In The Garden Of Snakes (An Erotic Summer Tryst)

Copyright © 2012 Virginia Wade

All Rights Reserved.

Published by I Love Stacy

Smashwords Edition

Virginia Wade

http://virginia-wade-erotica.com

http://twitter.com/VirginiaErotica

Email:

[email protected]

All characters appearing in this work are
fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is
purely coincidental.

This book contains material protected under
International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any
unauthorized reprint or use of this book is prohibited. No part of
this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system without express
written permission from the author.

This ebook is licensed for your personal
enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to
other people. If you would like to share this book with another
person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If
you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not
purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com
and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work
of this author.

After having been home schooled all through
high school and accepted into the college of my parent’s choice, I
was determined to experience my first real taste of freedom. My
parents, who were deeply religious and highly protective, had never
let me out of their sight, except to join fellow church members in
sleepovers and camping trips, which were supervised. Having just
turned eighteen, I felt desperate to break free. I had been invited
to Carmen’s grandmother’s house for the month of July. She was a
friend of the family, who used to live next door, attending the
same church, although I hadn’t seen her for years. After her mother
passed away, they moved, and her father had remarried. My parents
were entirely comfortable with the idea of me spending time with
the Hollanders, knowing that they shared similar values.

“She’s here!” called my mother.

“Coming!”

I checked my appearance in the mirror, seeing
a fresh-faced female staring back at me. My hair was long and
thick, the color of honey or a field of wheat. My eyebrows were
arching and fair, enhancing the blueness of my eyes. Fat rosy lips
hid perfectly straight teeth, the result of wearing braces for
years. A patch of freckles spotted my nose, the little
discolorations were scattered over my cheeks as well. If I had one
qualm about my appearance, it would be my breasts. Since my
sixteenth birthday, they had grown three-cup sizes, alarming and
mortifying me at the same time. I wore baggy sweaters and t-shirts
in a bid to minimize the effect, but I still felt horribly
self-conscious about their size.

“She’s waiting!”

I grabbed my bag and ran down the stairs.
“Sorry!” Carmen stood by the door, smiling. She looked so
different; I almost didn’t recognize her. “Hi!”

“Hey you. How are ya?”

She hugged me. “I-I’m good. You look so—”

“Grown-up,” said mother. “Let me see you,
dear. You’ve gotten so tall.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Moll.”

My mother glanced at me. “Do you have
everything? You have your cell? Call me as soon as you get
there.”

“I will.” I slung my purse over my
shoulder.

“Have a wonderful time, darling. I’m going to
miss you. Don’t forget to go to church.”

“I won’t.”

“This will be the longest I’ve been without
you.” She hugged me.

Her tone bordered on emotional, which was
worrying. I disengaged myself, stepping back. “Well, I guess that’s
it. We gotta go. See ya. Tell dad I said bye.”

“He’ll be back in a minute, if you’ll wait. I
made some ice tea. We could have cookies and wait for him.”

She was back peddling and regretting her
decision to let me go. “I’ll be fine, mom. Chillax.”

“He’s on his way now.”

“I’ll call you soon.” I headed for the door
before she could stop me. Last year I had planned a trip to Disney
Land with a friend, but my mother had persuaded me to stay home.
That would not happen again. “Love you.”

“Oh, but, honey, maybe—”

“Bye, Mrs. Moll. We’ll take real good care of
her, I promise.”

“Yes, but…I…don’t—”

“Love you!” I all but ran to the car and
jumped into the passenger seat. “You better get outta here fast
before she changes her mind.”

“Oh, shit,” giggled Carmen, who turned over
the ignition and pulled into the street without putting her
seatbelt on. “She’s still standing there.” Her eyes were in the
rear-view mirror.

“All the more reason to drive quickly.”

“I dig the protective vibe, but that’s
ridiculous.”

“You’ve no idea.”

She glanced at me. “Jeez, I haven’t seen you
in forever. How’ve you been, Jessica?”

Carmen was as tall and thin as I remembered,
with medium length brown hair and a flat chest. “I’m good, and
you?”

“Great.” She pulled out a pack of cigarettes
and popped one in her mouth. The lighter was pressed in. “Man, are
we gonna have fun. You’ve never been to my grandmother’s house
before. It’s huge, with a pool and a pond and stuff. She’s a little
loopy cause of Alzheimer’s, but everybody’s real cool.” She lit her
cigarette, the noxious odor filling the car.

I rolled down the window. “I didn’t know you
smoked.”

“Try it.” She gave me the cigarette.

I stared at it, nearly paralyzed. I’d never
been this close to one before. “Um, I don’t really smoke.”

“Take a puff.” I hesitated and then took the
cigarette, bringing it to my lips. I drew on the end and began to
cough. “You’ll get the hang of it,” she laughed.

I handed it to her, feeling dizzy. “Uh,
thanks.”

Carmen turned up the stereo, which was
plugged into her iPod. Loud music blared, as we exited onto an
off-ramp and entered the freeway. I was too chicken to drive on the
interstate, but Carmen seemed to take it in stride, speeding up and
successfully merging with traffic.

I glanced at her. “So what’s on the
agenda?”

“Hanging out, booze, tanning, and sex.” Her
grin was wicked. “The possibilities are endless. My cousin, Sonya’s
there and this cute guy named Christian. The rest is family.”

The change in her was alarming. “You’re so
different.”

“Dad left the church after mom died. It was
her thing. He hated it. It’s probably best your mom doesn’t know
that.”

“Yeah, I won’t tell her.”

“You went to Ithaca High School, right?”

“No. I was homeschooled.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Oooh, fun.” Sarcasm
laced her tone. “Lots of quality time with mom. Yay.”

“You’ve changed so much.”

“Thank the freaking Lord.” She flung her butt
out the window. “You’re not gonna be a funsucker are you? I mean,
we’re pretty laid back, and my parents aren’t sticklers for rules
and stuff. We can pretty much do what we want.”

“Oh, I’m so glad you didn’t tell my mom
that.”

“Are you okay with this?”

I sighed. “Look, I’ve been dying to get away,
Carmen. I won’t ruin your vacation, if that’s what you’re worried
about.” It almost seemed too good to be true. Was a bolt of
lightning about to strike me down?

Her smile was enormous. “All right. Let the
good times roll.” She lit another cigarette.

An hour and a half later, we arrived at the
house. The sprawling, two-story mansion with its stucco and wood
exterior had an enormous row of flowerbeds out front and a gravel,
circular drive. Several cars were parked under the shade of oak
trees. A mangy dog trotted towards us, as we retrieved our things
from the back seat.

“Willy!” Carmen exclaimed. “Who let you
out?”

I petted him behind the ears. “Hi, boy.” I
wore jean shorts and a green t-shirt, which was suitably baggy to
hide my embarrassing chest. “He’s friendly.”

“He belongs to Stuart, our gardener.”

“Oh.”

“Come on. I’ll show you your room. But,
you’ll probably sleep with me, cause this house has some creepy
ghosts.”

“It does?”

“Yeah.”

“Crap. I gotta call my mom.”

“Be my guest.”

I spoke to my mother briefly, reassuring her
that I had arrived safely. She sounded strange, as if she had been
crying.
Ugh
. The guilt trip had begun already.
Give me a
break
. Once in the residence, I glanced around the marbled
foyer, taking in the elegantly patterned wallpaper and huge
staircase with carved balusters. A chandelier hovered over our
heads, while light streamed in from three story windows.

“Wow.”

“Come on.” We headed towards the kitchen,
taking a small flight of stairs. “This is the fastest way.” We were
on the second floor, wandering down a carpeted hallway.

“Your grandma must be rich.”

“She inherited the house. It’s been in the
family forever. I might get it one day.” She threw open a set of
doors. “I’m across the hall.” The space was decorated with heavily
carved, dark furniture and a flowered bedspread. It looked like a
snapshot from another era. She flung open the balcony doors.
“Everybody’s outside.”

I stood at the railing and eyed a garden
littered with walkways and trimmed bushes. “Oh, it’s so
pretty.”

“There’s a pool and an art studio. Dad’s
painting again.”

I glanced at her. “I’m sorry about your mom.
She was always so nice to me.”

“Yeah…thanks. The cancer sucked. It was…not
fun. I miss her.”

“Of course you do. My mom drives me nuts, but
it would be awful if she was gone.”

“You probably think my dad didn’t waste any
time finding a new wife.”

“That was a surprise.” This had shocked my
mother profoundly. He had remarried less than a year later. I
remembered Mr. Hollander as being a tall man, with a pleasing face.
He was slightly intimidating, but, then again, most men scared
me.

“You’ll meet my stepsisters and my cousin,
Sonya. There are a shit-ton of people here. Mom’s throwing a ball
Saturday night. I call her mom. You’ll get used to it. Come on.
Let’s check it out.”

“A ball?”

“Yeah, like one of those masked balls.”

My spirits plummeted. “I don’t have anything
to wear to that.”

“Sure you do. We have dress up clothes in one
of the bedrooms. It’ll be a blast. There are masks and costume
jewelry and stuff.”

I was always awkward in social situations.
I’d never been to a dance, since I had been homeschooled for the
last six years. “I can’t dance.”

“It doesn’t matter.” She took my hand. “I’ll
show you how. We’ll practice before the weekend. Come on. People
want to meet you.”

That thought was absolutely terrifying.

We descended the stairs and wandered through
the expansive living room, with a wall full of French doors. White
curtains blew in the breeze, and the smell of roses lingered in the
air. Several cats were draped over the backs of sofas, and a light
brown poodle zipped past us, followed by squealing children.

“This is my stepsister, Abby, and that’s my
other stepsister, Madison.” Abby wore a pink tutu with stained
white nylons. “Say hi to Jessica, girls. She’s staying with us for
a while.”

“Hi, Jessica,” said Abby. She bowed
dramatically. “How do you do? Welcome to the castle.” She had
mimicked a man’s voice.

“I-I’m good. Thanks.”