Shining Girl Ch. 06: Andy & Linda

Part 2:

Not a cross word or a quizzical glance passed between Andy and me that entire summer; I knew what he wanted, when he wanted it, and he was the same with me. The Langley woman knew what was going on, but she held her tongue; loyalty to my mother, I suppose, as she'd once been her nanny, but her sour disapproving face was yet another reason to get out of there. August was almost out when suddenly the reality of what we were doing struck home...

Andy and I were out in the pool; as had become our custom, he was wearing nothing much, and I was wearing a skimpy bikini that had somehow become pulled down to my knees, and while we were busily exploring and pushing each others' buttons, giggling and gasping away, a softly cleared throat jerked my eyes up; to my horror, my mother was standing on the pool sun patio, arms akimbo, her sunglasses pushed up on her forehead, and her skimpy designer dress showing that while she may have been a woman of 43, she still had the face and body of a 25 year-old.

"Are you having fun, dears?" she grinned, "no, don't answer that! Darlings, put something on, please, your father's somewhere around here!"

She pulled her sunglasses off and smiled conspiratorially at us.

"Langley was right, but I just had to see for myself. Don't worry, it's just a flying visit; your father and I are on our way to Barbados, and we were passing through so we came to say hello! Andrew, darling, please, put that thing away!"

Andy blushed deep red as he pulled his swimming trunks up and wrestled his still solid erection into the small space, and I rearranged myself into something marginally more decent. Mother grinned once more and turned on her heel, sauntering back into the house, while Andy and I stared at each other; what the hell...?

We followed her into the house, belting robes around ourselves, to find her chatting with daddy; he smiled and waved at us before going back to his conversation with mother, like he'd last seen us that morning, not eight months before at Christmas. He mixed mother a drink, offering me one, but I declined; martinis are not my thing, especially not before lunch...

Daddy sat down and beckoned me closer, patting the seat next to him.

"I hear you're going with Andrew to Edinburgh next month?" he said, studying his drink. I didn't know what to say, so I just nodded. Daddy grinned, his eyes far away.

"Went to a bloody incredible party at St. Andrews once; it went on for days!" He smiled. "Of course, we were all banned for life from ever setting foot there again, but it was worth it!"

Mother decided to join the conversation, her voice, as always, a languid drawl.

"I thought you were going to uni in London, Lindy; changed your mind, darling?"

This conversation was getting surreal. If I didn't know better, I'd have sworn they were completely unconcerned about what Andy and I got up to, and were just trying to make polite conversation while they waited to have their next cocktail. I looked directly at her, and told her the truth.

"Andy and I would like to be together; he's at Edinburgh, so I'm going with him!"

She looked right at me, eyes flat and disinterested, and without batting an eyelid, drawled "That's nice dear; it'll be fun for both of you..."

Daddy was nodding in agreement, lost in contemplation of his martini, so Andy indicated with his head we should leave. I put my hand on daddy's arm, and he patted my hand distractedly.

"Have fun, you two!" he murmured, dismissing us from his world, so we slipped back outside, stared at each other, and burst out laughing; I always knew my parents didn't live within even a loud shout of reality, but this took the serious biscuit. We decided against any hanky-panky while they were around, even though we'd just been given what amounted to carte-blanche. It seemed prudent not to push our luck, so we lounged on a pair of steamer chairs and talked about the weirdness of it all.

Eventually I needed a cold drink, after lying around in that hot sun, so I went indoors to get some cokes, and they were gone. I should have expected that, I suppose; playing 'concerned parents' wasn't actually something my parents were ever any good at, but I was saddened they'd not even bothered to say 'goodbye, see you next year' or whatever before boogieing out the door and back to their own lives.

I sat down and thought about how little they must think of us, of me; any real parent would have hit the roof at finding their son and daughter on the brink of fucking in the swimming pool, but my parents had done...nothing, not even mentioned it; did they really think so little of me? That saddened me even more; the final understanding that they really didn't give a shit for anyone or anything except their own selfish whims. I suppose that finally drove home just how fractured and dysfunctional our family was (although using the term 'family' to describe us was pushing it).

With that realisation came the understanding that I needn't have a single second's guilt over what we were doing; the parents obviously didn't give two hoots, so why should I? But I did, though; sometimes a girl needs her mum, or her dad, someone to be there when it all goes wrong, to pick up the pieces and make it right, or to just be there, period. Andy had been doing that for me all my life, and Grandfather, but my parents had always been these dim, shadowy figures flitting in and out of my life with barely a passing glance at me, and having no real relevance in my life. Now I finally understood why Freddy was the way he was; no-one had ever bothered with him either, and he was just as lost, disconnected, and adrift as I was.

Andy came looking for me, and found me crying on the sofa; his arms around me made it hurt even more; it should have been daddy, but it never had been. Andy held me while I cried for my parents for the first time in my life, realisation of what had always been missing finally flooding through me. Poor Andy pulled me onto his lap and rocked me like a five year-old until the tears began to ease; I could tell he was as affected as I was, but in a different way; when I looked at him, his eyes were slitted, his forehead was furrowed, and his lips were two bloodless lines; he was furious, and eventually I began to make out what he was muttering.

"Callous, thoughtless, heartless pair of bastards, I swear to God I'm going to kill those wastrels...how dare they swan in here like they had a right and make you cry, they don't deserve you Lindy, they never did, I'm so sorry baby, I wish I'd caught them, I'd soon make them understand how much they've hurt you, I'll mop the floor with those two fuckers...!"

He pulled his robe off and mopped my eyes with it, the way he'd done when I was small, the memory making me grin through my tears.

"Don't you worry, Lindy-baby, we'll never do that to our children, I promise you! Our kids are going to live with us, where we go they'll go, and none of this 'boarding school' cop-out; the parents shoved us in those places so they wouldn't have to look after us, but we're not doing that to our kids, understand?"

I was gratified beyond my ability to express it; it had always been a sort of background, tacit understanding that we'd have children, that we'd stay together and have our own family, but this was the first time he'd ever stated it so baldly, and I loved him even more for it.

"Do you mean that, Andy?" I whispered, "You want...you want a family, with me? Really?"

He turned me around so I was sitting astride him, hugging me to his chest. I listened to his voice rumbling in his chest as he answered me.

"Every word, Lindy, every single word! Mother and father are class A fuck-ups; they proved that today. I like to think I'm nothing like them. Our children will have everything we never had, and I don't mean things; I mean care, and attention, and first call on our time. I want to take our children to the park, go on holiday together, with them as a family, teach them to swim and to ride their bicycles; I want to sit down to dinner together every night and teach them table manners; I want to read to them at night, or punish them for fighting, everything real parents do. We were brought up by strangers, because those two wasters only wanted to please themselves; look at poor Freddy, look at how messed-up he is. That will never happen to our kids, I swear!"

His words made me cry all over again, but happily this time, the new reality of who we were finally falling into place. I felt like a weight had fallen from my shoulders; for the first time in my life I felt truly, absolutely, completely free, unfettered by anybody else's expectations of me. Now, all that mattered to me was that I made Andy happy; anything else was incidental; this was our life from now-on.

His lips on my neck as he nuzzled me made me want more, and his warm breath made goosebumps prickle up and down my arms and between my shoulder blades. I wanted to resume what we'd been doing in the pool before Chloe and Nigel showed up (and that's how I thought of them now; 'parents' was not what they were, not any more, and perhaps never had been).

Andy seemed to be feeling the same way, his nuzzling kisses soon moving around my throat and up to my lips, where I kissed him back as enthusiastically as he was kissing me. He stood up, carrying me as easily as a baby, and took me up to our room, where his nimble fingers quickly undid the straps and ties of my bikini, stripping me naked even as I tugged his trunks off and fondled his thick, steely cock.

As he pushed me gently onto the bed, I captured his erect member and slid him into my mouth. Andy reciprocated by pulling me round to straddle his face, and began licking and lapping at my pussy, sending thrill after thrill through me. His tongue explored all my holes, lapping and stabbing at my clitoris, probing between my labia and making me gasp when he shoved his tongue deep inside me, and the thrilling sensation when his pointed tongue-tip explored and gently inserted itself into my tight bum hole made me see stars.

I was coming almost continuously as he licked, sucked and rimmed me, and I worked my lips and tongue over his straining cock again and again, but I knew what he wanted, and when he pulled me on top of him and slid his cock into me, I came almost immediately, orgasm after orgasm thundering through me as his cock hammered my pussy, and his fingers rammed and plundered my bum hole, opening me, loosening me, dampening and lubricating me with my own juices.

I knew what he wanted now, even if he didn't really know himself, but now I wanted it as well; Andy was my world now, there was only him, and I wanted him to have everything of me I had to give.

When I judged he was ready, I slid off him, and took hold of his slick, glistening cock, rubbing the wet, glossy tip over my tight hole. His eyes widened as he realised what I was doing as I lowered myself onto him, taking him into my anus, relaxing and seeing stars even as I slowly forced myself down onto him; luckily he'd relaxed me somewhat, but it was a really tight fight even with that...

Andy was gasping as his cock was squeezed so tightly by my bum; taking him this way made his cock feel twice as thick, but the feeling as he slid slowly into my arse was incredible. When I had him all the way inside me, I tried squeezing him, grinning as his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Oh Christ Lin, that's...oh God!" he gasped, and when I began to slide him out again, I nearly screamed at how incredible it felt. Andy pumped slowly, gently, not forcing anything, but I didn't care; the feeling as my man fucked my arse was so incredible, all I wanted was for it to go on and on. Andy tried his best, but it was having an effect on him too, and when he rolled over so I was now underneath him, with my bum tilted up so he could ram into me, a kind of madness took over, and we humped and hammered at each other, the sensations as his cock slid in and out of that place almost indescribable.

When I came, it was like a giant wind blew through me, sucking all thought and reason from me, leaving only pleasure behind; I screamed like a banshee, my pussy squirting all over his midsection even as my bum tightened, trapping him.

Andy gave a great, coughing roar, his cock swelled up to what felt like an impossible size in the confines of my bum, and jet after jet of hot spunk shot deep into me, filling my insides with his burning heat, blinding and deafening me to any and everything except his lips on mine, and his big, soft hands as they held my buttocks apart and my legs wide open.

I finally let my legs drop back to the bed, and Andy slowly withdrew from me, even that withdrawal triggering smaller, less intense, but still wonderful, orgasms, and we lay side-by-side, his arms around me and his lips playing gently across my face, even as his soft hands squeezed and fondled my bottom. I was lost in a haze of well-being; my man had literally fucked hell out of me, I'd wrung every last drop of spunk out of him, and now it was time to rest, to bask in each other, and to feel our love as we held each other close.

When I woke, it was already late afternoon. As usual, when I woke, Andy snapped awake as well, then paused as, like me, his time-sense reoriented, then he relaxed, pulling me closer to him.

"What do you want to do today, Lin?" he murmured in my ear. I already knew what I wanted to do; while I was sleeping, the decision had been made for me.

"Let's pack up our stuff, baby," I said, "this isn't my home anymore; I want to go home with you, to Edinburgh. I've got no reason to stay here any longer, not now...not after this morning."

I could feel his eyes boring into the back of my neck, then he patted me on my flank and kissed my ear.

"You're right, baby-girl; let's go home."

We showered, and then, while he packed his stuff, I called Nana and Grandfather to tell them of our decision. Nana was curious as to why we'd decided to go back so early; Andy wasn't due back at university for another three weeks, and so, quite without meaning to, I told her about the events of the morning, and why I felt I had to leave, and my tears came again, as the memory of their indifference tumbled around in my mind once again.

Nana was sad but understanding; after all, she had no illusions about her son and his nature, and she knew exactly what my mother was like; once she'd calmed me, all she asked from me was my assurance that I knew what I was doing, and to be sure I would be happy. I assured her that as long as I had Andy with me, I had everything I needed, which was what she wanted to hear.

Grandfather spoke to me too; he sounded sad, but he also understood how hurt I was, and why I had to leave.

"Just remember, Lamb-Chop; I'm only a phone-call away; anytime you need anything just call me, I'll sort it out for you. Some of my people will be in touch with you soon; you need to think about your finances. Leave it with me, but expect a call, sweetheart. I love you, Lamb-Chop, always remember that."

We left the E-Type behind; gorgeous as it was, the luggage space was laughable, so Andy plumped for daddy's custom Land Rover County; he'd never notice, nor care, it was gone; the man had once wrapped a Lamborghini Countach around a tree and left it to be towed away for scrap without a backward glance, so a missing jeep wasn't going to raise his temperature any. We left without a backward glance; that place meant nothing to me now; my home was where Andy, my half-brother, my lover was.

*

Life with Andy in Edinburgh soon settled into domestic normality; I found a job in one of the many little bookshop /coffee-shops that dotted the city, so my days were filled with quiet interest, and after a few abortive attempts, the regulars discovered that I was serious about my boyfriend, the huge bloke who collected me every evening, so left me alone, instead flirting with me when they could get away with it. I was quite flattered and gratified by it all; I'd never been what you could call the belle of the ball, so it was fun to banter with the students, knowing it was never going anywhere.

And so life ambled along. It was almost idyllic: Andy collecting me after work, me making dinner for us in the enormous flat he'd completely neglected to tell me he'd bought, in a beautifully restored Regency house, and our free weekends together playing with each other, grocery shopping together, watching TV in bed, and falling even deeper in love.

And then one day almost a year after we'd upped-stakes, it all came to a grinding halt. Andy came to the bookstore to collect me, and hustled me out of there, his face pale and drawn, with none of the verbal sparring and banter we indulged in as a matter of course.

His expression was set and tense, and all he would say was "Later, Lin, we need to get home!"

By the time we got in I was feeling more than a little scared; Andy looked terrible, white and strained, almost as if he was on the verge of tears, and as soon as we got in the front door I rounded on him.

"What's going on, Andy, what's happened?"

He looked at me, sombrely, and he looked frightful, like he was sick. My heart leaped into my mouth.

"Lin...it's Jack, Jack Cameron..." and I was shocked to see tears in his eyes. I took his hands, and squeezed them.

"What about Jack, baby, what happened to him?"

He looked at me, tears spilling down his cheeks.

"This afternoon...he was mugged...the bastard shot him, he shot him in the head...he's in surgery now, but they don't expect him to live...!"

I sagged, feeling a sick hollow in the pit of my stomach; Jack, my teenage crush, quiet, handsome Jack Cameron, one of the sweetest, most gentle, most caring people I knew...

Even through my shock and distress, I knew what we had to do.

"Andy, we have to go, baby, it's Jack, he needs us now, he needs you, Andy; he needs everyone, all his friends. Get packed, we have to go!"

Andy snapped out of it, rushing to cram essentials into a large flight bag while I did the same, followed by a quick tour to lock up; then we were haring down the motorway, stopping only to refuel and go potty. Andy drove through the night to get us to the National Hospital for Neurosurgery in central London first thing in the morning; we arrived there just after 5 a.m., so dozed in the car for a couple of hours until the main doors were unlocked.

They let us see him even though it was outside visiting hours, and we weren't immediate family, which made me tremble in fear for him; it was like they were waiving the rules because they didn't matter anymore, because they knew they were losing him...

When I saw him, all my worst fears crystallised; he was swaddled in sheets to immobilise him, his head heavily bandaged, respirator tubes in his mouth, more tubes in his nose, drains in his head emptying into catchbottles, drips in his arms and chest, and wires everywhere, his head, his chest, festooning him; he looked so small and vulnerable, his face pale and bloodless, with monitors and flickering readouts surrounding him, none of the 'beep, beep' you see in the movies, silent numbers and wavy lines the only outward signs he was still clinging to life.

Harry was already there; he must have been there all night, along with Jack's mother. His sister, Teruko, had been there all day and night, and Sai Fong had taken her home just before we'd arrived, to get some rest, some food, and a change of clothes while Harry sat with him. When he told us that Jack was in a deep coma, and that he was only just clinging to life, despite all they'd done for him, I had hysterics; Jack's mum had to take me away and calm me down, poor lady, even though she must have been in nearly the same state as I was. Andy and Harry just sat there, stunned and silent at what had happened to their best friend, Athos to their Porthos and Aramis.