Chapter 17
Nona walked along the trail to the beach, her heart almost in her throat.
The day was warm. A few fleecy clouds hung high in the blueness of the sky. There was a hint of autumn about; a few leaves were turning, and the shade seemed cooler than it had a week earlier.
True to her word, Ivy had left the little resort town that morning, driving her car. Nona could take the bus back to Lawton.
Nick had called about noon, confirming their date. Nona had spent extra time on her hair and her makeup. She wore a robe now, a light terry cloth beach thing, and underneath it-hardly anything. Taking a hint from others she had seen on the beach at various times, she had decided to don the bikini that she had worn when Lucy had snapped the girlie pictures.
The little multi-colored patches in front and behind, tied together with strings at her sides, made her feel wanton and daring.
Surveying herself in the bathroom mirror before leaving, she had almost decided on a more conservative swim-suit. She was just a bit plump for any kind of a bikini. She had to please Nick, though. That was now very important to her.
Nona wondered again what had happened the evening before, at Nick's place. What she-had seen at the window of his cabin had indicated they were about ready to go into action.
She paused where the trail met another path that came from the direction of his cabin. She saw him coming. He limped slightly, favoring his injured ankle, but otherwise he was a picture of masculine appeal.
We're both blond, she thought. I hope that won't make a difference.
He waved and smiled. Her chest felt tight. She remembered his previous kisses, his hands on her breasts ... She trembled. She waved back, then started toward him.
He wore his swim-trunks, a towel across his shoulders. A neat white bandage encircled his left ankle. Under his arm was a colorful beach blanket.
"You're on time," he said.
She couldn't let him know how eager she had been all morning, waiting for one o'clock. She had looked out of the east window of the cabin a dozen times, watching the trail to the beach, just in case he appeared ahead of time.
"I-try to b-be," she answered.
His smile was disarming, putting her at ease. Glancing up and down her figure he said with a laugh, "You're all covered up, Nona."
"I won't be, when we get to the lake," she said, her cheeks warming.
They walked side by side along the path. She offered to help him, but he said the exercise was good for the sprain. She found herself hoping Lucy was looking out of her cabin windows; she was very proud to be with him. The best part was the way he carried most of the conversation and apparently didn't expect her to gush out with a lot of silly nonsense.
She had never been able to compete with the girls at school in thatdepartment. They talked brightly and giggled and wiggled their young bodies around, especially when any boys were watching.
She had never been asked to any of the fast parties or invited to join any secret societies. She had been a loner and still was.
Of course she had overheard some of the talk in the rest rooms, hearing the older and more daring girls discuss the opposite sex, about which ones carried contraceptives and who didn't.
She was aware of the fact that on certain days the wise girls in high school wore red sweaters to indicate their willingness to go the route with an eligible date.
She had been too chubby and too shy. She had not been with the in group.
She was sure Louella, her older sister, had done some wild oat sowing before her marriage.
Somehow, without actually saying so, Nick seemed to understand this. He didn't mind her silences. His eyes comforted her.
I wonder if he knows I'm a virgin, she thought, shivering. I'm so glad now Andy failed!
They talked about the lake and the changing colors in the timber. And, best of all, she found that she was stuttering hardly one bit!
"Have you heard any more about the so-called Ridge-runner?" Nick asked, as they neared the rim of sand that sloped down to the lake shore.
"No-except that the police are looking for him again."
She hadn't told him about her encounter with the man who had followed her from the tavern, slipped into Nick's car and scared her half out of her mind.
A few couples were already at the beach. Two teen-age girls were trying to row one of the rented boats from the pier down the lake.
The sun shone warmly. She let Nick pick their spot, and he found a place that screened most of the beach area from their position. She helped him spread the blanket. She put down her suntan lotion, transistor radio, dark glasses, and sank to her knees, beginning to unbelt her robe.
He tossed his towel from his wide, tanned shoulders and smiled across at her.
"I'm anxious to see what's underneath," he said, lightly.
She was furiously aware of his strong, lean body, the muscles of his arms and chest.
"You saw me-at that party," she answered, her cheeks still warm. The strip of red cloth, later removed, and the brief "grass" skirt hadn't concealed much!
"This is different," he said, settling down on the blanket.
It was, too. They were alone. She was with him-not a skinny loud-mouth like Hugh.
A killdeer bobbed along the water-line below them, making its odd, familiar cry. High overhead a hawk wheeled slowly, a dark cross against the blue. A breeze hushed through the bushes right behind them and the lap of waves on the sand had a lulling, relaxing effect.
She loosened the belt on her beach robe, took a deep breath, and pulled it off.
"Wonderful structure, Nona!"
She flushed and sat down, too conscious of his eyes on the jut of her nearly-nude breasts and her very lightly-tanned, full thighs.
She wondered again, as she had before, why people of both sexes liked to watch a girl undress, and not a man ...
She liked Nick's big healthy body, but his personality was much more important! She had seen many girls fall for virile men who weren't necessarily handsome. Some were even ugly. But they were men. A girl sensed this-just by the way a man moved, by the way his eyes warmed, by whether his glance was lewd or admiring ...
Girls were supposed to lure, to attract, with lips and eyes and bodies ...
He didn't stare too long. He appeared to realize that a too-close scrutiny embarrassed her. At the same time she was pleased that he did like her appearance!
He carried the conversation skillfully away from her bikini until she felt comfortable in it, until she was once more at ease.
There was no party air or phony game involved here. He sat close beside her, and when their shoulders touched, she shivered again. It was almost as if they were meeting for the first time. She didn't want him to think that she had ever indulged in sexual play before. Nona was no moralist, but she did think there should be something more than just sex between a girl and a man.
There were other things to share.
But if Nick wanted only the sex, she was willing. She would risk it. Other girls did. They had survived! Her sister, Louella, had been around before she settled down with one man.
She turned on her radio, finding a good music station on the FM band.
"I can't go in the water with this bandage," Nick said, moving his toe in time to the music.
"I'm not going in, either." She laughed. "I'd hate to spoil my hairdo...."
"Fine place to be together, though," he said, catching her hand in his. "And your hair is wonderful-did I ever tell you?"
"No-"
He grinned. "Say yes once in a while!"
She squeezed his hand. "I might, if you asked the right question."
His head turned and his lips brushed her bare shoulder. Little tingles burned through her body. She felt extremely feminine and wanted! Her heart pounded furiously.
His right arm slipped around her tiny waist, and the move seemed as natural as water running downhill. She yielded, the touch of his fingers on her flesh igniting warm fires. His lips moved along her shoulder, then over the nape of her neck.
In spite of the weather, she felt goose-pimply!
"You're sweet, Nona," he breathed.
She had thought so much of what she would say, how to express her interest without presuming too much, that now she was almost tongue-tied. He had asked questions about her family, her sisters. He was so easy to talk to about those things-but what did one say in the clinches?
Forget what he's done with Lucy and Ivy, she thought.
She squeezed his hand, hard.
"Did you know you had two cute dimples down here?" he murmured. His hand went lightly across the width of her bottom, and right where her waist curved upward from her hips his fingers caressed...."N-nooo," she answered.
"I spotted them at the party. I've been wanting to touch them!"
She shivered. She was sensitive there! Tingles spread through her loins, upward to her breasts.
"I'm glad!" she whispered.
It was wonderful to be held and admired; She was starved for considerate affection. She turned impulsively, and the move brought her skimpily-covered breasts into jolting contact with his muscular chest. Already she felt her nipples poking out, swelling!
He kissed her throat, then below her ear, nipping the lobe with his teeth. She had waited and waited for this.
"You're young and fresh and very desirable," he whispered. "Ohh-Nick,"
She trembled, sensual yearning building within her, a glow reaching from the top of her head clear to her toes. Necking with Andy had never been anything like this! She wanted to be touched and caressed-all over. Everywhere!
She slid her arms around him. Finally, his mouth inched along her cheek, toward her lips. Already she was intensely eager for his kiss. His arm tightened and suddenly he was pressing her close. His mouth claimed hers boldly and she opened her lips, receiving the firm heat of his mouth, feeling her lips burning under his pressure.
Some of her thirst, her hunger, was being slaked.
His tongue invaded, slowly, and another tremor possessed her. Feverish little waves of delight raced from her mouth to her nipples. She commenced to float on a cloud of provocative stimulation.
No kiss had ever been so thrilling! She tried to draw his tongue deeper.
I watched him kiss Ivy and Lucy, and I know his tongue was in their mouths, too! Forget them! I'm here, now!
His probe slid voluptuously in and out. She worked her own tongue-tip around his. She couldn't speak, but she could demonstrate her need by actions.
Finally his mouth lifted, just inches from her still-parted lips. She felt his hand on the hug of her bikini-top and her breath caught. Oh, how she had wanted that. She strained nearer.
He whispered, "You're wonderful, Nona!"
"I-I want to be, Nick!"
His fingers roamed over her achy breasts, and she shivered again. Voluptuous tingles, stingy as darts, enveloped her, centering at her spiring nipples.
"Before long I'm going to take you up in the bushes," he murmured.
"Yes!"
"Are you sure."
"Yes!"
"Now you're saying the right word."
She felt suddenly giggly and safe and ecstatic-all at once. She sensed that he would play with her some more, tease her, awaken her fully .
"I-guess I'm shameless, with you," she whispered.
He laughed, his voice low and intense. "Let's stretch out and relax a while."
She loved him for being so gentle. Andy would have practically raped her at this stage of the game ...
She sank back on the blanket, and he stretched out beside her, face down. When he moved she glimpsed his swim trunks, and they were bulging ...
"Now, this is more comfortable," he said, propping his head up with one hand. "But I can't see your dimples!"
She laughed. This was so nice, basking in the heat he had created, making her slowly ready for the ultimate claiming of her girlhood ...
His eyes drifted down along her figure admiringly. She drew one leg upward, bending at the knee, moving her hands behind her head. With her arms back, her breasts had a sharper prominence. The bikini-top barely contained them.
"Beautiful!" he murmured.
She smiled, basking in his examination of her charms. She felt a new confidence. She was glad she had dieted the past year, trimmed down her waist and a few inches from her hips-but her breasts remained just as before.
Her whole body ached for his touch. "Kiss me-again, Nick," she whispered.