The Reunion

She turned away from her friend, annoyed. "I will NOT!"

They stood in the hallway outside of biology class. Joan was still trying to stare her down, but Ann would have none of it. She finished pulling her books out of her locker, slammed it shut and hurried into the classroom just as Ms. Sturvan was closing the door. At the last moment, the teacher saw Joan standing alone in the hallway. "Are you praying for rain?" she asked.

Joan, shook her head, disgusted. Just about everything disgusted her these days. Her friends had stopped behaving themselves and she just could not figure out how she had lost control. Ann had really screwed things up this time. Who was she going to draw into their circle for Katie now? "Coming," she said to Miss Sturvan, and scurried into the classroom.

Ann felt badly about Katie, too. It seemed that they had managed to get in each other's way ever since they met. But thoughts of the conflict faded as she let her mind wander. She shivered delightedly as she sat daydreaming biology class away. Last night had been ... unbelievable.

* * * * *

To Ann's way of thinking, Katie did share at least a small part of the blame for her own circumstances. Last night, they had all been at a senior's party in Ann's garage – the last one before they graduated and went on to new and different lives. Katie and Lou had been an item for a while. But Katie left Lou hanging – and more than once, too. She picked Tom over Lou in some kissing game. Ann saw Lou's face when he left and knew he was upset by it all but felt helpless to do anything about it. She always had had to keep their friendship a secret. Whenever she talked about Louis, everybody got on her case. But she really got along well with him, and they had fun together. She'd never met anyone who enjoyed reading as much as she did – or who could follow the thread of an idea through so many different forms without getting bored or annoyed with her. And sometimes the way he looked at her – he would have such an intensity ... she thought, maybe ... but then they would go on to the next joke or topic and the moment would disappear.

But last night: She went out walking after the party was over and everyone had gone home. She was exhausted from all the preparation, but couldn't settle her mind for sleep. She loved the feel of the cool night air against her cheek and the quiet hush of the late night after everyone else in her world was in bed. She'd just turned the corner to start back to her house when she saw someone else out walking. Her heart skipped a beat and then quickened in a rapid-fire tattoo. That was Lou up ahead of her! He must have been out here walking for hours. She could tell by the set of his shoulders he was still upset. But she couldn't help herself – she ran to catch up. He turned, startled, at the sudden sound in the stillness. "Ann! What are you doing out here?"

"Looks like the same as you; trying to settle my soul after that disaster of a party."

"It wasn't a disaster! It was good!"

"You're too sweet. And I appreciate that you're trying to be kind. But it was terrible. Everybody is all upset and mixed up. Including me."

"You! What happened?"

"It's too embarrassing to tell."

They walked along in silence for a little while. Ann didn't even notice she wasn't heading home any more.

* * * * *

Suddenly, Ann looked up – somehow she had completely missed Ms. Sturvan's question and the entire class was focused on her – half of them laughing because they knew she didn't have a clue – the other half because Ms. Sturvan had apparently used her "praying for rain" joke yet again. Ann sighed. She wouldn't get to forget about THIS lapse any time soon. And she would have a million questions thrown at her about it as well.

'Too bad for them,' she thought. 'This is one I am keeping to myself.'

Ms. Sturvan moved on to another more willing victim and Ann tried to get her focus back on her class for a few minutes, but soon gave it up again. Recent events had just been too....too....powerful for her to be able to concentrate on anything else – especially anything as mundane as schoolwork.

* * * * *

They walked side by side in silence for quite a while – almost brushing shoulders but never quite staying in contact. It was electric. Gradually, Ann could feel Lou's focus change. He seemed to be concentrating on the electricity, too. She looked up briefly to orient herself and got her bearings. "C'mon!" she said, and started down a long, dark lane barely visible in the moonlight. Lou stumbled a little trying to keep up in the dark, but soon was right beside her once again. He gallantly offered his arm and playfully she took it, resuming a more sedate pace. But her heart was pounding. Up ahead was her special place by the river. Technically, it was trespassing, but the gardener for the Estates knew she was there just to swim – she didn't drink or smoke or start any campfires and solemnly swore she would never do so on the day he caught her coming up out of the water. He had looked the other way when she was there ever since. She knew his dispensation really only applied to herself alone, but even he wouldn't be on the grounds in the wee hours. She could make Lou promise never to betray her secret – and she just knew she could trust him. She just knew...

"Hey! Are you all right?" Lou had reflexively reached for her as she stumbled and was now holding her tightly, looking down into her eyes, her head cradled against his chest. She had tripped on a branch and started to fall forward, but he had caught her and was now holding her easily. She suddenly realized she could not have planned anything better.

* * * * *

The bell rang signaling the end of class, snapping Ann out of her reverie. She dawdled over gathering her things. She could sense Lou two seats behind her – waiting. He had been as unaware of the bell as she had been of Ms. Sturvan's question earlier that class. He was intensely focused on her, thoughts racing. Last night was incredible – INDESCRIBABLE -- the thought that two people could be so... And that another person could make someone else feel so... He sighed quietly. It had to be another daydream. After all, what would SHE want with him -- she could have anyone she chose. It wouldn't be the first time a dream about her would be so palpable. When you invest a large piece of your soul in someone else, the feelings are often overwhelming.

A chill ran throughout his body - a soft smile lifted his lips. If only...

He looked up, suddenly aware that the classroom was almost empty. SHE was standing there – waiting for HIM. Suddenly shy, he hurriedly and awkwardly gathered his things. He paused, seeing but not quite understanding ... and he watched, fascinated, as the warm red flush started just above her low cut collar and rose slowly to the base of her neck. As his gaze rose to meet hers, she flushed completely and looked down. He heard Ms. Sturvan clear her throat in the background. But his teacher seemed so distant – and the background dropped away as Ann raised her eyes to meet his once more. It was a look he'd seen just once before -- and in that moment, the reality of what they had shared rocked his world. He grabbed his books from the desk where he'd stacked them and lowered them to just in front of his hip, shifting his gaze toward the door. Ann smiled slightly and followed his lead.

Ach - back to the real world -- English class was next. Sometimes the real world can be so damned inconvenient! But no one could take away their shared secret... Perhaps it's not going to be such a bad semester after all. He grinned to himself watching Ann weave between the desks moving toward the classroom door -- it's definitely better that thinking about "to and a verb you just put down - an infinitive."

They moved into the swirl of activity in the hallway almost on automatic, returning greetings and answering questions, separate but still hyper-aware of each other as they drifted toward their next class in the separate spheres of male and female. Soon, they were settled in their desks, books open, listening but not listening as the class moved forward in reading aloud from 'West Side Story.' Neither Lou nor Ann had been assigned a part, but seated four rows apart, they could not effectively pass notes to each other in this class, either – not that either one could have put two sensible words together at the moment anyway.

* * * * *

In her mind's eye Ann returned to that moment after Lou caught her from her stumble when she raised her gaze to meet his and saw that intensity poring into her, over her -- through her. What followed had been the most incredible kiss. Every nerve ending tingled in response. It was delicate but probing, first seeking tentatively, then returning her excitement ten-fold. They pulled back, breathless. Lou cradled her a moment more and then gently helped her to stand again. The intensity was still there, and she could not for a moment even breathe. She stumbled in catching her balance and he reached out to steady her. "You okay?"

"Yes....yes." The lush surroundings came flooding back. She could see the moonlight reflecting on the water just ahead. "Over here," she whispered. She moved through the woods like a young deer, cautiously placing her feet. She felt detached; her head was swimming. But she had never been so exquisitely aware of another person in her life. She reached back to take his hand. "Be careful, it can be slippery here." Gently guiding and supporting each other, they moved down to the water's edge. Where was her spot? Ah, there! She thought ... she hoped ... it was just big enough for two. She sat down on a concave rock and scooted a little to one side. Patting the space beside her, she said, "Come sit with me. This is my favorite place in the summertime, but I've rarely seen it at night. Come look at the moonlight on the water – it's so beautiful."

He moved down beside her. The rock was cool, but the heat from their bodies was intense. Pressed hip to hip and thigh to thigh, the electric current from earlier intensified. He had supported himself on his right arm as he lowered himself beside her and it remained behind her shoulders, carrying the current around her and through her. As she turned toward him, she could see he was not looking out at the moonlight – only at her.

The second kiss was longer and deeper. They explored each other quietly and slowly: opening a little more with each touch...with each kiss...letting their shyness drift away over the river. They sat together, softly learning about each other for an hour as the rock cooled their bodies and the moon dropped toward the water. There was a soft, pink glow around the moon that extended along the horizon when Ann suddenly realized how late it must be.

"Lou, I have to go home – and so do you. My parents will kill me if they find out I've been outside this late." The first words she had spoken since they had settled in their nook were a little husky. They whispered over the water as Lou's gaze drew back from skirting the edges of her soul.

* * * * *

And so had their time together begun all those years ago. But somehow, the relationship never "took." They remained friends -- they even had an occasional liaison, but somehow life's events intervened and they each had married elsewhere. Lou's wife had been a friend in the beginning, but sadness and trouble had intervened, and they were distant now. Ann had actually married several times -- and was having trouble herself again, never quite finding in the men she attracted what it was she was searching for.

He watched her from across the room. After 30 years she looked even more luscious than ever -- filled out in all the right places. His eyes lingered on her bottom as she straddled the bar stool. "Ooooh, how I'd love to run my teeth over that..." he mused to himself.

He made his way over to the bar, taking the seat on her right. She was facing away, speaking with an old friend to her left. He freely ogled her form, her long supple hair cascading down her back, her succulent breasts displayed enticingly in a black and red top -- teasingly cut just low enough to torment the gentlemen around her. She was the flame to which they all were drawn.

He reached past her on the bar to retrieve a bowl of peanuts and, as he drew it back, lightly skimmed his arm and hand over her bust, feeling the swell of those magnificent breasts. She quickly turned to glare at him. He boldly held her gaze, noticing her nipples harden. After a moment and a thoughtful glance, she turned away, chatting once again with the friend on her left. He popped a few nuts into his mouth, considering, and then ran his hand over her knee and up her thigh, tracing his forefinger into her crotch...

She didn't dare glare again -- he had chosen to tease her just out of the line of sight of the man with whom she had been speaking. By this time, though, she had completely lost the thread of the conversation and was only nodding and smiling gently at her old acquaintance. Meanwhile, she pretended not to notice her old flame as he fussed with his drink at the bar. The flush started to creep upward from between her breasts as she watched his hands caressing his glass...so sensuously...as they had caressed her soft and willing body when they had been young together. Suddenly she realized that the conversation had paused and the friend on her left was waiting for a response to a question he had asked.

"I'm sorry?" she said, trying to buy some time. Just as she leaned one ear toward the conversationalist, she realized that the motion put her right breast out of his line of sight and almost instantly felt a quick pinch on her nipple. This time she couldn't help it -- she jumped slightly and laughed softly.

The poor man who had been trying to hold her attention realized he had lost the battle and turned away. Relieved at getting away from a conversation that had rapidly become tedious, she turned to her high school love of 30 years ago -- now facing away from her on his barstool looking innocently off into a distant corner.

She swung her stool toward him and put one foot down to lean close to his ear and whisper...."You are sooooo naughty! What am I going to do with you?" and gave his ear a quick nip just for good measure.

"What are you gonna do with me? Good question...I can think of about forty-seven thousand things I'd like to do with you, to you and for you. But you have to come up with something new. Be creative. I'll be at the buffet table if you're hungry at all..."

Turning toward the table his face came within an inch of hers -- and before she knew what he was about, the tip of his tongue brushed her lower lip and was gone in a blink. Never having broken eye contact, he winked -- and moved across the room.

Not one able to resist a challenge, she jumped down and took a more circuitous route to the buffet table. She managed to wend her way through the knots of people talking and gesturing at each other -- most looking fairly awkward in their studied versions of "business casual." She deftly steered her way around the far side of a group gathered at the TV playing a DVD of old school photos for the umpteenth time.

She took up her station opposite this man whom she had loved throughout their high school years. They had been out of touch for so long ... but here they were, picking up where they had left off, as if no time at all had passed. He was still looking down at the dishes on the table. She was facing toward him but away from the crowd. She picked up a large but delicate pink shrimp from the seafood plate and just touched it to her lips while she waited for him to look up. As he did, she caught his eye and slowly slid the shrimp into her mouth, running her closed lips gently along along the body to the tail and -- even more slowly -- sliding it gently out again. Holding his gaze, she repeated the motion, watching her lover's face in delight at his obvious concentration on her movements. Placing the tip of the shellfish to her lips again, she ran her tongue twice around the top and then, after a small pause for effect, started at the tail and slowly licked upward along the body. He watched her face and every suggestive move of her lips and tongue -- his plate forgotten in his hand.

Without losing her lock on his gaze, she reached out slowly to the table while again teasing the top of her shrimp with her tongue. She stole a small bit of tartar sauce from the edge of the bowl with the tip of her finger. As he continued to watch, she put a dot of the white sauce on her upper lip. She thought she could almost see the steam rising from him as her sensuous tongue slid slowly along her upper lip, gathering in the creamy sauce. She drew it into her mouth, allowing him to see how much she savored every bit as she gently closed her lips around it ... and swallowed.

She heard a step behind her and popped the shrimp in her mouth as she turned to see who was nearby. She smiled as she heard a plate crash to the floor behind her. She had just greeted another old classmate and looked out across the room when she felt a hand firmly grab her hip and spin her back toward the buffet. Another hand pushed against her lower back and she was roughly propelled toward the dance floor. "Knights In White Satin" played loudly. He pulled her to his body, grinding his hardness against her, twining his fingers into her long hair, giving it a little tug.

With her head tossed back in response to the pull on her hair, she looked at him ... white throat exposed. She could not believe the electricity that was building inside of her. Had they been alone -- oh .... how she ached to press her mouth to his, to feel his tongue probing into her. As it was, she pushed her hips forward, focusing now on the throbbing in her groin, matching and answering the thrust of his pelvis against her. She could feel his cock through her thin slacks and perceived it as almost scaldingly hot – the reawakening of her desire was so sudden ... and so intense.

As the music swelled, he could take no more. Roughly grasping her arm he half pulled, half dragged her from the room. He turned right down a hallway -- towards the pool area. She pulled back, "Let's go to my room before..."

His inarticulate grunt was the only reply. He jerked her to him and pushed his lips against hers, forcing them open with his searching tongue. Again she tried to speak, but he grabbed a handful of her hair, pulling back sharply. As her head lifted, he chewed mercilessly on her porcelain neck. She whimpered softy..."Not here. Please..."

Without glancing back, he grasped a handful of her blouse and pulled her through a door -- a men's restroom. The pool was closed now. No one should be using this particular room this late at night. He released her with a shove, turning to push a waste can in front of the door.

As he turned back to her, she had one hand under her blouse. With a demure smirk her hand emerged holding her bra. He rushed forward and grasped her head with both hands and kissed her hungrily, reaching down to paw her now freed breasts.

She eagerly kissed him back -- it was like watching two starving people attack a sumptuous feast. His arms encircled her waist and lifted her from her feet. He carried her to a stall and kicked open the door. He turned, still holding her against him, and backed into the compartment, pushing his trousers to the floor in one rough motion. Hers were next to be yanked downward. He sat back on the commode, pulling her to him. She straddled his legs and sat hard on his lap. In that one quick motion, his rigid cock pushed into her depths. He wrapped his arms around her back and shoulders, and pulled down with a fierce intensity as he thrust into her with a berserk wanton abandon. He had never felt so much like a rutting animal -- she was so beautiful and seductive that she drove him to heights of passion he had never known. As much as he had always wanted to cuddle and caress her -- at this point pure carnal lust took over -- he wanted to take her -- had to take her -- NOW.