Carmen calling down the stairs to hurry up for breakfast did little to help. By the time Andrew had changed into shirt and shorts and made his way to the steps he felt so sick in the stomach from apprehension he had no appetite. It took an effort to make himself walk up to the patio, fearing to learn his fate.
The other girls were all there. Carmen and Jennifer both greeted him cheerfully but Andrew was only interested in Muriel. He saw at once that she was not happy and that she looked tired. As he walked towards them she turned and met his eyes, then said, “Hello,” but with no particular liking. Andrew was aware that he must have hurt her feelings and made her feel rejected but he didn’t know what to say, or how to say it, to make up. He also vaguely resented the whole situation.
Carmen cast swift glances from one to the other but then asked, “Where are Blake and Shona?”
“Still downstairs,” Andrew replied.
“I’ll get them,” Jennifer said. She stood and hurried to the steps and down them. By then Andrew had seated himself. Muriel met his eyes and he thought he saw regret in them too. “What would you like to eat?” she asked, indicating the spread of cereal, fruit, toast and jams.
Deciding not to say anything much at the moment Andrew indicated ‘Weetbix’ with butter and honey. As he spread the butter he heard loud laughter from downstairs and shrill denials from Shona. Rather than get involved Andrew looked around. He saw that it as a brilliant sunny day, the light sparkling of the water. Down in the garden were Grandma Murchison and Muriel’s little brother but of the other adults there was no sign. His watch told him it was already eight thirty so that did not surprise him, it being Sunday morning.
Shona and a grinning Blake appeared behind Jennifer. “Kissing,” Jennifer said impishly.
It was very obvious to Andrew that both Blake and Shona were very happy. They sat and held hands and kept touching each other in a way that made him both jealous and frustrated. That it was also annoying Muriel was clear to him.
“What are we doing today?” Jennifer asked.
Muriel shrugged then said, “Exploring maybe? Or we can swim or play games.”
Exploring was voted on but that could not begin until all had eaten, brushed their teeth, put on footwear and collected hats. It was nearly 9:30 before they set off. Muriel told her mother they were just going up the creek for a while and Andrew heard her mother caution her to watch out for snakes. That made him a bit anxious but as they were in a group he soon forgot.
The group made its way out the front door and onto the driveway. Twenty metres in front was the main road and just to the right of the driveway entrance was a low concrete bridge, just visible through the crotons. Muriel led the way across the driveway and down a short foot track to the creek bed. “We never go across the main road,” she explained. “We always go under the bridge.”
Hearing that brought vividly to Andrew’s mind a scene from one of his favourite books: ‘Swallowdale’ by Arthur Ransome. The children in that were always pretending they were explorers in some hostile territory; avoiding ‘Indians’ or ‘savage natives’. As he was always daydreaming similar stories Andrew thought it a good idea. Forgetting his unhappiness for a moment he conjured up a story of being with a landing party of marines sneaking ashore to rescue.... to rescue ?... well, it had to be damsels in distress... Muriel preferably.
By then they were making their way under the small bridge at a crouch, the large area of water-smoothed granite making it easy going. The ‘creek’ turned out to be a mere trickle, not even half a metre wide and mostly only a few centimetres deep. There were nice little rock pools though and they stopped at several to look for fish or other life. Apart from a few water spiders they saw nothing.
The creek bed was only about 5 metres wide, lined with boulders and with frequent rock ledges and small waterfalls. It was lined with a fairly dense growth of vegetation and quite a few ferns. As the trees met overhead it was shady but Andrew could see out onto the hillside on both sides. These were covered in dry eucalyptus ‘bush’. Gum trees, mostly spindly ironbarks, and a thin covering of grass, with occasional clumps of weeds and ferns. Beside the creek ran a faint foot trail and a water pipe.
As they clambered from rock to rock up an ever-steepening slope Andrew could not help admiring the girl’s legs and shapely forms. In particular his eyes were continually drawn to Muriel, who wore short white shorts and a loose top that left her middle bare. To his eyes she looked very attractive and desirable. His mind shifted from daydreams about pirates or battling 18th Century Frenchmen to more immediate fantasies and thoughts about how to try to make up with her.
His opportunity came sooner than he anticipated. Only a couple of minutes later Blake, who was leading, suddenly sprang aside. “Snake!” he shouted.
At that Muriel, who had been about to step across a small pool from one rock to another, tried to pull back. In doing so she teetered on the same boulder as Andrew. Her hand shot out and grabbed his arm, then her other hand sought his. He steadied her, all the while looking anxiously around for the snake. He saw it then, a small yellow-bellied black. The snake was only about half a metre long and quickly slid off out of sight under some rocks.
Until it was gone Muriel clung to Andrew. Then, still holding on to him, she turned and said, “Thanks.”
At that Andrew was moved to whisper, “Sorry about last night. I really like you, you know.”
For a second he thought she was going to get angry, but then her eyes softened and she gave a smile, at the same time squeezing his hands. “That’s alright.”
Feeling very relieved and much more hopeful Andrew continued on up the creek behind her. The going was too rough for them to walk side by side to hold hands but he felt confident she would let him. However that confidence received a bit of a dent when they arrived at the dam. This was a low concrete wall about 3 metres high which spanned the creek. It was just rough concrete coated with black lichen and a slick off moss. On the upstream side was a delightful pool five metres wide and ten long, of clear, fresh water.
“Gran’s water supply,” Muriel explained.
“It looks lovely,” Carmen cried.
Blake wiped sweat off his face and said, “It would make a great swimming pool.”
Even though it was ‘winter’ it was now quite hot. Being on the leeward side of the mountain and in a re-entrant, there was no breeze to speak of and the sun was shining down from a cloudless sky. Andrew was also sweating and saw that the others were perspiring as well.
Muriel said, “We often swim in it, especially in summer when it isn’t safe to swim in the sea because of stingers.”
“We should have brought our bathers,” Carmen commented.
At that Muriel giggled and said, “We don’t need bathers. Nobody will see us. We often go skinny dipping here.”
That comment was something of a revelation to Andrew and his imagination at once exploded into heated fantasies of Muriel swimming naked in the pool. It was also something of a challenge. He saw at once that everyone was thinking about it, Shona going red and giggling, Jennifer looking coy, Blake grinning and Carmen frowning. It was the presence of his sister that was most inhibiting to Andrew. He loved her dearly and was always careful never to offend her. Otherwise the thought of such a dare held great appeal.
Then Muriel turned to him and directly challenged him. “Are you game to come for a swim Andrew?” she asked.
That really put Andrew on an uncomfortable spot. He blushed and felt simultaneously aroused and anxious. “I’d love to, but I don’t want to offend anyone,” he mumbled.
“You won’t!” Muriel replied scornfully. “You haven’t got anything this lot haven’t seen before.”
Andrew blushed furiously and met Carmen’s eyes. She was pursing her lips and not looking happy. “No,” he replied. “It isn’t right.”
“Oh scaredy cat! Now Shona will be disappointed,” Muriel retorted.
“Oh poo to you!” Shona cried, but she giggled and
Blake gave her a leering grin.
Andrew looked into Muriel’s eyes and thought he detected a glint of more than just challenge. ‘Is she getting her own back?’ he wondered. He was sure she was testing him and that stirred both irritation and resentment. Again he shook his head and this time was supported by Carmen.
“We don’t want to swim in your Gran’s water supply in winter time,” Carmen said. “It won’t flush itself well enough. Let’s go back to the house and get our bathers, then go for a swim in the sea.”
Muriel curled her lip but shrugged. “OK, if you aren’t game.” With that she turned and began walking back down the hill, this time following the foot path.
Andrew burned with both anger and embarrassment. That last fling had stung and he resented it. He met Carmen’s eye and she looked sympathetic. Jennifer looked excited but embarrassed and both Blake and Shona looked mildly disappointed. Andrew was sure that Blake and Shona would have gone in and he found his mind filled with fantasies of Jennifer nude and of Muriel. They hurt too and it was a mixed up and unhappy boy that set off down the trail after Muriel.
The others followed and twenty minutes later they arrived back at the house. Contrary to what she had said earlier Muriel just walked straight across the main road and down the driveway. By then Andrew was feeling hurt and uncomfortable and even more sure he was losing with Muriel. He was also wondering if they were even suited for each other. But that hurt because he felt sure he was in love!
Back at the house they had cold cordial and some cream biscuits. Then they changed into bathers. Even that was a worry to Andrew. By now his overheated mind had him so aroused that he was quite unable to stop himself from getting an erection. All he could do was try to hide it by leaving his shirt hanging out and by draping his beach towel over his shoulder. On top of that Andrew was not keen on going swimming in the sea. He disliked it at the best of times and had no wish to be placed under that sort of stress. Knowing that his fears were mostly irrational did little to help. They were genuine fears and he did not feel like hiding them from the others just for pleasure.
But he went swimming anyway, despising himself for being too much of a coward to admit his fears, or to just stay on shore. The tide was well out and they had to wade for fifty metres even to get to knee deep water. That was more than enough for Andrew but the others went deeper. Then he was tested some more by the horseplay. Blake spent a lot of time chasing Shona, to catch and duck her. During several of the resulting water fights Andrew noted that Blake had taken the opportunity to grasp Shona by her bosom, a process she did not seem to resent but one which made Andrew feel jealous and frustrated.
The most that he managed was to grip Muriel by her legs and trip her up. She later put her arm around his neck and stayed clinging to him. From that he deduced he had been at least partially forgiven and he started to relax and enjoy himself. Later he took her hand as they strolled ashore and she smiled and let him keep hold of it.
She led him to the mouth of the creek and Andrew saw why he had never noticed it before. The fresh water coming down the hillside did not reach the beach but soaked into the sand and there was no obvious watercourse at all beyond the fringe of overhanging branches. What Andrew did notice was a pattern of tracks in the sand made by a very large snake and that got him looking anxiously around. None was visible so he shrugged and went to join Blake in making a sandcastle among some small rocks.
The waves were tiny, only ten or twenty centimetres high, and the tide slowly coming in so they had some entertainment in trying to dam it and to make a harbour. In the process Andrew quite forgot his age and reverted to daydreaming and happily playing. The girls lost interest and went to lie on their towels.
After a while Andrew and Blake also joined the girls. By then the girls had stopped sunbathing and were lying in the shade. Andrew took a chance and spread his towel next to Muriel. To his relief she smiled at him and began to chat happily as he lay down. That cheered him even more and he lay there feeling better, content with her closeness and the sight of her lovely, curvy body.
After a while Jennifer got up and strolled off to the right, picking up seashells and pumice stone off the beach. Blake and Shona strolled off the other way, hand in hand. Andrew relaxed and drifted off to sleep. As he slept he was vaguely aware that Muriel was snuggled next to him, was actually touching him. That was very pleasant and helped him to doze off, drifting into dream-filled slumber. The dreams involved naked girls swimming and Andrew became very aroused and very hopeful.
“Wake up you sleeping beauties,” came a lady’s voice.
Andrew opened sleep-gummed eyes and saw that it was Muriel’s mother. She was bending over and shaking them. To his concern and delight he discovered that Muriel was snuggled right against him, her head on his shoulder. Worse still, she had her right arm resting across the front of his bathers and he became embarrassingly aware that he was very aroused.
‘Has she done that by accident in her sleep?’ he wondered, at the same time hoping that her mother had not noticed. He quickly sat up, removing Muriel’s arm as he did. “Yes Mrs Murchison, what is it?”
“Lunch time Andrew,” Muriel’s mother replied. She shook Muriel firmly. “Come on Moppet, wake up!”
Muriel opened her eyes and blinked sleepily up at Andrew. Then she smiled and stretched. “Oooh! I needed that, and I had such a good dream,” she said.
Andrew had too but he did not want to draw attention to his aroused condition by saying so. Instead he sat and rubbed his eyes. Carmen was standing nearby flicking sand off her towel and he met her eyes. To add to his confusion she winked and grinned.
Muriel’s mother looked around. “Where are the others?”
“Jennifer was looking for shells,” Carmen said. “She went that way. I think Blake and Shona went the other way.”
“Well find them please, then come up and have lunch,” Muriel’s mother said.
“I’ll get Jen,” Carmen said, walking off along the beach.
Andrew stood up, keeping his back to Muriel and her mother so that they would not see he was aroused. To his relief Muriel’s mother turned and began walking back up towards the house. Muriel stood and hurried after Andrew. “Wait Andrew. I will come with you,” she said.
When she caught up she took his hand. This both surprised and pleased him and he felt much happier. The pair strolled hand in hand west around the boulders near the mouth of the creek. As they did Andrew fretted about how he might adjust his bathers without her noticing.
No opportunity arose. Instead Andrew found himself staring at Blake and Shona. They were lying on their towels under the shade of a large tree. Both were wearing only their bathers- or at least part of their bathers as Shona had her top rolled right down to her waist. Blake was lying half on her, his right knee over her right leg. His right hand was firmly gripping Shona’s left breast. They were kissing and did not realize that they were being watched until Muriel cried out.
“Oooh! Caught youse at it! Stop that, you naughty pair,” she cried. Then she giggled.
That giggle was a revelation to Andrew. He had begun to blush fiercely and had wanted to shield Muriel from the sight but now his mind raced into a riot of speculation. She obviously wasn’t offended. ‘Maybe that is what she wants?’ he wondered. It certainly hadn’t been his idea of a loving relationship at their age but it got him thinking hard.
Shona looked up in alarm and Blake gave a guilty start and released Shona’s breast as though it had suddenly become red hot. That allowed Andrew a good look. Shona flamed with embarrassment and turned away, but that granted Andrew an even better view from the right rear which placed her breast in delightful profile. ‘Very nice,’ he thought. ‘Lucky Blake!’
As Blake scrambled to cover himself and to pull on a shirt and Shona struggled to pull up her top Muriel said, “Take it easy you two. We aren’t going to tell anyone.”
That got Andrew’s mind racing with more speculation. ‘She doesn’t mind! Maybe sh
e will let me do that?’
That Muriel was neither offended nor upset was reinforced by her going over to talk to Shona to reassure her. Blake stood up and held his towel in front of him. “What is it?” he asked.
“Just lunch,” Andrew answered.
“Yeah, OK,” Blake answered. He was plainly embarrassed and worried.
To ease the situation Andrew turned and strolled away, looking out to sea and pretending great interest in a passing launch. Muriel joined him, rushing over and taking hold of his right arm. She snuggled against his arm and giggled, then said, “Oh poor Old Shona! She is so embarrassed. Serves her right. She should have been more careful. You won’t say anything will you?”
“No,” Andrew promised. He was now enjoying the feel of Muriel against him but had his own problem of his body reacting. It was a relief to reach his towel and to have an excuse to let go of her while he flicked sand off it and used it to cover himself.
At that moment Carmen came walking back with Jennifer. They apparently saw nothing unusual and when Blake and Shona joined them no comment was made by anyone about the incident. It was obvious to Andrew that Shona was highly embarrassed and that Blake was upset but he was more interested in the fact that Muriel had been amused and not offended.
‘Maybe I have a chance?’ he thought. But when? And how? As they strolled hand in hand up towards the house his mind began turning to the afternoon and to possible future dates.
CHAPTER 15
UNEXPECTED OPPOSITION
Feeling very aroused and unsure Andrew walked back up to the house holding Muriel’s hand. The group made its way in through the garage door and the boys were left to get changed while the girls went upstairs. Andrew found that even something as simple as having a shower to wash off the salt, and then dressing, got him all aroused and excited. Memories of Muriel’s touch mingled with images of Letitia and Shona. He became very erect and nothing he could do would make it go down. All he could do was leave his shirt hanging out and hope that nobody would notice.
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