by Bec Johnson
‘I was just thinking the exact same thing.’ Lori's eyes twinkled mischievously. Leaning forward she pressed her palms into the bed either side of his shoulders and straddled her knees over his legs so that she was on all fours above him.
‘You know what I meant,’ Zeb laughed, holding back the curtain of her hair that was tickling his face and chest.
‘I did, and thanks, that'd be nice. I suppose we do need to leave this room at some point.’ She lowered her face to his and ran her tongue suggestively over his bottom lip. As he slid his hands gently up the outside of her thighs and over her bottom she quivered.
‘I guess we do, although I did say I'd be another twenty minutes,’ his voice rumbled against Lori's mouth and he pushed down firmly on her hips.
Almost half an hour later Zeb, dressed in only his shorts, swung open the bedroom door and strode down the hallway to the front of the house.
Waiting for him in the kitchen, Jonah was pouring the dregs of his coffee down the sink. ‘At last! What the hell were you do... Woah, shit! Good morning Lori.’
‘And Happy New Year to you too Jonah.’ Lori appeared beside Zeb, back in last night's borrowed clothes, her face burning.
‘Sorry, Happy New Year beautiful,’ he put down the mug and stepped forward, kissing her on the cheek, ‘how very umm... surprising to see you here.’
‘Give it a rest Junior.’ Zeb grabbed his little brother by the neck and gave him a hug, whispering into his ear, ‘I hope you were careful last night kid?’
‘I am absolutely NOT discussing that with you.’ Jonah peeled himself from Zeb's grip and looked from him to Lori and back again, arching his eyebrows pointedly.
‘Alright, alright,’ Zeb chuckled. ‘Come on, let's go teach this kook to surf.’
Exhausted, bruised and full of salty water Lori left the boys in the waves after a couple of hours of embarrassing herself.
Although she had managed to stand up a couple of times, which according to Zeb was actually pretty good considering the swell was quite a bit bigger than he would normally have recommended she learn in, every time she'd popped up she had almost straight away been unceremoniously dumped back in again. Surprisingly, this had been a lot of fun, however, she felt as though she was holding them back and so she'd quit while she was ahead.
Leaving them to play more seriously, Lori rode her borrowed board back in to the beach and walked the long way home. By the time she got back Jenny was just coming out of number twenty-one with Bob.
‘Hey Bobsy!’ She crouched down to greet him enthusiastically, his tail wagged furiously as he sniffed at the drips of salty water on her legs. ‘Happy New Year Jenny.’
‘And to you Lorikeet. Been out with the boys?’ Jenny gave her an arms length hug.
‘I have, and it was completely terrifying if I'm honest,’ she giggled.
Jenny hadn't seen anything happen on Christmas Day but from the glow in Lori's face afterwards it was obvious something had occurred. A couple of days ago though, when Lori had become quite distant with her, she thought that perhaps they'd had a falling out. Judging by their date last night and the flame in Lori's cheeks this morning it was clear that things had moved beyond just 'something'.
With the countdown to the investors' meeting now in full swing she just hoped that the two of them could see what was so palpable to everyone else around them.
‘So...’ Jenny grinned, unlocking the front door, ‘how was last night?’
‘Last night was... none of your business,’ Lori teased. She rested the surf board on the verandah and followed her in to the shop. She knew Jenny had worked it out by herself, but with everything else going on in her mind over the past week Lori hadn't found the right moment to tell her. And besides, there wasn't really anything to tell.
‘Fine, I won't ask again, my lips are sealed.’ She made a zipping motion across her mouth and led the way in to the kitchen where she needed to start preparing for the brunch crowd that would no doubt make a bleary eyed appearance within the next couple of hours.
‘Good,’ Lori giggled. ‘Now I'm going to take a shower, then I'll be back down to give you a hand. I suggested Tyler take the day off today, I thought we'd be fine on our own.’
‘No problem, I'll get started on some pancake batter, and leave the fruit salad for you to do.’ She disappeared into the pantry.
Lori had only made it halfway up the stairs before Jenny called out, ‘Oh! Lorikeet? I almost forgot to ask, what time are you planning on holding the open house this Saturday? I need to know so I can organise the catering.’
Shit.
Mr and Mrs Peters' offer, and Lori's subsequent verbal acceptance meant that she didn't really need to hold another open home. What she had completely failed to consider though, was the fact that if she cancelled it now it would mean that everyone, Jenny included, would work out that she'd been made, and was planning to accept, an offer, but hadn't told anyone. Worse still, Zeb would know she'd lied. The tightening sensation she'd felt in her chest the last few days returned with a vengeance.
Frozen midway, her fingers massaging her breast bone, she had to make a choice and make it quickly. The longer it took her to respond the more likely it was for Jenny to figure it out anyway.
She either had to turn around right now, go back downstairs and tell Jenny the truth, and as a consequence have to tell Zeb too, or... or she could go on keeping it a secret and hold the open home anyway. Today being Thursday, meant that the investors' meeting was only six days away, what harm could it do to if she waited until then to make the announcement? No one need know the timing of the offer.
‘Ten o'clock if that's ok?’ Lori called back before running up the stairs and locking herself in the bathroom.
When the skin on her fingers had wrinkled and the threat of tears had passed, Lori turned the taps off and wrapped herself in a towel. Pushing down the uncomfortable feelings brought up by her choice she left the steam of the bathroom to dissipate and went in search of something to wear.
From her bedroom window, as she pulled on her shorts and tied her damp hair up high on her head she could see that the sun had now risen well above the horizon, burning off most of the clouds in the sky, the start to the New Year was looking like it'd be a scorcher. With the build up of all this heat it wasn't surprising that the threat of severe thunderstorms was forecasted for the next week at least.
By eleven o'clock every table on the deck was full and Jenny was starting on her second batch of pancake batter.
Serving Mr and Mrs Thompson-Phillips Lori made sure she gave them an extra gracious smile as she put their double shot coffees and raisin toast down on the table. After Mrs Westerly they were probably the next in line for the hardest investors to please.
Extremely wealthy, they were the village's most generous benefactors. Everything from the rural fire station on the road leading out of the village, to the boat ramp at the far end of the beach were only possible thanks to the money that they had donated, and continue to donate. Convincing them to vote in favour of selling the shop was going to be nigh on impossible and although she hadn't completely given up hope she certainly wasn't going to count on gaining their approval.
‘Just let me know if you would like a refill.’ Lori gave a ridiculous half curtsey half bow as she stepped back and left them to their brunch.
Clearing the table vacated by a young couple just passing through on their way to Melbourne to visit family, Lori watched as Bob shot out from under the deck and raced down the lawn woofing excitedly.
Like an overtly provocative aftershave advert, Zeb, Jonah and Tyler appeared at the bottom of the garden. Dripping wet and carrying their boards under their arms they began making their way towards the deck. The sun above them reflected off their wet skin making it sparkle. With so much muscular flesh on show Lori lost concentration for a moment, clattering the plates she was stacking and eliciting a disappointed tut from Mrs T-P as she liked to think of her. The displeased expression on the stiff b
acked old woman soon changed when she followed Lori's gaze and saw what had caused the boorish rattling of crockery. She, along with every one of the other females on the deck, and even some of the males, gave a wholly appreciative sigh at the vision of the boys heading towards them in seemingly slow motion.
Lori silently chastised the lusty butterflies flitting around her stomach and kept her burning cheeks low as she took off in the opposite direction, straight into the kitchen where she dropped the plates in the sink of bubbles and buried her face in the fridge.
‘Are you quite alright Lorikeet?’ Jenny asked after giving her enough time to collect herself.
‘Umm...Oh! yes, there it is, found it!’ Lori grabbed the very large, very conspicuous bottle of freshly squeezed orange juice and poured herself a tall glass, downing half of it in just a couple of gulps.
Jenny watched on with amusement.
From the window over Lori's desk she too had seen the boys making their entrance into the garden. Despite the fact she was very postmenopausal and two of them were gay they still stirred a primeval reaction even in her.
Wasting a good ten minutes rearranging at first the freezer, and then after that the cutlery drawer, Lori decided it should be safe to return to her customers on the deck, presuming the boys must have gone out through the gap in the hedge that she used regularly as her own personal escape route.
She was wrong.
Inside the back room, under the guise of refilling the napkins, Lori noticed Mr Thompson-Phillips was missing from the seat opposite his wife. Twisting herself awkwardly so that she could look out under the drop of the awning covering the deck, Lori saw him speaking to Zeb about mid-way down the garden. Jonah and Tyler were busy entertaining a couple of the bridge club members who had popped in for a pot of tea after their late morning stroll along the beach.
With a few serious nods of the head Zeb held out his hand assertively and Mr T-P shook it. Patting Zeb's bare shoulder they both turned and walked towards the deck. Not wanting to be caught prying Lori ducked back into the shop and made herself busy at the counter.
‘There you are,’ Zeb's voice purred as he entered the room a few minutes later. The hairs on Lori's arms stood up as he approached.
‘Hey you.’ She couldn't help but grin. ‘I see you know Mr Thompson-Phillips?’
‘Edward? Sure, he's been a big sponsor of the Youth Club since it's inception. Great bloke. And his wife, Sylvia, lovely woman. Why do you ask?’
‘Oh no reason, just saw you talking to him that's all,’ Lori chirped not wanting to incriminate herself.
Zeb frowned. ‘You were spying on me?’
‘Oh god no! Just happened to notice as I walked past the window in there.’ She waved her hand in the general direction of the back room.
‘You're such a terrible liar Lorikeet,’ Zeb laughed not noticing the wince in Lori's eyes. ‘I was talking to him about one of his business investments if you must know. I wanted some fiscal advice.’
‘Ugh,’ Lori shuddered. ‘Ok, you've bored me now. Let's change the subject, how was your surf?’
‘Good, although it was a little hard to concentrate.’ He rested his board against the counter and stepped in to the little gap where she stood.
‘Oh yes?’ Lori flickered her eyes up and down his torso as he inched closer to her.
‘Yes, you see I didn't get much sleep last night.’ He was almost above her now.
Lori dug her nails into her palms to stop from reaching out and touching his chest as it rose and fell with each breath.
‘Me e...e...either,’ Lori picked up a stammer. Closing her eyes briefly she saw him naked, standing proud at the end of his bed, before snapping them open again.
Noticing this, he grinned, leaning in to whisper in her ear, ‘What did you just see?’
Not that it mattered, because she hadn't formulated a reply for him, but Lori didn't get to answer. He stepped forward again, pushing her back firmly to the wall and pressing the length of his wet body against hers. Millimetres from the side of his neck she opened her mouth and exhaled excitedly against his skin making him moan softly into her hair. He dropped his head and ran his lips across her jaw then up to her mouth, kissing her sensuously. As her tongue found his he pushed his fingers under her vest and gripped her waist with his cool damp hands.
‘Ahem.’ Behind Zeb the old ladies from the bridge club were waiting to pay their bill.
Extracting himself from Lori he spun around giving them his brightest smile. ‘I am so sorry ladies, forgive me?’
Clutching their pearls they tittered like a pair of school girls and stood aside as he walked out from behind the counter, grabbed his surf board and shot Lori a wink before disappearing out the front door.
As predicted the day ended with an almighty storm. The black clouds rolled in before sunset and the sky began to crackle and rumble soon after.
By the time Lori had shut the shop and made herself some toast for dinner she was well and truly ready for bed, she just needed to call Kristy first. Taking her phone to her room she undressed and slipped between the covers.
‘Oh my god I was starting to worry about you!’ Kristy admonished down the line.
‘I'm sorry, it's just been a full on day,’ Lori sighed, putting the phone on loud speaker so she could rub her eyes and fluff her pillows behind her.
‘Well not to worry, you can tell me all about it now.’
Not leaving any topic uncovered Lori told her pretty much everything that had happened to her in the last thirty hours.
‘Oh. My. God.’ Kristy waited until Lori had reached the very end before she spoke.
‘I know!’ Lori could hardly even believe it herself. Only by saying it all out loud did it start to sink in as having really happened.
‘I don't even know where to begin to comment,’ Kristy chuckled before turning serious, ‘but I'll start with your decision not to tell Jenny and Zeb about the offer. What the hell were you thinking?’
‘Oh shit don't, please. I had to make the decision on the spot and that's the one I made, I can't go back now.’ Lori pressed her fingers into her chest.
‘Alright, fair enough.’ Sensing the anxiety in her friend's voice Kristy backed down. ‘You sound exhausted. I'm going to leave you to catch up on some of that sleep you lost last night.’
‘Ok, will I see you in the morning with the delivery?’
‘Yes, but I won't be able to stop for long sorry, maybe we can catch up properly this weekend?’ Kristy suggested.
‘Sounds perfect. Good Night.’ Lori felt her eyelids drooping as she said her goodbyes. By the time the screen on the phone had faded to off she was fast asleep.
Around five in the morning as the pre-dawn light turned the sky a sort of dip dyed inky blue, Lori stirred. She was so tired she'd barely moved position all night. Yet now, as the birds began their noisy morning ritual, her limbs began to twitch and her sub-conscious came to life as dreams began to flicker behind her eyelids like a movie screen.
Snapshots of Zeb flashed through her mind. At first the two of them were running through a maze of gum trees, she could hear his footsteps but couldn't see him, and then, as soon as the vision had begun it was gone, replaced by something altogether more sexual. The sight of him underneath her, biting his lip, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he held back, waiting for the moment when she announced she had reached the same point.
Between her legs the sensation was so real it woke her with a start and she arched her back with a gasp.
Now fully alert and aching, Lori listened to the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks at the bottom of the garden while downstairs, a click at the front door and then the gentle thud of heavy soled shoes made her pulse quicken.
With just enough light thrown into the room through the uncovered windows, Lori could see Zeb's silhouette in the doorway. She didn't care how he'd gotten in, she just cared that he was there. Sitting up, she peeled back the covers and waited.
For
a moment he stood at the entrance to her room taking in the sight of her, softly highlighted by the last little sliver of moonlight. He'd never met anyone quite like her. Certainly, he'd had past girlfriends and lovers but everything he thought he'd felt before he met Lori he realised now didn't even come close the the way she got under his skin and made him feel. Bursting in to his life with such an intriguing and beautiful mix of modesty and bare-faced confidence his world had been shaken up and pumped full of frustrations, emotions and utterly desperate desires.
Unable to contain his longing Zeb crossed the room and kicked off his boots, dropping his utility belt carefully to the floor he stepped out of the blue overalls and climbed in to the space beside her. As she settled herself back down again he took her face in his hands and kissed her softly on her forehead before moving on to her lips and then neck. Tracking a slow and purposeful route firstly with his fingers, he followed them with his mouth, between her breasts, down over her belly and beyond, where he made her breathe his name over and over again.
Chapter Eighteen
PING! Wake up Birdy!
PING! Come on...
PING! Biiirrrdddyyyy!
PING! B B Bir Bir Bird, B B Birdy's the word...
PING! BIRDY!!!
PING! Come on, come on, come on! I know you're online I can see your little green icon. Answer me damn it!
On the bedside table Lori's laptop continued its incessant pinging noise. Roused from a deep sleep she pressed her hands against her face protecting her eyes against the morning light and slowly opened them. Not yet fully compos mentis she flung an arm sideways as it pinged again, trying to smack the sleek black machine as though it were an alarm clock.
PING!
‘Oww!’ The pain of smashing her elbow against the square edge of the wooden cabinet where the lamp, her phone and the pinging laptop shook, at least brought her a little lucidity. Evidently she hadn't logged off properly last night.