Island Cultural Center

by Marilyn Foxworthy

  When she calmed down, having experienced at least half a dozen violent aftershocks and possibly at least one more small climax, I kissed her on the lips and we let her dress fall back into place around her knees.

  Catching her breath, she said, “OK, before you ask, yes, that was by far the best orgasm I’d ever had. Yes, ever. And the first time I ever had multiple, and the first time with a man. Yep. I swear. And now I get what you were saying. Fucking is going to be sweet and I’ll never use it as a swear word ever again. And yes, my pussy is a glorious thing and I’m glad that I have one. I promise to treat it with care and respect at all times and never ever say anything insulting about it or any other part of my body ever again. Oh, Ronny, thank you. If you never do anything else for me, I’ll treasure this one experience of love for as long as I live.”

  I said, “No. You might remember it forever, but soon you’ll wonder that you ever thought that it was unusual. It might be special, but it won’t be at all uncommon. We better head back. We need to meet Lisa at three.”

  We turned around and walked back in the direction of the pool area and I fondled Brena’s butt playfully every now and then.

  As we approached the pool, Brenda said, “Are we going to talk about our relationship and what’s going on and what the future will be like and how everything is going to work?”

  I said, “No.”

  She frowned and said, “No? Just like that?”

  I said, “Yep. Just like that. You asked me this morning what I wanted in a relationship. I told you. I have found it. No discussion necessary. You found what you want. No discussion necessary. I keep giving you the chance to leave, but we both know that you won’t. You came here to find me.”

  I took us to a table near the sidewalk where I expected to see Lisa when she came from the shops down the way. We waited for about ten minutes.

  When I saw her approaching the table, I stood up and stepped to greet her. I held out my hand and took hers as if I was going to shake it, but I surprised all three of us when I put my other arm around her and pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the lips. She didn’t pull, away. In fact, she leaned her head back and let me kiss her. It wasn’t a long or passionate kiss. It was a kiss between really good friends. Or between a new couple just starting to date. Or a couple who had been together for years and were in the habit of giving each other a simple kiss when they met at a restaurant after work.

  The thing was, I didn’t give a damn. If she liked it, she did. If she didn’t, it didn’t matter to me. I had nothing to lose. If it propelled our adventure forward, great. If it shut things down, the adventure would move in a different direction. And I didn’t feel like spending a lot of energy trying to figure out the “right” move. I had no experience that would help me know what was “right” at all. I came here to relax and to write. And apparently to change my life by giving in to new relationships. Certainly with Brenda. I didn’t know what our relationship with Lisa would be.

  I said, “Hello Mrs. Jackson!” and I took her face in my hands and kissed her again.

  I let her go, but held onto her hand and held my other hand out to Brenda and said, “Shall we go?”

  We left the pool with one woman on my left and the other on my right, our hands clasped like very close friends on a walk.

  As we rode the long escalator to the top level where the driveway and parking lot were, at the top of the hill that the resort was built below, we had to stand one in front of the other. I took the lead.

  I said, “Lisa, have you eaten?”

  She said, “No. I just got off work. I’d love to get something to eat. There’s a place for a snack where we’re going.”

  I said, “Good. You drive.”

  She said, “My car’s not very comfortable. And I’m not authorized to drive your rental. You’ll have to drive.”

  I said, “OK. Did you bring a swimsuit?”

  Lisa was wearing a dress much like Brenda’s. It was light and had straps and went down to her knees. Brenda’s was yellow. Lisa was wearing a black dress with large red floral blossoms on it. It looked great with her black hair. She was carrying a large purse that looked like it had room for a change of clothes.

  She said, “I did.”

  I said, “Good.”

  We walked out to the expansive parking lot and found my rental car. It was a mid-sized sport utility and comfortable for most driving around the island, including light off-road travel.

  When we got to the car, Lisa went around to the driver’s side facing away from the hotel or any people that might be around. Standing and facing me, she sighed.

  She said, “I’m going to do something. It’s what we are doing. I don’t know how it’s going to work. I know that it’s going to work somehow or my life doesn’t mean anything and never will. Mr. Jackson, if you will take a moment and approve my attire before we go?”

  With that request, Lisa hiked up her dress to her waist and waited.

  Brenda gasped and said, “Lisa, what are you doing? Are you flashing Ronny?”

  Lisa said in a frustrated tone, “No. Don’t you get anything? I’m presenting myself for inspection! I’m not hiding anything and he wants to know that.”

  Then to me, she said, “Sir?”

  I said, “Thank you, Lisa. That’s fine. Brenda isn’t wearing anything either. Thank you for this gift. I want to honor your openness and your acceptance of our developing circumstances. I could say that you didn’t have to do that, but we both know that it was what we wanted. I want you to know that I accept it as an honor and commitment and I will treasure and never abuse your trust. I’m overwhelmed.”

  Lisa grinned, suddenly shy, and I kissed her. This time there was a little more tenderness and emotional content than there had been beside the pool.

  Lisa turned to Brenda and said simply, “Brenda, you need to shave.”

  Brenda said, “I shaved this morning.”

  Lisa said, “Not enough. You can leave a little fuzz, but the bulk has to go. Show me,” and she nodded at Brenda’s legs.

  Brenda said, “Hang on. When did Ronny tell you that you had to show him if you were wearing panties?”

  Lisa said, “No one told me that I had to do anything.”

  Brenda said, “OK, then where did you get permission?”

  Lisa said, “I got his consent when I did it and he accepted me like that. Or earlier when he kissed me at the pool. I don’t need permission. Hike up your dress and let me see.”

  Brenda glared at Lisa for a minute and Lisa raised an eyebrow said, “Fine. It’s up to you. I’m trying to help, but if you…”

  Brenda squeaked as if she’d been pinched and quickly pulled her dress up to her waist.

  Lisa said, “See? You’re pretty. You shave just enough to be OK in a high cut swimsuit or panties, which you won’t be wearing very often from now on, but you don’t shave enough to be truly groomed the way that you should be. You trim things, but now you need to act like you’ve been to a salon. Treat your pubic hair the same way you do your face when you get ready in the morning. It’s no less important that you pay attention to how you look down there. Now, it looks like you are pretty much naturally bald along the sides, so it’s only the area below your navel that needs to be trimmed. Take off about half of what you have left from now on. If you need me to help you, I will. And leave your hair color alone. The silver is nice. You’re a grown woman and that color looks good on you.”

  Lisa finished talking and Brenda lowered her dress. Going to the passenger side of the car, I opened the doors for the girls and they climbed in, Brenda in the front seat and Lisa behind her. I knew where the place that Lisa told me go was and didn’t need directions.

  I went to the driver’s seat and we were pulling out of the resort and onto the main road a minute later, me thinking about Lisa showing me her nakedness before getting into my car. She wasn’t a promiscuous woman, I could tell. She had done it, like she’d said, or maybe I said, as an act of commitment t
o what she felt was happening. To the adventure that we were on. That was confirmed a minute later.

  Brenda said, “Lisa, um, I’m just curious. You don’t have to say anything. I mean, of course you don’t, so please don’t be mad at me or anything, but um, why did you…I mean, how did you decide to do that…that standing for inspection thing?”

  Lisa said, “You want the thinking behind that? OK. It was like this. You needed clothes. There’s something going on here. We all know it. We don’t have to talk about it. When it became clear that I was going to take you shopping, because you don’t know how to shop for yourself right now, and I don’t blame you by the way so don’t feel hurt, you’ve been through a lot, but when it was decided that I was going to take charge of dressing you, that made me part of this. I made the decision to join the crew of this adventure. I didn’t know what would happen, but I wanted to be ready. To be in uniform. And to me, that meant no undies. I knew that you weren’t wearing any, and based on what I know of you, that meant that Ronny told you not to. Probably because he wanted that kind of vulnerability between the two of you. I want to be part of that. It feels right. When Ronny kissed me, I knew I was accepted and welcome to take my place. And I don’t know exactly what that is either.”

  Brenda whispered, as if to herself, “Who’s lying now?”

  Lisa said, “Sweetie, we can know what we know and not know anything at all. Part of me knows what it knows. That doesn’t mean that it has told the other parts of me or that I believe what it tells me. Anyway, when I got kissed, I knew that what was happening was truly happening. And I don’t know what that is exactly, but I’m part of it. So, I’m part of the crew, and as part of the crew, the captain needs to inspect me and know what I bring to the table and that I’m ready to serve in my role, whatever he decides that will be.”

  Brenda asked, “Were you in the military?”

  Lisa said, “For one tour, yes. Take the road to the right. Bypass the center of town. Here’s my background and vitals. I am 53. Never married. I was a cheerleader in high school. Went to the army. Never promoted beyond private. I worked in an office. I studied logistics and analysis. I was good at it but it wasn’t my career. After I got out, I worked in another office for a big construction company. I hated it. About 15 years ago, I came here. I was part of the management of one of the resorts that was being built. It went bankrupt. I stayed.”

  Brenda said, “So no kids? What about a boyfriend?”

  Lisa said, “What do you think? I gave that up over ten years ago. There was never a point.”

  Brenda said, “Until today?”

  Lisa said again, less sarcastically this time, “What do you think?”

  I pulled into the open-air mall that Lisa wanted us to go to and found a spot to park. Her first destination was a shoe shop. A nice pair of walking sandals was purchased for Brenda and we moved on to a place that had women’s dresses. Lisa chose one and after having Brenda try it and agreed that we’d take it, we moved on from there as well. The next place sold traditional wrap dresses. The kind that was just a piece of fabric that could be worn and tied in several different ways: as a strapless dress, a skirt, or a beach cover-up. Brenda had no idea how to wear it so Lisa modeled it for us. I told her to get one for herself. She didn’t argue for an instant.

  Lisa was about 5-foot-6. She was taller and slimmer than Brenda. Her hips were narrower and her breasts were smaller. Probably a C-Cup if my guess was right at all. When we sat down at an outdoor grill, I saw that she had really nice legs.

  As Lisa ate and Brenda and I drank some tea, Brenda and Lisa chatted. Brenda filled in the gaps in what Lisa had already guessed about her, about her divorce and such. Lisa talked a bit more about never having much interest in men and the various jobs that she had done since moving to the island. She told Brenda that she wasn’t a virgin but might as well have been, but she didn’t explain what she meant by that.

  I said, “Lisa?” but she cut me off and answered before I asked my question.

  She said, “I live alone. I own a small condo at the resort. One of the wings is owner condos that most people rent out. I live in mine. It’s tiny. The bed pulls out of the sofa. It’s paid off. It’s just a studio. The occupancy for rentals is low. The hotel rooms are nicer and the people who rent them for vacation tend to be families with kids. My place is too small for that and that’s fine with me. I manage the beachwear shop, but I can take a vacation or quit, and if I don’t care about a reference, I don’t need to give two weeks notice. I think that’s the pertinent parameters. Let me know the plan when you have one.”

  We sat for a minute, me smiling and happy because I had no idea exactly where all of this was going to go and the adventure excited me.

  Lisa added, “Oh, and the reason I was single all this time was because my requirements are also a best friend, a wonderful supporting companion, and mind-blowing sexual excitement. I figure without it, you’re just roommates. Brenda, when was the last time you had great sex?”

  Brenda didn’t blush as she told Lisa about our walk on the beach.

  I thought it was very appropriate that the topics of conversation were things like that. Things that mattered. Things that we had some influence over right now. Yes, we could have talked about what was happening and what we might do after this, but all that would do, if anything, was put a stop to something. Something possibly wonderful. We had no control over the forces throwing us together. All we could do would be to resist them. None of us wanted to do that.

  Our next stop needed to be a place for Brenda to get a bra. Lisa insisted that she wouldn’t need them often, not walking around the resort, but when we went for a more active outing, hiking, a zip-line excursion, or something like that, some amount of support for Brenda’s shapely breasts was going to make it more comfortable.

  Lisa said, “I would have sent you to a specialty shop, but since I’m with you, we can just go to the other mall. It will be cheaper and I can pick out what you’ll wear.”

  Brenda said, “That still irks me just a little.”

  Lisa said, “That I think that you’ll wear what I tell you?”

  Brenda nodded.

  Lisa smiled as she said, “But you will, so get over it. Pretending that it’s some other way is wasteful. And you know what? I hadn’t thought about this, but the truth is, I won’t allow it. You will dress the way I dress you and you will shave the way I tell you and you will cut your hair the way I want you to. And you know why? Because Ronny deserves it. That’s right. If you are going to be with him, then by gosh you’re going to dress the part. He’s a trophy husband in the most positive sense of the word and I will be damned if I’m going to let that go to waste. You get in the car acting like an empress or you can walk home from here!”

  Brenda smiled and said, “Yes Ma’am!”

  Then, more seriously, she said, “So, Lisa, you’re really coming with us? Like all the way?”

  Lisa said, “What do you think? He kissed me and welcomed me. And you didn’t complain. You want me to be part of this. It’s like we work best together and we needed each other to be with Ronny. I’m not going to worry about how. That’s Ronny’s thing to work out, not ours. Brenda, I am going to love you.”

  The shopping center with the bigger stores that would have a selection of bras and lingerie was back in the direction of the resort. It was a newer development and looked a lot more like a mall than a tourist shopping area. There were department stores and restaurants. Lisa took us to one with a good-sized women’s wear section.

  Marching straight to the lingerie department, Lisa went to the back wall and chose two soft stretchy bras for Brenda. They were both white. These only came in white, black, and tan. They were nice sports bra type things. Then she dragged Brenda to a section with sheer lace and chose something more feminine and frilly. It was pink and yellow and mostly see-through. She put one with wires and another without in the hand-held shopping basket that I carried for her. Matching very high cut panti
es were added on top of that. Brenda didn’t even ask about trying them on.

  Lisa then chose a white satin G-string and a pair of crotchless pantyhose.

  I said, “Lisa, are you forgetting something?”

  Lisa frowned and looked around to see if she had missed anything.

  I said, “That stuff is all in Brenda’s size.”

  Lisa said quickly, “Oh, stupid me. Some of this is so clear to me and some of it keeps getting away. Yes, Sir. I’ll find what you want.”

  Lisa went back to the frilly bra and panties section and bought a set that was identical but in a size for herself. From there, I followed her and Brenda to the nightgowns.

  Lisa didn’t ask any questions. She picked a very light fabric nightshirt for each of them, a lace chemise in white and another in baby blue, and matching Baby doll nighties, one yellow and one green. Then she turned back and got herself a pair of the crotchless pantyhose. And she chose two more pair in a different color.

  Whispering to Brenda, she said, “He will have elegance at his side and though people might suspect, only he will actually know that he could have his way with either of us without bothering to rip off our panties. We’ll save money by not making him destroy our underwear unless he really wants to.”

  Brenda protested, saying, “Lisa, for pity’s sake, I’m feeling wet enough as it.”

  As the clerk totaled up our purchases, Lisa said to Brenda, “So, are you settled? About what’s happening? About me? And about you and Ronny?”

  Brenda said, “Yes. It was a shock at first, but we talked when we left you this morning and decided that if it happened, there wasn’t much that any of us could do about it. He’s an uncommon man and that’s what we both need. Lisa, I’m going to love you. You are welcome with us. I never ever expected this, but I see the fact that it has to be this way. He says that love at first sight happens and it’s our responsibility not to fight it and destroy what’s being created. Welcome to um, to the Jackson family, I guess.”

  Lisa said, “It turns you on. Don’t fight it. Any tips that you’ve learned so far that you can share with me?”