Chapter 17

Wednesday 5th August

Lauren naturally spent the early part of the week bringing Nikki up to date with her exploits at the studio, revealing more and more of the details as Nikki subjected her to relentless questioning. In fact, by the end of Tuesday, Nikki said that the afternoon sounded like a story of fairy-tale romance; Champagne, bright lights and beautiful people. However, Lauren’s narrative was enough to provide Nikki with a graphic picture of the afternoon and a noticeable damp spot between her legs as she sat crossed-legged on the bed in a very un-ladylike fashion. Clearly, Lauren had added a certain bias towards the romantic side, but in truth, it had turned out to be one of the most enjoyable days of her young life. She had even managed to get Jim’s phone number, and had it written on her hand and committed to memory before the train left the station. As she told and retold her story to Nikki, so she looked forward to the rest of the holidays and the other events that were scheduled to take place.

Lauren and Nikki spent Tuesday together shopping for clothes and shoes. Lauren had been dragged from her bed at eleven o’clock by Nikki and pushed out of the door towards the bus stop to the applause of her mother. The girls each bought a pair of shoes; Nikki had needed a new pair of trainers while Lauren had been looking for something suitable for AnneMarie Grob’s wedding. With the shoes purchased all that remained was to make sure that the dress fitted.

So on Wednesday morning, after a long shower, Lauren sat in the big armchair in the lounge, wearing her old jeans and a red T-Shirt (from her grandmother two summers earlier) with a big picture of Winnie the Pooh emblazoned across its front. Her legs curled underneath her as she picked up the telephone carefully, watching it as she lifted it to her ear. She looked up the phone number in the local directory and dialed, cupping the receiver and turning away from the door.

“Hi, it’s Lauren. Just wondered when I should come round.” She looked briefly at the television, as though she might see the Kristal’s picture appear, then across to the door, and over to the window. “Sure, it’s ready?” she said quietly. “OK, how about just before midday? Fine, see you soon”.

Lauren replaced the receiver and stared at it, replaying every word of the conversation, analysing the innuendo and inflections for signs of hidden meaning. There were none. She climbed the stairs, and shut the bedroom door behind her. She convinced herself that she would just go over there, get the dress, make sure it was the right size, and be back for a late lunch. She had thought long and hard about their last encounter, and although it still made her feel good just to think of it, she now had a boyfriend who meant a great deal to her. She was determined to avoid any repetition of the last time, and anyway, she thought, it was unnecessary since Jim would be calling her soon and she wanted to wait until then before orgasming, just in case, as some of the girls said at school, she couldn’t manage it because she was doing it too much.

She lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling, contemplating the journey over to Kristal’s house. She rolled onto her side and looked out of the window, over the tops of the trees in the garden to the peaks of the mountains beyond. They looked so clean, so untouched as the sun shone on the caps of snow, waiting to be explored by anyone who dared to venture that far. She rolled onto her stomach and looked at her clock. Eight- thirty was ridiculously early in her mind to be up during the school holidays. She decided to start her school project, entitled “The Incas”. That, she thought, was going to be very useful in later life. Immersing herself in one of the books that she had found in the library, she curled up on her bed and started to learn about their civilization. Although she would hate to admit it to anyone, she hardly looked up from the pages as she became absorbed in their way of life. She discovered that the Incas were advanced in so many ways, and yet had failed to discover the wheel and had no method of writing. But their buildings were amazing, feats of engineering that would be hard to accomplish in modern times. They ruled by fear and were famous for their ceremonial sacrifices of children, by the hundreds when times were tough, in order to appease the gods. Lauren shut the book and closed her eyes. She found it hard to imagine how someone could sacrifice a child in the name of religion.

Her little clock told her that it was now ten thirty, and she bounded off the bed, pulling off her T-Shirt and jeans and throwing them in a heap on the floor. She pulled on her dressing gown, grabbed her nicest underwear and went into the bathroom to wash. The dressing gown fell to the floor as the door slammed shut. She stared at the reflection in the mirror, stuck out her tongue to see how it looked, and smiled broadly at the mirror much like a chimpanzee might at feeding time. Lauren debated whether to have a shower or just a quick wash. She had already had one this morning, and had hardly got herself dirty by lying on her bed reading the book. Furthermore, if she was only going to quickly try the dress on and come back for lunch, she felt it was unnecessary.

By the time she had finished cleaning her teeth and had brushed her hair, her resolution had withered. She reached for the hot and cold taps, turning each half way. The felt the water warm quickly so she switched the shower on and pulled across the plastic curtain. Her fingers hooked into her knickers and pulled them down to her knees. Absently, she ran her hand over her mound, her fingers finding the little hairs above her pussy, still far fewer than before Nikki had shaved them off, but nonetheless growing back, without any sign of being thick and bushy as she had feared. Her clitoris was well hidden, and the lips of her pussy hid the secrets that lay beyond. She stepped into the shower, took the soap and held it under the flowing water, slowly turning to ensure that the spray wet her all over. Lathering her hands, she replaced the soap and washed her little breasts, checking that each nipple understood it’s duty as she squeezed it gently. The bubbles slipped over her stomach and down her tanned legs, unimpressed by the sight of her teenage vagina and the tiniest flicker of arousal from her pink lips.

Lauren was angry with herself, not because the shower was really unnecessary, but that she knew she would have to fight even harder now to stay out of Kristal’s arms. She recalled the last time she was there, the seduction that she knew would happen, had even encouraged, and the feeling in her soul on the way home that she had tasted forbidden fruit, the juice still on her hands and face. She stopped soaping herself as she recalled licking her fingers in the bus, tasting once again Kristal’s sex, inhaling deeply as she held her hands to her nose. Absently, she brought her fingers to her nose, breathing in the sweet soapy smell. Replenishing the bubbles, she bent forward and rather than washing her pussy, she inserted the middle finger of her right hand into her little brown hole. The muscle gathered around the intruder, throwing it out with a quick contraction. She ran her finger under the spray and applied more soap, repeating the action until she was satisfied that she was as clean as possible.

After a final wash of her spreading pussy, she rinsed her hands and took the shower head off the hook, running the water between her legs and ensuring that every last inch of her sex was clean. Lauren noted the new sensation of running the shower so close to her bottom and pussy, fascinated by the feeling that was invoked as the jet ran between her pussy lips. Conscious that time was ticking by, she replaced the head and turned off the taps, stepping out of the bath to run the towel between her legs and back up to her nipples. She dried herself fully and pulled on the silky underwear. A thought struck her that she might be able to buy some of the Hardenberg underwear that she had modeled at Marlene’s house. She might even be able to buy it with the money she had earned that day.

Pleased with her thoughts, she bounced back into her bedroom and rifled through her wardrobe to find some suitable clothes. She was irresistibly drawn to a white blouse that she normally wore to formal occasions (Grandma’s birthday, Christmas morning and once to a school dance at her mother’s insistence where she had been taunted by her friends). Today, though, it seemed appropriate. The blouse buttoned down the back, the plain material adorned by lace trim that hid the top button in a small ruffle, echoed on the cuffs. The dark blue skirt that didn’t quite reach her knees also went well, even if she did look like an archetypal schoolgirl playing truant. A dab of her mother’s perfume, bare legs and a pair of sandals completed her preparations. She grabbed the shoes that she had bought for the wedding and said good-bye to her mother, explaining she was off to collect her bridesmaids dress from Kristal. Her mother clearly approved as she looked at her daughter, smartly dressed (without being asked) and off out again. As her daughter breezed past her, Daniele Gisal smiled, inhaling the familiar French scent.

Lauren pressed her forehead against the glass and stared out at the scant traffic as the bus trundled through the village and down to the main road. She could see over the white fences of the smaller houses, into the immaculate front gardens and occasionally through doors into the darkness beyond. She saw the old ladies, gathered around their porches in semi-circles, dressed invariably in black, clutching their knitting and chattering to one another as they peered between shawl and white lace. Solitary ladies sat outside other houses and watched her as she passed by in the bus, nodding and noting the activity as they contemplated the unhurried passage of time. She wondered how many passengers had passed by them that morning, how many had been interesting to them, how many looked like the thousands of people each of them must have seen during their lives, receiving only a glance before being forgotten forever. What twist of fate, she thought, should have brought them together at that point in time, to see, consider and forget.

Her melancholy disappeared as the dismal little industrial area gave way to the brightness of the town where even the traffic lights added to the feeling of life and activity. A group of teenage boys gathered outside the tobacconist’s shop, joking and flirting as they shared cigarettes and traded anecdotes about their girlfriends. Lauren turned to her right and looked up the High Street as the bus crossed the lights and started its journey back out into the countryside. Her attention turned towards the morning’s activity and Kristal. She leaned back in the seat and ran through the likely events that would take place once she arrived. She had intended last night, and even this morning, to check the dress and return home quickly. But the half-hour journey warranted a longer stay. She found Kristal interesting, mainly because she had been married and had a great deal of information about boys and men that she would willingly share. She still remembered their afternoon together, and the gentle, warming attention that she had received, coupled with the absence of any sort of demand for reciprocation. Lauren smiled, mentally cuddling Kristal on the sofa as a way of expressing her thanks for the dress and education. That was about as far as it would go; she would tell her about Jim and explain that she had now found a boyfriend who meant a great deal to her.

The bus jerked to a halt bringing Lauren back to reality with the realisation that she had arrived. She hurried to the exit and jumped down onto the pavement, aware that the back of her short skirt had billowed like a parachute as she landed. Skipping up the lane, she looked into the distance and saw Kristal’s house, set back from the road and carefully landscaped to be hidden from its neighbours by trees and the natural shape of the mountain rock. As she approached the house, she took a closer look at it than she had on her previous visit. Each of the houses was set in its own grounds, and separated by about thirty meters from the next. All of the houses were traditionally styled Swiss- chalets, with brown vertical boarding on the outside and large over-hanging roofs that held ornate dormer-style shuttered windows for the upstairs bedrooms. The majority - including Kristal’s - had large balconies that stretched all the way from the front round to the rear, some even including decks or patios into their design where the mountain allowed. A mixture of deciduous and coniferous trees surrounded the properties, contrasting the massive expanse of grass that covered the land as far as the eye could see.

The sun was oppressively hot and beat down on Lauren’s arms and legs as she climbed the gentle slope. It was quite different weather than the previous few days when it had drizzled and felt more like September. By the time she had arrived at Kristal’s front door, she was hot, dusty and her heart beat with the exercise and in anticipation of their encounter.

“Hi, Lauren! Come on in” said Kristal warmly, leaving Lauren to shut the door as she walked across to the cutting table. Lauren followed her, pleased to feel cooler inside and not surprised to see that the door leading to the patio was open, a breeze blowing the curtains slightly. A stylish blue and white patio set of chairs, table and umbrella had been placed outside.

“Hey, it’s nice and cool in here. I got so hot walking from the bus stop to here!”

“Sit down and rest a while. Coffee, tea?” said Kristal, looking down at the bag in Lauren’s hand as she padded towards the kitchen. She had clearly been sunbathing outside, and Lauren guessed she had just pulled on the long T-Shirt over her bikini bottoms to look a little more respectable for her arrival.

“Any Cola?” asked Lauren.

“Sure, take a seat.” said Kristal, motioning her to the sofa. “How’s your summer holiday?”

“Fine.”. Lauren looked around the large room. The pink and red colour scheme brought back memories of their previous encounter, adding in Lauren’s mind to the tension of the present first few minutes. She was torn between mentioning Jim and giving Kristal a big hug. Without the experience to resolve it, Lauren continued to sit, looking down at her knees and toying with the bag.

“There you go.” she said, returning from the kitchen with two long drinks. “Did you find any that matched the material?” she asked, pointing at the bag.

Lauren extracted the box and handed it to her. Kristal smiled, carefully opening it and taking out the pale yellow shoes.

“Hey, they should be great. Want to take a look at your outfit?”

“You mean now? Oh, OK” said Lauren.

They stood and walked over to the cutting table, where Kristal had neatly folded the bodice and skirt and separated them with tissue paper. She picked up the top and held it against Lauren, leaning from side to side to check that the shoulders looked in proportion. She then held the skirt against her to make sure that it looked similar at least to the blue skirt that Lauren already wore.

“Well, no major mistakes so far! At least it looks about right!”

Both girls knew that the next step would be to try them on and do a final check, although that would mean that Lauren would have to strip to her underwear.

“But we can do that any old time” said Kristal quickly.

Lauren smiled, and felt the material with her fingers. Both parts were a very pale blue, while just the jacket had a beautiful lining of off-white silk. She raised the silk to her face, feeling it glide smoothly over her lips. She looked at Kristal and blinked before returning to the sofa.

“So, what’s been happening?”

“Nothing much. Well, actually, quite a lot. Oh yeah! I have a boyfriend. Well, I suppose he’s my boyfriend. I met him on the way to here last time, and he actually called me. We’ve been out a couple of times and he’s met my mum and all that!”

“Wow, that’s great” said Kristal, looking genuinely delighted for her. She questioned her for several minutes causing Lauren to go into raptures about his experiences abroad and how much her mother liked him. It also helped to relieve the tension that Lauren had felt, or thought she had felt when she walked into the house. Now that Kristal knew about Jim she hoped that their love making two weeks before would be put into perspective. Lauren turned towards Kristal as they sat on the sofa, curling her legs underneath herself and leaning on the back of the cushions.

“Oh, I called AnneMarie, and all her old friends are going to have a hen-night at the Rubens Hotel.” said Kristal.

“Hey, that’s the hotel that my friend’s father manages”

“Really? Well, we like it because some of the rooms have whirlpool tubs, and you can bring your own videos to watch. It’s expensive but a great place to go once or twice a year, just for the weekend. It’ll be just like old times. We used to have two or three rooms between eight or ten of us, and we’d have a party for the whole of the weekend. Just us girls! I really hope that AnneMarie gets in the mood, just for old times sake!”

Lauren could imagine Kristal, coaxing the other girls on, splashing in the big baths. She could also see her there, lying on the bed, or kneeling in the bath, receiving attention from other girls as they adored her gorgeous body. She smiled knowingly, understanding now how AnneMarie had got to know Kristal, and realising the great change that must have taken place in AnneMarie’s life quite recently.

“That’ll be fun. Where do these films come from?” she asked, thinking back to her one and only encounter with pornographic movies.

“One or two of the girls seem to be able to get hold of them, I’m not too sure. Most I think are from America or Germany.”

“Hmm, I saw one once and didn’t really like it.” said Lauren, anxious to have Kristal treat her as an equal. “It was OK to start with but got a bit nasty.”

“You don’t need that. Look at you! You just have to walk down a street and you find yourself a boyfriend!” she said, laughing, reaching out to touch her shoulder. Lauren leaned her head on Kristal’s shoulder, curling up a little as she made herself comfortable.

“Didn’t you feel petrified that you would never be loved, or would never find a husband?”

“Sometimes, but it didn’t concern me that much. It’s difficult to remember though when I first thought about that sort of thing.”

“I sometimes think that I would die without Jim, and yet I know I’m only fifteen. This summer has been so weird. So much has happened. And I feel that I’ve joined this new club where only people who know about sex are allowed in. Like there’s an entrance exam!”

“And you passed easily!” Kristal paused, looking into her eyes. She held out her hands to Lauren. “You’re probably feeling stressed from it all”

“What? My father says that he’s stressed, but I don’t have a job to do that to me!”

“Yes, but you have other things. Believe me, there are a lot of changes taking place inside you, and it all takes its toll”

“You think so?”

“Lean back onto my lap and I’ll rub your head. It’ll help you relax and sort out your thoughts. Just talking sometimes helps to sort them out, you know.”

Lauren turned so that her legs draped over the arms of the sofa. With her caution abandoned, she rested her lead on Kristal’s legs as the fingers started to gently knead her temples. Thoughts about restraint, visiting only twenty minutes and being home for lunch fled back into her head, only to be cast out again for their impudence.

For several minutes, Lauren lay there is silence, marveling as she relaxed under the hypnotic spell of Kristal’s fingers as they imparted their magic. Slowly, calmly, the fingers moved to her shoulders, thumbs pushing into her back, easing the muscles and spreading a glow in her upper body.

“You know, I’m not surprised” said Kristal, continuing her massage. “Think about all the new things you’re learning. Every time you push your experience a little further, there is such a tremendous reward that the sheer excitement probably tires you out.”

“Hmm”

“But what would be worse would be to deny yourself all the experimentation, just because you find it tiring! I just wish I had discovered men and women at your age, and really found out all about them. I wish I had been able to try something new every day, even if it was just talking to someone new”

“Hmm. I suppose you’re right. Like you rubbing my back, you mean?” said Lauren, sleepily.

“Yes, it’s new and now you know whether you like it or not. That’s progress.”

“I love it. For God’s sake don’t stop!”

“I won’t” said Kristal, laughing and running her fingers under Lauren’s chin and around her neck.

Lauren nestled deeper between Kristal’s legs, ensuring that Kristal understood that she had permission to continue further.

“You know, you should try the top on and make sure that it fits.” said Kristal.

“Hmm, I know.” said Lauren, making no effort to move.

“Shall I help you?”

“That would be nice.”

Kristal reached down to her cuffs and undid the little buttons, allowing the sleeves to ride up her arms. She then found the buttons at her neck and started undoing them, slowly and carefully, one by one, as she continued to rub her neck and shoulders. Lauren bent her left leg, placing her foot on the arm of the sofa so that her skirt barely covered her knickers. She turned her head towards Kristal’s bikini bottoms and kissed her, gently licking her leg as she probed with her tongue.

“Are you recovering yet?” asked Kristal as she leaned back on the sofa.

“A little bit”

“Really, it’s not surprising that you feel tense.” She paused for a few moments as Lauren continued to kiss her through her bikini. “Can I ask you something?”

“I don’t know. What?”

“Did you lose you virginity recently - I mean, could that be part of the stress?”

“Yes I did, just after I came here last time”

“Oh, Lauren, you sweet thing.” she said, pulling her tight against her. You mean you were a virgin when we had our bath?”

“Yes, I suppose I was.”

Kristal exhaled deeply, pulling Lauren closer to her so that her face was buried between her legs.

“You’re adorable. That’s so nice” said Kristal.

Lauren continued to explore the limited space that she had, savouring the growing scent of the girl as she licked and ran her tongue over the material. Kristal became more adventurous, rubbing her fingers over the nipples that pushed freely against the silky material of Lauren’s blouse.

“Hey, I’ve got a present for you” said Kristal

“For me?”

“Hmm, wait there”

Kristal laid her head on the sofa and smiled fondly as she turned and walked towards her bedroom. Lauren frowned and watched her tanned legs disappear round the corner. Kristal returned almost immediately with a beautifully wrapped box, complete with a festoon of ribbons and two large bows. Lauren smiled as she took the box and gave it a gentle shake.

“What is it?”

“You’ll have to open it and find out!”

Lauren pulled at the ribbon, careful not to ruin the decoration or the wrapping paper. Inside was a white box marked Dior. She looked at Kristal in astonishment.

“For me?”

“Sure, open it”

Lauren lifted the lid and stared at the contents. Even though they were wrapped in delicate tissue paper, there was no mistaking the silvery silk underwear.