her arms attracted his attentionthey
looked weird her shoulders were symmetric but odd off her
elbows under sleeves were bowedrounded no anglesher hands hidden inside long gloves
her gait was
impeccable he enjoyed the sway of her
hipsthey were nicely rounded anthats saying something since
he wasnt a fanny man
yet
something was amiss
the docks were mounted on brightyellow
floats tethered so they could rise with the quiet tides and should the
sea menace they could manage the storms torque or sustained high sea levels
when he approached herhe used the excuse of curiosity he
couldnt distinguish her scent from the seabreeze
she was agileshe asked him if his excuse wasnt
actually his reason
he
was honest You affected me
Affected? Affected. I’m unsure how to take
thatIt isnt necessarily complimentary.
Perhaps the tone of my voice I apologise I don normally approach strange women
Strange? Strange. I’m also unsure how to take that.
her green eyes heightened
You are teasing me arent you
Perhaps perhaps
notWhat would you like?
Id prefer I humoured you I would carevery much if you
felt uncomfortable
I would walk away immediately
she hesitated but her eyes didnt waver off his
her eyes
were odd too
Let me be bold would you care for a drink Grog
she didnt cover her mouth when she
laughedhe liked that
Grog?
Its overcast I thought a warmed drink we could warm our bon . .
.
. I haven’t bones needing to be warmed.
Then to warm mine
You need your bone warmed?
he could swear he saw fireworkssparklers
go off in her eyes he was attractedhe played A warm bone is better than a cold
one
Yes.
Let’s have a drink together.
Yes Please
Im not from around here if
you are could you make a recommenda . .
. . For grog?
If not a pleasant repose for drinks and conversation
Drinks?
her odd eyes twinkled
A drink If we hit it offIm hopeful drinks
You don’t sound confident.
As I told you Im outside my
realm I don approach strange women an
particular not when theyre alone
Wellthen . . actually, too, I’m
out of my realm, men constantly approach me, bear a whiff of entitlement, that because
I’m a woman I am somehow obliged to appreciate, attend to their attention.
Are you from around here
I am, I was born here, in the sea.
In the sea
Yes, in the sea.
Mygoodness your parents were they hippies
I didn’t know my father, he was a sailor,
maybe a girl in every port, but my mother was infatigable, she’d die her voice piquedsuddenly rawclouded
of emotion She’d die . . before she let
anything happen to me.
hair fell into her eyes
she swept it back with her gloved hand
Grog.
I know a place her eyes fell from his
. . if you’re still interested.
I am
they had several drinks not one grog
he called her a cab
she insisted he come with her
I’ve always wanted to ask someone in for a nightcap.
he couldnt resist
he followed her up the steps her fanny swished side to side before his face he was mesmerised
her house was on a bluff above
the ocean
its woodwork shingled walls permeated by the salt
air brine aged limegreen purple lichen abound he was entranced
he thought
of the cool deep dark places secured by the sea which most men didnt have the
appetite to exploredidnt dare explore safe landlubbers
she had a cast iron turnkey to
unlock the burly front door the glass in
it was coloured imperfect from another
time
entering she said Please, make yourself at home. the moon coming through the unadorned French doors
at the balcony lighted the livingroom Is
dark rum, molasses rum okay?
Yes Please
he heard the tinkle of crystal
glasses kiss each other the gurgle from
the bottle healthy pours
he raised his voice so she could
hear him
IM TERRIBLY HAPPY
I SECONDGUESSED MYSELF AN APPROACHED YOU
she slipped into the room
silentlyhad
removed her shoes held
the glasses on an old tarnished silver tray
offered one to him
she still wore her
gloves
I am happy you did also she laughed brightly
I may never have
asked anyone if theyd care for a nightcap
he
may have laughed brighter than her
they finished the rum
he had sat on an overstuffed
leather couchshe in a wingback chair across from him a narrow table for their glasses between them
their intimacy breached the short
distance
he
cleared his throat
Its
late I should be going May I call on you for another time
You . . youcouldstay . . . if
you like.
he
thought his gulp was audible
Stay the
word sounded odd in his mouth
If
you would like.
I would like
Ah . . there is one thing.
he heard there is one thing on
several occasions
none thus far had
detered his affection
the moon began falling behind the horizon
she leaned back unbuttoned her pants drew them off
it was hard to see he couldnt see panties
then from each arm
she slipped off her long gloves
a quiet rustle
a snake shedding skin
tentacles unfurled sinuously
tickling the air
her blouse
followed
her
breasts were unmistakable
he thought stupidly
I swore I wouldnt eat octopus
her skin tickled scarlet and
green
she smiled vivaciously
You could hear that
I can intuit it You cant possibly imagine how vast or how sensitive my senses
are.
No I cant imagine a brain in my every limb
she writhed spectacularly sensually It would be like
being with eight women
her laughter was musical
Ya captured that too
Maybe you should quit thinking.
Maybe I should
I have something for that.
she began
undressing him with multiple armsunbuttoning the bone buttons of his shirt
unbuttoning his 501s stroking him
he
shut up
quit
thinking
threw himself over to pleasure
and pleasuring
2329, Sunday,
17 10. 21
1653, Day-between-Two-Ts, 20 10.
21
