When they got back, there was no sign of Buttons. Susan diced up the kidneys then put them on a small plate on the back porch, knowing she would find it eventually.
Before Susan slipped on her new dress, she remembered the kitchen floor, took out a bucket and some soap and filled the bucket with water. James had gone into the bathroom, and when he came out, she was on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor.
‘What a lovely picture you make with your bum in the air like that,” he quipped.
She turned around, scrub brush in hand, “Oh really? You sure know how to flatter a girl, don’t you? Grab that mop over there and dry the floor as I rinse.”
“I thought you said men were bad at floor scrubbing. Besides, cleaning is girl’s work.”
“I’m not asking you to scrub, just mop it off. I figure you’ll be able to manage that. And, it’s not girl’s work! Your dad cleans, doesn’t he?”
“Yes, my lady,” he said, going to the closet without another word and taking out the mop.
When the floor was done, Susan slipped into her new dress, had James button her up in the back, and they headed out the door up the hill to where they’d had their picnic the day before. The blanket and remnants of yesterday’s picnic were still there.
“Looks like we forgot to come back and pick up,” James remarked. “Hmmm...well, we know the reason for that now, don’t we?” she said, smiling up at him. “Look!
We still have a half bottle of wine left. Let’s kill it off.”
She divided the remaining wine between the two glasses she found lying on their sides on the blanket.
“Okay, your turn to make up a toast,” she said.
“To more of yesterday,” he said teasingly.
“Pretty single-minded aren’t you?” she responded, clinking her glass up against his. “But, I suppose I can agree to that...”
Her hormones yawned and stretched, waking up.
James handed her one of the sketch pads and picked up one of the pencils he’d laid down on the blanket. She accepted the pad and reached down to pick up one of the other pencils.
“So, what’s your subject going to be then?” he asked.
“Why you, of course,” she responded. “I can do your profile if you turn sideways to me. How about you? What do you want to draw?”
“Hmmm...Nature, I think…trees, sky, clouds...” He opened his sketch pad and started making sweeping strokes across the paper.
She studied his profile intently for a moment, then put her pencil to work. They drew silently and companionably for about twenty minutes, when Susan said, “Okay, see what you think,” as she passed her sketch pad over to him.
“Hey, that’s quite good!” he said. “Where did you learn to draw?” He handed her sketch pad back to her.
“My grandfather taught me. He does landscapes and still life, but I’ve always liked to draw people. I thought at one time I’d like to be a portrait painter.”
“I thought you wanted to be a ballerina. Remember, when you showed me your necklace?”
“My bosom is too big for a ballerina as I was trying to tell you, but I’d still like to be one. I love to dance!”
“I don’t mind your bosom being too big,” he said wickedly.
“There you go again with your one track mind...”
He tossed his sketch pad and pencil down near the bottom of the blanket, leaned over and pushed her down on her back as her sketch pad and pencil went flying. He brought his lips down on hers and began running his hands up and down the sides of her silky dress.
“Mmmmm...lovely, I do like this dress…” he said kissing her neck and throat.
Her arms snaked around his neck, and she pulled him closer.
“Maybe we should go back to the cottage,” she whispered seductively.
He looked into her eyes with his half-closed. “Shall we then…” he agreed.
They stood up, gathered up the sketch pads and pencils and shoved them into the picnic hamper that had been left behind the day before. Susan put in the wine glasses, and they both folded up the blanket then headed back to the cottage, eager anticipation vibrating through their bodies.
They didn’t even make it to the bedroom. James sat on the sofa and beckoned Susan to him. She put her hands on her hips and shook her head.
“Wait just a minute,” she said, as she slowly reached back to undo a few buttons of the dress then pulled it up and over her head. She then pulled down the straps of her bra and pushed it down to her waist then over her hips, taking her panties down at the same time until she stood naked in front of him with only her necklace dangling down between her breasts, her eyes burning brightly. She reached up and let her hair loose from the clip she’d fastened it up in. It cascaded down to her waist. She cupped her breasts in her hands and wiggled her hips seductively.
“Wow!” she thought, knowing she was wet and ready for him. “These seventeen-year-old hormones are something else! I’d almost forgotten what it was like to be so horny all the time. It’s almost embarrassing! I can’t seem to get enough of him! Lucky guy!”
Her hormones smiled lazily. They’d been somewhat quiet lately. Probably because they were worn out and satiated from so much love making the previous afternoon and night.
She could see his arousal pushing against his trousers, walked over to release it, straddled him and slid down on top until he was fully buried inside her. He leaned his head back and let out a moan before grabbing her hips and working her up and down on his erection. She closed her eyes and threw her head back, enjoying the sheer ecstasy of their movements. It wasn’t long before they both reached the inevitable and powerful release and Susan collapsed onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck, her loose hair tumbling down her back and across his shoulders. Both of them were moist with sweat and slightly panting from their exertion.
James pushed her back slightly away from him, holding her by her shoulders, a warm smile on his face.
“That was quite aggressive of you...Have you no shame, m My lady?” he asked, teasingly.
She smiled back at him. “Where you’re concerned, sir, none whatsoever...”
She eased herself off him and slipped the dress back on, this time with no undergarments...just in case they decided on more of the same later. She knew all he had to do was crook his finger.
She was indeed, shameless.
A short time later, after tidying up the cottage, Susan decided to take a bath, ran hot water into the claw foot tub and immersed herself in the warmth with a sigh. Buttons had come back, trotted into the bathroom with her and was sitting on the toilet seat. Susan’s limbs were still like limp rubber after her last intimate encounter, and she sighed deeply as she slid down into the water until it touched her chin. She closed her eyes, feeling as if she could fall asleep in the comfort of the bath. Slowly, she began washing with the rose-scented soap that was sitting on a small table next to the tub, luxuriating in the slinky feel and wonderful smell of the soap on her skin. When she finished washing, she lowered her head back into the water, wetting her hair, then raised up using the same soap to wash it, as she hadn’t been able to find any shampoo.
“Don’t have shampoo or conditioner here?” she asked Buttons.
“Mrow,” the cat responded.
“I’ll take that as a no...” Susan responded.
After leaning back and rinsing the soap out of her hair, she got out of the tub, wrapped a towel around her and walked back out into the main room. James was fast asleep on the couch; his hands pressed together under one cheek. The sight of him took her breath away as she continued to drink him in.
Damn! She was in love. There was no doubt about it. She had felt the emotion creep up on her from the moment she first laid eyes on him three days before. It was a feeling that started in the pit of her stomach and moved up into her chest, making her feel almost faint. Knowing she only had four days left to be with him, near him, holding him...tears stung her eyes, and she rubbed them away quickly.
She turned and went into the bedroom, putting the green dress back on, then went out into the kitchen. It was late afternoon, time to think about dinner. Methodically, she started opening cabinets to see what was there. She then took a quick inventory of the refrigerator, where there were still numerous items left over from their picnic hampers and what they’d bought the day before.
“Ah,” she thought, “Chicken; I can do something with Mel’s leftover roast chicken...” She took it out and began removing the skin and bones, placing the pieces of meat into a large pan she’d found, saving a few pieces for Buttons, and added some olive oil she’d discovered in one of the cabinets. She looked out the window into the garden and remembered the basil she’d seen that morning. She went out into the garden, snipped several sprigs of basil, then some oregano and pulled an onion and a garlic bulb out of the ground. She removed the papery skin from the onion and garlic, chopped them on a cutting board and added them to the pan. With a pair of scissors, she snipped the basil and oregano and sprinkled it on top. She then took the tomatoes James’s dad had given them, diced them, put them on top of everything else, lit the gas burner to low and put a lid on the pan. She found linguine pasta in another cabinet and set the package on the counter. In the refrigerator, she found some Romano cheese that was already grated and set it on the counter next to the pasta.
“Hmmm...” she thought, “I can turn the rest of the French bread into garlic toast and maybe make a salad. Auntie Annabelle appears to have a taste for Italian food based on her pantry items and garden.”
James came into the kitchen then, just as the chicken and tomatoes were beginning to simmer.
“What are you making?” he asked, still looking a bit sleepy-eyed.
“Italian food,” she replied. “It appears your Aunt must like it. There’s all sorts of stuff in her pantry to make it with.”
He nodded. “Her husband was stationed in Italy during the war, and he came back with all kinds of recipes and a love of Italian food. She learned how to cook it, and even her garden has all the herbs and things like garlic that she uses to cook Italian. My mum and dad used to come here all the time for her famous Italian feasts.”
“Well, that explains it then. Do you like Italian food?”
“Love it...if it’s good...Is yours going to be good?”
She put her hands on her hips, pretending to be insulted. “What do you think? You liked the French toast well enough this morning.”
“That I did. But, I would probably have liked it even you’d burned it.”
They both laughed, then James suddenly became silent. He looked at her standing at the stove. She had one of Auntie Annabelle’s aprons tied around her waist and a spot of tomato juice on her cheek. She lifted the lid on the chicken, gave a quick stir with a large spoon, then put the lid back on and lowered the heat. He came over and wrapped his arms around her from behind, nuzzling the back of her neck. He pulled her tighter against him.
“I love you,” he said into her ear. “I think I’ve loved you from the moment I saw you.”
She froze. Those had been her exact thoughts. A shiver went down her spine all the way to her toes. That feeling seemed to happen a lot around him. She turned slowly to face him and lifted a hand to brush the hair off his forehead.
“Oh James,” she murmured, gazing deeply into his eyes, “I love you so much it hurts. It feels like I’ve loved you my whole life.”
Tears welled in her eyes as she laid her head on his shoulder. “I have loved you my whole life,” she thought. “Haven’t I?”
He pushed her back for a moment, wiped the tomato juice off her face and gathered her closer to him. “I feel that I can’t even hold you close enough...” Gently, he stroked her back as she sighed contentedly. He then slowly inched the skirt of her dress up and squeezed her bare bottom. Her face was buried into his shoulder. “Here we go again,” she smiled.
“Oh my, yes!” giggled her hormones.
***
It was late morning on Monday when Lynn switched on her iPhone and tapped into the App Marta had installed. James and Susan were in the kitchen in the cottage, Susan standing in front of the stove stirring something in a large pan. She saw James enter the room and come up behind her.
Where were they? This certainly wasn’t Susan’s hotel room, that’s for sure! They must be at James’s house or somebody’s house. She laughed. It figured Susan would be in the kitchen. Lynn knew Susan had a passion for cooking.
Lynn listened to their conversation, a worried expression coming over her face.
“Okay, this is worse than bad,” she thought. “What to do...what to do...She’s so caught up in the moment; she doesn’t even know what she’s saying. She obviously surrendered to him...but, they’re in love already? Oh my God!”
After only a few moments contemplation and another peek into her iPhone that reflected a way too sensual moment between the two new lovers, she flicked off the phone and made her way to Marta and Mika’s cabin. Time to throw a wrench in this before the craziness went any further.
Susan didn’t belong with James! She belonged back home with her husband!