and scooped up her tiny frame in his big strong arms. ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘It is a well-known fact that tequila is the best known cure for everything.’ Dean laid her down gently on his jacket and sat close beside her. Neither of them felt the cold at that moment, despite the fact the temperature was falling rapidly.

  They both swigged mouthfuls from the bottle of Mexico’s finest export and Krista wrapped Dean’s jacket around her shoulders to keep off the breeze from the lake. ‘Can you get my bag from the car?’ she asked Dean. ‘I need to check my phone.’ Dean obliged her, checking his own mobile en route. It showed he had missed four more calls and had three unopened text messages. He threw his recently purchased Nokia C16 handset onto the passenger seat of Krista’s car. He was in his own world now, he had no intentions of seeing what those messages were going to tell him.

  ‘It looks expensive,’ Dean said, passing Krista her blue leather handbag.

  ‘It is new,’ she said. ‘I bought it last week, it’s a Hermes.’

  Dean sat back down beside her and laughed. ‘Hermes,’ he said. ‘The son of Zeus, the bringer of dreams, a prowler in the night.’

  Krista was confused. ‘What the hell are you talking about?’

  ‘It’s not important, you wouldn’t get it anyway.’

  ‘Try me, I may not be as thick as you think I am.’

  ‘Hermes, he was the son of Zeus, the god of wealth.’

  ‘How do you know all of this? I wouldn’t have you down as a history buff.’

  ‘It’s not history, it’s mythology, Greek mythology.’

  ‘And there is a difference?’

  Dean nodded. ‘A big difference. Greek mythology was all about the parallel world that existed centuries ago, another world full of brave heroes and monstrous demons.’

  ‘Wow, you are really into this stuff. Where do you get all this from?’

  ‘My dad, well, not my real dad. Peter, the guy that brought me up. I suppose he was my dad really.’

  ‘OK, sorry but you have lost me now. Would you like to explain?’

  ‘Not really, it’s not that important.’

  Krista was not happy with his response. ‘I know nothing about you, Dean, nothing about your wife, your family, nothing at all, you keep everything so close to your chest.’

  Dean took a large swig of tequila and breathed in the night air, but Krista was still keen to learn more about the man she had just shared such an incredible experience with. ‘Are they dead?’ she asked. ‘Are your parents dead?’

  Dean looked across the lake. It was obvious that he didn’t really want to have this conversation, but he felt that her owed her some sort of explanation. ‘He is, my dad, he died in a fire at our house, when I was three years old. My mother…’

  Krista pressed her fingers against his lips and put her arm around his shoulders to hold him closer. ‘I am sorry,’ she said, ‘if it is too painful. I am sorry I asked.’

  Dean took a deep breath and continued, he was anxious now for her to know the whole story. ‘She was in hospital after the accident, she has been there ever since. I do
n’t even know if she is still alive.’ Krista squeezed him a little more tightly. It gave him the courage to continue. ‘I was saved, the night of the fire. A neighbour broke through my window and rescued me, but my dad died.’ Dean struggled with his words. ‘He was locked in the bedroom, nobody knew why. They said that she started the fire, my mother. They said she started the fire after the two of them had argued. She told the police that he had hit her, beaten her black and blue and she wanted him to suffer, like she had suffered. Apparently, after the court case, the doctors found her to be…’

  Dean stopped himself. He had always hated the professional description that the court gave his mother’s condition, so he substituted ‘clinically insane’ with a kinder explanation. ‘That she was ill, they said that she suffered heavy bouts of depression and that she wasn’t safe to be living in society.’

  Krista listened intently, maybe realising now why he had never spoken about his family. ‘God, Dean, I am so sorry. So you have never seen her since?’

  ‘No, I did, until I was about eleven or twelve. Peter used to take me there, every couple of months. It wasn’t like a prison or anything, it was alright there, it was like a big country house. I still remember her, sitting in that huge armchair in the big white room. God, it was so bright in that room, so white, a bit like how I would expect heaven to be. She never spoke, she never ever said a word to me when I visited her.’

  Krista didn’t know if she should keep asking questions, but she was curious. ‘So you never saw her after that?’ Dean shook his head. ‘Peter, my dad, Peter said that it was not good for either me or her. She wasn’t getting any better, she was never going to be let out. He was trying to be honest with me, to save me any further hurt. It was Peter that first brought me over here, to the lake. We used to go rowing. They have small boats over there by the pavilion. Him and Diane, that was his wife, they brought me up as their own. They couldn’t have kids themselves, so I suppose it worked for everyone. I used to call them Mum and Dad, but it never felt right.’