A Dozen Dates (3 page)

Gemma’s heart began to race as she slowly slid her hand down her naked body – over her bare breasts and down to her lower belly where she rested it flat. She gasped in slow motion as she recalled the images – she had sex. She pressed her fingers into the flesh of her abdomen. She wasn’t a virgin... anymore. “Oh...” she said in a low voice, and then she gently smiled.

Gemma looked over at the empty space beside her and concluded that her stud must have gone home... Her face turned melancholy and she wondered what that meant - then she decided that it didn’t really matter. She had lost her virginity to a hunky stranger whom she would never see again... Now here she was, abandoned in some unknown’s house wearing nothing but boots and stockings and fingerless gloves! Gemma grinned at the craziness – this was so wild for her... so bad... So wonderful!

She sat up and scoped the room for her clothes and thankfully could see them – actually, they were folded neatly beside the bed. “Hmmm... That was nice,” she thought to herself. She stood up and put on her panties and her skirt and then loosened the ties on her corset and loosely wrapped herself in it – they were nearly impossible to put on properly on your own... Then she picked up her hip-bag and went to the bathroom. The first thing she did was remove her gloves and gulp down about half a litre of water from her cupped hands. She took out her pig-tails and put the ribbons in her bag along with her gloves and then used a comb on the vanity to try and make some sense of her anime mop. Next, she requisitions a taste of the home owner's toothpaste which she eagerly rubbed over her teeth with her finger before swishing it around in her horrid tasting mouth. Her eye make-up was quite a mess, so she did her best to wash it off. “Great – no towels... Who are these people?” Resourcefully, Gemma lifted her skirt and dried her face before touching up just her mascara.

It was time to re-join the world... Gemma left the bathroom holding her corset in place and started walking through the living areas. She could hear voices, but thankfully, it only seemed to be two and she recognised neither. She stepped out onto the patio, the luminous sun hitting her dilated pupils and momentarily blinding her. Gemma squinted and raised one hand to shade her face while her vision adjusted. Then she saw the people the voices belonged to. Nope, she didn’t know the first one, but the second one looked familiar... She squinted again as she looked and then her eyes widened and her mouth fell open as she recognised the face – it was him and it was too late to run..!

“Good morning,” he greeted her. He didn’t get up; instead he remained slouched back in the plastic furniture. He was gorgeous... A tanned naked chest travelling down to a rippling stomach... Even so, he didn’t appear pretentious. He seemed quite comfortable in his uncomplicated blue jeans - he didn’t even feel the need to do up the button, or bother with footwear... His light blue eyes were kind, yet cheeky, and Gemma didn’t dare to try to guess what was behind his expression on this morning.

“Good morning...” Gemma replied politely, “I don’t know where I am.”

The men laughed. “You’re at our place...” her stud informed her.

Gemma frowned pathetically, “Where is that?”

He smiled, “Don’t worry about that now... We’ll get you home.” He sounded sincere and Gemma breathed a sigh of relief. “What’s your name?”

“Huh?” she exclaimed, still disorientated.

The good-looking man smiled again, and gestured toward his companion, “This is my brother, Nathan...” Gemma looked at the man and greeted him. “I’m Michael... What is your name?”

“Gemma,” she answered, briefly making eye contact with him before coyly looking away again.

Michael got up and gave her a peck on the side of the face causing her cheeks to burn with self-consciousness, “Good morning, Gemma,” he said and he smiled before pulling out a chair, “Why don’t you have a seat and I will get you your breakfast...”

“No, that’s...” Gemma started to protest but was cut off.

“It’s already cooked – I just have to microwave it...”

Just then Nathan stood up, “I’ll get it. Gemma, how do you take your coffee?”

Gemma looked at him. Coffee sounded really good... “White - just white...” and then she got a burst of boldness, “Could I have a glass of water too, please?” Her mouth felt so dry...

“Of course,” Nathan replied.

She turned her head back around to find her face within inches of Michael’s and she gasped slightly – he frowned as he studied her quickly and then smiled, adding, “And Panadol?”

Gemma frowned and smiled back painfully, “Yeah...”

“And Panadol!” confirmed Nathan before departing for the kitchen.

Michael tapped the back of the chair, reminding Gemma to sit down. “Michael?” she called to him quietly.

“Yes?” he asked.

“Can you please tighten me up?” she requested hesitantly, reaching her second hand around behind her back, her eyes rising to his before darting about nervously.

Much to Gemma’s embarrassment, a huge smile flashed across Michael’s face as he looked at her timid expression and then down to her full breasts. He placed a hand on the fabric of the corset and dragged it around her waist as he moved in behind her, and then he bent down and whispered near her ear, the breath of his words tickling her and giving her goose-bumps. He grabbed the laces and tugged at them, “As much as I would like to squeeze you out of; I mean into, this...
incredible
garment... It’s breakfast time – you should wear something more comfortable. Come and I will get you a t-shirt.” Gemma froze and then began to stutter. “Come.” Michael used her laces to steer her to the bedroom.

Uh oh... She was back in the bedroom – with the stud. Michael squatted down and started rummaging through a large gym bag and pulled out a red t-shirt. “Here,” he said as he stood up and grinned, “It will match your earrings.” The sudden movement startled Gemma, and she jerked back against the wall, her panic evident to him.

“Gemma..?” Michael said and he looked away, “Gemma..? Did I hurt you?” He turned back to face her, his eyes concerned and his brows once again transformed into cute wriggly caterpillars. She really liked those caterpillars...

“Huh?” Gemma began to stutter, “Wha-wha-what do-do you me-mean?”

“If I had... known...” Michael looked away again, “I would have...” He didn’t know quite what to say, “I wouldn’t have... It’s just... It was your first time.” He turned back to face her.

“What?” Gemma was shocked by his awareness and tried to pretend she didn’t know what he was talking about.

“You
do remember
last night, don’t you Gemma? All of it?”

“Yes, I remember.”

“You were a virgin...” Michael’s eyes penetrated hers.

Gemma’s jaw dropped and she swallowed before issuing her own statement, “And now I’m not...”

“It’s just... if I knew... Well, it should have been special!”

Gemma ran her eyes down the partially clothed hunk that was her first lover, and then retraced the journey back to his face, “I could have done worse...”

Michael snickered disbelievingly, “Gemma, I don’t know if that was an insult or a compliment.” Gemma smiled pleasantly yet cheekily, giving nothing away. “Well, at least let me take you out to dinner... Make things right,” Michael suggested.

Gemma wasn’t interested in a pity date, “How about you take me for breakfast for starters..?”

“For starters...” Michael compromised, “You get changed!” He left the room.

When Gemma returned to the patio her breakfast order was waiting. She eagerly swallowed the Panadol and drank down half of the water before sipping her coffee.

“So Gemma, where do you live..?” Michael inquired and she informed him of the suburb she resided in, “I live here!” he announced with a grin.

“Okay...”

“Nathan and I bought this place to renovate,” Michael confirmed, “I’m a cabinet maker by trade and he’s a plumber.”

“Oh!” Gemma exclaimed, kind of shy to converse with her two unfamiliar companions. Especially after... what happened. Gemma blushed again and took another sip of her coffee.

“But now we fancy ourselves as property developers...”

“Have you been doing it very long?” Gemma asked, before slicing off a piece of fried egg to place in her mouth.

“We start tomorrow...” Michael informed her and he and Nathan chuckled, their lightness making Gemma smile. They looked kind of alike... although Nathan’s hair was a couple of shades darker than Michael’s.

“How old are you Gemma?” Nathan asked her, curious as to why she seemed more timidly polite than most.

Gemma cleared her throat nervously and answered, “Twenty. I’m twenty...” and then she paused before asking, “How... how old are you... two?”

“I’m twenty-five and Nathan’s twenty-eight,” Michael answered her. Gemma looked at Michael and felt her heart skip a beat when she saw him peering back at her.

Gemma closed her knife and fork on her plate and pushed it an inch away. Her squeamish stomach had only allowed her to eat part of her breakfast – one piece of bacon, a half of an egg and almost a whole slice of toast. “You’re done?” Michael asked.

“Yes... Sorry... Thank you,” Gemma expressed.

“No problem,” said Michael as he reached in with his bare hand and made himself a sandwich out of her leftover bacon and her other slice of toast.

“Michael...” Nathan scolded him.

“Gemma doesn’t mind, do you?” Michael stated and then winked at her.

She shook her head and shyly grinned, “No...” Truth be told, she was quite taken with his comfortableness and his casual way.

Nathan chuckled and asked her, “So Gemma, what do you do?”

“I’m studying – landscaping,” she informed them.

“Really..?” Michael exclaimed between mouthfuls, raising his eyebrows and looking to Nathan.

“Mmm-hmm. I also work part-time cleaning – just to make ends meet until I finish my course.”

“Then what..?” Michael asked.

“Well, it depends... Eventually, once I build up a reputation I would like to design and engineer the creation of private gardens, but until then it is a matter of going where they are hiring and gaining some experience.”

“I don’t think I have ever met a Goth gardener,” Michael commented and Gemma’s expression became concerned. “You could trim bats and gargoyles into the topiaries...” He grinned.

“How about I trim a gargoyle into the back of your head..?” she threatened playfully, twiddling her hair around her finger – something she tended to do when she felt a need to be defensive. Nathan laughed and Michael grinned. He was intrigued by Gemma’s polarities... On one hand she was terribly timid and unsure of herself, but every now and then she just stuck it to him with nonchalant confidence.

“Well on that note... I have to get going home...” Nathan announced.

“Oh? You aren’t living here?” Gemma asked.

“No. My fiancé and I live a couple of suburbs over. Michael is going to live here while we renovate, though.”

“I should go, too...” Gemma said.

“Soon...” Michael stated, as he swung her around, pushed up her skirt enough to be able to lift her left leg onto his knee and started unlacing her boot.

“What are you doing?” Gemma asked.

“Undressing you...” Michael said and she slammed her hands down on his to stop him.

“See you later...” Nathan said, chuckling.

“Yeah, see ya... I’ll ring you later,” Michael told him.

“Bye,” said Gemma, “Thank you.” Nathan smiled at her and then grinned at Michael.

“I thought we might go hang our feet in the pool. Cool down...” Michael took her hands and placed them further up her lap and smiled, “So just relax...” He untwisted the criss-crossed laces from her knee all the way down and removed Gemma’s boot. Instantly she started wiggling and flexing her toes. “That feels good, doesn’t it?”

“Mmmm,” it wasn’t a real word but in her tenor was clear testimony to the relief Gemma felt. Michael squeezed her foot with his strong workman’s hands for a minute, before sliding them northward along her leg. Gemma jumped!

“I’m just taking your stocking off.”

“I... I will.”

“Okay,” he said as he retracted his hands, but ogled as she went to do it herself.

“Close your eyes,” Gemma insisted. Michael closed his eyes with a smirk. She quickly reached up under her skirt and pushed both stockings down below her knees, repeatedly double-checking the status of his eyelids as she did so. “Okay...”

“I can open?”

“Yes...”

Michael opened his eyes to see her peeling her left stocking all the way down her shapely leg to her ankle, where he took it out of her hands and finished removing it for her. He then set out removing the other boot and stocking and once finished he got up, lifted Gemma into his arms and started carrying her to the pool. “Don’t you throw me in..!” she warned him.

“If I was planning on throwing you into the pool I would have given you a white t-shirt to wear.”

Gemma gasped, shocked and then accused, “You have a kind of a boob thing, don’t you..?”

Michael grinned widely and unapologetically admitted, “I do... I surely do..!”

The water was like an island holiday as it engulfed first her toes and feet and then her tired calves, cooling and refreshing her in its paradise. “It’s nice, isn’t it?” Michael spoke her mind.

“It is very nice...” Gemma agreed and then offered, “This is a nice area actually... What are you planning on doing out here?”

Michael looked around at the unkempt backyard, “We’re not really sure about that...” Michael tested her, “This is your field – what would you suggest?”

“I would make it a tropical retreat... Low maintenance... Work with the spirit of the city!” Gemma suggested.

“Yes, that would make sense...”

“You need to get rid of those trees...”

“Oh?” Michael exclaimed as he observed the offending foliage she was gesturing towards, “Why is that?”

“Well, they are both in dreadful condition... That palm is shabby and doesn’t self-shed... And that tree has never been pruned properly – it is not meant to be that shape,” Gemma stated and then added disgustedly, “It is an abomination.”

Michael snickered fondly at her passion, “An abomination?” He noted how much of her shyness retreated when she spoke about her vocation.