A New Adventure Every Day Pt. 03

Bex is still grinning madly. "What, never seen two women snogging before?" I ask with a raised eyebrow and she blushes red and looks down but doesn't answer. I relent, "How are you, Bex?"

"I'm okay, thanks. Sorry for staring, Sam. Er, this is a bit cheeky," suddenly I'm worried what's coming next, "but I've no college this morning and I need to go into town. I was going to catch the bus but what Meg said 'bout you having fun in town..."

"You'd like to cadge a lift?"

"Um, yes... please, if that's okay?"

"Alright, you can help me find the shops in return. If you're really helpful I might even stand you a coffee."

"Thanks, Sam! What do you want to buy?" I hesitate. What I was thinking of buying was something sexy for Meg: a cute nightie perhaps or maybe bra and panties. However, I'm not sure that saying this to Bex is wise.

"Oh, some clothes," I tell her as we walk to my car. "I need to go to the supermarket too."

"No probs," she replies.

Bex isn't bad as a guide; she certainly knows the town well. In the Ladies department I spot the lingerie section and start to browse and notice that she tags along. I flick through the rails looking at the nightwear and when Bex sees me looking at the sexier items she opens her mouth to say something. I look her in the eye and raise my finger towards her. "Don't say a word, young lady or you will be walking home!" Her mouth closes sharply with a soft pop then she nods a little sheepishly. Yup, the old teacher discipline still works! She decides to go and look elsewhere and wanders over to the tee shirts and short skirts.

I continue browsing until my eyes light on a sheer babydoll nightie in a gorgeous deep red with black lace trim and a matching G-string. With her black hair and wonderful figure Meg would look so hot in that; I just have to buy it, so I locate the right size and take it. I continue looking to see if I can find something for myself. We've worn nothing every time we've been in bed together so far, but if I'm getting Meg into something sexy then there's no way I'm wearing one of my old nighties. I finally find something I like: an ultramarine blue sheer chemise with ties up each side and a matching thong. I take it and head to the changing rooms to try it on.

As I pass the first changing cubicle the curtain is not quite closed and I notice Bex's shoulder bag lying on the floor. I look up and see Bex reflected in the mirror as she is trying on a black, off the shoulder tee shirt. I hesitate as I watch her adjust the neckline as she studies her reflection, experimenting with different arrangements: both shoulders exposed, over both shoulders and pulled lower at the front to reveal the tops of her breasts; I find myself appreciating how sexy she looks - so much for Meg being the only woman I'd look at sexually! She pulls it again to expose just her left shoulder and I cannot help giving a small gasp; there on her left shoulder is the tattoo: two inward curving lines and, at the narrowest point the blob that I can now see clearly is three linked spirals, a triple spiral, no, a - what's the word? Triskele, yes - two spirals above and one centred below. I don't recognise it as a symbol and just then Bex notices me looking, quickly pulling the shirt to cover the tattoo.

"Sorry," I blush, "The, um, top looks very good on you, very, er, sexy." I'm stunned at seeing the tattoo but also feel like I've been caught peeping at a sexy young woman. "I didn't mean to spy on you; I just saw your bag there as I walked past and noticed you in the mirror."

"Er, well okay," she replies and then she turns back to the mirror and fiddles with the neckline again, this time pulling it off her right shoulder. "Do you really think it looks good?"

"Yes, it really does. Off the shoulder like that looks good: sort of cute. And low at the front looks um..."

She grins, "Sexy?"

"Er, well, yes, it does actually, if it's okay for me to say that." My blush hasn't diminished.

"Sam, you have Meg as a girlfriend. I'm flattered if you can say I look sexy after you've seen her! I'll have to buy this now," she smiles.

I nod, "I, er... I better go and try this on," and I head into the next cubicle, pulling the curtain fully across. As I begin unbuttoning my blouse I think about Bex and the tattoo and realize something: it was on the wrong shoulder!. The woman in the woods had in to her right shoulder; Bex has it on the left. I close my eyes to picture what I saw in the woods. I'm not sure, but I think the tattoo on Bex is also further away from her neck. So it wasn't Bex in the woods that night but why do they have the same tattoo? I could ask Bex about it but she seemed very keen to cover it up, so perhaps best not to say anything just yet.

I have undressed down to panties and hesitate before removing them too; they would definitely spoil the effect. Standing naked in a shop, even behind a curtain, feels very sexy and risqué and I see and feel my nipples tighten. I slip on the chemise, which feels wonderful against my skin and I am very pleased with my reflection. "Take that, Meg Dike!" I mutter to myself, smiling. I jump as I hear Bex's voice outside the curtain.

"So, do I get to see what you're trying on, Sam?"

"It's a bit more revealing than what you're buying, Bex," I reply but inside the tingly butterflies are tempting me. I imagine her seeing me like this and there is no mistaking my arousal now. Exhibitionism is, I realise, yet another kink to add to my ever growing list of turn-ons and, before I can think further, I tug one side of the curtain open a little way.

The look on Bex's face banishes any embarrassment and it's all I can do not to laugh as she stares goggle-eyed with her mouth open. "Fuck!" she whispers and I do laugh now.

"So it looks good?" I ask. Bex nods and closes her mouth as she swallows several times.

"Sam, you're naked underneath!"

"Erm, yes. Sorry, I was trying to see, you know, the full effect. There's a matching thong but I didn't think you were supposed to try on underwear before buying."

"It, er, looks amazing on you. I think Meg will think so too." With an effort she looks down. "I'll let you get changed back," she says as she backs out, only glancing at me as she pulls the curtain closed. I'm hugely flattered and pleased by her reaction, more than a little turned on by letting her see me and have yet another thing to wonder about Bex: is she, as I suspected slightly at Dave and Karen's, gay? And if she is, what about Katie?

I finish dressing and, picking up the garments, head out of the cubicle. Bex is just outside but won't meet my gaze. "Let me go and pay for these and I'll treat you to that coffee I promised. Do you need to pay for that top you tried on? It did look good on you."

"Um, okay yes, I do," she decides and we head to the tills where we pay and I have Meg's babydoll set gift wrapped.

Fifteen minutes later we're sat in the coffee shop, me with a skinny cappuccino and Bex with a hot chocolate topped with a ridiculous quantity of whipped cream and chocolate flakes. Oh to have the metabolism of the young that can just burn all those calories off!

There is a slightly awkward silence between us until I decide that I'm going to need to get her talking again. "Bex, forgive me: I didn't mean to embarrass you back there but, well, you did ask to see."

"Yeah, I guess. It's just..." her voice drops so I can barely hear her, "You were so... naked! I can't believe you opened the curtain and let me see you like that!"

"Bex, the honest truth here? I, um, I'm a little surprised that I did too." At last she meets my eyes. "As you probably gathered from what I said at the barbecue, I've, er, found out quite a lot about myself that I never suspected before. It's been a busy week," I chuckle.

She smiles and seems to relax a little. "And you've found you don't mind people seeing you almost..." there is no one nearby but she looks around anyway and whispers, "naked?"

"Well, I don't know about people seeing me, but I didn't mind you. I did feel a bit guilty about looking in on you with your new top so maybe I thought I owed you." I'm not sure if this is true, given how much letting her see me had turned me on, but it might help her accept what I did.

"Well, you did warn me that it was more revealing than my top; I just didn't expect quite some much revelation!" she is laughing about it now and there is a sparkle in her eyes and pink tinge to her cheeks and, I notice from a discrete glance, her nipples are hard enough to show through her clothing.

"Bex, forgive me for being a nosy old woman, but are you gay?" I ask quietly. She immediately looks down and bites her lip. "I don't mean to upset you, I just wondered..."

"Yes, I am" comes the quiet reply, "But please don't tell anyone. Well, you can tell Meg but please, please don't say anything to anyone else. I shouldn't have asked to see you in the changing room."

"Bex, I promise I won't mention it to anyone but Meg and I'll swear her to complete secrecy on pain of... well, something unpleasant I haven't thought of yet." That gets a slight smile. "I feel I should say something like, 'if you want to talk about it then I'm here' but given what's happened to me I'm not sure whether you'd want that."

"Thanks, but I have people I can talk to. I'm just... well I'm a bit upset that you could tell that I'm a lesbian. I should hide it better than that."

"Bex, you shouldn't have to hide it at all if it's part of who you are."

"No, I do have to. Thanks for being concerned, Sam but I'm all right, really. I'll talk to the... to my friends later." That seems to draw a line very firmly under the matter.

The rest of the morning is a little awkward; all discussions are of a strictly factual nature as we finish our drinks, shop in the supermarket and drive home, where Bex thanks me before hurrying indoors. I unpack but have to resist the temptation to get naked once more as the Internet installer is due at any time. I strip the bedding and load it into the washing machine before sitting down at the kitchen table with my phone to text Meg:

Hi darling sexy bum! Just found someone with a tattoo like woman in woods. It wasn't this woman in woods though - her tattoo is on other shoulder. Call me xxx

The washing has finished and I'm pegging it out on the line in the garden when I hear my mobile ringing and dash back into the kitchen and hit answer before it can go to voicemail. "Hi," I say breathlessly.

"What have you been up to my darling, you're all out of breath?" asks Meg down the phone.

"I was hanging the sheets out in the garden," I reply.

"If I were to ask you 'Are you naked again?' would I regret the answer?"

"Is that would you regret it if you were here or is it would you regret it given that you're on the other side of the village?" I tease.

"Aaagh! You are, aren't you? All your sexy bits on show! This is going to kill me, you know?" she laughs.

"Meg, I was just teasing... I've got the man for the Internet arriving at any time and I've no desire to show him anything! Anyway, tell me if anyone's heard about us from the party?"

"Oh, yes, news about us is already circulating; two of my colleagues have already asked me if it's true that I've got a girlfriend."

"Well, Katie did warn us. It's not too hard on you is it my love?"

"Actually, it's curiously liberating. I can't really explain it but being able to say 'Sam is my girlfriend' feels really good. That sounds soppy I know."

I feel an unexpected lump in my throat. "No, it's not soppy at all, darling. Saying, 'Meg is my girlfriend' feels just as good to me. Perhaps I should walk into the village later just to see what reactions I get." I hear Meg laugh.

"Remember to go dressed or you'll get plenty of reactions!" she says making me giggle too.

"Well, if I've got to stay dressed then I'm not going," I pout.

"Sam, you're doing things to me again... down below," she warns. "I better go now before you say anything more. Love you."

"Love you too, Meg, I wanted to talk about the tattoo but it's probably best not to over the phone anyway. See you soon."

CHAPTER 15 - An Unpleasant Encounter and a Surprise Revelation

Fortunately, the Internet man arrives shortly after lunch and does what he needs to do, at the end of which I have a box in the corner of the sitting room with several flashing lights. "When those two lights stop flashing then the Internet will be working; it should be in an hour or so when they activate it from the call centre. Okay?" I assure him I understand and, forty-five minutes after he leaves I am finally on line again. I start searching for Triskele but there's not much on it. It has associations with fertility, possibly linked to the three trimesters of pregnancy and to the Triple Goddess, whoever that is. It was later associated with the Christian Trinity but somehow I doubt that the naked woman running around the wood or Bex had that in mind! I click the link to Triple Goddess and find she's a pagan goddess represented as Maiden, Mother and Crone.

Okay, so we have fertility and goddess. Something nags at my mind but I cannot place it and start looking up tattoos. I see a picture of some text - This too shall pass - tattooed below and to one side of a woman's boob and my mind began to wonder as I opened up a new window to an on-line translator...

At a little after half past two I take a walk into the village to the Village Store that stocks produce from the local farms. I need some chicken for the chicken and chorizo paella that I have planned for this evening and decided not to buy it at the supermarket on the principle that I should support the local store. However, as Meg suggested, I might also discover how the local gossip was doing with news of Meg and me.

Part one of my plan works fine and I pick up not only a couple of chicken breast fillets but also some sausages and bacon that will do well for breakfast tomorrow and some artisan garlic and rosemary bread that I can use as a starter this evening. Part two also succeeds but I rather wish it hadn't when I overhear two women talking as they stand ahead of me at the counter to be served.

"Did you hear about Megan Dike?" asks the older woman on the right. "You know, the young teaching assistant at the school? Well, I heard that that new woman who moved in at the end of Ladywood Lane is a..." her voice drops, "a lesbian woman. Well, now she's got her hooks into poor young Megan; walked into a party bold as brass holding Megan's hand and then kisses her in front of everyone at the party!" Inside I cringe and part of me just want to run away, curl up and hide. However, I cannot help wanting to hear everything.

"Oh, how disgusting! Poor Megan's never managed to find herself a boyfriend and now that woman's taking advantage of her. The woman is much older isn't she? I can only imagine what she's doing to poor Megan." Yes, I think to myself, I'll bet your imagination is working overtime and you're loving it. A core of hard anger coalesces inside me. Meg came out because of me and I cannot stand by and do nothing in the face of this homophobia. However, I'm left wondering what I can do or say.

I tap the woman on the right on the shoulder. "Good afternoon, ladies," I say and I'm impressed by how calm and friendly I manage to keep my voice. They look at me, both a little uncertain as I offer my hand. "I'm Sam Cummings. We've not met have we? I'm new in the village but I believe you know my girlfriend, Meg Dike?" The looks on their faces are a priceless mix of shock and guilt with just a touch of affronted indignation and this gives me the courage to say more. I turn to the woman on the left who, despite the way she dresses, is probably about my age, "You sound like you're interested in women making love," I tell her, "have you ever considered trying it with your friend here? I myself never realized my lesbian side until I met Meg." I hear a hastily suppressed laugh from the sales assistant, a man - Norman? - to whom I was briefly introduced at the village dance. The woman on right glares at him and slaps a ten pound note down on the counter. Norman rings up the sale and makes change.

"Is that everything ladies or will there be anything else before you get off together?" Norman asks; his face is so deadpan that I'm certain he intended the double meaning in his question. The ladies don't miss the double meaning either and lady on the right gives another glare and storms out. Lady on the left gives me an odd look and then follows.

As the door closes, I turn to Norman as I sag a little in relief, "Thanks for the support, Norman," I tell him sincerely.

"No problem, though it's Nathan, not Norman."

"Oh, my apologies; we met at the dance, didn't we? I'm afraid there were rather a lot of names that evening and, er, a bit too much wine!"

"That's okay. I'm sorry you had to put up with Cathleen Jones and Sue Williams; they're a bit anti-gay. Actually, they're anti lots of things, the sanctimonious old cows. Can I ask: was, um, was all that true? What Mrs Jones said about you and Megan holding hands and kissing? And what you said to her?"

"Yes," I reply simply. "I never expected it but Meg and I seem to have fallen in love." I place my basket on the counter and he begins to ring the items up. "We sort of agreed about the hand holding when we went to the barbecue yesterday. I should have known that there would be some people who'd be upset."

"Well, there are a few who object to, er, people being gay."

"But not you, thankfully."

"No. I'm not really worried what people get up to together in private. I know some guys might be disappointed that beautiful women like you and Megan aren't interested in them but I, um, I think it's quite... sexy. Sorry, that makes me sound like an awful perv," he smiles but I don't quite know what to say in response until I remember what Meg and I have been getting up to; Nathan getting hot over two girls together is small beer by comparison! "That's seven pounds sixty-five, please Sam.

"Well, I'm sure you're not a perv, Nathan," I reassure him as I hand over the cash and take the goods before bidding him goodbye. As I leave the shop I spot Bethany's mother, Claire, walking alongside the village green. I hesitate, unsure whether to call out to her but when she notices me and waves I feel obliged to go over and say hello.

"Hiya, Sam," she says as I approach. "Doin' a bit of shopping I see."

"Hello Claire. Yes, I thought I ought to make some effort to support the local shop and not just buy everything at the supermarket in town."

"That's very village-spirited of you; I wish all the incomers thought that way. How're you doing, anyway?"

"I'm very well, thanks." I hesitate: should I tell her about Meg and me? Meg did say she was going to speak to Claire after school, but her saying something after Claire has met me will seem very odd, won't it? "Er, Claire, there's something I ought to tell you."

"What's that then?" she asks, intrigued.

"Well, Meg and I have, um, become girlfriends." She looks at me slightly perplexed for a moment.

"You don't just mean friends, do you?" I shake my head. "So, you're gay too?"

I laugh a little nervously, "It would appear so. I, well, I wasn't ... or maybe I was but never knew it until I met Meg. She sort of got into my head and into my heart; I couldn't stop thinking about her and I realised that I really loved her."

"Well, I'll bet that was a bit of a shock. You was married before wasn't you?"

"Yes, and I'd never looked at a woman sexually before I met Meg. She said she was going to tell you about us when she saw you after school but I couldn't not tell you now. I did suggest she could tell Bethany but Meg seemed to think that was a bad idea." I smile.