Editor's note: this story contains scenes of incest or incest content.
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None of this would have happened if my husband's medical problem hadn't been diagnosed shortly before our holiday. Chris is only 48 but for a while he'd been getting excessively tired and complaining of chest pains. When he went for a regular health check and mentioned this to the doctor a scan was arranged and we discovered, to our shock, that he had serious heart problems.
I'm Jacqui. I'm 44 and I work in Surrey as an assistant manager in a branch of a national chain of high-end department stores, a job I'd been finding pretty stressful. I have shoulder length pale-blonde hair, blue eyes and a rosy complexion, a snub nose and full lips. I've always been considered quite attractive – I did a bit of fashion modelling before our marriage, and I keep myself quite trim with Pilates, jogging on a treadmill and a low-sugar semi-veggie diet. Chris and I met through a church youth group and married when I was 22 and still a virgin. We wouldn't claim to be pillars of our local church but we are regular attenders. Our daughter, Amy, who's just turned 20, stopped going a few years ago – I wasn't happy about it but we can't force her.
Anyway, as I was saying, Chris and I had a holiday booked at a Greek island resort – the name doesn't matter. We were due to leave only two weeks after he'd received the bad news. Amy had surprised us by saying she'd like to - come – she hadn't holidayed with us since she was 17 but I think she was seduced by the thought of the warm Aegean sun. Chris was advised that he shouldn't fly until he'd been fully assessed and started treatment; I wanted to cancel so I could support him, but we'd already paid the full cost. Chris encouraged me to go, saying I needed a break and he'd be fine for the short period I'd be away.
He was right, I felt a relaxing break form my job in the sun would do me the world of good, but to be honest Amy and I hadn't been getting on very well for a little while and I worried about how we'd get along on a week alone together. I told her her dad couldn't go, half-expecting she would suggest cancelling. Instead, she asked "Well, if we've got a spare place could my friend from college come with us?" I pointed out that we only had two apartments booked at the resort but Amy said that would be fine, Nicole could sleep on the bed settee that was situated in her apartment.
I'd never heard of this Nicole before, and before I definitely agreed I asked Amy to invite her over for dinner one day. When they arrived together, I was rather surprised, to say the least, by Nicole's appearance. She was Afro-Caribbean, 22 years old, her bare shoulders and arms like polished teak in the midnight blue silk dress she wore, cut low behind to reveal her skin almost to the small of her back. She had huge eyes with arched brows, a wide nose, pouting lips. And a dazzling white smile With a mass of hair piled up on her head and in kitten heels she towered over me like some Amazon goddess (I'm five-feet-five), broad-shouldered and with boobs I estimated to require a C or D cup. To say she presented an exotic appearance would be a gross understatement.
I'm a little ashamed that I was embarrassed to have Nicole in my home, and a little nervous as to how to behave and speak around her. I really don't think I'm racially prejudiced but I'd never really known any people of colour, unless you count the Singhs who run the local convenience store. There had been one Nigerian student who'd temped at my work but she and I hadn't really got on very well and I'd terminated her early. In fact we had a very pleasant evening, Nicole, who spoke with a South London accent, seemed cultured and charming, and when she'd left I felt a little happier about her joining us on holiday. Chris had really taken to her, and told me "It'll be fine, you can do the shops and eat with them and the rest of the time they'll be off on their own and you can relax by the pool with a good book."
On the first day of the holiday Amy, Nicole and I travelled to the airport together and had a good flight. We arrived mid-evening, settled into out adjoining apartments and ate at one of the resort's restaurants then spent the evening relaxing in the bar. The next day the girls slept in late while I breakfasted and sunned myself, then after a light lunch we strolled down to the nearby village to explore. After the chill of an English spring the warmth of the sun was delightful and we had a pleasant afternoon. We spotted a picturesque taverna and decided to have dinner there. I couldn't help noticing how touchy-feely Amy and Nicole seemed, frequently touching each other's arms, brushing strands of hair behind ears and so on.
I soon noticed a noisy group of scruffily-dressed local 20-somethings at a nearby table, swilling beer from bottles. They began pointing at the oblivious Nicole and chuntering among themselves, laughing. When a couple of them shouted offensively racist comments in broken English in our direction I bristled. Nicole rolled her eyes but told me to leave it; however, when they continued I slammed my cutlery down, stalked over to their table and told them exactly what I thought of their childish, bigoted behaviour. I could hear them sniggering behind my back as I walked away but they did quiet down, and left soon afterwards. When we got back our resort, before she followed Amy into their apartment Nicole gave me a big hug, her chest pressing into me, and thanked me for what I'd done. I felt troubled though, the yobs' behaviour had made me reflect uncomfortably on how I'd first thought of her. I don't often pray but I did that night, that God and Nicole would forgive me my failings.
The next day I had booked a tour to an attractive part of the island, while the girls planned to swim and relax by the pool. Both wore bikinis and I was struck by the length of Nicole's slim legs – they seemed to go on forever. Overnight she had plaited Amy's short-cropped ginger-blond hair into a series of tight cornrows; Nicole herself wore her jet hair straight, hanging to the middle of her back.
My tour returned around lunchtime and I looked into the girls' apartment to see if they were there. It hadn't yet been serviced and the double bed was a crumpled mess. I was surprised to see that the sofa bed wasn't even folded down, a set of bedclothes neatly folded on it. Either Nicole was considerably more tidy than my daughter or, more likely, it hadn't been used. I thought nothing of it at the time – the double was a big one, probably more comfortable than the sofa, and if they wanted to both sleep in it that was up to them.
We met up by the pool in the afternoon and, while I had a swim, Amy and Nicole sunbathed. As I emerged Amy was laying face down on a lounger, her bra strap undone, and Nicole was sitting beside her, massaging sun lotion onto her back. They were so intent on what they were doing that it took them probably 15 seconds to notice I was standing beside them. On seeing me Nicole leapt to her feet with a small squeak and avoided my eyes in what seemed almost a guilt-ridden way.
Over dinner and in the bar a kind of suspicion started to tick away in my mind. The touching and stroking between the girls continued and started to irritate me; and when they thought I wasn't watching or paying attention they were whispering to each other and giggling. In short, they were behaving more like young lovers than friends. When we moved to the bar I made sure I sat next to Amy, with Nicole across to her, but that didn't stop them touching hands across the table, and I momentarily caught a glimpse of Nicole's bare dark foot stroking Amy's ankle. That night I had trouble sleeping, and realised I was obsessed with what might be happening next door. Feeling ashamed of myself I even crept to the adjoining door and pressed my ear to it but I heard nothing but an occasional soft snore.
In the morning I felt tired and grumpy whereas Nicole and Amy were full of the joys of spring. Both were dressed in shorts and lose cotton shirts, with their bikinis underneath, as beach wear wasn't allowed on the streets of the village. They told me they were going to walk along the beach to the sand dunes some distance away. A few minutes later I watched them from the window of my apartment as they left the complex, and something about the intimate way each had an arm curled around the other's waist made the hairs on my arms stand on end.
Without even realising I'd decided to, I rushed down the stairs and set out to follow them. I trailed through the village's main street about 30 yards behind them as they walked, hand in hand, browsing shop windows, trying on sunglasses and hats, picking out postcards. At one point Nicole looked back along the street in my direction and I ducked into a shop doorway, pretending to be engrossed in a guidebook which was actually written in German. I thought she may have seen me but she showed no sign of having done so as they continued to stroll in the direction of the grassy concrete path that ran along the edge of the beach.
The route was more exposed there and it was less easy not be seen; I dropped back a bit and dodged from bush to bush, trying not to look too ridiculous to anyone who saw me. Neither girl looked behind them as they meandered onwards, but after a while I lost sight of them among the rolling dunes. It was early in the season and that area was deserted, the only sounds the small wavelets rolling into shore and the occasional call of a bird wheeling overhead. I crept around, trying to see my quarry but not be seen. I was about to give up when I heard my daughter squeal "Nicky, we can't not here!"
It appeared to come from a large bank of sand to my right and on all fours I crept slowly up it. At the top I saw a glimpse of dark flesh below me and ducked down. I cautiously raised my head again and had to stifle a shocked gasp: the girls were laying on a beach towel, just ten yards below me, Amy's shirt and bikini top discarded, her hands cradling Nicole's head, which bobbed on my daughter's chest as Nicole's mouth licked and sucked at her breast. I raised a hand to my mouth in horror. As I watched, one of Nicole's hands slipped under the waistband of Amy's shorts. Amy lowered her hands and tore at the fastenings then, between them, the two girls tore off the shorts and bikini pants. Within moments Nicole's head was nestled between my child's thighs, her face buried in Amy's vagina. Appalled as I was, a tiny part of my brain registered my nipples stiffening in arousal as I watched.
I felt myself sliding back down the sand, tears stinging my eyes. I felt I should have shouted out, I wanted to scream, but I was too shocked and embarrassed. As I stood I heard Amy emit a wordless wail. I don't even remember the walk back to my apartment, until the moment when a car horn blared angrily and I found myself standing in the road, a few yards from the resort, a yellow taxi inches from me, the driver mouthing angrily at me through the windscreen.
Back in the apartment I slumped into a chair and sobbed. I've never been one of those Christians who believe homosexuals should burn in Hell, but there's a big difference between general tolerance and watching another woman performing an intimate sex act on your naked daughter on a public beach. Wiping my eyes with an antimacassar from the chair back I tried to clear my head and think what to do. It seemed clear to me that I needed to separate them and have a frank conversation with Amy. If this was just a mad fling it had to end; if it was more, well, I didn't think I could accept a lesbian living under my roof.