By the Bay Ch. 04

© Lily Rockmore

Self-edited again. Please ignore the careless errors! Thanks for reading!

Meera hurried across the port with her sari drawn up over her hair and face so that no one would recognize her. It was past midnight, and she was terribly late in meeting Rae because Anita had taken a dastardly long time to go to bed. And of all nights, Meera had picked tonight to cajole Rae into bringing her to the Goldsmith.

It had always been a fantasy of hers, to see the inside of the tavern, especially when there was such scandalous talk about the place. Music of all kinds, dancers… and even naked women. Meera didn't know why she was so curious about the place, but she was. She'd been so excited when Rae had consented to taking her there.

She took the shortcut to the far side of the island, running between trees and small huts until she saw the torch-lit glow of the tavern as it sat nestled between a large rock and the end of the port. Even from a distance, she could hear bawdy laughter and loud island music. They made her blood hum instantly.

Her eyes roved the small establishment for the familiar figure she had been so intent on seeing, but there was no one leaning casually against the entrance or standing anywhere near it. Perhaps Rae had already gone in. A second later, she denied that possibility; Rae would never do that to her. She pulled the sari more tightly about herself and decided to walk around the place to look for Rae. Meera doubted that she had enough courage to go into the Goldsmith herself if Rae wasn't there with her.

She'd just turned a corner when a hand emerged from nowhere and covered her mouth. Another hand encircled her waist, and before Meera could react, a familiar voice told her to hush. She sighed with relief behind the hand and pressed a gentle kiss to the inside of Rae's palm. She heard a soft chuckle, then the hand on her waist tightened as both of them saw several Malay men trudge out of the forest through the same path Meera had used a few minutes ago.

"They were following you. Ever since you strayed from the port."

Meera didn't know what to say. She should have been more careful. "Oh."

"Little idiot. You came this close to being raped, possibly even killed tonight. Didn't I tell you that this was a bad idea?"

"But I've always wanted to see this place, Rae. You promised to take me."

"Yes, and I am going to. Just make sure I don't regret it."

Meera grinned, reaching up to tug on the dark cap that Rae always wore to hide the long, red hair. "I'm sorry I was late today."

"Sister slept late?"

"Unfortunately."

"S'ok. We've got the rest of the night, don't we?"

Meera rested her head on her lover's shoulder, sighing with contentment. "That we do."

*

Rae stared down at the compact bundle of sensuality, feeling her insides quiver with want for this girl. She'd never met anyone like Meera, and that statement counted for much, for she'd been to places where exotic women were common as dirt. But there'd been something always so special about Meera, something intangible. Like her spirit, or her courage. The first time they'd met, she'd been throwing rocks at two boys who were getting handsy with her. They'd run off when Rae had stepped in, having just got off from the ship that had brought her from England, lured by the furious blonde girl in a tattered green sari.

It hadn't taken her long to make friends. Once Meera had found that Rae meant her no harm, and that she was distinctly female, she loosened up and began talking to her like one would to a friend. It had been this friendship that had Rae meeting her everyday after school – just to talk, nothing else. If both of them had felt the sexual tension in the air, they ignored it, until a couple of days ago.

Rae had always known she was homosexual. As a kid, she'd thought boys were fair game…for a round of soccer. She'd always treated females with utmost care, for even if she thought them pretty, she could never relate to their girlish ideas about princes or unicorns or large palaces. She'd never really fit in or made friends with anyone except the boys around the townhouse where she lived with her mother.

Then one day, as a girl of fourteen, her mother had dragged her along to shop for dresses in town, when Ruby had told her to wait in the dressmaker's shop while she went down to the post-office to check for letters. Shrugging, Rae had been eager to step into the shop to avoid the cold, but as she'd entered the shop, a reflection in the large mirror had her transfixed.

Madame Audrey, the Frenchwoman who ran the shop, had another woman pressed against the wall in the fitting room. There was a mirror reflecting what they were doing, and what Rae saw was… life-altering.

It didn't take long for Rae to learn and experiment, and since then, she'd been through countless women, coming to love the exquisite ecstasy of another woman's silky fingertips and the sweet scent of female skin. It was something that her mother did not know of. Ruby still thought that Rae was at school, whereas school had ended several months prior to this. Rae had been home for a few weeks, as she would have if school had not ended, just to seem as though nothing was amiss. In her free time and with the inheritance her late father had left her, Rae had spent a few months in Egypt and was now touring the Malayan Straits.

Beauties she'd seen, but none were as captivating as Meera. But of course, such perfection had to come with a price. This blasted sister of hers was being a thorn in Rae's side. Given half the chance, Rae would bundle Meera up and bring her to places around the world that Rae was dying to see.

"What're you thinking?" Meera asked, her breath caressing Rae's shoulders.

"About how I'd like to take you to see the world."

Meera exhaled deeply. "We've had this discussion before."

Rae rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes. Your sister is important to you."

"Why do you say it that way? Aren't your kin important to you as well?"

"They are. But I don't let them rule my life."

"You mean your parents are perfectly fine with you traveling on your own? Don't you feel indebted enough to stay and take care of them?"

Meera would've pulled away, but Rae's arms tightened about her. "First of all, my sexy lady, my mother was my father's mistress. And second of all, my mother doesn't know I'm not safely tucked away at school. And third, I don't plan on telling her."

Meera's eyes widened. "But that's horrible!"

Rae's teeth flashed in the dark. "I know."

"Aren't you worried about her?"

Rae's fingers ran through Meera's hair, picking out the slight tangles. "Sometimes, I am. But I know she can take care of herself." She paused. "Can't your sister take care of herself?"

Meera shook her head, still adamant. "She's all I have, Rae. Family's important to me."

There was that sigh again, as though Rae had admitted defeat.

"I'm sorry," Meera said softly, and Rae didn't know if she should laugh or cry.

"It's not your fault, Meera. I just want you to know that I'll stay as long as I can."

Meera's eyes glimmered in the dark. "That's enough for me."

Rae pressed a kiss to her lover's forehead, then playfully smacked her bottom. Meera yelped, then giggled. "That's enough putting it off. Are you man enough to go in there with me or what?"

"Oh, I'm as manly as you are, Catherine Mae Harding. Even more so!"

That earned her another thwack on her bum.

*

"Oh my god! Look at that woman! She's almost naked!" Clutching Rae's arm, Meera tried to get a better look at that woman from behind the taller woman's back. She felt Rae's shoulder's move as she chuckled at Meera's awed voice.

"C'mere," Rae said, pulling Meera to stand beside her. The tavern was not crowded, but it had enough people to make Meera wary of detection. She knew of a few relatives who visited establishments like these. Being spotted by them would be the death of her… not to mention Anita.

"Shh," Rae said when Meera protested. "No one can see us. The lights are on the other side of the room."

Meera folded her hands over Rae's as they rested on her waist. "Are you sure?"

Rae pressed a kiss to the top of the mass of golden curls. "Yes."

With the fear of being identified now pushed to the back of her mind, Meera took her time in perusing the scene around her. She wanted to commit every single detail to memory so that she could write about it or use it in one of her stories. The dark room, lit only by torches, would be a great place for black market dealings or for a particularly exciting part of the novel to be set in.

There were several semi-naked women flaunting their best assets in the establishment. Most were Chinese, and had such pale skin that it almost seemed to glow under the low light. There were a few women of Malay and Indian descent, but they were otherwise occupied by the men seated around tables, who toyed with them whilst waiting for their drinks or meal to be served.

"People seem happy here," she muttered to Rae, who'd begun swaying them slightly to the beat of the drums that were playing in the background.

"Men are always happy when they're apart from their wives," came the sarcastic comment.

"But the women… they seem to like entertaining men that way."

"Does that surprise you? These women don't have to answer to any one man. They have the protection of many, but don't have to be loyal to any one."

"And the price of that would be…"

"…to spread their legs for them, probably once or twice a week."

Meera shivered delicately and tightened her hold on Rae. "That's disgusting. I don't know if I'd be able to tolerate that."

"Lucky for you, you don't have to."

Meera grinned. "You won't let me?"

Rae rolled her eyes. "No, silly. You actually have an education, remember? You don't have to resort to this."

Meera's smile melted. "Oh."

Rae gave Meera's waist a tiny squeeze. "Are you brave enough to move from this spot, yet? I actually bribed a boy to clear us a table at the other end of the room."

"What if someone sees me, Rae?" Meera asked, fear returning again.

"You can always deny it was you. After all, most men here are already bloody drunk."

Meera internalized that statement and nodded slowly. That seemed like a pretty good idea.

"Let's go," she whispered, and Rae took her hand, leading her towards their table.

*

"What're you drinking?" Meera asked when Rae lifted the wooden cup to her lips. They were seated at one end of the small establishment, cuddled on a stone bench. From this new vantage point, Meera could see that there were actually two floors to the tavern, and that there were several rooms on the second floor. It wasn't difficult to figure out what the rooms were for, and she blushed when a door to one of them was opened and a couple exited, righting their clothes.

Rae's voice had her attention again. "It's island rum. I'm not offering it to you because it's strong, so don't ask," Rae said quickly when Meera's face lit up.

"Oh, come on, Rae. I just want to try it. You can try mine."

"Yours is tea, Meera."

But Rae consented to a sip anyway.

"I think that just burned my insides," Meera commented, making a face. Then she smacked her lips together. "But it does taste good."

Rae just shook her head.

There was a commotion a the entrance of the Goldsmith's, then the crowd hushed as a trio of women sauntered into the room, wearing what Meera supposed was a shredded sari blouse and a long skirt. The skirts were worn ridiculously low, exposing their hip bones, and their breasts were almost falling out of their blouses.

"Oh my," Meera breathed, putting her legs up on the bench and moving closer to Rae. Her companion chuckled, draping an arm around Meera.

"Are they going to dance?" Meera asked when the beat of the drums changed.

"I think so. Don't get squeamish. You're the one who wanted to come here in the first place."

"I'm not squeamish! I'm excited. Now hush. It's starting."

Rae shook her head at Meera again, leisurely pulling her fingers through the soft volume of curls that she couldn't seem to keep away from. Meera rested her head on Rae's shoulder as she watched the women spread themselves out to various corners of the room. One of the women came to stand near Rae's side, and Meera stared up at her with innocent eyes. The woman smiled down at her before giving her a sly little wink. Blushing, Meera held onto Rae tightly, but didn't take her eyes of the woman.

She couldn't decipher the ethnicity of the woman before her, but her skin was a light brown, as were her eyes. Her hair was a dark, chestnut color, and they fell in smooth waves down her back. The red skirt that she wore clung to her hips and emphasized the flatness of her stomach. Meera thought she looked undoubtedly sensual.

Then, slowly, as the drums began to increase in tempo, the woman's hips began to move. Meera sat up abruptly, rapping Rae in the chin.

"Ouch, shit. What is it?"

"Look at her hips, Rae!"

Rae glanced at the woman beside her, her hips gyrating to the quick drum beats. Upon visiting Egypt, Rae had seen countless belly dancers, and this woman was just one of many. But to Meera, who was seeing the exotic dance for the first time, she had to appear like some sort of sex goddess.

"How does she do that?" Meera whispered to Rae as the woman turned in a circle, her hips forming little circles of its own. Little beads on the woman's ensemble jiggled, jumping with every thrust of the woman's hip. Meera was enthralled by the whole process. How anyone could move their hips in that manner was beyond her.

"It's rather easy, actually," Rae whispered back.

"It can't be," Meera replied, her eyes never leaving the woman. When the woman's eyes caught hers, Meera felt a blush creep into her cheeks again.

"Yes, it is. You do that every time we make love."

Meera's shocked eyes turned to meet Rae's. "I do?"

"Do you want me to prove it to you?" Rae hands inched upwards from where it lay at Meera's waist.

"No, no. We're in public, Rae!"

"No one will see us."

"Oh, stop it." The words were said without compunction, for the woman in front of them had taken to rotating her hips in the most sensual manner.

"She's so…" Meera fumbled for the right word.

"Sexy?" Rae supplied.

"Yes. Yes, that's a good word."

The woman slowly turned to them, and Rae slanted a smile at her, widening the gap between her legs. Taking the cue, the woman sidled towards them, her generous breasts bouncing enticingly as she shimmied forward.

Meera sat up straight on the seat and frowned as the woman perched herself on Rae's thigh. There was a very welcoming smile on Rae's lips, and Rae didn't push the woman away when she wrapped her arms around the taller woman's neck.

Meera was shocked. How could Rae have one woman on her lap and hold another by the waist? There was a sting of anger in the pit of her stomach, and she tried to pull away, but upon receiving the cue from Rae, the woman in red made a grab for her hand.

"Dance with me," she said, her voice breathy, seductive, and Meera lost the steady build-up of anger that had been in her blood.

"B-but I don't know how!"

Uncaring of Meera's resistance, the woman pulled her close, slipping an arm around her waist and moving her hips against Meera's.

"Now move your hips. No, no, to the side. Yesss. I knew you'd be able to dance the moment I saw you."

Meera laughed, feeling slightly light-headed by that comment. Her hips seemed to be moving of their own volition, the muscles in her belly quivering to the beat of the drums. The semi-naked woman led her in the most sensual of dances and took every opportunity to brush herself against the sensitive areas on Meera's body. When the woman's hands found her bottom, Meera jumped but did not stop the movement of her hips.

The woman leaned close, smelling of musk, and breathed in Meera's ear. "Dance for your man, beautiful. His eyes haven't left your body since you started, and I'm the one dancing half-naked." Her breathy laughter was followed by a kiss to Meera's cheek, then she turned away to entertain the other customers.

True enough, when Meera turned to Rae, her eyes were glued to Meera's rotating hips. Meera shimmied forward as she'd seen the other woman do, lifting her hands to accompany the leg movement. She moved until she stood between Rae's legs, then she began undulating her hips to and fro. Without pausing, she let one hand drop to pull her sari up over her shoulder so that her hips could be seen more clearly. Then with a distinctly feline smile, she twirled her hips faster, running her hands over her breasts and into her unbound hair.

Rae was burning up inside. This girl was just full of surprises. One moment she was the shy girl hiding in the crook of Rae's arm, and the next, she was belly dancing sensually in front of her. It was a game of seduction she played, Rae knew, and it was working. Ever since the other woman had made Meera start dancing, Rae had been lost.

When Meera began undulating her torso, Rae recognized it as the last straw. She stood, grabbing the smaller woman by the waist and headed for the exit. Meera laughed, and it was a laugh that neither of them recognized, for it was tinged with such satisfaction. She managed to wave her farewell to the woman in red before Rae dragged her out the door.

*

Jay was up earlier than usual the next morning. He hadn't slept a full hour the whole night, his body restless, still waiting. He briefly considered taking care of business himself, but he wanted to wait. It would make desire sharper for the both of them, he knew. And he wanted to have as much passion as he could for Anita if it was going to be her first time.

Slipping into a sweater and a pair of baggy pants, he decided to work his energy off with a morning run. It had been a while since he'd gotten up early for exercise, and he supposed, in a way, he felt the strain of it now.

He jogged downstairs and decided to get a glass of water first before heading out. He'd just scooped a glassful of water out of a clay container when he heard an audible click from the servant's quarters. Lifting the glass to his lips, he took two steps back so that he'd be able to see into the narrow corridor to the right. Very quickly, he saw the tail end of a pink sari disappear behind one of the doors. He didn't know whose room it was, but even if he did, he presumed that the person had probably gone out for… a breath of fresh air? It wasn't his business anyway. Shrugging, he set his glass apart from the others to show that it had been used, before taking off for some much-needed exercise.

*

Anita yawned and turned over in bed to stare at the ceiling. She'd been awake all night, simply thinking about the future. From her musings, she'd come to four conclusions.

The first was that she wanted the Duke, but she would only take him if he respected her enough to handle her gently. She didn't want to be a replica of her mother, who more than oftentimes bore bruises and sore wounds from her escapades.

She also needed to warn the Duke that she would leave him if he ever got married. Again, she didn't want to be like her mother and have women hate her for stealing their husbands.

Thirdly, she didn't want Meera to know of her relationship with the Duke if it progressed. It was a horrible example for her sister, but Anita knew she that even so, she had to make this one decision for personal happiness and contentment. If she didn't do so, a few years from now, the Duke would be long gone, and Meera would have her own brood of children and looking back, Anita would realize that she'd never lived her life. She didn't want to end up that way, so she wanted to create memories of things she could look back on later in life. But either way, Meera should not even suspect that Anita was being intimate with the Duke.