It was one of those nights when the hours passed so slowly. "Early to bed..." just did not apply here. It was hot and sticky, even with the air conditioning full blast. Molly could not get comfortable. It didn't seem to bother Dane at all, he slept on, snoring and flopping about the king size bed, taking up the space of three men. She gently pushed him away, moved him to his side, put a pillow behind him, but none of it worked tonight. Finally, Molly got out of bed and decided to take a cold shower, hoping to lower her body temperature and maybe be able to sleep.
The water felt so good, cascading from the old-fashioned, generous shower head. This was something she would miss when they finally went back home. All the newer showers had those economical water saver devices, allowing only a trickle of spray. As she stood under the deluge, she reflected that this was just one of the advantages of house sitting for their friends. The master bedroom had a huge walk-in shower with a water spray to get lost in. In the first few days here, they had spent inordinate amounts of time in here, doing all sorts of playful sexual activities, enjoying the freedom and adventure. Molly thought momentarily of waking Dane to join her, but he would just start complaining again about the month ending and having to return to their cramped apartment. It was the first thing that had ever come between them.
They were slightly out of sync now, not even making love anymore, something that had never happened. Molly tried to remember the last time she and Dane had spent time together, loving each other, but all she could remember was the little undercurrent of dissatisfaction that consumed Dane. He didn't see this as a wonderful present that they had been given. They had spent nearly a month house sitting for their newly affluent friends in Alabama, staying at their luxurious beach house and enjoying the life of entitled beach bums. Both of their jobs traveled easily. Dane could make websites anywhere and her freelance assignments had a whole new voice. Her series about living the life of leisure had been a hit with her yuppy readers, and her editor wanted even more stories about living among the elite. They had one week left before the Bolangers came home and their adventure would end. Molly was trying to write as much as possible, soaking up the lifestyle so her column could reflect it accurately.
The water felt marvelous and Molly soaped up a sponge with her favorite vanilla scent and washed her body, feeling awake and revived. She shampooed her long hair, playing with it, piling it on her head and making fancy sudsdos. Finally, she felt she could once again breathe and she turned off the water. She dried her hair and wrapped herself in a large, thick bath sheet. As she passed Dane, she saw that he had spread out even more, taking up almost every inch of space in the huge bed. Quickly deciding that she was not ready for sleep now, she continued toward the kitchen.
God, she loved this house! One entire wall was glass, looking out at the ocean, the waves below crashing onto the private beach. The house was located at the end of a very long drive, making it wonderfully private. The nearest neighbor was to the north, another large beach house, built at a lower level, but a good distance away. Molly went to the kitchen, opening the fridge and removing a bottle of wine she had cooled earlier. She poured herself a glass and stood in the darkened room, sipping it and feeling the coolness of the glass against her cheek. She dropped her towel, running the glass over her neck, chest and then, down to her breasts. Her nipples hardened immediately, puckering and growing tight. She held the wineglass to her breast, enjoying her body's response. It still sometimes amazed her how ready her body was to respond.
She had been a late bloomer, and had only been with one man before Dane. As she sipped her wine, Molly thought about her University days. She was the only girl in her college rooming house still a virgin. She wanted to save herself, at least that had been the plan. But one by one, her roomies got boyfriends, and those boyfriends stayed the night, and those nights had been full of moans and bumping beds. She wanted to know what it was that made them all so happy. She wanted HER headboard to bump in the night, HER moans to keep others awake. Then Molly met Bruce.
Ah, Bruce. Forever after known as "Bruce, the Pervert". Her first lover. She didn't know it when they started dating, but he should have been the poster child for what NOT to do the first time you have sex. Molly still regretted choosing him. He was older and wiser, in college on the GI Bill. She thought he would know what to do, what went where, and why. Instead, he had been rough and hurried and very self-involved. It wasn't until later that she learned what a selfish lover he had been. She just knew that it hurt horribly and that she was so embarassed by it all. Afterwards, while he showered, she had dressed and escaped his apartment, walking home, sure everyone who saw her knew what she had been doing. She vowed, on the long walk to her own apartment, that she was finished with sex forever, that it was not worth the indignity and pain.
Molly got the nickname of Ice Maiden through the rest of her college years. Any time she was tempted to try again, she would remember the disaster that had been Bruce and pull away. Sometimes she felt she would spend the rest of her life in a loveless, sexless existence. But it was only a few years later, while working at her first job as a correspondent, that she met Dane and he had been able to break through her defenses and lead her slowly and gently into a loving relationship. Now they had been together nearly three years and Molly was quite happy with him. They seemed to fit well together, enjoying the same things and loving and supporting each other. Dane also showed her the ways of sex and changed her mind about lovemaking. So the time had flown, they were happy and in love and content with their life. When her pal, Winona, offered her the house sitting deal, Molly quickly accepted, knowing that Dane would love it as much as she did.
Now their time was nearly over. She had received an e-mail from Winnie, stating they would be home in about four days and couldn't wait to just relax in their own house. Molly felt the stirring of tears, sadness for losing this wonderful lifestyle, sadness about returning to their own tiny apartment, sadness over the rift with Dane. She poured more wine, once again running the cool glass over her skin. She felt so restless. She needed something, but was not sure what it was. Her reverie was interrupted as she looked out the northern window, and noticed a light flickering in the neighboring house. She moved closer to the window, mildly curious if everything was all right over there.