Clarke Lake

Bobby and I broke up at our 1978 graduation. Breaking up stung, because we'd been dating for two years, but it was time. He was headed for boot camp. I was heading for college. Our lives were about to separate. I'd already told him I wouldn't marry him, so it was time to move on. I had my diploma, and I was free. I was a little sad, but not that broken up. I was making the rounds of friends in my cap and gown when I finally caught up with Maggie.

Maggie and I had been friends for years. She was a compact brunette with short hair and a really good figure she dressed to hide under loose, ill-fitting clothing that couldn't quite hide how cute she really was. I was taller and very slim, my dark brown and my skin olive, all from my Filipina Mom. We sank into each other's outstretched arms. Like me, she was headed to college, though out of state. Far out of state, she was headed for Berkeley, but she'd always been a brain.

"We're finally done," she said, breathing in my air and clutching me tight, her hands on my back.

"That we are!" I said.

"Are the rumors true?" she asked.

"Yeah, Bobby and I broke up," I said. "Now he can go after Peggy Johnson free and clear."

"You don't seem crushed," she said.

"I'm sure I'll be crushed tomorrow. Tonight, we celebrate! You going to Jackson's party?" I knew Maggie did not make a habit of high school parties, but figured for graduation she might make an exception.

She shook her head. "Nope! You know I'm not much into crowds. But call me tomorrow. Let's plan something! Do you still have my number?"

We'd been close once, very close. Then I'd started dating Bobby. So far as I knew Maggie hadn't dated anyone, and I'd begun to suspect why. She hung out a lot in the theater department and had been tight with Ann Toller until Ann graduated last year and went on to theater school. Ann was really pretty but didn't date either, and I was starting to suspect my friend didn't have much interest in men.

"Unless it's changed, I have your number in my book. I have a few weeks before I head to France for my summer trip."

Her eyes lit up. "Did you know my Aunt Ruth left her lake house to me?"

"The one at Clarke Lake?" I'd heard a little about the place, and it sounded really cool.

"Yeah, my Aunt left the whole thing to me. All mine. The rest of my family uses it of course, but it's in my name. We could go out there for a week and hang out. Go swimming and look at the stars. I was planning to go on Sunday but if you're interested."

"That sounds like a lot of fun." And it did. It would be good to catch up in a place we could be alone. I really didn't want boys around at that moment. Girl time is valued time, and it was high time I made some. I wanted to fix that oversight before I left for Paris. "I'll talk to my folks."

"Let me know," she said. "Can you borrow a cooler?"

I thought about that. "Pretty sure I can. There's a place to cook, right?."

"It's got everything," she said. "We can pick up groceries in Piperville. And maybe some wine. They don't card much there."

"I'd like some wine," I said, smiling at her. "A lot of wine."

"Bring money then," she said. "The more we have the better we eat and drink." Maggie's family was very well off, but mine wasn't poor. I knew Mom and Dad would want time with me, but you're only young once. I was nineteen and it was time to branch out. A week at Clarke Lake sounded perfect. We made plans to make it happen.

Maggie showed up at nine on Sunday in her big Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight sedan. It was silver and rust, about ten years old, and drank gas like an alcoholic. On the plus side, Maggie's car was comfy, had a decent stereo and its trunk would swallow a whale. Dad brought out our coolers to join the three Maggie brought. "Are you sure you want to spend a week with her," he said under his breath while Maggie was talking with Mom. And he was looking right at me as if this was a serious question.

"It'll be great," I said.

Dad shrugged and looked at her. Maggie was wearing a pair of short cutoffs and a sleeveless top that showed off her curves. Maggie looked about as girlie as she had ever looked. I wondered if Dad was ogling and decided I didn't want to know.

"I used to spend a lot of time with her. It'll be good to reconnect," I said while my suitcase slid into the back seat.

"Okay honey," he said. And slid my suitcase into the capacious back seat. Mom came over and hugged me too and we hugged before we got into the car and headed down into the country, with Maggie at the wheel, the front bench seat far forward because of her lack of height.

Maggie pushed the road maps and directions at me. "You're our navigator," she said.

"You mean you don't know the way?"

"I sort of do," she said, "but it's been over a year and I don't want to mess up. I haven't been here since Aunt Ruth died. Dad and Mom were out there a few weeks ago and say the place is just fine, but it's been a while."

"I can understand. It must be tough, I hear she met a bad end."

"You have no idea," she said. "Thing is Aunt Ruth was---. different," she said as we headed toward the highway. "I'm different too."

"Well, I know that," I said. "We're all different."

"Are you?" Maggie kept driving and I said nothing. She just drove and asked me about my plans to become a teacher. And she told me about her desire to get an advanced degree in the Classics. "Why do you think I took Latin in school?"

"I took French," I told her. "I always knew I wanted to see Paris. If I don't get to teach English, I'll teach French. I want to see the Eiffel Tower and Montmartre! To walk along the Seine, visit Notre Dame and tour Monet's gardens at Giverny. There's an English bookstore there right across the river from Notre Dame. They say Henry Miller wrote Tropic of Cancer there. He met Anais Nin there."

"You've read her? She writes dirty stories," Maggie said. And she was grinning at me but curious.

"Mom had a copy of Delta of Venus and Little Birds I found exploring the attic. I had to read it. How did you know about her?"

"My Dad chairs the English Department at U. He and Mom believe everyone should read everything. You've been in our house."

"Your parents have more books than anyone." It was true, almost every wall held a bookshelf and they were full.

"My folks would disagree. But their books were a blessing. I'm really lucky because I got to read both Miller and Nin, Cicero and Mark Twain."

"You've read everybody, haven't you?"

Maggie laughed as we merged onto the interstate. "No one has read everyone. But I love reading so I do it all the time. What did you think of Delta of Venus?"

"I read it under the covers, and hid it from Mom," I said. "It's really dirty."

"Yeah, but did you like it? Feeling dirty?"

I giggled unable to say a thing.

"I liked it too," Maggie said. "Tell me, what was your favorite story?"

"I'd rather not say," I said, suddenly embarrassed. I didn't want her to know.

"Well you don't have to tell me, but glad to know I'm not the only dirty book reader here."

I laughed to deal with my nevers, then fell silent for a bit. We stopped in Piperville for groceries and got cheeseburgers and shakes to go at McDonald's. Once we refilled the Olds we got back on the road, I asked her if she brought any dirty books with her.

She froze for a moment and said No. She paused for a while. "No, but My Aunt had some stuff though."

"Oh yeah," I said.

"I don't know if Dad left all her books there. Knowing him, he probably did. But you might not like her choices."

"Why not."

Maggie actually turned at the wheel to look me in the eyes. She looked scared. "Aunt Ruth was a lesbian."

I shrugged. "I'd heard the rumor."

"Yeah, well the rumors are true. So be careful what you read."

"I'll be very careful," I told her, suddenly curious. But I could see Maggie was nervous, so I let it go.

"So, what happened to you and Bobby?"

"You know he asked me to marry him at Christmas?"

Her head flipped at me. "No, I didn't know."

"I turned him down. I didn't want to get married. We kept it quiet. But after I said No, everything changed. All he talked about was the Marines. Well, he's off to Paris Island next week."

"So why didn't you? You know, say Yes," Maggie asked me very carefully as if she was feeling me out.

Answering her "I liked him, but it just wasn't right. He would have wanted me to live on base with him and well, live his life. I didn't want to do that. I want a life of my own before I settle down! And frankly, I thought I could have more than him."

"You're not wrong there," Maggie said changing lanes to leave the interstate for a state highway. "Bobby was a nice guy, but not exactly brilliant. You're a lot smarter than he was."

"Yeah, but he didn't seem to mind that. Most guys do."

"Almost all of them," she said as we swept into the right lane. "Check the directions."

"It says we get off in nineteen miles at Route One-Fifty-Six." I looked up and saw a sign advertising adult novelties. "Hey would you look at that," I told her looking up ahead. "Looks like a dirty bookstore."

"Twenty-five cent mini-movies," she said. "You ever been in a place like that?"

"Hell no!" I said. "Aren't they full of pervy guys?"

"I don't know," she asked. "Maybe. But it's daylight. Let's do it." She moved to the right lane and big, old Olds bounced on a pothole and ran up to the side of a small shop with the huge letters 'ADULT' on a billboard placed on the roof. She grinned at me, we got out, and I could feel myself blushing. I was taller than Maggie, and skinner, but I had a decent shape, particularly after the Pill made my boobs grow. I was wearing khaki shorts and a striped t-shirt besides my sneakers and was showing a decent amount of summer skin. No doubt if there were perverts inside, they'd have us mentally naked before the door slid shut. But I wasn't about to back down. I placed myself right behind Maggie and followed her inside.

It was dark inside, but the glass shelves we well lit. There were booths at the back and looked at them but shied away to lean against Maggie, she took my hand in hers. There was a plump middle-aged woman in a booth surrounded by rubbers on the racks. I walked by a box of an inflatable doll in the shape of a 'famous adult film star'. Then I saw an actual sex doll, and my eyes got really big. It looked like a balloon with painted-on features and an empty rubber where the mouth should be. "Guys will actually fuck that?" I asked.

"Guys will fuck anything," said Maggie, and she grabbed my hand. "Come on, I have a couple of quarters."

"Okay," I said. I'd never seen porn before, and I really wanted to know. We found a booth and she pulled me in and shut the door before slipping a quarter into the machine. A flickering picture of a tall lean man with a mop of hair, stroking the shoulder of a girl with mountainous boobs taking his cock into her mouth. She got it all the way in and porn-guy was a lot bigger than Bobby.

"Jesus," I breathed. I had sucked Bobby's cock before but she was certainly better than I was, as she bounced up and down on it for thirty seconds or so until the film shut off.

"You want more of this one or try another?" Maggie asked.

"Let's try another." She took me by the hand and led me to a booth across the hall. This one had an attractive blonde with two guys. One was holding her head pinned and ramming his cock into her mouth. The other was fucking her from behind a big hairy dude with mustache, big nose, and wiry dark hair. And his cock was huge! He was covered with a sheen of sweat and the woman's boobs were bouncing with each thrust. Finally, he pulled it out and sprayed his cum all over her butt. The guy up front then began to pull his thing out when the picture flicked off.

"More?" asked Maggie, sincerely looking at me as if she wanted to know.

I shook my head. "Maybe one more," I said, and it was, but in a weird way, it turned me on too. It was crude and stupid and none of the people were terribly attractive, but it was raw and naughty. "Let's see what else is here."

We popped into a third booth, and this time there were no guys when the film started. Just two women, neither terribly pretty but hardly ugly, lying next to each other on the beach when one of them reached over to touch her girlfriend's pussy through her suit. Maggie let out a deep breath and maybe I did too. We watched as her fingers slid into her girlfriend's suit and start playing with her pussy until the film shut off.

Nobody said a thing for a few seconds. I didn't want to say it, but I was wet.

"Okay," said Maggie, taking my hand. She had a really pretty smile and she flashed one at me. "Let's go look at the toys."

"No more love dolls," I said.

"No way," she said. "Those are for guys. They make stuff just for girls."

As we moved into that section the clerk came out to help us, and it was a woman, grey curly hair, some eye makeup. "What are you two girls looking for? Something to share?"

"Maybe," said Maggie her eyes were narrow and she was grinning. I knew I was probably beet red, but I wasn't running.

"Well, we have two basic families of toys for women, vibes, and dildos." There were personal massagers that came in boxes with attachments and looked a bit like my dad's electric drill. She opened the box and sold us one. "The Wahl unit is very popular, it has two speeds and comes with several attachments but personally, the bare end is good enough. Just wrap a towel around it. And another under you," she said with a wink. We looked at it for a bit with very big eyes, but didn't touch.

"What else," asked Maggie. I was stunned into silence, trying to imagine holding that thing to my pussy. And wondering if I'd like it, which sort of scared me.

"We have a wide line of dildos." She picked up a big pink one that looked like a man. "This one was modeled after John Holmes himself! If you've ever wanted to ride Johnny Wadd, this is your chance. It was pink, it was realistic and it was huge.

"Not really into porn stars," said Maggie and the saleswoman got it finding us a bright red one made from glass in segments

"This is a model favored by many of the local women," she said and held it up. It was smooth, if you didn't count the segmented bulging. "The segments add stimulation."

Maggie took it from her and held it up, examining it closely. "What do you think Emily?"

"It's big," I managed because it was.

"I thought you liked big boys," Maggie said with a wink, setting it down. I stood there paralyzed.

The saleswoman picked up and held up what looked like a metal tootsie-roll pop on a large base. "These are our latest in butt plugs," she said. "Put it in your mouth to get it wet and warm it up then slip it in your backside to get ready for a very special evening. We have lube over to the left for when saliva isn't enough."

I looked at it, considered where it was supposed to go, and froze! I think I just stood there with my mouth open. Maggie picked it up and held the little ball right in front of my lips then turned it to show me the enameled heart base. "That would look cute in her," said the saleswoman, making me blush terribly.

"It would," said Maggie grinning. "What about sharing?"

"This is our Double-Dipper," she said. "it's a fourteen-inch, trademarked double-headed dildo made of flexible rubber so it will conform to you both when you share it with someone special. Then she folded it over so the two ends were almost tight together. "Or you fold it over like that for double the holes, double the fun."

"How much?" asked Maggie.

"Only nineteen-ninety-five," she said.

"Wrap it up," said Maggie. "And a tube of KY too."

I don't think I said another word until we were in the car and on the road. Finally, I managed. "I can't believe you bought that."

"Why not?" she said. "Toys are the future. You think only lesbians shop there? Housewives need help too!"

I couldn't say a word.

"You really have a great blush," she said. "I've never seen you so red."

"Is that why you bought it? To make me blush?"

She turned and gave me another of her gorgeous grins. "Partly. But either way, I will enjoy it. You might too. I know you're not a virgin."

"How do you know that?" asked with a snap, even though I already knew the answer. Boys talk because they need to impress their friends.

"Grapevine," she said. "I hope you brought a bathing suit, though the cabin is private enough we could skinny dip."

"I brought three bathing suits. Two bikinis and my swim team one piece. Though I got one of the bikinis before I started on the Pill. So the top's probably too tight."

"I don't anyone is going to complain about that," Maggie said, turning off on Route 156. "Where do we turn next"

"Five miles down to left on county road 211."

The rest of the road was a typical back road with lots of curves and elevation changes. Maggie got surprised by a corner cresting a hill and we almost went off, but we got through. The hills and trees were so pretty. We were in the middle of nowhere when we finally found the mailbox painted with the cartoon spy Natasha right after the blue water tower. The driveway was gravel, hilly and long but eventually, it came to a peninsula on the lake, and high above it sat Aunt Ruth's cabin. The house was one story, all in wood with a natural finish brown in color. It looked like it was on stilts with the center enclosed but for a door and had a huge porch, one section of which was screened in. Maggie grabbed her new toy and went up to unlock the house and get everything going. I started ferrying up our coolers so we'd have food and drink to sustain us.

The place was spartan but nice. They had a radio, an old black and white TV, simple couches and tables with a king bed in the common room. There was a small bedroom, but the big bed was in the main room, as clearly this had been laid out for a single with occasional guests. I set our suitcases by the door of that room but decided I'd let Maggie decide where to put stuff. She kept busy arranging and I kept ferrying until everything was inside, then. I walked out on the wide wrap-around porch. The view was fantastic, the sun was still up though setting in red, and I could see sails in the distance and the distant sound of an outboard motor. I could hear Maggie moving around so I went to help her.

She was carrying a footlocker up the stairs and into the house. "Found it!" with a big grin, lifting the lid to peek inside. "Looks like most everything Aunt Ruth left is still here." She snapped the lid shut as I came closer.

"What's in the box?" I asked.

"Show you later, Maggie said with a wide grin.

I guessed it held the rest of Aunt Ruth's toy 'collection' so Maggie would have a place to stash her "Double-Dipper". I found the bookshelves. I didn't recognize most titles Beebo Brinker, Spring Fire, The Rubyfruit Jungle, The Price of Salt, and more. She did have Anais Nin's Little Birds and The Collected Poems of Sappho. I saw Sylvia Plath and the collected letters of Virginia Woolf and more, almost all by women. "Looks like your Aunt was into pulp fiction," I said picking up a copy of Women's Barracks with a grin, as it showed women changing.

"I told you they might not be for you," said Maggie. She pulled out two wine glasses and a bottle of rose. We'd bought eight big bottles at the Piperville IGA,

"That's okay, I have my copy of Sho-Gun if I need to read something."

"You came prepared," she said pouring me a glass and handing it over.

"I did," I said, reaching into my suitcase for a small bag of pot and a pipe.

"You too," said Maggie. She had a bhang and her own stock. "I think we may spend this week pretty high," she said putting on the local station. Soon ABBA filled the room.