To the each of readers following along, thank you.
Trigger warning: threats of violence
***
I was sitting in a booth in Mel's diner, sipping coffee and reading an honest-to-god small-town newspaper. It's a bi-weekly production with a focus on goings on in the county. The apple harvest was shaping up to be particularly good this year. The county Sheriff was celebrating ten years in office. Some fellow was arrested for the third time this year for trying to steal some of his neighbor's paving stones? That can't be right.
Alice, my waitress this morning, sat another mug of coffee on the table in front of me. I was confused why she didn't just top off the mug I already have from the carafe.
Alice pointed to a woman at the counter who was looking over at me, and said, "I think you have an admirer."
Alice left. I smiled politely and nodded at the woman, then returned to my paper. The monthly pot-luck at the church is this coming Sunday. Wait, no, it must have been last Sunday. Oh well. I wasn't sure how Elanna would feel about listening to a hellfire and brimstone sermon for an hour just to get a free meal anyway. Particularly since she's back at the cabin filming erotica for her fans.
I sensed someone take a seat across from me in the booth. "You know, it's customary for a man to at least say hi to a woman who just bought him a drink."
"Is that so?" I considered the woman sitting across from me for a moment. She's attractive, to be sure, but I was quite confused by our interaction so far. Uncomfortable, even.
"I'm Stacy, by the way."
"Hello, Stacy, by the way. Do you need something?"
"Cute." She was starting to get annoyed. "Do you always act so stand-offish when you meet someone for the first time?"
"Most of the time I prefer to establish a sense of professional distance."
"What's that supposed to mean? How about a friendly greeting or maybe even a compliment."
"I wasn't aware barflies operated the same way in diners at mid-morning as they do in bars near closing time."
"Ouch! Watch the claws. I'm just trying to make polite conversation."
"I'm afraid it's time for me to leave." I didn't know why my gut was telling me to run, but I wasn't about to stick around to find out.
She was getting agitated by then. "I can see I've misread the situation. I can tell you used to wear a wedding band, but you don't anymore. I just thought you could use some company too."
"No, thank you." I exited the booth and handed Alice money for my coffee on the way out.
Standing in the laundromat, I wished I had grabbed the paper as I left. I hadn't even read the story about "Record Breaking Fish Caught" yet. Thankfully it was only about ten minutes before the laundry came out of the drier so there was some folding to keep me busy.
I wondered what Stacy was trying for. She was an attractive redhead, with long hair, average build, and decent-sized breasts. Probably a few years younger than me, but not many. And she bought me bottomless coffee... to go with the bottomless coffee I already had?
Thinking back, I didn't notice if she wore a wedding ring, even though she brought up my current lack of a wedding band.
No matter. The whole thing was weird, and I was glad it was over.
***
After laundry, I picked up sandwich stuff and headed back to eat with Elanna at the cabin.
Elanna was wearing a simple yellow sundress. A light and airy affair. Barefoot and beautiful. I could see some burgundy-colored lingerie in a pile off to the side, but I didn't recognize it. As she glided around the cabin, I was soon certain she wasn't wearing anything under the dress.
She had done some painting by the fireplace that morning. First wearing and then not wearing her lingerie, most likely. It was another abstract, this time using colors of the forest. Dark browns and greens suggested trees and shadow. Yellow-green suggested sunlight filtering through treetops. The splatters of red and blue suggested... maybe flowers or berries?
We ate our sandwiches and talked about nothing for half an hour. It was wonderful!
Seemingly out of the blue, Elanna offered herself as dessert. In no time, she was on the couch, her sundress hiked up, and I was on my knees on a thick cushioned rug in front of her hairless pussy. I kissed and caressed, licked and teased. Then settled in to get her off with two fingers inside of her and my tongue massaging her clit.
She started squirming and her moans were mixed with an occasional, "yes," or, "don't stop." When I felt her orgasm start and her vagina clamped down on my fingers, I went completely still. Watching her. Feeling her body as it jerked and released uncontrollably. Fingers still inside of her, feeling where it all started.
Once she regained control of herself, she reached down and slipped my fingers out of her. She sat up, pulled me close, and kissed me. Her juices were still on my face. Hottest kisses ever!
A few minutes later she decided it was time to shoo me away so she could finish filming for the fans. I was disappointed to leave, but she assured me that she would soon have enough material to last the rest of the trip. She wouldn't need to film again until after we got back home.
She got up and smoothed out her dress, and it didn't have a single wrinkle that betrayed what we had just done. I love sundresses.
Before I left, we put the freshly washed linens on the bed and straightened up the bedroom so she could film in there for the afternoon.
***
We decided that I could use the afternoon to scout out a couple of roadside stands for us to visit together. Unless there was something else I wanted to do, of course, but nothing came to mind.
I found myself at a little shop called Georgia's Boiled Peanuts. It was too elaborate to be called a roadside stand, but it definitely had fruit-stand roots.
All manner of local fruits and vegetables were available in bins on the porch out front.
Inside, the boiled peanuts were kept warm in the kettle. There were shelves of home-canned jams and jellies, local honey, bags of nuts, and even a 'display' of Uncle Wilbur's Jerky. The counter had some fresh baked goods. A cooler had a very impressive selection of local cider.
The kind shopkeeper said to let her know if I had any questions. Her southern accent was something special.
I was soaking it all in when something struck me after a few minutes. Nothing sold here was a big name brand. It was all more or less homemade and homegrown stuff. Most of it was probably local too, though I knew mangoes didn't grow in the area.
"This is quite a shop you've got here. I'll take a bag of boiled peanuts. Say, are all of the fruits and veggies local?"
"She-it. Ain't no need to haul produce halfway across the country when you live in God's garden."
"What about that mango jam?"
"It's canned locally. Bernice gets her mangoes from an orchard over near the coast. She's kin to the farmer, so she gets the best of the crop."
I love the charm of this place. Elanna probably will too when I bring her along.
***
For the first time since we arrived, I was cooking supper on the wood stove in the kitchen. The rustic charm of cooking in the fireplace is something special, but my joints were beginning to complain about spending time hunched down and bent over.
Elanna had wrapped up filming and was putting away her gear. "I don't think I've been painting enough lately."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. I'm not just talking about pieces to sell at Angelo's either. Painting this morning, it felt like it was the first time in a long time. Like it was something I missed doing." She considered her words for a moment. "Maybe I'm not explaining it very well..."
"I think I get your point. Any idea why you feel like that?"
"I'm not sure. I stopped painting so often when my studio started getting too crowded." She cracked open a boiled peanut and sucked out the brine. "Lately I've been waiting for a proper artistic vision before loading up my palette. Not so long ago, I would paint a few times a week, and the only inspiration I needed was the pile of bills on the table." She pulled the shell apart to eat the goobers within.
"I think we can solve two problems visiting that shop together tomorrow."
"Hmmf?" Her mouth was full from the peanut.
"I'm sure you'll love the place. It might even inspire a whole series of paintings." I looked up at Elanna who was grabbing another peanut from the nearly empty bag. "Plus, I'm almost out of boiled peanuts."
Elanna looked up sheepishly. "Sorry. They're so good. I'll buy you a bag tomorrow."
"Don't worry about me, just buy plenty for yourself. I don't need you eating my entire supply before supper again. Speaking of which, I hope you haven't spoiled your appetite."
"Hey! The bag was half empty before you even pulled up."
She had me there. I tried one as soon as I got in the car before leaving Georgia's shop. Then I had to find something to hold the empty shells. Well, one thing lead to another, and the bag of discarded shells was nearly as full as the bag of uneaten peanuts before I started the car.
Usually, it wouldn't matter, we're both fine with eating leftovers. However, the limited electricity in the cabin meant there wasn't a full-sized refrigerator. The mini fridge was only plugged in long enough to chill some ciders for the evening.
"Let's run the generator to top off the batteries while we eat supper. In case the mini fridge needs to store leftovers tonight."
"On it." She was out the door to the shed, and back again in a flash.
Dinner was served shortly after she returned. Sure enough, we needed the fridge. I turned off the generator after supper once the batteries were full.
We sipped our ciders. I told her how most of the roadside stands seemed to be closed this afternoon. Since it was a Thursday afternoon, we wondered together if that meant they would be open in the mornings, or maybe only on the weekends? At least Georgia's shop was open that afternoon, so it was probably going to be open Friday afternoon too.
Elanna mentioned that she needed to use the WiFi at Mel's to upload and schedule stuff for her fans. We were becoming regular customers at the diner. Fortunately for us, Mel seemed to keep the prices low. Perks of operating in a farming community I suppose. While apple orchards are the big crop in these parts, there seems to be a field of just about any crop that can grow in the area. Including a field of peanuts, I think.
Conversation ebbed and flowed, as it always does. I asked about the lingerie I saw on the floor at lunchtime - the burgundy-colored stuff.
Elanna excitedly hopped up and shut herself in the bedroom.
A few minutes later, she made me swear not to peak as she came out and stood in front of me. True to my word, my eyes were shut and my palms covered them so no light could slip through.
"Okay, you can look now."
I uncovered my eyes and didn't know where to look first. The look on her face was... hopeful maybe? Some moments I can still get completely lost in those eyes. Maybe look lower - those luscious lips need to be kissed more - I made a mental note.
