Terms of Repayment

It seemed we had caught the attention of the tattooed couple, who now watched us with rapt attention, smiling. Somehow, it turned me on to have been watched.

Reina turned to them, a big grin on her face. "This is Leah from England." She held up a single finger. "Her first time!"

The slightly less scary of the two women smiled at me. "You like?"

"Yes, I like. Me gusta mucho!"

She got up from her booth and gave me a big hug. "Welcome, Leah. You only get one first time - make it memorable for all the right reasons."

Her friend gave me a thumbs up and I sat staring at Reina not quite believing what had just unfolded.

A hand on her chin, she regarded me with an amused expression. "Wow, the pretty blue-eyed blonde girl from England liked! Wanna take it further?"

This time, I took her hand, my mind made up. "Yes, Reina, I do. All the way. Like the lady said, let's make it memorable."

I almost didn't need a plane to fly home. I felt as if I was being carried by a huge balloon high above the ground. Reina and I had barely been separated from that moment on and we barely saw the other two until we left. I was sad to go and leave my new friend, that bubbly little bundle of Castilian fun.

My first girl. My first real lover.

The girl that had taught me so much in such a short space of time.

At the airport, Maisie and Abbie bragged about their depraved adventures and it left me cold. They were still on about it as we waited for our respective parents to pick us up back in England. There were delays on the approach roads so I had plenty of time to be subjected to their inane drivel. I could really not be bothered to listen to who did what to whom, or how long it took to wash the cum from their hair afterwards. The talk was clearly aimed at me and their assumption that I only got laid once.

From the sound of it, they were so out of it most of the time, they would hardly remember a thing anyway. When my Mum messaged me to say they were two minutes out, I finally cracked. I would never see Abbie again and couldn't care less if I saw Maisie or not.

I turned to them. "Well, I wish I could say it's been a blast, girls, but quite frankly, you were fucking disgusting. You were fucking lucky those pills you ate like candy didn't poison you. Word of advice - if I was you, I'd have some tests done for STD's. At least Leon used a condom."

As they stood, open-mouthed, the family car pulled into the pick-up spot. I grabbed my case and let fly a final volley at them. "Oh and by the way -- you were right, Maisie. Reina is a great girl. Shame she doesn't feel the same way about you anymore. And one last thing -- she's fucking dynamite in bed. I had the time of my life with her for four days, and you know what?"

They both stared blankly back at me as I went on. "I remember it all, girls. Every glorious minute of it. It was fucking marvellous." I gave them a cheery wave as I put my case in the car. "See you around. Yeah, as if."

My lovely balloon didn't last long. I floated around for a couple of days somewhere just above the cloud line, then what started as a slow leak suddenly became a torrent and I plummeted back to earth with a resounding crash.

I lay on my bed the second night back and cried my eyes out as realisation dawned. Where was I going to find release for my new-found addiction? That was the only word I could use to describe it. Those four days with Reina were an utter revelation and I was now addicted. I longed to see her gaze up at me from between my thighs as her soft hair tickled my skin. To taste her, to lick her sticky fingers, to hear her husky, sexy voice as she came, calling my name softly.

It had truly been the best moment of my life when she whispered six short words as I lapped at her that first night.

"Oh fuck, Leah, that's so good."

Three

I was back to reality and I lived in a tiny village. The local town was hardly a hot-bed of debauchery. I may have found myself at last -- I was a lesbian, there was no doubt in my mind -- but I now had no means of pursuing my new-found proclivities for my own sex.

I couldn't even use any machinery on myself as Reina had done. She had a lovely little collection of toys and we used them constantly, but again I had no hope of ordering any for myself, at least for a while. It was a month until the family holiday when I would have the place to myself.

I thought about flying back out to Spain but her parents were now at the villa, and besides, my doggy activities still would not cover the cost of flights.

It was a frustrating time for me and even my canine pals couldn't lift me from my stupor as I resumed my normal life back in the village. But the dogs and their owners were glad to see me back if nothing else, and in particular, Mrs. Franklin was very animated at my return. One afternoon, after delivering Hugo back to her, she invited me in for a glass of wine to belatedly celebrate being a school leaver. I was in my leggings and somehow failed to see her long, lingering stares as anything untoward.

We sat out on her patio, Hugo lying at her feet, a bottle of White Burgundy chilling in a cooler. I wasn't a wine drinker then, but it was a nice change from my vodka and cider and certainly better than the cheap sangria and Spanish beer I had drunk by the bucketload. When we toasted my hoped-for success in my exams, I was given the great honour of calling her Lizzi. Finally I was on first name terms with her.

I got the inevitable gentle grilling about boyfriends and told her of my last longish-term relationship at school which ended once I finally gave in to him. Once conquered, I was discarded and he moved on.

She shook her head and laughed. "Always the same. Everyone I know. All that big build up. 'Wow it's my first time!' All the piss and bluster, then, 'Oh was that it? Cheers, I'll get back to my own right hand again!'"

I had never spoken to anyone about sex in any detail and I found it empowering. I told her of my drunken pre-holiday conquest and once more she sympathised. "Rite of passage. The 'who the fuck was that last night?' feeling!"

Not wanting to give too much away, I kept my events in Spain to myself as we went on in the same vein for a while. She told me of her divorce that led to her arrival in the area after many years living in London. It appeared she wasn't looking for anything formal in a relationship but had a few friends she could call on where necessary.

Inevitably the conversation got round to what my future held and I told her of my dilemma. She shrugged. "No brainer to me. Give the dog-walking a big blast, do another job -- bar work or something. Earn a shit-load of money and spend six weeks before Uni swanning across Europe doing things you probably shouldn't."

A finger twirled in her short blonde hair, the other hand twiddling a heavy pendant that hung down between her breasts. There was a subtle change in her and she seemed to be turned on by the conversation. "Oh to be young again and have it all ahead. That big playing field full of lovely people to tackle and bring to their knees. I envy you, Leah. A lovely young girl just starting on her big adventure."

I shuffled in my seat. "Not much to envy. A few misfiring fumbles behind me and not a bloody clue what I want to do ahead. I'd love to do what you said, but I don't even know if I want to go to Uni or not."

"Then don't. Go full-time with the dogs. Give it a year and if it hasn't worked, take up your place if it's still open."

I hung my head. "I've no idea how, Lizzi. I'd need to take it to another level to sustain it full-time and I haven't got the money to do it. No bank is going to loan me something for a whim, are they?"

"What would you need?"

I had thought about it enough to rattle off a few things. "Better grooming gear, a couple of driers. Our garden shed would need an overhaul to accommodate the new kit and I'd need a small van to get me further afield and take the dogs to some of the lovely walking sites in the countryside. It would open up Amberdown and the other local villages to me as well. It all sounds easy when I say it like that, but I wouldn't have a clue where to start."

She considered for a moment. "Good job I do then, isn't it?"

"Huh?"

"I'm a business consultant. It's what I do for a living, Leah. It's what pays for this lovely cottage. Well, that and a decent divorce settlement, anyway. I get paid to tell people how to set up. I also do graphic design, website stuff, accounts. You name it, the full package."

It sounded great, but there was no way I could afford to pay any fees and I told her so.

She drummed her fingers on her lips for a moment. "Ok -- I've done this a couple of times and it's worked. Knowing you and seeing how you work and how much you love it, I'm prepared to take a punt on you. I'll give you all the advice you need, pay for all your upfront capital requirements, do you a website and show you how to do the accounting side. Do it for a year and if it goes tits up, just repay me the basic cost -- no interest. If it's a success, I'll be a shareholder and make a bit on the side. Be a nice little pension pot for when I'm old and grey. So, Tuesday today. Tell you what, come back on Thursday after you've walked Hugo and I'll run a few ideas by you."

I left half an hour later in a daze, promising to think about it.

I discussed it all with my folks the next night and they supported me fully. I was very nervous about agreeing to Lizzi's suggestion as it all seemed too good to be true, but my Dad did an online check on her and everything looked to be perfectly legitimate. Her website included glowing reviews and testimonials and she was affiliated to many trade organisations.

After depositing Hugo back into her clutches on the Thursday, she led me into a huge room at the rear of her lovely bungalow cottage, overlooking the back garden and the woodland beyond. It was an idyllic place to have a home office and the array of kit on her beautiful glass-topped desk was impressive to a technophile like me.

I did a double take as a logo appeared on a massive, curved screen almost as big as our home cinema TV. It was one of three attached to her network and my mind boggled at the scale of it all. The words 'Paw Posse' were writ large in a jaunty font, the 'A' of 'paw' replaced by a cute little muddy paw print. Around the title, four cartoon dogs grinned out of the screen, tongues lolling, ears pricked, tails wagging. Each of them was cute as a button and the one on the left was obviously based on a less aloof version of Hugo, mercifully devoid of cow poo.

The others were a dachshund modelled on a current TV advertisement, an adorable, scruffy, shaggy mutt and a vague cousin of Scooby-Doo.

Lizzi held out her hands to the screen, obviously proud of her work. "So, will those little tinkers sell the business?"

I was so excited I didn't know whether to 'cough or wind my watch', as my Grandad would say. They were perfect and I almost hugged her as tears welled up in my eyes. "Oh, Lizzi, they are brilliant. You've sold me already. I really don't know what to say."

It all got too much for me and I dissolved into tears. I was probably too far gone to realise just how intimate a hug she gave me.

An hour later we had discussed details, drunk champagne and added little hats, bow ties and bandannas to the quartet of canines that quickly became known as the 'PP4'.

She agreed to put in capital for the van and the gear I needed and become a non-executive director. She said she would draw up an agreement and there was no hurry to begin thinking about the repayment scheme. That could come further down the road when I was up and running.

A week later, she had finished my website and done all the necessary registrations. I had barely left school and here I was - the proud owner of my own business and not even eighteen and a half.

As I left, high on champagne and adrenaline, I hugged her once more and thanked her again with tears coursing down my cheeks.

She kissed me on the forehead. "Thank me when you have a nationwide chain of grooming shops. As I said, it's a long-term investment. The hard work starts tomorrow, Leah. But as I say to all my start-ups - every journey starts with a single step."

Lizzi was correct - the hard work did start the next day and I needed to get my twelve to fifteen hours a week up to over thirty pretty sharpish if my dream were to take off and fly as we hoped. My website was out there, adverts placed in the local paper and shops, and she even arranged for me to be interviewed on the small community online tv station that served the area.

I thought I would be nervous, but I relished the thought of being in front of the camera and waxed lyrical about my dream and my new venture. Whether many people saw it or not was a moot point, but I certainly got some congratulations around the village. To cap it all, the paper in which Lizzi placed my advert did a little inside column on a local girl's new business.

My new grooming kit arrived and our garden shed became Mission Control, now with the addition of the wonderful logo Lizzi had designed on a board above the door.

Then I took possession of my little van. It was old, but it was mine and I felt proud as I took the wheel for the first time. It was bright red and PP4 grinned at the world from each side of it. My name and number were emblazoned on the back doors and told the world that Leah Rowlands was a Professional Dog Walker and Groomer.

I returned to earth with a bump as the phone stayed silent and the website went unnoticed for the next two weeks. Then I got my first call. Then another. They were quickly followed by a hit on the website and an enquiry. The snowball began to roll downhill, gathering more snow and more momentum.

At the end of the first month, I rued the fact that Emily was soon off on holiday with my folks, as my first assistant would be AWOL. Also, Janie had a summer job in a supermarket in Amberdown so I couldn't call on her. It was all down to me.

By midsummer, I was shattered but elated that my little enterprise bore the fruits of my labours. Lizzi and I became ever closer and every time I mentioned the repayment scheme, she shut me down by saying we would get to it someday.

I found myself appraising women differently in that time and where I would have previously said a woman was attractive, I now tried to work out how and why I was attracted to her. I looked at girls on my infrequent trips into town and wondered if they were like me. If two were together, were they an item? I noticed their hair, their eyes, their clothes and hoped that one may look at me and smile. That I would find a like-minded girl who would stare at me meaningfully over a pint of cider in the White Lion or a plate of tapas in the new Spanish restaurant on the Town Square.

My night-time activities certainly changed and my habitual trawl through social media for an hour before succumbing to sleep was replaced by a different kind of surfing. I found a streaming site that had a wide-ranging collection of videos of all kinds. I set up an account using a long discarded e-mail address and soon had a few playlists to peruse at my leisure. All featured girl-on-girl action and it was no surprise to me when I bookmarked a fair few videos of a girl who looked a lot like Reina.

The really scary thing for me was when I realised that another of my favourite ladies had very striking grey eyes and short white-blonde hair.

She wasn't a spitting image of Mrs. Elizabeth Franklin, but at a brief glance, there was a resemblance. It was an almost subliminal thing when I saved her beautiful, erotic videos and thereafter, Lizzi was certainly a lady I saw with different eyes.

Then the day came when we finally discussed my terms of repayment - soon after she probed me again about my love-life and I told her about my adventures in Spain. The frustration had built up so much that I felt I just had to tell someone my guilty little secret. I had spoken to her about boys, so there was little difference -- in my mind at least.

I poured out my soul to her and told her all about my four days with Reina and my subsequent lack of action and my increasing frustration and alienation -- my guilt and my unrequited desire for more. Somehow I managed to hold back my tears.

She listened to me with interest and understanding and it was a relief to get it off my chest. Even my best friend Janie did not know. I was heartened slightly by Lizzi's sympathetic response.

"I never judge people, Leah -- and certainly not on sexuality. We are what we are. I am sure a lovely girl like you will find someone before long. I bet there are more girls of your persuasion out there than you think. It explains your reticence with boys, and I wish you luck and good fortune. At least you now know, so be at peace with yourself. It will happen for you, trust me."

I left feeling a little better and said I would see her again after walking Hugo on Thursday. Little did I know that day would be the beginning of a new life for me. The date is now inscribed in Roman numerals above my left hip as a constant reminder of the day that Elizabeth Franklin changed my life forever.

It began with what I assumed would be another vain attempt to talk to her about repaying my debt. I was surprised when she agreed it was time, but my naivety meant I missed the hidden nuances in her words.

She sipped her wine and thought for a moment. "Ok, I've been thinking about it for a while now and I really don't want to burden your early days in the business with having to repay loans. I told you I'm in it for the long term. It looks a lot of money to you, but honestly, to me it's not a big deal."

"Oh, I know Lizzi and I'm grateful for it, but I need to do something in return. Apart from walking Hugo for free, it's all a one-way street. Please, let me do something even if it's just a small amount."

"Ok then. Let me make you an offer. As I keep saying, the money is not important. If you are so keen, repay me with deeds and not filthy cash."

I was puzzled and completely missed her meaning. "Deeds? What kind of deeds?"

I still cannot believe I didn't catch on when she responded. "Erm, well... like doing certain things for me in the house."

I almost burst out laughing. "Oh come on Lizzi, just ask my Mum what I'm like around the house. I can barely boil a kettle. She still does my washing and if I did your ironing, you would need a new wardrobe within a week. The small part of me that wanted to go to Uni still rejoices in the fact I don't have to look after myself."

Lizzi ran a hand across her face in exasperation. "Shit, this isn't going the way I expected. Ok, we'll call it a night there." As we reached the door, she put something in my hand. "There are two files on that thumb drive. A video and a Word document. Watch the video, then read the document. It sets out your Terms of Repayment -- if you agree to the schedule."

I took it and went home in a bit of a daze wondering what the hell was going on. I went straight to my room and set up my laptop and plugged in the thumb drive. The two files were L&G_Short.mp4 and Leah.doc. The video file was only ninety seconds.

It may only have lasted one and a half minutes, but it set my senses reeling and by the end, my heart was pounding so hard I thought I would faint. It was one of the most breath-taking and beautiful things I had ever witnessed and it showed a naked Elizabeth Franklin kissing another woman in the most sensuous and erotic fashion imaginable.

They were shown from their breasts upwards, nipples brushing together, mouths slightly open. It began with them staring into each other's eyes for a few seconds before Lizzi leaned forward and took the woman's lower lip between hers. The woman ran her tongue along Lizzi's top lip and she released her and their tongues flicked together before the woman sucked on Lizzi's tongue and put a hand in her soft fair hair. They made breathy little noises and there were lovely wet sounds coming from their mouths. Lizzi put her hands in the woman's long, auburn curls and their kiss became more urgent as they gently nibbled at each other's lips and sucked on tongues.