The Mediterranean Guesthouse Ch. 03

The cold air coming in from darkness of the open window wakes me up. I am sleeping naked with only the sheet and no blanket, which was enough on the previous nights. But tonight is clearly much colder. Shivering, I rise up and look outside via the open window. It is still perfectly dark, and Kate turns off all the outside lights for the night. I can just about make out the trees close to the house, and only seeing the light of the stars change to total darkness gives out where the sky ends and the hills begin. The night is silent, no sound coming even from the road in the valley. It seems like the whole world is sleeping.

Wide awake now, slightly cold, I lean to the windowsill and continue to look out. The house is silent, I can't hear anything from the room next to me, and Kate's room downstairs is in a different wing of the house, I have not heard anything from that part of the house even on previous nights. Although, from her reaction on the breakfast, evidently the sounds from our lovemaking did reach her on the night before.

Stars appear so bright here, outside the city lights. The look of the sky is different from back home, it must be because this place is so much further south than where I live. I listen to the night as my thoughts return to the fact that this one week of vacation is now halfway over. In a few days I will be returning back home. Somehow, at this moment, the daily grind of waking up, going to work, shopping, gym, back home, watch TV, go to sleep, it all seems so distant. Like from a another life. I have never had a vacation like this before, and somehow, deep down I know I will never again feel the same as I do just now.

There is never a second chance to live your fantasy for the first time. Last two nights with Christine and Julien were my first time making love with another couple. I have fantasized about that for years, but just have not met anyone to make my fantasy a reality until now. Thinking about the perfect couple in the next room, I am stunned how lucky I have been to meet them here. Also, I am feeling sad that as fast and unexpected as our meeting was, it will also be over so soon. They are staying here only for two more nights.

The thought enters my mind that I have no right to assume the events on the two previous nights are repeated on the remaining nights with them in the next room. Even if I do feel a connection to them, especially to Christine. Everything seems to snap in place so easily when we are together, chatting on the terrace or over breakfast, and I think I am getting the same feeling of being in sync from them. But will it change, now that we lived out Christine's fantasy? I hope and I believe that it would not change, and that perhaps the coming two nights would be as exciting as the two before.

My body remembers the incredible feeling of making love to Christine some hours ago. I remember the feeling of my dick sliding inside her when she was bent backwards, her back resting on my legs with her head receiving Julien's cock. My eyes drank the sight as eagerly as the parched throat of a thirsty wanderer would drink from an oasis. The sight of me entering her perfect ass from behind, holding her from the elbows as I enter her again and again with Julien's hands on her waist and his mouth on her tits, her sighs and moans exposing her pleasure at our thrusts and touch. Right at this moment, It feels like these sights of Christine are burned to my memory forever. I can remember the soft candlelight on Christine's skin, the smell of soap and the sight of foam on her breasts while we were in bath, and the jumble of our limbs in the cramped bathtub, my cock between her thighs next to her waiting pussy. And maybe there is still two nights more with them! Even after two unbelievably thrilling nights, we still might have more time together if we all still want to explore this further. After feeling slightly sad at only having them in my life for such short time, I realize that possibly our time together is still not over, and I will anyway have the most exciting memories from this vacation. My mood lifts up.

Breathing in the cool night air, I hear the earliest rooster cry in the valley. I glance at the night clock app on the cell, it is a little after 3 am. Closing the windows, I go back to the bed, grabbing a blanket. Under the sheet and the blanket, sleepy warmth soon returns to my body, and I picture the couple next door sleeping tightly curled next to each other, breathing in harmony in their sleep. I feel the longing of having someone next to me, a warm body under the same covers. The last thought I have before sleep reaches me is that Kate is downstairs, probably soundly asleep in her own bed, but as alone as I am right now.

Sun is already high when I wake up, sweaty under the sheets. The extra blanket was too much. Looking at the clock, it is close to breakfast time, so I jump up and do my short morning workout and stretching. After a quick shower, I feel rested, fresh and ready to welcome the rest day. No riding today, I want to tour some of the local sights and maybe find a nice beach for the evening to do a sunset swim. Taking the lonely planet guidebook with me, I head downstairs for breakfast. Walking past the kitchen, I spot Kate carrying plates to the breakfast table.

'Good morning, Kate.'

'Good morning, Archie! I trust you had a nice night again?' she asks with a twinkle in her look. It seems that again, what happened upstairs wasn't kept secret, and I admit in all the excitement last evening, I forgot to watch out for crying out too loudly. But, as before, Kate doesn't seem to mind, and this is a relief to me.

'Well, yes I did have a nice day, and evening yesterday.' I reply with a smile. 'Can I help you with any of the breakfast stuff?'

She accepts, pointing at the tray on the kitchen table, full of jam and butter and fresh loaves of bread. We walk outside and I sit down at my usual place as she finishes setting the table. She asks me about my ride yesterday and I tell her that it was really great, but today I want to rest and act like a normal tourist, touring some of the sights and then head for a beach.

'Sounds good, I might be able to give you some hints on what beach to choose. I love to go to the beaches, and there are so many here to choose from. Just a minute, I will have your coffee ready soon.' she says as she goes back into kitchen to set up the coffee.

Enjoying some muesli and yogurt and local fruit, I read through the guidebook on some of the ruins and museums. I did not get details yesterday from Christine and Julien, so I am eager to ask to which places they went yesterday. They must be are sleeping in this morning as they are nowhere to be seen.

'What kind of beach would you like to visit?' Kate asks when she shows up with the steaming coffee pot. The delicious smell of the freshly ground coffee is like a drug.

'Well, I really don't like crowds, so I was hoping to find a beach that would be farther out and without a lot of tourists. Actually, my plan was to drive to the west of the island, and check out a beach during sunset in the evening.'

'Oh, well, I have not been to the beaches on the west coast yet so I can't really offer you any advice what to choose, although I have heard a lot of good things on the beaches on the Lara peninsula.'

Lara rings a bell, I have read about it in the guidebook. The undeveloped stretch of beach about half an hour to the north of Paphos was highly recommended in the guidebook. I look it up on the book and read on what the experts had to say. It seems the beach is reached with a very rough road so it is usually almost deserted and the sunsets are the best on the island.

'Sounds excellent! I think I would like to go and check it out today!' I say.

'You know, Archie, if you are going, and if it is no trouble, I would like to see the beach also. I have not been there before.' she says, slightly timidly and with a question in her voice. I look up to her and realize that to have company on the beach would be really nice, and especially to have a pretty woman like Kate there with me.

'That is a great idea, I would love to have company.' I answer truthfully.

'Great! Actually, I have some other maps of the area, let me fetch them.' She smiles at this and gives me a long look and then goes out to fetch the other maps.

Kate on the beach with me. In a swimsuit. A sunset, warm evening. My mind races to overdrive, only now really understanding what a romantic setting it is probably going to be. But what kind of signal is this? What is Kate thinking? What am I thinking? I have been so overwhelmed at the events with Christine and Julien, I have not given any thought at all that Kate might be interested in me. Is she? I now remember her smiles and her teasing references at the obvious erotic escapades upstairs, and I realize that it is possible, she might be interested in me. But I can't be sure yet. Am I interested in her? It takes me a few seconds to admit that I am, and the thought of a private and intimate trip to a secluded, deserted beach suddenly hits me like a hammer. This vacation is throwing me curveballs like no other before. The meeting of the wonderful, sexy couple upstairs and now with the trip to a beach with Kate?

'Here we are. Let's see now.' Kate gets back with a couple more detailed maps of the Lara area. She sets them on the table and we both bend over to get a better look. She is quite close to me now. I can feel the warmth of her shoulder and I can smell her hair in the morning breeze. We are not quite touching, but as I lean in to get a better look and get even closer to her, she does not move, and I can think I can sense that she is enjoying the closeness of me. Is this just me being hopeful, imagining things?

The next few minutes, I find it difficult to concentrate on the maps. I think I am saying the "uh" and "ah" in all the right places, but I am just so stunned at her standing so close to me. I am confused by the lack of signals from her before, and now when Kate seems like another person, I am doubting my skill to read her right.

Looking at Kate and trying to see if she is thinking same kind of thoughts as me, but I fail to figure her out. I curse myself, my over-analyzing style and sensitivity to what other people might be thinking. A more bold person would just go in the moment, taking what life offers, without thinking so much, without trying to understand everything and making decisions.

She looks at me and I look into her light gray eyes and I think I see interest and possibly desire there. Or maybe it is just potential desire. Like when you are hiking and happen to a log cabin, and go out back to check the stack of wood piled against to the back wall, you don't know if the wood is dry and if it catches fire instantly and leaps into flames. You have to touch it and feel it and try it to know if the flames are there just waiting to be unleashed. Or, the wood could be new and fresh and it will not light. I don't know Kate so well yet, and she doesn't know me, but all the signals are there that the wood is bone dry, just waiting for a match.

I shake myself and decide that for once, I want to be bold and live, take the things life throws my way.

Weirdly, even with all these thoughts running trough my head, we seem to have reached a plan, agreeing that we should leave to the beach in the afternoon, around three o'clock, she has some errands to run during the day. I sit back and finish my breakfast, browsing through the guidebook to look for something interesting to do during the day, when I hear Julien and Christine coming down.

'Good morning, Archie!' Christine says, arriving to the table.

'Good morning!' I say, standing up. Christine leans in and kisses my cheek briefly, with her hands on mine. She is wearing khaki capris and a blouse. The scent of the bath soap on her skin brings back the memory of her in the bath with me last night. I nod to Julien, who sits down at his usual place next to mine. 'I trust you slept well?' I ask.

'Oh, yes.', she says and slightly blushing, continues in a whisper, 'I think after last night, I was so tired and satisfied and I had the most enjoyable dream... and you were in it.'

I look at Julien, who winks at me. 'She woke up in the night and was pretty excited.'

Christine is blushing even more. She gives her husband a teasing look and goes around the table and sits down. What does he mean? They woke up in the night and made love again? I look at both of them and realize that my jaw has dropped. Finally Christine smiles apologetically. 'We missed you.', she whispers. These people are unbelievable.

Kate storms out of the house and brings another steaming pot of coffee for Julien and Christine. The moment in which we returned to the evening before, passes. After checking that we have everything we need and after chatting for a while with Julien and Christine, Kate leaves us to enjoy our breakfast in the morning air. Today it is slightly cooler than on the previous mornings. As she goes back to the kitchen she briefly puts her hand on my shoulder. The brief squeeze she gives me seems to hold promise, and after a minute I realize that, apart from the handshake on the very first night, it is the first time we have really touched. My thoughts start to wander again to the trip to the beach and for a moment I am lost in my thoughts.

'So, how are you going to spend your rest day, Archie?' Julien asks

I tell them about my plan to check out the beach this evening together with Kate.

'Sounds like a lot of fun. We are thinking to go out this evening to a nice restaurant we spotted yesterday.'

Hearing about Kate and me going to the beach together seems to have captivated Christine. As soon as the words left my mouth she stopped buttering her toast and now she looks quite funny with a half buttered toast on one hand and the butter knife on her other hand. She is not quite staring at me, but giving me long looks of disbelief. What does it mean? Does she feel somehow betrayed? Up until now I have got the impression from her that our "thing" is purely a sexual encounter. I consider that we are friends, and the lovemaking is exceptional, but there surely wasn't anything beyond that in our relationship? Still, I admit, we have been pretty intimate the last two days. Or rather, nights. I look at her with a silent question on my face. She turns, and looks at Julien, then looks towards the kitchen where we can hear Kate cleaning up. Finally Christine returns to look at me and with a shake of her head she seems to recover. Why was she so shocked?

I am all finished with my breakfast, but I would hate to leave them like this, with unanswered questions in my mind, so I linger for a while, asking if I can get a half a cup from their coffee pot. Julien pours me some coffee and I look at him and Christine. Julien is smiling and seems to find something really amusing. It must mean that I have not offended them? Christine is still shaking her head.

I burn from the desire to ask Christine about her reaction, but I don't find the words, nor the courage to do so. Finally I manage 'Christine, what is it? You look so... surprised.'

She breathes in deeply, and looks at me with a smile. 'I am sorry Archie. Do not worry about it. I just...' she starts but then pauses, 'No, I will tell you later, maybe tonight.'

I suddenly feel her foot touching mine under the table and she continues 'Archie, truly, I am sorry, it wasn't anything to worry about. Please, I so want you to enjoy your trip to the beach. I hope you and Kate can tell us all about it in the evening?'

Returning the pressure of her foot, I feel that the old Christine I thought I knew is back. I am relieved. We are still ok. And this evening, she wants to hear about my day? It could mean that she still wants something more about next night? I breathe out, noticing only now that I have been so tense in the past few minutes. If this vacation has been full of surprises, this breakfast has been equally strange, an emotional roller coaster, but now my mood is high. I have some time to kill but a sunset trip to the beach with Kate, and then I still have potentially some time with Christine and Julien tonight.

We chat some more and Kate also has finished cleaning up in the kitchen and shows up. Thinking that Kate and me will probably be back from the beach trip at around nine in the evening, we agree with Julien and Christine to meet over a glass of wine in the living room when we are all back at the guesthouse.

Just as we are finished breakfast I suddenly remember to ask Julien about the places they went to see the day before. We spend a few minutes more around the map as he explains where they had been, the prehistoric settlement in Choirokotia and then the Kourion site. They both sound like nice places to see. I thank Julien and wish them a nice day.

I am feeling slightly overwhelmed by all the events of the morning, I have so much to wait for from today. I decide to sit back down at the table as Julien and Christine leave for their room, and Kate is taking the last of the cereal boxes and plates inside into the kitchen. I listen the sounds of the morning. Even though the weather this morning seems slightly cooler, I think it is going to be a pretty warm day. I can hear the sounds from the village reaching the covered terrace, cars driving on the road, a dog barking, someone driving a street cleaning machine on the village main street. My thoughts keep on wandering to this afternoon's beach trip with Kate.

Kate comes back from the kitchen. 'Archie, I was thinking. I have some shopping to do right now, but if you would like it, we could go and see the Kourion site together, and then I know a nice restaurant in the Paphos harbor, we could have a late lunch there before going to the beach?'

'That sounds nice! What time would you be ready to leave?' I answer.

'Maybe around noon?'

'In that case, I could drive to see the other museum Julien said and be back around that time. Yes it would be fun to go together and go to some restaurant before heading to the beach!'. The thought of spending more time with Kate before going to the beach makes me happy. She probably has had the same thought. We have not had so much time to get to know each other yet, so it will be great to get a chance to talk with her some more.

'Great!' she says. 'well, I need to hurry now, I will see you in a few hours, then!'

I have a warm feeling in my chest as I go upstairs to my room. The day holds so much promise, somehow I feel even more anxious for this afternoon than on the previous day for the evening.

Checking the maps, I gather the stuff I need for the Choirokotia trip and after some minutes, head back to the car and drive south towards the freeway.

The drive to the ruins at Choirokotia takes a little over 40 minutes, and after some map-gazing, I spot the signs that lead me to the site. The place is a world heritage site, a village from something like eight thousand years ago. Walking up the steep hill to look at the stone and concrete round buildings it is difficult to understand the vast history of this island. There were people here living, thousands of years ago, fishing, farming, probably building shelters from bandits and weather. The feeling of history is amazing.

There is only couple other tourists on the ruins, and although the freeway is quite close and the sounds of the cars passing by reach us easily, the visit is still a nice one. I walk around the paths and look at the different stone buildings and read the signs explaining the archaeological dig, and I am really enjoying myself. I hope the Kourion site is as interesting.

After half an hour or so, I decide to head back to the car, checking out the reconstructed model near the entrance. The model is built like the best estimate how the buildings would have looked like all those thousands of years ago. The buildings look cozy enough and with the roofs it is easy to picture families living here, grinding grain to flour and roasting fish on the fire pit. Thanking the guard at the entrance I head back to the car and start the drive back to the guesthouse.