Maple Street Revisited part 5

Jeremy awoke to the sound of the shower. Going to investigate, he saw Esmerelda, back to him, lathering up her body in the huge shower. His mind ran back to the last time he had seen her in the shower, when she and Endora had been together. The same pang of guilt hit him, and he started to turn away.

"It's okay, you can watch, I don't mind."

She was facing him now, one hand running a soapy loofah over her breast.

"Or you can come wash my back," she offered, holding out the loofah.

He accepted the offer. He didn't stop at her back, deciding he needed to make sure her entire body was scrupulously clean. Carefully soaping her up, gently scrubbing, then rinsing. He marveled at how perfect her skin was, so smooth and soft.

Satisfied he stepped back to admire his handiwork.

"Finished?" Esmerelda inquired demurely.

"Finished!"

She reached over to the water controls and made an adjustment. It was without a doubt the most impressive shower Jeremy had ever seen. In addition to being incredibly spacious there were over a dozen jets on the walls, two shower heads on the ceiling and a bench to one side.

"My turn," Esmerelda said, loofah in one hand and bottle of body wash in the other. She began to wash him with the same gentle care he'd shown her, by the time she reached his waist he had a massive erection and she washed it thoroughly. Kneeling, she continued down his legs and finished with his feet. Almost eye level with his hardness she stared at it for a moment.

"Hmmm, this still seems a little dirty..."

She took the bottle of body wash and squirted a little on her chest, the soap slowly flowed down between her breasts. She moved forward and placed her breasts on either side of his penis and began to move. He put his hand on the shower wall, steadying himself. The sensations almost overwhelming, the smooth softness of her skin, the feel of her almost squeezing her breasts around his manhood, the warmth of the water...

After a thorough "scrubbing" she let go of her breasts and leaned back. She watched for a minute as the water rinsed the last of the soap off of him; then made a show of inspecting him.

"Well, it looks clean, time for the final test."

She ran her tongue over him.

"Good so far."

Then she took him into her mouth, slowly sucking him. Jeremy put his hand lightly on her head, fingers touching her wet hair as she worked. Esmerelda took hold of his balls, fondling them as she sucked. Then he felt her hand move back slipping between his legs, her finger running up his crack, pressing against his butt. He felt it on his sphincter, and she moved it gently and suddenly he was orgasming. He could barely stand as it hit, and he felt his body shaking as he came over and over.

Esmerelda released his spent cock and stood up.

"Are you OK?"

He looked at her, unsure for a second," that was intense."

"First time I'm guessing?"

"Yeah..."

She grinned, "but not the last?"

"Hopefully not..."

He sat back on the seat, catching his breath as she rinsed the soap off her body.

They dried off and began to dress.

Esmerelda wore a long skirt, white with a red floral pattern and an off the shoulder red blouse. It was a split skirt, going almost up to her mid-thigh and Jeremy admired the way it opened to reveal her leg as she put her sandals on.

They had discovered neither was really a breakfast eater, Esmerelda's cooking on their first meeting aside and they headed out of their cabin.

The car had been pulled around and was waiting for them when they arrived at the front of the hotel. Jeremy continued to be amazed at the service, he hadn't called, and as far as he'd seen Esmerelda hadn't either. He opened the passenger door, and she took her seat.

She was working on the navigation system as he buckled up. He hit the button to put the top down and they were soon back on the road.

The nav system guided them to a charming little town. The historic town square was surrounded by a mixture of boutiques, antique shops, restaurants and an art gallery thrown in for good measure.

They spent the remainder of the morning exploring the shops. They had lunch at a quaint little restaurant then visited the art gallery.

As they left the art gallery Esmerelda suggested he go to the only antique shop they hadn't visited while she ducked into one of the boutiques specializing in makeup.

"You'll be terribly bored, and I can catch up with you."

He agreed with her plan, and they went their separate ways. Jeremy was examining the contents of a large display case when he spotted them. A pair of antique earrings, they looked like silver, an outline of a crescent moon, with swirls of silver forming the lunar surface.

He looked around and spotted an older gentleman by the antique cash register.

"Excuse me, Sir, could you tell me how much these earrings are?"

The old man set down a tattered paperback, picked up a large ring of keys and headed towards him.

"Well, we'll have to take a look," he answered.

He arrived at the display case and squinted through the glass. Jeremy pointed to the earrings in question," those moon earrings, Sir."

The old man nodded and started trying keys. The third one did the trick, and he took the small box out, he looked at the bottom of it, then seemed to consider Jeremy for a moment.

"These for your girlfriend, son?"

"Yes, sir."

"She something special, a keeper, or just a good time?"

"She's a keeper Sir, she's very special to me."

The old man nodded slowly, "well then, these earrings are $300 if you want them."

Jeremy hesitated for a moment, it was more than he had been expecting, a lot more. He felt the weight of the money clip in his pocket, and instantly knew he'd never do that. Looks like he was going to be living on Ramen for a while.

"I'll take them, Sir."

"I expected you would," the old man said with a satisfied nod.

They walked over to the register, and Jeremy handed over his debit card. The old man had just placed the earrings in a small sack when the bell on the door rang. Both men looked over to see Esmerelda walking in.

She smiled at them then started looking at the merchandise.

The old man asked, "that her?"

"Yes, sir."

"Take good care of that one young man."

"I'm going to do my best."

They browsed the rest of the store together, but nothing else caught their eye.

Back out on the street they looked around for a moment.

"I think we've seen everything," Jeremy observed.

"One more stop."

She took his hand and they headed down the street, they were soon away from the main touristy area into what had probably been the commercial area of town in the 40s and 50s. They came up to a storefront, large display windows, yellowed with age, but nothing on display. There was a heavy wooden door, recessed into the building and Esmerelda knocked on it sharply. Jeremy had just decided there was no one there when he heard the sound of a heavy lock turning. It clunked and the door swung open, and the smell of leather hit him. He inhaled deeply, it reminded him of having new baseball glove and he smiled. An old man was standing there. A really old man, face weathered, hands worn from work. He looked at Jeremy for a moment, looking almost a little annoyed, then he saw Esmerelda and smiled.

"Good to see you, young lady."

"Wonderful to see you too Clark." She gave him a big hug.

"I know how busy you are, but I was wondering if perhaps we could order something for my dear friend?" She gestured towards Jeremy.

Clark took a long look at him, and for the second time today Jeremy had that sensation of being sized up.

"Well, if he's truly a friend of yours, I can fit him in. Won't have them made for a while mind you. But I'll fit him, and we can look at some materials."

"That's all I could ask."

He ushered them into the building, past a large wooden desk covered in paperwork. He went to a huge filing cabinet, pulled out a heavy wooden drawer. Digging through it for a moment he pulled out some paperwork and motioned for Jeremy to sit down on a nearby bench. He was surprisingly spry for a man of his apparent age. He instructed Jeremy to remove his shoes and socks, then carefully measured Jeremy's feet comparing it to the paperwork he had retrieved. He paused, looking at the scars on Jeremy's ankle.

"Pretty bad break, son?" he asked.

"Yes sir, but it doesn't give me too much trouble."

The old man nodded, still looking at the ankle. He picked up the paper, made a few more notes then stood up. Satisfied, he set the paper on the desk and went over to a huge, heavy wooden table. It was covered in leather samples of every conceivable color and texture. He spent a few minutes asking Jeremy questions about his style and preferences, showing him samples of leather, flipping through a thick binder with pictures of boots.

Satisfied, Clark turned to Esmerelda, "Well, that's all I need, I best get back to work actually making these things." He gestured to all the machinery that filled the rest of the building. "I'll figure out when they'll be ready and let you know."

He ushered them to the door, Esmerelda stopped, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. He whispered something in her ear as she did, and Esmerelda nodded in agreement.

Jeremy extended his hand, and the old man shook it.

"Thank you, sir. It was nice to meet you."

"Good luck young man."

They left town, heading to a vineyard and winery a little further up the road. They spent the rest of the day taking the tour, enjoying a wine tasting, then had a delicious dinner at the attached restaurant.

Esmerelda excused herself to visit the lady's room and Jeremy took the opportunity to pull the small box out of his pocket. He'd tucked it away and hadn't had the chance to look at it since they'd left the store. For the first time he noticed the small handwritten price tag on the bottom.

$600. He wasn't sure what to make of that, had the old man given him a good deal, or was it scam to make him think he had? He carefully removed the sticker with a fingernail and tucked the box away as he saw her approaching.

"Can we talk about something?"

Jeremy thought he heard a trace of nervousness in her voice.

"Of course, but can I do something first?"

She nodded and he handed her the box. He could see the nervousness in her eyes now, and she visibly relaxed when she opened the box to reveal the earrings.

She took a deep breath," they're beautiful, thank you."

"They made me think of you."

"I love them," she said, squeezing his hand in hers.

"What was it you wanted to talk about?"

That tinge of nervousness returned to her voice, and it was his turn to give her hand a little squeeze.

"You remember on the way up here," She paused looking around making sure no one could overhear, " I asked you about role-playing?"

"Sure, anything you want to try, I'll do my best."

"Hear me out before you agree to anything. So...I want to try something. I sort of have this fantasy, of being in a bar, kind of a dive bar really, and letting some random guy pick me up, and we sneak off into the men's room for a quickie."

Jeremy looked at her for a moment, not sure what to say.

She sensed his confusion," I want you to be the random guy, just to pretend we don't know each other, role-playing. If that's OK, and you don't think it's too weird. "

It was his turn to relax.

"No, it's fine, it actually sounds kind of fun."

"Really?"

"Sure, I mean what guy doesn't fantasize that he's so smooth he can walk into a bar and 10 minutes later the hottest girl in the place is all over him."

She laughed a little, the last of her nervousness draining away.

"Hottest girl in the bar?"

"You'd be the hottest girl in any bar I've ever been in.

"Ever the flatterer."

"What's the plan then?"

"I need to go take care of something, can you give me 15 minutes or so?"

He nodded in agreement.

"Then drive around a bit, do you remember the bar we passed, a few miles this side of the hotel? The Blarney Stone?"

He thought back, it had been a non-descript place, situated at a stoplight on the road across from a convenience store.

"Yeah, I know the one."

"I'll give you a text when I get there," she glanced around again, ensuring their privacy, and reaching out to take his hand. "Be aggressive, and when we get into the bathroom," she blushed again, "I want it..."

He squeezed her hand, "I think I understand". She nodded in relief.

She gave his hand a squeeze, got up and walked out.

The waiter stopped by a few minutes later and he asked for the check. He settled up, then walked slowly out. Taking his time, keeping an eye on his watch, he walked out to a small lawn area that overlooked the vineyards. Some tables had been set up here, part of the day's tour. He sat down and waited until 15 minutes had elapsed, then headed for the car. He drove towards the bar, went past it for a few miles and had just turned back when his phone chimed with Esmerelda's tone.

Glancing down, he saw just one word, "Ready."

He accelerated down the road, and was soon walking into the bar. Loud rock music assaulted his ears as he opened the door and looked around. There wasn't much to it. The backwall was a long bar. To the right was a small stage and to the left he saw a hallway labeled "Bathrooms".

Various neon signs advertising beer, cigarettes and sports teams covered the walls and there were a dozen or so tables scattered about with maybe as many patrons, 5 or 6 at the bar the rest at a few of the tables. He spotted Esmerelda at the bar, her distinctive red hair giving her away. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. This was the first thing she had ever really asked him for, and he had every intention of getting it right. He headed towards the bathrooms to scope them out. It was a short hallway, a pair of doors on either side, maybe 8 or 10 feet down and a fire exit at the end of the hall. He ducked into the men's room, noting the lack of lock on the door. Two urinals, a stall, and a sink. It wasn't exactly clean, but it wasn't disgusting either. The stall door at least had a lock, and things seemed to be in good shape. There wouldn't be any way to hide being in there, but no one would walk in on you.

Somewhat satisfied, he left the bathroom. Another man was entering the hall as he came out, and he politely moved to the side, his shoulder brushing the wall. The other man's shoulder hit his arm with a blow he was certain hadn't been accidental. He wrote it off and kept walking, heading towards Esmerelda. She had changed clothes, now she was wearing a short, black leather skirt, and a tight, white tank top that left her stomach exposed, he could just make out the outlines of the nipple rings.

He stood by the stool next to hers, "This one taken."

"Nope."

He threw a leg over it and sat down. The bartender, an older lady, probably in her 50s with dirty blonde hair, wearing a Harley Davidson T-shirt made her way over.

"What are you having?"

"I'll have a Shiner, and one more of whatever the lady is drinking."

The bartender looked over at Esmerelda, who held up her half empty glass and nodded. She tossed back the rest of the drink and set the empty on the bar.

Jeremy turned towards her, he hesitated for a moment, not sure what to say...then it hit him. He'd played ball with a guy named Larry. He'd been an old guy on the team, 26 maybe, a bit of a wild man, and on a long bus ride to Arkansas he'd explained to fresh faced young Jeremy his strategy with woman. "You just go in there and tell her what you want. If she's into you, she'll say yes. If she's not into you, she'll say no. Here's the thing, if she's not into you, she's probably going to say "No" regardless, so why waste all that time? Take the "No" and move on to the next one. Plenty of lovely ladies out there my boy." Jeremy had never been sure he agreed with the logic, and he'd seen Larry crash and burn more than a few times, but he'd also had his share of success.

"I'm Larry, what's your name?"

"Taylor, thanks for the drink, Larry."

The bartender returned, setting the drinks down. He handed her a $20 and told her to keep the change, turning his attention back to "Taylor".

Taking a pull at his beer, then looking at her, he smiled. "Look, we could waste a lot of time here, listening to bad music and drinking overpriced booze, or we could finish our drinks, head over there," he gestured towards the bathrooms with his bottle, "and I could fuck you till you can't walk straight."

He saw a flash in her eyes, and for a moment he wondered if he'd gone too far.

"So, cowboy, you think I'm that easy."

"Nope, I don't think you're easy at all, but I think you came here looking for a good time, and sitting here drinking isn't it. I might not be all that, but I don't think anything better than me is going to walk through that door tonight, so why waste time waiting for a ship that isn't going to come in?"

She looked at him for a long moment, picked up her fresh drink and slammed it.

"Let's see what you got then, Cowboy." stood up and started heading for the bathroom.

They were almost to the bathroom door when they heard a loud voice behind them.

"And just where the hell are you two going?"

They turned around to see the man who had bumped Jeremy earlier and another man standing at the entrance to the hallway.

"Just gotta hit the head," Jeremy responded levelly, jerking a thumb towards the bathroom door, moving to ensure he was squarely between the man and Esmerelda.

"I don't think that's what's going on at all," the stranger retorted.

"So why don't you tell me what is going on," Jeremy asked.

"I think you are taking that whore in there."

Jeremy bristled with anger at his word, but pushed it down, "what is it to you if I am?"

"You think you can just roll up in here College Boy, and grab the nicest piece of ass that's been in here in years? I don't think that's right at all. So, let me tell you what's going to happen. You are going to walk on out the door over there, and she's going to stay here with us."

"And if I say otherwise?"

"Well, then me and my friend here are going to beat your ass, throw you out that door, and she's still staying with us, she'd rather be with a couple of real men anyway, so why get your ass kicked for nothing."

Jeremy considered the situation for a moment. He was bigger than either of them, but he'd never been a fighter. Spent a few months going to a boxing gym with a buddy before he decided he didn't enjoy it, but he had no illusions of grandeur. The music was loud, and no one else in the club seemed to be paying attention to them.

Then he saw the knife in the second man's hand. His older brother had once told him his rule of knife fighting. The winner goes to the hospital, the loser goes to the morgue. The first man seemed full of bravado, the second it was...anger, bordering on rage. He was only sure of one thing, he had to get Esmerelda out of here.

He held out a hand, a plan rapidly forming in his head. They couldn't get out the fire door. The two men would be on them before they could clear the door. THEY couldn't get out, but he knew SHE could, she just had to know what to do.

"Ok, fair enough, can I at least get my money back?"

The first man laughed, "wow, college boy is a cheap bastard too...go ahead, see if the whore will give it back to you, it's all the money she's going to make tonight."

Jeremy turned back to Esmerelda, keeping the corner of his eye on the two men. Talking quietly enough the men wouldn't hear him over the music.

"When I move, run. Get out that fire door and keep running, don't stop for anything."

"They'll hurt you," she put her hand on his arm.

"They'll do worse to you. Don't stop running or this is for nothing."