Chapter 4
It took most of a summer for my father to build the wall outside our house and it was his pride and joy. The wall was two feet thick and about four feet high and surrounded my mom’s garden. Her garden had actually won a prize and the diploma is mounted in the living room and mom showed it off whenever she could.
It was close to four-thirty in the afternoon when I heard a car coming. I looked to the left I saw Brooke’s convertible coming down the street. She stopped right in front of me and waved as I jumped down from the wall and opened the passenger door.
‘Hi baby!’ She leaned over and kissed me lightly on the cheek. I felt myself blushing.
‘Hi Brooke, I thought we could go to Jimmy’s and eat something.’
‘I have a much better idea. Look in the basket at your feet,’ she said as she drove down the street. I opened the basket and there were wrapped sandwiches and under them, a bottle of wine.
‘I don’t think the wine bottle is a good idea Brooke. We are under age and what if the police stop us?’ I said sounding like my dad, ‘Where did you get it from anyway?
‘My parents are on a trip again, so I took it from my dad’s wine cellar. That’s what they get for leaving their poor daughter all alone at home.’ She laughed her special laugh again. I could listen to it all day.
‘Anyway, wine has never killed anyone, not directly anyway. I thought we could drive down to the river and have a picnic.’
‘A picnic sounds great,’ I said nervously. The only time I had tried alcohol, were a few beers in the mountain or champagne on New Year’s Eve with my parents. Drinking wine with a girl, was a totally different ballpark. Actually, was a completely different game all together.
When we arrived by the river she parked under a tree and we walked along the bank. We found a good spot and I opened a blanket she had in the trunk, and lay it down on a flat area. Brook opened the basket and took out the sandwiches; she uncorked the wine and took a drink directly from the bottle.
‘Sorry, I didn’t have any plastic glasses at home; I hope you don’t mind drinking from the bottle.’ she said handing me the wine. I took a careful sip, it was dry and not very cold and I guess it tasted OK.
‘This place is so beautiful.’ She walked down to the water just a few yards away, and after taking off a sandal she sticked her toes in the water.
‘It’s not that cold as I thought it would be. Maybe we can go for a swim later.’
‘I didn’t bring any swimming trunks.’
‘And I didn’t bring my bikini,’ she giggled. ‘Let’s eat I am starving.’
The afternoon was fantastic, the air was warm, and there was no wind at all. The water slowly floated by us is like a floating mirror, reflecting the trees on the river bank and the blue sky. I though I must be the luckiest guy in the world, or at least in my town. I looked at Brooke, she lay on the blanket, face up, and a pair of sunglasses on her nose. She looked like an angel sleeping. She was wearing a sleeveless dress with a flowery pattern. From where I was sitting, I could see a little bit of her left breast. I looked away, and tried to think about something to say.
‘Where are you from originally,’ I stammered, ‘I mean where were you born?’
She turned her head towards me.
‘I am from California, a small town like yours, north of Los Angeles. My parents and I lived there until I was fourteen, and then we moved to LA, where my dad got a new job.’
‘How come you moved here then?’
‘My dad got laid off from his job because of the crisis. He and my mom started up a new business, and since they just started they need to travel a lot, leaving me to fend for myself. They figured I would be safer in a small town than in big bad LA. Well, they might have made a mistake there, how could they know I would meet someone like you? Are you safe to be with John?’ she said smiling at me.
‘I guess I am safe to be around, at least my friends tend to think so.’
She sat up and reached for the wine bottle which was almost finished. She looked at me, and asked.
‘Do you mind if I have the last of the wine?’
‘Not at all.’
The wine had gone to my head and I was feeling a little woozy, but it was a nice feeling, very relaxing.
‘Let’s go for that swim now,’ said Brook and as she stood up she grabbed my hand and pulled me up. We walked down to the water where she looked up and down.
‘Well, no one is around, and since we don’t have swimwear, I guess we are going skinny dipping.’
I paniced, my knees went weak, and I didn’t know what to say. I looked down at the ground, and I could feel her eyes on me.
‘Come on John, don’t be shy. I know how boys look like, I am seventeen you know. I’ll make you a deal. I will go first, and swim out a bit. Then I’ll turn around, and you can undress and jump in the water. Is that OK?’
‘OK, but no peeking. I will turn around also, so you can undress.’
She took off her sunglasses and looked me straight in the eyes.
‘I don’t mind if you see me naked, I am your girlfriend after all.’
She pulled her dress over her head and then opened her bra which she let fall to the ground. Then pulled down her panties. I didn’t know where to look, my eyes were everywhere. My heartbeat doubled, and I felt my face turning red. Her body was perfect. Her breasts were full with upturned nipples, her stomach was flat, her hips had seductive curves, and I caught glimpse of a whisper of hair between her legs before she turned and jumped in the water.
For a minute I just stood there, watching her as she swam out. She was a strong swimmer and her steady crawl quickly brought her about twenty yards out from the bank. She stopped, treaded water and waved at me. Across the shimmering surface her voice reached me.
‘Come in, it’s wonderful!’
‘Coming!’ I yelled back.’
As promised, she turned around, and I quickly got out of my clothes and jumped in. The water was cool, so my wooziness cleared, and I swam out to her.
‘There you are. See, I promised not to peek,’ Brooke said when I reached her.
‘Thanks, I’m just a bit shy. I’ve never done this before.’
‘What, swim naked?’
‘I swam naked before, but with my buddies, not with a girl.’
She swam in a circle around me.
‘Well, from what I can see from here, you are completely normal. So there is no need to be shy. Come on, I’ll race you back to shore.’
She took off, and I had to really put my arms and legs to work to keep up with her.
We arrived at the same time. She dipped her head under the water and when she came up shook the water out of her hair.
‘That was so nice. I hope you are not sending me back out there so you can get out of the water in privacy.’
I thought for a second, what the heck, this is not a time to be a wuss.
‘I feel more confident now so I will get out of the water first.’
I climbed up the bank and turned around, offering my hand to her. She took it and I pulled her up. I don’t know if she did it on purpose, but she stumbled into my arms. I looked into her eyes, our faces came closer, and before I knew it our lips met. I felt her tongue against mine, and I tasted a hint of the wine. Our kiss became deeper; she put her arms around my neck, and her hands in my hair. My hands went behind her back and slide down to the small of her back. I suddenly let go and I look down, I had an erection.
‘What just happened, John, why did you stop kissing me?’ I heard her ask me.
‘Nothing, sorry, I don’t know what happened.’
‘John, I am just kidding, I know, sorry, I felt what happened. It’s OK, it’s normal.’
‘Yeah, I know it’s supposed to be normal, but, it’s new for me.’
‘It’s the first time you got an erection with a girl, right?’ She asked it very sweetly, almost whispering to me. I looked around for my underwear, and walked over to where I had dropp
ed them.
‘You are right, it’s the first time it happened with a girl.’
She came over to me, put a hand on my shoulder, and turned me around. Luckily I had managed to get my underwear on.
‘I don’t care if you have experience or not, I like you, I want to be with you, and maybe we can learn some lovemaking skills together.’
Before I could say something, she kissed me again. The kiss became deeper, and we lay down on the blanket. When I told Brooke that I had no condoms, she just kissed me softly on the lips, and whispered in my ear that she was on the pill. We touched and explored each other. Brook was very understanding and patient during my clumsy attempts to please her. She guided my hands and whispered little hints in my ear.
Around us the birds were singing, the sun is slowly set behind the mountain, and the air cooled down. But not us, we staid warm in our embrace.
When the sun had set we got up, dressed, and put the trash in the basket. As we walked back to the car we were holding hands. I don’t know what she was thinking, but for me, that afternoon was the best in my entire life. I felt so happy, I just wanted to scream, ‘I am in love with Brook!’