Romancing the Tropics

by L. M. Mountford

  Grabbing a pair of black boxers, he quickly pulled on the undergarment before dressing in his only pair of clean trousers and pulling on a dark red shirt. Doing up all but the top two buttons, he towelled his hair one more time before glancing sideways to the mirror fixed to the back of the room’s door. Satisfied with his appearance, he switched the bedside lamp off and, guided by the warm orange twilight shining in through the window, left via the door opposite the foot of the bed and into the hallway beyond.

  The door to Sarah’s bedroom was directly opposite the guest room and it was shut tight. He was about to head towards the living room when he thought he heard a series of muffled gasps from beneath the door. Worried, he paused before the pine barrier, raised a hand to knock, and then suddenly thought better of it. Dismissing the sounds as woman’s stuff, he turned on his heel and followed the carpeted corridor to the flat’s living area.

  Sarah seemed to have made greater effort to decorate the living room than she had with the guest room. Though undeniably utilitarian, its design was just what he would have expected of her. There was only one sofa, a two-cushioned piece of supple black leather set against the main inner wall and within easy reach of the two-tiered coffee table in the centre of the room. A corner of the room was dominated by a desk upon which sat a Laptop, printer and Sony CD player, as well as a mass of papers and pens. Three, four-shelf bookcases had been arranged around the desk, all heavily laden with an assortment of books and ornaments, two of which were mostly hard backed reference books while the third was creased and dog-eared paper volumes. Curious, he took one of the more used softbacks off the case’s top shelf, only to feel his cheeks burn scarlet as he read the title.

  The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl... Christ, Sarah reads sex books! Embarrassed, He hurriedly put the book back in its place and almost tripped over the cat bed that had been subtly stowed in the corner as he backed away.

  Sara’s ginger tomcat was curled up fast asleep, too lost in his own dreams to notice he’d almost been flattened. Alex quietly stepped over the sleeping beast before performing a quick sweep of the rest of the living room, but there was nothing remarkable however except for a virtually brand-new Sony thirtysomething inch LCD TV and DVD player set up on a modern metal and glass stand in the opposite corner. Neither machine looked to have been used recently and had thin coatings of dust, but there was a pile of DVD cases beside the player. Unable to resist investigating, he bent forward for a closer look. Serendipity, Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct, Titani-

  “Find anything you like?” A voice whispered in his ear, making Alex jump and wheel around to find Sarah standing there, a sly smile tilting her full rosy lips. Her hair was still damp from the shower and she’d changed into a silky black robe that she’d tied around her waist. Feeling ominous, like a child caught with his hand in the biscuit tin, he could only look down in shame as his face burned a bright red until he heard Sarah giggle and say “Oh, don’t look so guilty Alex. I said to make yourself at home, didn’t I?”

  With a surprisingly firm grip, she took his hand and guided him to the sofa before playfully pushing him into the leather cushion. She walked through the archway in the wall that led to her kitchen. “I’ll get us something to drink.”

  His eyes followed her until she was gone from sight, his heart beating like a drum in his chest. What was wrong with him, this was Sarah, his Sarah. Why was he so nervous? He knew her as well as he knew himself, and she considerably more so. So, what had changed? Why could he not take his eyes off her? Why was her voice suddenly like music to his ears?

  Of course, in his heart, Alex already knew the answer. He’d thought about it a lot over the past few weeks, and he feared it as much as he longed for it. Her rejection would kill him more assuredly than anything else on earth.

  His thoughts fell silent when Sarah stepped back into the room, holding two shot glasses in one hand, and a bottle of pale blue alcohol bearing the insignia of a serpent in the other.

  “You still like Vodka, right?” she asked, placing both glasses on the table and unscrewing the top.

  “Thanks.” Eyeing the pale blue vodka cautiously, he raised the shot glass. “Nostrovia,” Tossing his head back, he swallowed it quickly, the familiar taste of straight Vodka rolling over his taste buds, flooding his senses. No sooner had he placed the shot glass down, he felt the first kickback rising up in his throat, his fingers tingling. It was over quickly, but then the second was upon with startling swiftness, and he could feel a heat burning through his chest, spreading over his lungs, turning his breath smoky. That should have been the end of it, but he could feel the third growing and glanced at Sarah, who was smiling down at him as she held the glass to her lips. He opened his mouth to speak and coughed violently.

  “Wow.”

  “Na Zdorovie, Alex.” She replied, her perfect lips pronouncing the Russian toast fluently. Alex tried to stop her, his hand rising up as his lips mouthed the words, but Sarah gently tipped the glass back and drained the contents. She swallowed it all without caution, then after a moment pursed her lips and whistled.

  Alex’s chest heaved with the effort of breathing, but he could not tear his gaze from the vision of Sarah standing before him, her rosy lips pursed, half-veiled eyes watching him with playful amusement. She was toying with him, but what was her game?

  “Mmm...” She moaned as she sat next to him on the sofa. “It takes a bit of getting used to, but it gives one hell of a buzz.”

  A buzz, is that what she calls this? Alex wasn’t an innocent. Since his break-up with Janet, he’d learned to indulge himself and enjoy a glass or two in the evenings, dulling the memories that plagued his moments of solitude. He knew the feeling that came with having one too many, but that was a mere shadow of the sensations rushing through him now. Every cell in his body felt energised, a fire was raging in his chest, and a thick canopy of smoke fogged his thoughts. His movements felt foreign, both sluggish and at the same time accelerated. He tried to think of something to say, but as his eyes watched her his mouth opened and words came spilling out before he realised what he had said. “You know, you never did answer my question. What happened after prom? Why’d you wait five years to get back in touch?”

  Sarah didn’t answer. Seemingly stunned by his sudden outburst, she went as still as marble and turned her gaze away from him to watch her cat sleeping in his bed. Her eyes were glassy and when she blinked, a tear rolled down her cheek.

  Dammit, Rike, you just couldn’t keep your big mouth shut, could you? Inwardly cursing his own stupidity, Alex shifted round and reached out to touch her shoulder, but again thought better of it at the last moment and retracted his hand.

  “Oh God, Sarah, I’m sor...”

  “I found them, Alex.” Sarah’s voice lacked all emotion. She raised a hand to brush the tear aside. “My parents, I found them. They’re dentists, can you believe it? My folks, dentists with their own surgery on Harley Street. I went to see them that morning, after... I never told you because I knew you wouldn’t approve, but they’re my parents. I wanted to meet them, know who they are, why they didn’t want me.

  “Sarah-” Alex’s mouth was dry.

  “They didn’t even notice me. I went in and there they were, standing there talking to patients. I knew it was them, I tried to speak, but then my mother told me to take a seat. She looked straight at me and didn’t even see me. I’ve waited all my life to meet them and they’ve no idea I exist. I-I was just a-another pa-pat-patient.”

  The tears were coming strong. Alex wanted to say something, but what? He placed a hand on her shoulder. It wasn’t much but it seemed to help as she didn’t push him away and after a moment, he could feel the shaking that wracked her beginning to subside. Brushing the tears away, she lifted her gaze away from the sleeping feline.

  “He tried to kiss me you know.”

  “What!” The sound was higher than Alex had intended but suddenly it felt like there was a tennis ball lodged in his throat that h
e just couldn’t swallow. “... Who?”

  “Rodarick.”

  “So, what did you do?”

  “I hit him.”

  “Seriously?” Despite himself, Alex couldn’t help a small chuckle.

  “Yep, knocked the crapaud flat on his arse then stormed out. He’s such a pig.” The tension easing, she relaxed back into his embrace. “I’m sorry Alex, I just couldn’t deal with it. I wanted to get away, so I just grabbed the first flight out of London and worked what jobs I could find. That was until Jules discovered me working in a bookshop last year and recommended me to the agency’s talent scout. I’ve been with them ever since.”

  Alex knew he should have let sleeping dogs lie, all he had to do was hold his tongue and let the moment pass, but the vodka spoke for him. “You could have called, I was worried.”

  Sarah turned to face him, her eyes lowered and a guilty smile turning her lips. “I know, I’m sorry Alex, I just didn’t want to ruin things.”

  “You couldn’t ruin anything, Sarah.” He assured her, trying to sound comforting before a notion suddenly struck him. “So, why did you send me that email?”

  Sarah began to blush. “I was drunk.”

  This time he made no effort to disguise the laughter. “Drunk?”

  She looked away, her face burning a bright red. “Jules, she took me out for a girls’ night out. I had a few too many rum and cherry cokes and started telling her all about you. She tracked you down the next day and while I was still a bit tipsy, she got me to send you an email.”

  This time they both laughed.

  “Then everything happened so fast and when you said you were coming to visit, I was so happy.” She turned back to him, a warm genuine smile lighting up her face. “I really have missed you Alex.”

  Alex could only smile as their eyes met, a hot shiver running down his spine “I’ve missed you too.”

  All notion of time slipped away, and Alex found himself wishing that that moment would never end as he looked into Sarah’s bright hazel orbs and felt his heart swell. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and crush her against him, to seize her lips in a passionate embrace. With the drink in him, he might actually have done so if Sarah had not suddenly jumped to her feet.

  “Ooh come on, let’s dance,” declared Sarah, sauntering over to the desk and fiddling with the CD player until jazz music began echoing from the speaker. Alex’s heart jumped as he recognised Michael Bublé’s Sway and he had a sudden feeling of déjà vu as Sarah began to dance, her hips swaying seductively to the beat as she took his hand and dragged him from the sofa.

  It must have been the drink that did it. One moment he was skirting around her like a timid rabbit, the next their bodies were locked together in a rhythmic tempest as he surrendered to the music and her wishes. A hair’s breadth divided them. With every breath, her scent filled him, and he could recall the taste of her lips on his. He could feel breasts pressing against him, her hardened nipples clearly visible against the silken fabric. His hands were on her, running lightly over the sultry curve of her spine down to the swells of her buttocks. He felt his hand moving on its own accord, squeezing the firm orbs, crushing her to him hard enough to make her gasp. The sound stirred his shaft to life, but when she began to pull back, he was afraid he might have gone too far, until she twisted and began to rock her backside against him, massaging his engorged arousal as her arms wound around his neck. Her head tilted back. Their lips were nearing, opening bit by bit in readied acceptance as his arms curled around her front, rising slowly over her ribs to clasp her breasts. He could feel her breath on his cheek, her lips so close, her eyes falling shut, his own darkening-

  Meoowwwwww!

  The sound startled them, bringing them back to reality and Alex’s head wheeled around, only to see the tomcat stretching out. The commotion, it seemed had awoken the feline who in turned had returned the favour. Turning back, he saw Sarah blink as reality, and the realisation of what they had almost done, surge through her. Unable to meet his gaze she stepped back, turned and ran back through the hallway.

  He heard her bedroom door slamming shut.

  “Shit...”

  Unable to sleep, Alex stared blankly up at the ceiling. It was well past midnight, but his thoughts were plagued by what had happened in Sarah’s living room.

  What had he been thinking? Sarah was his oldest friend. Now he would be lucky if she would ever talk to him again. If she didn’t, what should he do then? Grovel perhaps? Janet had given him plenty of practice at that toward the end. Would Sarah enjoy seeing him on his hands and knees, or perhaps she would demand that he leave her home and never come back. Maybe it would be better if he wasn’t there to see it. He could easily leave a note, grab a cab to Sydney Airport and buy a ticket for the next flight back to England. Maybe that would be best, maybe...

  “No.” Shaking his head dismissively, he rolled onto his side and watched a shadow shift across the wall, the reflection of himself staring back at him from the mirror on his bathroom door.

  He would not leave, the morning would be uncomfortable, there might be some awkward moments and heated words but, in the end, they would come through it. He had already lost Sarah once. It wouldn’t happen again.

  Click.

  The sound was so subtle, for a moment Alex thought it was just a whisper on the wind and he dismissed it from his thoughts. Then a shadow stretched across the floor and he realised he was not alone. He could hear bare feet padding across the floor, every second bringing them closer. Faking sleep, he counted them off in his head, estimating how many more before they were at the foot of the bed, and then he opened his eyes.

  Sarah stood before him, a look of complete nervous determination set on her soft, delicate features.

  “Sarah.”

  “Shh... don’t talk.”

  Though her words were gently spoken, the command brokered no argument, and he could only watch in stunned hypnosis as she stepped over the frame and knelt upon the bed, the mattress sinking slightly under their combined weights as she crouched over him. She was still wearing her robe.

  Without saying a word, she began undoing the tie of her robe so that the garment hung open before reaching up and pushing it back off her shoulders. It pooled on the bed sheets and left her naked to his gaze except for a single pair of lacy black panties. Alex tried to say something, but at the sight of her near naked body bathed in moonlight and the silver rays cascading over her beauty, the words fled from him and he could only stare in wondrous amazement as she leaned down to place a gentle kiss on his lips. Losing all conscious thought, he immediately tried to deepen the embrace and encircled her thin waist, only to have her suddenly break the embrace and forcefully push him back onto the bed. Stunned by her sudden forcefulness, he could do nothing more than stare up at her as she began going lower.

  Unable to stand the heat of the covers, Alex had planned to sleep upon them in only his boxers. Suddenly realising his own nakedness, Alex shifted embarrassedly until Sarah stilled him with a stern look as she lightly trailed her fingers down his lean, athletically chiselled torso. Though it had been some time since he had played for the school Rugby team, Alex had been making regular visits to a local gym to stay in shape and it was plain to see that Sarah was pleased with what she saw. Her touch was like fire against his skin and he could feel his flesh quivering as she bent down to ravage his torso. His eyes closed and a gasp escaped him as her greedy lips wrapped around his flat nipples, her tongue teasing the buds before she drew back to kiss a delicious path down his torso. He shuddered as her lithe fingers seized the hem of his boxers and pulled them down over the swelling bulge of his arousal. His erection sprang free to stand tall before her gaze.

  “Mmm...I’d forgotten just how big you are Alex.” Sarah purred, her eyes smouldering with desire as she took in the sight of his cock. Suddenly feeling like a piece of meat, Alex felt his breath catch in his throat as her cool fingers began to ever so softly trace the bulging
veins along his shaft, slowly moving down from the tip to the thick base, and then back up to the tip.

  The feeling was almost too much for Alex and his breath seethed through gritted teeth as he struggled to hold off the release that suddenly threatened to overwhelm him as her thumb massaged across his glands.

  “Sa-Sarah...ah...” He gasped, his hips lifting off the bed as her fingers closed around his shaft. She held him for a moment, her grip tightening just enough to make the head swell, his column pulsating in her grasp before she began to rhythmically stroke. Alex shuddered, a sudden tremor rising up out of his loins so quickly that he was afraid it was all over, only to watch a clear drop of fluid form on the tip of his shaft and coat the crown in a milky liquid. Sarah didn’t wait for permission before leaning down, strands of raven hair tickling his thighs, and closing her perfect lips around the tip.

  Fisting the sheets, Alex’s eyes widened to the size of saucers as he watched her take him into the wet warmth of her mouth. He could feel her tongue upon his cock, its silky wetness flicking rapidly over the sensitive tip before twirling around the velvety flesh, massaging him as she drew him in, and an excited hiss escaped him as he felt her teeth scrape over the pulsating organ. Unable to stand it, his eyes squeezed shut and his head lolled back into the pillows, his death-grip on the sheets turning his knuckles white as she used both her hands and mouth to such divine effect.

  “Oh... God Sarah... don-don’t stop... don’t stop...” he gasped, making no effort to hide the pleading tone as the sensations she was stirring within him almost drove him into a frenzy. For Alex, the idea that it was Sarah, his wonderful, talented, brilliant Sarah, doing this to him was more erotic than he dared imagine. He had to fight the overwhelming urge to cum as he felt her slowly working her way down past the engorged head, sucking it adoringly even as his hips jerked up off the mattress of their own accord and she struggled to accommodate the girth of his rigid shaft.