And What a Time It Was

"Well, there's no point having a hotel room and not having hotel room sex."

The Swifts screamed at us as we scampered along, almost crashing into the automatic doors as they didn't open fast enough. Sarah pulled me to her and her tongue was in my mouth a fraction of a second after the lift doors closed and we only broke apart as I pushed my arm out to stop them closing before the lift headed off to wherever it was due next. We fell into the corridor and she dragged me to her room and was resting with her back to the door, my hand up her t-shirt as she waved the plastic key in front of the lock to open it.

"Shit." I mumbled as Sarah pulled off her top and pushed her shorts down and I repeated the word as I stared at her in her black lace underwear, the hair so pale it wasn't visible through the sheer material, but I could make out the soft pink of her nipples.

"What?" She said, moving to sit on the bed and spreading her legs wide.

"Condoms. I didn't bring any."

Sarah reached into the bedside table and pulled a packet out. "I was thinking ahead." she said and smiled and I walked towards her and threw my t-shirt at her face as she laughed and lobbed the box in my direction.

"Hotel room sex is great." she said quietly as we both stared at the ceiling, me slightly captivated by the red blinking light on the smoke detector, thinking it would bug me all night.

"Do you have a lot of it?" I said, wishing I hadn't.

"Not enough." she laughed. "It's just, when you go away with someone and you get to the hotel, you just want to..." She turned to face me and smiled and I needed to kiss her, so I did, starting with her lips and then moving around her body, across her chest, down her belly and legs to finish at her lips, the soft pink ones that were now wet and parting gently to my tongue.

"You like that, huh?" she mumbled as she guided my head back up, having soaked my mouth with her juice and recovered from the orgasm.

"What's not to like?" I said as I smiled at her, reaching for the open box of condoms. This time she helped me, rolling it down after she had taken me into her mouth before moving back and lifting her open legs high as I moved between them. We moved slowly this time, the earlier urgency lost in the still of the late evening and her soft groans matched the movements of our hips. I looked down as I slid up and down in her tight grip and looked at her face. Her hair was strewn on the pillow with some of the pale strands sticking to her face with the soft sheen of sweat on her.

Her eyes were closed and I wanted them to open, to stare into the warm dark of them as they sparkled at me and I smiled as they flickered and the lids parted a little and the blue shone out.

Fuck!

I stopped moving, suddenly paralysed as her blue eyes went wider and stared at me. Blue eyes. Blue, not dark. Not dark like Kate's.

"What?" she mumbled and I tried to chuckle to distract her, my mind still tumbling down a deep well. "Keep fucking me." I managed to move my hips and the lids flickered and closed and the blue vanished again.

I hoped the rather large orgasm Sarah had was a distraction. At least, I hope she had one, it sounded like it and she had gripped me tight as she let out high grunts and bucked her body to mine.

"What were you thinking back then?" she said softly, her breath ticking my neck as she rested on me.

"I was just looking at you." Technically, it was true.

"Did you like what you saw?" I nodded. Again, not actually a lie. We cuddled up in silence and I realised I had no idea what to do next.

"What are your plans for tomorrow?" When in doubt, be vague.

"No idea. Maybe we can go for a walk up the cliffs?" I nodded, it was a good plan, but hadn't solved the current predicament. "I will have to get ready to go too, so no late night shagging." I chuckled that she was already planning on more sex, which was good.

There was a brief silence from both of us and then she sighed. "This may sound odd, but I'd rather you not sleep here tonight." I turned to look at her as she lifted her head. "Is that ok?"

"Yes. I was wondering." I laughed. "I mean, it would feel odd sleeping in a hotel ten minutes away from my flat." She gave a little chuckle at that and I felt relieved.

"It just feels a bit too soon and slightly odd in a hotel." She said quietly and then kissed my collarbone, her lips soft as they moved along it.

"We can meet for breakfast." I said and her eyes sparkled. The blue eyes and I blinked just to check the colour hadn't changed.

"That sounds good." and, with that, we parted, me pulling on my clothes as Sarah grabbed a t-shirt to cover her and we kissed by the door for a long time, my hand pulling the material up to hold her soft bottom as we moved against each other.

"Best go, or we'll run out of condoms," she laughed and the door was closing behind me a few minutes later as I walked through the quiet streets back to my flat.

The quiet was too loud as I rattled around the flat. It was too small for three, but it had never felt it. It had been nice having Kate stay, even if she was a pain at times. Now that had all gone and Sarah would be gone on Monday. I had one day left. I went to the empty bedroom, wanting to avoid mine as the smell of sex still hung there and it felt slightly sordid. Kate had only been gone a few hours and Sarah and I had made love. I had no idea why it felt wrong, but it just did and my mind whirled. I sat on the bed, touching it, hoping to feel her warmth still, but it had long gone on a train to London. I stroked the pillow and found a dark hair and held it, watching it twist in the light and I looked again for more, but saw something else.

A piece of card poked out from under the pillow and I reached slowly to touch it and then slid it free. It was a drawing of a bird, dark, almost black, the wings arced like a scythe, all the better for cutting the air with. There was a small forked tail and a dark eye seemed to shine. "They take the summer with them." was written at the bottom. I stared at it as it shook and then went blurry, my hands trembling as the tears ran down my cheeks and then I clutched it to my chest.

I woke in a strange room. I hadn't slept in the spare room before. I moved slowly, not wanting the day to go ahead. I looked for more long dark hairs, or any other trace of Kate, but she was gone. Then I held the card again and cried.

Somehow, I managed to get my act together and meet Sarah at a cafe near her hotel. She had orange shorts on again and had tied her hair back and her blue eyes sparkled as she opened her arms to greet me. We lingered over food and coffee, then headed out, buying takeaway sandwiches for later. We rode the funicular to the top of the cliffs and then walked along. It was busy at the top, the day a good one, but soon the people thinned out as we got further away. Gulls drifted on the thermals rising from the cliff edge and they eyed us for food, before banking away. Crows called to warn their friends that humans were coming and they would relay along trees and fence posts to track our progress until we left their patch. Ahead a bird hovered, defying gravity, oblivious to the wind, just hanging in the air.

"Kestrel" I said quietly and Sarah looked at me and I pointed.

"The bird?" she said and looked around just to check nothing else obvious was about.

"Yeah. Also called a wind hover, just look at it."

"This is a good spot to kiss." she giggled and pulled my face away from the bird of prey and her mouth opened to mine.

We walked, stopping to kiss frequently and then headed inland to loop back. There was a small lake and we sat with our sandwiches, cuddled up as we snacked. It was quiet up there, but it seemed there were always people about, which stopped us getting too frisky, but my hand would sneak up her shirt now and then.

Back in town we headed for a cafe and sat outside, watching the tourists go by, then we walked along the beach to our bench, but it was occupied, so Sarah pulled me by the hand and led me towards the hotel.

Sarah sat on the bed and held herself open the pale hairs fluttering as I blew onto them and she whimpered a little before letting out a long sigh as I ran my tongue up her labia, parting her inner lips and flicking over her clitoris. "Oh yes." she mumbled and then held my head between her open lips as her hips pushed to meet my mouth. She slumped back and I pushed her legs up and licked along her sweet pink slit and lifted my head away to stare at her deep red hole, licking my lips as I looked into her body and then I pushed my tongue out and she cried out as it slid into her tight entrance and I felt her vaginal walls on my skin for the first time. I wanted more, wanted to feel inside, so I licked up and swirled my tongue around her clitoris and pressed a finger to her and her juices soaked it and it slid into her as her hands gripped the duvet.

I was flustered, tearing the packet open to get the condom out and it flicked up and I tried to grab it, missed and it bounced again before it landed on her groin. She lifted her head and giggled.

"That's not how they work." she said as she picked it up and handed it to me. I smiled awkwardly and then unrolled it as Sarah turned around, her knees on the edge of the bed, her bottom pointed at me and I stared at her perineum and traced a finger down it. "Not your finger this time." she chuckled and wiggled her bum at me and I stood and moved behind her and put my rubber sheathed cock between the draped pink lips and pushed as she grunted and a hissed "Yes" came out the other end.

I finished before her, being somewhat mesmerised by the sight of my cock drawing the ring of skin from her tight entrance back each time I pulled back, her juices shining in the afternoon light that streamed in through the window. She held the position as I left her and her labia gaped and I dropped to my knees on the floor and pushed my tongue into her again, tasting the latex as well as her sharp juice. I licked her as she arched her back and she dropped her shoulders to the bed to make it easier for me to get at her clitoris as I licked from it to her hole until her groans, muffled by the duvet went high. She shook and pressed back to my face and I felt her wetness as I held her hips and she finished and went quiet.

The late afternoon hazy heat lulled us off and we woke, sticky with sweat. I went to the toilet and then went back to the bed as we started to kiss again, before she laughed that she needed a loo break as my hand cupped her vulva. "Stop, I'm not into watersports." she laughed and skipped off. She walked back slowly and I was already rising as I watched her move, the blonde hairs glowing as the sun hit them in the beam through the curtains. She reached for a condom and, after a few kisses to get me even harder, she rolled it on and then straddled me.

I watched her breasts as they shook each time she ground her hips on me, the pale pink nipples now hard, rising proud from the soft areola. She was grunting, her body moving in a curve as she rubbed her clitoris on me as she pushed down to get me deep in her cunt. I was holding her hips and pushing up. Her eyes were closed, her lips parted, but teeth clenched as she neared her climax, the noises louder and higher. Sarah slammed down and I gasped, but she was crying out as her head went back and she trembled in my grip as I rammed up, her pulsing body milking me and I filled another condom with my semen.

We got dinner, the Italian place where we had gone on the first date and then sat on the bench for a bit. I looked up as dark arcs swept high overhead and I waved as Sarah laughed.

"Why are you waving at birds?" she chuckled.

"They will leave soon and take summer with them." and I suddenly felt very sick, the bile rising in my throat as I thought of the card I had found from Kate. Sarah was looking up, so didn't notice my change of expression and I quickly looked up again and waved and she shook her head and laughed at me.

We walked back to the hotel and soon I was inside her again, from behind once more as she knelt on the bed and I held her hips and jerked deep inside her. "Faster." she mumbled, so I sped up and her grunts and groans increased in speed too as well as pitch. She slumped down as she screamed out into the pillow and I was driven on by her and slammed my body, the slapping of my groin on her buttocks now loud as we both grunted and groaned until I held her hips tight and rammed hard to empty myself into the rubber around me.

I held her in my arms for thirty minutes or so, but then had to go, she needed to pack and I dressed as she tidied up and then kissed me goodbye at the door.

The day was still fighting on as I walked home, its light streaks over the sky as the night pressed west, the defence valiant against overwhelming odds until the stars flicked on to signal all was lost for the time being. I stared at the card again, this time in my bed, the scent of the previous day gone and forgotten. I send Sarah a message and we went back and forth until she needed to go, an early train tomorrow. We arranged to meet, I would say goodbye at the station and I set my alarm and tried to get the crazy thoughts from my head.

Sarah was wearing trousers today, the shorts gone along with her holiday. "Good morning beautiful." I said and she smiled widely and wrapped her arms around my neck. She had some coffee and croissants for the journey as we held each other as we waited for the platform to be displayed on the departure board.

"That's me." she said as the number flashed up and people started to move towards the train and I walked with her to the barrier and we kissed for the last time, for now and she walked away, turning to wave as she boarded the train and then I turned and headed to a very empty flat, glancing back as the train prepared to leave and then hurrying off.

Chapter 4

Sarah had returned a couple of weeks later and we had picked up where we left off, this time with her living a mile or so along the coast. We would meet several times a week and then spend weekends together, settling into a comfortable relationship.

Now and then, I would get a message from Kate, but she didn't give much away, just vague stuff. Suzy would fill me on the important stuff, but nothing much happened, apparently Kate was behaving, for the most part.

Soon talk turned to Christmas. Sarah wanted to go to her parents as they were having a big gathering and the thought terrified me, so we agreed to go it alone and I would return to London and my little clan, plus the interloper.

The scene was much like the previous year, possibly the one before that too, nothing ever really changed. This time I wasn't surprised by Kate being there, but I was surprised by how quiet she seemed when I arrived.

"Hey." she said, her voice still flat. She opened her arms to me and we hugged, but she felt lifeless, so I gave her a little squeeze and she giggled into my ear. "Hey." she whispered.

"You ok?" I whispered as we carried on hugging and there was a quiet noise and I felt her letting go and we moved apart and I saw her smile getting warmer.

"I am now." she said and looked down and then turned and did a little skip as she went back to the sofa, turning to smile as she sat. Suzy grabbed my hand and helped my with my bag as we went upstairs.

"I have no idea what's up with her, but ten seconds of you and she perks up." she said, her eyes glaring at me. "What did you get up to when I left?"

We had talked about this, but I guess Suzy hadn't believed me when I said nothing had gone on and wanted me to say it as she looked into my eyes. I gave her a brief run down and she smiled and shook her head. "Be careful. Really. She's still..." and she sighed. "She's not so bad, but maybe because there are no more guys to fuck with." she said, looking down the hall to check we were alone. "She said she wasn't interested in younger ones, so the newbies have been spared." she chuckled quietly. "Anyway, please don't do anything." she said and squeezed my arm.

"Well, you seem to forget I have a girlfriend." I said and Suzy looked at me and shook her head.

"You seem to forget how besotted you are with someone else."

"What do you mean?" I was genuinely shocked by that statement.

"I see how you look at her. I hear your voice when I mention her name when we call. Also." she looked down the hall again, "She's still got your crappy card from last year with her!" she said, eyes wide.

"That's not me besotted." I didn't mention that I had the Swift card in my bag, held in a small plastic frame to protect it.

"You two are as bad as each other. Maybe I should not invite her to be here when you are." Suzy's eyes were hard as she stared.

"We are friends, that's it." I said and I am pretty sure Suzy didn't believe it either.

"You will get badly hurt and she won't care. I will be left to me to pick up the broken remains. She will just move on to the next victim." and Suzy walked out as her words rattled around my head. She was right, in everything she had said.

The pattern was followed, a big meal on Christmas Eve with too much food, then the presents the next day. Kate had still been quiet, a slight haunted look in her eyes. I had asked about her mother and she told me that she had gone away, visiting her own parents. She didn't mention her father and I didn't ask.

I had a present for Kate this year and she ripped the paper from it and then laughed. It was a book on Swifts, mixing myth, stories and facts surrounding the enigmatic birds. She handed me a present, still laughing and I opened the paper to see... a book about Swifts, the very same book and we hugged each other and just laughed as Suzy sighed and shook her head. Kate opened the book and then her smile was big as she looked up. I had written a message to her, "They take the summer with them." acknowledging her card, the secret she had left behind in summer that had never been talked of. I opened my copy and saw her writing across the page, "Look up and wave to them." I swallowed hard and held back the tears and we both hugged again and I felt her wet cheek on mine.

The family walk followed as Suzy and Kate hooked their arms around mine on either side as we strolled by the river. The three of us were just as tangled later as we sat on the sofa and watched a late night film. I woke to find Kate's head on my chest and her body slumped onto me. Suzy was awake already and her eyes drifted up from her sleeping friend to me and I saw the glisten of tears as she watched us. "She's great when she is asleep." she whispered to me before she gently shook Kate's arm to rouse her.

I was keen to get back, hoping Sarah would come back earlier than planned as we had both discussed. We sent messages, many many a day and Kate would smile at me, asking if it was still the same girl as from summer, amazed that it had lasted that long, quite proud of her part to play. Sarah called as I was with the girls and Kate stared at me as I chatted, soft words spoken with my lover and I saw her eyes go dull, then she turned and walked away and Suzy shrugged. She was cold after that, barely talking to me for the rest of the day and Suzy took advantage to sit next to me on the sofa as we enjoyed our sibling time together.

Kate was happier with me the next day, but the frost returned when she saw me messaging Sarah. "Jesus, can't you two leave each other alone for a few hours." she snarled as she brushed past to go and make a coffee.

I was pleased to leave the next morning, even though the trains were bad and it took me twice as long to get home. I walked in and slumped on the sofa, loving the space I had now and not having to worry about upsetting Kate. Then I wondered why I was so worried about upsetting her and felt that dark feeling in my stomach again.