Foreword
These stories are based in Australia and written in the idiom the characters would use.
Some issues in language variations I anticipated and built translations into my narrative. Others have caught me by surprise especially in their intensity. Generally, the intended meaning will be clear from the context if you don't cling too tightly to your usual usage.
Crutch/ Crotch has been a subject of much comment. Australians more commonly use 'crutch' and that meaning of the word is supported by the Macquarie Dictionary.
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Story
Karen's shared summer holiday with Greg continues...
All the exercise I was getting with Greg was doing wonders for my fitness. If I thought the girl looking back at me from the mirror on the first day had an athletic figure to start with, it was much more so know. Being naturally skinny, I neither wanted to nor could afford to lose weight. Indeed, the exercise let me indulge in the extra treats I tended to share with Greg without guilt. Rather, there was a firmness to my body now that wasn't really there before. My swimming and running were both getting more effortless and faster.
From the first week of our relationship Greg had been willing to play a tennis match against me every Monday morning to keep my hand and eye in.
I made a point of looking nice for the games. Generally I wore what had been one of my favourite beach outfits before the new bikinis. It started with my really nice blue triangle bikini. The top was the normal tie string with smallish triangles. The bottom was low waisted, but with a narrow side band rather than a tie side. Over that I wore a stretch cotton sleeveless sheath mini-dress. The dress had an attractive deep v front, a bit of flare in the skirt and was a matching blue to the bikini. It had originally been just a day dress, but had shrunk to the point of immodesty. Still, with swimwear underneath, it was fine to go down the beach and ideal to play tennis against my boyfriend in.
The Court was on a private property; albeit let out for public use by the owner. From the looks of it, it didn't see much action. It had a run-down tar surface, a sad net and an over grown carpark. It was accessed by a different road from the house and completely surrounded by dense foliage. There was the usual tennis hut between the carpark and the Court itself which contained a slat picnic table and chairs and a sink with a cold water tap in the corner.
To use it, you'd book the Court and then go and pay the owner at his house - or leave the money in a box, since he was rarely there - before you started. A booking whiteboard was located over the money box, so you could see if you were going to be squeezed for time at the end. Mind you, apart from ours, it was generally devoid of entries. Anyway, to start a game you had to drive up to the house, then back on to the road, along a bit and then up the not insubstantial length of the tennis court access road. So you had plenty of warning of someone coming. Greg swears that's not why he picked this Court.
Most days we booked the court for an hour, but in the heat of that summer played for just over half that, with only a set or two. Since I was a comp player and he, by his own admission, little more than a social player, I would have been disappointed if I wasn't able to get the better of him. That generally proved to be the case, with me winning most sets about 6:3
Anyway, after a few weeks, there we are setting up for a game, when Greg asks:
"What say we play strip tennis today?"
"What does that mean?"
"You lose an item of clothing for every game lost, shoes don't count. You win the match when you beat your naked opponent in a game"
"What if someone comes?"
"We can hear people coming a mile off. And we can go and get dressed behind the shed before they see us"
Sometimes I had to wonder about this guy. I figured that would give me a spur to play even better, so I could strip him naked and stay clothed myself. With the bikini and dress, I had three items of clothing. He had shorts a T Shirt and I assume underwear, which gave him three items too. I figured this would be a short match. I decided to up the stakes. "OK, but only if the winner also gets to have their way with the loser"
"What do you mean by that?"
"It's simple, they get to have selfish sex with the loser in whatever position takes your fancy, as long as you can do it on the tennis court and it doesn't hurt the other"
"What's selfish sex?"
I was tempted to tease him with a "you're a guy you should know", but that wasn't fair to Greg, even as a tease.