Summer's Eve Pt. 05

Seeing as the original chapter 5 has been bugged -- all that remains of it is a single sentence -- I have decided to reupload it. Luckily, I managed to find it on a secondary hard drive. This is it in its entirety, and I hope you good readers enjoy it!

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Helena ran. Her strides were long, and small rocks and branches crunched beneath her soles with every step. The green shadow of the forest engulfed her, trees rushing past her on both sides of the path. Her breathing was loud and focused as her lungs worked like bellows to keep her going. She could feel sweat run down into her eyebrows and into her eyes. Helena raised her hand to wipe away the stinging sensation without slowing down. She focused on her breathing. In and out, inhale and exhale. The wind in her hair was warm. Helena ran as if all the demons of hell were after her, and she pushed herself to her limit and even beyond it. Only then, when her body was crying out for respite, did she slow down.

The forest was beautiful. Shafts of sunlight where seeping down through the lush canopies, forming bright patches on the ground beneath and formed bright patches on the ground. Birds were in the trees, singing and chirping to their hearts content. The air was permeated with the rich, earthy smell of damp soil and everything that lives and grows at the height of summer. Helena slowed her run down to a jog while catching her breath. Her heart was still pounding like crazy and she felt her pulse burn in her temples. She was sweating too, a fine layer of it already covering her body. In her defence it was not only due to her being a little out of shape. The air was warm and the sun, even if obscured by the trees, was hot. Even in the shade she could feel it warm her body. Still, the lack of regular workouts in the past month probably contributed to her getting tired quicker.

The combination of heat and sweat made her workout clothes cling closely to her body. Helena could not help but to notice how her grey tank top glued on to the shape of her bust and bra, accentuating their form while simultaneously leaving a good chunk of her neckline and upper back bare and glistening. The black shorts with the white stripes on either side were made from some synthetic material and thus did not stick, but she could not completely shake the impression that they were more form-fitting than usual, not to mention that they left such an indecent amount of her long legs and shapely - if she dared say so herself - thighs bare. It was strange - she had never considered her workout gear so revealing before. But after that morning a few days ago when she had laid on the ground, shorts at her knees and tank top pulled up to her throat, she had no choice but to view them in a new light. She had made sure to wash them thoroughly after that first encounter, but even though clean, it was impossible to forget how dirty they had been from forest soil. Or how permeated they had been with sweat and the head-spinning scents of fucking bodies.

Helena looked over her shoulder. The forest path behind her was deserted. It twisted and turned through the uneven forest terrain and made it hard to see very far, but she was sure there was no one close. When she had gone for her morning run (or late to early lunchtime run, considering how long she had slept) she had barely seen anyone else. Twenty minutes back she had passed someone walking their dog, but that was it. Out here only the birds kept her company. It suited her fine, really. She did not mind working out alone - it made it easier to focus. But that did not mean that she did not try to imagine what it would be like if she saw Him. When she came to a particularly sharp turn of the path or climbed a slope she could almost imagine that it was there he would appear. Tall. Dark. His muscular body squeezed into a formfitting tank top and shorts which would leave his arms and calves bare. His black skin would be glistening in the sunlight. Helena was not sure what she would do if she really did run into him, so perhaps it was for the best that that they did not meet out here on this lonely forest road. But she still thought about it.

She adopted a quicker pace again, trying to clear her head from unnecessary thoughts. Right now she had to focus on making the ten-kilometre run without getting lazy and slowing down to a walk. She had already been disregarding her workout routine this vacation, and she would be damned if she continued in the same fashion. Being lazy was all fun and games, but it would be anything but fun to try and get back into regular running and workout when she and her family returned to regular city life. Helena was not a training freak, but she did try to keep herself in good shape. She was definitively not ready to give up and become old yet, and to do that she had to stay active. Her brain proved yet again to be uncooperative and decided to flood itself with a series of lewd images. Helena was on her back, legs stretched wide, clinging on to dear life as Jack fucked her. She was on her side, one leg raised to allow him access from behind. Then she was on her knees, her entire body trembling as he mounted her from behind. Active sex is also a workout, and she had been busy. Helena cursed herself and kept running, hoping to tire herself out and thus take her mind out of the gutter.

It had been very, very late when Helena finally made her way home. She and Jack had parted as they left the forest, and when she snuck her way inside the cottage she had been exhausted. Somehow she had managed to quietly strip out of her sweat-soaked and sand-covered dress and hidden it under the bed, promising herself to personally wash it when she woke up. Taking a well-needed shower would have been too loud, but she had still rinsed herself off as well as she could, brushing the worst of the sand out of her hair and into the bathroom sink. Lars had slept like a log, and the moment Helena had joined him beneath the blankets she had turned into one as well. She should still have been exhausted come morning. Several nights of little sleep should have taken their rightful toll. She even overslept, having to be woken up as the others were preparing to have breakfast. And yet after having eaten and drunk a cup of coffee, she did not feel the exhaustion. The tiredness and soreness in her body were nowhere to be found. Instead she was coursing with energy and strength. When she had gone running she had picked one of the longer forest paths, expecting and hoping that it would provide a good, tiring challenge. But she handled it well, all things considered. She did not feel tired. She did not feel the need to stop and take a breather. She felt that she could keep running forever.

So she ran, gaining kilometre after kilometre. The path began at the road leading to the lake, and from there it led her in a wide bow around it before finally leading back to the cottage settlement. Soon enough Helena was treading familiar ground. The forest became sparser and lighter as she approached civilisation, and finally the trees parted completely, leaving her at the edge of the field. Beyond the tall, uncut grass she could see the first of the settlement streets. The sun, shining down through a cover of clouds, bathed it all in bright light, making the golden ball on top of one of the neighbours' flagpole burn brightly. The flag itself was limp, however, barely moving in the still air. Helena stopped, put her hands on her hips and took a couple of deep breaths, waiting for her pulse to return to normal. Filled with energy or not, it was still a good run. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and squinted as she scanned the street. It was quiet. A few cars stood parked at the cottage driveways or along the road itself, but she saw no people for the high hedges surrounding most of the houses. Before continuing Helena made sure to stretch, and her muscles responded with pleasant soreness. It would be great if she could make these types of runs a routine in her life. When she returned to the office and her share of housekeeping she would have less time over, but perhaps she could squeeze something into her schedule. Straightening herself and rolling her shoulders Helena headed across the field, the tall grass tickling her bare calves. Moving some loose strands of blonde hair from her face Helena looked up at the sky. It was not noon yet, but the day was promising to be hot.

As she crossed the street her eyes wandered along the sun-warmed asphalt up to house No 6. That one. The big dirt driveway was almost empty. A few days ago it had been full and several cars had been forced to stand along the roadside, but now it seemed that the majority of the party-goers had left and only two vehicles remained. Helena had almost walked out of sight of the driveway when she saw a familiar figure going towards it behind the yard fence. She stopped and looked. Jack walked up to the car parked closest to the street and opened it with his key. He was wearing sunshades, and when he looked up Helena was at first not sure if he had seen her. But then he too seemed to freeze. For a few seconds they wordlessly stared at each other. Helena's heart began beating faster again, now with worry. She quickly looked over shoulder, scanning up and down the street to make sure that there was no one to witness them. It was still empty. Jack too cast a few looks around and then began walking towards her. Helena did not move. This she had not been prepared for, and now her brain had decided to lock up on her. Thanks brain. Jack stopped a few steps away from her. He wore khaki shorts and a t-shirt, and the contrast between the white fabric and his ebony skin was as sharp as night and day. Helena's eyes slowly rose to his face. A ray of sunlight was dancing on top of his perfectly shaven head.

"Have you been out running?"

No greetings, no inquiries about how she was, nothing. Just a question, calmly spoken in that deep bass voice of his.

"Yeah." Helena realized that she was mumbling and quickly strengthened her voice. "I have."

"I really should have gone running too earlier." he said. "But I didn't get my ass in gear. My bad."

She gestured at the car key in his hand. "Where are you going?"

"Into town. There are a few things I need. I rather get them now than when I'm driving home."

"Oh. Okay."

He stepped closer and Helena felt a shiver run down her spine. She looked over her shoulder again, desperately hoping that there was no one here to see them standing so close. Her eyes searched up and down the street and the tree line across the field. But there was no one there. They were alone. Images, smells, sensations rushed through her mind. The moon shining down on the beach. Her straddling his lap, holding him and being held. Their mouths in a hot, wet embrace. Her body on fire. Her whispering to him. That dream.

"See you tonight?" Jack quietly asked.

Helena bit into her lip. Again, she had not been prepared for this. She did not want to talk to him or even see him now and here. But she nodded.

"Yes."

His thick, soft lips opened up in a blindingly white smile. "Then I'll see you on the beach. After midnight."

Then, with a final look around, he leaned forward. Helena barely noticed how she ever so slightly rose on her toes towards him. It was not a kiss as much as it was a brief brush of one pair of lips against another. And yet... it was so much more.

"See ya." Jack said, smiled again and walked to his car.

Helena nervously brushed away lock of hair which had fallen over her face. Moments later she remembered where she was and she spun around in place, setting course for her cottage. She heard a car engine start up and the crunching of dirt and gravel against wheels as the car rolled out onto the street behind her. Rarely had there been points in her life where it had been that hard not to look back.

"Oh, Helena, there you are." Her mother-in-law, Maria, greeted her with a wave. She was holding a basket full with freshly washed clothes, obviously intent on hanging them up to dry on the line suspended between the cottage and the birch tree. "We began to miss you."

"You did?" Helena said, trying her very best to act natural as she closed the fence gate behind her. "I was not looking at the time. I wasn't away too long, was I?"

"Maybe forty minutes, maybe more." the older woman said. "But go inside and freshen yourself up. You look like you need it. It must have been hot to be running in this kind of weather."

"A little. But you're right. I'll go shower."

"Do that. We're planning on having some sort of quick snack in the garden in a bit. What do you think?"

"Great." Helena was anxious to get inside. Once again she nervously brushed a lock of hair which had stuck to the humid skin of her face. "I'll help you out."

With a stride she hoped was both natural-looking and casual she made her way inside the house. The glass veranda and all the windows and doors were open to let the air flow freely, and yet it was still hot inside. Everybody else had to be somewhere in the yard behind the house, because Helena did not run into anyone as she hurriedly retrieved some clean clothes from the wardrobe. She was glad she did not have to talk to anyone right now. Only when she had locked the bathroom door behind her did she manage to relax, if ever so slightly. The air was humid - someone else had recently showered - and the tiled floor wet and slippery. Helena pushed the bathroom rug over the worst of it with her foot and then let herself lean back against the sink cupboard. Light was flowing through the frosted glass of the small window, illuminating her face and casting shadows on the mirror behind her. Helena took a slow, deep breath.

God damn.

That was all she really could say.

She slowly and methodically rubbed her face, moving from her temples to the eyes and then dragging her fingers down her cheeks. Just damn. Moments ago she had been standing next to the man who had fucked her silly at a sandy beach last night, and she had been equal parts terrified and exhilarated. Nobody had seen them. At least she did not think so, and they had spoken so quietly that probably no one had heard them either. But it had been risky. They had never spoken in public before. Publically they did not even know each other. They might have glimpsed one another at some point, but only to forget about the other a few seconds later. Helena let her nails dig into her skin when she thought about Maria or Lars asking her about it. 'Who was that you were talking to?' 'Do you know him?' Nightmarish even to just think about. What answers would she be supposed to give? Strangers don't talk to each other. In Sweden even long-time neighbours rarely chat without reason, and Jack was not even a neighbour. He was a visitor of a neighbour several houses away. What could they possibly have to talk about, even if briefly? And if someone had seen that quick, light, kiss...

Helena undressed. Angrily. That means that she tore of her shirt and threw it at the wall without care for where it landed. The shorts followed suit, and so did the bra and panties, creating heaps on the floor. Naked Helena stepped into the shower and impatiently spun the knobs to turn on the water. The showerhead exploded in a cascade of icy water, but she did not jump out of the way while it warmed up. Placing her hands on the tiled wall in front of her she closed her eyes and let the water fall over her. It drenched her hair and ran as freezing cold rivers down her neck, back and shoulders. It flowed down her freely hanging breast, immediately hardening her nipples.

God fucking damn it all to hell. Seriously. And pour some fucking shit and curses over it. Why did she react as she did? It was not that she kissed him that bothered her, nor the fact that she even talked to him in public. It was the fact that she had trembled. Her body had shivered with sweet anticipation of his proximity, closeness and touch. Why in all hell was she so... crazy about him?

The water ran by her feet into the gurgling drain. The temperature of it was quickly rising, going from lukewarm to hot in the span of a couple of seconds. Helena pushed her hands through her hair, letting the cascading water soak it. She would have to cut it soon, she realized - it was getting far too long and unruly. She liked to keep it long, but at a certain point it always became impractical. As the water soaked it became darker, switching from strawberry blond to a shade of brown, and now it fell in thick strands over her face and shoulders. The irritation washed off Helena together with the sweat, leaving very little behind. Maybe it was the tiredness finally catching up with her.

She had slept heavily tonight, but she had still been dreaming, and it had been some very strange dreams. There had been many, but Helena only remembered fragments of the last one. But what a dream it had been. The dark seas and the dark skies had merged on a black horizon. Strong wind had been tearing at her clothes, and waves had been rushing up the sandy beach to wet her feet. Jack had been there with her. She had kissed him and he had taken her, and then she had drowned in the black, restless sea. But it was what she had whispered to him which had burned itself into her mind. Dreams usually fade quickly and become little more than vague pictures and sensations, but those words were as clear as fire.

'I want your baby'.

Helena grinned at the absurdity of it all. Dreams are dreams and rarely make much sense, but this...

She knew she had to explain it. Somehow those four words, spoken by the her subconscious representation of herself, had to be dissected and understood. If only for her to understand why her brain insisted on pulling such stupid tricks on her.

Helena was a married woman in the middle of life. That meant husband, children, work, house, car, houseplants, friends, all that jazz and much more. She was also a cheating bitch, betraying all that meant something in her life for a stranger she did not know. But let's put that aside for a moment. Why would she - or her subconscious representation of herself - be pleading for a baby from her lover? God, it was just so stupid - not to mention disgusting - to think about. She was crazy, yes - that much she was ready to admit. She was obsessed with Jack. It was a primal and raw infatuation, an burning desire she had never thought existed inside of her. He was handsome and tall, built like a Greek statue and hung like... like someone very hung. He fucked her like a god. There was no dancing around it - he fucked like a damn god. In his arms she melted like candle wax; loosing herself, her dignity and sanity in one single fell swoop. He was also exotic. It pained her to admit that, but it was true. It was embarrassing to realize that those old racial prejudices still existed, not only in the world around her, but inside her. His skin was black ebony. He was foreign. He was... she could not really describe it. There was a taboo to it. But that was only one of the puzzle pieces.

But did she love him? No. The real Helena even shrugged her head.

She did not know him. He was a stranger. She did not know if he had a family, where he lived or even what his surname was. Whatever they had it was not love. It was pure, raw, primal lust. It was fucking. She was a faithless whore and Helena would never forgive herself for it. But why the hell would she want his child?

Helena searched herself for the answer, reaching deep inside those secret vaults which everyone has but does not necessarily want to open.

Could it be so that she simply wanted another child? Could that be it, the answer to the dream?

She was 34 and not old yet. The prime for childbearing is in a woman's twenties, sure, but there is nothing wrong with having children in your thirties. Helena even had some acquaintances who had become mothers after turning thirty. She could too. Her and Lars' economy was good. His job as an engineer paid well, and although she did not earn as much as him the office work she had provided a good addition to her husband's pay. They were normal middle class, owning a house and two cars. Another baby would not be a disaster. Helena would have to put her career on hold for some time, of course. It would only be reasonable given that she earned less, and she had volunteered to stay home with Erik and Alexander when they were small. But with today's generous paid maternity and paternity leaves it would not be that big of a problem. Another child would be - at least in theory - far from impossible.