Chapter 3: Road Trip

"I don't need women like you on my base." The base commander growled at a contrite looking Kelly Farmer. "A soldier needs to know that whilst he's serving his country his wife is home behaving herself. Women who carry on like you do are bad for morale, everyone's morale. The other wives wonder if you're after their husband, the husbands wonder if they have a chance, either way it disturbs people, that's why I want you off this base. If I had any choice in the matter I'd ship you off to Germany, but apparently your husband's unit doesn't allow wives or families, so I've found you what appears a natural home for you... Camp Larksville, a place for misfits like you." He didn't attempt to hide the contempt and disgust in his voice. He pushed a manila envelope over his desk towards Kelly.

"You'll find directions, authorisation, they know you're coming... I'm giving you seven days to organise yourself, at the end of which you'll be off this base one way or another... good bye Mrs. Farmer." It was a dismissal; the base commander had given Kelly what he considered to be her marching orders.

"You can't order me anywhere!" Kelly replied in a soft but cold voice. She was seething, how dare he condemn her? He had no say about her private life, that was her own business or did she mean affair?

"I can order you off this base, I have the authority... you can complain to the Inspector General, but that'll take months and I'll be retired before they make their decision, meanwhile you could put up with the stares, the bitching... do you know just how unpopular you are amongst the men's wives? It's your choice, you're off this base in seven days, either go to Larksville or find yourself somewhere that'll accept a tramp like you."

"Tramp!... If your fucking army really cared about families it wouldn't have spilt us up in the first place." Kelly hissed, she was shaking with anger and if she'd have been a man then she'd have decked the arrogant little fart.

"Don't blame the army for your whoring." He snapped back. "This interview is over; now if you're not off this base in seven days, I'll have you forcibly removed... understand... you'll be thrown out... there are a lot of people who'd pay to see that happen. It's your choice Mrs. Farmer"

Kelly said nothing, she bit on her tongue and then swept the envelope up, stood up, turned around and strutted out of his office, she even gave an extra wiggle of her ass, just to annoy him. It was sanctimonious old farts like him who tried to ignore what their soldiers were doing when away from their families. She knew that her husband Lance had a partner and that he hadn't been driven into her arms by anything Kelly had done. Men, it seemed, were the same the world over, they couldn't keep their hands off pussy, any pussy.

As she passed the desk jockey she paused and smiled before saying. "You know soldier, your boss is just full of gas."

The young private looked as if he might say something in reply, but finally settled for a brief shrug. He was like the rest, afraid of the army and what it might do to him.

Kelly sat in her kitchen, the contents of the envelope spread out before her. It wasn't very informative, a little information about the camp, which made it sound like a couple of dozen buildings in the middle of nowhere. The camp had been a world war two creation, more of a watch station against potential Japanese invasion than anything else. At least that meant it was near the ocean, something that Kelly had never seen. Just that fact made up her mind. She had been considering going home to her family, that would have meant listening to her mother crowing over the failure of her marriage and Kelly was way too stubborn to accept that. There had been the option of moving into town but where did that take her? No where, so reluctant though she was Kelly decided that staying on the periphery of the military was her current best bet.

She started to plan the journey. Kelly had never driven further than twenty miles, so the journey to Larksville was by way of an expedition. Larksville, she felt the name was absurd, was she reckoned the better part of eight hundred miles away. She worked out that at fifty miles an hour and driving for four hours, resting for two and then driving for another, say, three hours, it would take her three days to drive there. She would have to find somewhere to sleep, and that might affect her calculations, but if she kept to the highways there would be enough motels to choose from.

Strangely as she planned Kelly found that she wasn't bothered any more about her almost exile. She'd had enough of the camp and she carried to much local baggage to really want to start again. If the camp had rejected Kelly then she had rejected the camp. It would be just a place to sleep for a few more days; and the seven day deadline had finally galvanised her into action. The quicker she moved then the sooner she could start over.

She telegraphed ahead, saying she'd be arriving in five days; that gave her time to pack, have the car checked out and maybe see if Shane was still in the neighbourhood. There was unfinished business, at the least she wanted to know why he'd stopped seeing her without any semblance of an explanation.

She went about things as systematically as she could manage; there was so little furniture that was theirs (hers now, she was really unsure about Lance and herself) that she decided to bequeath the furniture to who ever occupied the place next, all but her radio, that was her link to the world and she'd keep that.

Next was the car, the motor pool checked it out, changing the oil and topping up the water, checking the tires, fan belt. Kelly reckoned she could have done most of that herself. Lance had shown her how to change a flat tire and she always carried an eight inch wrench in the glove compartment. Lance had held to the opinion that she always be prepared to fend for herself.

"A woman as pretty as you will always attract attention." He's said more than once. It was true, the sergeant in charge of the motor pool made a pass at her, but beyond ensuring they did the work, all Kelly did was flirt and tease. People had her wrong, she didn't fuck with any one, she wasn't easy, she choose her partner that was why including her husband she had only had sex with three men, Lance, Shane and Ellis. It was that knowledge that made her angry, she was no camp tramp, and three men in almost twenty one years was nothing, nothing!

It had however been six weeks since Ellis had been transferred and that had meant six weeks without male company, which was long enough with only her fingers for company. Kelly still didn't know if her feelings were normal, her mother had never talked about sex and as the oldest daughter there hadn't even been an elder sister to talk to. So she didn't know if her appetite for sex was normal or not. She decided that it was and that all women needed sex on a regular basis.

All that thinking could only have one effect, leaving her preparation to look after itself Kelly retired to the bedroom. She stepped out of her loose dress and her underwear, pausing to admire herself in the mirror (she had to have a mirror in her new home), before sliding onto her bed.

She began to touch herself, imaging that she was with her lover. She started to feel his kisses, against her mouth, her cheeks, that spot behind her ear, he kissed her eyelids. She moaned softly, feeling her nipples begin to rise and her pussy start to melt, that soft warmth she so enjoyed.

She started to touch her breasts, imaging that it was his tongue and lips that so gently teased her, she arched her back towards her imaginary lover, thrusting her breasts into his face, there, touch them, kiss them, squeeze them, make me cry out she thought and so a tiny cry did escape her lips.

Down, she pushed his imaginary head downwards until it nestled between her open thighs, and she could feel his hot breath against her opening. She felt his tongue, first against her sex, darting and teasing, and then against her clitoris, just gently. It was almost enough; she began to feel that urgency which summoned her orgasm, the tongue went deeper, until it was almost like a tiny cock darting inside her.

The pressure grew until she couldn't deny, she started to climax, her body taking that rhythm of its own. She felt the heat spread through her body, the pleasure, the exquisite pain, the realisation of pleasure and then she lay still, allowing the last ripples of the orgasm to spread through her body, to move to soon would spoil the pleasure of the after glow.

She lifted her fingers to her face, the scent of her body filled her nostrils, and tentatively her tongue touched her finger tip.

"So that's what you taste like." She laughed and laid back, a hand above her head, the other on her naked tummy. She was content now, the sun pushed through the closed curtains and bathed the room in a gentle warmth and Kelly just dozing, drifting in and out of sleep.

Finally she did move, rolling onto her side she came face to face with the wedding photograph of her and Lance, they were both smiling, Kelly in her white wedding dress and Lance in his dress uniform, he looked magnificent and briefly Kelly remembered that once it would have been Lance who'd have brought her to orgasm and then lain cuddling her afterwards.

"Why?" She whispered. "Wasn't I worth it anymore?" She asked bitterly and briefly she contemplated leaving the photograph, but Lance was still her husband and she still clung to the hope that one day he'd return to her.

She climbed off the bed and stepped back into her clothing, there was enough work to distract her from thinking about Lance and her marriage.

So on that last day and without any announcement Kelly drove quietly from the base and rented in a room in the Ranch motel. She had one last act; to see Shane and have what she hoped would be a final goodbye.

At the motel she pampered herself, the long shower, liberal doses of perfume, the epilating of her legs and pubic hair, Kelly loved the feel of her legs after shaving, the languid dressing, nylons on bare flesh was an almost sexual pleasure, French knickers made from imitation silk and still sensual against her almost bare cunt, the long, flowing skirt that seemed to wrap itself around her legs and buttocks, a simple white top (to contract with the richness of her auburn hair that she was now growing onto her shoulders) and finally a pastel coloured cardigan.

She felt like a woman.

She paraded in front of the wardrobe mirror, twisting one way and then the other, enjoying how her skirt swirled about her legs; she even arched her back thrusting out her breasts.

"Well if I were a man I'd want you." She laughed and headed for the Vixen where she guessed she would find Shane.

A bare six months ago Kelly would never have had the courage and self confidence to even walk down the towns main street in the early evening, much less enter one of its seedier bars. Now she did, now she had the self belief to handle the stares, the innuendoes, simply the looks from people who considered that no woman should be seen unaccompanied in a bar.

If she had been branded a tramp then that allowed her to act like one.

The months had changed Kelly; the almost shy child\woman was no more; to be replaced by the confident and good looking woman who now entered the Vixen.

Shane was a pool player and sure enough she found him in the small room at the back of the bar, he was ensconced there with a half dozen cronies of either sex.

Kelly took in the others in one sweeping glance, three men all Shane's age or older, two women, both younger. Absently she wondered whether either was Shane's girlfriend, which was a wrinkle that she hadn't considered.

Shane saw her immediately and came toward her; he looked both pleased and nervous.

"Long time no see." He said.

"Likewise... can we talk?" She said without preamble. She meant in private, but she knew that Shane was no rocket scientist. "You can buy me a beer, in the bar."

"Right..." He glanced towards the thin blonde girl in the corner; they made brief eye contact, which settled the question as far as Kelly was concerned.

"Well, are you coming or not?" Kelly asked. She felt annoyed but wasn't sure if with Shane or herself.

"Sure... sure... just let me... I'll follow you."

Kelly smiled through thin lips, hadn't Shane realised yet that she had run their affair, at least after their first time together, she had set the time and the place. She was doing that again and was confident that if she decided to take their meeting further then Shane would comply.

As she waited for Shane to join her, the simple thought leapt unbidden into her head I understand how to manipulate men, what makes men tick. She was still smiling when a nervous looking Shane appeared. She let him buy the beer before she let him sit down.

"So... how have you been?" He asked nervously.

"Wondering what happened to you."

"Haaa! I was barred from the base, that Captain... can't remember his name... told the gate to bar me." He sounded apologetic but hardly ashen.

Ellis you bastard! Just how much had he engineered? Maybe she wasn't as bright as she'd imagined.

"Did he bar the telephone and the mail man?" She asked over her beer. Kelly wasn't exactly angry, but she knew that Shane could have seen her if he'd really wanted to.

"No... I..."

"Found someone else... I'm not a fool, don't treat me as one. Is it the blonde, the skinny one?" She made skinny sound like an illness.

"She has a name! Carrie Armitage." Shane almost snapped back.

"Married?" Kelly couldn't resist asking the question. She knew that Shane was attracted to other men's wives; still Carrie hardly seemed old enough to be married.

Shane smiled. "She will be; we're getting hitched next month."

It was like being slapped without the blow. Kelly felt that her brains had been scrambled. "So, this is sudden, known her long?" She managed to say.

The smile never left his face. "About eight months, her pa owns the general store; I'll be starting to work there next week."

Kelly's plans for the evening disintegrated in front of her. She felt a total fool, not just for turning up dressed to the nines, but for imagining that she had been Shane's only affair. She had thought that she had been using him when the truth was that they had been using each other.

"Congratulations." She managed to say. "Does she know about us?"

Shane snorted in derision. "No and she wouldn't believe it. Carrie thinks the sun shines out of my arse... now why are you here?"

"Just to say goodbye, I'm leaving the camp and the area, by next week I'll be in California." She rallied and managed to say.

"Well, goodbye Mrs. Farmer, it was nice to know you." It was the second time in a week that she'd be dismissed.

Kelly left the motel early the next day. She was now angry and ashamed, as twice within a matter of days she'd been dismissed as casually as you'd swat a fly. Now she was driving fast, putting the town, the camp and all their memories as far behind her as possible.

Larkville's might be a hole but it was her chance for a fresh start and this time she'd learn, this time things would be on her terms... her terms.

The first day she drove as planned, the convertible's powerful engine ate into the miles. Kelly had on the radio, had it on loud and she sang along to each and every tune. She was starting to feel good.

She stopped overnight in a small town that was as nameless and featureless as the motel, the next morning she couldn't wait to be on her way.

Another day of driving along sweeping roads, the radio was playing the same tunes and Kelly stopped singing along. She was starting to feel bored and she was at best half ways to her destination.

That evening she pulled into the Crossroad's Motel, the name puzzled her as there was no junction within sight, just mile after mile undistinguished road. It was just a name. She parked the convertible and booked herself a room for the night.

Kelly was tired and dirty and before she'd even unpacked her overnight bag was stepping into the shower and just luxuriating under the warm water. She just let the shower soak her hair and drive the road dirt from her body, finally she took a proper shower, washed her hair using a shampoo which smelt of apples. After that she just hung around her chalet, absently listening to the radio. This was the worse part of the journey, at least the driving took her nearer to her destination, just hanging around the motel was just a waste, but she was too tired to drive on.

She found herself on the bed and for a while pondered her finger but then decided that she needed a sleep before finding out whether the motel bar offered the promised meal as well as a beer.

Dressing for the bar was a problem. She wanted a change from the denim and cotton of her jeans and t shirts she'd been wearing for driving, which meant a dress, but that could suggest other things and Kelly wasn't sure if she wanted any company, even for conversation.

In the end she decided to wear the outfit she'd worn two nights ago when seeing Shane, she'd hardly worn it for more than an hour and the top just needed a moment under an iron to freshen it. So there she was once again wearing the long, flowing skirt that seemed to wrap itself around her legs and buttocks, the simple white top and finally the pastel coloured cardigan. On reflection she dropped the cardigan; it was a warm night, finally she sprayed herself with scented water as she was just a little obsessed with the thought that she still smelt stale from the road.

The bar doubled as a restaurant, at certain times you might be served breakfast or dinner, on other time a beer and finally a few hours when the bar served both.

The place was almost deserted and Kelly deliberately ignored the other customers to order a club sandwich and a beer, and then retreated into a corner armed with her beer and to wait for her meal.

"Can I join you?" or something similar had been politely asked on three occasions and on three occasions she'd politely refused. Kelly was about to leave when he entered, slowly Kelly sat down, something she couldn't describe had just walked into the bar.

She couldn't resist draining her beer and heading towards the bar for another, this time she'd be more lady like and ask for a glass. Of course she decided to hit the bar only a yard from him. Kelly didn't have a plan, any plan beyond a curious desire to be near him.

"Would you let me buy you that?" His voice was soft and not quite American, least ways not any American accent that Kelly had ever heard.

"That would be nice." Kelly simpered.

"The name is Duncan McCloud, but everyone calls me Dunc." He extended his hand towards her. "Nice to meet you... ?"

"Sorry... Kelly, Kelly Farmer, nice to meet you."

They shook hands, he had a weak grip but Kelly ignored that. She just savoured the tingling sensation which passed between them simply by just touching.

They shared a round, though Kelly noticed that Dunc only finished off the beer he already had, just chattering about the road, the distance they had travelled, and their destinations.

He was impressed by her journey, how far she'd already travelled and how far she had still to go. "And when you get to this camp... Larksville?"

"Larksville!" Kelly agreed.

"When you get there... you'll meet up with your husband?" Dunc glanced towards her wedding ring.

"Yeah, Lance moved with his unit." Kelly lied and was surprised as to how easy it was.

"So, how long have you been apart." Dunc probed.

Kelly wasn't fooled for a minute, she knew where Dunc was coming from and she wasn't bothered, beyond the lie about Lance waiting for her, she'd already decided to play his game and see where it went.

"Too long!" She laughed.

"Another drink?" Dunc asked holding up her empty glass.

"Sure, but not beer, something lighter."

She was being picked up. Kelly knew that and wasn't that bothered. It had been a long time since a complete stranger had hit on her, and for a moment she believed that it had never happened before... before Shane. He'd picked her up and that was now a sour memory.

At her suggestion they retreated to her table, it was quieter and more discrete. If she was to play footsie, then she wanted some privacy. They just talked, his conversation was suggestive but he kept coming back to how lonely she must be. He was in danger of ruining what ever chance he had.

"Right, putting aside I haven't seen my husband in several months, what about you? No girlfriend or wife waiting for you?"

"No and no, as the saying goes, I'm foot loose and fancy free."

"Where are you from?" Kelly asked coming back to his accent, there was a hint of American but that was just a veneer over a more established pronunciation.

"Most recently New York and all points west, originally I'm on a trip around the world, starting place Bath in England."

"Bath? Is that anywhere near to London?"

"A hundred miles or so."

To Kelly a hundred miles was neither here nor there, and as part as her journey it was a couple of hours, nothing, so to her Bath became a suburb of the great city. It was the same with Larksville; it occupied the same coast as San Francisco and therefore had to be near. Kelly's real, structured education had ceased at sixteen and she'd ceased try well before that, so that Kelly couldn't even have accurately have drawn a map of her own country much less understood the geography of another.

Neither had she ever met somebody from outside the United States, this was the first time she'd done so. It just added to Duncan's allure and mystery.

"So, where in this huge country are you from." Dunc asked.

"Just a little place near Madison Wisconsin." Kelly replied and knew from the look on his face that it meant nothing to him. "It's kinda near Chicago, heard of there?"

He grinned. "Just about; Chicago's where the gangsters came from, right?"

Kelly grimaced; she could still remember the tales her parents had said about prohibition, the gangsters and the killings. Almost every kid in America knew who Al Capone was even if they couldn't name the president of the time.

Still it allowed them to talk about something other than her loneliness and therefore her implied need for sex.

Gradually Kelly discovered that Duncan was twenty six, an architect by profession but somebody who was caught by the dream of travelling the world, he'd arrived in New York in the February and had just vanished into the interior of the country, working when he had to and then just travelling, his next destination was Los Vegas.

It sounded very romantic and Kelly started to wonder what it would be like, just to travel and stop where and when you fancied, it made her cross country journey seen tiny by comparison.

"How long will you be away?" She asked.

"Hard to say, another two years, maybe three, all depends on what happens. I might find somewhere that I can't leave... or somebody?"

It was bullshit, Kelly knew that, but it still flattered her. She looked again at her partner. He was probably a little over six feet, sandy hair and in the half light of the bar she thought that he had green or grey green eyes, he wasn't exactly good looking as his nose seemed to big for his face, but he had a presence and an easy smile. Dunc was one of those people you could easily like and find out later what flaws there were in his character.

"So... (Kelly had noticed how often he began his sentence with that particular word) when are you expected at this Larksville place?"

"Sometime, I telegraphed Lance to say that I was on my way, I guessed that it would take four days, reckon on five now, maybe even six, I'm finding doing all that driving is really tiring..." Kelly was being truthful; the one thing that she hadn't calculated into the journey was her doing all of the driving. It was hard enough that after only two days she was considering just staying at the motel for another night. After all there was no one waiting for her.