This story continues from where we left off in the previous chapter. Would strongly advise reading that first before coming to this. It's only my first attempt at this, so please be patient, and excuse silly typos / errors. I'm still learning this game a bit, so any feedback is appreciated!
= PPanwar
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Sumana sat down on the bed and closed her eyes, trying to think of what had just happened. As she sat there, she felt a thrill run through her body interspersed with something that vaguely had trappings of guilt.
"Is this really what I want?" Sumana thought to herself. Her mind was swirling with thoughts and emotions. She felt ashamed, embarrassed, and guilty for what she had just done. But at the same time, she couldn't deny the thrill and excitement she had experienced. She had never felt so alive, so.... desired! Wanted!
It was exhilarating to think of doing something risky, something that would make her feel alive and adventurous... Just like that, one brief game of volleyball had ignited something in her.
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As Sumana sat down on for dinner that night with her daughters, she was a bit lost in her thoughts - her brain was busy thinking of a plan. She decided to do something a little risky, something she would never have imagined was possible for her to attempt, even a few days ago.
Sumana would sneak out of the resort and take a walk along the beach in the middle of the night. She would wear something a little more revealing than she usually did, and enjoy the rush of feeling daring and bold.
But how would she get out of the resort without being seen? She thought about sneaking out through the balcony, but dismissed the idea as too risky. Then she remembered the fire exit, which was located near the end of the hallway on her floor.
Late at night, well after dinner, Sumana rummaged through her luggage, looking for her sheer negligee and matching lingerie. She found it tucked away at the bottom of her suitcase, and she couldn't help but feel a rush of blood to the head as she pulled it out.
Before going ahead with her plan, she checked in on Savita and Sanjana to make sure they were also asleep. She didn't open the connecting door, but just pressed her ear to it. "Not a sound", she thought to herself, confident that the girls must either be asleep or watching one of their shows.
She hesitated for a moment, looking at herself in the mirror, her heart racing. But then she shook her head and put on the matching lingerie, She smiled to herself as she wore the negligee, feeling it cling to her curves as she moved... Sumana knew that this was a risky move, but she felt alive and excited in a way that she hadn't felt in years. She checked herself out in the mirror one last time, and then slipped out of the room and into the dark shadows of the corridor.
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Sumana started walking around the hotel, sticking to the shadows. With each step, she was becoming more confident, knowing that no one can see her.
There was still a part of her mind where alarm bells were ringing like crazy, where an iota of guilt and fear reared their head up about doing this. But, with every step she took the other side of her, which was filled with excitement and anticipation, was overpowering her mental naysayers... After all, there is only so much a woman can endure before she loses control, and she figured it was now or never for her to try something exciting like this.
She passed by a number of rooms, checking for signs of movement, until she reached her destination. In any other setting, she would have been worried that opening a fire-escape might set off some alarm bells - but she knew her country well, nothing so nuanced would be operating in beach-side hotels here.
As she made her way down the fire escape, and onto the path that led directly to the beach, she could feel the hair behind her neck standing up. She was still in a half-hunched position, and looked around carefully as she finally reached the beach front!
She wasn't exactly sure what snapped, but the minute her feet made contact with the sand - it was as if all the fear of getting caught dissipated in a curious mixture of excitement and delight!
Sumana walked along the empty beach now, head held high & confident, feeling the cool sand between her toes and the chill breeze on her skin. The sheer negligee was blowing around her, and she felt like a goddess in the moonlight. The thrill of being outside in the open air with nothing but the sound of the waves for company was almost overwhelming. At the back of her mind, she was titillated by the thought of being caught, only to realise that it made her feel more alive than she had in a long time!
A couple of times, she thought she heard some people coming from the opposite direction, and she quickly managed to slip into the shadows, behind some rocks and avoid detection. At one point, she even noticed a flashlight beaming vaguely in her radius, and she snuck deeper into the shadows, biting her lips in anticipation...
Near capture was such an adrenaline rush! She ruminated for a brief second, and somehow convinced herself that the negligee wasn't that much of a risk after all! So, Sumana took it off and continued on her adventure in just her lingerie. She felt even more daring and exhilarated, knowing that she was completely exposed to the elements and to anyone who might catch a glimpse of her 46-year old body...
"Nay!", she told herself, "a curvy figure with a 38D bosom, and fleshy bits in all the right places... That's what they'll get to see."
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After spending close to an hour-and-a-half on the beach, Sumana finds herself at the spot where she'd joined the young volleyball players, earlier that day. She knelt down to pick up some of the sand, and her mind raced back to how she felt when she realised all the eyes that were fixated on her that afternoon.
