Chapter 13

We were getting ready to go out that evening and I decided I'd try again to make amends. "Kelly, I'm sorry about this morning. I didn't mean it to sound as if I didn't want to have sex with you. I do!"

She was rather offhand. "You have a funny way of showing it, Ben! Anyway, it doesn't matter. I'm hardly likely to go short, am I?"

Still hoping that it did matter, I went into the bathroom to take a shower. I was drying myself when I walked back into the bedroom. Kelly, who had showered ahead of me, had combed her hair up in that enchanting style and was wearing another halter neck dress, this one in pale blue cotton. She was sitting on the edge of the bed applying a deep blue nail polish to her toenails. Her knee was up by her chin and it was clear that she was not wearing any underwear. "Aren't you putting any knickers on?" I asked.

"Why, do you think I should? I thought you liked it when I went without. Would you rather I put some on?"

"No Kelly, of course not."

I suppose it was an idiotic thing to have asked. Why should she wear any? It has always been a turn on for me to know she was naked under her dress and I could not imagine Carl complaining. There was a knock on the door and the man himself came in. He was wearing a green checked casual shirt and black chinos. Kelly carried on applying the polish.

"Hello, Kelly", he said, " You look nice!" He looked at me and grinned. "Evening, Ben!"

Kelly affected surprise. "Oh it's you, Carl. I didn't recognise you with your clothes on!" She stood up, still smiling at her own joke. The dress length was halfway up her thigh. As she moved the halter neck revealed in a most tantalising way the sides of her breasts. "Well, how do I look?" she asked us both.

I told her that she looked stunning and kissed her. She put her arms around my neck and the hem of her dress rose to reveal the very tops of her legs and the beginning of the soft curves of her buttocks. Carl, who was standing behind her, was afforded a delightful view.

We drove down to the harbour in Carl's car. It was a two-door job and Kelly volunteered to climb in the back. I gave her a helping hand, or more accurately a helping finger. She was very wet. It was only a ten minutes drive to the harbour and we were soon parked. It was a beautiful balmy evening with just the barest hint of a breeze. A large number of people were already milling around. Carl led the way into the restaurant. The building itself was not very big but there was a reasonable sized terrace on which there were a number of tables, most of which were already occupied. Carl spoke to a waiter and he led us to the one unoccupied table that overlooked the water's edge. There was a reserved sign on it and he promptly removed it. Kelly sat down, carefully holding the hem of her dress. I sat next to her and Carl sat opposite us both.

I looked at the harbour, observing the boats gently rising and falling in the almost imperceptible swell. They ranged in size from small fishing boats to large cabin cruisers, from boats that looked barely sea-worthy to luxurious gin palaces with every conceivable extra. On some of the latter, people could be seen sitting on deck with drinks in hand, ostensibly ignoring, but perhaps secretly enjoying the envious looks of the ordinary tourists who were trying to ascertain if such ostentatious wealth belonged to anyone they might recognise, a pop-star or a captain of industry. I watched a rather dilapidated fishing boat leave the harbour and I wondered how many hours would pass before it would return.