by Ruby Bassett
The woman was gone. She’d vanished. All that remained were some palm leaves and a few scattered nuts. She moves fast for an old woman.
With another glare at the idol, Wendy dropped it into her purse. As she returned to the bus stop, Wendy’s mind flashed with images of sweaty bodies, the first time she had an orgasm, and the one taboo movie she had snuck into. She shook her head, but the images remained. All her blood rushed from her head to between her legs, but her cheeks still burned.
She bolted back to the employee parking lot. “Franco!”
He was still there, propped against his car, his lean arms and chest covered by a tight black t-shirt. He talked with another kitchen worker, but she only saw his tall body, and all she thought of was what she wanted to do to it.
She stood breathless before him. The urges she had tamped down came bubbling up as she fought against the need to rip open the fly of his jeans.
“Hello, Wendy.” He smiled broadly.
“Franco, can you drive me to school?” She eyed the black El Camino. No back seat, but she’d figure something out.
“Of course. Sam, I’ll catch you later.” He held the door open for Wendy.
“Dude, I need a ride, too,” Sam protested.
“Not as badly as I do.” Wendy hurried into the car, slamming the passenger door.
Chapter Two
Franco slid into the driver’s seat, revved the engine and pulled out of the parking lot.
“I’m glad you changed your mind. I’ve wanted to tell you about the restaurant I’m going to open.” He threw his arm over the seat, his hand brushing her shoulder.
“Uh-huh.” Wendy turned the air vents toward her. She was burning up. She saw Franco almost every day, and usually she could keep her hands to herself. But today her control must have slipped. She licked her lips as she eyed the smooth nape of his neck. Her eyes grew wide when she spied his lap and the bulge outlined by his tight jeans.
“Yeah, I’m not going to be a dishwasher forever. My cousin and I, we have plans to open an Italian or Greek restaurant.”
Wendy almost didn’t hear what he said. The blood throbbing through her veins rushed in her ears.
“Didn’t you take culinary classes?”
“You remember?” Franco swiveled his head away from the road for an instant.
“Sure I remember. I remember telling you that a restaurant is a risky venture. You could lose everything.”
He chuckled. “It’s a risk worth taking. Besides, we wrote our business plan and got a loan from the bank. So we’re not stupid. Mostly, we’ll need help from our family in the beginning. But we figure in about six months—”
“Do you know the short cut through Liliuokalani Gardens?” she asked. She had to relieve the pressure building in her core.
“That park is about a mile in the opposite direction.” Franco turned to face her, he squinted in confusion.
“Just go there. Please?”
“Whatever my lady wants.” He smiled.
A few moments later, they pulled into the drive at the ornamental Japanese gardens. Small bridges crossed the ponds and little stone pagodas dotted the fields.
“Pull in over there.” Wendy pointed to the end of the parking lot where dense trees lined one side.
“Don’t you have class soon? You’re always telling me you don’t have any free time after work because of school.”
“I’ll make some time now,” Wendy said, already unbuttoning her blouse. She pulled it off and unhooked her bra.
She started on her jeans. Franco sat frozen, his eyes wide in astonishment.
“Well?” Wendy said. “I think we can dash over to those trees.” She scrambled out, making sure he got a good glimpse of her pink panties as she went.
In a frenzy, he stripped off his shirt and followed her out of the car. They fell down under the swaying leaves of a tree. She unbuttoned his pants and swiped them off.
“I’ve waited a long time for this.” Franco ran a finger down her neck, and placed a gentle kiss on the end of her pert nose.
“Shhh.” Wendy placed her finger to his lips. “Let’s not talk.” His words would touch her soul and she only wanted him to touch her body.
Her eyes devoured his lanky frame as she ran her hand across his smooth caramel skin. She knelt beside him. The heat from her hands traced the edge of his chest, and her tongue followed. He tasted clean and smelled like soap. He gasped when her mouth reached the hair at the base of his cock.
“Oh, babe,” he sighed.
“Yeah,” she said, glancing over her shoulder to see him strain against his urges. In one swallow, she engulfed his length with her mouth, sucking hard as she moved her head up, pulling at him.
A long groan escaped his throat as she repeated the motion. To have him in her mouth, to control the pleasure they shared, was almost as satisfying as what his hand did. He pushed aside her silk panties and found her clit. Slowly, he stroked her, his hand slick with her juices.
She released him and lay back in the shade of the tree. The cool moist grass did nothing to quench the heat streaming through her. She spread her legs wide in invitation. He quickly yanked off her damp panties and buried his face in her pussy.
Throwing her head back, she let loose a cry. Finally, the tensions that had grown inside her since their last time together began to untwist. His tongue thrust inside her, along with a finger, and she bucked her hips to meet them. Licks of fire ran up to her core with every swipe of his tongue.
“Get. A. Condom!” she demanded.
Franco sat back, his eyes smoldering. He reached for his discarded pants. When he retrieved the condom, Wendy snatched it from his hands and shoved him onto his back. She smoothed the condom over his cock and massaged his balls before she climbed on top, letting her hair brush over his stomach
She eased herself onto his thick erection. Her heart almost fought against her actions but, with a shudder, she sat herself down and completely sheathed him.
His eyes fluttered closed and he swallowed hard as she rocked against him. Her hands splayed on his chest, roaming over his polished skin.
Her body needed this. The endorphins in her brain freed her from the stress and confusion that had choked her.
He held her hips and guided her as she raised herself and plunged down again, taking him in. Over and over, she rose and fell, slowly but with force. She grabbed one of his hands and placed his finger against her clit.
His other hand raked through her brown wavy hair, which freely flowed down her back. The heady floral scent of the garden rolled across her.
He massaged her as her pace quickened. Her legs quaked and almost gave out, but her needs drove her on. As her orgasm built, her worries, her clouded thoughts, melted away. Her climax was hard and fast and the waves of it enfolded her body.
A moment later, Franco trembled under her as he came.
She climbed off him and searched for her panties. The ache between her legs had subsided, but it was replaced with an ache in her chest. She had to figure out something to say to Franco. Please don’t let him ask me out for dinner.
They were silent as they dressed and climbed back into the car. Wendy only smiled in a friendly way as she nodded for him to start the car.
“You know, Wendy, I admire you.”
“Thanks,” she kept her eyes trained out the window and gripped the arm rest, bracing herself for what he might say.
“I like you. You know how to have fun. But you’re also a hard worker, a dedicated student. I know you’ll make a great lawyer one day.” He rubbed her knee with his free hand as he drove.
Wendy tried not to listen. The sky was brighter, the air crisper, and the cobwebs in her mind were blown away. She was prepared to tackle her Chemistry class that awaited her. It wasn’t all of what she wanted, but for now it would do. She couldn’t go down this path with Franco. She sighed.
Poor Franco, falsely encouraged, took her hand and gave it a squeeze. He had no idea. To him, she proba
bly seemed like a sexually forward woman, who would gladly meet him on a regular basis.
“You can drop me off here,” Wendy said, pointing to the main lecture hall.
“Sure, babe. Do you want to catch a movie? When can I pick you up?”
“You can’t.” Wendy ran her fingers through her hair to pry out loose bits of grass.
“Why not?”
She cringed at the injured tone in his voice. “It was just a one-time thing.” Swallowing the lump forming in her throat, she braced herself and met his gaze. “Listen Franco, you’re a nice guy, and that was fun. But I can’t go out with you. I’m busy.” It pained her to see his expression. Part of her was too ashamed of how she jumped his bones to ever make eye contact with him again. The other part propelled her to reach out and kiss him, hold on to him and let him hold on to her. But that could never happen.
“But, baby. I thought we shared something special just now. What do you think? That I’m the type of guy to fuck and run?” He narrowed his eyes.
“Don’t make it out to be more than it is.” She pecked him on the cheek and before he could protest, she slammed the door and sprinted half-way up the steps to the lecture hall.
Wendy creaked open the classroom door. Class had already started. She slid into the seat next to Gloria, who eyed her up and down.
“Your buttons are crooked,” Gloria whispered in her ear.
As discretely as possible, Wendy undid the top few buttons on her blouse and re-buttoned them evenly.
She directed her attention to the lecture. Chemistry normally gave Wendy fits, but today, as she scribbled furiously in her notebook to get down each idea and fact, the concepts penetrated her brain with ease.
“Ms. Johnson,” the professor said. “Can you remind us what we call the phase transition from solid to gas?”
Without hesitation, Wendy answered, “Sublimation.”
The quick, correct answer surprised her.
The professor’s eyebrow went up and he nodded. “Too bad, you missed it on the homework assignment,” he said and went on with the lecture.
When the class was over, she and Gloria packed up their books and stepped out into the fresh air. The sky was darkening over the campus, but enough sun lit the natural landscaping, which Wendy typically ignored in her hurried pace. But tonight, she marveled at the bright greens and fragrant blossoms.
“So who is he?” Gloria asked.
“Who is who?”
“Come on. You arrive late to class, your buttons all askew and your hair mussed. You were with someone. I only want to know who this superman is who was able to pierce your hard shell and make you swoon into his arms.”
“Franco, the dishwasher,” Wendy said flatly.
Gloria laughed. “You’re kidding? I thought you’d brushed him off already. Can’t you make up your mind about him?”
They fell into step with one another as they walked toward the Mookini Library.
Wendy shrugged. “I’m not sure what came over me.”
A chill ran down her back and over her arms. She had let her guard slip. For a moment she almost let Franco touch her heart along with her body. She’d seen the pain her father caused her mother after he left. That’s what happens when you give into your desires. That’s what happens when you throw caution to the wind and ignore what you need to do.
“I was desperate. I needed a quick fix,” Wendy said.
“Did it work?”
Wendy rolled her eyes. “No,” she sighed. “It took the edge off. But what am I supposed to do? Franco asked me out. I can’t go out with him. I can’t go out with anyone.”
“Don’t tell me you need to focus on school work. That’s all you do now,” Gloria said.
“I’m going to need every available minute to try to master organic compounds. I hate the science requirement. A relationship would wreck my GPA.”
Gloria cocked her head to one side. “I think I should invite you to my club.”
“Gloria, what makes you think I’d fit in at a social club? I’d feel out of place with all your wealthy friends.”
“It’s not that kind of club. I just want you to meet people you’ll enjoy being with. Get out a little bit.”
“I’m going to a friend’s party tomorrow.” Wendy hoped she could get Gloria off her back as well as Susan.
Gloria peered at her sideways. “I know you. You just got a poor grade on an assignment. There’s no way you’re going out tomorrow.”
“Honestly, I am.” Wendy didn’t tell her friend that she’d study before she’d leave for the party.
“Just promise to have a good time and I’ll leave you alone.”
“I promise.” Only not too much of a good time.
She had seen her father go wherever the wind blew him and chase adrenalin rushes. She knew where having fun could lead.
****
Friday night, a pair of jeans and form-fitting sweater was as dressed up as she was going to get for Susan’s party.
On her way out of her bedroom to search for her keys, she froze. Her mother slumped in a chair at the kitchen table. It was the same position she had found her mother in when her father had left.
One day they woke up and he was gone. Leaving nothing but half of what was in the bank account and a note on the same kitchen table where her mom sat now.
At the age of seven, Wendy could read a little, but she stumbled over the words “stifled” and “freedom” written on the lined paper that had fallen to the floor from her mother’s hand.
“Mom?” Wendy recognized the same troubled tone she used sixteen years earlier.
“Oh, I didn’t hear you.” Samantha Johnson sat up and busied herself with the papers. Wendy rarely saw her mother down in the dumps. It might have taken a few months after Wendy’s father left, but Samantha had pulled herself together and done what she had to in order to provide for her daughter.
“Which bill is it?” Wendy sat next to her mother. Papers spread across the table, a yellow pad filled with calculations sitting in their midst. Wendy didn’t need to examine the numbers to know they wouldn’t add up.
“That’s just it, we’ll have to choose.” Her mother gestured to the table. “What can we go without?”
Wendy didn’t respond. Her mother still wore the scrubs from the hospital where she worked as a nurse’s aide. It was steady work, but without a degree, she earned just enough for them to squeak by and stay in their cramped but clean house.
“You work too hard for too little, Mom.”
“So do you.” For the first time, Samantha glanced up at her daughter. “Wow, you look great.”
“Thanks, Mom. I was going to a party at Susan’s, but I can stay home if you want me to.”
“Don’t be silly. You’re too young to be stuck here with me on a Friday night.”
“We could get some ice cream, do our nails, and watch a movie.” Wendy offered.
“No we can’t, the cable TV is getting cut off.” Samantha laughed. “Go and have a good time.”
“There are more important things than having fun.”
“Don’t start that with me. You are not your father. You can be responsible and have some carefree moments.”
“But—”
“Promise me you won’t think about all this tonight.” She waved at the bills. “Now, go.” She pointed to the door.
“Okay, Mom.” Wendy stood and kissed her mother on the cheek. “I love you and I promise not to let the bills worry me tonight. But I also promise that I’ll fix all this and get a good job.”
Wendy yanked open the screen door and waved goodbye. She wiggled it closed behind her, as it never latched correctly. She trotted down the neatly swept, but badly in need of paint, porch steps and headed toward her friend’s house.
Susan and Billy lived in the same rundown neighborhood as Wendy. The houses here sometimes didn’t withstand the big storms that came through, but they were at least well maintained and the amount of junk in the yards was kept to
a minimum.
Wendy heard the classic rock music before she turned up the walkway. A cushionless, old wicker sofa and some milk crates stood in as the patio furniture. Wendy didn’t knock on the door, but entered directly into a dark living room, lit by one red and one green bulb.
The television entranced Billy and a few of his buddies. Two of the guys brandished controllers. On the screen, one bloody figure had his arm pulled off by another leather-clad character.
“Hey, Wendy. You made it.” Susan appeared from a back room carrying a beer in each hand. She shoved one at Wendy, who accepted it with a scowl.
“I made it,” Wendy said, then took a sip of the warm beer.
“Robert’s in the other room. Come on.”
Wendy rolled her eyes, but followed because the other room had to be better than this one.
Marginally better, regular bulbs cast white light, and the lack of stereo and television allowed for conversation at a normal level. About ten people sat around on the floor and in various chairs. Two people in the corner were making out. Wendy found an unoccupied bit of worn shag carpet and plopped down, cross legged.
“Wendy, this is Robert.” Susan gestured to the man on Wendy’s left.
His height was obvious, even though he sat on the floor. His long legs stretched out into the middle of the room. His dirty-blond hair was cut close to reveal a square jaw and strong neck.
“Hey,” he said.
“How are you?” Wendy replied. His aqua blue eyes flashed behind round glasses.
“Susan says you’re a student at University of Hawaii.” He stammered slightly. He only held her gaze for a moment before he looked away
Thanks, Susan. Someone just as reluctant to be set up as I am.
“Yeah, I’m still working on my Bachelor’s. Struggling to get through the chemistry requirement.”
“Oh, that can be tough for some people,” he said almost apologetically.
“What are you studying?”
“Nematode parasites in milkfish.” For the first time, he gazed straight at her.
