A Study in Fragrance Pt. 06

Author's Note: In case you haven't read the first five installments, or it has been a while, here's a brief recap. Emily, an 18 year old, North American, white athlete has decided to learn everything she can about sex. In exchange for his work on a small remodel in her house, and giving her experience in all things sexual, she's offered a contractor to be his summer fuck-toy. In addition, Emily has been unlocking the secrets of a former occupant of the house as she cleans up the woman's once hidden study.

Emily was out the door just as the sun was coming up, bike loaded in the SUV, swimsuit on and her muscles aching. She had woken up sore in places she hadn't known was possible: her shoulders and traps from all the drilling and sanding were a surprise, and her lower back from leaning over. And her buns. In spite of drowning them in aloe and Solarcaine, they were talking to her: a little bruised, the skin sunburned and stingy. When she first woke up she was worried she might be coming down with something, until she remembered the tickle in the back of her throat was probably from Cos. The memory of what she did, of how far she'd gone the day before, rushed back and threatened to disrupt her focus.

Even now, as she was driving, the images of what they'd done, of going down on him in the shower, of asking him to spank her, of him eating her out and her determination to let him fuck her throat, it was almost too much to process. She'd been so close to letting him inside her. She squeezed her legs together and forced herself to think about the training.

It wasn't until she plunged into the pool that her mind focused on the triathlon. Four other women were training with her, and while she was usually at the front of the pack, it depended on the day and the event. She was determined to make this her personal best on every leg of the competition, and that meant pacing herself. She wasn't sharp off the board, but her entry was clean, surfacing several body lengths in. This is just the warm-up, she reminded herself. Take it easy. Don't let those muscles seize up right at the start. Letting her body take the lead, she turned her attention to her breathing, feeling her lungs take in and process the oxygen before letting it out, in perfect timing with her head position and strokes. Touch, flip, and again. Touch, flip. Again and again, until Coach blew the whistle and they pulled themselves out of the pool, the morning air cold against their wet skin. A tiny part of her brain noted how stiff her nipples were, and she throttled it, feeling her heartbeat and breath quickly coming back to normal.

"Swimmers take your mark!" Coach held out his hand, the five of them poised on the boards. "Get set!," raising his hand above his head, bringing the whistle to his mouth. The whistle blew shrill and piercing through the cold morning air when Emily sprang from the board, the water flowing around her fingertips, her arms and across her torso, warm compared to the chilly air. Touch, flip. Touch, flip, again. And again. She felt herself gathering into a rhythm, her mind still, her body taking over, her breath and heart working together, her arms slicing through the water. Touch, flip. She knew how hard she was working, it was nearly perfect: her breathing counting out the body lengths like a metronome, her heart barely hitting 75% of her maximum.

And then she touched and Coach blew the whistle. She looked up, wiping drops from her eyes to see the others still body lengths away. She looked up at him and smiled when he nodded. She hustled out of the pool for the debrief. Coach kept it to a minimum, wanting to get them off on their bikes for the second leg as quickly as possible. When he turned to her and told her good job, she was pleased. "We'll go over notes at the end, but you hit an almost perfect first leg, Emily."

She was on her bike and out onto the route feeling her quads and hamstrings taking up the strain. The swim had loosened up her lower back, the muscles flowing and assisting with each pump of her legs. Ten minutes in she was hitting her stride, warming up as the wind dried her suit and skin. And before she knew it, she was approaching the finish line, a little winded, her muscles burning, but with plenty of capacity still.

Coach waved her on, not wanting to stop her flow. She had no idea where the others were, and she didn't care. She was running, the morning air still cool and moist keeping her body temperature down. This part of the race was against the clock: she was listening to Coach in her head keep it to 12:00 per mile. She hit her stride and focused on her breath, letting her feet take her where they needed to go. Her thoughts began to drift, she felt herself moving into the zone. Almost dreamlike, she moved through space, her mind focused on the race coming up later in the summer, her college plans, how strong she felt. She looked at her watch. Halfway there and almost perfect time. She upped the pace slightly, hoping to bring the next several miles in at 10:30 per. Her lungs were starting to talk to her, and her thighs were beginning to burn, but she wasn't concerned. She was way ahead of the pack, even if she wasn't winning any medals. As she was coming up to the mile marker, she felt herself hit the wall. Her legs started to feel like lead. She worried her feet wouldn't carry her. But she breathed through it, just like Coach told her. She glanced at her watch and dug deep, looking to push the final ¾ mile as fast as she could sprint it.

Coach was at the finish line smiling and encouraging her, and she crossed, sucking in air, feeling her legs disappear, her feet almost numb. She kept going, letting her momentum carry her, not letting herself collapse on the grass. He was there with a water bottle and a wet towel. She practically drowned herself in the first and slapped the other around her neck, her breath ragged, her body on fire.

"You finished way under 6! Closer to 5:30!" He was yelling at her, obviously wanting to congratulate her but not wanting to get too close, knowing she was working through the pain. "That's fantastic, Emily! Fantastic. Your swim time was 32:30! That's great! Bike leg was 2:58:17—amazing! And the run. I can't believe the run! 1:54:54!" He stopped to let her recover. "You're solid. Keep this up and you will definitely be in the top tier."

She kept walking, desperately wanting to sit down, but knowing that would be stupid stupid stupid. Someone handed her another water and she sloshed it over her face and filled her mouth with it. She looked over at Coach. "Where...are...," she waved her hands and he understood.

"They're a good half-hour out. You want to rest or should I have Andy drive you back?"

It was 10:45. She didn't want to wait another hour, but she wasn't quite ready to go yet. She nodded. "Let me catch my breath and loosen up, then yeah, if Andy's okay with it, great."

He nodded, smiling and tousling her hair. "You're doing great, Em. Really really great. Keep the training up and you'll definitely place. Oh," he stopped and looked at her, "take a day or two off, yeah? We'll be at the pool next Saturday for half, so there's plenty of time. Give yourself a day or so to recover." He stared at her, making sure she knew he was serious.

She nodded, finally feeling as if her feet weren't stuck in mud.

After they picked up her bike and Andy dropped her off at her car, Emily sat for a moment behind the wheel, collecting her thoughts. She was buzzing from the workout, but really just wanted to sit in a hot bath or better, a hot tub! Caroline! I should call Caroline! to keep her muscles from cramping. She really didn't want to go work on The Study, even though the thought of being near Cos sent an electric thrill up her spine. But that spike of arousal wasn't enough. She was exhausted and needed to collect herself.

She took stock of what she'd done; she wasn't sure she was proud of it. Yesterday it all seemed so amazing, and Cos had kept his side of the bargain, even when he could have taken advantage of her. But the physical exertion and time away from the house had given her distance. She wasn't so certain today what to do. Not that she didn't expect to fuck him. That was going to happen, she smiled as she turned the car around. Just not today. The fleeting memory of what he'd called her as he fed his cock into her throat made her pause. Kitten? She didn't know if she'd even heard it correctly, but if it was for real she pressed her lips together not sure how she felt about it. And the spanking. She hadn't thought about it since she'd woken up, but now it was worrying her. And maybe, she thought further, maybe it's time to go up to the cabin and get away while I don't have training.

"Caroline?" She decided she needed to get into a tub sooner than later. "Is it too early?"

"Hah! I've already done my laps and am just sitting around the house. Wassup? Another puppy run?"

Emily explained what she was hoping to do. "I know you get hit up to use your pool all the time, so if it's a problem..."

"No problem! As long as we stay in the hot tub, my folks are treating the pool...I've got to get to work by 4 today, so...when were you thinking..."

"Now? Would it be too much to ask if I dropped by now?"

Caroline laughed. "You happen to be in luck. They were using it last night so it's probably not cooled down too much. I'll kick it on. By the time you're ready it should be too. Just walk in the side gate. You know the routine. I'll meet you out there after I finish up some things around the house."

Emily changed course to her friend's house. She could feel her hamstrings tightening and there was a twinge in her lower back.

Jumping out of the SUV, she grabbed her bag and walked around to the side gate. The stone path that led to the backyard passed by Caroline's living room. Emily glanced through the windows as she walked by, seeing the artwork and furniture so different from her own home, before turning the corner to take in the backyard: a precisely manicured landscape of flowering trees and bushes surrounding a beautiful swimming pool. Off to the side, along the back was the pool house with its changing room and just in front, the hot tub. She dropped her bag by the tub and went into the changing room to rinse off in the shower. Caroline's parents were generous with their pool, but demanding about hygiene. Showers were mandatory. Like the landscaping, the room was well kept.

Emily peeled off her suit and let the hot water run across her shoulders, down the front of her body, slightly dipping her knees to wash between her legs. She felt the slight sting of the water on her buns and wondered if the hot tub would be okay there. Satisfied she'd met Caroline's parents' standards, she picked up her suit and hung it on a peg, grabbed a towel and walked the few steps to the tub.

The Murphy's had a strict "suit-optional" policy: guests were encouraged to bathe naked to "maintain a spirit of naturalism," as Caroline's mother had first said it. "Bathing is not just an act of cleanliness," Emily remembers the speech, "but a sensual experience that brings us closer to our human nature. We should eliminate as many barriers between us and the natural forces of Earth, Air, Fire and Water as we can." Emily smiled at the memory of seeing Judy giving that speech standing naked in the pool and inviting Emily to join her.

Judy's outlook helped explain Caroline's free and easy attitude about her body, even though it seemed a contradiction to her pledge to stay a virgin. That first time, Emily couldn't do it, sliding into the pool with her suit on. But the next time, even knowing what to expect, she had fretted about it, finally deciding she'd just go for it...until she saw Caroline's brother and father were both in the tub.

The memory was still vivid. As she arrived in the backyard that afternoon they waved and welcomed her, their private parts hidden by the pool's surface. She wasn't certain what to do, and then was surprised when Caroline and her mother emerged from the pool house fully naked. Emily just felt weird and was going to turn back, until Caroline's mother said it would be completely okay for her to keep her suit on. But that only made her feel more self-conscious. She took it off in the pool house, took a quick shower and quickly entered the pool, dipping down to hide her breasts, trying not to notice the family as they checked her out.

Today she would be alone and as her toes dipped into the hot water she sighed, gently dropping onto the concrete lip, cool and rough against her bottom, dangling her legs before slipping all the way in, the heat stinging the skin on her cheeks. As she found a shelf, she cursed; she'd forgotten to turn on the jets.

As if by magic, they started up and she jumped at the noise and disturbance.

"Hey! Two times in a week!" Caroline turned from the controls and stepped to the pool. "Mind if I join you?"

Emily looked up, smiling. Caroline was a beauty: dark brunette hair, just long enough for tiny ringlets, her skin caramel colored, her face lighter with freckles, a combination Emily never understood but found amazing. Caroline's was a dancer's body, muscles tight below the skin, ribboning across her calves and thighs. Of all her friends, she thought Caroline's figure was the most balanced: her breasts were much larger than Emily's but completely in proportion to the rest of her. As her eyes drifted down her friend's body, she was surprised to see Caroline had shaved her pubes clean.

"That's a new look," she nodded to Caroline's thighs as she entered the pool.

Caroline smiled a cat eating canary grin. "Bobby Jackson's doing." Her eyes glinted.

Emily ducked her head a little, squinting. "Bobby 'the nerd' Jackson? How? What?"

Caroline laughed. "We've been dating for about three months. You knew that, right?!"

Emily shook her head. "I didn't think it was serious...what do you mean 'it was his doing?'"

Caroline looked down through the froth to her clean shaven mound. "He said he'd do it if I would." She looked back at Emily, her eyes glinting. "So we did each other."

Emily didn't know what that might mean. "Like, 'did it' did it? Or...?"

Caroline laughed again, splashing the water at her friend. "Lord no! He shaved me and I shaved him. Right over there." She nodded to a clear spot on the deck. "And no, my parents weren't home..." She closed her eyes and sat back against a jet. "But we're thinking about it. He's got the nicest penis, and he's been so patient with me."

Emily wanted to hear more. She had no idea Caroline had moved in this direction. "I kinda know what you mean..."

Caroline's eyes opened and she turned to look at her. "Your workman?"

Emily smiled and nodded, looking away. She adjusted herself to get the nozzle pointing at her lower back.

"Hey," Caroline changed the subject, "move your feet up here and I can massage them."

"Wha?" Emily looked confused.

"I need the hours," she said cryptically.

"I don't...hours? For what?" She shifted around so her feet were on Caroline's lap.

"For my job?"

Emily moaned a little as Caroline dug her fingers in between her toes, pulling on each of them, rubbing the underside of her foot.

Emily watched and shook her head, confused. "At the restaurant?" She gasped as Caroline pressed on a tender spot on her foot. She noticed her cheeks had settled down, but just a little.

Caroline moved to the other foot and repeated her manipulations.

"Restaurant? I quit that Spring Break. No, I'm working at the athletics rehabilitation clinic at MCC. You didn't know that?"

Emily moaned again and let her head drop back to the concrete lip. "Noo," she sighed. "Rehab clinic? You know, if you just set up an FB account we'd all know what you were doing." She closed her eyes, feeling Caroline's fingers moving her muscles. "Are you thinking of going into sports medicine?" And then she grew alarmed; she felt her arousal and growing from Caroline's attentions to her feet. Noooo. But she couldn't keep from moving her hips off the seat as Caroline continued working her way up her calves.

"Yep. Whoa. You're really tight here. You feel that?" Caroline's fingers pushed into a knot. "Your gastrocnemius."

Emily groaned and spasmed, but Caroline kept her grip on her ankle, easing up a little. As much as it hurt, it only contributed to her anxiety. What the fuck? I'm not into girls!!! This can't be happening. But something was definitely happening and she didn't want Caroline to stop.

"You okay?" She stopped suddenly, letting her fingers rest lightly on Emily's calf, the water flowing between them.

"Uhhhh," Emily wasn't sure what to say. She didn't want this to get weird...or weirder...with her friend, but Caroline had made her feel so good. "Ummm, I can't tell you how good that feels...but...I'm..." She faltered.

"What?" Caroline moved to the other leg and restarted her work, glancing up at Emily's face, her expression open and questioning. "Oh!" She stopped for a second and looked down and then back again. "Shoot! Oh. I'm sorry." She laughed nervously, but didn't stop. If anything she continued with more intention. "Does it...does it turn you on a little bit?" She stared into Emily's eyes.

Emily just stared back, but felt her head nodding. "I...I don't want this to get weird, Caroline. It feels so good I don't want you to stop, but I'm freaking a little that it feels good in other ways." She said it all at once, nervous, but not pulling her leg away. "I...I'm not into girls..." Maybe Caroline was? But what about Bobby? Oh. Fuck. Maybe she's bi?

Caroline laughed again, and kept moving her hands up Emily's leg, gently rolling over her knee to dig into her lower quads and hamstrings. "I'm not worried," she said lightly. "They tell me this happens all the time, but none of the athletes will admit to me it's going on." She looked down at her own breasts and back up to scan Emily's face. "I mean...right?"

Emily yelped as Caroline dug into another knot.

"Oooh, interesting," she said letting up a little. "Biceps femoris. Hmm." And she changed up her technique to work the muscle fibers from the top of the knee to as far up the outside of Emily's leg as she could go.

Emily's embarrassment at her reaction to Caroline's attention awoke the tendril, it's tip shooting up past her chest into her throat; she could barely stop herself from pressing her legs together. "Hey...fuck...Caroline..." She didn't want her to stop. She didn't want her to keep going. Her hands were lifting off the concrete edge, about to reach down to hold Caroline still

"Oh. I'm sorry! Shoot. I'm so sorry, Emily. I should stop." She pulled her hands away and sat back, a little embarrassed. "I get so into it, I forget it might make someone uncomfortable."

"No! Shit. That felt so great! I...If you're okay with it, I'm not that uncomfortable. I...well...now you've done one leg, I'll be walking lopsided all day."

They both laughed.

Caroline looked at her. "Seriously?"

Emily nodded.

"Well...to be honest, this isn't the best place or the best position to do it in. Why don't you put some jets on the other leg and I'll grab a pad." She saw Emily glancing at the house. "Nobody's home. They're gone til after lunch. 'K?" She pushed herself out, the water streaming off her skin. "Be right back."

Emily moved her right leg across a few jets, moving it back and forth, but it wasn't close to the relief Caroline's fingers had given her on the left side. Her butt was stinging a little. It might be better to get out of the pool. Her head was jumbled, confused and embarrassed. Was she coming onto me? Am I just being an idiot? She didn't want to screw up their friendship, but if Caroline was taking the first step, wasn't she the one risking it? And would it be so bad? She jerked at the thought as soon as it appeared and shook her head. What's getting into you?