Summer Figs

She gripped my neck harder. I swung forward and back, gaining momentum, then stood up with her in my arms. I almost got a cramp in my ribs.

She squealed as I grinned at her. "Cioccolato? I prompted.

She hummed in assent as she stared in my eyes, suddenly very focused. I set her back in the beach chair. The chair was so dipped into the sand with both of our weights, the bottom was almost touching the ground.

I took off my jacket, then tucked her in with it while she smiled widely.

I put a pastry and chocolate bar on top of the mesh wiring they had to heat it up. The boy Paola was talking to earlier came over to me as I worked on the chocolate sandwich thing.

"Ciao! My name is Dario."

"Ciao. I'm Vic."

"Vic? Not Veek?" he smirked at me.

I chuckled. "Veek is okay. My italiano needs a lot of help, so Veek is fine."

He laughed as he sat down, dangerously close to the fire.

"We have tradition? That how you say? To swim in ocean at— eh — twelve."

"Midnight."

"Yes, you are welcome! Not many girls do. Too cold but si hai fegato — have brave, come swim."

"Thank you. That sounds cool." I looked over at Emmi's half-asleep form. I couldn't leave her alone in that state. "I won't be able to tonight, though. Sorry."

"Bene." He replied easily.

"Can I ask you what pepe means?" I recalled some of what Nonna had said.

"Pepe is — pepper. Why?"

"La Nonna said today something about pepe."

"Tutto pepe?"

"Yes, I think so."

"It means 'all pepper.' Spicy — eh — crazy. Full of life. Nonna is tutto pepe." He grinned, and his smile was infectious.

"Sure looks like it." I agreed, though I'd only met her the once. "How do you do this? Just fold the bread over?"

"Yes, like this." He helped me prepare the chocolate treat, then handed me a little wax pouch to put it in so it wouldn't spill.

"Grazie!" I grabbed some napkins as went over to Emmi again.

"Yay!" She smiled widely. I helped her up, then she took the treat from my hand, pushing me back into the chair to sit down. She settled on my lap again, and munched while her bare legs danced her delight off the side of the chair.

She chewed as she looked straight into my eyes. Our locked gaze was an electric hold.

"Have you eat this?" She nodded to the pastry.

I shook my head.

She dipped her index finger into the melted chocolate inside the pastry, then brought it to my lips. I opened my mouth while I looked at her. As she put her finger in my mouth, I closed my lips around it, sucking softly and running my tongue over it.

Her eyes fixated on the movement of my lips. I ached to have her clit in my mouth instead. Once her finger left my mouth, there were whoops of appreciation that rang out from her friends since they had all been watching us.

"Emmi! That was sexy!"

"Veek, you look happy!"

Emmi blushed, and just kept eating as she flipped them all off. Afterwards, she broke off little pieces of pastry and dipped it in chocolate to share with me, but nothing quite so steamy as before.

I learned a little more about her friends. They were very close, it being such a small village. They'd known each other since they were kids.

The music went up louder, and we started to dance. Emmi and I were monopolizing each other, dancing closer and closer with each song. She took off her sweater at one point when she got hot, leaving her only in her swimsuit top. It was more of her than I'd seen so far. Her tanned skin was gorgeous. I likened it to the sunset we'd seen earlier, golden and glowing from within.

She ran her hands under my shirt, up my stomach, and we had to stop dancing for a minute to cool down. She took the opportunity to take a few more shots so by the time a policeman came up and flashed his light at us, she was well and truly wasted.

I set her down in a beach chair while I helped throw away the remnants of our food and drinks then went to go get her, putting her sweater back on.

Paola came up to me as we were leaving.

"Veek, I take her home."

"No, it's okay. I picked her up, I should make sure she gets home all right."

"I go with you."

"Okay." I smiled at her, wholly understanding her protective nature. I'd do the same if I was in her shoes.

We walked up the hill, which was harder to do with a drunk girl leaning on you. Once the ground started to level out a bit more and we were over halfway there, I picked her up to carry her in my arms. We were able to go a little faster that way.

Once at her house, Paola simply let herself in through the front door. What the fuck? These people don't lock their front doors?

Before we got to the stairs, the lights turned on. There was Nonna standing in her fluffy white robe in the hallway.

I grinned sheepishly before I greeted her. "Hi Nonna. Eh—Emmi is very tired. Time to sleep."

"Tired! Bah! Tired! Così ubriaco che devi portarla a casa. Spudorata."

"Scusa Nonna, solo—" Paola tried to explain.

"Solo, ba ba ba! Vai a casa, signorina, che chiami tua madre."

"Si, Nonna. Buonanotte."

She just harrumphed severely, and gestured for her to leave.

I followed Nonna up the stairs to place Emmi in her bed. I took off her shoes, then put a blanket over her. I didn't dare undress her, especially with Nonna watching me from the doorway.

Once back downstairs, I got my own talking to with plenty of gesticulating. I didn't understand a word of it, but kept a contrite expression on my face. She eventually realized I didn't understand her, and just dismissed me.

"Go! Grazie, Veek."

"Er — prego." I said uncertainly. "Buonanotte, Nonna."

"Buonanotte."

I stepped out, then saw the gardenia lying limply on the ground outside their front yard gate. It must have fallen out of her pocket when we got there.

I held it by the stem, and it drooped down, sad now. I smelled it, though, and it smelled just as sweet as it did earlier. Maybe with just a hint of smoke from the fire.

Once I got back to the house I was staying at, I tiptoed to my room, and pressed the flower in one of my books, putting a potted plant on it to weigh down the pages.

After I got ready for bed, I smelled the humid, tepid air coming in from the open doors to the balcony, and sighed as I remembered her face. Her kisses still lingered over my lips and tongue as well as the feel of her skin in the colder mist of the ocean; the sounds she made as I kissed her or as she ate chocolate set against the rumble of never-ending waves.

My heart felt too big inside my chest and I thanked my lucky stars that I'd chosen this little village on a whim after I'd heard about it from an older Italian woman in Verona. She said it was paradise, slow and beautiful. She was proving to be right so far. So perfect, in fact, the thought of leaving in a mere couple of days suddenly made me sad.

I turned on my side, and forced myself to go to sleep.

——

I woke the next morning, showered, dressed, then went downstairs for breakfast. It was included in the package, along with use of the Vespa if I needed it.

"Buongiorno, Elena!" I greeted my host.

"Good morning, Vic. Breakfast will be ready in about fifteen minutes. Take a seat."

"Can I help with anything?"

"No! Tomas is helping."

I served myself some espresso, then sat down at the long dining room table. There were a few other people there since it was a communal breakfast.

As I was catching up with the couples, Emmi walked in the front door. I abandoned the table in the middle of saying something to go greet her.

"Hi! What are you doing here? Good morning!" I said excitedly.

She smiled at me. "Good morning. I want to thank you for take me home yesterday."

"You're welcome. I hope Nonna wasn't too hard on you this morning."

"She is okay. But has to be good Nonna and shout me off."

"It's 'tell me off.'"

"Tell me off." She repeated. "She say she likes you."

"Really?" I hadn't the faintest notion after the way she spoke to me the night before. "Come sit down." I gestured to the table.

She looked at it warily. "I no—"

"Emmi! Buongiorno! Come join us! Mangia!" Elena swooped through the door to the kitchen to place a platter of pastries down.

"Grazie, Elena." She gave in, then sat down next to me.

They served us pastries, fruit, yummy cups of honeyed grapefruit with mint leaves, and all the espresso we could want.

Emmi attacked a chocolate cornetto (a kind of croissant-looking pastry), finishing it in less than a minute.

I gaped at her, turned on at seeing her — er — voracity? I guessed. She looked at me, and her cheeks popped up in a closed-lipped smile as she chewed. She looked so happy, it was adorable. Her eyes shone with pure delight.

I reached over to wipe chocolate off the side of her mouth.

Looking around discreetly, I saw no one was looking at us. So I stuck my thumb in my mouth, tasting the creamy chocolate.

She raised an eyebrow and smiled coyly.

"What plans do you have for today, Vic?" Elena's voice broke our eye contact, making us both jump.

"I'm not sure. I kind of wanted to go read somewhere today again." I looked at Emmi, hoping she would get my message that I really just wanted to go back to the clearing in the woods from the day before to make out with her all morning. She pressed her lips together in amusement.

"Bene. It's your vacation. You decide to read. It's your choice." Elena said, clearly disappointed in my boring itinerary.

Tomas refilled our espresso cups. "Vic, if you do need Vespa, it is in the shed. You take any time."

"Thank you, Tomas. Maybe later."

We were very full by the end of our meal, but were still loaded with more food for lunch by Elena and Tomas.

"Grazie!"

"Grazie!"

"You're welcome! Have fun!" It almost seemed like a threat from Elena that was about to be followed by or else.

As soon as we were alone, Emmi reached for my hand. My mood shot up with the feel of her fingers entwined with mine.

Walking through the woods with her, I caught her when she stumbled, and used the momentum to pin her to a tree. I bracketed her head with my arms, palms against the rough bark of the tree.

She giggled, then leaned in to kiss me, finally. About ten hours without kissing her was suddenly torture, while touching her plump lips was a heady type of blissful relief.

The inside line of my lips was so sensitive, so when she took her tongue to graze it delicately, I exploded and felt like I had heatstroke. I felt a crawling sensation starting at my neck and radiating down my back to pull at my groin, fluttering back and forth like tiny butterfly kisses all over my skin, then a heavy pull into her body. Her hands slipped around my sides to caress the hem of my shorts, then further to cup my ass over the cloth of the shorts.

"Fuck." I sucked on her pulse point.

"Ohi!" She exclaimed, I figured in arousal, but then she pushed me back by my hips. She stepped forward too, to massage her butt cheek, rubbing out the pain. I looked at the tree to see a dull spike at that height.

"Oops! Sorry! Are you all right?"

"Yes. Okay."

Before we walked on, she grabbed the back of my neck to kiss me fiercely. She smirked, then started walking again. I followed in a daze.

We found our clearing, and laid out the checkered blanket. Kicking off her shoes, she laid down in the center of it, leaning back on her palms. I grinned, and swaggered over to her.

"Is this how you were planning on spending your day?" I crawled over her body, placing a kiss on each thigh as I went. I got to her neck, and she stretched to give me more access.

"Very close. I like it."

As she laid down, I followed her, kissing the underside of her jaw.

I licked a swath towards her ear, making her jaw tense in arousal. I leaned up further to look in her eyes. "I really like it, too."

I leaned down to touch her lips, promising my attention for as long as she wanted.

It was early. I certainly had no responsibilities, so it was up to her how long she wanted to roll around with me for.

It was also up to her how far she was willing to go.

Her hands went to grip the strands of my hair while one of my palms caressed the side of her ribbed tank top. She seemingly tended to wear bright colors. That day she wore a yellow ribbed tank top tucked into her white shorts.

I kissed her top lip slowly, cherishing the soft smacking sounds that added to the sounds of the birds and the wind whistling through the trees — soft wet sounds of licks and little suctioning of her lips.

The base of my head buzzed in arousal, and she scratched there as though she knew exactly what I was feeling and wanted to fan the lust-induced flames into an uncontrollable blaze.

I supported myself on one hand and touched her neck softly as well, gripping and caressing. I bit the edge of her mouth, then licked over the spot. We moved against each other, attempting to breathe and keep touching each other forever. Every kiss doused the existing fire in fuel, making me crave her even more desperately.

I chased her little high-pitched moans, doing everything I could to make her feel good. After a while, she flipped us over to lead the kiss better. Her weight along my body felt wonderful, and now both my hands were free to touch her. I touched her sides lightly, sliding over her back. I was hesitant to untuck her shirt or escalate my caresses, waiting for her to make the first move.

Her tongue licked the middle of my top lip, making me shudder in response. She leaned back to look at me. Her lips her puffy and her cheeks were dusky with her blush.

"You are so beautiful." My thumb was in front of her ear and the rest of my fingers touched her hairline in the back of her head, holding her possessively.

She nuzzled her nose with mine. "I like to kiss you. Veek, I am wanting for you."

"Have you ever done this before?"

"With boys, I have sex. Never with girl."

"No?"

"I kiss friends before, never sleep together."

I nodded slowly. "I want you, too. You make me feel so many things, all at once."

She leaned down to kiss me, smiling into my mouth.

"I'm flattered that you want me to be your first girl." I smiled lopsidedly at her.

"We try make tourists happy." She replied cheekily.

"That so?" I laughed. "Well, I am very happy! Listen, we can go slow, and you can stop me whenever you want."

"Cazzo slow." She licked at the bend of my neck. My breath quickened as I dug my fingers into her back.

I untucked her shirt to press my palms on her hot skin. She huffed a warm puff of air into my neck in arousal.

She nipped at the edge of my jaw while I played with the hem of her shorts. I eased under the elastic to touch the tops of her cheeks. She dropped onto my thigh to grind into it harshly.

"Cazzo..." she muttered.

I bent my knee, and ran my hand further into her shorts. She moaned as she rolled on my thigh. I grabbed a handful of her ass, making her gasp.

She scrambled to sit back up. As I saw her frown, I panicked, thinking I'd overstepped.

"Er—" I had my mouth open to apologize when she took off her shirt and bra in a wild frenzy. "Oh."

I sat up too, then copied her. My hands started to unbutton my own shorts, too. She mouthed at my collarbones, and I forgot what I was doing, gripping her head instead, and running my hand down her side. Now, I was able to brush the side of her breast. I put my foot flat on the ground, and grabbed her shoulder as I flipped her over.

She squealed in delight as I grinned down at her flushed face. I kissed her cheek, then ran my lips down to her mouth. I kissed her persistently, trying to make her lose her senses. Her hips bucked up as I pressed down on her.

Damn. I wish I could express how amazing she is. English wouldn't do it justice, but I can't speak her language well enough to do her justice.

I kissed her lips chastely, then looked in her eyes. They were a mix of brown and green. I lost time as I looked into them. There were black speckles spattered all over them, and so much life reflected in them.

I sighed, then frowned down at her, overwhelmed in the moment.

She smiled lightly back at me as she placed her palm on the side of my face.

I couldn't help but be carefree around her. My inhibitions took a break as her delight flowed through me.

I smiled as I kissed down her front, running my grip over her breast over and over again. Her head thumped on the ground, and I relished the instant closeness we had.

It was so damn humid and hot that day. But fuck it if our private morning wasn't the sexiest time I'd ever had. I held her waist in my hands, then touched every surface of her front.

She held her hands over her face as her arousal spiked. I leaned down to kiss her dark areolas as she tangled her fingers in my hair. Her body started a slow roll as I sucked on her nipple in a measured wave, pressing my tongue against it in my mouth.

As I pleasured her, I unbuttoned her shorts, then pulled down the zipper. I sat up to run her shorts and underwear down her legs. She'd trimmed her hair down to a little triangle above her slit. My mouth salivated, but I was determined to take it slow.

I smiled at her as I leaned down to kiss her sternum, holding her breast while I suckled her some more.

She pulled at my shoulder to kiss me again. I sealed my mouth over hers, then she slipped her tongue in my mouth, curling around my own. She wrapped her arms around my back and her bare leg around my calf, possessively. My arousal painfully clenched in my groin. and threatened to end my life.

She reached under the hem of my shorts to caress me, then pulled the material down, urging me to take them off. I knelt between her legs, taking my underwear and shorts off clumsily, tossing them somewhere.

She looked at my center, smiling at my landing strip. She held her hand out, and I took it, moving down as she pulled at me. I let my body drop onto hers, relishing her hard nipples moving against my skin.

I kissed down her body again, faster this time because I was aching to taste her.

Once settled between her legs, I caressed down her lips and she rolled her hips in response. I pulled at one lip and exposed the pink wet skin of her pussy. I looked up to see her eyes burning with arousal as she supported herself on her elbows.

"How do you say — this — in Italian?"

"Sex?"

"No. Erm, pussy." I stuttered out.

Her cheeks colored. "Figa."

"Like fig?" I laughed nervously.

She nodded, amused now.

"Well," I looked back to her center, admiring the beautiful shape of it. "I guess that's very fitting." I leaned to kiss an outer lip as she let out an irregular breath. "After all, we did meet here in a fig orchard." A kiss on the opposite lip now. I mouthed at her whole center, dipping my tongue in to taste her briefly. "And you taste better than any fig."

Her shoulders thumped down on the ground as I moved over her with more urgency. The cloying smell of the figs that had dropped to the ground around us swirled into my brain and intoxicated me further.

As I sucked on her inner lips, she let out little whimpers of pleasure. I snaked a hand up her front to touch her breast.

She bucked her hips when I pulled on her nipple, crying out wantonly then muttering what seemed to be a string of profanities under her breath.

I didn't know what she'd said, but even that sounded like music in her tongue. My own tongue pressed firmly against the edges of her entrance. After an eternity of playing with her to my heart's content, I rubbed her clit firmly with the flat of my tongue, finally leading it into my mouth to suck softly. She froze and quieted, breathing heavily.