Ali's Art

I wanted to call Ali every night the first week I got back from New York but made myself ignore the need. My weekend had been unbelievable, and I kept replaying it in my head. I suspected it would not have meant as much to Ali herself, and I didn't want to be the annoying younger cousin. She might only be a couple of years older than me, but seemed so much more mature and sophisticated.

I still wanted to call her all through the second week, but by the third I began to realize it had been a pleasant interlude and to accept it as such. I threw myself into work and let the ache in my muscles distract me. It was winter, and the landscaping had been put on hold. Now Dag and his crew worked indoors most of the time, turning their hands to anything practical. I fitted showers, kitchens, waste disposal, new boilers, rewired an old house, replaced tiles and siding, fixed shutters, something different almost every day.

On the second Monday of January 2005 there was a letter waiting for me at my breakfast place. Mom sat across from me and Sarah, my eight year old sister, jiggled impatiently in her chair.

I sat down and took a sip of coffee, picked the envelope up, turned it over to read the embossed School of Art stamp, ran my fingers over the raised paper.

"For goodness sake, Tom, open it," Mom said, grinning.

I took my breakfast knife and sliced through the top, slid out the typed letter inside, spread it open. I read the words once, then again to be sure.

"Tom!" Mom said.

"I'm in," I replied.

Sarah squealed and Mom came around and hugged me so tight I could hardly breathe, my head pressed deep into her soft cleavage.

"Call Alison," Mom said when she released me.

"Tonight," I said, "I'll be late for work. Dag'll be outside in a minute."

"Don't forget then."

I smiled at my pretty mother and shook my head, "I won't."

I worked even harder that day. It was outside work, some overgrown trees that needed cutting back, logs cut and stacked ready for burning. I sweated copiously even in the cold winter air. When I got home I showered and came downstairs in an old pair of track bottoms and a faded tee shirt. Mom had gotten in from work after picking Sarah up and was preparing our meal.

"Call Alison," she said over her shoulder.

I watched her for a moment, enjoying the sight of her standing at the worktop, looking at her slim legs exposed by the short skirt. She could have been my sister, I thought, and turned away to the phone. I dialled Ali's number and waited. It rang five, six, seven times and I was about to hang up when she picked up.

"Alison Graham," she said.

"Hi Al, it's Tom."

"Of course it is," she said and I could hear the smile in her voice.

"How are you, Al?"

"Don't fuck around Tom."

"I'm in," I said.

She gave a squeal, just like my sister had that morning, and I heard a clapping sound as she hit the phone against her hand.

"Tom, that is just so brilliant. It's going to be great when you're here."

"But you'll have finished by then, Al," I said.

"No, I won't. You remember I told you about my post-grad, and my teaching. That's all been agreed now, as long as I get the grades, and I'll get them. So we can see each other all the time, Tom."

"That would be fantastic, Al."

She laughed again and I felt my heart start to beat again. It was going to be okay...

After that I called her once every couple of weeks and we chatted about nothing at all. She told me about her complicated love life, how she had broken up with Maggie at Easter, missed her and got back together at the end of April, but it wasn't quite the same and she was sure Maggie had had a fling with someone else in the weeks between, but she didn't dare ask.

She wanted to know if I'd gotten myself laid yet and I laughed and admitted that no, the opportunity hadn't come up. Besides, I was too tired to even think about sex once work was over.

Then, on Wednesday of the first week of May she called me.

"Tom, can you come out this weekend?"

"What? I don't know. Probably. Why?"

"I've found a really great apartment, but I want you to see it as well."

"Me? Why?"

"It's got two bedrooms Tom, and it's way bigger than where I am now, and I thought we could, you know, share when you come up."

"Wow, Al, I don't know. They'll be putting me in halls, I think."

"I know, but I checked. You don't need to be in halls your first year if you have relations you can stay with. And we're relations, aren't we?"

"But how much is this going to cost, Al... you know money's real tight for me."

"Come up here, Tom, we'll talk about it. I want you to see it anyway. I want your opinion. Can you?"

"I'll call you back tonight. I have a job on for Saturday but I'll see if I can get out of it. I could take the night bus and get in early Saturday, leave late Sunday."

"Try Tom, please? It would be so good to see you again."

"Yeah, you too, Al. I'll call you."

I spoke with Dag, and he said OK, if I really had to he could work around Saturday, but I knew I'd pay a penalty sometime in the future. I booked a seat on the bus and called Ali and gave her the news.

And so at midnight on Friday I found myself half dozing as the greyhound cut through the night. Lights of distant houses glimmered somewhere across fields, headlights of cars going the other way washed across the windows even through the drawn blinds. I dozed, but no more than lightly. I was excited, curious and anxious.

Despite the bus getting in at six in the morning, Ali was there to greet me. Although it was early the May air was mild and she was dressed in a light gauzy dress, and she looked wonderful. She ran and threw herself at me, wrapping her long legs around my waist so I had to drop my bag and grab her to prevent her falling off. She planted a big kiss on my lips and then put her head back to look at me.

"God, Tom, it's just so good to see you... Even if you do look like shit!"

"Thanks," I said, "You look wonderful too."

She laughed and dropped down, twirled around, her dress billowing out and showing smooth thighs, "I do, don't I? Come on, I'll buy you breakfast. Hungry?"

"Starving," I said, and we walked arm in arm to find an open diner.

Over pancakes and eggs Ali told me we could pick up the keys to the apartment from the agent at eight, and it was an hour on the bus, but it was okay because it was an hour from here but only a half hour from the University campus. She talked fast, animated, and I think I understood her.

Ali brought me up to speed on her news. She was back with Maggie, but wasn't sure how long term it was. She had finished almost all of the work she needed to complete her degree, and had been told she was in line to graduate maxima cum laude.

We stayed at the diner talking and drinking coffee until the agent's office opened, then picked up the keys with a promise to return them by the afternoon, and caught a bus.

I carried my bag as we walked up the block of old factory units that were gradually being turned into apartments. Here and there piles of rubble and building material lay around, but as we moved along the block it became cleaner and the buildings at the top were complete.

The apartment was in the very end building, and stood on a small rise looking down over rooftops to the Hudson in the distance. The building had an elevator, so we let it take us to the sixth floor. Each of the factory areas had been partitioned and there were between eight and four apartments on each level. The one Ali wanted to show me was at the very top.

She led me along the hallway to a dark oak door at the end, looked at me and gave me the keys. "You open up, Tom. I'm too nervous."

I took the keys and unlocked the door, pushed it open and we went in.

The space was empty of furniture and vast. The entrance took us into the middle of the main room which must have been thirty feet by twenty. To our right was a clean and functional kitchen with new units, a stove, and plenty of power sockets. To the left two tall windows looked out across the view of the city. Further along from the windows were three doors.

In the far long wall stood a tall framework of old beams from which all brickwork had been removed. It was beyond this the wonder of the apartment lay. Through the dark criss-crossing oak I could see three wide steps descending to an open area that appeared to be the same size as the upper room. The ceiling here sloped down and was glazed over most of its area allowing cool northern light to fill the space. Heavy wooden planks formed a half partition between the main room and this work area.

Ali looked at me and jumped up and down. "What d'you think, Tom?"

"God Ali, it's awesome," I said. "But there's no way I can afford to pay half rent on this place."

"I'll be earning by then, Tom, and I'd only want a third."

"Still..."

"We could afford it, Tom. One place, even one big place, is going to be cheaper than two small ones. And halls are expensive."

"How much would this be?" I asked.

"You share would be two-fifty," she said.

"A week?"

"A month."

"No way!"

"Way," Ali said, and grinned.

"How come?"

"We're in early, and I'm paying the main share, and this building is owned by one of the tutors at the U and she's cut me a special deal."

"And what did you have to do to get that, Al?"

She slapped me on the arm, "Nothing, Tom! She just likes me, and she's making her money on the other apartments. And she said it's an investment. When she sells up she's going to make a fortune at the other end."

"What happens if she decides she can put the rent up?" I asked.

"We'll worry about that if it ever happens, but she's not gonna do that. Come on Tom, isn't it great?" She walked across to the separating beams and leaned against them. "This would be our studio area down here, we could set up at either end. This is everything we could possible want, Tom."

I nodded. "It is. It just seems too good to be true."

She twirled around again, the thin material of her dress flying high so she unknowingly showing me her panties, and waved me across to the doors on the other wall.

"Here," she said, bowing, "Is bedroom one." The room was big enough, no match for the space we were in, but a reasonable size with nice windows looking over the view.

She opened the middle door. "Bathroom. Look, it's got a bath as well as a shower." The room had doors that let in from either bedroom, forming a shared en-suite.

The final door was the second bedroom, about a third larger than the first.

"Which one d'you want?" Ali said.

"You have the big one," I said. "If you're going to be paying most of the rent then it's only fair."

She grinned. "Okay. Deal. So we'll take it?"

I shook my head and laughed, "What the fuck, yeah."

She ran at me again and leapt. I was ready this time and grabbed her as she wrapped her legs around me and I found my palms cupping the full cheeks of her ass. Her pubic bone pushed against my stomach and she looked at me with her head on one side, then kissed me on the mouth. I felt my cock respond and forced myself to keep my lips closed. This was just Ali getting excited, nothing more. I was going to have to be really careful around her when we started to live together, or I was going to ruin everything, and I liked her too much for that to happen.

"Oh Tom," she said, still wrapped around me, "This is going to be so much fun. I can't wait!"

I reluctantly took my hands off her ass and she dropped back to the floor.

"Let's take the keys back and I'll write them a check for the deposit, then I'm taking you shopping."

"Ali, I've got not money," I said.

"My treat. I want to buy you some nice stuff."

I put my arms out, "You mean this isn't nice?" Showing my faded blue jeans and shirt.

Ali smiled, "You look good in anything, Tom, but you'll look even better when I've finished with you. Come on."

By the time Ali was done it was almost six in the evening, twelve hours after I arrived, and as well as my overnight bag I carried three others containing the purchases she had made. I estimated she had spent over $100, and just hoped she wouldn't regret it.

We unwrapped the purchases and laid them out over the back of the big sofa. Ali had picked out a complete outfit for me to wear: a dark blue shirt, charcoal Calvin Klein underwear and black chinos. She said my boots were fine. Then she turned me to the shower, told me to clean up, and then we were going out because she wanted to show me off.

I came out the bathroom dressed in new clothes and pirouetted for Ali. She stared at me, hands on hips, and nodded. "You'll do," she said.

We walked arm in arm along the street to Ali's club. The evening was warm and sunlight caught the tops of the buildings on the east side. The club was like entering another world, but one I was slightly more familiar with now. The clientele were still made up mostly of women, but this time we did not sit alone. As soon as we entered four other girls came up to Ali, kissed her, and then kissed me. I was surprised, initially, and Ali laughed at my discomfort.

"We might be dykes," she said, "but we can still kiss boys without throwing up. Besides, I told them you're not like most men, you're one of the nice ones."

I smiled and relaxed back into my chair with a beer and enjoyed being surrounded by five beautiful women. A couple of hours later Maggie came in and joined us. I had forgotten to ask Ali if they were still an item, but from the way they kissed I guessed they were.

Some of the other girls drifted away, and then later on a couple of others joined us. I drank more beer and began to get a pleasant buzz going, leaning back and enjoying myself, mildly turned on by the way the girls seemed to look at each other, to touch each other. At some time late in the evening two of them sitting next to me began to kiss seriously, and I saw hands stroking breasts, and soon after they got up and left.

"We'd better make a move too," Ali said, "It's late, and I think Tom's had enough excitement for one evening."

Maggie lifted her hand and Ali took it and pulled her up.

"No such thing as too much excitement," Maggie said.

We walked back through the dark, warm streets to Ali's apartment.

We sat on the sofa, Ali and Maggie at one end, me on the other with a few feet between us. Ali opened wine. Maggie opened her bag and pulled out an enormous joint, lit it up and passed it round. We dimmed the lights, leaving just a standard lamp casting a pool of soft illumination beside the sofa.

I was sitting cross legged, leaning against the side arm, when I realized I was looking at Maggie and Ali kissing, and wondered how long that had been going on. It might be they had forgotten about me as well, because they were really getting into it, mouths open, tongues dancing. Maggie dropped her hand and ran it over Ali's breast and then down to her thigh and drew the thin material of her dress upwards.

I could see the top of Ali's thigh, and Maggie's hand drifted over and inwards.

Suddenly Ali sat up and opened her eyes, grabbing Maggie's hand. She looked over her girlfriend's shoulder at me and gave a lopsided grin.

"Sorry Tom, we're doing it again. We'll go through to my room."

She started to get up and Maggie held on to her and pulled her back down.

"I don't mind if he watches, Ali," she said.

"We've had this conversation," Ali said, "And you're embarrassing Tom."

I was drifting on a haze of alcohol and good Nepalese black and I shook my head. "I'm not embarrassed," I said, and then, "If anything, I guess I'm curious."

Maggie laughed, "There you go," she said. "Come on Ali, let's give the boy a show to remember."

Ali looked at me and sighed. "I don't know, Mags. It feels a bit... I don't know..."

I stood up. "Look, if it helps I'll go sit over there, out of the light. Just pretend I'm not here." My heart was beating fast now, and I was beginning to think they were actually going to do it.

Ali shook her head again, "No, it's not right," but she made no move to rise and Maggie put her arm over her shoulder and pulled her once more close.

Ali went slowly, and when Maggie put her hand on her face and turned it she parted her lips and they kissed.

I sat deep back in the corner, cross legged on the beanbag, shrouded in shadow, and watched...

Maggie seemed the dominant partner, and pushed Ali down so she was almost falling off the sofa. She dropped her hand back to Ali's thigh and this time when it rose the material of her dress was lifted above her tiny panties to reveal her flat stomach.

Maggie ran the backs of her fingers along Ali's thighs and allowed them to pause for a moment on the prominent mound between her legs. Ali moaned softly and her hips rose to meet Maggie's hand. Slowly, Maggie pulled the dress up further, revealing the whole of Ali's stomach and then the filled under curve of her cream bra. Ali lifted her arms and allowed Maggie to draw the dress up and over her head.

Ali turned and tugged at the zip on the back of Maggie's dress, pulling it down and revealing a long expanse of smooth back cut across by a blue bra strap. Maggie leaned forward and the soft material of her dress fell away from her shoulders and her upper body was free. She continued the motion and lowered her head to Ali's breasts, placed her open mouth directly over a nipple and sucked at it through the lacy material.

Ali tugged at Maggie's dress and pulled it down over her hips.

Now they lay tangled on the sofa in just flimsy underwear, Ali's cream and Maggie's blue. Ali pulled Maggie down so she was lying across her thighs and unclipped her bra, pulled it off. Maggie's large breasts lay flattened against Ali's stomach. She shifted and lowered her head and kissed the outside of Ali's panties, ran her tongue over them until they were wet. She pushed a finger inside the waistband and began to work them down.

For a moment I saw Ali's eyes open and stare directly at me as Maggie very slowly worked her panties off, revealing first the upper mound over her public bone, then the very top of her slit, finally showing her pussy in all its perfection.

Maggie slid and rolled and lay her head between Ali's naked thighs and started to lick her pussy, starting on the outside and working inwards until her tongue ran up the middle slit and then flicked her clitoris. Ali groaned and the muscles in her legs shivered.

I was getting extremely uncomfortable and had to push my legs out straight in front of me to ease my cock. I pushed it down inside the leg of my pants but it still hurt, so I eased is sideways and up. I was rock hard and almost poking above my waistband, and I desperately wanted to unzip and pull it out, but something held me back. I couldn't think that Ali or Maggie would have worried, they were too wrapped up in each other. And Ali had seen me hard before, had seen me cum.

Continuing to work on Ali's pussy, Maggie reached down and pulled her own panties off until she was completely naked. I had a perfect view of her ass, cheeks spread, the wet lips of her pussy parted between her thighs, the tight bud of her asshole centered in the deep cleft between her buttocks. A finger slid back and started to work in and out of her cunt while her other hand slid up Ali's side and pushed the cups of her bra aside to reveal her breasts, smaller than Maggie's, but more perfectly shaped.

Suddenly, Maggie grabbed Ali's hips and turned her over. She reached up and unclipped Ali's bra and tossed it aside.

Ali slid back and put her knees on the floor and lifted her ass, revealing herself. I could now see Maggie's fuller ass, her curved back, and then Ali's ass above her shoulder. I reached down and put my hand flat on the hard ridge of my cock pressing against me jeans.