King's Bay

"Is it secluded enough for you?" Before I could respond, she anticipated my next question. "No one will come back, don't worry."

"That's good." I couldn't believe it. A gorgeous, exotic woman wanted me to make love to her on the beach. I'd fallen into a fantasy, and thank God it was mine. I didn't even ask how she could be so confident no one would come back.

"Come on, Diz." Callie slid her hands down my arms until she found my hands and tugged me forward. Her voice took on a sing-song quality, lulling me. "Let's go over there. We'll lay on the blanket, and take our clothes off, and you can drive me crazy, and I'll make you feel like you never have before."

I snapped out of my trance. "When can we start?"

"How about now?" She stopped and turned around. "Undo these."

Her bathing suit top had hooks behind her neck and under her shoulder blades. I reached for the lower strap, but stopped. Instead, I pushed her hair aside and ran my fingertips lightly over her shoulders and then over her upper back. I saw the goose bumps on her skin and heard her gasp.

I undid the top strap and stepped closer. I felt the heat from her body and she no doubt felt my cock pressing into her back. I slid one hand around her waist, splaying my hand over her stomach. I kissed the nape of her neck and she moaned, rubbing her ass against me and making me even harder.

I was enjoying the slow pace but wanted more so I released the second hook and dropped her top onto the towel. I took her breasts in my hands, exploring by touch. They were firm and just large enough. Her nipples were hard beneath my palms when I rubbed my hands over them. Callie's head dropped back onto my shoulder, allowing me to find that spot on her neck I'd fantasized about as well as giving me a view of her breasts.

I refused to speed up. I licked and sucked at her neck while I tugged at her nipples and then rolled them between my thumbs and forefingers. She reached a hand back between us and squeezed my cock through my trunks; I responded by sucking harder on her neck and she cried out.

She spun around, her eyes wild in the late evening sun, and shoved off her suit bottom before doing the same to mine. Breathing hard, she put a hand behind my neck and yanked me to her, crushing her lips to mine. Her free hand grabbed my cock and stroked in a steady rhythm, squeezing at random intervals and making my knees weak.

"Feel what you do to me," she said against my lips. With one hand still on my cock, she used her free one to put one of my hands between her legs.

"Jesus, Callie." I ran a finger around the folds of her pussy before sliding it inside. She was hot, slick and wet and I almost came at the mere thought of what she'd feel like wrapped around me.

She found my lips again, nipping harshly while keeping her hips moving with my hand. Her breath was ragged. So was mine. I swept my thumb over her clit. She moaned and released my cock. She clung to me for balance and dug her nails into my shoulders. "Don't stop," she managed to say between gasps.

I grunted an assent and continued, wanting to feel her come around me. A moment later, she did; she cried out and shook with her release. Her head dropped back, then she slumped forward against me. We were still for a moment, then I moved my hand from between her legs and up to her breasts. She shivered as I traced one nipple with a still-wet finger, then followed it with my mouth.

"Callie, I can't wait any more. I want to fuck you."

"God, yes."

We lowered ourselves to the towel. She smiled with half-closed eyes and wrapped long, strong legs around my waist. "Now, Diz. Take me here on the beach, just like you want."

I did. I didn't think I'd ever been so hard in my life, didn't think I'd ever wanted anyone this badly. I plunged inside of her and groaned with pleasure and relief. She raked her nails over my chest, sending shocks through my body. I gritted my teeth in an effort to hold my orgasm off for just a little longer.

Callie met every thrust, wanting this just as much as I did. She closed her eyes and squeezed my arms as she came once more. Her inner muscles pulsed and grabbed me and I was done. I kissed her again, my tongue desperate in her mouth as I felt everything build and then I tore my lips away and shouted as I came. My hips moved almost of their own accord as I came back to myself and it took me a moment to stop.

I held myself up on my forearms so as not to crush Callie and dropped my forehead to her chest. Her heartbeat sounded steady. I wondered if mine would ever come down to a normal rate again.

"Diz?"

"Hmmm?"

"Just checking."

"I'm here."

"That's good." She ran her fingers through my hair.

"No, that was incredible." I raised my head to meet her eyes.

She smiled. "I told you, didn't I?"

"Yeah, I guess you did." She'd said she'd make me feel like I never had before, and she had not lied.

x-x-x-x

After that weekend, I went to King's Bay whenever I could. June somehow turned into July without me noticing. I spent as much or more time at Callie's place than I did at Manny's. Manny invited me to various parties and barbeques and get-togethers, but I always begged off. I wanted to be with Callie as much as possible.

One day I came down with some kind of virus that made me as sick as a dog, and only Manny hiding my car keys kept me from going to Callie.

"For fuck's sake, what is wrong with you?" he'd asked. "You have a fever and can barely keep water down. You want to get her sick, too?" I didn't, but it didn't make me want to stay home any less.

After I was better, the time sped by again and July faded into August. Everything I did was measured against seeing Callie. I loved being with her.

We developed a little routine. Swimming and surfing in the mornings, then some lunch followed by a relaxing afternoon where she'd work on any weaving projects she had going on. I was fascinated by the way her hands manipulated the threads on the loom to make the various designs. She sang when she worked and it made me think of the sirens from mythology. Callie was on land, but she'd lured me in just the same.

Time and weather permitting, we'd take another afternoon dip in the water. In the evenings we sometimes got together with friends of hers. I enjoyed getting to know them and was pleased to find a couple of baseball fans in the group. When I was able to talk one-on-one with someone, we were surprised by what we didn't know about Callie.

"Isn't it funny," I said to a girl named Amber one night, "how King's Bay is never crowded? Not even on the big days like Fourth of July? It's like there's some kind of force field around the place."

Amber didn't laugh like I thought she would. "I have noticed," she said. "Sometimes I think only certain people can come here, and only if Callie lets them." She was silent for a moment and then shook her head, chuckling. "Listen to me. I think I've had too much wine."

I gave a quiet laugh and nodded as though I agreed. The idea was too far-fetched to take seriously, but it seemed plausible at night in King's Bay.

One night as I getting ready to go see Callie the next day, my parents called. I'd been talking to them every week or so since coming out to California. They'd been supportive of the idea, even paying for my airline ticket. Mom was always after me to send pictures, and Dad joked about sending her out to stay with me.

Instead of the usual pleasantries and a discussion of baseball standings with Dad, they had something to say and it floored me. Someone had made an offer on the house in Ithaca. The house that I lived in. That I'd grown up in. The house that I'd always considered mine.

"I hate to push you, son," Dad told me. "I know you wanted more time out in California. But to tell the truth, you haven't said much about coming back. If you can give us a firm date on when you'll go back to Ithaca, we'll turn this down. But if you aren't sure, then honestly, Diz, we could use the money."

He went on to say he thought I might be tired of living in the house anyway, that it wasn't suited to a single guy like myself, but I barely heard him. He said they didn't need a decision right away, but they did need to have an answer within a week to ten days. I said I'd sleep on it and let him know in a couple of days. We said our good-byes and I mulled over the conversation as I went back to packing.

Manny came into the kitchen. He grabbed a beer and leaned against the wall. I was glad to have something to distract me from my thoughts. Reaching for something to say, I realized that I hadn't seen Helena in a while, and asked Manny if she was okay.

He frowned. "Yeah, I guess. She's been talking to some guy at work. Perry." He scoffed. "Perry, can you believe that? Sounds like some Ivy League prick. She says she's just training him and has to spend a lot of time with him because of that, so what can I say?"

"You think she's lying?" I stared at him. That didn't sound like Helena, but I didn't know her that well.

"I don't know." Manny shrugged and drank his beer. "Never mind, let's change the subject. You got a plan yet?"

"Sure." I went back to packing. "I'm heading over to King's Bay to see Callie. I'll be back in a few days."

"No, dickhead." He rolled his eyes. "A plan like an 'I'm going to get a job' type of plan. It's August, Diz."

"I know. I'm good." My money was still holding out. I didn't go out a lot or drink or anything, so my expenses were mostly food and gas for the car aside from what I gave Manny.

"Yeah, I know, and I appreciate the money you've given me towards rent and all. You know you don't have to."

"I know, but hell, I'm not a freeloader."

"Of course not. But Diz, what I mean is, what about Ithaca?"

"What about it?"

"For Christ's sake, I'm asking you. When you came out, the whole idea was you would go back. I don't care how long you stay, that's not the issue. I'm just surprised you'd consider not going back. You said you'd die in Ithaca; you told me you'd have them scatter your ashes in Cayuga Lake."

I had said all that, but talking with Manny made me realize I'd been losing my reasons to go back all summer. My job, Penny and now the house. I couldn't even remember the last time I'd spoken to any of my friends back there. It hit me that almost all I had left of Ithaca was memories.

Truth was, I'd gone days without so much as a thought of Ithaca and hardly noticed. It seemed farther away all the time. Sometimes it felt like I'd always lived in California, and Ithaca was a place I'd dreamed about.

I thought a little more, then called Dad back and told him to take the offer.

x-x-x-x

I pondered everything as I drove out to King's Bay the following morning. Did I really want to stay in California, or was I just overwhelmed with my current freedom, and Callie? Was I just caught up in the novelty in being somewhere different? I kept coming back to the fact that I wasn't sure what I had to return to. I could find a job out here, and Callie was here.

Callie . . . I couldn't sort out my feelings about her. Everything that had happened between us was always so hot and fast and felt so good, I hadn't stopped to analyze it. I didn't want to.

I pulled up by Callie's house and sat in the car for a minute, my thoughts scattered. I shook myself and got out, remembering the first time I'd seen her place.

I had been almost surprised to find Callie had a house. She had to live somewhere, but I had first seen her as so exotic and mysterious that a house had seemed too ordinary. I had envisioned her living in a tent on the beach, or a cave along the shore or something. It turned out she lived in a bungalow not far off the beach. It was quiet and she had space to work on her weaving. She had neighbors, but none too close, so we didn't have to worry about, you know, being too loud.

Callie came out as I was grabbing my stuff from the trunk.

"Hi, handsome." She leaned against the porch rail, giving me a good view of her cleavage in the low-cut summer dress she wore.

"Hey, gorgeous." I smiled as I shouldered my bag and closed the trunk.

"I wondered when you'd get here." She met me at the top of the steps to the little porch.

I set my bags down and slid my arms around her waist. "Got here as soon as I could."

"Never soon enough." Her eyes held a sinful promise before she reached up to kiss me. I met her halfway. She locked her arms around my neck and arched her chest forward to press into me. I kept one hand on her waist and let the other roam over her back, her ass and the top of her thighs before coming back up to cup one breast through the soft material.

"No, never soon enough," I confirmed when we separated.

She held the door as I took my stuff inside. All the rooms were on the small side, but comfortable. She hadn't stuffed her place with knick-knacks like some women I'd known, but it didn't feel bare or spartan. When I'd asked her why she didn't have more pictures, she'd gestured at the windows. "Who needs pictures when I can look out and see that?" I couldn't argue.

It was evening, and cool, so instead of swimming we went for a walk on the beach. There's nothing like a beach in the evening. The sun looks like it's sinking into the water and the sky turns all shades of pink, purple and blue. The water gets darker and darker until all you can see is the foam as the waves crash close to shore.

You didn't get that in Ithaca.

"Hey. Hey." Callie tugged at my hand.

I looked down. "Hmmm?"

She studied me. "Something's on your mind."

"Oh, sorry. Just been thinking."

"About?"

I told her about my parents and my talk with Manny. She was quiet for a while as we walked on the sand. She kept her hand in mine but mentally we were in our own worlds. I was so far in mine that I almost jumped when she spoke.

"Do you want to go back?"

"What?"

"I'm serious, Diz." She stopped and crossed her arms over her chest. "Do you want to go back to Ithaca?"

"I—I don't know. I don't!" I protested when she narrowed her eyes. "I haven't thought much about Ithaca lately. I thought I'd go back but now I don't know. I realized that there's less and less for me there. I even told Dad to take the offer on the house." I figured I could always find another place to live. "But . . . what can I say? It's where I grew up. It was my home."

"I care about you, you know." Her voice was a little unsteady. "If you're going to leave, you should have the decency to tell me."

"Callie, I'm not leaving, at least not yet." I put my hands on her shoulders. "Please, I came out here to think. Don't guilt trip me into anything."

"I'd never do that!" Her eyes flashed with anger. "You can't stay unless you choose to. I don't want you stay unless you decide you want it for yourself." She stopped for a moment and when she continued her voice was tight. "I made that mistake before, trying to keep someone with me. I won't do it again no matter how much I want you."

"Callie, I'm sorry. I'm seriously considering staying. And you'd be a big part of why I'd stay."

"Really?" She looked wary, but hopeful.

I took her hands in mine and pulled her to me. "Really. You're the best thing about this place. There are times, I swear to God, that I'd walk across burning coals to get to you." I kissed her.

She relaxed against me for a moment. Her breasts pressed against my chest, the flimsy material no barrier to the warmth of her body. She drew back and kissed me once more, quickly, and started walking back to her house.

We didn't talk on the way back but it was a comfortable silence, or so it seemed to me. Back at her place, I thought we'd kick back and talk or something, but she was edgy. When I sat, she paced. I asked her what was wrong.

"I want you to stay," she said.

"Callie, come on . . . ."

"I'm not trying to do anything to affect your decision." She held up her hands and shook her head as she came to sit next to me. "I just . . . you're the best guy I've met in a long time. I want you to stay with me."

"Thank you." I brushed her hair back and let the soft strands drift through my fingers. "Ithaca's always going to be a part of me, that's all. Sometimes it's hard to let go."

"I understand." She paused and then that sexy smile appeared. "Maybe I could make my case for you staying in California."

I leaned back on the couch and put my arms out at my sides as though I was surrendering. "I'm open to hearing your presentation."

Callie laughed at that and relaxed. We drank some wine and had a late dinner. I had lots of opportunities to touch her; I'm pretty sure she provided them, although I wanted to think I was being slick and teasing her. She touched me, too, and I didn't object.

"Come on, baby. Let's go back to my room." Callie leaned in, ran her tongue along my neck, then stood up.

"Yes, ma'am." I followed her.

Once in the room, she shimmied out of her dress and I was hard by the time the dress hit the floor. She looked up at me from under her dark lashes wearing only underwear. "Do you like what you see?"

"How could I not?" I stepped forward but she shook her head and held out her arm, stopping me with one finger in the center of my chest. "What?" I asked.

"Come here." She drew me closer to the bed and motioned me to take off my shirt. I complied and she threw it on the end of the bed. "Lay back." I did, watching her the whole time. She laughed. "Relax, Diz."

I laughed, too, but I knew she was up to something and I was curious to find out what. The bed, like her room, was plain but comfortable. I watched her walk across the room to get something, admiring the way her ass and hips moved. She came back holding something like a rope. As she got closer I realized it was a surfboard leash.

"What's that for?"

She dragged one end of the leash over my chest and gave me a coy smile. The non-answer only heightened my excitement. My cock twitched as she trailed the leash down my arm. She tightened the ankle strap over my right wrist, then tugged on the leash. I let her pull my hand back and watched with surprise and fascination as she ran the leash around a post in the headboard and secured the other end around my left wrist.

"There." Callie nodded in satisfaction, then got on the bed. She swung one leg over my waist and straddled me. She wiggled her body until her pussy was on top of my cock. I hissed out a breath. Even with her underwear and my shorts between us, I could still feel the heat of her.

"What's this about?" I raised an eyebrow. I'd never done anything like this, but I was game.

She leaned forward, her hands on either side of my shoulders. I had an incredible view of her breasts as they swayed in front of me. Her lips curved up in a promising smile. "I want to make sure you pay attention to my presentation."

"Trust me, you have my undivided attention." I raised my head to kiss her, but she pulled back just enough that I couldn't reach her.

She laughed, a sultry sound that sent more blood racing to my groin, and rubbed herself over my cock. I'd end up light-headed if she kept this up and couldn't stifle a groan.

"Relax, sweetie," she said. "You're going to enjoy this."

I had no doubt.

Callie began with a deep kiss. It was odd to lie there and respond only with my mouth. With my hands restrained, I couldn't hold her or touch her as I usually did. I couldn't help it when my hips arched and I groaned when she flicked her tongue over my nipples. She sat up and matched my rhythm, rubbing herself against me. The friction was torture, especially when I knew what she felt like with nothing between us.

After a few moments, she had mercy on me and took off my shorts. I gave a long, audible sigh of relief. She climbed back on the bed, straddled my leg and reached for my cock. Her hands were cool against my skin, which felt feverishly hot. She slid her hands up and down in a rhythm that was almost soothing but kept me on edge.