Natasha's Awakening

by J. a Melville

  She grabbed her purse and a cream shawl and headed out the door, feeling slightly anxious as she stepped into the lift. Eric probably wouldn’t be expecting her to go out and she wasn’t sure how he’d react if he knew. She hadn’t bothered leaving a note for him, but she didn’t intend being out that long and was confident about beating him back to the hotel.

  On the way down in the lift Natasha could feel her stomach fluttering with nervous anticipation which worked up to full on butterflies as she walked through the hotel lobby heading for the huge glass doors of the hotel’s main entrance. She pushed her way through the doors and stepped out into the brilliant sunshine of Sydney’s city centre.

  She slowly turned, her eyes taking in all the sights of the towering buildings around her, the glimpse of Sydney Harbour before her and she couldn’t help the wide smile that lit up her face. The city was such a pretty place and she didn’t get into the CBD much at all, so for today she decided she was going to play tourist and explore it like this was her first time in it.

  Natasha started walking down the road, stopping sometimes to look into shop fronts, slowly passing boutique after boutique with expensively clad mannequins in the windows, stopping when she saw a dress or something that got her attention.

  As she approached the next shop she got an idea pop into her head. Perhaps she could buy something to hopefully drive Eric wild. With that idea in mind, she entered the small lingerie shop to have a look around. There were display mannequins set up around the shop dressed in various kinds of sexy attire.

  Some of the clothing was sexy and beautiful whereas other things made Natasha’s cheeks heat at not only how revealing they were, but how little fabric went into them and in some cases fabric was missing completely. Panties with no crutch, thongs that had almost as little at the front as they had at the back, panties and bras so transparent they would leave nothing at all to the imagination. It was quite an eye opener for her.

  Natasha walked through the shop, stopping to lift items down for a closer look, smiling at some, blushing and hastily pushing others back on their racks but there was so much to choose from and she had no idea what Eric might find sexy.

  A young woman approached her, a smile on her attractive young face. Her name was Sara according to her name tag on the front of her white t-shirt. “Can I help you?” she asked Natasha.

  Natasha smiled nervously at her. “I came in here because it seemed like a good idea, but now I have no idea what I should buy.” She said laughingly.

  Sara grinned. “It can be a bit daunting if you don’t normally shop in a place like this. Perhaps you can give me an idea what sort of an occasion you’re wanting something for?”

  Natasha thought for a moment, her brow creased with frown lines. “Well, I’m on a week away with my ‘friend’ and I want something to wear for bed maybe, some nice things to wear under my clothes, oh, I don’t know! Something he’ll find sexy I guess. If you know what I mean.” Natasha shrugged her shoulders.

  “Come with me. You want to drive this man of yours wild? I can help you with that.” Sara said and she walked away towards the back of the shop with Natasha trailing after her.

  Sara stopped at a rack of negligees of various colours and lengths. She scanned up and down Natasha, “You’re a size 8?” she asked. Natasha looked surprised until she realised that of course Sara would know something like that, it was her job after all.

  Sara selected a silky short negligee in a beautiful emerald green which surprised Natasha some what as she probably would have gone with something obvious like black or red. She followed Sara around the shop as she picked more clothing for her to try on, and finally armed with all sorts of things in a vast selection of colours, including some delicate slip on shoes complete with the feathers which made her laugh, Natasha stepped into the change room to start trying on some of the lingerie.

  She tried on the emerald green negligee first loving the feel of the satiny fabric as it slid down her body. It was a simple design but she loved it and the colour looked good against her skin and hair, accentuating her eyes. It had tiny shoe string straps over her shoulders and a plunging neckline which dipped low between her breasts, hugging the curve of them before the fabric fell freely, stopping just below the curve of her buttocks, it was split up the front, the two halves over lapping enough that it looked like one until she moved and the material parted showing off her flat stomach and the matching satin briefs with bows that tied up at the hips.

  Natasha continued trying on clothes, loving the feel of some of them against her skin, others shocked her and some made her want to cover herself up as they revealed so much. One outfit in particular caused her to pause, asking herself if she would be game enough to buy it, not to mention whether she would be brave enough to wear it in front of Eric.

  It was made from a satin material, blood red. The panties were barely there at the front, but looked like tiny shorts from the back. They were held together by ties at her hips. There was a narrow band of fabric that curved up from the back of the panties over her hips and met up with a gold ring where another strap, that was holding the panties up from the front, branched out into two, snaking their way up the front of her, widening as they went until they just covered her breasts before the fabric narrowed again as it went to the back of her neck where it tied up. It was a very sexy outfit, but not like anything Natasha had ever worn before and she wasn’t sure she could pull off the seductive look enough to wear it in front of Eric.

  After spending almost an hour trying on various sexy lingerie, she made her choices and after getting dressed again, Natasha made her way to the counter to pay for her purchases. She decided she would be brave and buy the red sexy outfit, she got the emerald green negligee with the matching feathery high heeled slip on shoes, a lacy white push up bra and some thongs made from the most delicate sheer fabric. All that held them together was a gold chain. She even shocked herself a little when she picked a pair of ultra sheer black panties that were cut high at the sides, resting above her hip bones. Nothing too unusual to see at first glance, but the hidden surprise to them was, they were crutchless.

  The shop assistant wrapped all of Natasha’s things in layers of tissue paper then slipped them into a bag with the shop’s name written on the sides. Once she’d paid for them, she walked back out into the sunshine and stood for a moment to work out what she was going to do next.

  While she was thinking about it, a bus drove past and it gave her the idea on where to go. She was going to go to Bondi, have something to eat then get down to the beach and walk barefoot on the sand. It was a perfect day for it, so armed with her packages, she walked to Circular Quay to catch a bus that would take her to Bondi Junction and onto the beach.

  After about a fifteen minute wait the bus pulled in at the stop, Natasha gathered up her bag and boarded it. She paid her fare and found herself a seat on the half filled bus. She hadn’t done this sort of thing in so long, catching public transport. Since she had her car and had moved out of Sydney to live on the Central Coast, she commuted to work each day. It was easier to drive down the freeway every day than deal with public transport to get to work.

  It was nice to just sit on the bus, watching the city hustle and bustle as it made its way to Bondi. Once it pulled up at Bondi Junction, Natasha hopped off with the last of the other passengers and she started walking, her gaze travelling from side to side, taking in how much it had changed since she’d been here last. There were people everywhere, beautiful tanned people, people in skimpy clothing, people walking dogs and couples walking with their arms around one another.

  Natasha couldn’t help but look at them enviously, wishing that could be her, walking like that with Eric, with their arms around one another, in public, not caring who saw them together. Much as she was loving her time with him in the hotel, it didn’t change the fact that she was starting to feel like their relationship was like their dirty little secret. She felt like his dirty little secret and she was. That
was the reality of it all. Eric had wanted their time together kept quiet. Ok, he said it was because of people at work, him not wanting them to find out he was breaking his own rule about office romances, but a part of her wondered if it was simply a case of him wanting to keep her a secret because he was ashamed of her in some way.

  Shaking her head to stop her thoughts from going down the path they were, Natasha stopped off at a beach side kiosk and bought herself some lunch, a hot dog, dripping tomato sauce, not even remotely good for her, but she didn’t care and a can of coke. Armed with her food and still carrying her bag of lingerie, Natasha walked past the large Bondi Pavilion and onto the beach.

  She stopped, kicking her shoes off her feet before bending to retrieve them, then took her first step onto the soft warm sand that instantly squeezed up between her toes. She laughed softly at the feel of it, something she hadn’t experienced in a long time. With her face still lit up with her enjoyment of such a simple pleasure, Natasha headed down to where the waves lapped along the sand, teasing and wrapping their way around the legs of some people who stood in the water cooling off.

  When she got to the water’s edge she stopped, taking a big bite out of her hot dog as she watched the waves dance their way towards her, just brushing over her toes, making her step back, so she was out of their reach. She quickly demolished the rest of her hot dog before taking a couple of steps forward until the waves were able to snake their way around her ankles. The shock of cold water made her squeal and the sand shifted under her feet as the waves surged back out to sea. Natasha staggered back, jumping free of the water until she was on dry sand again and began to walk along the beach, drinking her coke as she walked.

  She watched people swimming, children chasing one another along the water line, screaming excitedly when the water swirled around their feet, there were groups of surfers heading out so they could try and catch that one good wave and other surfers riding in on the crest of a wave, while many other beach goers lay on their towels, bodies gleaming from their sunscreen as they soaked up the warmth of the sun’s rays.

  After she’d been walking for a while, Natasha came to a rocky area where some people were fishing while others sat on the rocks eating lunch. There were groups of even more surfers, boards propped up against the rocks, while they drank and laughed amongst themselves. They watched Natasha approaching them and a couple of the young men smiled at her. They were the picture of what every Australian surfer should look like in her mind, over long hair, wet and tangled from possibly hours of exposure to the salt water and sand, their skin tanned, muscled bodies, defined abs, every young girl’s dream probably. Not hers though, Natasha’s heart belonged to Eric, he just didn’t know it and she was going to make damned sure he never did.

  She carefully picked her way over the rocks, clutching her lingerie bag firmly so she didn’t drop it in any of the pools of water between the rocks. She kept going past the young surfers who were still watching her, their faces clearly showing their appreciation of her beauty. Finally after a bit more climbing, Natasha found an area of rocks that were shadowed by a rock wall behind them. After years of being slammed by waves, they had formed a fairly level shelf like nature’s version of a lounge and Natasha sat on the rock to finish her drink and to continue her people watching. She watched the group of young men get up, grabbing their surfboards before jogging down to the water’s edge and paddling their way out off shore so they could find that one perfect wave.

  She watched them for a while, before leaning back against the rocky outcrop behind her, enjoying the coolness of the shadowed rock against her skin and closed her eyes. Natasha tucked her bag of lingerie in under her arm, listening to the sounds around her. The crash of the waves against the rocks as the tide started coming in, the screaming of children playing in the waves, the chatter of people as they walked past. She breathed deep of the sea air, smiling contentedly. She was so glad she’d chosen not to stay in the hotel room waiting all alone for Eric to come back. She was enjoying this time out so much. It was relaxing, maybe too relaxing as she started feeling quite weary, the days of little sleep starting to catch up with her and before she even knew it, she drifted off to sleep.

  …………………………………………………………

  It was the sound of a male voice in her ear and a damp, cool hand gently shaking her that woke Natasha. She opened her eyes, jumping slightly, confusion clouding her gaze for a moment, until her head cleared enough to suddenly remember where she was. The sun had shifted, the glare of it hitting her eyes, making her lift one arm to shield them from the brightness of its rays.

  One of the surfers who had been on the rocks earlier stood before her, his body covered in droplets of water and a light covering of sand. He was quite tall, his skin tanned from probably hours at the beach. He had sandy blonde hair that brushed his shoulders, water dripping from it and running like tiny rivers down his chest, across his washboard abs before soaking into the waistband of his board shorts.

  “Sorry to wake you.” He said. “But you’re in the sun and you don’t look like you’ve got sunscreen on to protect that gorgeous skin of yours.” He grinned. He held out his hand to her. “I’m Brodie.”

  Natasha pulled herself upright, glancing at the hand Brodie held out to her. Shaking her head slightly to clear the last cobwebs of sleep from her brain, she held her hand out and took his. “I’m Natasha.” She told him. “Thank you, I wouldn’t want to get burned.” She said, her eyes dropping down to inspect her arms for signs that her skin had been exposed to the sun for too long. It was pink, but fortunately it looked like Brodie had woken her before she’d been in the direct rays of the sun too long.

  “So do you live around here?” He asked his tone friendly, his eyes drifting over her, appreciation for what he was seeing obvious in his gaze.

  “Ah, no, I’m staying in the city with a friend.” Natasha told him.

  “You should have brought your friend with you then, so she could have stopped you falling asleep in the sun.” Brodie said.

  “Well I was in the shade when I first sat down.” Natasha pointed out. “Plus my friend is a he and he got called in to work unexpectedly,” she told him, the tone of her voice betraying her annoyance that Eric had left her alone.

  “Now that’s just wrong.” Brodie smiled at her. “If I was your friend, I wouldn’t leave you alone for anything, no matter how important it might be.”

  Her eyes shot up to his attractive face. His eyes were travelling over her with definate male interest. She groaned to herself, she didn’t need this. She wasn’t here to be chatted up by a handsome man admittedly but quite obviously a few years younger than her.

  Suddenly Natasha thought of the time. She fished around in her bag, pulling out her phone and groaned out loud when she saw the screen. Her phone was off. She tried to turn it back on but it wouldn’t respond. The battery was dead flat.

  “Damn, damn, damn.” She cursed. She felt a twinge of nerves in her stomach as her anxiety grew. “Do you have the time Brodie?” She asked him.

  He held up his wrists. “Well not on me.” He joked. “Hang on I’ve got my phone over there.” He pointed towards where the rest of his mates were watching them intently, smiles plastered on their faces as they watched their friend trying his luck with her.

  “Hang on.” He said and turned to jog back over the rocks until he could grab his phone.

  One of his mates handed it to him and he trotted back to her.

  “It’s just after four.” He told her.

  “FOUR, four pm?” Natasha shrieked.

  Brodie’s face broke out in a big grin, his teeth looking very white against his tanned skin. “Well, it’s obviously not 4am.” He laughed.

  She jumped up, snatching up her lingerie bag. “Thank you.” She said. “I have to go. I’m late, really late.” She said on a groan. Damn she’d been asleep for a couple of hours, she had been tired, but then Eric’s passion had denied her getting any decent r
est. Hopefully she would get back before he did because she couldn’t ring him with her phone being dead flat. If he got back before she did, he wouldn’t know where she was since she hadn’t left a note for him.

  “Aw don’t tell me you have to go already.” Brodie looked a bit crestfallen.

  “I’m sorry.” Natasha said “But I never intended being out this long, I really have to go. It was nice meeting you and thank you for waking me, but I’m sorry again, I have to go.”

  She brushed past him and started walking away at a brisk pace, heading back the way she’d come. The number of people on the beach had dropped except for those that were still trying to soak up the last rays of the day and of course the surfers, they practically lived on the beach.

  Once she got back to solid, sand free ground, Natasha slipped her shoes back on and broke into a jog back towards where the bus had dropped her off earlier that day. A quick glance at the timetable at the shelter told her she’d missed the last bus of the day by only 5 minutes so she was going to have to get a taxi.

  She scanned the area where she stood looking for a taxi rank or even a taxi driving past would have been good at this time, but nothing. Her anxiety levels rose, she had to get back to the hotel. She still hoped that she might get back before Eric and with that thought going through her mind, she started walking towards the huge Westfield shopping centre she could see. Surely there would be a taxi rank or a phone at least so she could call one.

  When Natasha got to the huge shopping centre she stepped through the automatic doors into a vast building on several levels, shops everywhere. There were still a lot of people getting around shopping.

  The cool of the air conditioning chilled her heated skin and she realised she felt quite parched. She definitely needed a drink.