Cockatoo

by Christopher Cummings

  ‘He can kiss me for ever and ever,’ she thought, tightening her muscles and pressing her body hard against his. His breathing increased and she felt his body responding. Knowing that she was succeeding as a woman made her feel even better. They kept on kissing. This caused the watchers to call encouragement and to tease.

  ‘I don’t care who is watching; or what they think,’ Tina thought, the arousal surging in her body and making her want even more. But out of curiosity she did open her eyes. The first person she saw was Barbara. She and her friends were watching from the other side of the pool and Tina noted that she had an arm around Cressly’s neck and appeared to be snuggled against him. For a moment their eyes met and Barbara smiled.

  By then others were calling either encouragement or teasing jibes. Stephen called, “Come up for air you two!”

  Then Stick yelled, “They need cooling down!” he began to splash water on them. Others joined in and cold water and the knowledge that they were a public spectacle broke the spell. As Andrew and Tina at last drew breathlessly apart she saw a look of wonder in his eyes. Delightedly she thought, ‘I really am in love.’

  Without a word Andrew took Tina’s hand and started walking away. Tina happily went with him, but she blushed at the mostly good natured laughter that followed them. This developed into a noisy water fight when Noddy asked who would give him a kiss if he could swim the length underwater. Tina glanced back and saw him look hopefully at the other Year 8 girl but she curled her lip and moved away. Stick and Stephen both jeered and proceeded to splash Noddy.

  Tina did not care. She lay down beside Andrew on their towels and just wanted him to hold her and to kiss her again. But he didn’t. Instead he kept looking at her with a look of surprised wonder on his face. Once she thought he was going to apologize, which she knew would have disappointed her. ‘I want him to kiss me again. Can’t he see that, the silly boy?’ she thought.

  It was obvious to her that he was aroused and that he had enjoyed the kiss and that he was pleased. But he was also shy and she suspected that the incident had given him a bit of a shock and that he was pulling back emotionally to regain his self-control. She decided to give him the space. ‘I don’t want him to think he is being pushed,’ she told herself.

  So they lay and chatted. It was very relaxing as the sun was just warm enough to not feel like it was burning and there was gentle breeze. After about half an hour their peace was disturbed by the others as they climbed out and returned to their towels. Willy trailed along at the rear, looking unhappy. After some discussion with the others he and Stephen went to the kiosk. Tina took the opportunity to go to the toilet.

  When she returned a few minutes later Tina noted with some disapproval that Marjorie was lying on her front and had undone her bikini top. When she reached up to take a packet of crisps from Stephen she showed most of her breasts. Tina shook her head and noted that even when Marjorie was lying down her breasts bulged out from under her in a most enticing and provocative way. She also noticed that Willy was pretending not to look but was actually flicking glances at Marjorie every few seconds. ‘So, does he fancy Barbara or Marjorie; or is he just being a male?’ Tina wondered.

  Stephen sat beside Marjorie and she leaned against him while they ate and chatted. Marjorie kept raising herself up on her elbows so that almost all of her breasts could be seen; and that irritated and embarrassed Tina as she sat next to Andrew because she could see that he was also watching. Marjorie appeared to be giving all of her attention to Stephen and even rested her hand on his thigh. Tina began to mentally call her unkind names, then stopped. ‘I am just being catty and jealous,’ she thought, knowing that she wanted to snuggle against Andrew in that way.

  When the food was consumed Stick suggested another swim. Most of the group went back into the pool but Stephen and Marjorie stayed on their towels and began to caress and kiss. That made Tina feel uncomfortable (or was it jealous?) so she suggested another swim to Andrew. He agreed and they made their way the pool and jumped in. While they swam lazily up and down Tina yearned for Andrew to grab her, to play games with her, to kiss her. She watched with envy as the others indulged in a lot of horseplay that involved ducking and grabbing the girls in their group.

  They began a game of tiggy and Tina saw Willy pursue the other Year 8 girl and tag her. Then he clung to the edged to get his breath back. At that moment Stick called out: “Come on you two. Stop that and come and play.”

  Tina raised herself to look across the lawn. She saw that Marjorie and Stephen were still lying on their towels behind the garden bed with Stephen lying on his back and Marjorie half on top of him. She still had no top on so her bare breasts were resting on Stephen’s chest. They were kissing.

  Stephen stopped kissing and turned to look at them. “We are playing,” he said with a grin.

  “Not that sort of game,” Stick replied. “Come on gang, let’s throw cold water on them.”

  Willy joined in the scramble out of the pool and raced across the lawn with water cupped in his hands. Marjorie cried out and raised herself to run. She seemed to forget she was topless so that her breasts hung fully exposed. Tina was scandalized and also peeved that Andrew was watching. From nearby where Barbara’s group sat Nigel Cressly cried out, “Holy mackerel! Look at the knockers on that that little Year Eight! They are nearly as big as yours Barbara.”

  Tina was shocked. She glanced at Barbara and saw an embarrassed look on her face. This changed to obvious hurt when Warwick Grey said, “Well you’d know Nigel!”

  Tina could not decide which way to look and kept glancing from one group to the other. She watched in amazement as Marjorie ran around for a few seconds with her breasts bouncing while she chased Stick. Then she appeared to notice her state of undress. She covered her breasts with her arms and bent to pick up her towel.

  Tina shook her head. “What a rude little exhibitionist,” she muttered.

  “Not so little either,” Andrew replied with a chuckle.

  “She’s a cheap tart!” Tina snapped. But then she felt guilty as she knew she did not really mind Andrew seeing. She knew for certain that one day she would want Andrew to see her breasts. ‘But not in public and showing off like that,’ she told herself.

  Andrew blushed at her rebuke. “She will be in trouble with the management,” he suggested.

  “They will all be in trouble if they keep acting like that,” Tina commented. The group were now running around the garden beds and flicking at each other with towels. Stephen managed to hold off their attacks for a time but then Noddy yelled, “Let’s chuck Steve in the water and cool him down properly.”

  Stephen was grabbed and hustled to the pool and tossed in. When that was done the boys returned to their towels. By then Marjorie had put on her bikini top. She and her friend went off to the toilet and the boys lay down, laughing and joking.

  Tina next noted an unhappy looking Barbara walking towards the change rooms with her bag and towel. ‘She looks a bit upset. I wonder if that relationship is not working either?’ Tina thought.

  Andrew glanced at his watch and said, “It is nearly four. Time to go mate.”

  Tina was not sure if she liked being called mate or not. Certainly she wanted to mate with Andrew but she did not just want to be another friend. But she agreed and reluctantly she pulled on her T-shirt and shorts, gathered her things and then walked with Andrew to the front entrance. As they did she hoped he would hold her hand but he didn’t and she began to worry that he had been put off by the display of emotion.

  ‘Oh, I hope he kisses me again tonight,’ she thought.

  CHAPTER 19

  HIGH HOPES

  Three hours later Tina sat beside Andrew in the movies. She was watching the film but with no particular interest. Her main focus was on Andrew. After their first kiss she had gone home in a state close to euphoria. During the time at home while she had tea, showered, dressed and prepared she had been imagining the evening- and she had high hopes.


  ‘I must get him to kiss me again,’ she thought. She was aware that she was in an unusual mood, that the events and sights of the afternoon had aroused her in unfamiliar and unsettling ways so that now she felt as though her whole body was tingling with anticipation. She yearned to be held, to be touched. ‘He can even touch me in some naughty places if he wants,’ she thought.

  But so far he had been a prefect gentleman. Too perfect, she decided. He hadn’t even held her hand as they walked from the car to the theatre. Now at last he had taken her hand, but only in the darkness and privacy of the theatre. ‘Maybe he doesn’t want others to see him with me?’ she thought, the old nagging worry about her appearance resurfacing.

  ‘And at last he is moving his right arm in preparation to put it around my shoulders,’ she thought as Andrew changed position.

  To her immense relief he did place his arm around her shoulders. Then there was no more movement for another few minutes. ‘Do something!’ she thought, knowing that the movie only lasted another hour or so. Tina sensed that she was perhaps being a bit unreasonable, but her instinct was to leave it to the male. ‘If he isn’t brave enough to find out what I like then he is not good enough for me,’ she told herself.

  At last he held her close and rested his head against hers. She felt that wonderful sensation of closeness and of being held and allowed her head to rest on his cheek and shoulder. ‘It feels nice. He feels nice,’ she thought. To keep the stimulation going he squeezed her shoulders a few times and then moved his body slightly sideways. Tina was now attuned to every slight change and every nuance and hoped he was preparing to kiss her.

  To check she glanced in his direction and saw he was looking at her with a very intent expression on his face. He was plainly anxious and she assumed he was mustering his courage to make a move. She saw him lick his lips and then his left arm reached across her front and took her right hand. She was delighted and quickly took a firm grip. Their clasped hands ended up in her lap.

  Then suddenly he was kissing her. She could not quite remember how it came about but she seemed to just melt in his arms and their lips met. A tingling wave of excitement swept through her and she savoured the feel, the scent and the sensations. ‘He smells nice, and he tastes nice,’ she thought. That was a real relief as she had heard some horror stories from her friends about boys that they had kissed who had bad breath or body odour.

  ‘As mum says, a girl’s got to kiss a lot of toads before she finds a prince,’ she thought. That made her smile and she opened her eyes and saw he was smiling too. They kissed again, for longer and with more heat. Tina became aware that her heart was hammering rapidly and that her breathing was rapid and shallow. She felt suddenly weak and flushed and a curious tingling, itchy sensation coursed through her body and down to her thighs.

  ‘Oh this is nice!’ she thought. She returned his kisses with pleasure and pressed herself against him. After about ten minutes of this they were both flushed and panting and Tina became aware of a tingling sensation in her breasts. ‘Oh play with them! Play with them!’ her mind cried.

  But Andrew’s hands remained firmly away from her more sensitive parts. Only occasionally did his forearm brush the bottom of her right breast and that was not enough to satisfy her. She knew she was becoming aroused and part of that knowledge aroused her more. The other part began to scare her. ‘We don’t want to get out of control,’ she told herself.

  Then the movie came to an end. Tina could have wept with frustration. ‘Oh! Drat!’ she thought. Andrew released her and sat back to rearrange his shirt and hair before the lights came on. Tina did likewise but already her mind was plotting the next move. ‘Another date, or perhaps meeting after school?’ she mused. Then an impish thought crossed her mind: ‘Or at school!’ She knew that boy-girl stuff was against the school rules and that added another level of delicious dare to the idea.

  ‘Or the dance,’ she remembered. But how to remind him and manoeuvre it so that they went together?

  When her mother arrived to take her home Tina was very happy. Andrew stood holding her hand and this time, before he climbed out of the car, he leaned over and gave her a kiss. She put her arms out to hold him and kissed him again and then blushed when her mother, who was watching in the rear view mirror, said, “That is enough, children! You’ve had hours for smooching. Poor Andrew won’t be able to sleep.”

  ‘I hope not,’ Tina thought. She giggled and let go and said goodnight. As they drove away and she waved her mother said, “It was a good night then?”

  “Yes Mum.”

  “Good, but don’t rush it. You have plenty of time.”

  Tina answered “Yes Mum” but she didn’t believe her. Now that she was starting to experience romance she wanted more and felt an intense desire explore the other aspects of love. Dimly she understood that this could lead to her and Andrew doing some very naughty things but that did not bother her. ‘That is what couples do,’ she told herself.

  In her mind it was all so romantic and she lay in bed fantasizing for several hours. She wanted to see Andrew on the Sunday but that was no to be. So it was a frustrating day of church and chores and she got all grumpy and irritable.

  Her mother was not sympathetic. “You need to get more sleep and then you won’t be a grizzle puss,” she said.

  Tina was sent to feed the birds. It was only then, when she was in the cage and changing their water that she noted that Neville had four strange birds in his aviary. And only as she returned to the house did she remember her suspicions. But in her romantic mood she just shrugged and brushed them mentally aside as being silly. Back in her room she frowned and then dug out several reference books on birds to try to identify the ones next door.

  They turned out to be Blue faced Honeyeaters. That made her frown even more as she was sure they were protected birds and that it was illegal to have them as pets. ‘Or maybe you need a permit?’ she thought. For a few minutes she sat and considered checking with the Wildlife Department.

  However on Monday morning she quite forgot about this as her mental focus was on seeing Andrew. She went happily to school knowing he would be there. ‘He might even sit with me now,’ she thought.

  But he made no move to do so and Tina was too shy to go and sit with him. He continued to sit with his mates on the other side of the quadrangle. So Tina sat with Sarah and her other friends and tried to pretend she was happy. She was, but in a frustrated sort of way, wishing the relationship was more complete.

  Her anxiety about the dance was also increased during assembly that morning when the Principal again reminded them about the fete. ‘And the dance. How can I get Andrew to take me?’ she thought. Until he said something she did not want to hint to her friends that she was making a new dress.

  At least the dress kept her busy at home because her homework did not. Assisted by her mother she began the cutting, sewing and fitting and by that evening had the main pieces assembled enough to put on for a trial fitting.

  Tuesday and Wednesday were the same. The only things that caught Tina’s attention were seeing Barbara and her friends flirting with the Year 12 boys and watching Willy moping around, casting wistful glances in Barbara’s direction. From the body language Tina deduced that Willy wasn’t really on speaking terms with Stephen, who was busy chatting up Marjorie at every opportunity.

  By Thursday morning Tina was starting to feel a sense of desperation. She was also anxious about the arrangements for the weekend expedition. She decided that this provided her with a reason to speak to Andrew so at lunch time she excused herself and went looking for him.

  He was with Arthur Blake and Luke Karaku down near the oval. When she approached him directly he looked a little anxious and said, “Hi Tina. How are you?”

  “Good. But I am a bit worried too,” she admitted.

  “Worried?”

  “About the expedition on the weekend,” she explained.

  Blake snorted. “Huh! Nothin’ to worry about. It will just be a hi
ke.”

  “Easy for you to say,” Tina replied. “But I have never been on a hike before. I just hope I have the right things and that I can carry it all.”

  Andrew gave her a reassuring smile. “You will be alright,” he said.

  At that moment Luke said, “There they are. They are coming in now.”

  Tina looked in the same direction as Luke, which was out over the school fence. “Who are?” she asked.

  “Nigel Cressly and that Barbara chick from Year Nine,” Luke replied.

  Tina now saw Nigel and Barbara getting out of a red sports car that had just parked among a row of other cars. Barbara looked a bit anxious and Cressly seemed to walk with an exaggerated swagger. “Where have they been?” she asked, then felt foolish at asking such a silly question.

  Blake answered her. “Where do you think! Parking somewhere to have a pash.”

  As he said ‘pash’ Tina’s eyes met Andrew’s and she blushed and knew she was blushing. He looked poker-faced and not amused. Tina shook her head. “They will get expelled if the teachers catch them,” she commented. ‘And Barbara will get herself into trouble,’ she thought. For a few moments she wondered how Barbara could take such a silly risk. Then she blushed again as it occurred to her that if Andrew wanted her to sneak off for ‘a bit of a pash’ (or even more) she would probably say yes. She had heard about girls sneaking out to be with boys but this was the first time she had ever witnessed it. And she doubted if she would be brave enough to take the risk. ‘But I can live in hope,’ she thought- and blushed again.

  They watched Cressly and Barbara jump the fence and then wander off in different directions. Tina again shook her head and did not know if she felt jealous or sorry for Barbara. But it occurred to her that Andrew was acting as though he did not want her there so she said a cheery farewell and strolled away as though she didn’t have a care in the world.