Author's Note: This story picks up directly from Deep Dive (Part 4).
*****
It was now mid-March, and we were returning home from a month in Bali.
During the first week of our trip, we'd focused our attention totally on Michelle, trying to pack as much as we could into seven short days.
After she'd returned home to Switzerland, the next three weeks in Ubud had settled into a comfortable routine for Kate and I. Sleep in, make love, sleep some more, explore Ubud, and then make love again. It was a calm, unstructured time: no schedules, no pressures.
Our fight back from Bali flew via Manila to San Francisco. Arriving at SFO to catch our final connection to Vancouver, we were told the flight had been cancelled. We'd need to lay over in San Francisco for the night, until another flight was available.
As we walked away from the customer service desk to find a hotel, I had a thought. In my late twenties and early thirties, I'd made the drive from Vancouver to the Baja peninsula many times. One of my favourite parts of the journey was the 200-mile stretch of Highway 1 between San Francisco in the south, and Rockport in the north.
With the ocean on one side and empty rolling hills on the other, the route passes through some of the most beautiful places imaginable: Point Reyes, Bodega Bay, Mendocino. This part of California had always held a special place in my heart - it reminded me of a time when life's opportunities still seemed limitless.
Turning to Kate I said, "I have an idea..."
"Uh-oh," she responded, smiling. We stopped walking through the terminal and looked at each other.
"Instead of catching the flight to Vancouver tomorrow, why don't we stretch the trip for a few more days, rent a car, and drive home instead?"
"Drive?"
she exclaimed.
"Sure! The coast is incredible. You've never done Highway 1, have you? Really amazing."
Kate looked at me, uncertain. "Can we make it back by Sunday? I'm on a shoot next week..." Kate worked as a top-end stylist at a chichi salon in Vancouver, and did a lot of contract work on the side in the city's film and TV business.
I quickly did the calculations in my head. Today was Wednesday. It would take the rest of the afternoon to get to Mendocino. Lay over there for a day. Another day's drive to Newport in Oregon, and then home to Vancouver. Maybe four days tops. No problem.
"Deal," I said. Taking Kate by the hand, we changed direction, and headed to the car rental counter.
_________________________
We drove in a rented Audi convertible - through the Presidio, over the Golden Gate Bridge, and then left onto Highway 1 at Marin.
The city dropped behind the hills and, more quickly than I remembered, we were in open country again. We reached the coast at Muir Beach, and turned north.
While the spring weather was still cool, it was warm in the sun. We put on windbreakers and drove with the car's top down, breathing in the sharp sea air. Kate looked completely in her element: gorgeous, her hair blowing in the wind, gazing wide-eyed at the incredible vistas as we sped up the empty winding highway.
We drove, comfortable together in our silence, listening to an old Jackson Browne mix. I thought back over the seven months that we'd been together. Although we had what Kate referred to as an "unfettered" relationship - open to bringing in other sex partners - what had developed between us felt strong, and deep, and certain.
Perhaps she really
is
the one after all,
I thought.
_________________________
We reached Mendocino about three hours later, just as the sun was settling low over the ocean. It was going to be a stunning sunset. Pulling up in the centre of town, we parked, got out of the car, and stretched.
Mendocino seemed almost completely unchanged since I'd last been there. Perched on high bluffs over the ocean, it was like stepping back fifty years to a much quieter time. The town
breathed
history, and was incredibly peaceful. Kate looked completely smitten.
She grinned hugely. "
So
lovely," she said, turning a slow 360 and taking it all in.
After wandering around the main street for thirty minutes, we picked up some bottles of chilled Tavel at the local wine store, some bread, cheese and antipasti at the market, and headed off to the house.
Kate had managed to book a small, cliff-side cottage on Airbnb while we were driving up the coast. The place was situated off on its own, near the Mendocino Headlands. Built back in the 1930's, it was a small jewel of Craftsman design. Painted a vibrant yellow with white trim, its covered front porch looked straight out at the ocean.
We walked into the house, and were equally taken with the inside. Worn wooden floors, comfortable cottage furniture, a stone fireplace, and a small bright kitchen open to the living room. A spacious, old-fashioned bathroom was attached to the kitchen, and the entire second floor served as a loft bedroom. It was perfect. Kate couldn't have done better.
"You sure you don't want to stay an extra few days?" I asked.
"I wish," Kate replied wistfully, looking around. "But work calls..."
_________________________
Bags unpacked, Kate headed off to the bathroom for a soak in the antique claw-foot tub. She sang softly to herself as it filled with steaming water, and added some lavender gel that immediately foamed up into huge billows. It scented the entire house
. Nice,
I thought.
While I prepared the bread and cheese, I watched her through the open bathroom door as she disrobed. Now barefoot, she dropped her knee-length skirt to the floor, and pulled her cotton top off over her head. Standing with her back to me, I admired her beautiful long legs, a perfect bum wrapped in tiny white lace panties, and the sexiest back I'd ever seen. She was just flawless.
She reached down, bending over slightly as she slipped off her underwear. Her ass and cleft were in full view. My cock stirred, as it always did when I saw her naked.
Stepping lithely into the tub, she turned, grabbed the high rim on either side, and slowly eased herself down into the water.
"Mmmm," she moaned, gratefully.
"Jesus."
Two minutes later, I walked into the bathroom with the wine and food laid out on a wooden cutting board. I placed the board on a small wicker table, and sat on the rim of the tub, looking down at Kate.
She was lying, almost submerged, in a huge pile of lavender suds, with only her head and shoulders visible. Eyes closed, she had a look of pure bliss on her face. She hummed quietly to herself.
She suddenly twitched, and let out a tiny peep. "Hot water always makes me so damn...
hot,"
she murmured, opening her eyes and staring directly at me. She twitched again. I could see the tower of foam floating over her lower body tremor for a second, and then start jiggling repeatedly.
"Sooo..."
she sang, "I just have to do something about it."
She drew her knees up out of the water, and spread them slightly apart. "Like...
now,
" she finished, looking at me slyly.
Knowing that I loved to watch her, Kate quickly abandoned all pretense. I pushed away the suds with a sweep of my hand as she spread her legs even wider. The index finger of one hand was slowly circling her clit, while the other hand was gently stroking two fingers up and down between her labia, slowly zeroing in on her opening.
"Oh yes yes yes..."
she whispered happily, closing her eyes again and concentrating on her pussy.
Almost bursting in my jeans, I stood up, shucked off my shirt, and dropped my pants to the floor. Commando as usual, my cocked poked firmly out into the air. I took myself in hand and began slowly pumping my shaft, fixating on her busy fingers.
Hearing the steady rhythm of my jacking, Kate opened her eyes, and looked happily at the rigid cock being fondled less than a foot away from her. She ran the tip of her tongue over her lips and said, "Step closer."
