ON THE CUSP

I saw a girl, older,

And on the cusp of womanhood

Who would make me a man 

IT TOOK A MINUTE

 

It took a minute, or less,

To pick you from the crowd

Within an hour, I truly knew

What a special person you were

By the end of that first day

I had fallen in love with you

Now at the end of your last day I know

It will take a lifetime to forget you

Those Memories Made on Teardrop Lake – (58) Room Service

 

James Ruddock was a 25 year old singleton and was what they used to call a twitcher, although nowadays they prefer to be called birders and he was staying at the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel at the head of Teardrop Lake.

The view of the lake from the Hotel was spectacular.

The lake was shaped like a teardrop, hence its name, and surrounded by the ancient woodland of the Dancingdean Forrest.

It wasn’t a huge body of water, just over two miles long and almost a mile at its widest point.

It was beautiful and relatively unspoilt which was the reason he chose it.

A lot of avid bird watchers gravitated to the Finchbottom Vale and the Dancingdean Forest in particular.

Teardrop Lake and the surrounding woodland was privately owned and divided into twelve parcels of land, each with one significant dwelling on it, although there were a number of cottages dotted around as well, some in use and some not. 

It was both idyllic and peaceful, there was little or no noise pollution and although the lake was used there no speed boats or jet skis, only rowing boats, canoes, dinghies and skiffs.

 

James was a bit of a loaner so birdwatching was the perfect hobby for him.

He would have preferred not to be such a loaner but unfortunately he was a bit socially awkward, but the main reason he was alone was because he was shy and preferred to go unnoticed which is difficult to do when you’re 6ft 4 with flaming red hair. 

On his fifth day by the lake he was up bright and early and headed up into the woods around the Lake and was heading for lover leap.

It was a rocky promontory which was a location that had been recommended to him. 

Anna at the Hotel had given him a number of popular birding sites and after he had spent a couple of hours up at Lovers Leap including the small clearing where a Green Woodpecker had been sited. 

But what he found waiting for him in the clearing, sitting on a blanket was Anna herself.

He moved a little closer and was about to ask her to direct him back to the path to civilization when she stood up and took off her dress to reveal a yellow bikini.

“Oh my” he said to himself as he studied a most interesting scene.

“This is much better than a Green Woodpecker” he said to himself “Much better”

It wasn’t the usual type of bird he was spotting for but it was a rare sighting indeed.

It was his habit to write down his more exotic sighting in his little book and he had nothing in his book to equal Anna.

 

Looking beyond the figure of Anna he could see there was a well-defined path which he thought if he followed would lead him back to Shallowfield as he was ready for his lunch.

It had been a very pleasant diversion from birdwatching but he wasn’t comfortable to spy on her further.

Anna was a year or two younger than James straight brown hair and a rather plain, heavily freckled face, but lovely blue eyes, a cute nose and a thin-lipped smile.

However he still had the problem of getting back to Shallowfield without crossing the clearing or being seen by Anna and it was as he was pondering this problem that Anna turned around and looked directly at him and smiled, and then she gestured him to join her.

 

“I’m so sorry” he said as he approached “I didn’t mean to look”

“That’s alright you were meant to” she retorted

“Wwhat?” he stammered

“I’ve been trying to get your attention all week” she said and slithered up to him and embraced him and when the kiss was over she said

“Now don’t you think that’s better than bird watching?”

“Oh yes definitely” he replied and leant in for another helping and thought.

“This is definitely going in the book”

 

After Anna had successfully lured James to the clearing in the Dancingdean Forest and they shared an extended period of kissing Anna suddenly broke away when her phone alarm went off and she said

“Sorry I have to dash”

“What? Now?”

“I’m afraid so or I’m going to be late for work” Anna explained as she slipped her dress back on. 

“Can I walk back with you?” he asked

“You better had” she retorted “but no kissing and cuddling at the Hotel, canoodling with the guests isn’t allowed” 

So when they got back they just said goodbye and he didn’t see her anymore that day. 

 

The next morning he wasn’t up very early because he had been laying in his bed thinking about the meeting with Anna on the previous day in the Dancingdean Forest and more importantly trying to figure out when he would get to kiss her again.

And it was with those thoughts about kissing the girl in the yellow bikini that he decided he would take a shower and then go in search of her.

However just as he got midway between the bed and the bathroom the maid, receptionist, waitress and all round dogs body Anna Hunt suddenly appeared at the door.

“I’m sor…” she began as she realized the room wasn’t vacant but stopped and stared at him as he stood in front of her in his boxers.

And there they stood for an indeterminate time, Anna fully dressed and James in his pants.

“I thought you’d gone already” she explained whilst still staring at him.

“I slept in” he said strangely feeling no embarrassment under her gaze and in fact the opposite was true and he found it rather exciting and when she stepped inside the room and closed the door the excitement grew.

Anna walked slowly yet purposefully towards him and she flicked her eyes up and made the briefest contact with his, enough to cause her to blush but not enough to prevent her from returning her gaze immediately to his semi naked body.

Then she continued walking towards him and wrapped herself around him and kissed his chest and worked upwards until she found his mouth, which he didn’t resist but stopped after a few moments.

“No don’t stop” Anna said

“But I thought there wasn’t supposed to be any kissing and cuddling at the Hotel” he pointed out, evading her lips

“Shut up and kiss me” she demanded

“Canoodling with the guests isn’t allowed” he reiterated “you told me that”

“I’m not canoodling with a guest, I’m snogging my boyfriend” she said

“Oh well if you put it that way then pucker up” he said and kissed her

A TRUE LOVE

 

Our love is a true love,

An everlasting for-

ever love, our true love

WE ARE SEPARATE NOW

 

We are separate now,

Irrevocably apart

So why do you refuse

To leave my broken heart

I CHANGED ON THAT DAY

 

I changed on that day

For the whole world to see

When I asked you out

And you didn’t flee

You wernt rude to me

Or laugh hysterically

Instead you smiled

And then said yes to me

And I changed again

For the whole world to see

When I said I love you

And you said you loved me

Those Memories Made on Teardrop Lake – (57) Birthday Girl

 

Lizet Joubert and Andrea Lupo lived together in a two bedroom flat above a parade of shops in Shallowfield and apart from the fact they were both 30 years old and female they had absolutely nothing in common at all.

Lizet was French and was a doctor at the Dancingdean Health Centre in the village and Andrea was Italian and was a hairdresser at Mazzone’s in the parade of shops she lived above.

Apart from their different careers they also liked different food, listened to different music and wore different clothes.

The flat was owned by Mazzone’s and Andrea and another girl from the shop, Isabella, split the rent but when Izzy got married it left Andrea in a hole, so she put an advert in the Chronicle and Lizet was the only applicant and apart from the fact they were complete opposites they had lived together for 18 months and it had worked out perfectly well.

 

Lizet was tall and slender with brown hair and dark eyes and she made Andrea cross because she didn’t make the best of what she had, she didn’t go overboard with makeup and wore clothes that she was comfortable in rather than what made her look good.

Andrea had far less to work with, she was shorter, plainer and chubbier than her flatmate with mousy hair and a big nose but she

always looked immaculate, which hadn’t gone unnoticed by Lizet.

Not that Andrea was aware of that fact until the day after her birthday.   

 

On Andrea’s birthday Lizet had been on a 48 hours stint at the health centre, due to a flu epidemic that had depleted the staff numbers and had been out after work for a few well-earned drinks and as a result she had come home much the worse for drink.

Andrea was in the bath when she returned and when she came out she was wearing a towelling bathrobe and a towel turban on her head. 

On seeing her flatmate all freshly scrubbed and pink Lizet immediately rushed towards her. 

“Joyeux anniversaire mon cher” she said and threw her arms around Andrea exaggeratedly and hugged her

“Thanks Lizet” she replied and hugged her back

Lizet however didn’t release her grip on the little mousy Italian girl and in addition began nuzzling her neck.

Andrea felt a little awkward but didn’t really understand what she was doing, that is until she started chewing her earlobe.

“I don’t...” she began but in response Lizet’s lips were over hers and her tongue immediately explored her flat mate’s mouth.

Andrea was shocked as she had never been kissed by a girl before and she certainly didn’t expect it from Lizet and as far as she was aware she had given her no encouragement or indication that she was that way inclined, which she wasn’t.

But despite all of that Andrea still found her tongue was exploring Lizet’s mouth with equal enthusiasm, and encouraged by her response Lizet untied the belt on Andrea’s robe and her mind was in a turmoil, She wanted to stop but she couldn’t, all of her life sex had always left her cold, and unmoved with no heat or passion but after Lizet had delivered Sappho’s kiss she was on fire.

She had always put down her indifference to the act, to a low sex drive but as she and her flat mate embraced she wondered if in reality if she could have been driving in the wrong direction all those years, was it conceivable that the secret of her sexuality was finally unlocked.

It was the first time she had felt such a kiss, the first time she’d felt that way in response to a kiss, but it had never occurred to her that she might be gay.

“Nonsense” she said in her head “I like George Clooney”

Yet her tongue still busied itself inside Lizet’s mouth as her flatmates hands were inside Andrea’s robe and then those hands fondled her breasts and all thought of protestations were dispelled from her mind and she emitted a moan akin to a purr and she finally knew her true self.