CHAPTER – 51: Surprise

I stirred, feeling a hand caressing my cheeks, and soft lips kissing me.

“Wakey, wakey...”

The voice was soft, whispering the words repeatedly, pulling me awake slowly. When I opened my eyes, I saw Dana leaning over and caressing me. Seeing me open my eyes, she waited until I was fully awake. I had forgotten about her and the time, and I realized Sarah and I had fallen asleep after making love. I checked Sarah but she was sound asleep, still cuddled in my arms. My right arm felt dead, caught under her body.

Now that I was awake, Dana turned her attentions to Sarah. With little kisses and caressing her shoulder, she went about gently waking her up. When Sarah stirred and moaned, she kept kissing and caressing her. Her eyes still closed, Sarah smiled.

“Oh, Mitch... you didn’t have enough of me? Let me sleep,” she moaned, eliciting a laugh from Dana.

She realized there was somebody else in the room, opened her eyes and raised her head to look up. Running her hands over Sarah’s back and shoulder, Dana kissed her on her lips, and said, “Welcome back, honey.”

Giving both of us a critical look, she added, “You both look like survivors from a train wreck or something.” I felt my face heat up, while Sarah wiggled in my embrace, coloring up. Dana followed it up with, “But, you also look beautiful,” then she kissed Sarah again.

I tried to get my arm free without success, and Sarah turned back to me with a questioning look.

“My arm is asleep. Can you help me?” I asked.

“Sorry, Mitch,” she said, and raised her upper body.

I managed to pull my arm free and rolled on my back, cuddling it, and slowly the feeling returned to it, with the maddening itching as if thousand ants were crawling over it. Sarah massaged it, trying to help out. In a short while my arm was back to normal, and Sarah made a move to get out of the bed, but Dana pushed her back.

“Stay there, Sarah. If you don’t mind I’d like to join you for a cuddle before we take a shower.”

Although surprised, Sarah lay down and watched Dana undress. When she was naked, she motioned us to move a bit to make some space, and slipped into the bed next to Sarah. When Sarah wiggled, Dana moved away from her, thinking she was embarrassing her, but Sarah grabbed her arm, and said, “I’m in the middle of a wet spot.”

“Sorry, honey, I didn’t realize.”

Dana turned and quickly got out of the bed and took a small towel from one of the shelves in the wardrobe, before returning to the bed. Sarah lifted her ass, and Dana slipped the towel under her, as if it was an everyday occurrence, and got in the bed, cuddling Sarah. Sarah was feeling a bit self-conscious with the mess on the bed, and the dried juices of our sessions around her pussy and thighs. Sensing Sarah’s discomfort, Dana offered, “I wanted to do this before, but couldn’t gather my courage, Sarah. Thank you for comforting me last night. I love you, honey—” She shushed Sarah, when Sarah tried to say something, and kissing her she continued, “Don’t be embarrassed. You’re beautiful.” She touched her forehead, and said, “You’re beautiful, here,” and moved her hand down to her left breast, and added, “And most of—” She was cut off by Sarah’s painful moan. After a slight hesitation, she pulled her hand off her tit, and finished what she wanted to say. “And most of all here.” Seeing Sarah’s eyes squeezed shut, she asked, “What’s wrong, honey?” with a concerned tone.

Before Sarah could answer, her eyes caught sight of her nipples. They looked swollen, and purple, and bruised. Immediately her eyes flashed to me, and I felt my face heating up with guilt. I hadn’t realized I had been that rough on her breasts, but now, seeing their condition, I realized I had been a bit too enthusiastic in my attentions. Before either of us can say anything Sarah’s eyes opened, and she caught me looking at her tits with a guilty expression, and she immediately said, “I’m all right, Mitch. They are a bit sore and sensitive. I’m not hurting. Really.” Then she turned to Dana, and said, “It’s not his fault. I’m all right. We must have been a bit... overeager...”

Then Dana’s eyes caught sight of the hickey on Sarah’s shoulder, and she smiled. “I’d say... That explains why you both looked like something out of a train wreck.”

When Sarah colored up, she quickly kissed her, and said, “Sarah, please. You look beautiful. I’m glad you had a good time.” Then she moved her hand slowly over Sarah’s belly down to her pussy, and said, “We are alike. We are both women, and I know how he makes a woman feel. I love you, Sarah.” She concluded by leaning in and softly kissing and licking Sarah’s nipple, eliciting a soft moan, and returned her lips to Sarah’s, kissing her gently, lovingly.

Sarah returned it without hesitation, and when their lips was over, she said, “I love you, too, Dana. For the same reasons.”

Then, Dana motioned her to turn on her side facing me, before she molded her body to Sarah, and caressed her belly and stomach lovingly, while she kept nuzzling and kissing her shoulders and neck. At Sarah’s insistence, I moved closer and sandwiched her body carefully between us. We stayed like that touching each other sensually for a long while, confirming the new bonds that we had formed last night.

Sarah broke the quiet. “I didn’t want to say this, because I don’t want to spoil anything, but... I want to stay here like this. I’m going to miss you both terribly,” she said wistfully, with an almost whisper like voice.

Dana raised her head and gave me a look. I knew what she was thinking so I nodded with a smile. With Sarah’s admissions, this was the best moment for our little surprise.

“That’s good Sarah, because you will be sleeping here tonight,” Dana said.

At first, Sarah didn’t respond, then she said, “I have a bus to catch and tomorrow I have to be at work.”

Dana signaled me, and I said, “Sorry, Sarah, but I returned your ticket.”

After a momentary silence, she exclaimed, “You did what!” and tried to sit up.

Gently holding her, I replied, “I returned your ticket. You’re staying the night here.”

“But how am I going to make it to work on time?” she asked with an agitated tone.

“Don’t worry, Sarah. You’re taking the early morning flight tomorrow,” Dana joined in.

Another silent moment followed, while Sarah turned to look over her shoulder at Dana. “How?” Before we could say anything, she followed it up with more questions. “Why? What’s going on?”

Dana caressed her to soothe and calm her down, and offered an explanation. “Sarah, honey. I didn’t want you to leave. We thought it would be better if you stayed the night here and got a good rest. You’ll go to work refreshed, rather than tired from an uncomfortable night trip on the bus. Mitch returned your ticket this morning, and we booked a flight for you, early tomorrow morning. It’s our surprise for you.”

Sarah tried to roll and face Dana, and Dana moved back to allow her. “You didn’t have to,” she said, hesitantly.

“No, but we both wanted to, Sarah. After the incident last night, I didn’t want you to leave with everything so fresh. I love you, honey. We both love you,” Dana answered with an emotional tone, her voice cracking up, and I saw her eyes get moist. “I’m going to miss you, too, but we’ll be back. So, you understand... I couldn’t let you go, just now, when you could stay a bit longer...”

“I... I... thank you, Dana,” Sarah stammered, and seeing her moist eyes, she moved to kiss her, while Dana embraced her in her arms.

After the kiss, they parted, but their eyes stayed locked; their faces inched to each other again, and they shared soft little kisses, expressing their feelings, while their hands were busy caressing and touching. When they seemed satisfied with their attentions, they parted and Sarah lay down on her back sighing softly. Dana moved to snuggle to her side, while they held hands. Remembering that I was being left out, Sarah turned to me, and flashed me a soft smile. “Thank you, Mitch.”

I leaned and kissed both of them. “I think it’s time for a group shower.”

Both girls mumbled something unintelligible, and looked very reluctant to part, so I kissed them again, and said, “Let me get some coffee or tea ready. You two stay here.”

Dana objected. “It’s almost six, Mitch.”

“So! I think both of you can do with some tea. We’ll have dinner a bit later than planned. We have the time,” I said, “and I want to pamper both of you, if you will allow me.”

That drew a smile from both of them, and Sarah said, “Tea sounds good.”

 

* * * * *

 

In the kitchen, I filled up the kettle, and put it on the stove and went to the bathroom to wash up. Either the girls must have heard the shower running or they wanted to clean up, because they showed up not long after and joined me in the tub. Although I was almost finished cleaning myself, I stayed for a quick group shower.

When it was Sarah’s turn to be cleaned, I passed the soap to Dana. “I think this needs a woman’s touch,” I said, asking her to wash Sarah’s chest. However, she returned the soap to me, telling me to wash her back, while she inspected Sarah’s nipples, and announced that the soap might burn her.

Taking the showerhead, she checked the temperature adding more cold water, until she was satisfied with it, and warning Sarah that the water was a bit cold, she gently washed her tits. Then she turned on the warm water, and we continued washing each other. Dana stepped out of the bath first, giving us fluffy towels, and helped Sarah to dry herself. I heard the whistle of the kettle, and wrapping a towel around me I rushed out to the kitchen. Turning off the stove, I returned to the bathroom, and saw Dana putting salve on Sarah’s nipples. Dana saw my concerned look and told me it was just to help the swelling, while Sarah assured me she was fine.

To lighten the mood, Sarah cupped her tits, and offered them. The nipples were white with the salve. “How about some cherries with whipped cream?”

“I think I’d like some ice cream from those cones. That might help with the swelling as well,” I retorted.

“I have some ice cream for desert, if Sarah wants to experiment with it. I think she might want to have some ice cream from your cone. I wouldn’t mind a lick or two as well,” Dana joined in coming to her aid, while Sarah flashed an evil grin.

We went back to the bedroom to dress. I put on jeans and a t-shirt, and the girls opted for panties only; Dana told Sarah to give her nipples a rest, and not irritate them further with a blouse.

“And what’s your excuse?” I asked Dana.

“Moral support... comfort...” she quipped.

“Well... she has her nipples covered, like those black bands they use in the tabloids. You can at least put on band-aids or... tassels,” I returned.

Both of them got a scandalized look on their faces, before they burst out in laughter.

“You know, he’s really full of surprises. I thought he was shy,” Dana commented to Sarah.

“He was. I think he’s loosening up,” Sarah replied.

“What do you expect me to do around you? Both of you keep on teasing me to death.”

“No complaints, Mitch,” Dana said. “Let’s get some tea.”

We all went to the kitchen and I served tea. I asked them what the dinner was, and Dana said it was going to be something simple with meat and vegetables. After finishing her cup quickly, she moved to the fridge to take out the vegetables to start on the dinner. Then, Sarah joined her, and they washed the vegetables, and started chopping them. Curious I went to see what they were preparing. I saw some big carrots and cucumbers, and decided to tease them. Picking the largest of each vegetable I held them in one hand, inspecting them carefully, turning them this way and that, comparing their sizes, until they noticed what I was doing. Scratching my head with a confused expression, I gave them a puzzled look, and then rubbed my chin as if I was mulling something, and they immediately got what I was thinking.

Before I could say a word, Sarah slapped my arm, and took them from my hand, while Dana hit my head with a carrot. Undaunted by their responses, I smirked at Sarah who was holding the two biggest vegetables, and quipped, “Don’t you think you should at least share the wealth with Dana.”

They both squealed, before attacking me. I was so enrapt in watching their breasts move and quiver while they tried to hit me, I couldn’t even defend myself, and got a good licking. They quit their attack when I retreated, and I kept watching their breasts as they stood there breathing hard with their exertion, their chests heaving. Realizing what I was watching they got indignant again, and were on the move. I held my hands up in surrender, and apologized, but when my eyes strayed to their breasts again...

“Get him out of here, Sarah. He’s going to make a pest of himself,” Dana retorted.

“I’ll behave. Please,” I pleaded. “You’re so beautiful, I just couldn’t help myself.”

When they looked like reconsidering, I added, “Come on. I’m not dead, and that view is too much.”

“Then behave!” Dana retorted.

“Why do I have to behave?” I responded indignantly. “Last night both of you teased me mercilessly. Now, you can’t take it?” Then, for good measure, I added, “Where’s your sense of fair-play?”

The girls exchanged a look between them, and with a shrug they turned to go back to the counter.

“Besides, I don’t want to leave you two sexy vixens alone with those big vegetables,” I quipped.

They turned on me in a flash, and I made a hasty retreat out of the kitchen, while a carrot and a cucumber whizzed passed my head. I kept listening to see if they would follow me, but only heard their laughter. Creeping slowly to the door, I dared a peek inside, and saw them busy at the counter, as if nothing happened.

Without a look behind her shoulder, Dana said, “Walk in at your own risk.”

“Can’t we have a cease fire?” I asked from the door.

“Why don’t you take your tea and make yourself scarce? Watch TV or read the newspaper. We have work to do,” she replied.

“Yeah. Your slave girls are busy preparing dinner for their master after all the abuse,” Sarah retorted.

“Don’t give him ideas, Sarah. He’s getting spoiled as it is.”

“You’re right. He’s spoiled.”

“I’m not spoiled. I’m bored. Isn’t there something I can do? Prepare the meat for example?” I suggested.

Dana looked like she was going to object, but Sarah whispered something to her, and got a nasty smile in return.

“Sure, Mitch. Why don’t you chop these onions... over there on the table?” Dana said.

You little vixens!

Since I offered to help, I couldn’t refuse, and because they were busy at the counter I couldn’t work there, and let the fan over the stove suck the fumes. I grudgingly took the wooden cutting board, a knife, the onions, and a small plate, and returned to the table, while they smiled at me sweetly, as if they appreciated my help. They didn’t have to rub my nose in it, since we all knew who won the round there, but Sarah must have been itching to get back at me more after my quips to her about the vegetables, because she took a roll of paper towels, and brought it to me, saying I might need it, while Dana watched with an amused expression.

“Chop them as small as you can,” Dana instructed and returned to what she was doing.

It didn’t take me more than ten minutes to clean and chop them as Dana wanted, but by the time I was finished, my eyes were watering. I told her I was finished, and she took out the meat out of the fridge, and asked me to cut it in finger size cubes. She must have thought I was punished enough, because she kissed me, before she collected the plate with the chopped onions. Curious I asked what she was preparing.

“Irish stew. Grandma’s recipe,” she answered. Seeing my quizzical look, she offered, “I called Kathy, and asked what you liked. She suggested Irish stew.”

“How did you get hold of my sister?” I asked.

Instead of an answer, she gave me a look like I was the village idiot, before she turned in the direction of Sarah, who looked over her shoulder and smiled sweetly.

“I also bought some Tabasco. She told me you liked it spicy.”

After that little bit of detail, I pulled her and kissed her soundly. Sarah was watching us, and she quipped, “The road to a man’s heart...” making us laugh at her.

While she returned to the counter, Dana retorted, “I think the road to his heart goes through our tits and pussies, if his eyes are any indication.”

“Both of you have the most delectable, delicious, tasty—”

“Don’t you dare finish that!” Dana warned, turning on her heels.

Not heeding her warning, I continued, “Morsels, I’ve ever tasted. I can’t seem to get enough of you. No man can, but that’s only a small part of it. You both know the rest.”

That seemed to satisfy them, because they smiled fondly, and Dana gave me a look that said, “Good try, buster!” I blew them a kiss, and started on the meat, while they returned to the vegetables, still chuckling at me. Finishing with the meat, I asked if I should sauté the onions and the meat, and Dana grabbed a large, deep pan, and put it on the stove. When the onions and the meat were ready, she took a beer out of the fridge, and gave it to me, before shooing me out of the kitchen. This time I knew she wasn’t going to argue the point, so with a quick kiss I left.

In the living room, I settled in the couch, and channel surfed until I came across a rerun of a Star Trek episode. A while later, Sarah came in, and sat next to me, telling me Dana would soon be joining us, and snuggled to my side. From the corner of my eyes, I checked her nipples, and was relieved to see them looking better than before, the swelling receding. She caught me at it, and touched them gingerly, and then she pinched them firmly, without wincing. That little demonstration did a lot to ease my concerns.

“I think you can have the ice cream you wanted after dinner,” she quipped.

“God, Sarah. You really want me to?”

She nodded. “I think it would be fun. Dana and I will decide on the toppings.”

“Did you already make plans?”

“Yeah. She wants to play.”

“I’m not really keen on the idea of ice cream on my sensitive parts.”

“Party pooper! Then, no ice cream for you at all.”

“What’s come over you girls?”

“Nothing. We both want to play and have some fun,” she said, and then added, “After last night, we need some fun.”

I couldn’t argue with her point, however I tried my last card in the deck. “Well, you know what effect cold has on male parts. They shrink!”

“That’s why we are going to play, ‘find the Willy!’” she quipped. “And the winner gets it.”

“Very creative,” I replied with a snort.

“Yes, we are!”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her enthusiasm, and sense of humor. Dana walked in and seeing me chuckling raised her eyebrow in question.

“I was explaining to him the new game we invented,” Sarah offered, and elicited a small grin.

“So, is he going to play?” Dana asked.

“He likes ice cream,” she replied.

“I didn’t say I would play,” I objected.

“Then no ice cream for you,” Sarah retorted.

The ringing of the phone interrupted our discussion, and Dana went to answer it. I turned down the volume of the TV so that she could talk comfortably. During a lull in her conversation, she turned towards us and mouthed, “Ulysses,” and that got our immediate attention. From the expression on Dana’s face it looked like things were all right, but I was dying to know what had happened. After several minutes, I heard her ask for Amy, and she talked with her for a few minutes, assuring her that everybody was all right, and I caught her extending her thanks for their help. Then, she called me to the phone, telling me Ulysses wanted to talk with me.

Ulysses gave me a summary of the developments. First he and Basil had a meeting with the DA, and the DA had agreed to offer a deal to the accomplices. Then, they learned from the precinct commander that the same lawyer was trying to represent the other two, and they had to hurry to visit the two suspects to make the offer. The DA explained the deal, and also told them that the lawyer of their friend was ready to represent them, but he also pointed out to them the reasons for the deal, and who they were after, and consequently the possibility of a conflict of interest, letting them draw their own conclusions on how things might progress. He advised them to listen to what the lawyer would tell them but also seek legal counsel from another lawyer—sort of a second opinion if you will. In the meantime, Ulysses had visited the other assailant in the hospital with Basil and had a private chat with him, which didn’t go well.

“I think we will nail the bastard, Mitch,” he said with a cheery voice. “I got a call from the DA about half an hour ago. The other two decided to take his advice and met a pro-bono lawyer after meeting the asshole’s lawyer. He told me that they hired the pro-bono lawyer, and DA is going to meet him tomorrow to discuss the terms of the deal.”

“That’s good news, isn’t it?” I asked feeling a bit of relief.

“Looks like it, but it all depends on what their lawyer will advise them. On the other hand, we seemed to manage to divide them, so we have him all alone, now. One way or another, he’s going to drop the charges against you and Dana. The DA will try to get full cooperation of the other two, and I believe he will get what he wants. The precinct commander mentioned that the asshole’s lawyer was very pissed with how things went down, and made some noise about coercion, and underhanded tactics, but we all know it’s just noise. So, things are looking up. Tomorrow we’ll know more.”

“Is there a chance the pro-bono lawyer might cooperate with the other lawyer?” I asked.

“There is, but the DA doesn’t expect him to do something like that, which reminds me... Would you or Dana mind if the DA sweetens the deal for those two? Basil has to call him back on that issue.”

“Hold on a sec, Ulysses. Let me ask.”

I turned to Dana, who was standing next to me, and explained the situation. She quickly got the picture, after what Ulysses must have told her, and we both agreed that we wanted all of them put away, but especially the one who started the whole thing, with as little trouble for us as possible.

“We both agree, Ulysses. We think the DA should do his best to get their cooperation, but also shouldn’t let them get away with only a slap on the wrist.”

“No, he assured me he wouldn’t let them go so easily. It wouldn’t look good for him, and also he doesn’t want to give the other asshole ammunition to use against him or us,” Ulysses replied.

“Well, that’s good to hear. I think we understand.”

“Good. If something else comes up I’ll call you back within the hour, but I don’t expect anything will. I’ll see you tomorrow, Mitchell. Please give my regards to Dana and Sarah. Amy sends her best as well.”

“Thank you, Ulysses. We all appreciate your help. Please extend our thanks to Mr. Holcomb as well,” I replied, and heard Sarah calling out. “Just a moment, Ulysses.”

When I turned to her, she said, “Tell him, I would like to come for another visit on some weekend. I’d like to sing again, if he doesn’t mind.”

“That was Sarah. She wanted me to tell you that she would like to come for another visit and give another recital, if you can make the arrangements,” I said to Ulysses.

“Tell her she doesn’t need to, Mitch. But both Amy and I would love to see you all back here again.”

“We know, Ulysses, but if I know Sarah, she enjoyed it very much, so rest assured that she would love to repeat it, OK?” I replied.

Taking the handset from me, Dana quickly added, “Yes, she would love to repeat it, and we all want to hear her again.”

Ulysses hesitated a moment but graciously accepted expressing his thanks. I got the feeling he was wondering whether Sarah was serious in her offer, but after Dana’s words, he must have understood that it wasn’t only a polite gesture on Sarah’s part. We exchanged a few more pleasantries, and ended the conversation.

After I took my seat on the couch and muted the TV—I missed the last part of the Star Trek episode—I told them what Ulysses told me, mostly for Sarah’s benefit to let her know what was happening. Then the talk moved to our plans for tomorrow. Early in the morning, we would take Sarah to the airport, which was less than ten minutes by car, and later Dana and I would visit Ulysses, but we didn’t have any plans beyond that. Dana suggested visiting Gary to develop and print the pictures.

Seeing me quiet, lost in thought, Dana asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, Dana. I’m wondering if we shouldn’t destroy the negatives. With what’s going on around us now, I really feel uncomfortable about them.”

“Why?”

“Well... What if that asshole hires somebody to dig up some dirt on us to use as leverage?” I suggested, my mind going over some dark scenarios.

“Oh, come on Mitch!” she retorted.

“Well, OK! Maybe it’s a bit far fetched, and I don’t want to worry you, but he seems to be a hard ass. I hope he doesn’t try to do something to get back at us. I guess I just want to minimize exposure to risk in dangerous situations. Sure, they’re locked away, but until this goes to court and sorted out... you know what I mean. I want to be ready for any eventuality,” I said, and turned to Sarah. “I’m especially worried about you.”

“Don’t worry about it, Mitch,” Sarah replied. “I can take care of myself, and I’ll be careful. Plus, I’ll be going home, far away from here.”

When I didn’t look convinced, Dana joined in. “If he would do something, he’d probably try to hurt you or me. We’ll be going away for vacation, and I travel frequently.” Before I could say another word, and as if reading my mind, she added, “If I know Ulysses and Amy, they will be keeping an eye on me, so when you’re away I will still be safe.” With a soft smile, she returned us back to the subject. “So, what do we do with the pictures? I really want to see them.”

“Me, too,” Sarah repeated.

“Well, OK, but Sarah is going—”

Sarah cut me off with, “Dana is here, and I trust both of you. Can’t you print them and store them somewhere safe?”

“I have a safe deposit box at a bank,” Dana offered. “We could keep the pictures there, until Sarah comes back for a visit.”

“That’s perfect,” Sarah immediately responded.

I thought about it some more, and decided on a different course of action. “You know what, we can visit Gary tomorrow with Alex, and surprise him. After our return from the vacation, I could visit him again. This time to develop the film and print the pictures. I’ll probably have a couple of rolls of film anyway, so I leave some of them with Gary, but tell him I want to practice my darkroom skills with one or two rolls. This way he wouldn’t suspect anything. Until then we put the two rolls in the safe deposit box. How about that?”

“That sounds good. If he gets suspicious, you can always tell him you took some topless pictures of me, and wanted to develop them yourself. I think he would understand,” Dana replied. “I don’t really mind it, Mitch, and by then maybe Sarah would be visiting us,” she added, and turned to Sarah with an expectant look.

“I can try to get away next weekend, perhaps work Saturday full, and take off Sunday and Monday, again, and drive back home on Monday afternoon. It’s only a 4-5 hours drive,” Sarah replied. “It all depends when you’ll be back here. Have you decided where you want to go?”

“Umm... not really. Someplace by the coast where it’s still warm. I want to relax under the sun, and enjoy the sea. I was thinking of driving down to the south coast,” I said, and turned to Dana.

“It’s a long drive to the south coast,” she reminded.

“Yeah, but it will be warmer than any other place. We can drive part of the way, spend a day or two someplace on the west coast, before we continue south,” I said. While thinking about places we might go, something else occurred to me. “You know, you might be able to hop on a plane for the return, if they do that kind of thing. I can drive back. That way, we can spend more time together to relax and enjoy the places instead of wasting time driving back.”

Dana thought about my proposal. “Yes, I can do that, but we need to be somewhere close to one of the airports. I might even start my work immediately on Monday morning with a flight from where we are.”

“Let me get a map and check the distances. Do we have time until dinner?” I asked and when she nodded, I went out to get the new road map from my car.

When I returned, they were setting the dinner table. They left a portion empty for me so I could open the map. While they were busy, I looked over the map, for a possible destination on the south coast, with an airport close by. I found two possible locations, two small towns that were half an hour distance from a big city which had an airport. After marking them, I went about checking distances, and looking for alternative routes and shortcuts, and marked possible places to stop and spend the night. I didn’t want to hop from place to place, just one or two stops before arriving at our destination. By then they were ready, and they gathered around me, looking at the map, and the marks I penciled on it.

“Well, we can take this route,” I said, tracing my finger along one of the main highways that went in a north-northwest direction, then branched off to a small town located around the end of what looked like a small peninsula. “There’s a ferry service there, which traverses this channel, before it continues down to the west coast. It would take us 4–5 hours by boat, and it beats driving a longer time to reach here,” I explained, this time tracing the ferry route, which ended at a small town about two hours north of the biggest city on the west coast. “We can either stay at a small pension in that town or drive to the city and find a hotel. There are several coastal towns along the route,” I said, pointing at each of them along the way to the city. I looked up from the map. “So, finding a place to stay shouldn’t be a problem.”

Sarah looked over and checked my route, then pointing to a spot on the map, she asked, “Isn’t this where your parents have a summer flat?”

I looked at the map, and nodded.

“Why don’t you stay there?” she asked.

“That’s about 50 kilometers away from where we arrive with the ferry. Also, our flat would need cleaning and prepping up,” I said. Gently cutting off Dana—who looked like she was going to suggest we could do the clean up—I continued with, “and, it would be musty and cold in the house. There’s nothing to warm it up. It’s really a summer flat. My parents returned from vacation at the end of August, and the season ends by mid-September there. Now, we’re getting to the end of October. It will be cold and the rainy season would be starting. There might be some hotels open, but I’m not sure about it.”

“There’s one big hotel located at the foot of a big hill with the great view. You know, the hill that overlooks the town and the small islands?” Sarah reminded.

“Yeah, I know which hill you’re talking about,” I replied, before I began to wonder how she would know about the hill or the hotel. “How do you know all that?”

“I visited Kathy and spent a couple of weeks with her a year ago af—” she stopped abruptly.

“After?” I asked.

“After I did my summer internship,” she replied quickly, maybe a bit too quickly as if she was...

Dana noticed also, and gave a quizzical look. Since Sarah seemed unwilling to talk about it, I decided to let it go. However, part of my mind was busy trying to fill in the blanks, trying to figure out what she was going to say following ‘after.’

Before I could say anything, she moved on. “Kathy showed me around. It was nice. Quiet, but very nice. We visited the restaurant at the top of the hill, and watched the sunset. That hill offers a splendid panorama of the archipelago along the gulf. Many small islands litter the sea. Literally! We also visited the big island, the one with a small village and fish restaurants along the shore, and had a great dinner. I forgot the name of the island and the fish they serve... you know the little, finger-sized fish that they deep fry and you eat it whole?”

“Yeah, I know,” I replied, shaking my head, mostly because I wasn’t over my surprise at her and her knowledge of the place. Turning to Dana I explained what Sarah was talking about. “It’s European sprat, but the local name is papalina. It’s something like an anchovy, but it’s not salty, or smelly and when you deep fry it, you don’t even feel the fishbone. As far as I know in some Mediterranean localities they use it for bait, since the variety they have are quite bigger and not so tasty. The variety they catch around the island are very small and tasty. It’s a local delicacy.”

“It was delicious,” Sarah responded very enthusiastically, and received a smile from Dana.

Even though Sarah’s enthusiasm was contagious, I was having second thoughts about visiting the place with Dana. Last night I was seriously considering taking her to my favorite places and sharing them with her, but that was before the fight. Now, I was worried about the past and memories. I didn’t want to be distracted by them, because I wanted to give all my attention to Dana, after what happened last night. I was thinking of visiting my beach, later, on the way back, at the end of our vacation, especially, if Dana took a flight back. However, the decision was taken out of my hands.

“It sounds like an interesting place. Is this the town where the movie was shot?” Dana asked. “The movie we were talking about last night?”

“Yeah. That’s the town. It’s really nice and very quiet, in contrast to other hot-spots of tourism. It keeps its natural beauty and is spared the overdevelopment, so it’s not visited a lot, but people that know of the place... It will be quiet, especially this time of the year, since the season is over, and it might be a tad bit cold. I’m not sure if the hotel Sarah mentioned would be open,” I said, quickly making my mind up to evade visiting the place, without being obvious about it.

“Oh, it will be open. I know because Kathy and I had heard that they keep a wing open all year around, and they have some regular visitors. According to the employees, some famous people get away from the city for the weekend to avoid the tabloids. Kathy told me she has friends who are now working in hospitals here, who drive over there for a quiet weekend. It’s kind of a nice hideout for couples, too,” Sarah offered, and I had to stifle a laugh. I knew the hotel; I had spent a couple of hours there, when a tourist girl had sneaked me into her room a few times. It had been a year before I met Rei—the last summer that I had had any casual fun and enjoyed it. Sarah was correct about the people getting away from the city, like that actor—Rex—we met in the restaurant, and it wasn’t only some of the famous people, but regular people. Despite the distance—7-8 hours by car or about 10 hours by coach service—the people who visited the place fell in love with its quiet, unpretentious beauty.

“There are also the fish restaurants on the big island. They are a combination of hotel or a pension and a restaurant. If you can’t find a place to stay, you can always try the island,” Sarah continued.

Jeezzz, Sarah! Thank you very much!

With all that input from her, I couldn’t evade it anymore, so I said, “I guess it’s worth a try.”

If Dana felt my reluctance, she didn’t show it. “It sounds like a place to visit. You can show me around and point out the places from the movie,” she said.

“Are you all right with the ferry trip? The sea might be a bit rough around this time of the year, and I don’t want you to get seasick,” I asked with concern.

“No, I’ll be OK. It would be a change from flying or driving,” she answered.

“Yes. We can sit back and relax, enjoy the sea air,” I said somewhat wistfully. “You need to pack some warm clothes. Even though we might stay there a day or two, it will be cold, and if we are unlucky, it will be raining. When it rains, it rains in buckets, so we might need slickers, but we can buy them on the way if the weather turns. There are fishing towns along the way, and we’ll find better stuff at bargain prices. Don’t forget to pack your bikini. We’ll eventually be able to soak up some sun in the south.”

Dana gave me an amused look, and Sarah slapped me on the arm. “You’re doing it again. She travels more than you do. She would know what to pack.”

I grinned at her quip, and she slapped me again. “Behave.”

Dana was a bit surprised with the exchange between us, but she sensed that there was a story. Sarah was quick to fill her in about what transpired in the afternoon, and how I packed her stuff, without getting into the aftermath of it. Not to embarrass her I kept a neutral face, but Dana didn’t miss much, and quickly connected the dots—reading the nonverbal signs—and figured out what happened. “Is that why the two of you looked like the way you did when I found you?” she asked.

Sarah nodded, coloring up. When I glanced at her tits, I saw her nipples getting hard, and this time, Dana slapped me on my arm. “Behave, Mitch. Leave the girl alone. You’re getting to be a pest,” she admonished, while smiling at Sarah. Then she moved back to the subject. “You miss the sea that much?” she asked, with a curious expression on her face.

“Well... yeah... sort of. I mean, I work in a desert, and I’ve always loved the sea... as long as I’m somewhere close to the sea... or a lake or a pond...” I offered, feeling self-conscious.

Going back to the map, I went over the rest of the trip. After a day or two visiting the summer place and the town, I was planning to drive at night, to cover a distance of some 500 kilometers further, so that we would arrive on the south coast, by early morning, at a small, tourist town not too far from a major city and an airport. The airport wasn’t small by any means, a medium sized hub, along the normal air traffic routes, but at the height of summer season, its traffic tripled, and except for two months in winter, it was usually quite a busy airport. When I pointed it on the map, Dana told me she had been there several times before, and enjoyed it very much. She added her airline had regular scheduled flights to and from that airport. She had also visited the small town—our final destination—a few times, so she was somewhat familiar with it.

“Tomorrow, I’ll call the office, and see if I can arrange my work schedule accordingly. If worse comes to worst, I can always change with somebody or get on one of the early flights as an extra hand.”

“I’ve only passed through the town, so I don’t know the place. I think you’ll have to show me around,” I said.

“It’s really a beautiful place, and this time of the year, it will be warm enough, with a few tourists. I think you’ll like it,” she replied.

“Well, then. That’s settled. The only thing I need to do is get the ferry schedules,” I said, while folding the map, “which I’ll do tomorrow. On the way to Ulysses’ we can pick up the schedules and also drop by the bank and put the rolls of film in the safe deposit box.”

“Don’t forget to take pictures, Mitch. I want to see the places,” Sarah piped.

“I’ll make sure, Sarah,” Dana replied, reaching out to hold her hand. We both sensed Sarah was going to miss us, and perhaps Dana was going to miss her as well, if her reaction to Sarah was any indication.

“I will, Sarah” I replied. Doing some mental arithmetic, I added, “I guess, you need to skip the next weekend, but make plans for the following weekend. Or, I can hang around a few more days by the coast after Dana leaves, and then pick you up, before we drive back to her.”

“No, you better stick to the original plan,” Sarah said. “I’ll drive over and it would be easier and more comfortable than a bus trip. We’ll keep in touch anyway, so... And you really shouldn’t let her wait that long by herself. Who knows, Ulysses might need you guys here.”

“Sarah, honey, I’ll be with him for a week. He can drop by and pick you up,” Dana responded, but Sarah shook her head.

Dana directed a questioning look to Sarah, but when she shook her head again, Dana smiled and let it go without further discussion. When it looked like the issue was settled, I said, “OK. We’ll keep in touch and revise the plans if need be,” and they both nodded in agreement.

“I think dinner’s ready,” Dana said.

While I went to the spare bedroom to put away the map, the girls left for the kitchen.

 

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